Role of Sufis in Bijapur Adil Shah Era

Islam's normative vision of society and piety was mediated to the masses in large part by Sufi shaikhs, heirs to Islam's rich mystical tradition. Although anthropologists have examined the social roles played by Sufis in some contemporary societies. Few historians have done the same for earlier periods, in any part of the Islamic world. is an attempt to fill this gap by scrutinizing the social careers of Sufis of a single city-state, the Deccani kingdom of Bijapur, from the early fourteenth to the late seventeenth centuries. The aim is two-fold: first, to identify the dominant social roles played by Sufis of Bijapur; and second, to explain why certain kinds of Sufis appeared when they did. The section thus blends cultural history with social biography during a critical period of Deccani history.

W. Chittick explains the position of Sufism and Sufis this way: In short, Muslim scholars who focused their energies on understanding the normative guidelines for the body came to be known as jurists, and those who held that the most important task was to train the mind in achieving correct understanding came to be divided into three main schools of thought: theology, philosophy, and Sufism. This leaves us with the third domain of human existence, the spirit. Most Muslims who devoted their major efforts to developing the spiritual dimensions of the human person came to be known as Sufis. This school of thought is widely known as SUFISUM in Islam.

Before and during the time of Adil Shahs many such sufi saints came and settled in Bijpaur and around and brought peace and submission to God through proper teachings of Islam. They came from different parts of the Islamic world from Iraq, Iran, Arab penunsilla, Turkey,Yeman, and north Africa. They learned the local languages Deccani Urdu, Marathi and Kannda. They lived within the common folks rather than living the offered comfort palaces by the Adil Shahi Kings. They made their own shcools knwon as Khankas or darsgahs (meaning place of learning lessons). The common men and the royal men attracted towrds these noble people and learned the lessons of life to become successful here and here after. Still today the platu deccan Bijapur witnessed the last resting places of these sufis. Some of the families of these great suffis leneage is existing and trying their ways to continue to give the similar services for humanity.

Sufi centers had existed in the Deccan since the early fourteenth century conquests of the Delhi Sultanate. The first Sufi order to be transplanted to the peninsula was that of the Chishtis, the most popular group in the north. Members of other Sufi orders migrated to the Deccan from the Middle East or from other areas of the subcontinent slightly later, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. By the seventeenth century, Sufis in Bijapur were varied in affiliation and diverse in their interests, as Richard M. Eaton's work has demonstrated.(See Eaton, The Political and Religious Authority of the Shrine of Baba Farid. In India's Islamic Traditions, 711-1750, ed. R. M. Eaton, pp. 263-84, Oxford University Press, 2003. )

Some Bijapur Sufis worked closely with the court and received land grants in return; this intimate link with Sufis and their ideas is revealed in the painting, poetry, and prose produced by the court elite. Other Bijapur Sufis shunned contact with the courts and instead focused on spreading their ideas through literature. They wrote not only in Persian but also in a form of proto-Urdu known as Dakani. Dakani resembled north Indian languages in grammar and syntax, but incorporated many words from the Arabic and Persian languages and was written in the Perso-Arabic script . Because it combined elements drawn from both the Indic and Islamic traditions, Dakani was a perfect vehicle for the composite culture that flourished in the early modern Deccan Sultanates.


Below is an detailed artilce about Sufisum, its History, Sufi orders, Classifications, and some light on Islam and Sufium and its roots.

This is for the first time a complete database of Bijapur's known Sufi Saints database is appearing through www.golgumbad.com. Soon brief biograpghy of each saint will be updated.

Earlier Sufis of Bijapur - Before Adil Shahs and during Adil Shahi Era
(Note: The names listed in Green are Sufis before Adil Shahi Era and the names listed in yellow are saints came and settled during Adil Shahi Era).

