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 offspring promoted and cemented his teachings. Descendants of Azam were known as Miskiya and Ishaqis.

Khufiyya in China was pioneered by a Ming dynasty mufti from Lintao named Ma Shouzhen (馬守貞). He was born in 1633, during the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor. In his youth, he was mentored by the Miskiya missionary Afaq Khoja, who visited Hezhou in 1672 and greatly contributed to the dissemination of Sufism in China. At the age of 40, Shouzhen began his preaching. After 50 years, the order had grown into a sizable religious community.

Ma Laichi can be seen as another founding member of the Khufiyya order. Under the guidance of Ma Taibaba, a contemporary of Ma Shouzhen, Ma Laichi was introduced into Sufism. After pilgrimage to Mecca, he returned to China and preached for 32 years in Qinghai and Gansu Province. He later established the Huasi Menhuan, which remains an important ''menhuan'' or denomination, of Chinese Sufism.

In the early 18th century, Xian Meizhen, another pupil of Afaq Khoja, preached in the inner provinces of China. The Xianmen Menhuan denomination was founded by Meizhen. Gradually, over years of religious practice and conversion, different denominations of Khufiyya formed Jiaofang (教坊)–units of residence where followers of a menhuan reside. Just like those of Jahriyya, Khufiyyan Jiaofang were organized administrative divisions led by an Akhoond.

Throughout the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty, the "old" orders of Chinese Sufism represented by Khufiyya encountered a wave of reformists led by Ma Mingxin