SILSILA

Silsila, Arabic for chain, is the word commonly used to describe the spiritual genealogy of Sufi lineages, which in turn are used to legitimize the authority of Sufi shaykhs. It is assumed that both the "heart-to-heart connection" and the spiritual teaching originated with Muhammad, hence the need for a series of spiritual links constituting a "chain" that connects back to the Prophet acting as a "conduit" for divine grace from God. In many respects these sufi genealogical chains resemble hadith isnads (chains of hadith transmitters). The encompassing principle involved in both isnads and silsilas is the personal encounter between two reliable transmitters. Generally, hadith scholars define this encounter in personal, verbal terms and for Sufis it entails a nonverbal sharing of the heart. This allows Sufi silsilas to have "Uwaysi links," which involve "supra-temporal" meetings of Sufis in their imaginal forms.

The earliest Sufi silsila traces the spiritual genealogy of Ja˓far al-Khuldi (d. 959) back to the Successors. Like hadith isnads, these Sufi chains were "raised" over time to connect with Companions and then to Muhammad. In many Sufi lineages disciples memorize the silsila of the lineage as a litany invoking divine grace or as a contemplation exercise to attract the spirits of deceased shaykhs.

See alsoKhilafat Movement ; Tariqa .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Buehler, Arthur F. Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The IndianNaqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Shaykh. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998.

Trimingham, Spencer. The Sufi Orders in Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Arthur F. Buehler