Page "Sufism" Paragraph 2

Classical Sufis were characterised by their attachment to dhikr ( a practice of repeating the names of God ) and asceticism.

Sufism gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate ( 661-750 CE ).

Sufis have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish and a dozen other languages.

" Orders " ( ṭuruq ), which are either Sunnī or Shī ' ī or mixed in doctrine, trace many of their original precepts from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad through his cousin ' Alī, with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.

Other exclusive schools of Sufism describe themselves as distinctly Sufi.

Modern Sufis often perform dhikr after the conclusion of prayers.