1. Hazrath Haji Roumi
2. Hazrath Shaikh Naseeruddin Nasar Allah Wali
3. Hazrath Peermethe and Hazrath Peer Juman
4. Hazarth Peer Mahabari Khandayath
5. Hazrath Shaikh Ibrahim Sankane
6. Hazrath Abu Al barkath Shah Hafeez Hussaini
7. Hazrath Abu Al Fazal Shah Hamza Hussaini
8. Hazrath Shah Habeebulla Qirmani
9. Hazrath Sayed Ali Shaheed
10. Hazrath Abu Al Ayunddin Junadi Ganjul Elam
11. Hazrath Sultan Peer Sheikh Ziauddin Gaznawi
12. Hazrath Shah Asgar Allah Al Hussaini
13. Hazrath Shah Hidayath Allah Al Hussaini
14. Hazrath Qutubul Qatab Hazrath Shahbaz Hussaini
15. Hazrath Shah Abu Al Hassan Fakhar Abadi
16. Hazrath Sheikh Munthkhabuddin Qadri Al Siddigi Al Dholqi
17. Hazrath Lutufuddin Qadri
18. Hazrath Sheikh Abdu Samad Qadri Qannani
19. Hazrath Shah Habeeb Allah Sabgathulla
20. Hazrath Shah Sabgathulla Sani II
21. Hazrath Shah Nooruddin Safwi
22. Hazrath Sheikh Nizam Narnoli
23. Hazrath Shah AteeqUllah Qadri
24. Hazrath Sayed Ali Shah
25. Hazrath Shah Abu Al Hassan Qadri
26. Hazrath Shah Mustafa Qadri
27. Hazrath Shah Abdul Razaq Qadri
28. Hazrath Shah Hasheem Hussaini Alwi
29. Hazrath Shah Murad
30. Hazrath Shah NaeemAllah
31. Hazrath Shah Ahmed Miranji
32. Hazrath Shah BurhanHussaini Alwi
33. Hazrath Sayed Muhammad Urf Shah Chisti Qadri
34. Hazrath Shah Miran ji Shams Al Ashaq
35. Hazrath Shah Burhanuddin Janam
36. Hazrath Khawja Ameenuddin Alla
37. Hazrath Sheikh Mehmood KhushDahan
38. Hazrath Junadi Sani
39. Hazrath Shah Shareef Shareef Rangrezwan
40. Hazrath Abdul Salam Shattari
41. Hazrath Sayed Muhammad Tazeemtarq
42. Hazrath Shah Mussa Qadri
43. Hazrath Shah Mustafa Qadri
44. Hazrath Shah Nooruddin Qadri
45. Hazrath Shah Qareemualla Qadri
46. Hazrath Sheikh Abdul Lateef Qadri
47. Hazrath Shah manjan Bukhari
49. Hazrath Sayed Sayed Jaffar Sakaf
50. Hazrath Shah Murtuza Qadri
51. Hazrath Shah Shamsuzuha Qadri
52. Hazrath Maulna Muhammad Zubari
53. Hazrath Qazi Ibrahim Zubari
54. Hazrath Maulana Muhammad Zubari Sani
55. Hazrath Sheikh Muhammad Arab
56. Hazrath Sheikh Mansoor
57. Hazrath Sheikh Abdur Rahman Mutaqi
58. Hazrath Shah Nange Mazub
59. Hazrath Mian Bhola Faqeer
60. Hazrath Shah Muhammad Badang
61. Hazrath Shah Maulana Muhiuddin Qadri
62. Hazrath Shah Sheikh Salah Qadri
63. Hazrath Sheikh Ahmed Burqaposh
64. Hazrath Sayed Miran
65. Hazrath Chabuk Sawar

(Note: The names listed in Green are Sufis before Adil Shahi Era and the names listed in yellow are saints came and settled during Adil Shahi Era)

