Sufi orders (Arabic: طرق صوفية ṭuruq ṣūfiyya, singular: طريقة ṭarīqa) are organized spiritual lineages within the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism. Each order traces its teachings through a chain of transmission (silsila) leading back through early Muslim ascetics to companions of the prophet Muhammad — mainly Abu Bakr and Ali ibn Abi Talib — and ultimately to Muhammad himself.Trimingham, J. Spencer. The Sufi Orders in Islam. Oxford University Press, 1971. While Sufi practice originated in the ascetic circles in 2nd–3rd centuries AH, formalized Sufi orders with defined institutional structures appeared gradually between the 5th and 7th centuries AH.Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. University of North Carolina Press, 1975.
Sufi orders developed distinct devotional practices, liturgical forms such as dhikr, rules of spiritual training, and regional identities. Over time, they spread across the Middle East, Persia, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Anatolia, and the Balkans, forming some of the most influential religious and social networks in Muslim societies.Knysh, Alexander. Islamic Mysticism: A Short History. Brill, 2010. This article lists major Sufi orders arranged by historical period, geography, and recognized sub-branches.
Historical background The origins of Sufism lie in early Islamic asceticism (zuhd) and spiritual teaching circles active in the 2nd–4th centuries AH (8th–10th centuries CE). Early figures such as Hasan al-Basri, Rabia Basri, Sahl al-Tustari, Junayd of Baghdad, and Bayazid Bastami articulated the vocabulary, ethical ideals, and metaphysical concepts that shaped later Sufi thought, though they did not establish "orders" in an institutional sense.Ernst, Carl. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Shambhala, 1997.
By the 5th–6th centuries AH, Sufi authors such as al-Qushayri and al-Hujwīrī systematized Sufi doctrine, and khānaqāhs, ribāṭs, and zawiyas emerged as centers for spiritual instruction.Geoffroy, Eric. Introduction to Sufism: The Inner Path of Islam. Fons Vitae, 2010. During this period, recognizable orders began to develop around charismatic teachers, such as ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (Qādiriyya), Abū al-Najīb al-Suhrawardī (Suhrawardiyya), and Ahmad Yasavī (Yasaviyya).
Between the 7th and 10th centuries AH, Sufi orders expanded widely through missionary activity, trade networks, and royal patronage, producing transregional movements such as the Naqshbandiyya, Shādhiliyya, Chishtiyya, and Khalwatiyya.Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The Venture of Islam. University of Chicago Press, 1974. In the 12th–14th centuries AH, new orders such as the Tijaniyya, Sanūsiyya, Darqāwiyya, and ‘Alawiyya appeared, often responding to colonialism, reformist debates, and social developments.Heck, Paul. Sufism and Politics: The Power of Mysticism. Princeton University Press, 2021.
