In the context of Sufism, the term “murshid” is also known as _____.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Pir
Option (1) Karamat — Incorrect. Karamat means miracles, which a wali (friend of God) was believed to perform through the grace (barakat) of Allah; it is not a title of the master.
Option (2) Pir — Correct. The teaching master who controlled a khanqah was known as shaikh in Arabic and pir or murshid in Persian, so murshid and pir are two names for the same master.
Option (3) Khalifa — Incorrect. The khalifa was the successor whom the master appointed, not the master himself.
Option (4) Suffa — Incorrect. Suffa was the platform outside the Prophet’s mosque, where close followers gathered to learn about the faith; some scholars derive the word tasawwuf (Sufism) from it.
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).… Sufism and tasawwuf Sufism is an English word coined in the nineteenth century. The word used for Sufism in Islamic texts is tasawwuf . Historians have understood this term in several ways. According to some scholars, it is derived from suf, meaning wool, referring to the coarse woollen clothes worn by sufis. Others derive it from safa, meaning purity. It may also have been derived from suffa, the platform outside the Prophet’s mosque, where a group of close followers assembled to learn about the faith. Wali (plural auliya) or friend of God was a sufi who claimed proximity to Allah, acquiring His Grace (barakat) to perform miracles (karamat).” |