murshid

Murshid (Arabic: مرشد) is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the root r-sh-d, with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature. Particularly in Sufism it refers to a spiritual guide. The term is frequently used in Sufi orders such as the Naqshbandiyya, Qādiriyya, Chishtiya, Shadhiliya and Suhrawardiyya. The path of Sufism starts when a student (murid) takes an oath of allegiance or Bay'ah (bai'ath) with a spiritual guide (murshid). In speaking of this initiatory pact of allegiance, the Qur’ān (48:10) says: Verily they who pledge unto thee their allegiance pledge it unto none but God. The Hand of God is above their hands. The murshid's role is to spiritually guide and verbally instruct the disciple on the Sufi path, but "only one who has himself reached the End ...