Murshid

Murshid(Arabic:مرشد) is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the rootr-sh-d,with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature.Particularly inSufismit refers to aspiritual guide.The term is frequently used in Sufi orders such as theNaqshbandiyya,Qādiriyya,Chishtiya,ShadhiliyaandSuhrawardiyya.

The path of Sufism starts when astudent (Murid)takes an oath of allegiance orBay'ah(bai'ath) with a spiritual guide (murshid). In speaking of this initiatory pact of allegiance, theQur’ān (48:10)says:Verily they who pledge unto thee their allegiance pledge it unto none but God. The Hand of God is above their hands.

The murshid's role is to spiritually guide and verbally instruct the disciple on the Sufi path, but "only one who has himself reached the End of the path is a spiritual guide in the full sense of the Arabic termmurshid".

A murshid usually has authorisation to be a teacher for onetariqā(spiritual paths). Any tariqa orsilsilahas one murshid at a time who is the head of the spiritual order. He is known as theshaykh,by way ofkhilafah:process in which theshaykhidentifies one of his disciples as his successor, for thekhalifa.

Importance

In Sufism, it is the transmission of the divine light from the murshid's heart to the disciple's which surpasses any other source of knowledge and is the only way to progress directly towards the divine. The concept of Murshid Kamil Akmal (also known asInsan-e-Kamil) is significant in mosttariqas.The concept states that from pre-existence till pre-eternity, there shall always remain aQutbor a Universal Man upon the earth who would be the perfect manifestation of God's will and thus following in the very footsteps of the preeminent Islamic prophetMuhammad.

See also

• Pir (Sufism)
• Rōshi
• Spiritual direction
• Starets
• Guru

External links

• Glossary of Muslim Terms
• Sufi Live
• Murshid[1]