Abstract:

Sūfīsm is the idea of purifying the soul through the faith, worship, and moral foundations of Islam, along with leading a religious life honoured with good morals and reaching Allah through the efforts to ensure the perfection of the soul. In this sense, Sūfīsm implies a spiritual moral inclination. The method of sayr al-sulūk plays a critical role in offering this moral education. Sayr and sulūk are two intertwined notions that cannot be considered independent of each other. Sayr means to walk towards knowledge, morality, and Allah by getting rid of all bad qualities and the self. Sulūk is a spiritual way to reach Allah. The murid is the passenger who pursues this path, and the sheikh is an experienced person who supervises the murid during his/her journey. Accompanying his murid from the beginning to the end of the path, the sheikh theoretically and practically reveals the fundamental principles. The murid, on the other hand, is responsible for fully abiding by these rules and principles imposed by the sheikh. Therefore, this study addresses the definition and nature of the notions of sheikh and murid in sūfī works. Furthermore, it also elaborates on the essential qualifications that a sheikh and murid should possess. Thus, it puts forward the principles of the sheikh-murid relationship, which must be established in a genuine way. Embodying the verbal and de facto components of Sūfīsm, the notion of sheikh is one of the most seriously criticized issues. Likewise, murid is one of the concepts against which many criticisms are voiced. Therefore, this study discusses various related issues, particularly the definitions of sheikh and murid, the properties that they should have, the sheikh-murid relationship, the necessity of such a relationship, and the ruling of being a follower of the sheikh. In short, it sheds some light on the essence of the sheikh-murid relationship built by Sūfīsm on very delicate foundations.

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