A shift in emphasis
The Qur’an mentions 99 names of God.There is however a tradition saying
that God has as many as 90,000 names. Each name points to a particular
attribute of God. All the names can be used while performing
dhikr,
for, as
the Qur’an observes:‘You may call on God or you may call on the Merciful:
by whatever name you call on Him, His are the most gracious names.’ (17:11)
Early Muslims used to remember God even while going about their
worldly chores.They believed that they would receive a reward for discharging
their duties to their fellow men while keeping God in mind and acting in
accordance with His will.The underlying idea was that anything done in the
name of God and conforming to His commands amounted to remembering
God or performing
dhikr
. It was in this broad sense that the companions of
the Prophet understood the meaning of
dhikr
.
The Sufis, however, confined the concept of
dhikr
to a much narrower
practice
and gave it a more restricted meaning. In this way, they limited the
broad scope of the Qur’anic understanding of
dhikr.
Then, starting from this
narrow interpretation, they invented a number of new, specific ways of
invoking the name of God—silently, loudly, accompanied by music, with or
without dancing, etc., as mentioned in the last section.This shows how the
teachings of Islam came under the influence of other, adjacent cultures.
Converts from different religious backgrounds brought to it their own
ways of thinking and their own traditions, which were gradually Islamized
or given Islamic names, like the yogic practices which found acceptance
among the Sufis.
The Prophet’s companions and the Companions of the Companions
regarded all forms of prayers other than compulsory prayers as
nawafil
Th e Or i g i n a n d E v o l u t i on o f Su f i s m 18
