Zikr
Also called: Dhikr · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"
Meaning
Zikr (also written dhikr) means "remembrance". It is the sufi practice of remembering God by repeating the Divine Names or sacred phrases again and again. It was central to the Chishti order. Some sufis timed the words with their breath. Zikr is like the bhakti practice of repeating God's name, and that similarity helped link sufi and bhakti worship.
Example
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Chishtis around Bijapur in the Deccan wrote Charkhanama songs. These were short Dakhani songs that women sang while spinning, and they matched forms of zikr to the motions of the spinning wheel.
Don't confuse with
- Sama': This means listening to mystical music, such as qawwali. Zikr means repeating God's names.
Related concepts
- Chishti silsila
- Muinuddin Chishti
- Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
- Nizamuddin Auliya
- Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli
- Baba Farid
- Shaikh Salim Chishti
- Gesu Daraz
- Langar
- Sama