Omar HH
24-11-2005, 04:41 PM
FAQ on Sufism
What is Sufism?
Imam Junayd (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is using every Sunnah characteristic and leaving every worldly characteristic”
Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyyah Ansari (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is the knowledge of knowing the states, purifying the ego, purifying character…”
Shaykh Ahmad Razuq (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is a knowledge with the intention of fixing the heart and removing all things except Allah from it”
Abul Hasan al-Shadhili (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is training the ego to worship and following the commands of the Lord”
Ibn `Ajiba (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is a knowledge in which one knows with it the way to the King of the Kingdom…”
Ahmed Zarruq says: ”Sufism has more than two thousand explanatory
definitions; all ultimately refer to the following: True devotion to Allah
from where He likes by the means He likes Some of the common definitions
are: Acting upon knowledge Noble character Acquiring the good characters and getting rid of the bad.
And of them it is said “Sufism is fully character, so whoever increases upon you in character has increased upon you in Sufism”
What is Tariqa?
Tariqa is a school of Islamic spirituality or the Path to God. Just as there are different schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Maliki, Shafii, Hanafi, Hanbali) and different schools of Islamic theology (Ashari, Maturidi, and Athari) there are different schools of spirituality. Just like in jurisprudence and theology all authentic Sunni schools of spirituality are valid and a means to a common ends. There are two general types of tariqas – Ishraqi and Burhani. Ishraqi tariqas are extensive in mujahada al-nafs or striving against the self and working for openings. Burhani tariqas are primarily based upon thankfulness and are very high knowledge tariqas. Burhani tariqas make knowledge of four things a precondition to tariqas: Islamic beliefs, Islamic jurisprudence, Qur’an and Hadith memorization in Arabic, and knowledge of the states of hearts. A well-known example of a Ishraqi tariqa is the Naqshbandi tariqas – and a well known example of a Burhani tariqa is the Shadhili tariqa.
What is a Murshid?
A Murshid, Pir, or Shaykh is a spiritual guide qualified in an authentic Islamic tariqa. For a Murshid to be authorized to teach to the tariqa to others he must fulfill the following conditions:
a) He must have taken the Path from an authorized teacher and been granted permission to teach once his teacher saw that he had mastered the Path.
b) He must know the methods used to bring people from heedlessness to witnessing Allah (e.g., giving Arabic phrases which the student can recite everyday, giving systematic exercises that the student can perform everyday, etc.).
c) He must know all necessary parts of the din (i.e. our belief system, our law system, and our system of studying the states of the heart).
d) He must try his best to practice the good of the din that he knows (but, he does not need to be perfect).
e) He must know Arabic and have mastered the branches of knowledge connected with the Qur'an (e.g., exegesis, rhetoric, logic, law derivation, etc.) and with the sayings of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) (e.g., hadith terminology).
f) He must know the Arabic technical vocabulary of those of the Path (e.g., annihilation (fanā'), subsistence (baqā'), knowledge of Allah (ma`rifah), reaching Allah (wu��ūl), etc.) and understand their meanings through experience.
g) He must know and understand through experience the ontology (study of how things exist) of the people in the Path (e.g., that there is physical world (mulk), a metaphysical world (malakūt), and a world of timeless lights (jabarūt)).
h) He must know and deeply understand the three parts of the human being: (1) physical body, (2) thinking mind/heart, and (3) perceiving living soul.
i) He must not love the physical/material things on earth at all.
j) He must be in a constant state (a constant state is called a station) of witnessing Allah with his soul which rarely or never goes away.
What is a Murid?
A Murid is a disciple of the Murshid and one traveling the tariqa.
What is Bay`ah?
Bay`ah is to pledge allegiance to a spiritual guide and join the tariqa which he will train you in. Through bay`ah you become the Murid of the Murshid.
What is the goal of the tariqa?
The goal of the tariqa is the station of ma`arifah or “knowledge of Allah.”
What is Ma`rifah?
Ma`arifah is knowledge of Tawheed (the Oneness and Unity of Allah) through direct experience.
What are the levels of Ma`arifah?
The levels of Ma`arifah are four:
Fana fil Af`al – Annihilation in Allah’s actions
Fana fil Sifat – Annihilation in Allah’s attributes
Fana fillah – Annihilation in Allah’s entity
Baqa – Subsistence
Fana fil Af`al can be defined as - a point in which you experience and know with certainty that every thing around you and your being is being created and recreated by Allah constantly without intermediary.
Fana fil Sifat can be defined as to see that beyond the physical forms you saw in Fana fil Af`al are general meanings pushing these physical forms into existence from the the malakut world also seeing that these meanings are of various types some entail power, others knowledge, others volition, etc. And you see this with your heart with certainty
Fana fil Lah can be defined as to go even further and connect with your timeless-like pattern in the jabarut world, and become totally oblivious to everything while gazing upon the endless timeless and formless sea of Allah's entity.
Baqa is after you become firm in annihilation and have control over it and you acquire the ability to function in the physical world while internally being annihilated - while being able to relate the things you experience through your senses back to the Timeless Sea of His Entity.
At the level of fana', one experiences nothing but Allah; thus, a fani does not distinguish between Heaven and Hell, reward and punishment,or other multifarious experiences. If you were to make him stand in front of Hell and Heaven, he would neither feel any fear nor any hope. This is because all is from Allah and it is intrinsically equal in that it is from Allah.
The baqi has learned to balance between the haqiqah and the shari`ah. Therefore he gives his rational mind and physical body their due share. And he understands that pain is pain and pleasure is pleasure. And although Allah creates everything, the physical-body/rational-mind will still feel pain or pleasure. The baqi takes his values from the evidences in the primary texts. Thus, he gives value to pleasure (in the next life, not this life) and detracts value from pain (in the next life, not this life). This is because Allah has praised pleasure (in the next life, not this life) and put a stigma on pain (in the next life, not this life).
What are the elements of Tariqa?
The elements of tariqa are many and depend upon the tariqa. Some of them are rabitah (connection), muraqabah (constant awareness or meditation), wird (litany), khalwa (isolation), suhba (association), and hadrah (group dhikr).
Rabitah is the connection the Murid has with the Murshid. It says in the Qur'an:
O you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverence strengthen each other (rabitu) and have fear of Allah that you may prosper. (3:200)
What is Rabitah?
Rabitah by definition is from the murid to look by means of the inner eye of the heart with unqualified love and longing to the spiritual presence of his or her Shaykh.
We are to love all Muslims, especially the pious. By keeping a good connection to a pious person we make ourselves better. We are commanded to love Sayyidina Rasul Allah and if we love him "we will be with whom we love" on the Day of Judgement. Loving Rasul Allah is a means to following his Sunnah becoming good people, and ultimately loving Allah. Loving the Shaykh is a means of acquiring good habits and purifying oneself, as well as loving Rasul Allah and ultimately Allah `Azza wa Jal.
The Sahaba were in love with Rasul Allah as well as with the pious such as Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Sidiq :radi: and Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib :radi:. Loving someone makes you follow their way and is an effective means for bettering oneself.
Prophet said "A man is on the religion of his friend" therefore to be friends and love pious people especially the Shaykh or Guide will ultimately cause you to be helped in religion insha Allah.
There are two types of Rabitah:
1) In the presence of the Shaykh
Turning to the Shaykh with love, submission to his commands, being consumed in him until his own attributed become annihilated in the attributes of the Shaykh.
2) In the absence of the Shaykh
Imagining the Shaykh and directing yourself towards the spiritual presence and to maintain directing yourself towards it until you experience annihiliation in the presence of the Shaykh or the effects of spiritual attraction.
After achieving either one of these two states, the murid's own personality, self, and characteristics become effaced in the fana fi Shaykh or annihilation in the Shaykh, at which time he will witness with the Shaykh's perfection.
After that the spiritual reality of the Shaykh will train him until it delivers him to the presence of the Prophet , when he becomes among the perfected ones who have arrivated the second stage.
Rabitah brings the murid closer to the Shaykh, such as that even if one is in the east and the other is in the west, by means of that connection the Saykh transmits to the perfect murids...
The Rabitah is the shortest way to reach Ma`arifah, for after achieving it the murid is not in need of anything else; for through it the stations of annihilation (fana) and presence (hudur) are rapidly ascended and the realities (haqa'iq) are granted. Rabitah is the foundation of all attainment because all practices are in need of rabitah to manifest their specialties, especially in the most distinguished Naqshbandi trandition. Because all practices are in need of the support derived from rabtiah, their benefit depends on the strength of rabitah and it's intensity. That is why the Naqshbandi way is called the Way of Rabitah.
Know that Rabitah is a type of love, therefore without great love towards the Shaykh one cannot achieve rabitah. Simmilarly the spiritual outpourings are dependent upon the strength of the connection. The one who has connection with the Shaykh, has the possibility of being trained and is also able to reach these outpourings while whoever has no connection is deprived. For this the Naqshbandi masters say:
The one who does not have rabitah is unable to recieve these outpourings, even if he has accompanied Khidr (`Alayhis Salam).
Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi said - Allah sanctify his soul: Know that wayfaring (suluk) in this Most Distinguished Path is by connection (rabita) and love for the Shaykh we follow. Such a Shaykh trod this Path steadfastly and was dyed (insabagha) with all kinds of perfections through the strength of Divine attraction (jadhba). His gaze cures the diseases of the heart and his Concentration (tawajjuh) lifts away spiritual defects. The owner of these perfections is the Imam of the period and the Khalifa of that time.... Thus our connection is love and our relationship (nisba) is mirroring and dyeing regardless of being near or far. Then the murid gets dyed in this Path by the connection of love for the Shaykh, hour by hour, and gets enlightened through the reflection of his lights. In this pattern, knowledge of the process is not a precondition for the giving or receiving of benefit.
What is Muraqabah?
Muraqabah has been translated as awareness of Allah, meditation, self-reflection and being watchful of oneself. Different tariqas do muraqabah in different ways. In certain tariqas such as the Naqshbandi-Mujadadi tariqa Muraqabah is done by setting aside some quiet time to reflect about Allah, in this exercise the salik strives to empty the heart of all thoughts and imagines the blessings and mercy of Allah entering the heart and erasing its darkness. As if in gratitude to being cleansed of darkness the heart joyfully calls out the Name of Allah over and over again… Allah! Allah! Allah!
A general scientific principle states that whenever a vacuum is created, something comes in to fill it and therefore the vacuum does not stay as is. Similarly when we sit and strive to remove all thoughts from our heart the aim is to create a void that will hopefully be filled with thoughts of Allah.
Muraqabah in certain Shadhili tariqas is done through spiritual practices such as trying to go 40 days without missing a prayer or getting angry, or trying to go 10 days without falling into the unlawful states of the tongue – restarting from the beginning when one breaks the period.
What is a Wird?
A wird is a litany of daily devotions which the Murshid instructs the Murid to say. For example the wird of the Shadhili tariqa is to say send 100 prayers upon the Prophet, say 100 La Illaha Il Allah, and to seek forgiveness form Allah 100 times. Different tariqas have different wird.
What is Khalwa?
Khalwa is a period when the Murid instructs the Shaykh to go into isolation and worship Allah for a period of time without the company of people.
What is Suhba?
Shah Naqshband said “our way is association (suhba) and there is goodness in gatherings.” Suhba is association between the Murid and the Murshid. They consist in the Murshid giving a talk to the Murids and the Murids asking the Murshid questions. Through Suhba or companionship with the Murshid, love grows towards the Shaykh and one absorbs his good qualities insha Allah. We are told in the Qur’an and Sunnah how important it is to have good pious friends who will lift our state.
What is the Hadrah?
The Hadrah is public or group dhikr. This is done by many people chanting the same devotional prayers such as those that come from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Some tariqas do group dhikr which is seated and throw pebbles while doing so – like the Khatm al-Khajwagan of the Naqshbandi tariqa. Other tariqas do their group dhikr standing while moving in unison.
What is a Silsla?
A Silsla is an authentic chain that goes back to the Prophet (Sal Allahu `Alayhi wa Sallim). For example the Murshid was trained by a Murshid who was trained by a Murshid who was trained by a Murshid who was trained by Sayyidina Hasan ibn `Ali, who was trained by Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was trained by Rasul Allah (Sal Allahu `Alayhi wa Sallim).
Every Murshid must have an authentic Silsla which has an unbroken link back to the Prophet Muhammad the Master of Masters and the Best of Creation (Sal Allahu `Alayhi wa Salim).
