1. The Sufi wishes to be burned by God.
There are three ways to experience a flame. One may be told about the flame, one may observe the flame with their own eyes, and one may reach out to touch the flame and be burned.
The Sufi wishes to be burned by God.

2. History of Sufism Basic Beliefs Basic History Notable Sufis
Sufis in India
Sufi Practices & Philosophy

3. Basic Beliefs Communication w/god via asceticism
Divine love, union w/god, spiritual guide
Expanding the mystic ideas of the Quran
Duality vs. divine unity/single reality (Tawheed)

4. History of Sufism Began in 8th century No single founder
AKA Sofiti, Tasawuuf, Sufigari, Irfan
Tariqas
1000 CE – Sufi Literature
CE – “Golden Age”

5. Notable Sufis Ali ibn Abi Talib (599-661) Hasan al-Basri (642-737)
Rabia al-Adawiyya ( )
Bayazid Bastami ( )
Rumi ( )

6. Sufis in India 4 Orders Chistiyya Naqshabandiyya Qadiriyya
From Afghanistan in 1195
Absorbed ideas from Hindu Bhaktis
Naqshabandiyya
From Turkistan abt. 1370
Rigid adherence to Shariah
Qadiriyya
Popular in South India
Suharabardiyya
From Multan
Popular in Bengal

7. Sufi Practices Dhikr/Zikr: maintaining awareness of God
Repetition of divine names, sections of the Quran
Dhikr beads (tasbih) – usually 100 beads
Hadrah – ritualized Dhikr ceremony
Sema: ceremonies involving prayer, song, dance
“Whirling dervishes”
Mevlevi Sufi tradition

8. Sufi Practices (cont’d)
Muraqaba: meditation
Gnosis of Self
Ghanood, Adraak, Warood
Gnosis of Universe
Kashaf, Shahood, Fatah
Gnosis of the Creator
Fanaa, Sair Illallah, Fana Fillah
Baqaa Billah

9. Sufi Philosophy Ihsan – responsibility to obtain perfection in worship
Lataif-e-Sitta – faculties of sensory/supersensory perception
Noor – light. Binds being to knowledge
Maqaam – developmental level
Haal – elevated state of consciousness

10. References
Denny, Frederick M. An Introduction to Islam. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1994.