Dervishes in Islam the Dervishes

Dervishes in Islam

The Dervishes or the Order of the Whirling Dervishes is related to the Sufi tradition of the Islamic faith. The Sufi view of Islam espouses the "universal values of love and service..." (Sufism and Dervishes)

In essence the Dervishes, as part of Sufi order, emphasize the esoteric and mystical aspects of the Islamic faith. It is therefore important to firstly understand the fundamental aspects of the Sufi approach to Islam in order to fully understand and place the Dervishes in context.

The Sufi Order or version of Islam is the more unorthodox form of the religion in many respects. The Sufi Order " seeks ultimate religious experience through mystic trances or altered states often induced through twirling dances or "whirling dervish." (SUFISM & WHIRLING DERVISHES) This is an important aspect in terms of understanding the function and significance of the Dervishes in Islam.

In the first instance the Dervishes as part of the Sufi tradition are more spiritually and mystically inclined rather than being concerned with orthodox rules, ethics and principles. Therefore the tradition of the Dervishes can be seen as the expression of a "...spiritual yearning that floated beyond the rulebooks...."

The Dervishes follow the central Sufi precept that God can be found through love and spiritual experience rather then by following rules and laws; "...they evolved practices ranging from ecstatic dance to self-mutilation to stories and poetry in highly unorthodox paths to commune with God." (The Sufis and Dervishes of Islam)

Therefore the essence of the Dervishes is that they use ritual and dance as a means of mystically and spiritually communing with the divine. "The Persian word darwish (literally: the sill of the door) is accepted in Arabic and Turkish (dervish) to describe the Sufi who is the one who is at the door to enlightenment." (Friedlander)

The historical antecedents of the Dervishes can be traced back to Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, who way born in Afghanistan between 1200 and 1207. (History of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes) As a young boy his family moved to Turkey where his father became a respected religious scholar and mystic. Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi followed in his father's footsteps and took over as head of the religious school that his father had begun. The history of the Dervishes is also connected with the figure of Shams Tabrisi who befriended Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. Their friendship also led to many of Rumi's mystical insights. "They would retire into seclusion for long periods of time to have sohbet, a spiritual dialogue in the state of intoxication in the love of God." (History of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes) Shams Tabrisi also "introduced Rumi to music, poetry and turning as a form of mystical absorption in the divine." (History of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes)

After the death of his friend, possibly at the hands of jealous members of thee religious school, Rumi became deeply involved in the mystical and spiritual exploration of the Divine and wrote numerous books of poetry. The volumes of his works are to be extremely important in the development of the Dervish order.

After the death of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, the Mevlevi Order, or the Whirling Dervishes, was founded by his son, Sultan Valad. Since then the secrets of the sacred Sema dance "...has been passed down for over seven hundred years, as have the music, zikr (sacred chanting), poetry, and the etiquette of this tradition." (History of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes (www.whirlingdervish.org/history.htm")

The important aspect that should be noted about Sufism is that in this tradition of Islam there is a strong emphasis on a personal and intimate relationship between man and God. In order to achieve this relationship, certain spiritual disciplines were exercised in Sufism. One of these was the practice of the dance of the Dervishes.

The Dervishes are also characterized by an itinerant life wandering lifestyle, as well as by their famous 'dances'.

However these dances or dhikr have a very special and important function. The dances are intended as a means of entering into a state of higher spiritual consciousness. "...states of visionary ecstasy are induced by group- chanting of religious texts and by rhythmic gestures, dancing, and deep breathing. The object is to free oneself from the body and to be lifted into the presence of God." (SUFISM & WHIRLING DERVISHES) This is a central facet of the Dervishes and at the heart of their significance to the religion as a whole. Coupled with this is another aspect that characterizes the Dervishes, namely an ascetic lifestyle. "To become a Dervish, one must take a vow of poverty and live in monastic conditions, similar to Christian monks. For these Dervishes, spinning is their way of worshipping God." (Gulati)

The dance of Sama is a more than just a routine or ritualized set of movements. The practice of the dance is related to a mystical contact with God that goes beyond words and is therefore difficult if not impossible to describe in language. One writer describes the dances of the Dervishes as follows. It is, not just a routine movement of the body and arms but a spiritual experience that combines the music, the listening and the dance as one. The ritual is sacred and focuses on the relationship between the body and soul, man and god, lover and beloved, with an ideal submission of God reiterated throughout. There is nothing hurried or rushed. The Dervishes step forward, arms crossed in front of their chests. Raising their arms, holding their right palm upward toward heaven and their left palm downward toward earth, they gradually start whirling in a counterclockwise direction.

Gulati)

The above description is only a cursory explanation of the Dervish dance. There are many attempts at trying to explain the actual meaning and functional significance of the dance. For example, one attempt to explain it is in terms of the religious importance of movement and the relationship of movement to life.

Science has shown us that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. A man's very existence depends on this movement -- revolution in the atoms, structural stones of his body, movement of his blood etc. However, all of these are natural, unconscious revolutions. The Whirling Dervish actively causes the mind to participate in the revolution of all other beings.

Gulati)

However, this only describes the experience and cannot explain the mystical mystery of the Dervish dance. In essence the Dervish order, through their mystical practices, create a means of seeing and experiencing the Divine. "The aim of the dervish is to open the eyes of the heart and see infinity in eternity. His goal is to loosen himself from the earth's glue which binds him and become one with God, to become a channel for his light. (Friedlander)