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Menhuan
Menhuan () is a term used by the Hui and Uyghur Muslim populations of China to indicate a Chinese Ṣūfī '' ṭarīḳa'' ("order" or "saintly lineage"). The leaders of a ''menhuan'', which usually are Ṣūfī Muslim '' murs̲h̲id'' ("masters") or '' walī'' ("saints"), form a chain of spiritual successors over the ages, known in Arabic as '' silsilah'', which goes back to the order's founder in China (e.g., Ma Laichi or Ma Mingxin), and beyond, toward his teachers in Arabia. One of Dillon's main sources is: Origin of the term The term itself is of comparatively recent origin: according to Ma Tong (1983), it was first attested in an essay by the Hezhou Prefecture Magistrate Yang Zengxin dated 1897. It has been suggested by Chinese researchers that it has developed from ''menfa'' (), meaning "powerful and influential family", or (), which has been used in the Northwestern China to mean "gateway" or "faction". Characteristics In most ''menhuan'' Ṣūfī orders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jahriyya
Jahriyya (also spelled Jahrīya or Jahriyah) is a ''menhuan'' ( Sufi order) in China, commonly called the New Teaching (''Xinjiao''). Founded in the 1760s by Ma Mingxin, it was active in the late 18th and 19th centuries in what was then Gansu Province (also including parts of today's Qinghai and Ningxia), when its followers were involved in a number of conflicts with other Muslim groups and in several rebellions against China's ruling Qing dynasty. The name comes from the Arabic word ''jahr'' (جهر), referring to their practice of vocally performing the ''dhikr'' (invocation of the name of God). This contrasted with the more typical Naqshbandi practice of performing it silently, as observed by the Khufiyya or Old Teaching. Ma Mingxin opposed the practice of saint veneration which had become popular in China. History Foundation and principles The Jahriya order was founded by the Gansu Chinese-speaking Muslim scholar Ma Mingxin soon after his return to China in 1761, after 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khufiyya
Khufiyya (; Arabic: خفيه, the silent ones) is a Sufist order of Chinese Islam. It was the first Sufist order to be established within China and, along with Jahriyya, Qadiriyya and Kubrawiyyah, is acknowledged as one of the four orders of Chinese Sufism. Adherents of Khufiyya dwell mainly in Northwestern China, especially Gansu Province. The order follows the school of Hanafi in terms of jurisprudence. Traditional beliefs within the order claim the origin of Khufiyya to be Abu Bakr. In addition, the doctrines of Khufiyya are influenced by Confucianism, the Confucian approach or way of expounding Islamic sacred texts known as "Yiru Quanjing" (以儒詮經). History The origin of Khufiyya can be traced to the Naqshbandis of Central Asia, a Sunni spiritual order of Sufism, which in turn has its roots in Sham. Their missions gave rise to the prosperity of Sufis in Bukhara and Samarkand. Makhdumi Azam, a 17th-century Naqshbandi leader, settled in Kashgar where his offsprin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Laichi
Ma Laichi (1681? – 1766?; ), also known as Abu 'l-Futūh Ma Laichi, was a Chinese Sufi master, who brought the Khufiyya movement to China and created the Huasi '' menhuan'' ( Sufi order) - the earliest and most important Naqshbandi (نقشبندية，納克什班迪) order in Chinese Muslim history.Gladney (1996), pp. 47-48Lipman (1998), p. 65-67 Life Afaq Khoja's blessing Ma Laichi came from a Chinese Muslim family with a military background. His grandfather, Ma Congshan, was a general under the Ming dynasty; his father, Ma Jiujun, passed imperial examinations on the military track under the Qing, but instead of joining government service, made a fortune in business. His home was in Hezhou (now called Linxia), one of the main Muslim centers of Gansu. According to the legend told by Ma Laichi's followers, Ma Jiajun was still childless at the age of forty, and, desirous to have a son, he went to Xining, to ask for a blessing from Afaq Khoja, a Naqshbandi ''shaykh'' v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Mingxin
Ma Mingxin (1719–1781) () was a Chinese Sufi master, the founder of the Jahriyya ''menhuan'' (Naqshbandi Sufi order). Names Ma Mingxin's Arabic given name was Ibrāhīm. After returning to China from Arabia he started calling himself 'Azīz. He was also called Muhammad Emin ( ar, محمد أمين}). Followers of the Jahriyyah sometimes refer to him by the title of Wiqāyatullāh (: وقاية الله)Life A[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tariqa
A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a '' murshid'' (guide) who plays the role of leader or spiritual director. The members or followers of a tariqa are known as ''muridin'' (singular ''murid''), meaning "desirous", viz. "desiring the knowledge of God and loving God" (also called a '' fakir''). Tariqa is also believed to be the same as Tzadik of Judaism meaning the "rightly guided one". The metaphor of "way, path" is to be understood in connection of the term ''sharia'' which also has the meaning of "path", more specifically "well-trodden path; path to the waterhole". The "path" metaphor of ''tariqa'' is that of a further path, taken by the mystic, which continues from the "well-trodden path" or exoteric of ''sharia'' towards the esoteric ''haqiqa''. A fourth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Zengxin