Sufism in Islam

Hazrath Ali is respected not only as a warrior and leader, but as a writer and religious authority. Many Sunnis believe that Muhammad told about him "I'm the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate..." [93] Ali told people about himself "Ask me before you miss me."[94] Muslims consider him as a foremost authority on the Tafsir (Quranic exegesis), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and religious thought. Ali was also a great scholar of Arabic literature and pioneered in the field of grammar and rhetoric. His speeches, sermons and letters served for generations afterward as models of literary expression. [3] He also has a high rank position in almost all Sufi orders which trace their lineage to Muhammad through him.[1] Therefore various groups of Muslims have attempted to collect his quotations , narrate his life and recite his sermons. Historians have paid attention to his government, religious scholars tried to learn his knowledge and the men of literate collected his speeches. Sunnis have narrated many hadith trough him from Muhammad in their authentic books. Shias have narrated his quotations in specific books such as "Ghorar Alhakam". In the 7th century Sulaym ibn Qays and `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas narrated his speeches and manners as well as the events which had happened in his life in their works. In the 8th century his descendants such as Muhammad al Baqir and Jafar as Sadiq narrated his quotations which had learnt from their fathers. Some historians such as Abu Mikhnaf narrated the story of major events of Ali's life in his books like Kitab al Jamal, Kitab al-gharat and so on.

Numerous short sayings of Ali have become part of general Islamic culture and are quoted as aphorisms and proverbs in daily life. They also have become the basis of literary works or have been integrated into poetic verse in many languages. Already in the 8th century, literary authorities such as 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya al-'Amiri pointed to the unparalleled eloquence of Ali's sermons and sayings, as did al-Jahiz in the following century.[1] Even who works in the Divan of Umayyad recited Ali's sermons to improve their eloquence.[95] Of course Peak of Eloquence(Nahj al-Balagha) is an extract of Ali's quotations from literal viewpoint as its compiler mentioned in its preface. While there are many other quotations, prays(Du'as), sermons and letters in other literal, historic and religious books.[96]

In later Islamic philosophy, especially in the teachings of Mulla Sadra and his followers like Allameh Tabatabaei Ali's sayings and sermons were increasingly regarded as central sources of metaphysical knowledge, or divine philosophy. Members of Sadra's school regard Ali as the supreme metaphysician of Islam.]

Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam that encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Divine love and the cultivation of the elements of the Divine within the individual human being. Practitioners of this tradition are known as "Sufis" generally, though some senior members of the tradition reserve this term for those who have attained the goals of the tradition.

Although some people refer to this tradition as Sufism, others refer to it as the Sufi Way. They draw this distinction because they feel that the term "Sufism" refers to a philosophy or a school of thought like capitalism or socialism, and they feel that the Sufi Way describes a practical path to follow.

Sufism has been defined as a type of knowledge by the great Sufi masters. Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, a 15th century Sufi who wrote The Principles of Sufism, defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God." Ibn 'Ajiba, one of the best known Sufi masters, defined Sufism as "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inward from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits."

The Tariqas, or Sufi orders, may be associated with Sunni Islam or Shia Islam. It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are now found around the world. [1]

A number of Sufism adherents, mostly in the West, believe or assert that Sufism is a projection of "the perennial philosophy" of man's true nature to the Divine and as such forms a subterranean current in many religions and mystical traditions and practices. This viewpoint is denied, often with great energy, by a substantial number of other Sufis
.
Etymology.
The conventional view is that the word originates from Suf (???), the Arabic word for wool, referring to the simple cloaks the early Muslim ascetics wore. However, not all sufis wear cloaks or clothes of wool. Another etymological theory states that the root word of Sufi is the Arabic word safa (???), meaning purity. This places the emphasis of Sufism on purity of heart and soul.

Others suggest the origin is from "Ashab al-Suffa" ("Companions of the Veranda") or "Ahl al-Suffa" ("People of the Veranda"), who were a group of Muslims during the time of the Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W) who spent much of their time on the veranda of the Prophet's mosque devoted to prayer. Yet another etymology, advanced by the 10th century author Al-Biruni is that the word, as 'Sufiya', is linked with Sophia, the Greek term for "wisdom" - although for various reasons this derivation is not accepted by many at the present.
In the introduction to The Sufis, Idries Shah writes that the word Sufi has no etymology.

A few etymologies for the word Sufi (Arabic: ????, ta?awwuf - Kurdish: 'sofîtî, f' - , Sufi gari - Turkish: 'Tasavvuf') or Irfan have been suggested.

