Sufism and tasawwuf

Sufism and tasawwuf Sufism is an English word coined in the nineteenth century. The word used for Sufism in Islamic texts is tasawwuf . Historians have understood this term in several ways. According to some scholars, it is derived from suf, meaning wool, referring to the coarse woollen clothes worn by sufis. Others derive it from safa, meaning purity. It may also have been derived from suffa, the platform outside the Prophet’s mosque, where a group of close followers assembled to learn about the faith.