Yasawiyyah

Doctrines		Yasawiyyah's Sufi practices basically resemble those of the Naqshbandi tradition. Like Naqshbandiyyah they believed the development of the mystical awareness of God to consist of four stages. Firstly, the purification of one's outer life through the shari'a (law). Secondly, the purification of one's inner life through the tariqah. The path to God culminates in ma'rifa (interior knowledge) and mahabbah (love of God). However, unlike Naqshbandiyyah, they prefer silent ritual prayer to prayer that is spoken aloud.
History		Yasawiyyah was founded in the twelfth century by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn 'Ali (d.1166) who belonged to a Central Asian sufi circle whose name was the Khwajaga. The order origniated in Yasi (now known as Turkestan), and is the oldest of the Turkish Sufi orders. It played a major role in spreading Islam amongst Turkish tribes and in replacing ancient Turkish religious traditions with Islam. Rather than being based in permanent settlements, the order largely consisted of wandering mystics who trans planted throughout different areas of Turkestan and into Transoxiana, Khurasan, and Azerbaijan and Anatolia. Today the order continues to be active in Cental Asia.
Symbols		The order has no symbol system.
Adherents		There are no figures indicating the size of the order.
Headquarters/ Main Centre		The order's main centre in southern Kazakhestan.