Female Sufis Research Articles

Konsep Mahabbah Kepada Allah

In the journey of life, humans need guidelines or foundations, such as religion or beliefs that recognize the existence of divine power. Every day, individuals are faced with the task of maintaining, improving and increasing the quality of faith and devotion to the Creator. To achieve this, several paths can be taken, one of which is through the world of Sufism or known as the mystical world. In pursuit of attainment in the mystical world, methods such as meditation or spiritual practice can be applied. The peak of experience in the mystical world is mahabbah or divine love, which is the highest level on the journey to Allah. In this article, the author investigates the theory of Divine love (mahabbah) from a female Sufi figure, Rabi'ah Adawiyah, who first expressed her affection for the Creator. This research adopts a library research approach. The approach method applied involves historical and philosophical dimensions. Data collection was carried out through documentation methods, and analysis was carried out using descriptive analysis methods. According to Rabi'ah, love is defined as a feeling of selfless love and without expecting reward or legal release in return. The focus is on the fulfillment of God's will and its perfection.

Zühd Döneminde Teşekkül Eden Korku ve Sevgi Ekollerinin Kurucusu İki Sûfî ve Zühd Anlayışlarının Mukayesesi

Zühd Döneminde Teşekkül Eden Korku ve Sevgi Ekollerinin Kurucusu İki Sûfî ve Zühd Anlayışlarının Mukayesesi

Female Sufi guides and the Murshida fatwa in Indonesian Sufism: Murshidas in a Sufi order in Lombok

Abstract This article contributes to the wider historicity of female Sufi spiritual guides by engaging Indonesian examples about which very little have been written. While women can and do hold different levels of rank and leadership in Indonesian Sufi orders (tariqah), usually among all-female congregations, this article examines a very rare example of a woman in a public leadership position overseeing an entire tariqah network inclusive of male and female disciples. Across the Sufi world, it is not common publicly to find women in official positions of leadership as spiritual guides based on a predominant and normative, but fractious, understanding that males are authentic guides with authority to initiate disciples. Keeping with this understanding, the Indonesian national body that governs the correctness of Sufi orders has since 1959 maintained a fatwa that bans women from holding head leadership positions as spiritual guides of the highest rank known by the title Murshida, which is the female counterpart to the male Murshid. We explore the conflation of Murshid with leader and subsequently problematize it in terms of gender when the Murshida rank is not separated analytically from the male Murshid. Arguments suggest that in practice the rank and roles of a Murshida in Indonesia are diverse and culturally situated and thus take on different understandings across socio-political contexts. Further to this, the article has two major aims: one is to historicize the place of the Murshida in the broader Indonesian context through an anthropological examination of contextual meanings this rank and title carries in practice as opposed to the strict fiqh understanding (which is masculinized in the male Murshid as a Sufi order’s legitimate guide); and the other aim is to document ethnographically the contestation within a Sufi order, Hizib Nahdlatul Wathan, on the island of Lombok in eastern Indonesia which had a Murshida as its formal leader and spiritual guide from 2005 to 2019 and who continues to hold the Murshida rank together with claims to inherited sainthood.

The Crisis of Religious Identity in Sixteenth Century Central Asia: The Centrality of ʿAlidism in the Maẓhar al-ʿAjāʾib

Abstract The present study explores the centrality of ʿAlidism in the religious profile of a Sufi community active in the early sixteenth century in Mawarannahr, which was at the center of the ongoing major religio-political transformations in the aftermath of the decline of the Timurid dynasty. This community was led by a female Sufi master celebrated as Aghā-yi Buzurg (the Great Lady). The misfortunes faced by Aghā-yi Buzurg and her followers during this critical transitional period was related to her group’s upholding the Timurid-era tradition of ʿAlid devotion under the early Shibanid rule. The public proclamation of pro-ʿAlid sentiments in post-Timurid Central Asia became dangerous in the early sixteenth century when the veneration of ʿAlī and his descendants started being associated with sympathies toward the Shiʿi Safavids. It is remarkable that Aghā-yi Buzurg’s public career as a leader of the Sufi community consisting of male and female disciples was not the main factor provoking the attacks against her community, but instead, it was their admiration of ʿAlī and his descendants.

