Mevlevi Order
A path of love and light
The Mevlevi order (Mevlevîlik) is no ordinary order. It is rooted in the legacy of Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî and nourished by the Qur’an and the path of the Prophet ﷺ. It is a path of love, adab, and inner refinement.
Hz. Mevlânâ said of himself:
“As long as I live, I am a servant of the Qur’an. I am dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen.”
For him, tasawwuf was inseparable from Qur’an and Sunnah, but also from love. He said:
“The path of our Prophet is love. We are born of love, and love is our mother.”
What is Mevlevîlik?
The word Mevlevî means: belonging to Mevlânâ. Whoever connects with his path is shaped by sohbet, semâ, zikr, and adab.
The Mevlevi tradition is more than a tarîqa. It is a culture of love that unites art, music, poetry, and service. As Hz. Mevlânâ expressed with the compass metaphor:
“One foot firmly in sharî‘a, the other embraces the seventy-two nations.”
The Mevlevi way is both rooted and wide open.
The Mevlevi tradition stands in the great stream of Sufism. Traditionally there are two main lines:
through Hz. Ali (k.v.), the way of the vocal (cehrî) zikr,
through Hz. Abû Bakr (r.a.), the way of the silent (hafî) zikr.
Yet for the Mevlevis, the essence is not the outward chain but the inner link with the light of faith, love, and adab.
As Hz. Mevlânâ says:
“Break free from the bonds of the world. Become free, my son! How long will you remain a slave to gold and silver?”
The chain of transmission (silsile)
Our Practice
Within the Mevlevi path, two modes of practice are recognized:
The path of zühd (ascetic discipline), simplicity, prayer, retreat, tempering the ego through discipline.
The path of cezbe (love and ecstasy), setting the heart aflame through music, semâ, and inner rapture.
Both belong together. As the masters say: “In zühd there is always a spark of love, and in love always a root of discipline.”
The way is not either-or, but the harmony of both.
Everything in the Mevlevi order rests on adab.
Hz. Mevlânâ said:
“Verse by verse, the whole Qur’an is adab.”
And Seyyid Ahmed Rıfâî reminded:
“Et-tarîqât kulluhâ adâb, all paths are adab.”
Mevlevîlik is therefore a school of courtesy and refinement, in our relations with people, with nature, and with Allah.
Adab as foundation
The Mevlevi order is a living stream. It is not a system, but a path of love, tawhîd, and adab, carried in sohbet, semâ, and zikr.
Not to make ourselves great, but to lay down the ego.
Not to divide, but to unite.
Not to accumulate, but to remember: all belongs to Allah