Tasavvuf İlmi ve Akademik Araştırma Dergisi

Öz

The essence of Sufism is to keep the love of Allah and the Prophet alive along with good morals and tawheed. The institutionalized form of Sufism is the tariqa. In a full-fledged tariqa, there is a sheikh, disciples, a dervish lodge as a place and several customs, manners, ceremonies and rituals that ensure the continuation of the system. These do not constitute the essence of Sufism, but they are necessary elements for the continuation of the institution and the healthy functioning of the education and training there. Dhikr assemblies and certain ceremonies are among these. The succession of most tariqas end in Ali and their dhikr is public / vocal. The sound often brings movement along with it. The body movements made during enthusiastic dhikr assemblies contain a number of forms in accordance with the greatness of that maqam. These are different from worldly raks. These dhikr and ceremonies are not haphazard. All of them have etiquette and manners, and these are learnt by practice.
Rifâî and Mevlevî dhikrs are very lively and flamboyant. Their appearance carries an aesthetic pleasure. However, it is wrong to regard them only as body movements or dance, it is incompatible with the sublimity of the matter. Each movement or ritual has a deep inner meaning. In this article, we will see that the performance of certain ceremonies opens a door to the world of meaning.