Ambivalences of Modernity in Contemporary Turkish Sufism: Cemalnur Sargut’s Affective Qur’an Community

Abstract This article engages the thought, career, and public activities of the prominent contemporary female Sufi master in Turkey, Cemalnur Sargut of the Rifaʿi order, to explore the negotiation and transformation of Sufi authority in the Turkish public sphere, permeated by the shadows of modern secular power. By examining the multiple platforms through which Cemalnur disseminates her teachings and the hermeneutic that guides her engagement with the Turkish Sufi tradition, this article offers ethnographic and theoretical insights into the encounter between the tradition of Sufism, female religious authority, and the reach and limits of modern secularity. I argue that through creative strategies of engaging the institutional and technological possibilities of the post-secular present (both in Turkey and globally), Cemalnur and her community have enabled an altogether distinct understanding of the modern—one that is not readily available for liberal secular conceptualization.

Sufis And Women: The Study of Women’s Sufis In The Western World

The lack of records about the involvement and contribution of women in Sufism texts cannot be used as an excuse that women have a small role and position in the development and dissemination of Sufism teachings, doctrines, and practices. Of the two female Sufi names, namely Rabi’ah and Aishah al-Ba’uniyyah, two big names prove that women have equal opportunities in achieving spiritual knowledge. Therefore, the writer is interested in female Sufis, especially in Western countries, where so far, many writers have focused on female Sufis in the eastern world, therefore it is very interesting to study female Sufis in the Western world and to answer questions. about; Aren’t their women in the world of Sufism? Is it true that the world of Sufism belongs entirely to men only? This paper is a paper using a qualitative descriptive approach. The author uses a literature review with the data sources used in this paper are secondary data originating from the literature such as books, journals, articles, and various sources relevant to the theme of the discussion in this paper. The results of the study describe female Sufis, namely Hajjah Amina Adil and Hajjah Naziha Adil with their organization called HNCO (Hajjah Naziha Charitable Organization) engaged in philanthropy. Then another female Sufi is Nahid Angha who is known as one of the founders of the International Sufi Woman Organization, a world Sufi women’s organization. This organization is concerned with peace programs and women’s empowerment.

Philosophy of Life in Rabia

Rabia Basri, was the first female Sufi Saint of Islam, also known as Rabia al-Adawiyya. Rabia’s views are based on God's compassion, claiming and preaching that love is the only road to God. There is no clear distinction between good and bad, for it is reduced to Unity, and God is the only writer of mankind's actions. God is the one who determines man's will.. The aim of a Sufi's life is only to love God and pursue His grace and happiness, which is impossible unless the person serves humanity.

Sufis and Women: The Study of Women's Sufis in The Western World

The lack of records about the involvement and contribution of women in Sufism texts cannot be used as an excuse that women have a small role and position in the development and dissemination of Sufism teachings, doctrines and practices. So far, the well-known female Sufis, namely Rabi'ah al-Adawiyah (717-801) and Aishah al-Ba'uniyyah (c. 1456-1517), are two big names who prove that women have equal opportunities in spiritual attainment. Many researchers discuss female Sufis but focus on the eastern world and parts of India, only a few researchers have written about female Sufis in the West, therefore the authors are interested in discussing female Sufis in the West. This research is a library research. The author uses a literature review with the data sources used in this paper are secondary data originating from the literature such as books, journals, articles, and various sources that are relevant to the theme of the discussion in this paper.. The results of the study describe female Sufisin the contemporary era such as Hajjah Amina Adil and Hajjah Naziha Adil with their organizations engaged in philanthropy. Then another female Sufi is Nahid Angha who is known as one of the founders of the International Sufi Woman Organization, a world Sufi women's organization. This organization is concerned with peace programs and women's empowerment.The next female Sufi, namely Eva de Vitray in the path of Sufism, Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch or Hawwa Hanim, took allegiance to the murshid of the Qadiriyah order from Morocco, Sheikh Hamzah al-Qadiri al-Boutchichi. Eva is also connected with Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, a murshid of the Syadziliyah-Alawiyahtarekat who lives in France

