Qur'an Verse Lookup
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Sama
Spiritual concert; a public recital of poetry, typically accompanied by music, as part of a Sufi dhikr ritual. Liturgical means of inducing ecstasy. Often held on the same day of each month. In early Sufi orders, sama involved three physical actions—dancing, whirling, and jumping—by participants, giving rise to the phrase “whirling dervish.” After the eleventh century, some tariqahs added a teaching session for interpretation of texts as a critical component of the ritual preceding the poetry recitation and singing. Use of music is often attacked by orthodox and legalistic interpreters as an irreligious innovation, constituting a major source of criticism of Sufism.
See also Mawlawi Tariqah
