{{Short description|Sufi Muslim ascetic and renunciate}} {{Redirect|Faqir|other uses|Fakir (disambiguation)}} {{multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date=July 2009}} {{disputed|date=October 2015}}}} [[File:Portrait of a Muslim ascetic (fakir) in Eastern Bengal in the 1860s.jpg|thumb|A Sufi Muslim ascetic (''fakir'') in Bengal during the 1860s]] {{Sufism|Ideas}}
'''Fakir''', '''faqeer''', or '''faqīr''' ({{IPAc-en|f|ə|ˈ|k|ɪər}}; {{langx|ar|فقیر}} (noun of faqr)), derived from ''faqr'' ({{langx|ar|فقر}}, 'poverty'),<ref name="Ebrahim-Gholami 2018">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Ebrahim |author-first=Alireza |year=2018 |title=Faqr |translator-last=Gholami |translator-first=Rahim |editor1-last=Madelung |editor1-first=Wilferd |editor2-last=Daftary |editor2-first=Farhad |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill Publishers |doi=10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_036099 |issn=1875-9823 |quote=Faqr (literally, ‘poverty’) is a term denoting different modalities and stages of psychological discipline, rather than just material poverty, it implies a voluntary detachment from worldly adornments and a "spiritual neediness" for the Divine and of acquiring purity and mystical knowledge. The term ''faqr'' is derived from the Arabic root ''f-q-r'', literally meaning ‘to hollow out’, ‘to perforate’ or ‘to be/become needy’. Hence ''faqr'' carries a sense of being in a state where one is utterly dependent on God, emptying one's heart of all worldly attachments to seek divine purity, be in the state of "Inner Poverty" (Poverty of the Self) where one become void of self ego.}}</ref> is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce all relationships, or take vows of poverty, but the adornments of the temporal worldly life are kept in perspective. The connotations of poverty associated with the term relate to their spiritual neediness, not necessarily their physical neediness,<ref>{{cite web |title=Faqīr |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110810104900321 |website=Oxford Reference |access-date=23 May 2020 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Faqir - Oxford Islamic Studies Online |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e614 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817074424/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e614 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |website=www.oxfordislamicstudies.com |access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> which they adopt to seek purity and mystical knowledge and so earn God’s love.<ref name="Ebrahim-Gholami 20182">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2018 |title=Faqr |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica |publisher=Brill Publishers |location=Leiden and Boston |editor1-last=Madelung |editor1-first=Wilferd |doi=10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_036099 |issn=1875-9823 |quote=Faqr (literally, 'poverty') is a term denoting different modalities and stages of material, psychological and spiritual want and neediness which a wayfarer on the Sufi path may adopt as a means to progress in earning God's love and compassion and of acquiring purity and mystical knowledge. The term ''faqr'' is derived from the Arabic root ''f-q-r'', literally meaning 'to hollow out', 'to perforate', 'to make/become poor', 'to be in need' or 'to be/become needy'. Hence ''faqr'' carries a general sense of being in a state of penury or destitution. |author-last=Ebrahim |author-first=Alireza |translator-last=Gholami |translator-first=Rahim |editor2-last=Daftary |editor2-first=Farhad}}</ref>
They are characterized by their reverence for ''dhikr'' (a devotional practice which consists of repeating the names of God with various formulas, often performed after the daily prayers).<ref>''A Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection'' (2007) by Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, Suha Taji-Farouki</ref> Sufism in the Muslim world emerged during the early Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE)<ref name="FirstDynasty">{{cite book|last=Hawting|first=Gerald R.|title=The first dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750|publisher=Routledge|year=2000|isbn=978-0-415-24073-4}} See Google [https://books.google.com/books?id=-wFp_Gv8GDYC&q=Umayyad+Caliphate+661+750 book search].</ref> and grew as a mystic<ref name="Cook 2015">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Cook |author-first=David |author-link=David Cook (historian) |date=May 2015 |title=Mysticism in Sufi Islam |url=https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-51 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.51 |isbn=9780199340378 |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128012740/http://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-51 |archive-date=28 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=4 January 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> tradition in the mainstream Sunni and Shia denominations of Islam,<ref name="Cook 2015"/> which according to Eric Hanson and Karen Armstrong was likely in reaction to "the growing worldliness of Umayyad and Abassid societies".<ref name=hanson104>{{cite book |last=Hanson |first=Eric O. |title=Religion and Politics in the International System Today |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz4nCOMd8ucC&pg=PA102 |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York |pages=102–104 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511616457 |isbn=978-0-521-85245-6}}</ref> Sufi Muslim ascetics (fakirs and dervishes) were highly influential and greatly successful in spreading Islam between the 10th and 19th centuries,<ref name="Cook 2015"/> particularly to the furthest outposts of the Muslim world in the Middle East and North Africa, the Balkans and Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, and finally Central, Eastern, and Southeast Asia.<ref name="Cook 2015"/> Sufi Muslims have spread throughout several continents and cultures over a millennium, originally expressing their beliefs in Arabic, before spreading into Persian, Turkish, Indian languages, and a dozen other languages.<ref>Michael Sells, ''Early Islamic Mysticism'', p. 1</ref>
