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Atariqa (Arabic:طريقة,romanized: ṭarīqa) is areligious order ofSufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seekinghaqiqa, which translates as "ultimate truth".[1]
A tariqa has amurshid (guide) who plays the role of leader or spiritual director. The members or followers of a tariqa are known asmuridin (singularmurid), meaning "desirous", viz. "desiring the knowledge ofGod and loving God" (also called afaqir).The murshid of the tariqa is also believed to be the same as thetzadik of Judaism, meaning the "rightly guided one".
The metaphor of "way, path" is to be understood in connection of the term sharia which also hasthe meaning of "path", more specifically "well-trodden path; path to the waterhole". The "path" metaphor oftariqa is that of a further path, taken by the mystic, which continues from the "well-trodden path" or exoteric of sharia towards the esoterichaqiqa. A fourth "station" following the succession ofshariah,tariqa andhaqiqa is calledmarifa. This is the "unseen center" ofhaqiqa, and the ultimate aim of the mystic, corresponding to theunio mystica in Western mysticism.Tasawwuf, an Arabic word that refers to Islamic mysticism, is known in the West as Sufism.
The most popular tariqa in the West is theMevlevi Order, named afterJalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. In the same time theBektashi Order was also founded, named after theHaji Bektash Veli. The four most significant tariqas in South Asia are theQadiri Order, named afterAbdul Qadir Jilani, theChishti Order, named afterAbu Ishaq Shami Chishti, theNaqshbandi Order, named afterBaha al-Din Shah Naqshband, TheRishi order founded byNund Rishi in Kashmir and theSuhrawardi Order, named afterShihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi.[2] theBurhaniyya becoming popular within the people of Pakistan & India. Large tariqats in Africa includeMuridiyya,Rifa'iyya andTijaniyya. Sufi orders can have sub-orders within them, such as the Ashrafiyya, named after the 13th century illustrious Sufi saintAshraf Jahangir Semnani[3] is a sub-order of Chishti spiritual lineage, theMaizbhandariyya,[4] which is a Sufi sub-order established in the Bangladesh in the 19th century by the Shah Sufi Syed Ahmadullah Maizbhandari (1826 AD − 1906 AD), 27th generation descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and the Warisi sub-order, which was founded byWaris Ali Shah.[5][6]
Membership in a particular Sufi order is not exclusive, unlike the Christian monastic orders which are demarcated by firm lines of authority and sacrament. Sufis often are members of various Sufi orders.[citation needed] The non-exclusiveness of Sufi orders has consequences for the social extension of Sufism. They cannot be regarded as indulging in a zero sum competition which a purely political analysis might have suggested. Rather, their joint effect is to impart to Sufism a cumulant body of tradition, rather than individual and isolated experiences.[7]
In most cases thesheikh nominates hiskhalifa or "successor"[8] during his lifetime, who will take over the order. In rare cases, if the sheikh dies without naming akhalifa, the students of the tariqa elect another spiritual leader by vote. In some orders it is recommended to take aKhalif from the same order as themurshid. In some groups it is customary for the khalifa to be the son of the sheikh, although in other groups the khalīfa and the sheikh are not normally relatives. In yet other orders a successor may be identified through the spiritual dreams of its members.
Tariqas havesilsilas (Arabic:سلسلة; "chain, lineage of sheikhs"). All orders claim asilsila that leads back to Muhammad throughAli,[9] except theNaqshbandi silsila, which traces its roots toAbu Bakr, the firstCaliph ofSunni Islam.[10]
EveryMurid, on entering the tariqa, gets hisawrad, or daily recitations, authorized by hismurshid (usually to be recited before or after the pre-dawn prayer, after the afternoon prayer and after the evening prayer). Usually these recitations are extensive and time-consuming (for example theawrad may consist of reciting a certain formula 99, 500 or even 1000 times). One must also be in a state of ritual purity (as one is for the obligatory prayers to perform them while facingMecca). The recitations change as a student (murid) moves from a mere initiate to other Sufi degrees (usually requiring additional initiations). The Initiation ceremony is routine and consists of reading chapter 1 of theQuran followed by a single phrase prayer. Criteria have to be met to be promoted in rank: the common way is to repeat a single phrase prayer 82,000 times or more as in the case ofBurhaniyya, a number that grows with each achieved rank. Murids who experience unusual interaction during meditation: hear voices like "would you like to see a prophet?" or see visions who might even communicate with the Murid are held dear in the "Haḍra", the weekly group-chanting of prayers in attempt of reaching spirits as they are likely to experience something unusual and pass it on. This Murid is promoted faster than others. The least common way is to cause a miracle to happen with criteria similar to that of Catholic Sainthood.
Being mostly followers of the spiritual traditions of Islam loosely referred to as Sufism, these groups were sometimes distinct from theUlma or officially mandated scholars, and often acted as informal missionaries of Islam. They provided accepted avenues for emotional expressions of faith, and the Tariqas spread to all corners of the Muslim world, and often exercised a degree of political influence inordinate to their size (take for example the influence that the sheikhs of theSafavid had over the armies ofTamerlane, or the missionary work ofAli-Shir Nava'i inTurkistan among theMongol andTatar people).
The tariqas were particularly influential in thespread of Islam in the sub-Sahara during the 9th to 14th centuries, where they spread south along trade routes between North Africa and the sub-Saharan kingdoms ofGhana andMali. On the West African coast they set up Zawiyas on the shores of the river Niger and even established independent kingdoms such asal-Murabitun orAlmoravids. The Al Hakika Mizaan Mizaani Sufi order deals with heavy internalization and meditations, their spiritual practice is called Al Qudra Mizaan. TheSanusi order was also highly involved in missionary work in Africa during the 19th century, spreading both Islam and a high level of literacy into Africa as far south as Lake Chad and beyond by setting up a network ofzawiyas where Islam was taught.
Much ofCentral Asia and southern Russia was won over to Islam through the missionary work of the Tarīqahs, and the majority ofIndonesia's population, where a Muslim army never set foot, was converted to Islam by the perseverance of both Muslim traders and Sufi missionaries.Sufism in India played a similarly crucial role in the diffusion of Islam at the élite and popular levels; itsmusic,art, andpoetry flourished in a highly sophisticatedPersianate society.
Tariqas were brought to China in the 17th century byMa Laichi and other Chinese Sufis who had studied inMecca andYemen, and had also been influenced by spiritual descendants of theKashgarian Sufi masterAfaq Khoja. On the Chinese soil the institutions became known asmenhuan, and are typically headquartered near the tombs (gongbei) of their founders.[11]
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