ABSTRACT
The term Sufism probably derives from the Arabic word for wool, suf. Cloaks made of wool were used by early Sufis as a symbol of poverty and privation. Occasionally it may still happen that a cloak is given to someone who is being initiated into a Sufi order, tariqa (pl. turuq). The word Sufism has also been associated with safa, which means purity. Some people, who have stressed the wisdom dimension of Sufism, have wanted to derive Sufism from the Greek term for wisdom (sophos, sophia). Although this suggested origin is unlikely, this way of reasoning is an intimation of the connections between Sufism and certain Greek conceptions.
