Barakah or Baraka ( "blessing") is a blessing power in Islam, a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God.
According to G.S. Colin, the Quran is said to be charged with barakah, and God can bestow prophets and saints with barakah. Muhammad and his descendants are said to be especially endowed with it. These special people, whether alive or dead, can transfer their barakah to ordinary people.
Sacred places are said to contain barakah and ward off evil spiritual forces, thus monasteries and Sufi temples are often visited for protection against demonic beings.
Barakah is also described as a blessing force of creation and fertility, causing cereals to miraculously multiply.
See also
- Dervish
- Mana
- Numen
References
Works cited
General references
- Coulon, C., et al. (1988). Charisma and Brotherhood in African Islam. Oxford University Press. .
- Meri, J.W. (1999) Aspects of Baraka (Blessings) and Ritual Devotion among Medieval Muslims and Jews. Medieval Encounters. 5, pp. 46–69.
- Takim, L. N. (2006). The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma And Religious Authority in Shi'ite Islam. SUNY Press. .
- Werbner, P., et al. (1998). Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality and Performance of Emotion in Sufi Cults. Routledge. .