Basic beliefs
The essence of Being/Truth/God is devoid of every form and quality, and hence un-manifested, yet it is inseparable from every form and phenomenon either material or spiritual. It is often understood to imply that every phenomenon is an aspect of Truth and at the same time attribution of existence to it is false. This apparent paradox of the relationship of creator and created is the basis of Sufi metaphysics. The chief aim of all Sufis then is to let go of all notions of duality, including a conception of an individual self, and to realize the Divine unity.
Sufis generally teach in personal groups, as the counsel of the master is considered necessary for the growth of the pupil. They make extensive use of parable, allegory, and metaphor, and it is held by Sufis that meaning can only be reached through a process of seeking the truth, and knowledge of oneself. Although philosophies vary among different Sufi orders, Sufism as a whole is primarily concerned with direct personal experience.

A significant part of Oriental literature comes from the Sufis, who created books of poetry containing the teachings of the Sufis. Some of the more notable examples of this poetry are the Walled Garden of Truth, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the Conference of the Birds and the Masnavi

History of Sufism

Origins
Sufism is generally believed to have originated among Muslims near Basra in modern Iraq, though there is a history of Sufism in Transoxania dating from shortly after the time of Muhammad[2]. Almost all traditional Sufi schools (or "orders") trace their "chains of transmission" back to Muhammad via his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib; the Naqshbandi order is a notable exception to this rule, as it traces its origin to caliph Abu Bakr. From their point of view, the esoteric teaching was given to those who had the capacity to contain the direct experiential gnosis of God, which was passed on from teacher to student through the centuries. Worth noting is that the original Islamic scriptures (Qur'an, tafsir Ibn Ishaq ,tafsir al-Tabari) have no mention whatsoever of Sufi traditions or practices.

Some Orientals scholars believe that Sufism was essentially the result of Islam evolving in a more mystic direction. For example According to Louis Massignon: "It is from the Quran, constantly recited, meditated, and experienced, that Sufism proceeded, in its origin and its development.

The great masters of Sufism
The Sufis dispersed throughout the Middle East, particularly in areas previously under Byzantine influence and control. This period was characterized by the practice of an apprentice (murid) placing himself under the spiritual direction of a Master (shaykh, pir or murshid).

Schools were developed, concerning themselves with topics of mystical experience, education of the heart to purify it of baser instincts, the love of God, and approaching God through progressive stages (maqaam) and states (haal). The schools were championed by reformers who felt their core values and manners were threatened, as the material prosperity of society seemed to them to be eroding the spiritual life.Uwais al-Qarni, Harrm Bin Hian, Hasan Ul-Basri and Sayid Ibn Ul Mussib are regarded as the first mystics among the "Taabi'een" in Islam. Rabia was a female Sufi and known for her love and passion for God. Junayd was among the first theorists of Sufism; he concerned himself with ‘fanaa’ and ‘baqaa’, the state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concerning worldly phenomena derived from the altitude of that perspective.

Some believe that Sufism was first formed as a belief in South Asia when Islam mixed with the Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist Cultures.[citation needed]
The Chishti order was founded by Abu Ishaq Shami ("the Syrian") who brought Sufism to the town of Chisht, now Afghanistan. The Chishti Order was first introduced in India by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (1143-1223 AD) and is the oldest known order.

Some of the Sufi orders started in India.[citation needed] Chishti Order(India)(1143-1223 AD), Suhrawardi Order (India)(1234-1335 AD), Qadriya Order (Iraq) (1430-1517 AD), Naqshbandi Order (Afghanistan)(d.1642 AD), Nimatullahi Sufi Order(Iran) (at the end of the 14th century AD), Shattari Order(India)(d.1485 AD)
edit] Formalization of philosophies of Sufism.

Al Ghazali's treatises, the "Reconstruction of Religious Sciences" and the "Alchemy of Happiness," argued that Sufism originated from the Qur'an and was thus compatible with mainstream Islamic thought and theology. It was around 1000 CE that early Sufi literature, in the form of manuals, treatises, discourses and poetry, became the source of Sufi thinking and meditations.

