Knowra Sama Sama Sama is a Sufi devotional practice of listening to music, poetry, or recitation, sometimes accompanied by movement, to cultivate spiritual attention and remembrance.
Dhikr : The devotional remembrance of God through repeated prayer, recitation, or other spiritual practices in Islam. Sama can frame music and poetry as means of remembering God.
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali : An influential Muslim theologian and mystic who lived from 1058 to 1111. His writings defended carefully governed listening as spiritually beneficial.
Islamic legal opinions on music : Scholarly interpretations of whether and under what conditions music is permissible in Islam. These opinions frame disagreements about sama's religious legitimacy.
Sema ceremony : The formal Mevlevi ceremony combining music, recitation, and the dervishes' turning. It is a structured, well-known form of sama associated with the Mevlevi order.
Qawwali : A South Asian devotional music tradition associated especially with Sufi shrines and gatherings. Qawwali is a prominent musical form used in some sama gatherings.
Sufi poetry : Poetry expressing Sufi ideas and experiences, often through images of love, longing, and union. Poetic recitation helped shape the devotional material heard in sama.
Sufi practice : Devotional disciplines and communal traditions cultivated within Sufi paths. Sama belongs to a wider range of Sufi disciplines, not all of which use music.
Sufi shrine : A sacred site associated with a Sufi saint, often serving as a place of devotion and gathering. Shrines are settings for communal musical devotion in several Sufi traditions.
Sufi whirling : A devotional turning practice associated with the Mevlevi Sufi order. Turning is a distinctive movement practice associated with Mevlevi sama.
Mevlevi Order : A Sufi order founded around the teachings and legacy of Jalal al-Din Rumi. The Mevlevis developed a formal ceremony centered on music and turning.
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