SUFISM

Sufi Whirling and its Impact in Sufism

Sufi Whirling and its Impact in Sufism

Introduction

Sufi whirling is a form of Sama which originated among Sufis. It is a worship ceremony in which performers spin their bodies while listening to music, in an aim to focus on God. This essay will state the inner meaning, which is focusing on God, of the Sufi whirling through analyzing the ritual's movement, symbols and mood.

Sufi whirling is a ritual performed by dervishes, as it is originated among Sufis. They are usually performed inside or outside temples. Performers wear semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke), a white shirt and skirt. The skirt is made of billowing material that flows out and around the dancer as they spin. The Sufis primary forms of worship involve the five pillars and the remembrance of God (Dhikr) through recitation of the many names of God. Sufis believe in order to attain full purification on the soul one must follow the perfect model of the Prophet Muhammad.(Friedlander,Pp.15,1992)

The textual sources were the Quran and a secondary was the Hadith which reflected the sayings and doings of the profit Mohammed. There were two types of Sufis- the Elite dressed in formal attire, educated for they wrote the texts, wealthy, closer to the kings, the orthodox Muslims. A Sufi order is a teaching genealogical lineage and most orders were identified on the basis of the founder's name i.e. eponymous. Most were also identified with a particular region. The Chishti order is one such which is identified by its lineage in the place not far from Herat in Khurasan (present day Afghanistan) called Chisht (Schimmel, Pp.25,2001).

Sufis go beyond the norm to reach a level of inner knowledge and spirituality. Sufis pray the five mandatory prayers and also pray five extra prayers in between those. These are referred to as the supererogatory prayers, which are prayed in the morning, mid morning, early afternoon, between sunset and evening, and late midnight. Sufis feel that by fasting throughout the whole year, like the Prophet Muhammad did, one can attain inner purification of the heart and soul.

Sufis practice fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, due to the fact that the Prophet fasted on these days. They feel fasting these extra days that the Prophet did, brings them to a higher level of spirituality and brings them closer to God. Sufis feel that fasting extra days reminds them year round to eliminate the thought of material things and diminishes illicit thoughts and focuses on cleansing of one's inner self. Sufis focus on attempting to reach higher levels of faith (iman) by also performing what is known as Dhikr, or remembrance of God through recitation of the many names. "The most important class of Sufi practices involves recitation of divine names as a kind of meditation" ( David,2003). The divine names of God are recited again and again, either in solitude silently or aloud, or in company silently or aloud.

Discussion

Impact of Sufi Whirling

The underlying aspects of Sufi practices deal primarily with ...