Murshid (Arabic: مرشد) is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher". Particularly in Sufism it refers to a Sufi teacher. The path of Sufism starts when a student takes an oath of allegiance (Bai'ath) with a teacher. After this oath, the student is called a Murid.
The Murshid's role is to guide and instruct the disciple on the Sufi path, by general lessons (called Suhbas) and individual guidance.
A Murshid usually has authorisations to be a teacher for one (or more) Tariqas (paths). A tariqa may have more than one Murshid at a time. A Murshid is accorded that status by his murshid (Shaikh) by way of Khilafath:the process in which the Shaikh identifies one of his disciples as his successor, the Khalifa. A Murshid can have more than one khalifa.
Other words that refer to a murshid include, Pir and Sarkar.
See also
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