Early influential Sufis (before the emergence of orders) The following figures predate institutional Sufi orders but are considered foundational influences:
Hasan al-Basri (d. 110 AH / 728 CE) Rābiʻah al-ʻAdawiyya (d. 185 AH / 801 CE) Sahl al-Tustarī (d. 283 AH / 896 CE) Junayd al-Baghdādī (d. 298 AH / 910 CE) Abū Yazīd al-Bistāmī (d. 261 AH / 874 CE) al-Hārith al-Muḥāsibī (d. 243 AH / 857 CE) Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412 AH / 1021 CE) al-Qushayrī (d. 465 AH / 1072 CE) Abū Ismāʿīl al-Harawī (d. 481 AH / 1089 CE) al-Ghazālī (d. 505 AH / 1111 CE)
Sufi orders by period of foundation
Sufi Order Founder Period (CE / AH) Region of Origin Qadiriyya Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani d. 1166 / 561 AH Baghdad Rifa'i Ahmad al-Rifa'i d. 1182 / 578 AH Iraq Chishtiyya Mu'in al-Din Chishti d. 1236 / 633 AH India (Ajmer) Suhrawardiyya Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi d. 1168 / 563 AH Baghdad Kubrawiyya Najm al-Din Kubra d. 1221 / 618 AH Khwarazm Naqshbandiyya Baha' al-Din Naqshband d. 1389 / 791 AH BukharaMujaddidiyyaAhmad Sirhindid. 1624 / 1029 AHIndia (Sirhind) Shadhiliyya Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili d. 1258 / 656 AH North Africa Khalwatiyya Umar al-Khalwati (trad.) 14th–15th c. Anatolia Yasaviyya Ahmad Yasavi d. 1166 / 562 AH Turkestan Mevlevi Jalaluddin Rumi d. 1273 Turkey Bektashiyya Haji Bektash Wali d. 1271 / 669 AH (trad.) Turkey
Sufi orders by region Region Major Orders Middle East Qadiriyya, Suhrawardiyya, Rifa'i, Shadhiliyya (Egypt branches) Central Asia Naqshbandiyya, Kubrawiyya, Yasaviyya South Asia Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya (Indian branches), Suhrawardiyya (Indian branches), Mujaddidiyya North Africa (Maghreb) Shadhiliyya, Darqawiyya, Alawiyya, Tijaniyya Anatolia & Balkans Bektashiyya, Khalwatiyya, Mevleviyya Sub-Saharan Africa Qadiriyya (West Africa), Tijaniyya, Muridiyya Iran & Persianate areas Nimatullahi, Kubrawiyya, Safaviyya (pre-dynastic) Caucasus Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya, Qadiriyya (local Caucasian branches)
Major branches and sub-orders Major Order Branch Branch Founder Region Other Offshoots Qadiriyya Qadiri-Barkati Shah Barkatullah Marehrawi India, Pakistan Razawiyyah (Barelvi) Qadiri-Mukhtari Shaykh Mukhtar al-Kunti West Africa (Mali) Naqshbandiyya Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Ahmad Sirhindi India / Central Asia Saifia Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi Ottoman Empire / Levant / Anatolia Naqshbandiyya-Abul Ulai Ameer Abul Ula India Shadhiliyya Darqawiyya Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi Morocco (Maghreb) Sanusiyyah Wafa'iyya Muhammad b. Ahmad Wafa Syria, Egypt Dasuqiya-Burhaniya Ibrahim al-Dasuqi Egypt Zarruqiyya Ahmad az-Zarruq Morocco Arūsiyya Ahmad b. al-'Arüs --- Chishtiyya Chishtiyya-Nizamiyya Nizamuddin Auliya Delhi / North India Chishtiyya-Sabiriyya Ala al-Din Sabir Kalyari India (Subcontinent) Chishtiyya-Khizriya Khizr Rumi Qalandar India Suhrawardiyya Makhdumiyya Sayyid Jalal ad-Din al-Bukhari (Jahaniyan Jahangasht) India, Pakistan Zayniyya Zayn ad-din Abu Bakr Khwafi Iran Jalāli Syed Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari India (subcontinent) Ziya'iyya Ziya al-Din Nakhshabi India / Persia Kubrawiyya Firdawsiyya Badr ad-Din Firdawsi (Eastern) India, Bangladesh Ashrafiyya Ashraf Jahangir as-Simnāni India Ya'qubiyah Shaykh Yaqub Sarfi Kashmiri