The difference between a Sufi and a dervish (fakir) is the difference between theory and practice. A Sufi follows a mystical theory or doctrine, and a dervish follows a mystical Path. There is no doubt that the dervish is both a Sufi, and theoretically there is no significant difference between them. A Sufi is a dervish, and a dervish is a Sufi, since it is impossible to separate one from the other, but in practice the emphasis is unevenly distributed: Sufis are usually distinguished by a creative mind and a creative imagination, an example of which is Ibn al-Arabi, while the other dervishes, in first of all, full of emotions and thirst for activity. But in both cases, we meet Sufis and dervishes who dispense with mentors and who rely exclusively on themselves (however, the presence of a spiritual mentor is often allowed),in order to achieve in a passive or active form the complete destruction of one's “I” and direct dissolution in divine reality. Some achieve this with the help of intellectual exercises, while others - psychophysical practice. Ibn Abbad of Ronda (1333-1390) was an adherent of the Shaziliyah, but in a letter to Abu Ishak ash-Shatibi, who wanted to know his opinion about whether a sheikh-mentor was absolutely necessary, he wrote that on his spiritual path he was more guided by Sufi treatises rather than sheikhs. Many of those who do not have healthy mentors recognize spiritual shepherds.who wanted to know his opinion on whether a sheikh-mentor was definitely needed, he wrote that on his spiritual path he was more guided by Sufi treatises than sheikhs. Many of those who do not have healthy mentors recognize spiritual shepherds.who wanted to know his opinion on whether a sheikh-mentor was absolutely necessary, he wrote that on his spiritual path he was more guided by Sufi treatises than by sheikhs. Many of those who do not have healthy mentors recognize spiritual shepherds.
It is also essential to clarify the difference between Sufi and Malamatiya adherents. There is a lot of confusion on this issue. Abu Abdarrahman al-Sulami (d. 412/1021) considered the Malamatiyah ("blameworthy") servants of God to be of the highest rank, standing over both legal scholars (fuqaha) and gnostics (ahl al-ma'rif). These latter belong to the second category - Hawass, and he calls them Sufis, but they are more likely the "chosen" or "privileged" than simple Sufis, to whom God gave special knowledge about themselves and who can perform karamat (miracles) and penetrate into the hidden secrets …
Malamati are Sufis. As-Sulami in the treatise "Risalat al-malamatiya" writes about them: “The basis of their teaching includes strict guidance carried out by the Sufi head (imam min aimmat al-kaum), whose help should be used in all cases concerning mystical knowledge and experience ".
Nubian Zu-n-Nun and resident of Merv Bishr b. al-Haris (d. 277/841) would like to be known as the founders of the Malamatiya doctrine, but the true sources of its origin must be sought in Nishapur (a city in Iran). It should not be assumed that this teaching is very different from tasawwuf (Sufism), for it is simply the Nishapur school of mysticism. Followers of the Malamatiya al-Sulami include Sahla at-Tustari, Yahyu Ma'az al-Razi, and Abu Yazid al-Bistami, to whom he attributes the postulation of doctrines characteristic of this school.
In the life of a Sufi, tawvakul ("trust in God", Koran, LXV, 3) plays an important role, and this entails Inkar al-Kasb ("breaking the usual bonds and avoiding reality"), that is, training and guidance, carried out by the sheikh, and even obedience to him, sealed by an oath and vesting in a hirku, regular exercises of dhikr and herself. All this is denied by Malamatiya advocates, at least in theory. The doctrine of malamatiya is based on the dogma of the complete insignificance of man before God. Unlike a Sufi, a true Malamati hides his spiritual progress. He seeks to cleanse himself of the world and its passions while still living in this world. Shihabaddin as-Suhrawardi writes: "It is believed that malamati is one who never boasts of his good deeds and does not hide bad thoughts." He explains this as follows: “Malamati is the onewhose veins are saturated with pure virtue, who is truly sincere, who does not want to be aware of his ecstatic states or experiences."
Malamati is ready to endure the contempt of people, just to dissolve in God. And if a Sufi lives ala-t-tawakkul, hoping that God will take care of him, the malamati earns his bread (his "legitimate" food is given only by labor), immersed in God, even when he is engaged in worldly affairs. He does not advertise his actions and does not take part in the public celebrations of dhikr. The confusion often stems from the fact that many mystical authors tend to view the Malamatiya adherents as quietists (mutawakkilun) among the Sufis and even as people who lack the will and discipline necessary to overcome the thorns of the mystical Path, while the mutawakkilun are the same Sufis. Among other things, they mix malamati with calendars. Further exposition will show them wrong.
Malamati rejects everything outwardly ostentatious, lettuce and taraweeh (the latter causes him especially harsh condemnation, since this form of piety is often designed only for the public). Contrary to popular belief, Malamati performs obligatory rituals (i.e., faraid), such as ritual prayers (salad), solely in order not to attract attention to themselves. For the same reason, he does not wear the special clothing that distinguishes a Sufi. He does not have a shaikh initiating him into the order, to whom he would be subordinate in the Sufi sense, although he is ready to accept mentorship.
