Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Ruzbihan Baqli, Abhar al-ashiqin, eds. 

Henry Corbin and Muhammad Muin (Tehran: Ket-

abkhane-ye Manuchehri, 1987); Carl Ernst, Ruzbihan 

Baqli: Mysticism and the Rhetoric of Sainthood in Persian 

Sufism (Richmond, Va.: Curzon Press, 1996).

baraka

Baraka is an Arabic term for blessing used by 

peoples of the Middle East and followers of 

Islam. It has been understood both as a specific 

force that emanates from God and as a more 

impersonal power that brings about prosperity 

or good luck at the same time that it counteracts 

evil forces. According to the q

Uran

, baraka is a 

power that God can both bestow and withhold, a 

notion similar to that of berakhah in Judaism. If 

people are mindful of God and do good things, 

they qualify to receive divine blessing and pros-

perity; if not, they will not receive it. p

rophets

,