maqām

maqām, (Arabic: “place of residence”), a spiritual stage that periodically marks the long path followed by Muslim mystics (Sufis) leading to the vision of and union with God. The Sufi progresses by means of his own mujāhadah (work, or self-mortification) and through the help and guidance of the masters (sheikhs). In each maqām the Sufi strives to purify himself from all worldly inclination and to prepare himself to attain an ever-higher spiritual level. The order...