Shahzad Bashir

All movements that issue forth from truth-seekers during sama‘ signify a point and a greater reality. Spinning is an indication of affirming God’s oneness. This is the station of knowers who affirm unity. In this situation, they see the beloved, the one sought, everywhere their sight goes. Whichever way they turn, they are recipients of His effulgence.

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Sufi dance is situated within a larger spectrum of corporeal religious practices that run the gamut between silent and still meditation, on one end, and vigorous movement in dance, on the other.

Originally published as a chapter of Dance as Third Space, edited by Heike Walz, V&R, 2021. Republished here with thanks.