Social Position of Qadiriyya Sufi Order since Its Foundation till the Fall of Safavid Empire

Founded in the second half of the sixth century AH، Qadiriyya Sufi order managed to present itself as one of the most important Sufi orders of the time and bring a considerable part of the society under its influence in a short time. This trend continued till ninth century AH in Iran and even in India; however، Safavid support of Shia Islam led to its massive structural and cultural decline. This paper uses a descriptive-analytical research method and taps primary sources to examine this issue and present new findings. The findings suggested that Qadiriyya Sufi order went through three distinct periods till the fall of the Safavid Empire. In the first period which began in the mid-sixth century AH and ended before the Mongol invasion، Qadiriyya Sufi order managed to win a special position in the community and even among the shopkeepers thanks to its emphasis on jurisprudence. During the second period، it made some changes in its practice and sough to maintain its position through Sufi orientations. In the final period which began in the ninth century AH and continued till the fall of the Safavid Empire، it lost its social position and suffered absolute decline due to Safavid support of Shia Islam and its sects and orders.