Fakir

The fakir or faqir (/fəˈkɪər/; Arabic: فقیر‎ (noun of faqr)), derived from faqr (Arabic: فقر‎, "poverty"), is a Muslim Sufi ascetic in Middle East and South Asia. The Faqirs were wandering Dervishes teaching Islam and living on alms.

The term has become a common Urdu, Bengali, and Hindi byword for "beggar". The term has also been used to refer to Hindu and Buddhist ascetics (e.g., sadhus, gurus, swamis and yogis). These broader idiomatic usages developed primarily in the Mughal era in India. Calanus, a Hindu Naga sadhu of 4th Century B.C., whom Greek named as gymnosophists is often called as Fakir by historians.

There is also a now a distinct caste of Faqir found in North India, descended from communities of faqirs who took up residence at Sufi shrines.