As-Suhrawardi writes: “Currently in Khorasan there is some kind of association (taifa) malamatiya with their sheikhs who teach them the basics and to whom they report progress in their spiritual growth. We have seen with our own eyes people in Iraq who follow this path of “incriminating”, but they are known there under a different name, since the usual name is not in use among the people of Iraq.
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Malamati do not share the ideas of speculative mysticism regarding the unity of being, but are busy destroying their own "I". Among the later orders, the Naqshbandiyya was most associated with the Malamatiya teachings within the tasawwuf. Naqshbandis practice individual remembrance (dhikr hafi), refusing collective dhikr. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall their formula about “loneliness in the crowd”.
As long as al-Sulami and even (albeit with reservations) such a typically Sufi mentor as al-Suhrawardi are able to soberly assess the Malamati, or at least their theory, as one of the ordinary Sufi doctrines, they consider the kalandars worthy of condemnation. In theory, there is no difference between the two. The danger of the Malam movement is that it can become an antisocial phenomenon. The rude and uneducated wandering dervishes and babas of the Turkish movements were typical qalandars. And as the theories of the Path were formed, latent contradictions were subsequently revealed.
The difference between malamati and qalandari is that the former hides his faith, while the latter advertises it in every possible way and even uses it selfishly to incur censure. The confusion comes from the fact that the name malamati comes from malam - "censure". The term qalandar, which is widely known for its Arabic "1001 nights", historically includes a huge variety of types of dervishes. It was widely used in the east (it is unknown in the western Muslim world) in relation to all wandering fakirs, but, in addition, it was accepted by entire groups and even special orders were created under this name. Hence the difficulty in defining this term.
Speaking about the time of the addition of the silsil, Shikhabaddin al-Suhrawardi wrote: “The term qalandariya is used in relation to people so obsessed with the idea of“peace of mind”that they do not respect customs or rituals and reject generally accepted norms of social life and relationships. Crossing the arenas of "peace of mind", they do not bother about ritual prayers and fasting, doing only the most obligatory (faraid). In the same way, they do not care about earthly joys, permitted by the indulgence of divine law … The difference between qalandar and malamati is that malamati seeks to hide its way of life from everyone, while qalandar seeks an excuse to destroy established customs.
Makrizi writes that around 610/1213 Qalandars first appeared in Damascus. According to the testimony of Najmaddin Muhammad b. Israil from the order of the reef 'Iya-haririyya (d. 1278), the order of qalandariya appeared in 616/1219 and was founded by Muhammad b. Yunus al-Savaji (d. 630/1232), a refugee from Sawa (destroyed by the Mongols in 617/1220): "When al-Hariri was condemned during the reign of al-Ashraf, the Qalandars were also persecuted and sent to the castle of Husainiyya." Kalandariya was then re-founded together with the Khaidarite group, and the zawiya was built in 655/1257 … It is believed that during the reign of Iltutmish, a disciple of Muhammad b. Yunusa, known as Khidr Rumi, spread this trend in North-East India, which took shape as an independent line with its own genealogy, that is, in the Order of Qalandars.
A Persian fakir named Hasan al-Javaliki appeared in Egypt during the time of al-Malik al-'Adil Ketbog (1294-1296) and founded the zawiya of the Qalandars, and then went to Damascus, where he died in 722/1322. Makrizi notes that they were quietists, striving for inner peace, but the methods they proposed to achieve it required the abandonment of ordinary social norms.
The distinctive features of the qalandar included the wearing of special clothing, a shaved head and beard (the mustache, however, remained), holes in the hands and ears for iron rings, which they wore as a sign of repentance, and on the genital member as a symbol of chastity.
At the time of Jami (d. 1412), the situation was different. This Sufi poet, citing a passage from Shikhabaddin, writes: “As for those people whom we now call qalandars and who have freed themselves from the reins of Islam, the qualities that we have just talked about are alien to them and they should rather be called hashaviyya . Both Suhrawardi and Jami note that those who dress up in the clothes of qalandars in order to participate in fights should not be confused with real calendars.
The Turkish qalandars eventually united into a separate order. One group of them traces its origin to a Spanish Arab-immifant named Yusuf al-Andalusi. After he was expelled from the Bektashiyya order for his irrepressible disposition, he tried unsuccessfully to join the Mavlaviyya order, and ended up by founding an independent order called Qalandar.
He demanded from his dervishes that they roam continuously, but during the reign of Muhammad II (1451-1481) a monastery of qalandars with a mosque and madrasah appeared in Istanbul. Evliya Chelebi mentions the abode of Indian qalandars in Kagid Khan (suburb of Skutari), to which Sultan Muhammad used to feed the fakirs with lunches. There was another order of the Qalandars at the beginning of our century in Aleppo. Mujiradzin describes the qalandar zawiya in Jerusalem, in the middle of the Mamilla cemetery. Previously, it was a church called ad-Dair al-Ahmar, which a certain Ibrahim al-Kalandari adapted as a zawiya for his fukar, but this zawiya turned into ruins around 893/1488.
J. S. Trimingham
