Dhikr jahr in Central Asian Brotherhoods: Discussions, Typology, Revival
Abstract
Paper of Bakhtiyar Babadhzanov presents a detailed analytical description of elements, religious and social meaning of the so-called load remembrance of God ( dhikr jahr ) in changing practices of Central Asian Sufi brotherhoods from the Middle Ages to the recent period of Islamic revival. The author argues that dhikr ritual has been and remains a powerful means of communal integration in popular religiosity. The study bases upon a wide range of still poorly studied first hand sources including theoretical theological treatises, practical descriptions of dhikr rules used in Yasawiyya Sufi lodges as well as collections of legal opinions ( fatawa ) composed in order to legalize Sufi practices of dhikr , sama' and raqs according to the Shari'a rules. Babadhzanov also draws upon ethnographic descriptions of dhikr rituals and his own field materials.