Yang Zengxin (; March 6, 1864 – July 7, 1928) was the ruler of Xinjiang after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 until his assassination in 1928. Life Yang Zengxin was born in Mengzi, Yunnan Province, in 1864. Though a Han Chinese, he had connections with the leading Muslim families of Yunnan. He was knowledgeable about Islam and Islamic culture. He passed the imperial examination and became a ''jinshi'' degree holder in 1899. Magistrate in Gansu Hezhou Prefecture Magistrate Yang Zengxin wrote an essay on Sufi menhuan dated 1897. One of Dillon's main sources is: Governorship of Xinjiang In 1907 Xinjiang was where the Qing assigned Yang Zengxin. He effectively fabricated Xinjiang's boundaries in its modern form by having the posts of Altay minister, Tarbagatai councilor and Ili general destroyed and having their self-rule directly to Beijing removed. Ma Yuanzhang, a Sufi Jahriyya Shaykh, gave his support to Yang Zengxin to seize power in Xinjiang. This enabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silsilah
Silsila ( ar, سِلْسِلَة) is an Arabic word meaning ''chain'', ''link'', ''connection'' often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his ''khilafat'' to his ''khalîfa'', or spiritual descendant. In Urdu, ''silsila'' means saga. Historical importance Every Sufi order, or ''tariqa'', has a ''silsila''. ''Silsila'' originated with the initiation of ''tariqa'' which dates back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Most ''silsila'' trace their lineage back to his cousin and son-in-law Ali bin Abi Talib such as the Qadiriyyah, the Chishtiyya, the Noorbakhshia and the Suhrawardiyyah orders. However, the Naqshbandiyyah order of South Asia is through Abu Bakr. Centuries ago, Arabia did not have schools for formal education. Students went to masters who taught them. Upon completion of their study, they received ''ijazah'' (permission) which acted as the certification of their education. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gongbei (Islamic Architecture)
Gongbei (; from fa, گنبد '' gonbad'', meaning "dome", "cupola"), is a term used by the Hui and Uyghur Muslim populations of China in the Northwestern region to indicate an Islamic shrine complex centered on the grave (''qabr'') of a Ṣūfī Muslim '' murs̲h̲id'' ("master") or '' walī'' ("saint"), typically the founder of a '' menhuan'' (a Chinese Ṣūfī '' ṭarīḳa'', or "saintly lineage"). The grave itself usually is topped with a dome. Joseph Fletcher, The Sufi Paths (turuq) in China”, Etudes Orientales 13/14 (1994). Quoted in: Similar Islamic facilities with the same purpose, known as '' dargāh'' or ''türbe'', can be found in several other regions of the Muslim world. Between 1958 and 1966, many Ṣūfī shrines and tombs in Ningxia and throughout Northwestern China in general were destroyed, viewed by the Chinese Communist government and authorities as relics of the old "feudal" order and symbols which the Chinese Communist Revolution T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wali
A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John Renard, ''Tales of God Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), passim. When the Arabic definite article () is added, it refers to one of the names of God in Islam, Allah – (), meaning "the Helper, Friend". In the traditional Islamic understanding of saints, the saint is portrayed as someone "marked by pecialdivine favor ... ndholiness", and who is specifically "chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to work miracles".Radtke, B., "Saint", in: ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islam In China
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentration of Muslims are in Xinjiang, which contains a significant Uyghur population. Lesser yet significant populations reside in the regions of Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai. Of China's 55 officially recognized minority peoples, ten of these groups are predominantly Sunni Muslim. History The Silk Road, which was a series of extensive inland trade routes that spread all over the Mediterranean to East Asia, was used since 1000 BCE and continued to be used for millennia. For more than half of this long period of time, most of the traders were Muslim and moved towards the East. Not only did these traders bring their goods, they also carried with them their culture and beliefs to East Asia. Islam was one of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions. The earliest records of meditation ('' dhyana'') are found in the Upanishads, and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Since the 19th century, Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have also found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health. Meditation may significantly reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance peace, perception, self-concept, and well-being. Research is ongoing to better understand the effects of meditation on health (psychological, neurological, and cardiovascular) and other areas. Etymology The English ''meditati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhikr
''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remember God. It plays a central role in Sufi Islam, and each Sufi order has usually adopted a specific dhikr, typically accompanied by specific posture, breathing, and movement. In Sufi Islam, dhikr refers to both the act of this remembrance as well as the prayers used in these acts of remembrance. Dhikr can be performed in solitude or as a collective group. It can be counted on a set of prayer beads (''Misbaha'' ) or through the fingers of the hand. A person who recites the Dhikr is called a ''Dhakir (, )'', literally "he who remembers." The content of the prayers includes the names of God, or a '' dua'' (prayer of supplication) taken from the hadiths or the Quran. Importance There are several verses in the Quran that emphasize the im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