Sufi dan Perempuan: Studi Gerakan Perempuan Hajjah Naziha Adil al-Haqqani

The lack of texts about the contribution of female Sufis, but there are several female Sufis who spread the doctrine and practice of Sufism, namely Rabi'ah and Aishah al-Ba'uniyyah are two big names and female Sufis who prove that women have equal opportunities in attainment of spiritual knowledge. Therefore, writers are interested in female Sufis, especially in Western countries, where so far many writers have focused on female Sufis in the eastern world, therefore it is very interesting to discuss about female Sufis in the West, namely Hajjah Naziha, a female Sufi who has a movement. philanthropy at the international level. This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach and reviews the literature such as books, journals, articles, and various sources that are relevant to the theme of the discussion in this paper. The results of the study explained that female Sufis namely Hajjah Amina Adil and Hajjah Naziha Adil with their organization called HNCO (Hajjah Naziha Charitable Organization) were involved in philanthropy. The movement has spread its wings to several countries and continues to help the community, especially those who limit the spread of COVID-19.

Sufi dan Perempuan: Studi Gerakan Perempuan Hajjah Naziha Adil al-Haqqani

The lack of texts about the contribution of female Sufis, but there are several female Sufis who spread the doctrine and practice of Sufism, namely Rabi'ah and Aishah al-Ba'uniyyah are two big names and female Sufis who prove that women have equal opportunities in attainment of spiritual knowledge. Therefore, writers are interested in female Sufis, especially in Western countries, where so far many writers have focused on female Sufis in the eastern world, therefore it is very interesting to discuss about female Sufis in the West, namely Hajjah Naziha, a female Sufi who has a movement. philanthropy at the international level. This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach and reviews the literature such as books, journals, articles, and various sources that are relevant to the theme of the discussion in this paper. The results of the study explained that female Sufis namely Hajjah Amina Adil and Hajjah Naziha Adil with their organization called HNCO (Hajjah Naziha Charitable Organization) were involved in philanthropy. The movement has spread its wings to several countries and continues to help the community, especially those who limit the spread of COVID-19.

Banu BUYUKCINGIL Cemalnur SARGUT, Beauty and Light: Mystical Discourses by a Contemporary Female Sufi Master

Banu BUYUKCINGIL Cemalnur SARGUT, Beauty and Light: Mystical Discourses by a Contemporary Female Sufi Master

GENDER ASPECTS OF SUFI PRACTICES IN KAZAKHSTAN AND ABROAD

Previously, women have played an important role in the development of Sufism. Sufi tradition recognizes the unity of being, regardless of the gender duality of the world. The recognition of this doctrine contributed to the spiritual development of women in Sufism. Sufi women play an important role in tariqah. The study of the female Sufi experience, as well as the influence that women had on the Sufi worldview and Sufi practice, is not only valuable from a cultural and historical point of view, but also helps to better understand the place and role of women in Muslim society. In this regard, the article is devoted to the role of women in modern Sufi groups in the world and in Kazakhstan. Famous women-Sufis in history, modern female Sufi organizations in the world and participation of women in modern Kazakhstani tariqas will be considered. The aim is to examine Sufi organizations through the prism of female actors. The materials of the article are based on data from open information and academic sources. Also on field research of Sufi groups in Kazakhstan and Turkey from 2016 to the current period.

Dissolving Gender Difference – Female Teachers, Male Allies and the Creation of Islamic Sufi Authority in Afghanistan

This article offers a case study of contemporary female Sufi leadership and teaching within a branch of the Qadirriyah Sufi order originating with pir Allama Faizani. Based on ethnographic participant observation and oral history interviews, it traces the development of female inclusion within spiritual practice, such as meditative zikr [lit. remembrance], and religious leadership in urban Afghanistan. Addressing the paucity of writing on Afghan women as Muslim actors, the article considers how the founding pir became a moral exemplar for gender inclusive conduct, facilitating women's participation and inspiring a community ethos of male allyship. The Faizanis legitimize women's participation through recourse to the spiritual psychophysiological organ of the heart, rendering divine connection a non-gendered endeavor that transcends social categories. In addition to the discursive erasure of gender, the community navigates restrictive environments and expectations through practical adaptations such as new cultural organizations. This article examines how women train to access, navigate and control inner states during zikr and documents how this process is interlinked with the relational establishment and creation of spiritual authority.

