Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

The term Tasawwur-i-Shaykh is excessively used by the Sufis of all Orders in their prose and poetry as this is the core concept to describe the murid’s devotion towards Shaykh. According to the Sufi epistemology, one should have physical rabitah with the shaykh, which is the base of the Tasawwur-i-Shaykh. This Tasawwur can be materialized even after the death of the shaykh. A murid visualizes his Shaykh, to erase everything from his heart other than Allah. The Tasawwur-i-Shaykh is supposed to be the locus for the fana fil Rasul and fana fil Allah. The word dil has very special meanings in the Sufism, as; it is believed that the real dil is a nuri organ full of love, awareness and vision about the Zat-i-Haqq. The main characteristics of the Naqshbandi Order are to follow the Sunnah and love one’s shaykh. The Shaykh is treated as a person who connects one to the Prophet and eventually to Allah. This Order is one of the most popular Orders in the South Asia. This paper critically evaluates the Sufis’ rationale and interpretation about the concept of the Tasawwur-i-Shaykh.