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(Arabic: الْتَّصَوُّف "sect"; personal noun: صُوفِيّ ṣūfiyy/ṣūfī, مُتَصَوّف mutaṣawwuf), which is often defined as "Islamic mysticism",[2] "the inward dimension of Islam",[3][4] or "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam",[5][6] is a mystical trend in Islam "characterized ... [by particular] values, ritual practices, doctrines and institutions"[7] which began very early in Islamic history[5] and represented "the main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization of" mystical practice in Islam.[8]
Practitioners of Sufism have been referred to as "Sufis" (Arabic plurals: صُوفِيَّة ṣūfiyyah; صُوفِيُّون ṣūfiyyūn; مُتَصَوُّفََة mutaṣawwufah; مُتَصَوُّفُون mutaṣawwufūn), an Arabic word which is believed by historians to have originally indicated the "woollen clothes (ṣūf) or rough garb" worn by the early Islamic mystics.[5] Historically, they have often belonged to different ṭuruq or "orders"-congregations formed around a grand master referred to as a mawla who traces a direct chain of teachers back to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.[9] These orders meet for spiritual sessions (majalis) in meeting places known as zawiyas, khanqahs, or tekke.[10] They strive for ihsan (perfection of worship) as detailed in a hadith: "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him; if you can't see Him, surely He sees you."[11] Rumi stated: "The Sufi is hanging on to Muhammad, like Abu Bakr."[12] Sufis regard Muhammad as al-Insān al-Kāmil, the primary perfect man who exemplifies the morality of God,[13] and regard Muhammad as their leader and prime spiritual guide.
All Sufi orders trace many of their original precepts from Muhammad through his son-in-law Ali with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi, who claim to trace their origins from Muhammad through the first Rashid Caliph, Abu Bakr.[14] Although the overwhelming majority of Sufis, both pre-modern and modern, were and are adherents of Sunni Islam, there also developed certain strands of Sufi practice within the ambit of Shia Islam during the late medieval period.[5] Most of them follow one of the four madhhabs (jurisprudential schools of thought) of Sunni Islam and maintain a Sunni aqidah (creed).[15]
Sufis were characterized by their asceticism, especially by their attachment to dhikr, the practice of remembrance of God, often performed after prayers.[16] They gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)[17] and have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, originally expressing their beliefs in Arabic before spreading into Persian, Turkish, and Urdu among dozens of other languages.[18] According to William Chittick, "In a broad sense, Sufism can be described as the interiorization, and intensification of Islamic faith and practice."[19]