Perempuan dan Tasawwuf (Menakar Bias Gender dalam Kajian Sufisme)

Gender discourse in sufism tends to attract attentions. Such charm emerges due to the fact that the Sufism is originally genderless. Sufism isn't bound nor chained by gender whether it is masculinity or feminity. However, the reality displays the other way around. Therefore, the current study attempts to capture women's position in the discourse of tasawwuf. Library research is employed as the research method of this study. Although gender domination is displayed in the early academic papers of Sufism, the existance of female Sufis have been proven throughout history. In the context of Sufism, masculinity would not emerge without feminity. Such statement only proves that there is no superiority between masculinity and femininity since both display a causal relationship. The research result showed that tasawwuf is free from feminine or masculine attributes. The gender construction in tasawwuf doesn't lay on the gender of the sufi but on the degree of feminity and masculinity of their psychiatric attributes which are reflected in their behaviour and acts. In the context of sufism, masculinity, which is socially considered as something dominant, substantially has "flaw". This is because masculinity would not emerge if there's no feminity. This is a mysterious great power of feminity in Sufism discourse. In short, there is no superiority between masculinity and feminity. Both are equal and as a result of love.

Konsep Mahabbah Perspektif Abd Al-Karim Al-Qushairi

In the process of suluk in order to get to God, there are things called maqamat and ahwal. The Sufis of course have different opinions about the number and order of the maqamat itself, and sometimes they have different opinions about something that is obtained by a salik. Is it called maqam or thing? Like the mahabbah, in terms of the definition and distribution of the mahabbah itself, it is also slightly different from one Sufi figure to another. Mahabbah in the Sufi world was first introduced by a female Sufi, namely Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyah. However, in this article, the author will explore the concept of mahabbah according to al-Qushairi. One of the reasons this research is interested in al-Qushairi is that there is still no research related to al-Qushairi's thoughts on the concept of mahabbah. This research is library research. Where the literature data found were reviewed using descriptive analysis. The results of this study are that mahabbah according to al- Qushairi is the nature of God's will related to His desire to specialize a servant with closeness and a high degree. Al-Qushairi divides mahabbah into two, namely the mahabbah of Allah to His servants and the mahabbah of the servant to Allah. As one of the conditions for a salik to be able to occupy the maqam mahabbah, he is not allowed to place or pour out his mahabbah to fellow mahluqs. Because it will result in the failure of a salik to get clarity, peace, and enjoyment of his mahabbah to Allah.

SÛFÎ HİKAYELERİNDE (MENKIBELERİNDE) KADIN TASAVVURU

The sufi stories used by the sufis in public education have a considerable impact on society. The depiction of women in these stories is an important criterion for determining the perception of the sufis regarding women. At the same time, these stories shape the societies' perception of women in which they are told. The women mentioned in the sufi sagas can be historical figures whose identities are known, as well as anonymous story heroes. When the sagas are considered in general, it is seen that a positive language is used about female sufis. So much so that these ladies used very dominating statements in their dialogues with the prominent male sufis in the history of sufism and put forward their claims about taqwa and zuhd. Even, their superiority was admitted by male sufis themselves. However, in advice-oriented stories where imaginary heroines are mentioned, the woman is used as the symbol of the nafs, which represents the dark side of the human soul. Meaning is important in symbolism, and interpreting that the woman is humiliated in such stories results from the inability to grasp the logic of the symbolic language. In the Islamic sufism, the nafs is the trainable side of the person, and the evolution of the nafs is explained through heroines, as in the story of Joseph and Zuleika. In the story of Leylâ and Mecnun, the woman is depicted as a means of reaching the Divine for a person. Because the woman is also the reflection of the absolute beauty onto this realm. In addition, in line with the motto, "he who knows himself (nafs) knows his Creator", in knowing one's self, the woman must be the mediator for the man and vice versa.

