Meaning of Sufi

 The term Sufi is most probably derived from the Arabic word sufmeaning wool.
The eastern ascetics used to wear the coarse garments prepared out of wool.
This practice was also followed by the Sufis as a mark of poverty
 Other root of the word Sufism is traced to safa which means "purity".

Origin of Sufism

 Some of the early Sufis, such as the woman mystic of Basra named Rabia and Mansur-al-
Hallaj laid great emphasis on love as the bond between God and the individual soul.
 The early Sufis traced their ideas to some verses of the Quran and Traditions (Nadi's) of the
Prophet.
But in course of time they were influenced by a number of ideas and practices from different
sources such as Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Indian philosophical system of Vedanta and
yoga.
 Mysticism was looked upon with disfavour by the Muslim fundamentalists. As a result the Sufis
were persecuted and some of them were even executed on change of heresy and blasphemy.
The Sufis gave mystic interpretations of these scriptures. However, the orthodox Muslims believed in
the literal interpretation of the scriptures.
The orthodox Muslims depend upon external conduct while the Sufis seek inner purity
The orthodox believe in blind obedience to or observance of religious rituals while the Sufis
consider love to be the only means of reaching God.
The Sufis used singing and dancing, forbidden by the orthodox as means of inducing a state of
ecstasy which brought a Sufi nearer to his goal of union with God.

Features of Sufism

There developed a number of sufi orders or silsilah in and outside India, each had their specific characteristic
but had some common features: