View source for Dervish

{{Short description|Someone on a Sufi Muslim ascetic path}}
{{Other uses}}

[[File:Indischer Maler um 1650 (II) 001.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Dervish with a lion and a tiger, [[Mughal painting]], {{circa|1650}}]]
[[File:Preziosi - Derviş cerşetor.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman]] Dervish portrayed by [[Amedeo Preziosi]], {{circa|1860s}}, [[Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României]]]]
{{Sufism}}

A '''dervish''', '''darvesh''', or '''darwīsh''' (from {{langx|fa|درویش|Darvīsh}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Dervish |title=Dervish – Definition and More from the FreeMerriam – Webster Dictionary |publisher=M-w.com |access-date=2012-02-19}}</ref> is a [[Muslims|Muslim]] who seeks salvation through ascetic practises and meditations.<ref name=":2">MacDonald, D.B. (2012). Darwīs̲h̲. In P. Bearman (ed.), ''Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English)''. Brill. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1731</nowiki></ref><ref name="EI2" /><ref name="iranica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/darvis |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |publisher=Iranicaonline.org |year=2011|author=Mansour Shaki |author2=Hamid Algar |title= DARVĪŠ}}</ref> It can refer to an individual or to a member of a [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Tariqa|order]] (''tariqah'').<ref name="Ebrahim-Hirtenstein 2017">{{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Ebrahim |author1-first=Alireza |author2-last=Hirtenstein |author2-first=Stephen |year=2017 |title=Darwīsh (Dervish) |translator-last=Brown |translator-first=Keven |editor1-last=Madelung |editor1-first=Wilferd |editor2-last=Daftary |editor2-first=Farhad |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_035987 |issn=1875-9823}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{citation|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dervish|title=Dervish|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|quote=Dervish, Arabic darwīsh, any member of a Ṣūfī (Muslim mystic) fraternity, or tariqa.}}</ref><ref name=EI2>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=MacDonald |author-first=D. B. |year=1965 |title=Darwīs̲h̲ |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=2 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1731 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref> Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (''[[nafs]]'') to reach [[God in Islam|God]]. This is usually done by performing a lifestyle which decreases bodily function to a minimum in order to attain what would be called "esoteric knowledge" in Western terminology.<ref>Laut, Jens Peter. "Vielfalt türkischer Religionen." (1996). Spirita pp. 31-32</ref> In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice ''[[dhikr]]'' through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God.<ref name=":0" /> Their most popular practice is [[Sama (Sufism)|Sama]], which is associated with the 13th-century mystic [[Rumi]].

For centuries, this was an individual practice, but in the 12th century, it began to be mostly practiced in [[Fraternity|fraternities]].<ref name=":2" /> The oldest historical fraternity is the [[Qadiriyya|Qadiriyya order]], founded by [[Abdul Qadir Gilani]].<ref name=":2" /> According to Islamic beliefs, each order derives their history from the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Prophet]] [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] and are authorized by [[God]] ([[Allah]]) and taught by the [[Angels in Islam|angel]] [[Gabriel]].<ref name=":2" /> The theology of such fraternities is always based on [[Sufism]] and can vary from [[Quietism (philosophy)|quietism]] to [[Antinomianism|anti-nomianism]].<ref name=":2" /> Those adhering to law are called ''ba-shar'' and those who do not follow law are called ''bi-shar''.<ref name=":2" /> In [[folklore]], dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform [[miracle]]s and ascribed [[supernatural]] powers.<ref>Frederick William ''Hasluck Christianity and Islam Under the Sultans, Band 1'' Clarendon Press 1929 p. 281</ref>

==Etymology==
The actual etymology of the term is unknown.<ref name="EI2" /> The [[Persian language|Persian]] word ''darvīsh'' ({{lang|fa|درویش}}) may derive from the Middle Persian ''daryōs̲h̲'', meaning ''poor'' or ''needy''.<ref name=iranica/> The term has also been constructed from the composition of ''dar'' (door) and ''awiz'' (hanging), referring to someone who "hangs around doors" i.e., begs at the doors.<ref name="EI2" /> However, the Middle Persian ''daryōs̲h̲'' contradicts this.<ref name="EI2" /> 

These proposed meanings belong to folk-etymologies, meaning that the meaning of the term was ascribed after the term has been established.<ref>Laut, J. P. (2003). Zur Sicht des Islam in der Türkischen Republik bis zum Tode Atatürks. in "Von Zentralasien bis Anatolien Philologische und religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf die türkische Welt Kleine Schriften von Jens Peter Laut Herausgegeben von Gökhan Shilfeler und Hans Nugteren Harrassowitz Verlag pp. 401-405</ref>  Furthermore, there is no essential connection between begging and a dervish, and it is also said that a "true dervish" would abstain from begging.<ref>Laut, J. P. (2003). Zur Sicht des Islam in der Türkischen Republik bis zum Tode Atatürks. in "Von Zentralasien bis Anatolien Philologische und religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf die türkische Welt Kleine Schriften von Jens Peter Laut Herausgegeben von Gökhan Shilfeler und Hans Nugteren Harrassowitz Verlag pp. 401-405</ref>

Given the obscure etymologies given in Persian dictionaries, it has been suggested that the term may be of Turco-Buddhist origin and derive from ''darni'' (Sanskrit) and ''arvis'' (Old-Turkish), referring to a "specialist in magic" as they are credited with magical abilities (i.e., healing, performance of miracles, protection spells, etc).<ref name=":1">Laut, J. P. (2003). Zur Sicht des Islam in der Türkischen Republik bis zum Tode Atatürks. in "Von Zentralasien bis Anatolien Philologische und religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf die türkische Welt Kleine Schriften von Jens Peter Laut Herausgegeben von Gökhan Shilfeler und Hans Nugteren Harrassowitz Verlag pp. 401-405</ref> Given that the term is mostly used in Central Asian, Turkish, and Persian culture, the meaning of a dervish may root in Turco-Buddhist beliefs, then transferred to Islam, where the meaning of the term was lost.<ref name=":1" />

==Religious practice==
Dervishes try to approach God by virtues and individual experience, rather than by religious scholarship.<ref>Jens Peter Laut ''Vielfalt türkischer Religionen'' 1996 p. 29 (German)</ref>
Many dervishes are mendicant ascetics who have taken a vow of poverty, unlike [[mullah]]s. The main reason they beg is to learn humility, but dervishes are prohibited to beg for their own good. They have to give the collected money to other poor people. Others work in common professions; Egyptian [[Qadiriyya]] – known in Turkey as Kadiri – are fishermen, for example.

A study on dervishes among [[Bedouin|Bedouins]] reveals the process of initiation. It is believed that one does not choose to become a dervish, but is chosen to be one by God.<ref name=":3">Al-Krenawi, Alean, John R. Graham, and Benjamin Maoz. "The healing significance of the Negev's Bedouin Dervish." ''Social Science & Medicine'' 43.1 (1996): 13-21.</ref> This happens by receiving [[Barakah|''barakah'']], which happens during a dream or a conscious encounter with an angel.<ref name=":3" /> Barakah is usually received after an encounter with evil forces, supposedly manifesting in a preceding process of mental suffering.<ref name=":3" /> After receiving divine blessing, the gift might be forfeited if the dervish betrays God.<ref name=":3" />

Dervishes also work as [[Exorcism in Islam|exorcists]] and healers.<ref name=":3" /> They are believed to be able to detect the presence of evil spirits, such as [[jinn]] and [[Demon|devils]], by means of divine gifts.<ref name=":3" /> The exorcism can include negotiations or confrontations with the spirit in a spiritual world.<ref name=":3" />

Some classical writers indicate that the poverty of the dervish is not economic. [[Saadi (poet)|Saadi]], for instance, who himself travelled widely as a dervish,l and wrote extensively about them, says in his ''[[Gulistan of Sa'di|Gulistan]]'':
{{Quotation|Of what avail is frock, or rosary,
Or clouted garment? Keep thyself but free<br />
From evil deeds, it will not need for thee<br />
To wear the cap of felt: a darwesh be<br />
In heart, and wear the cap of Tartary.<ref>chapter 2 story 16: [https://archive.org/stream/gulistnorrosega00eastgoog/gulistnorrosega00eastgoog_djvu.txt "The Gulistān; or, Rose-garden, of Shek̲h̲ Muslihu'd-dīn Sādī of Shīrāz, translated for the first time into prose and verse, with an introductory preface, and a life of the author, from the Ātish Kadah"] a story later adapted by La Fontaine for his tale 'Le songe d'un habitant du Mogol'</ref>}}

[[Rumi]] writes in Book 1 of his [[Masnavi]]:<ref>''The Masnavi: Book One'', translated by Jawid Mojaddedi, Oxford World's Classics Series, Oxford University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-19-955231-3}}, p. 63.</ref>
{{Quotation|Water that's poured inside will sink the boat<br />
                     While water underneath keeps it afloat.<br />
Driving wealth from his heart to keep it pure<br />
King Solomon preferred the title 'Poor':<br />
That sealed jar in the stormy sea out there<br />
Floats on the waves because it's full of air,<br />
When you've the air of dervishood inside<br />
You'll float above the world and there abide...}}

==Whirling dervishes==
[[File:Whirling dervishes, Rumi Fest 2007.jpg|thumb|180px|right|[[Whirling dervishes]], Rumi Fest 2007]]
[[File:Dervishes Avanos.JPG|thumb|Semâ ceremony at the Dervishes Culture Center at Avanos, Turkey]]
{{Main|Sufi whirling}}
The whirling dance or [[Sufi whirling]] that is proverbially associated with dervishes is best known in the West by the practices (performances) of the [[Mevlevi]] order in Turkey, and is part of a formal ceremony known as the [[Sama (Sufism)|Sama]]. It is, however, also practiced by other orders. The Sama is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach [[religious ecstasy]] (''majdhb'', ''fana''). The name ''Mevlevi'' comes from the [[Persian language|Persian]] poet [[Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi|Rumi]], who was a dervish himself. This practice, though not intended as entertainment, has become a tourist attraction in Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|last=Koentges|first=Chris|title=13 Things The Whirling Dervishes Can Teach You About Spinning Until You're Dizzy Enough To Puke|url=http://veryethnic.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/13-things-the-whirling-dervishes-can-teach-you-about-spinning-until-youre-dizzy-enough-to-puke/|publisher=The Very Ethnic Project|date=2012-06-29}}</ref><ref>B. Ghafurov, "Todjikon", 2 vols., [[Dushanbe]] 1983-5</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rumi {{!}} Biography, Poems, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rumi |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Orders==
[[File:Dodwell Dervishes 1.jpg|thumb|180px|The dance of the dervishes, Athens, [[Ottoman Greece]], by [[Edward Dodwell|Dodwell]]]]
There are various orders of dervishes, almost all of which trace their origins from various Muslim saints and teachers, especially [[Ali ibn Abi Talib|Imam Ali]]. Various orders and suborders have appeared and disappeared over the centuries. Dervishes spread into [[North Africa]], the [[Horn of Africa]], [[Turkey]], [[Anatolia]], the [[Balkans]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Central Asia]], [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]], [[India]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Tajikistan]].

Other dervish groups include the [[Bektashi]]s, who are connected to the [[Janissary|janissaries]], and the [[Senussi]], who are rather orthodox in their beliefs. Other fraternities and subgroups chant verses of the [[Qur'an]], play drums or [[Sema|whirl]] in groups, all according to their specific traditions. They practice [[meditation]], as is the case with most of the Sufi orders in [[South Asia]], many of whom owe allegiance to, or were influenced by, the [[Chishti]] order. Each [[fraternity]] uses its own garb and methods of acceptance and initiation, some of which may be rather severe. The form of Sufi dervishism practised during the 17th century was centered upon esotericism, patience and [[pacifism]].<ref>Erdoan, Nezih. "Star director as symptom: reflections on the reception of Fatih Akn in the Turkish media." ''New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film'' 7.1 (2009): 27–38.</ref>[[File:Madhist Dervish.jpg|thumb|180px|A [[Mahdist Sudan|Mahdist]] Dervish from Sudan (1899)]]

== In literature ==
Various books discussing the lives of Dervishes can be found in Turkish literature. ''[[Death and the Dervish]]'' by [[Meša Selimović]] and ''The Dervish'' by Frances Kazan extensively discussed the life of a Dervish.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Milivojević|first1=Dragan|last2=Selimović|first2=Meša|last3=Rakić|first3=Bogdan|last4=Dickey|first4=Stephen M.|date=1997|title=Death and the Dervish|journal=World Literature Today|volume=71|issue=2|page=418|doi=10.2307/40153187|jstor=40153187|issn=0196-3570}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Frances.|first=Kazan|title=The dervish: a novel|date=2013|publisher=Opus|isbn=978-1-62316-005-0|oclc=946706691}}</ref> 
Similar works on the subject have been found in other books such as ''Memoirs of a Dervish: Sufis, Mystics and the Sixties'' by Robert Erwin.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Robert|first=Irwin|title=Memoirs of a Dervish: Sufis, Mystics and the Sixties|date=2013|publisher=Profile Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-86197-924-7|oclc=1015811956}}</ref> Majdeddin Ali Bagher Ne'matollahi has said that Sufism is a core of being and bridge between religion and science.{{cn|date=January 2024}}
Winston Churchill uses the term in his autobiographical [[My Early Life]].

