Sufi orders (Arabic: طرق صوفيةṭuruq ṣūfiyya, singular: طريقةṭarīqa) are organized spiritual lineages within the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism. Each order traces its teachings through a chain of transmission (silsila) leading back to the Prophet Muhammad from early Muslim ascetics and reaching to companions of Prophet mainlyAbu Bakr andAli ibn Abi Talib.[1] While Sufi practice originated in the ascetic circles in 2nd–3rd centuries AH, formalized Sufi orders with defined institutional structures appeared gradually between the 5th and 7th centuries AH.[2]
Sufi orders developed distinct devotional practices, liturgical forms such asdhikr, rules of spiritual training, and regional identities. Over time, they spread across the Middle East, Persia, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Anatolia, and the Balkans, forming some of the most influential religious and social networks in Muslim societies.[3] This article lists major Sufi orders arranged by historical period, geography, and recognized sub-branches.
The origins of Sufism lie in early Islamic asceticism (zuhd) and spiritual teaching circles active in the 2nd–4th centuries AH (8th–10th centuries CE). Early figures such as Hasan al-Basri, Rābi‘a al-‘Adawiyya, Sahl al-Tustarī, Junayd of Baghdad, and Abū Yazīd al-Bistāmī articulated the vocabulary, ethical ideals, and metaphysical concepts that shaped later Sufi thought, though they did not establish “orders” in an institutional sense.[4]
By the 5th–6th centuries AH, Sufi authors such as al-Qushayrī and al-Hujwīrī systematized Sufi doctrine, and khānqāhs, ribāṭs, and zawiyas emerged as centers for spiritual instruction.[5] During this period, recognizable orders began to develop around charismatic teachers, such as ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (Qādiriyya), Abū al-Najīb al-Suhrawardī (Suhrawardiyya), and Ahmad Yasavī (Yasaviyya).[6]
Between the 7th and 10th centuries AH, Sufi orders expanded widely through missionary activity, trade networks, and royal patronage, producing transregional movements such as the Naqshbandiyya, Shādhiliyya, Chishtiyya, and Khalwatiyya.[7] In the 12th–14th centuries AH, new orders such as the Tijaniyya, Sanūsiyya, Darqāwiyya, and ‘Alawiyya appeared, often responding to colonialism, reformist debates, and social developments.[8]
Early influential Sufis (before the emergence of orders)
