Disciple in Ṣūfism - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
[Article]
Katz, Jonathan G.
Leiden
Brill
(1,199 words)
The relationship between the master (Ar. shaykh or murshid , Pers. pīr ) and the disciple (murīd) is fundamental to the transmission of knowledge (ʿilm) in Islam and especially in Ṣūfism . It reflects hierarchical categories of domination and subordination prevalent in Islamic societies and owes its existence to the personal way in which true learning is conveyed through genealogical lineages ( silsila ) that extend back to the prophet Muḥammad. The master-disciple relationship is a hallmark of Ṣūfism (taṣawwuf) and other expressions of Islam such as Ismaʿīlī Shīʿism for which formal initiation into