In Islamic texts, the word tasawwuf is used to describe _____.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Sufism
Option (1) Disciples — Incorrect. The disciples whom a sufi master enrolled in his khanqah were called murids, not tasawwuf.
Option (2) Successor — Incorrect. The successor appointed by the master was called the khalifa.
Option (3) Shaikh — Incorrect. The shaikh (in Arabic; pir or murshid in Persian) was the teaching master who controlled the khanqah; the word names a person, not the movement.
Option (4) Sufism — Correct. Sufism is an English word coined in the nineteenth century; the word used for Sufism in Islamic texts is tasawwuf.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.1 Khanqahs and silsilas … By the eleventh century Sufism evolved into a well-developed movement with a body of literature on Quranic studies and sufi practices. Institutionally, the sufis began to organise communities around the hospice or khanqah (Persian) controlled by a teaching master known as shaikh (in Arabic), pir or murshid (in Persian). He enrolled disciples (murids) and appointed a successor (khalifa). He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the master.…”
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