The Whirling Dervishes: Being an Account of the Sufi Order Known as the Mevlevis and Its Founder the Poet and Mystic Mevlana

by Shems Friedlander

Book Overview

Sufism is the esoteric aspect of Islam. Its purpose is to convey direct knowledge of the eternal. The Sufis impart knowledge through lineages that go back to the Prophet Muhammud. In these various Sufi orders, the zikr, the repetition of "la illaha illa'llah" (There is no God but God), is part of initiation ceremonies. In fact, the method of the Sufis is zikr, and the manner in which zikr is performed is the essential difference among the various...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791411567
• ISBN13: 9780791411568
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"