The Whirling Dervishes: Being an Account of the Sufi Order known as the Mevlevis and its founder the poet and mystic Mevlana Jalalu'ddin Rumi (SUNY series in Islam)

Sufism is the esoteric aspect of Islam. Its purpose is to convey direct knowledge of the eternal. The Sufis impart knowledge through lineages that go back to the Prophet Muhammud. The Sufis repeat their zikr as they turn and empty their hearts of all but the thought of God and whirl in the ecstatic movements of His breath.