Sufism arose within early Islam as an inner movement of intense devotion, rooted in Qur’anic calls to spiritual excellence and in the Prophet’s practices of remembrance, night vigil, and God‑consciousness. In the first centuries, pious Muslims in places like Basra, Kufa, and Damascus turned to asceticism, simple woolen clothing, fasting, and voluntary poverty as a protest against growing worldliness. Figures such as Hasan al‑Basri and Rabiʿa al‑ʿAdawiyya embodied this early path of renunciation and pure love of God. Over time, the focus shifted from outward austerity to the cultivation of inner “states” and “stations,” mapping a disciplined journey of repentance, trust, love, and gnosis. The term “Sufi” itself is commonly linked to the coarse wool (ṣūf) worn by these early seekers, symbolizing detachment from worldly luxury. From the outset, this current sought a direct experience of the Divine that complemented, rather than replaced, the formal obligations of Islamic law and ritual.

As this current matured between the 9th and 11th centuries, it developed a more precise language and a body of manuals that described the mystical path in detail. Thinkers such as al‑Muḥāsibī, al‑Junayd, and al‑Qushayrī articulated doctrines of sobriety and ecstasy, of annihilation in God (fanāʾ) and subsistence in God (baqāʾ), and of spiritual etiquette in the presence of the Divine. The dramatic figure of al‑Ḥallāj, remembered for his ecstatic utterance “Ana al‑Ḥaqq,” highlighted the tension between unguarded mystical expression and the boundaries of accepted theology. Later, scholars like al‑Ghazālī argued that this inner path represented the spiritual heart of Islam, harmonizing law, theology, and mysticism. Through such syntheses, Sufism came to be seen, in many circles, as the inward dimension of the same revelation that also gave rise to jurisprudence and theology.

From the 11th–12th centuries onward, Sufism took on more visible institutional forms through the emergence of organized orders (ṭuruq) centered on charismatic shaykhs and chains of spiritual transmission. Lodges and hospices became spaces for teaching, communal dhikr, hospitality, and charity, and Sufi lineages such as the Qādiriyya, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Shādhiliyya, Naqshbandiyya, and others spread across the Islamic world. These orders did not merely preserve a set of doctrines; they cultivated distinctive disciplines, rituals, and patterns of companionship that shaped everyday religious life. Alongside this institutionalization, Sufi poets and thinkers—among them Rūmī, ʿAṭṭār, Ḥāfiẓ, Ibn ʿArabī, and later Jāmī—gave voice to a rich metaphysics of love and unity, profoundly influencing Islamic literature, music, and philosophy.

As Sufism traveled eastward, it adapted creatively to diverse cultural landscapes while maintaining an Islamic theological core. In the Persianate world, it intertwined with local philosophical and poetic traditions, refining subtle metaphysical visions of the Divine and the cosmos. In South Asia, orders such as the Chishtiyya and Suhrawardiyya engaged the religious plurality of the region, employing local languages, poetry, and music, and often fostering a spirit of openness toward surrounding communities. In Anatolia and Central Asia, lineages like the Mevleviyya, Yasawiyya, Naqshbandiyya, and Bektāshiyya absorbed elements of Turkic and regional cultures into an Islamic mystical framework. In Southeast Asia, Sufi teachers and saints played a central role in the spread of Islam, drawing on local artistic and courtly forms to express the path of remembrance and love. Through these many adaptations, Sufism became both a vehicle for inner transformation and a powerful force in the spiritual and cultural life of the broader Islamic world.