The term ''fakir'' has taken on a more recent and colloquial usage for an ascetic who renounces worldly possessions, and has even been applied to non-Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dobe |first1=Timothy S. |title=Hindu Christian Faqir: Modern Monks, Global Christianity, and Indian Sainthood |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987696.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-934627-1 |url=https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987696.001.0001/acprof-9780199987696}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nanda |first1=B. R. |title=Churchill's 'Half-naked Faqir' |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-908141-7 |url=https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195672039.001.0001/acprof-9780195672039-chapter-25}}</ref> ''Fakirs'' are prevalent in the Middle East and South Asia; they are thought to be self-sufficient and possess only the spiritual need for God.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/fakir|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=britannica.com |access-date=2015-07-10}}</ref> The term is also frequently applied to Hindu ascetics (e.g., sadhus, gurus, swamis, and yogis).<ref name="ColbyWilliams1918">{{cite book|last1=Colby|first1=Frank Moore|last2=Williams|first2=Talcott|title=The New International Encyclopaedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p20NAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA343|access-date=9 December 2016|year=1918|publisher=Dodd, Mead|language=en|pages=343|quote=Fakir: In general a religious mendicant; more specifically a Hindu marvel worker or priestly juggler, usually peripatetic and indigent.}}</ref> These usages developed primarily in the Mughal era in the Indian subcontinent. There is also a distinct clan of ''faqeers'' found in North India, descended from communities of ''fakirs'' who took up residence at Sufi shrines.
== History == {{Sunni Islam|Movements}} [[File:Shrine of Sufi Saint Sultan Bahu, Jhang .jpg|thumb|left|200px|Shrine of a Sufi Muslim fakir named Sultan Bahoo in Punjab, Pakistan]]
Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, who was the son of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and grandson of Muhammad, is believed to have written a book, ''Mirat ul-Arfeen'', on the topic of ''tasawwuf'', which is said to be the first book on Sufism. However, under Umayyad rule, this book was not allowed to be published and openly discussing ''tasawwuf'', Sufism, or ''faqr'' was not allowed. For a long time after Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, information and teachings about ''faqr'', ''tasawwuf'', and Sufism was transferred from person to person.<ref>''A brief history of Islam'' by Tamara Sonn, 2004, p60</ref>
In English, ''faqir'' or ''fakir'' originally meant a mendicant dervish. In its mystical usage, the word ''fakir'' refers to man's spiritual need for God, who alone is regarded as self-sufficient in the Islamic religion.<ref name="EI2">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Gardet |author-first=Louis |year=1960 |title=Allāh |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill Publishers |volume=1 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0047 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref><ref name="EoQ">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Böwering |author-first=Gerhard |author-link=Gerhard Böwering |year=2006 |title=God and his Attributes |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān |volume=II |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill Publishers |doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00075 |isbn=978-90-04-14743-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Esposito |first=John L. |author-link=John Esposito |year=2016 |orig-year=1988 |title=Islam: The Straight Path |journal=Choice Reviews Online |volume=26 |issue=8 |edition=Updated 5th |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=22 |doi=10.5860/choice.26-4446 |doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |isbn=978-0-19-063215-1 |s2cid=153364691}}</ref> Although of Muslim origin, the term has come to be applied in the Indian subcontinent to Hindu ascetics and mystics as well, alongside Indian terms such as ''gosvamin'', ''sadhu'', ''bhikku'', and other designations. Fakirs are generally regarded as holy men who possess supernatural or miraculous powers. Among Muslims, the leading Sufi orders (''tariqa'') of fakirs are the Shadhiliyyah, Chishtiyah, Qadiriyah, Naqshbandiyah, and Suhrawardiyah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faqir|title=Online Dictionary / Reference|work=Dictionary.com|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> The ''Cambridge English Dictionary'' defines the term ''fakir'' as "a member of an Islamic religious group, or a holy man".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fakir#fakir__3|title=Dictionary of Cambridge|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref>
== Attributes == The attributes of a fakir have been defined by many Muslim scholars.
