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الطرق الصوفية
Organized spiritual brotherhoods (tariqahs) that emerged in the Islamic world from around the 9th–10th centuries CE. Each order is centered on a founding saint (Shaykh) whose spiritual chain (silsilah) is traced back to the Prophet ﷺ, and involves bay'ah (pledge of allegiance) to a living shaykh, distinctive dhikr formulas, initiation rites, and hierarchical spiritual progression. The institution of organized tariqahs — as distinct from Sufi spirituality in general — is considered bid'ah (innovation) by Ahl us-Sunnah scholars. Some orders have developed practices that cross into shirk, particularly invoking dead saints (istighatha).
The institution of organized tariqahs is not established by the Quran, Sunnah, or the practice of the Salaf — making it bid'ah. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Every newly invented thing is an innovation, and every innovation is going astray' (Sahih Muslim 867). The bay'ah given to a shaykh for spiritual purposes has no basis in the Sunnah. Individual practices within orders vary widely — some tariqahs remain within the bounds of the Sunnah in their actual practice, while others have developed shirk-adjacent rites. The key line for individual Muslims is: invoking dead saints (istighatha) is shirk regardless of the tariqah. Ordinary Muslims within tariqahs who avoid these specific practices are not declared kafir.