Propagation of Sufism
Sufism, during 1200-1500 CE, experienced an era of increased activity in various parts of the Islamic world. This period is considered as the "Classical Period" or the "Golden Age" of Sufism. Lodges and hospices soon became not only places to house Sufi students, but also places for practicing Sufis and other mystics to stay and retreat.
The propagation of Sufism started in Baghdad in Shiah majority areas, such as Iraq and Khorasan, and spread to Persia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, and Muslim Spain. There were tests of conciliation between Sufism and the other Islamic sciences (sharia, fiqh, etc.), as well as the beginning of the Sufi brotherhoods (turuq).
One of the first orders to originate was the Yasawi order, named after Khwajah Ahmed Yesevi in modern Kazakhstan. The Kubrawiya order, originating in Central Asia, was named after Najmeddin Kubra, known as the "saint-producing shaykh" , because a number of his disciples became shaykhs. [5] The most prominent Sufi master of this era is Abdul Qadir Jilani, the founder of the Qadiriyyah order in Iraq. Others included Rumi, founder of the Mevlevi order in Turkey, Sahabuddin Suharwardi in Iran, Moinuddin Chishti and Makhdoom Ashraf in India.

Sufism's role in the expansion of Islam
Sufism has some roots in the Shamanic traditions of Middle Asia, and is flexible in terms of religious materiality. These two characteristics of Sufism attracted the nomadic people of middle-western Asia (mainly the current Iranic and Turkic republics of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,India, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan). Sufism also spread quickly among the Anatolian Turkmen and among Balkan peoples of modern Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

The mystics of Khorasan like Ahmad Yasavi and Haci Bektas-i Veli were influential in the spread of Sufist Islam first in Asia Minor and then in Eastern Europe as the Selcuk Turks and Ottoman Turks extended their empires.

Sufi philosophy
Realities of The Heart:[6] Drawing from Qur'anic verses, virtually all Sufis distinguish Lataif-e-Sitta (The Six Subtleties), Nafs, Qalb, Ruh, Sirr, Khafi & Akhfa. These lataif (singular : latifa) designate various psycho spiritual "organs", or faculties of sensory perception.
Sufic development involves the awakening of these spiritual centers of perception that lie dormant in an individual. Each center is associated with a particular color and general area of the body, oftentimes with a particular prophet, and varies from order to order. The help of a guide is considered necessary to help activate these centers. After undergoing this process, the dervish is said to reach a certain type of "completion."
The person gets acquainted with the lataif one by one by Muraqaba (Sufi meditation), Dhikr (Remembrance of God) and purification of one's psyche of negative thoughts, emotions, and actions. Loving God and one's fellow, irrespective of his or her race, religion or nationality, and without consideration for any possible reward, is the key to ascension according to Sufis.

These six "organs" or faculties: Nafs, Qalb, Ruh, Sirr, Khafi & Akhfa, and the purificative activities applied to them, contain the basic orthodox Sufi philosophy. The purification of the elementary passionate nature (Tazkiya-I-Nafs), followed by cleansing of the spiritual heart so that it may acquire a mirror-like purity of reflection (Tazkiya-I-Qalb) and become the receptacle of God's love (Ishq)and illumination of the spirit (Tajjali-I-Ruh). This process is fortified by emptying of egoic drives (Taqliyya-I-Sirr) and remembrance of God's attributes (Dhikr), and completion of journey by purification of the last two faculties, Khafi and Akhfa.

Sufi cosmology
Although there is no consensus with regard to Sufi cosmology, one can disentangle at least three different cosmographies: Ishraqi visionary universe as expounded by Suhrawardi Maqtul, Neoplatonic view of cosmos cherished by Islamic philosophers like Ibn Sina and Sufis like Ibn Arabi, and Hermetic-Ptolemaic spherical geocentric world. All these doctrines (each one of them claiming to be impeccably orthodox) were freely mixed and juxtaposed, frequently with confusing results – a situation one also encounters in other esoteric doctrines.

Dhikr
Dhikr is the remembrance of God commanded in the Qur'an for all Muslims. To engage in dhikr is to have awareness of God according to Islam. Dhikr as a devotional act includes the repetition of divine names, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature, and sections of the Qur'an. More generally, any activity in which the Muslim maintains awareness of God is considered dhikr.
The practice of Muraqaba and Dhikr have very close resemblance with the practices of the Jewish mystics. Muraqaba is very similar to the Merkavah practice, which is one of the meditations used by Kabbalists to attain higher states of consciousness.
Some Sufi orders engage in ritualized dhikr ceremonies, the liturgy of which may include recitation, singing, instrumental music, dance, costumes, incense, meditation, ecstasy, and trance. (Touma 1996, p.162).

