Origin
In the 12th century, Sufi fraternities (tariqa) were first organized as an established leadership in which a member followed a prescribed discipline in service to a sheikh or master in order to establish rapport with him. A member of such a fraternity is referred to as a Persian darwish. These turuk (plural of tariqa) were responsible for organizing an Islamic expression of religious life, often founded by independent saints or resulted from the division of existing orders. Each Sufi tariqa stems from a unique silsila, or "chain of order" in which a member must learn, as the silsila binds each member to Allah through one's chain of order. One's silsila extends through the member's individual teacher, to their teacher and so on, through time until one is connected to the Prophet and thus Allah. The Prophet himself is revered as the originator of Sufism, which has in turn been traced down through a series of saints.
Read more about this topic: Sufi Whirling
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