SAMA'

(Arabic: listening), the Sufi (Muslim mystic) practice of listening to music and chanting to reinforce ecstasy and induce mystical trance. The Muslim orthodox regarded such practices as un-Islamic, and the more puritanical among them associated the Sufis' music, song, and dancing with drinking parties and immoral activities. The Sufis countered such attitudes by pointing out that Muhammad himself permitted the Qur'an (Muslim scripture) to be chanted and that the adhan (call for prayer) was also chanted in order to prepare for worship. Sufis maintain that melodies and rhythms prepare the soul for a deeper comprehension of the divine realities and a better appreciation of divine music. Music, like other beautiful things, draws the Sufi closer to God, who is the source of beauty. Many Sufis have held that a true mystic does not lose himself in such forms as music but uses them only to bring himself into a spiritual realm, after which he must experience deeper meanings and realities. While Muslim fundamentalist legalists reproved sama' as an innovation (bid 'ah), some Muslim scholars held that it was a useful innovation since it might bring souls nearer to God. Many Sufis, e.g., the Mawlawiyah dervishes, combined dancing with sama'. Often Sufis requested that after their death there should be no mourning at their funerals, insisting instead that sama' sessions be held to celebrate their entrance into eternal life. The Sufis warned, nevertheless, that the full appreciation of sama' requires strong ascetic training. An individual must be pure in heart and strong in character before indulging in sama'; otherwise music and song would arouse his base instincts instead of elevating his spirituality. Some Sufis reject the practice of sama' altogether.