Sufism is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism.
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya is a Sufi order that originated in Konya, Turkey and which was founded by the followers of Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Sufi mystic, and theologian. The Mevlevis are also known as the "whirling dervishes" due to their famous practice of whirling while performing dhikr. Dervish is a common term for an initiate of the Sufi path; whirling is part of the formal sema ceremony and the participants are properly known as semazens.
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (tariqah), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persian and Turkish (derviş) as well as in Tamazight (Aderwic), corresponding to the Arabic term faqīr. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (nafs) to reach God. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most popular practice is Sama, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic Rumi. In folklore and with adherents of Sufism, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles and ascribed supernatural powers. Historically, the term Dervish has also been used more loosely, as the designation of various Islamic political movements or military entities.
Sufi whirling is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa'i-Marufi. It is a customary meditation practice performed within the sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes aim to reach greater connection with Allah. This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, ego or personal desires, by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the Sun.
The Khalwati order is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (tariqa). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. The order takes its name from the Arabic word khalwa, meaning “method of withdrawal or isolation from the world for mystical purposes.”
The Jerrahi are a Sufi tariqah (order) derived from the Halveti order. Their founder is Hazreti Pîr Muhammad Nureddin al-Jerrahi (1678-1720), who lived in Istanbul and is buried at the site of his tekke in Karagümrük, Istanbul. Nureddin was a direct descendant of Muhammad both from his mother and father. During the Late Ottoman period, the Order was widespread throughout the Balkans, particularly Macedonia and southern Greece (Morea). The Jerrahi Order of Dervishes is a cultural, educational, and social relief organization with members from diverse professional, ethnic and national backgrounds.
The Qadiriyya or the Qadiri order is a Sufi mystic order (tariqa) founded by followers of Shaiykh Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani Al-Hassani, who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order is known for exaggerating love for Abdul Qadir Gilani including seeking aid from him as an intercessor.
Lex Hixon was an American Sufi author, poet, and spiritual teacher. He practiced and held membership in several religious traditions. He believed that all religions are true, which was sparked by his study of the life and teachings of Ramakrishna.
The Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order, also known as the Jerrahi Sufi Order, is a Sufi order based in New York City and Mexico City. Founded by Muhammad Nur al-Din al-Jerrahi, in Turkey in the 1700s, it is led by American Sufis Lex Hixon and Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi after they received initiation from their spiritual guide Muzaffer Ozak Ashki al-Jerrahi, the Grand Sheikh of the Jerrahi Order from 1966 until his passing in 1985. Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak was the 19th successor of the founder, Muhammad Nur al-Din.
The Sunbuliye is a branch of the Halveti order, founded by Sunbul Sinan Efendi, more commonly known in Turkey as 'Sunbul Effendi'. Sunbul Effendi was born in 1464 or between 1475 and 1480 in Merzifon, Turkey. He became a dervish with Shaikh Muhammed Jemaleddin al-Khalwati of the Halveti order at the Koja Mustafa Pasha Dergah/Mosque in Istanbul.
Robert Frager is an American social psychologist responsible for establishing America's first educational institution dedicated to transpersonal psychology. Frager is known for founding the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, now called Sofia University, in Palo Alto, California, where he currently holds the position of director of the low residency Master of Arts in Spiritual Guidance program and professor of psychology. Frager has previously acted as president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology as well as a consultant, educator and a spiritual teacher in the Sufi tradition.
Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti was an author, artist, translator and Sufi. He served as a government official in Ankara, Honorary Consul of Turkey in Morocco and was the Sheikh of the Jerrahi Order in America. He died on February 15, 2018.
Cihan Kaan is a musician, filmmaker and author from the United Kingdom, who resides in New York. His career began as a musician, releasing and recording electronic music under the alias of 8Bit.
İsmail Hakkı Bursevî was a 17th-century Ottoman Turkish Muslim scholar, a Jelveti Sufi author on mystical experience and the esoteric interpretation of the Quran; also a poet and musical composer. İsmail Hakkı Bursevî influenced many parts the Ottoman Empire but primarily Turkey. To this day he is revered as one of the Büyükler, the great saints of Anatolia.
Sheikh Mustafa Devati Efendi aka Devâtî Mustafa Efendi, was a Jelveti sheikh of the 17th century Ottoman Empire. He was the son of Arslan Ağa. Since his youth he worked as a scribe and was hence given the name Devâtî.
Sufism in Bangladesh is more or less similar to that in the whole Indian subcontinent. India, it is claimed, is one of the five great centers of Sufism, the other four being Persia, Baghdad, Syria, and North Africa. Sufi saints flourished in Hindustan (India) preaching the mystic teachings of Sufism that easily reached the common people, especially the spiritual truth seekers in India. Sufism in Bangladesh is also called pirism, after the pirs or teachers in the Sufi tradition.
Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi is an American art curator and co-founder of the Dia Art Foundation. She is also the spiritual guide and current Sheikha of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in New York City.
Shems Friedlander was an American Islamic scholar, Sufi master, visual artist, filmmaker, author and an emeritus professor of practice at the American University in Cairo. He was best known for his works on mystical traditions of Islam, especially the Mevlevi Sufi tradition founded after the name of Mevlana Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī.
Hayreddin Tokadi or Tokadi Hayreddin, an Ottoman Islamic scholar (alim) and saint (wali) of the widespread Khalwati sufi order (tariqa) buried in Bolu.
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