Sufism or ta?awwuf (Arabic: ??????) is defined by its adherents as the inner; mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ?ufi (???????). Another name for a Sufi is Dervish.

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as 'a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God'. Alternatively; in the words of the Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba; 'a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine; purify one's inner self from filth; and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits'.

Classical Sufis were characterised by their attachment to dhikr (a practice of repeating the names of God) and asceticism. Sufism gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE). Sufis have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium; at first expressed through Arabic; then through Persian; Turkish and a dozen other languages. 'Orders' (?uruq); which are either Sunni or Shia or mixed in doctrine; trace many of their original precepts from the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin 'Ali; with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph; Abu Bakr.