trying to get back on the rose path i've gone back to
Abdul Qadir Gilani (The Rose of Baghdad) who the
Qadiriyya (Qadiri order) is named after. the order seems fairly straightforward, praise God, be good. but there's lots of offshoots of the Qadiri order, there must be some interesting ones. skimming through
Mysticism and Magic in Turkey i find a nice origin story of Gilani but also this...
"The knives, red-hot irons and coals, and other instruments used by the Rūfa'i Order in their extraordinary religious exercises, are called by the symbolic name of 'Roses.' This is evidently connected with the rose-symbolism of the Kadiri Order, whose Pir or founder, Abdul Kādr Ghilāni, was, as above mentioned, the uncle and spiritual teacher of the Pir of the Rūfa'i Dervishes."
with a footnote:
"To speak of wounds as 'flowers' is a common figure of speech in Eastern poets."
- Mysticism and Magic in Turkey
The
Rifaʽi wikipedia page lists of of the order's extreme practices:
Rifaʽi followers were noted to have eaten live snakes, entered ovens filled with fire and ridden on lions.[7] Followers were also noted to have practiced charming snakes and thrusting iron spikes and glass into their bodies.
so yeah, things are looking rosy