SUFISM AS A GLOBAL HIGHWAY TO PEACE

Since the beginning of awareness, humans have looked for ways to search for their existence as an individual. Sufism is considered as the most accepted religious pathway to seek the realization of Allah in order to maintain the love, harmony and peace at all levels in the existing society. This research specifically aims to investigate the role of Muslim Sufis (Male and Female Sufis) regarding their role in maintaining world peace. Sufism has attempted to bring various groups of the world together so as to detail a practical expressway to peace is a significant target in these people to establish a sustainable highway for maintaining peace in existing society, which is going through an increasingly distraught times in order to maintain durable type of tranquil cooperation, humanity. It is an accepted fact that Sufism can nurture global peace, because it is an unbiased way to create a peaceful atmosphere based on tolerance, empathy and tranquility. Despite the western misconceptions Sufism is open for everyone irrespective of class, race, ethnicity, caste and creed. The essence of mysticism and the Sufi way of living is found in the love of Allah by believing in the oneness of Allah as the only supreme authority.

Female Sufi Leaders in Turkey: Signals of A New Social Pattern Emerging in Secular Side

Two sufi women take part in activities related to sufism and create an attraction point in the secular side in Turkey. The most striking point is that both women do not wear headscarves although they are muslim women. This article attempts to show how sufi women Cemalnur Sargut and Hayatnur Artiran have idealized a Muslim woman's identity, the work they are doing to achieve this ideal, their attidue toward Rebublic values, and the effects of these attitudes on their followers. This article was created from my doctoral thesis and based on Qualitative research which has been established on the basis of 2-year long participant observation and data obtained from in-depth and focus interviews. 31 women and 20 men were interviewed in depth and focus interviews. The main conclusions of my qualitative research are that the influence of theese sufi women is related with process of modernization by accelerating the establishment of the republic in Turkey. It seems that a perception has established concerning that “public apparency’’ of woman will disappear if the “apparency of body’’ disappears and the woman will return to its role which had relapsed into silence for centuries. Besides not using the headscarf, religious conversation has been created by these sufi women in the balance of religion, philosophy and science and the fact that they are conducting their works under secular institutions such as foundations and associations have also been observed to have a very important effect on secular side.

SPIRITUALITAS DAN GENDER: Sufi-Sufi Perempuan

Today there have been many studies of Sufism, but not many studies have discussed the involvement and contribution of women in the realm of Islamic mysticism in particular. This fact cannot be used as an excuse to say that Sufism, especially Islam, completely ignores the position and contribution of women. The few studies, once again, cannot be used as an excuse that women have little contribution and position in the development and spread of Sufism's teachings, doctrines and prac- tices.This paper discusses the equality of women and men not only in the conceptual level as stated in the Qur'an and Hadith. Furthermore, a number of female Sufi fig- ures such as Rabi'ah Adawiyah, Aishah al-Ba'uniyyah, Jahan Malek Khatun, Mahsati Ganjavi (Persia), Habba Khatoon, Jahanara Begum (India), were shown, which proved that women had equal opportunities in achieving spiritual knowledge.

The Trials of Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawīyya in the Malay World

Sufism is often taken to be the form of Islamic practice that was most welcoming to women. Similarly, Southeast Asia is commonly said to be characterized by unusually high levels of female autonomy, relative to the surrounding regions. This article discusses for the first time a Malay text, the Hikayat Rabiʿah , about the most famous female Sufi in Islamic history, Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawīyya, and suggests that these assumptions regarding Sufi women in Southeast Asia may require revision. The Hikayat Rabiʿah presents a version of Rabiʿah’s life that is not found in Arabo-Persian models. Here, the Sufi female saint usually known for her celibacy marries and is widowed, then bests four suitors in trials of mystical prowess, before agreeing to marriage to the sultan, himself a Sufi adept, and achieving through him an ecstatic ascent to heaven. The text is compared with two other Malay Islamic genres, didactic literature for women and esoteric Sufi treatises on ritualized sexual intercourse, to illustrate why it was not possible to imagine a celibate Rabiʿah in the Malay world.