pīr

Islam

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In Islamic world: Cultural flowering in Iraq
Masters (called sheikhs or pīrs) were beginning to attract disciples (murīds) to their way. Like other Muslims who tried to go “beyond” the Sharīʿah to inner truth, the Sufis practiced concealment of inner awareness (taqiyyah). Al-Ḥallāj, one of al-Junayd’s disciples, began to travel and preach publicly, however. His success…
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In Pakistan: Religion of Pakistan
…networks of holy men called pīrs, who receive great reverence (as well as gifts in cash or kind) from a multitude of followers. An established pīr may pass on his spiritual powers and sanctified authority to one or more of his murīds (“disciples”), who may then operate as pīrs in…
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