Dervish

For other uses, see Dervish (disambiguation).
Dervish with a lion and a tiger, Mughal painting, c. 1650
Ottoman Dervish portrayed by Amedeo Preziosi, c. 1860s, Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României
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Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from Persian: درویش, romanized: Darvīsh)[1] in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (tariqah),[2][3][4] or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty.[2][4][5] The latter usage is found particularly in Persian and Turkish (derviş) as well as in Tamazight (Aderwic), corresponding to the Arabic term faqīr.[2][4] Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (nafs) to reach God. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God.[3] Their most popular practice is Sama, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic Rumi. In folklore and with adherents of Sufism, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles and ascribed supernatural powers.[6] Historically, the term Dervish has also been used more loosely, as the designation of various Islamic political movements or military entities.

  1. ^ "Dervish – Definition and More from the FreeMerriam – Webster Dictionary". M-w.com. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  2. ^ a b c Ebrahim, Alireza; Hirtenstein, Stephen (2017). "Darwīsh (Dervish)". In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Encyclopaedia Islamica. Translated by Brown, Keven. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_035987. ISSN 1875-9823.
  3. ^ a b Dervish, Encyclopædia Britannica, Dervish, Arabic darwīsh, any member of a Ṣūfī (Muslim mystic) fraternity, or tariqa.
  4. ^ a b c MacDonald, D. B. (1965). "Darwīs̲h̲". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1731. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  5. ^ Mansour Shaki; Hamid Algar (2011). "DARVĪŠ". Encyclopædia Iranica. Iranicaonline.org.
  6. ^ Frederick William Hasluck Christianity and Islam Under the Sultans, Band 1 Clarendon Press 1929 p. 281