The early Muslim scholar, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, defined Sufism, tasawwuf and faqr in a conclusive{{clarify|date=August 2024}} manner. Explaining the attributes of a fakir, he says, "faqir is not who can not do anything and is nothing in his self-being. But faqir has all the commanding powers (gifted from Allah) and his orders can not be revoked."<ref>''Biographical encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East'' by N. Hanif, 2002</ref><ref>''The Sultan of the saints: mystical life and teaching of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, Muhammad Riyāz Qādrī'', 2000, p.24</ref>
Ibn Arabi explained Sufism, including faqr, in more detail. He wrote more than 500 books on the topic. He was the first Muslim scholar to openly introduce the idea of Wahdat al-wujud. His writings are considered a solid source that has defied time.<ref>''Fusus al-hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom), ed. A. Affifi, Cairo, 1946;trans. R.W.J. Austin, The Bezels of Wisdom, New York: Paulist Press,1980''</ref><ref>''al-Futuhat al-makkiyya (''The Meccan Illuminations''), Cairo, 1911; partial trans. Michel Chodkiewicz et al., Les Illuminations de la Mecque: The Meccan Illuminations, Textes choisis/Selected Texts, Paris: Sindbad,1988.''</ref><ref>''The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.1981''</ref><ref>''Sufis of Andalusia, London, George Allen & Unwin.1971''</ref>
Another well-known Muslim saint, Sultan Bahoo, describes a fakir as one "who has been entrusted with full authority from Allah (God)". In the same book, Sultan Bahoo says, "Faqir attains eternity by dissolving himself in oneness of Allah. He, when, eliminates himself from other than Allah, his soul reaches to divinity."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hazratsultanbahu.com/amk/htp/|title=Reference from Sultan Bahoo's book|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> He says in another book, "faqir has three steps (stages). First step he takes from eternity (without beginning) to this mortal world, second step from this finite world to hereafter and last step he takes from hereafter to manifestation of Allah."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hazratsultanbahu.com/english/index.php/The_Noor_ul_Huda_Khurd_-_Complete_Book|title='''Noor ul Khuda''' book of Sultan Bahoo|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref>
== Gurdjieff == In the Fourth Way teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff, the word ''fakir'' is used to denote the specifically physical path of development, as opposed to the words ''yogi'' (which Gurdjieff used for a path of mental development) and ''monk'' (which he used for the path of emotional development).<ref>''The Fourth Way: Teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff,'' P.D. Ouspensky, Random House USA, 2000.</ref>
==See also== * Ghous-e-Azam * Madariyya * Qalandariyya * Sai Baba of Shirdi * Shramana * Wu wei * Baul * Aghori
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{wiktionary|fakir|faqir}} {{Commons category|Fakirs}} {{NIE Poster|year=1905}} {{EB1911 poster|Fakir}}
{{Sufism terminology}} {{Portal bar|Religion|Islam|Education|Psychology}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Hindu asceticism Category:Hindustani language Category:Islam in Bangladesh Category:Islam in India Category:Islam in Pakistan Category:Islamic asceticism Category:Simple living Category:Sufi philosophy Category:Sufism