Sufi practices and special prescriptions for women in the work “The guidance of mentors from the Shaikh of the Khalidi [branch]” by M.-Z. Kamalov

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the study of the place and role of women and female saints in various Sufi circles; in particular, the researchers discuss the Naqshbandi and the Bektashi orders. The aim of the study is to reveal the peculiarities of the coverage of the female theme in the Arabic-language work “The guidance of mentors from the Shaikh of the Khalidi [branch]” by the Tatar shaikh Muhammad-Zakir Kamalov (al-Chistavi) of the Naqshbandi tariqa, which operated on the territory of the Volga-Ural region. In comparative terms, the study also considers other Sufi communities belonging to different tariqas. The study is novel in that it is the first to analyse important aspects in the ethics of the Sufi communities of the XIX century operating in the Volga region, which were reflected in M.-Z. Kamalov’s writing, on the basis of a textual work carried out within the framework of the stated topic. In addition, based on the results and conclusions of the study, the authors identify the specifics of ethical standards of behaviour, gender relations in the ritual practice of the Sufi fraternities operating in the Volga-Ural region and the Caucasus. The results of a scientific study of the Arabic-language work “Tabsirat al-murshidin…” by M.-Z. Kamalov, the handwritten marcia-elegy “Mursiye damella Mohammad-Zakir…” by an unknown author directly echo the established traditions regarding the place and role of women in society that have developed over the centuries in the Muslim East.