Hadhra
Main article: Hadhra
Hadhra is a form of dhikr practiced primarily in the Arab world. The word Hadhra means Presence in Arabic.

Qawwali
Qawwali is a form of devotional Sufi music common in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afganistan, Iran and Turkey. It is known for its secular strains. Some of its modern-day masters have included Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Sabri Brothers. Amir Khusro, a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, of the Chishti Order, is credited with inventing Qawwali in the 14th century.

Sama
Sama or Sema' (Arabic "listening") refers to Sufi practices which can involve music and dance (see Sufi whirling). In Uyghur culture, this includes a dance form also originally associated with Sufi ritual. See Qawwali origins and Origin and History of the Qawwali, Adam Nayyar, Lok Virsa Research Centre, Islamabad, 1988.

Khalwa
Khalwa refers to a form of retreat, once widespread but now less common. A khalwa may be prescribed by the shaykh (spiritual advisor) of the murid or talib (student). Muslims believe that most of the prophets, and also Maryam (Mary) the mother of Issa (Jesus), lived in some form of seclusion at some point in their life. Prophet Muhammad, for example, used to retreat to the cave on Mount Hira where he received his first revelation – but had been going there for many years prior to his meeting with the angel Gabriel. Similar examples include Moses' going into seclusion for 40 days in a cave in Mt. Sinai. Mary was in seclusion in the Jewish temple for a year, where only Zakariya was permitted to see her.

Sufi Poetry
Sufism has produced a large body of poetry in Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, Punjabi, Sindhi, Turkish, Pashto language and Urdu languages which notably includes the works of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, al-Hallaj, Ibn al-Farid, Hafez, Jami, Ibn Arabi, Shah Syed Muhammad Noor Baksh,Farid Ud-Din Attar, Abdul Qader Bedil, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusro, Yunus Emre, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast, Sultan Bahu, Muhammad Iqbal, Hussain Baksh Malang as well as numerous traditions of devotional dance, such as Sufi whirling, and music, such as Qawwali.

Langar
Langar is a fundamental element of Indian Sufism, especially the Chishti Order. Langar is served in the precincts of a Sufi Dergah, and is served out of a massive pot called a "Deg," and is not necessarily vegetarian. Langar is not only available for all but is actively distributed to the poor.

Orders of Sufism

Traditional orders
Kesküls (grant bowls) Bektashi dervishes. Dervishes used these bowl during begging, which was a process of overcoming personal vanity and arrogance for dervishes in Sufi culture of the time.

The traditional Sufi orders emphasise the role of Sufism within Islam. Therefore, the Sharia (traditional Islamic law) and the Sunnah (customs of the Prophet) are seen as crucial for any Sufi aspirant. Among the oldest and most well known of the Sufi orders are the Qadiri, Chisti, Oveyssi, Shadhili, Jerrahi, Ashrafi,Bektashi , Nimatullahi and Mevlevi. One proof traditional orders assert is that almost all the famous Sufi masters of the past Caliphates were also experts in Sharia and were renowned as people with great Iman (faith) and excellent practice. Many were also Qadis (Sharia law judges) in courts. They held that Sufism was never distinct from Islam and to fully comprehend and practice Sufism one must be a practicing Muslim obeying the Sharia

Traditional Islamic schools of thought and Sufism
Islam traditionally consists of a number of groups. The two main divisions are the Sunnis and the Shia. Shia and Sunni Islam consist of a number of schools of legal jurisprudence (called Madhabs). Sufis do not define Sufism as a madhhab — what distinguishes a person as a Sufi is practicing Sufism, usually through association with a Sufi order. In this sense, traditional practitioners of Sufism don't see it as an exclusive group but just as a form of training necessary to cultivate spirituality and Ihsan in their lives.

