School of Sufi Teaching

United Kingdom

Naqshbandi, Mujaddidi, Chishti, Qadiri & Shadhili practices

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Sufi School is a non-profit charity involved in creating awareness about Sufism and providing authentic Sufi teachings to sincere seekers.

All the teachings are given free of cost and students are not charged for attending our weekly gatherings for teaching, mentoring, discussions and group practices.

Our activities are carried out through voluntary donations. We request you to donate generously to support our work. Any amount of donation to help us to continue this good work will be appreciated and thankfully accepted.

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Name: School of Sufi Teaching
Account Number: 11397222
Sort Code: 40-03-16
Bank: HSBC UK

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Origins of the Sufi Orders

After the departure of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from this world in 632 A.D., those who were closest to him passed on his teachings to the sincere seekers of the next generation, who in turn became the perfected guides, or Shaykhs, for the generation after them. This process has continued down to our present time by the Mercy of Allah. In this way, every authentic Sufi guide has a chain of teachers which leads directly back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Such a chain of teachers is known in Sufism as a “Silsilah” or a “Shajarah”.

Often, one of the Shaykhs may be so prominent, or become so well-known, that his students will identify themselves by saying they follow the way of such-and-such a Shaykh. The Arabic word for way is ‘tariqah’. (plural:‘turuq‘).

So for example, students of the great Shaykh, Bahauddin Naqshband, and his successors down to the present day are said to follow the Naqshbandi tariqah. Similarly, Abdul Qadir Jilani gave his name to the Qadiri tariqah, Moinuddin Chishti to the Chishti tariqah, Abul Hasan Shadhili to the Shadhili tariqah, and Ahmed Faruqi Sirhindi Mujadded to the Mujaddedi tariqah.

In the English language, each of these “tariqahs” is known as a ‘Sufi Order’.

Ultimately, all of these orders lead directly back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and their differences are mostly geographical and superficial.

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Origins of the word 'Sufism'

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Sufism and the Modern World

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For further reading we recommend the following books: Turning Toward the Heart: Awakening to the Sufi Way by Shaykh Hazrat Azad Rasool Fons Vitae, 2002; ISBN: 1887752463 The search for truth. The life and teaching methods of the Indian Sufi Shaykh…
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Sufism and Islam

Although there is no evidence that the word “Tasawwuf” (the Arabic word for “Sufism”) was used by the Prophet (peace be upon him), he certainly used the word ‘Ihsan’ or spiritual sincerity. Sufi Shaykhs have said that Sufism itself is…
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Sufism and the Modern World

We live in an age when science and technology have brought mankind not only great material advances, but also a deep cynicism towards the religious and spiritual aspects of life. On the one hand, the success of the “scientific method”…