Some scholars have divided the Sufis into three categories:
- صوفی
- متصوف
- مستصوف
Their explanations are briefly described as follows:
صوفی
A صاحبِ وصول — one who has become free from the demands of the lower nature, has become connected with the Truth, and after becoming فنا from his own self, remains alive and enduring through the حق.
متصوف
A صاحبِ اصول — one who is engaged in مجاہدہ and striving to reach the station of وصول.
مستصوف
A صاحبِ فضول — one who adopts the outward appearance of the Sufis for worldly gain, while having attained no share from the true perfections and qualities of the صوفیہ.
Apart from the divisions mentioned above, there are also other titles by which the Sufis are known, such as ملامتیہ and قلندر.
ملامتیہ
ملامتیہ refers to that group among the Sufis who strive intensely in اخلاص, greatly avoid ریا, and keep their inward spiritual states and کمالات concealed beneath outward humility and brokenness.
قلندر
It is mentioned in Risalah Ghawthiyyah that in the Syriac language, قلندر is among the Names of Allah تعالیٰ.
Some say that قلندر and صوفی are synonymous terms, while others state that a قلندر is one who has gone beyond spiritual states, stations, and even کرامات.
خواجہ عبید اللہ احرار رحمتہ اللہ علیہ said:
“To free oneself from all obstacles and lose oneself completely is called قلندری.”
شاه نعمت اللہ علی رحمتہ اللہ علیہ writes in Risalah Qalandariyyah:
“When the perfected Sufi reaches his destined spiritual station, he becomes a قلندر.”
Although قلندر have existed in every سلسلہ, and many of the great اولیاءاللہ of every spiritual order were also قلندر, yet in India the مشربِ قلندریہ gained special prominence through حضرت شاہ خضر رومی رحمتہ اللہ علیہ. He came to this land during the reign of سلطان شمس الدین التمش and presented himself in the service of حضرت قطن الاقطاب قطب الدین بختیار کاکی رحمتہ اللہ علیہ, from whom he received the خرقہ.
Thus, this سلسلہ is also referred to as the چشتیہ قلندریہ order.