Here, the following question may be asked: Why did tariqas (Sufi orders) not form in association with the great Sufis who lived in the first six centuries? In seeking an answer to this question, the following points can be made:
1. In fact, sources mention Sufi paths named after the great Sufis who lived in the first three centuries. Junaydiyya, Nuriyya, Qassariyya, Muhasibiyya, Sahliyya, Hallajiyya... However, these names refer to people who loved and adopted these Sufis. These designations do not indicate an organized, independent Sufi group with its own cadre and institution.
2. Another point is this: In the early centuries, there was great vitality in Sufi thought. However, the formation of schools and sects is somewhat related to imitation and stagnation. The acceptance of individuals as absolute "authority" accelerated such groupings and clustering.
3. Another possible reason for the institutionalization of tariqas a few centuries later, compared to the madhhabs (legal schools), is as follows: Matters related to iman (faith) and acts of worship are issues that require urgent solutions. It is essential for the public to know according to which madhhab they will perform their worship, and they will want to learn this as soon as possible. In tariqa, however, there is no such necessity. When discussing madhhab and tariqa, it is also beneficial to point out another issue. These two words often remind us of debate, fanaticism, and conflict. While this aspect exists, there is also an important benefit that is often overlooked: Tariqas embrace people of different madhhabs, and madhhabs guide believers who belong to different tariqas. In other words, anyone from any madhhab can join any tariqa, and vice versa. If there is any "division" here, those divided by tariqas unite under the umbrella of madhhabs, and Muslims separated by madhhabs come together and integrate under the atmosphere of the tekke (Sufi lodge). This should be considered important for social order and harmony.
Let us return to our previous question: How many tariqas are there? According to one classification, there are 12 main tariqas, and the others are their branches. Some of these branches have, over time, gained the status of independent tariqas, thus increasing the number. In fact, those who keep the number at 12 also give different answers to the question "which ones are these?" When the entire Islamic world is considered and branches are counted as separate tariqas, this number rises to around 400.
Like other institutions, tariqas are born, grow, develop, spread, produce new branches, and eventually disappear from the stage of history. When viewed from the perspective of religious and cultural history, the picture is as follows: While some tariqas fade away, others are newly formed. Who can say that this process does not continue today? Leaving aside other Islamic countries, two examples can be given of tariqas that concern our own history and have been "buried in history":
1. Kazeruniyya – This tariqa, attributed to Abu Ishaq Ibrahim (d. Shiraz, 426/1034), is seen to have continued its activities in Anatolia from the 13th century onwards through the lodges they established. Evliya Çelebi mentions zawiyas (small Sufi lodges) belonging to this tariqa in Erzurum and Edirne, which is noteworthy.
The fact that Yıldırım Bayezid established a waqf (endowment) and built a zaviye (Sufi lodge) in Bursa in 1399 for the dervishes of this tariqa provides information about the state of the Kazeruniyya in the 15th century. However, in later centuries, the tariqa disappeared from history. The Abu Ishaq Mosque in Bursa is a surviving relic of this endowment.
2. Zayniyya – This tariqa, attributed to Zayn al-Din Khafi, was brought to Anatolia by the Sufi Abdullatif-i Qudsi (d. Bursa, 856/1452). This tariqa gave its name to the Zeyniler neighborhood in Bursa and the mosque known by this name. The tekkes (Sufi lodges) it established in other cities in the 15th and 16th centuries show that it was one of the vibrant Sufi schools. Undoubtedly, this vitality reached its peak in Istanbul with Qudsi's disciple Shaykh Vefa (d. Istanbul, 896/1491). The lodge of Shaykh Vefa in the Vefa district was not only a center for Sufis but also a cultural hub frequented and benefited from by the most famous scholars, artists, administrators, and statesmen of the time. One of them was Shaykh al-Islam Zenbilli Ali Efendi.
This tariqa, too, could not sustain its existence after the 17th century.