W. Chittick explains the position of Sufism and Sufis this way:In short, Muslim scholars who focused their energies on understanding the normative guidelines for the body came to be known as jurists, and those who held that the most important task was to train the mind in achieving correct understanding came to be divided into three main schools of thought: theology, philosophy, and Sufism. This leaves us with the third domain of human existence, the spirit. Most Muslims who devoted their major efforts to developing the spiritual dimensions of the human person came to be known as Sufis.

The relationship between traditional Islamic scholars and Sufism is complicated due to the variety views held among them. Many traditional scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, helped its propogation while there are also many traditional scholars such as Ibn
Taymiyyah who opposed it as an innovation

Sulook in relation to Islam and Sufism

The term Suluk (pronounced: Sulook) when related to Islam and Sufism means to walk a (spiritual) path (to God). Suluk involves following both the outer path (exoterism/shariah) and the inner path (esoterism/haqiqa) of Islam virtuously. Suluk also involves being ardent (passionately eager) in the search for or please God, The Signs of God, the Ultimate Truth, understanding the self, and understanding the essential meaning of life, particularly of one's own life.

The word Sulook is derived from the Qur'anic term "Faslooki" in chapter 16, An-Nahl (The Bees), verse 69: Faslooki subula rabbiki zululan (engage in the paths of your Lord made easy [for you]). A person who is engaged in this spiritual path is called salik.

The terms Sulook and salik are usually found in relation to Sufism. The term salik is normally used for the member of a particular Sufi order or tariqah.

Tariqah
Tariqah (????? transliteration: ?ariqah; pl.: ???; ?uruq or Persian: Tarighat) means "way", "path" or method. In Sufism, it is conceptually related to Haqiqah, truth, the ineffable ideal that is the pursuit of the tradition. Thus one starts with Islamic law, the exoteric or mundane practice of Islam and then is initiated onto the mystical path of a Tariqah. Through spiritual practices and guidance of a Tariqah the aspirant seeks Haqiqa or ultimate truth.

A Tariqah is a school of Sufism
A Tariqah has a Murshid, or Guide, who plays the role of leader or spiritual director of the organization.

A Sufi Tariqah is a group of Murid (pl.: Muridin), Arabic for desirous, desiring the knowledge of knowing God and loving God (a Murid is also called a 'Faqir' or 'Fakir' (Arabic: ???? ) another Arabic word that means poor or needy, usually used as al-Faqir 'ilá Allah, English: The needy to God's knowledge.

Nearly every Tariqah is named after its founder, and when the order is referred to as a noun -yah is usually added to a part of the founder's name. For example the "Rifai order," named after Shaykh `Ahmed er Rifai, is called the "Rifaiyyah", the "Qadiri order," named after Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, is called the "Qadiriyyah". Often Tariqahs are offshoots of other Tariqahs, for example, the Jelveti order is an offshoot of the Bayrami order founded by Hajji Bayram in Ankara who are an offshoot of the zahidiyye founded by Pir Zahid al-Gaylani in Iran. The Khalwati order are a particularly splintered order with numerous offshoots such as the Jerrahi, Sunbuli, Nasuhi, Karabashiyyah and others, the Tijaniyyah order prevalent in West Africa also has its roots in this Tariqa.

In most cases the shaykh nominates his 'khalifah' or successor during his lifetime, who will take over the order. In rare cases, if the shaykh dies without naming a khalifah, the students of the Tariqah elect another spiritual leader through a vote. In some orders, it is recommended to take a khalifah from the same order as their Murshid. In some groups it is customary for the khalifah to be the son of the shaykh, although in other groups the khalifah and the shaykh are not normally relatives. In yet other orders, a successor may be identified through the spiritual dreams of its members.

Tariqahs have a Silsilah (Arabic: meaning chain or, more idiomatically, a lineage of various Shaykhs that eventually leads back to Muhammad. Almost all order except the Naqshbandi order has a Silsilah that leads back to Muhammad through `Ali. (The Naqshbandi Silsilah goes back to Abu Bakr the first Caliph of Sunni Islam and then Muhammad.

Notes Sources:

1. Reference Books Tareeq-E-Farishta - Qaseem Farishta
'2. Different Sources - Antiue Urdu Sufi Litrature
3. Hand Written Books in early Deccani Urdu, Persian and Arabic Languages