== Views on Dervishes ==
Dervishes and their Sufis practices are accepted by traditional Sunni Muslims but different groups such as [[Deobandi|Deobandis]] and [[Salafi movement|Salafis]] regard various practices of Dervishes as un-Islamic.<ref>Syed, Jawad; Pio, Edwina; Kamran, Tahir; Zaidi, Abbas (2016-11-09). ''Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan''. Springer. {{ISBN|978-1-349-94966-3}}. 

"They also criticises various practices including sama, qawwali, whirling etc. Whereas Sufis/[http://www.shattariyah.blogspot.com/p/barelvi.html Barelvi] consider their beliefs and practices as mystical practices."</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>

File:Dervish rug.jpg|Dervish Azerbaijani rug, XIX c. [[Tabriz rug|Tabriz school]], [[Azerbaijan Carpet Museum|State Museum of Azerbaijan Carpet and Applied Art]]
File:Amedeo Preziosi - Turks.jpg|[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Dervishes portrayed by [[Amedeo Preziosi]] in [[Istanbul]], 1857
File:Darvish bazaar.jpg|A [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]]-era Persian dervish, seen here from an 1873 depiction of [[Tehran's Grand Bazaar]]
File:Constantinople(1878)-begging dervis.png|An Ottoman Dervish in Istanbul, 1878
File:Wrau-dervishes-damascus-cropped.jpg|Dervishes photographed by [[William H. Rau]] near [[Damascus]], {{circa|1903}}
File:Dervish, 1913.jpg|A [[Palestinian Arabs|Palestinian]] Dervish in 1913
File:Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi.jpg|[[Muhammad Ahmad|Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi]], leader of the [[Sudan]]ese Dervishes
File:Keskul GrantBowl.JPG|Sufi kashkuls were often made from a [[coco de mer]] which ordinary beggars would have difficulty to find
File:Kashkul, or Beggar’s Bowl, with Portrait of Dervishes and a Mounted Falconer, A.H. 1280.jpg|''Kashkul, or Beggar's Bowl, with Portrait of Dervishes and a Mounted Falconer'', A.H. 1280. [[Brooklyn Museum]]
File:Brooklyn Museum - A Gathering of Dervishes.jpg|A Gathering of Dervishes in the [[Mughal Empire]]
File:Brooklyn Museum - A Family of Dervishes.jpg|A family of Dervishes, possibly by [[Antoin Sevruguin]] (between 1876 and 1925)
File:Dodwell Dervishes 2.jpg|The dance of the dervishes, Athens
File:Friday afternoon Dervishes (8625532149).jpg|Sufi dervishes in [[Omdurman]], Sudan
File:Mohammed Abdullah Hassan-dj.jpg|Sayyid [[Mohammed Abdullah Hassan]], head of [[Dervish movement (Somali)|Darawiish]]
File:Sheykh_of_the_Rufai_Dervishes.jpg|A [[Sheikh]] of the [[Rifa'i]] Sufi Order
</gallery>

==See also==
{{EB9 Poster|Dervish}}
{{NIE Poster|year=1905}}
{{Commons category|Dervishes}}
* [[Derviş]], a variant of the spelling
* [[Dervish movement (Somali)]] of 1889-1920
* [[Fakir]], Sufi Muslim ascetic
* [[Qalandariyya]] Sufi order

===Books===
* ''[[The Tale of the Four Dervishes]]'', 13th-century Persian story collection
* [[The Mongol Invasion (trilogy)|''The Mongol Invasion'']], historical trilogy (1939-1955) by Soviet writer Vasily Yan; the connecting element is a dervish and chronicler
* ''[[Death and the Dervish]]'', 1966 novel by Yugoslav writer Meša Selimović

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Relevant literature==
*Xavier, Merin Shobhana. ''The Dervishes of the North: Rumi, Whirling, and the Making of Sufism in Canada''. University of Toronto Press. 2023.
{{Sufism terminology}}
{{Portal bar|Religion|Islam|Education|Psychology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dervish| ]]
[[Category:Islamic honorifics]]
[[Category:Sacred dance]]
[[Category:Sufism]]
[[Category:Islamic mysticism]]
[[Category:Mysticism]]
[[Category:Religious orders]]
[[Category:Islamic orders]]
[[Category:Turkic mythology]]