The Sufi stories have always been an important and vital means for the Sufi saints to spread the message of Sufism. Almost all the saints and philosophers of Sufism have used the way of story telling for teaching their disciples various spiritual and philosophical lessons from time to time. The classical Sufi authors like Mohamed El-Ghazali, Omar Khayyam, Farid ud-Din Attar, Mohiudin Ibn El-Arabi, Sheikh Saadi, Hakim Jami, Hakim Sanai, Jalaludin Rumi etc. have effectively used story telling during their times. Apart from them, the Sufi saints and philosophers of the four Orders of Sufism like the Chishti Order, Qadiri Order, Suhrawardi Order and Naqshbandi Order have also depicted numerous stories to their disciples. All the Sufi stories contain philosophical lessons of Sufism.
Sufi Stories of Farid ud-Din Attar : Farid ud-Din Attar was a famous and one of the most prominent classical Sufi authors. He has given a lot of spiritual teachings to his disciples, while mainly following the path of interpretation for imparting his knowledge. He has narrated a number of stories to his followers, from time to time and all the stories contained valuable and educative lessons regarding the philosophy of Sufism.
Sufi Stories of Sheikh Saadi : The well known classical Sufi author, Sheikh Saadi, also popularly known as Saadi of Shiraz effectively followed the way of story telling for imparting his teaching. He described numerous stories to his disciples and followers and almost all the stories were told from his own experiences. Saadi had a vast experience, as he had travelled extensively to a large number of countries throughout his life. Saadi described various kinds of stories, short or long and through this, he tried to teach his disciples some lessons that contain important messages of Sufi philosophy.
Sufi Stories of Chishti Order : The Sufi masters of the Chishti Order have also described various kinds of stories in different times, with more or less the common intention of teaching their followers and disciples. These stories are actually a great way to know the Sufi philosophy.
Sufi Stories of Qadiri Order : The Sufi saints and philosophers of the Qadiri Order described numerous stories to their respective disciples with a view to impart knowledge. They also described stories to disseminate their message among the common people. All the stories that they narrated were told from their own experiences and they have wonderfully used them for providing various philosophical lessons to their followers.
Sufi Stories of Suhrawardi Order : The Suhrawardi Order was one of the most famous and ancient one among the four Sufi Orders and the philosophers of the Order taught their lessons through story telling. Almost all the important and prominent Sufi saints of the Suhrawardi Order have depicted different types of intellectual stories to their disciples from time to time. They imparted their own knowledge and also disseminated their message to the common people through those stories. The stories have played an important role in spreading the message of Sufi philosophy.
Sufi Stories of Naqshbandi Order : The Naqshbandi Order of Sufism came to existence in the fourteenth century. The Sufi saints of the Order have spread their messages so widely, through story telling that the Order became one of the most prominent Sufi Orders of that time. The Sufi saints of the Naqshbandi Order effectively used story telling for disseminating knowledge about Sufism to the common people. In fact, the story telling was considered to be the easiest way to teach the people about Sufism, at that time.