What is Sufism?
Imam Junayd (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is using every Sunnah characteristic and leaving every worldly characteristic”
Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyyah Ansari (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is the knowledge of knowing the states, purifying the ego, purifying character…”
Shaykh Ahmad Razuq (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is a knowledge with the intention of fixing the heart and removing all things except Allah from it”
Abul Hasan al-Shadhili (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is training the ego to worship and following the commands of the Lord”
Ibn `Ajiba (may Allah have mercy upon him) said “Sufism is a knowledge in which one knows with it the way to the King of the Kingdom…”
Ahmed Zarruq says: ”Sufism has more than two thousand explanatory
definitions; all ultimately refer to the following: True devotion to Allah
from where He likes by the means He likes Some of the common definitions
are: Acting upon knowledge Noble character Acquiring the good characters and getting rid of the bad.
And of them it is said “Sufism is fully character, so whoever increases upon you in character has increased upon you in Sufism”
What is Tariqa?
Tariqa is a school of Islamic spirituality or the Path to God. Just as there are different schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Maliki, Shafii, Hanafi, Hanbali) and different schools of Islamic theology (Ashari, Maturidi, and Athari) there are different schools of spirituality. Just like in jurisprudence and theology all authentic Sunni schools of spirituality are valid and a means to a common ends. There are two general types of tariqas – Ishraqi and Burhani. Ishraqi tariqas are extensive in mujahada al-nafs or striving against the self and working for openings. Burhani tariqas are primarily based upon thankfulness and are very high knowledge tariqas. Burhani tariqas make knowledge of four things a precondition to tariqas: Islamic beliefs, Islamic jurisprudence, Qur’an and Hadith memorization in Arabic, and knowledge of the states of hearts. A well-known example of a Ishraqi tariqa is the Naqshbandi tariqas – and a well known example of a Burhani tariqa is the Shadhili tariqa.
What is a Murshid?
A Murshid, Pir, or Shaykh is a spiritual guide qualified in an authentic Islamic tariqa. For a Murshid to be authorized to teach to the tariqa to others he must fulfill the following conditions:
a) He must have taken the Path from an authorized teacher and been granted permission to teach once his teacher saw that he had mastered the Path.
b) He must know the methods used to bring people from heedlessness to witnessing Allah (e.g., giving Arabic phrases which the student can recite everyday, giving systematic exercises that the student can perform everyday, etc.).
c) He must know all necessary parts of the din (i.e. our belief system, our law system, and our system of studying the states of the heart).
d) He must try his best to practice the good of the din that he knows (but, he does not need to be perfect).
e) He must know Arabic and have mastered the branches of knowledge connected with the Qur'an (e.g., exegesis, rhetoric, logic, law derivation, etc.) and with the sayings of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) (e.g., hadith terminology).
f) He must know the Arabic technical vocabulary of those of the Path (e.g., annihilation (fanā'), subsistence (baqā'), knowledge of Allah (ma`rifah), reaching Allah (wu��ūl), etc.) and understand their meanings through experience.
g) He must know and understand through experience the ontology (study of how things exist) of the people in the Path (e.g., that there is physical world (mulk), a metaphysical world (malakūt), and a world of timeless lights (jabarūt)).
h) He must know and deeply understand the three parts of the human being: (1) physical body, (2) thinking mind/heart, and (3) perceiving living soul.
i) He must not love the physical/material things on earth at all.
j) He must be in a constant state (a constant state is called a station) of witnessing Allah with his soul which rarely or never goes away.
What is a Murid?
A Murid is a disciple of the Murshid and one traveling the tariqa.
What is Bay`ah?
Bay`ah is to pledge allegiance to a spiritual guide and join the tariqa which he will train you in. Through bay`ah you become the Murid of the Murshid.
What is the goal of the tariqa?
The goal of the tariqa is the station of ma`arifah or “knowledge of Allah.”
What is Ma`rifah?
Ma`arifah is knowledge of Tawheed (the Oneness and Unity of Allah) through direct experience.
What are the levels of Ma`arifah?
