Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Carl W. Ernst, Shambhala Guide to

Sufism (Boston: Shambhala, 1997); Margaret Malamud, 

“Gender and Spiritual Self-Fashioning: The Master-

Disciple Relationship in Classical Sufism.” Journal of 

the American Academy of Religion 64 (1996): 89–117; J. 

Spencer Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (Oxford: 

Clarendon Press, 1971).

Muridi Sufi Order

 

(Muridiyya)

A Sufi order established among the Wolof tribe 

of Senegal in Touba around 1886 by the shaykh 

a

hmadU

  b

amba

  (1850–1927). Originally an off-

shoot of the q

adiri

  s

UFi

  o

rder

, the order pro-

duced its own rituals and litanies and developed 

a unique emphasis upon the value of hard work, 

which would become a hallmark of the Muridi-

yya. Disciples were taught to obey their shaykhs, 

renounce worldly pleasures, and devote them-

selves to productive occupations. Over time, 

the Muridiyya became an economic force in the 

region, particularly due to their cultivation and 

sale of peanuts.

Muridiyya independence could be viewed as 

resistance to the French colonial regime, a fact 

that increased their attractiveness to the Wolof 

and caused French administrators to view them 

with suspicion. For this reason, colonial authori-

ties twice exiled Bamba from Senegal, hoping 

to diminish his popularity. When this failed, 

the French attempted to co-opt the Muridiyya, 

finally establishing a modus vivendi with the 

group in recognition of their stabilizing influence. 

The Muridiyya attracted Wolof from all different 

social strata, emphasizing the development of 

a community that transcended normal societal 

divisions. Bamba’s religious knowledge, integrity, 

and humble piety, when combined with his orga-

nizational abilities, helped him to create an order 

that provided much-needed structure for a Sen-

egalese society disrupted by colonial domination. 

Bamba eventually won the confidence of French 

authorities by demonstrating a lack of interest in 

temporal authority and by cooperating with them 

in tangible ways.

Following the shaykh’s death in 1927, the 

Muridiyya continued this policy of cooperation 

with political authorities, despite internal succes-

K  502  

munafiqun

---

sion disputes that threatened to divide the order. 

This fact, coupled with their economic prosperity, 

emphasis upon the disciplines of character and 

hard work, resistance to radicalizing influences 

(such as W

ahhabism

), and ability to adjust to 

changing circumstances (such as the Senegalese 

ground-nut crisis), have made the Muridiyya a 

dynamic and important influence in Senegalese 

society and beyond.