India Hamadhaniyya Sayf al-Din al-Hamadhani Khorasan / Persia Rifa'i Badawiyyah Ahmad al-Badawi North Africa Alwaniyya Ahmad ibn 'Alwan Yemen Madyaniyya Ba 'Alawiyya al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad ibn Ali Ba 'Alawi HadhramautAmoudiyyaSa'eed ibn Isa al-AmoudiHadhramaut Hazmiriyya Abd ar-Rahman al-Hazmir -- Hahiya Yahya b.'Abd al-'Azīz al-Hahi -- Hansaliyya Sa'id ibn Yusuf -- Yasawiyyah Bektashiyya Haji Bektash Veli Turkey Zahediyya Zahed Gilani - Khalwati Umar al-Khalwati Middle East, Turkey, Balkans Bayramiye Haji Bayram Veli - Jilvatiyya (Jelveti) Aziz Mahmud Hudayi
Timeline of major Sufi orders OrderFounder / Key FigureDate (AH)Date (CE)Region of OriginQādiriyyaʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī5611166IraqSuhrawardiyyaAbū al-Najīb al-Suhrawardī5631168Persia / IraqYasaviyyaAhmad Yasavī5621166TurkestanRifāʿiyyaAḥmad al-Rifāʿī5781182IraqKubrawiyyaNajm al-Dīn Kubrā6181221KhwarazmChishtiyyaMuʿin al-Dīn Chishtī6361238South AsiaShādhiliyyaAbū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī6561258Egypt / MaghribBektāshiyyaHacı Bektaş Veli6691271AnatoliaMawlawiyyaJalāl al-Dīn Rūmī6721273AnatoliaNaqshbandiyyaBahā’ al-Dīn Naqshband7911389Central AsiaKhalwatiyyaVarious (formalized later)800s1400s CEPersia / AnatoliaMujaddidiyyaAhmad Sirhindī10291624North IndiaTijaniyyaAḥmad al-Tijānī12301815North/West AfricaSanūsiyyaMuḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Sanūsī12761859LibyaDarqāwiyyaMuḥammad al-Darqāwī12391823Morocco
Other Sufi Orders Letter Sufi Order G Galibi Order H Hamallayya Hansaliyya I Idrisiyya Isawiyya (Aissawa, Issawiyya) J Jahriyya Jilala K KarzaziyyaKarkariya Gulshani Jerrahi Nur Ashki Jerrahi Nasuhi Rahmani Sunbuli Ussaki Khatmiyya Marufi M Madariyya Maizbhandaria Malamatiyya Maryamiyya Mouride (Murid tariqa, Muridiyya, Yoonu Murit) MurīdūnN Haqqaniyya İsmailağa Saifia Süleymancılar Nasiriyya Nimatullahi NoorbakshiaQ Kasnazani Sarwari Qadiri Qudusiyah R Rahmani (Rahmaniyya) Rishi orderS Murabitun Shattariyya Sammaniyya T Tijaniyyah (also Tijani) U UwaisiZ Zahabiya
Other Sufi groups Akbariyya Azeemiyya Bayramiye (al Bayramiyya) Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Cem Foundation (Bektashi) Dasuqi (Desuqiyya) Fultali Haji Bektash Veli Anatolian Cultural Association (Bektashi) Hurufiyya International Association of Sufism Jaririya Jelveti (Jalwatiyya, Celvetîyye) Khufiyya Khwajagan Layene Roshani movement Salihiyya
Unorthodox Sufi groups Adawiyya (Yazidism) Alevism (Shia) Alians (Shia) Al Akbariyya Baba Samid (Shia) Bektashism Dar-ul-Ehsan Haqqani Anjuman Inayati Order International Spiritual Movement Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam Moorish Science Temple of America Qalandariyya Subud Sufi Ruhaniat International The Idries Shah Foundation The Chisholme Institute (The Beshara School of Esoteric Education) Western Sufism International Sufi Centre Sufi Contact Sufism Reoriented The Sufi Way
See also
List of Sufis
References
Further reading Algar, Hamid. “Naqshbandiyya.” In: Encyclopaedia Iranica. Zarrabi-Zadeh, Saeed. Sufism in Iran and Central Asia. Routledge, 2021. Yves Bomati and Houchang Nahavandi (ed.). 2017. Shah Abbas, Emperor of Persia,1587–1629. Ketab Corporation. Los Angeles. . English translation by Azizeh Azodi.
External links "List of Sufi Orders". The Spiritual Life. Retrieved 27 May 2021. "Sufi Orders and Their Shaykhs" . Sufism and Its Many Paths. Retrieved 6 June 2021.