The levels of Ma`arifah are four:
Fana fil Af`al – Annihilation in Allah’s actions
Fana fil Sifat – Annihilation in Allah’s attributes
Fana fillah – Annihilation in Allah’s entity
Baqa – Subsistence
Fana fil Af`al can be defined as - a point in which you experience and know with certainty that every thing around you and your being is being created and recreated by Allah constantly without intermediary.
Fana fil Sifat can be defined as to see that beyond the physical forms you saw in Fana fil Af`al are general meanings pushing these physical forms into existence from the the malakut world also seeing that these meanings are of various types some entail power, others knowledge, others volition, etc. And you see this with your heart with certainty
Fana fil Lah can be defined as to go even further and connect with your timeless-like pattern in the jabarut world, and become totally oblivious to everything while gazing upon the endless timeless and formless sea of Allah's entity.
Baqa is after you become firm in annihilation and have control over it and you acquire the ability to function in the physical world while internally being annihilated - while being able to relate the things you experience through your senses back to the Timeless Sea of His Entity.
At the level of fana', one experiences nothing but Allah; thus, a fani does not distinguish between Heaven and Hell, reward and punishment,or other multifarious experiences. If you were to make him stand in front of Hell and Heaven, he would neither feel any fear nor any hope. This is because all is from Allah and it is intrinsically equal in that it is from Allah.
The baqi has learned to balance between the haqiqah and the shari`ah. Therefore he gives his rational mind and physical body their due share. And he understands that pain is pain and pleasure is pleasure. And although Allah creates everything, the physical-body/rational-mind will still feel pain or pleasure. The baqi takes his values from the evidences in the primary texts. Thus, he gives value to pleasure (in the next life, not this life) and detracts value from pain (in the next life, not this life). This is because Allah has praised pleasure (in the next life, not this life) and put a stigma on pain (in the next life, not this life).
What are the elements of Tariqa?
The elements of tariqa are many and depend upon the tariqa. Some of them are rabitah (connection), muraqabah (constant awareness or meditation), wird (litany), khalwa (isolation), suhba (association), and hadrah (group dhikr).
Rabitah is the connection the Murid has with the Murshid. It says in the Qur'an:
O you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverence strengthen each other (rabitu) and have fear of Allah that you may prosper. (3:200)
What is Rabitah?
Rabitah by definition is from the murid to look by means of the inner eye of the heart with unqualified love and longing to the spiritual presence of his or her Shaykh.
We are to love all Muslims, especially the pious. By keeping a good connection to a pious person we make ourselves better. We are commanded to love Sayyidina Rasul Allah and if we love him "we will be with whom we love" on the Day of Judgement. Loving Rasul Allah is a means to following his Sunnah becoming good people, and ultimately loving Allah. Loving the Shaykh is a means of acquiring good habits and purifying oneself, as well as loving Rasul Allah and ultimately Allah `Azza wa Jal.
The Sahaba were in love with Rasul Allah as well as with the pious such as Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Sidiq :radi: and Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib :radi:. Loving someone makes you follow their way and is an effective means for bettering oneself.
Prophet said "A man is on the religion of his friend" therefore to be friends and love pious people especially the Shaykh or Guide will ultimately cause you to be helped in religion insha Allah.
There are two types of Rabitah:
1) In the presence of the Shaykh
Turning to the Shaykh with love, submission to his commands, being consumed in him until his own attributed become annihilated in the attributes of the Shaykh.
2) In the absence of the Shaykh
Imagining the Shaykh and directing yourself towards the spiritual presence and to maintain directing yourself towards it until you experience annihiliation in the presence of the Shaykh or the effects of spiritual attraction.
After achieving either one of these two states, the murid's own personality, self, and characteristics become effaced in the fana fi Shaykh or annihilation in the Shaykh, at which time he will witness with the Shaykh's perfection.
After that the spiritual reality of the Shaykh will train him until it delivers him to the presence of the Prophet , when he becomes among the perfected ones who have arrivated the second stage.
Rabitah brings the murid closer to the Shaykh, such as that even if one is in the east and the other is in the west, by means of that connection the Saykh transmits to the perfect murids...
The Rabitah is the shortest way to reach Ma`arifah, for after achieving it the murid is not in need of anything else; for through it the stations of annihilation (fana) and presence (hudur) are rapidly ascended and the realities (haqa'iq) are granted. Rabitah is the foundation of all attainment because all practices are in need of rabitah to manifest their specialties, especially in the most distinguished Naqshbandi trandition. Because all practices are in need of the support derived from rabtiah, their benefit depends on the strength of rabitah and it's intensity. That is why the Naqshbandi way is called the Way of Rabitah.
