Sufi literature

Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism.

Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Turkic, Sindhi and Urdu. Sufi doctrines and organizations provided more freedom to literature than did the court poetry of the period. The Sufis borrowed elements of folklore in their literature.

The works of Nizami, Nava'i, Hafez, Sam'ani and Jami were more or less related to Sufism. The verse of such Sufi poets as Sanai (died c. 1140), Attar (born c. 1119), and Rumi (died 1273) protested against oppression with an emphasis on divine justice and criticized evil rulers, religious fanaticism and the greed and hypocrisy of the orthodox Muslim clergy. The poetic forms used by these writers were similar to the folk song, parable and fairy tale. Authors of Sufi folk literature particularly borrowed preexisting poetic forms, songs, and narrative structure to make Sufi ideas accessible to their audience.

While Sufi literature is primarily associated with poetry, poetry itself is not a distinct genre of Sufi literature. Two major genres in Sufi literature are manuals, devotional texts intended to instruct the reader in either theology or practice, and teaching stories, which are intended to teach a specific mindset.