Sufism

The mystical heart of Islam, seeking direct nearness to God through love.

c. 8th c. CE → · The Muslim world · Abrahamic

Sufism is the inward, mystical dimension of Islam, aiming to purify the heart and draw near to God through love, remembrance (dhikr), and the guidance of a master. Expressed in the poetry of Rumi and the theology of al-Ghazali, and in orders famed for whirling and song, it carried Islam deep into Asia and Africa and shaped its devotional life — while also informing the milieu in which Sikhism arose.

Key figures

• Rumi, al-Ghazali
• The Sufi masters (shaykhs)

Texts

• Mystical poetry & treatises

Beliefs

• Direct experience of God’s love
• Purifying the heart (the inner path)
• Annihilation of the self in the divine

Rituals

• Dhikr — remembrance of God
• Whirling and sacred music
• Discipleship under a master

Grew from

• Islam

Connections in the atlas

• Amadou Bamba
• Shams al-Maʿārif (Sun of Knowledge)
• Konya and the tomb of Rumi
• The travels of Ibn Battuta
• Rub el Hizb
• The Kurds
• Islamic astrology
• Jinn
• ▶ Islam’s two branches
• Ecstatic trance and spirit possession (ritual)
• Prayer beads
• Sunni Islam