Know that Rabitah is a type of love, therefore without great love towards the Shaykh one cannot achieve rabitah. Simmilarly the spiritual outpourings are dependent upon the strength of the connection. The one who has connection with the Shaykh, has the possibility of being trained and is also able to reach these outpourings while whoever has no connection is deprived. For this the Naqshbandi masters say:
The one who does not have rabitah is unable to recieve these outpourings, even if he has accompanied Khidr (`Alayhis Salam).
Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi said - Allah sanctify his soul: Know that wayfaring (suluk) in this Most Distinguished Path is by connection (rabita) and love for the Shaykh we follow. Such a Shaykh trod this Path steadfastly and was dyed (insabagha) with all kinds of perfections through the strength of Divine attraction (jadhba). His gaze cures the diseases of the heart and his Concentration (tawajjuh) lifts away spiritual defects. The owner of these perfections is the Imam of the period and the Khalifa of that time.... Thus our connection is love and our relationship (nisba) is mirroring and dyeing regardless of being near or far. Then the murid gets dyed in this Path by the connection of love for the Shaykh, hour by hour, and gets enlightened through the reflection of his lights. In this pattern, knowledge of the process is not a precondition for the giving or receiving of benefit.
What is Muraqabah?
Muraqabah has been translated as awareness of Allah, meditation, self-reflection and being watchful of oneself. Different tariqas do muraqabah in different ways. In certain tariqas such as the Naqshbandi-Mujadadi tariqa Muraqabah is done by setting aside some quiet time to reflect about Allah, in this exercise the salik strives to empty the heart of all thoughts and imagines the blessings and mercy of Allah entering the heart and erasing its darkness. As if in gratitude to being cleansed of darkness the heart joyfully calls out the Name of Allah over and over again… Allah! Allah! Allah!
A general scientific principle states that whenever a vacuum is created, something comes in to fill it and therefore the vacuum does not stay as is. Similarly when we sit and strive to remove all thoughts from our heart the aim is to create a void that will hopefully be filled with thoughts of Allah.
Muraqabah in certain Shadhili tariqas is done through spiritual practices such as trying to go 40 days without missing a prayer or getting angry, or trying to go 10 days without falling into the unlawful states of the tongue – restarting from the beginning when one breaks the period.
What is a Wird?
A wird is a litany of daily devotions which the Murshid instructs the Murid to say. For example the wird of the Shadhili tariqa is to say send 100 prayers upon the Prophet, say 100 La Illaha Il Allah, and to seek forgiveness form Allah 100 times. Different tariqas have different wird.
What is Khalwa?
Khalwa is a period when the Murid instructs the Shaykh to go into isolation and worship Allah for a period of time without the company of people.
What is Suhba?
Shah Naqshband said “our way is association (suhba) and there is goodness in gatherings.” Suhba is association between the Murid and the Murshid. They consist in the Murshid giving a talk to the Murids and the Murids asking the Murshid questions. Through Suhba or companionship with the Murshid, love grows towards the Shaykh and one absorbs his good qualities insha Allah. We are told in the Qur’an and Sunnah how important it is to have good pious friends who will lift our state.
What is the Hadrah?
The Hadrah is public or group dhikr. This is done by many people chanting the same devotional prayers such as those that come from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Some tariqas do group dhikr which is seated and throw pebbles while doing so – like the Khatm al-Khajwagan of the Naqshbandi tariqa. Other tariqas do their group dhikr standing while moving in unison.
What is a Silsla?
A Silsla is an authentic chain that goes back to the Prophet (Sal Allahu `Alayhi wa Sallim). For example the Murshid was trained by a Murshid who was trained by a Murshid who was trained by a Murshid who was trained by Sayyidina Hasan ibn `Ali, who was trained by Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was trained by Rasul Allah (Sal Allahu `Alayhi wa Sallim).
Every Murshid must have an authentic Silsla which has an unbroken link back to the Prophet Muhammad the Master of Masters and the Best of Creation (Sal Allahu `Alayhi wa Salim).