Clergy Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Sufism=== The spiritual guidance function known in many Christian denominations as "pastoral care" is fulfilled for many Muslims by a ''murshid'' ("guide"), a master of the spiritual sciences and disciplines known as ''tasawuf'' or [[Sufism]]. Sufi guides are commonly styled ''Shaikh'' in both speaking and writing; in North Africa they are sometimes called ''[[marabout]]s''. They are traditionally appointed by their predecessors, in an unbroken teaching lineage reaching back to [[Muhammad]]. (The lineal succession of guides bears a superficial similarity to Christian ordination and apostolic succession, or to Buddhist dharma transmission; but a Sufi guide is regarded primarily as a specialized teacher and Islam denies the existence of an earthly hierarchy among believers.) Muslims who wish to learn Sufism dedicate themselves to a ''murshid'''s guidance by taking an oath called a ''[[Bay'ah|bai'ah]]''. The aspirant is then known as a ''murid'' ("disciple" or "follower"). A ''murid'' who takes on special disciplines under the guide's instruction, ranging from an intensive spiritual retreat to voluntary poverty and homelessness, is sometimes known as a [[dervish]]. During the [[Islamic Golden Age]], it was common for scholars to attain recognized mastery of both the "exterior sciences" ''(`ulum az-zahir)'' of the madrasahs as well as the "interior sciences" ''(`ulum al-batin)'' of Sufism. [[Al-Ghazali]] and [[Rumi]] are two notable examples. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page