Editing Sufism (section)

===Sufi orders===
{{main|Tariqa|List of Sufi orders}}
Historically, Sufis have often belonged to "orders" known as {{transliteration|ar|[[tariqa]]}} (pl. {{transliteration|ar|[[tariqa|ṭuruq]]}}) – congregations formed around a grand master {{transliteration|ar|[[wali]]}} who will trace their teaching through a [[Silsilah|chain of successive teachers]] back to the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]].<ref name="Tariqa"/>

{{blockquote|Within the Sufi tradition, the formation of the orders did not immediately produce lineages of master and disciple. There are few examples before the eleventh century of complete lineages going back to the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the symbolic importance of these lineages was immense: they provided a channel to divine authority through master-disciple chains. It was through such chains of masters and disciples that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to both general and special devotees.<ref>Carl W. Ernst, Bruce B. Lawrence, ''Sufi Martyrs of Love: The Chishti Order in South Asia and Beyond'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, p. 22, {{ISBN|1403960275}}, 9781403960276</ref>}}

These orders meet for spiritual sessions ({{transliteration|ar|[[majalis]]}}) in meeting places known as {{transliteration|ar|[[Zawiya (institution)|zawiyas]]}}, {{transliteration|ar|[[khanqah]]s}} or {{transliteration|ar|tekke}}.{{sfn|Glassé|2008|p= 499}}

They strive for {{transliteration|ar|[[ihsan]]}} (perfection of worship), as detailed in a {{transliteration|ar|[[hadith]]}}: "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him; if you can't see Him, surely He sees you."<ref>{{cite book|last= Bin Jamil Zeno|first= Muhammad|title= The Pillars of Islam & Iman |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=u-bNf9xCULsC&pg=PA19 |year= 1996|publisher= Darussalam|isbn= 978-9960-897-12-7|pages= 19–}}</ref> Sufis [[Muhammad in Islam|regard Muhammad]] as {{transliteration|ar|[[al-Insān al-Kāmil]]}}, the complete human who personifies the [[Names of God in Islam|attributes]] of [[God|Absolute Reality]],{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p= 446}} and view him as their ultimate spiritual guide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barelvi|url=http://www.shattariyah.blogspot.com/p/barelvi.html}}</ref>

Sufi orders trace most of their original precepts from Muhammad through [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=ʿAlī – Shiʿism, Sufism, and the chivalric orders|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ali-Muslim-caliph|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher= Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> with the notable exception of the [[Naqshbandi]] order, who trace their original precepts to Muhammad through [[Abu Bakr]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition|last=Kabbani|first=Muhammad Hisham|publisher=Islamic Supreme Council of America|year=2004|isbn=978-1-930409-23-1|page=557|author-link=Hisham Kabbani}}</ref> However, it was not necessary to formally belong to a tariqa.<ref>Dagli,&nbsp;C., Ayduz,&nbsp;S.&nbsp;(2014). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam. Vereinigtes Königreich: Oxford University Press. p. 267</ref> In the Medieval period, Sufism was almost equal to Islam in general and not limited to specific orders.<ref name="Peacock">{{Cite book |first1=A.C.S.|last1=Peacock|title=Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia|publisher= Cambridge University Press| date=2019|doi= 10.1017/9781108582124|isbn=9781108582124|s2cid=211657444}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=24}}

Sufism had a long history already before the subsequent institutionalization of Sufi teachings into devotional orders (''tariqa'', pl. ''tarîqât'') in the early Middle Ages.<ref name=Trimingham>{{cite book|first=J. Spencer|last=Trimingham|date= 1998|title=The Sufi Orders in Islam|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-512058-5}}</ref> The term ''tariqa'' is used for a school or order of Sufism, or especially for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking [[haqiqa|ḥaqīqah]] (ultimate truth). A tariqa has a [[murshid]] (guide) who plays the role of leader or spiritual director. The members or followers of a tariqa are known as ''[[Murid|murīdīn]]'' (singular ''murīd''), meaning "desirous", viz. "desiring the knowledge of knowing God and loving God".<ref>{{cite thesis|type=Dissertation (Master of Science in Religion)|author=Mário Alves da Silva Filho|url= http://www.ibeipr.com.br/conteudo/academicos/misticaislamica.pdf|title=A Mística Islâmica em ''Terræ Brasilis'': o Sufismo e as Ordens Sufis em São Paulo|language=pt|trans-title=Islamic Mystique in Terræ Brasilis: Sufism and Sufi Orders in São Paulo|location=São Paulo|publisher=PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DE SÃO PAULO PUC/SP|date=2012|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150414212630/http://www.ibeipr.com.br/conteudo/academicos/misticaislamica.pdf|archive-date=2015-04-14}}</ref>

Over the years, Sufi orders have influenced and been adopted by various Shi'i movements, especially [[Isma'ilism]], which led to the [[Safaviyya]] order's conversion to Shia Islam from Sunni Islam and the spread of [[Twelver]]ism throughout Iran.<ref>Daftary |Farhad |2013 |A History of Shi'i Islam |New York NY |I.B. Tauris and Co ltd. |page 28 |{{ISBN|9780300035315}} |4/8/2015</ref>