18. Sacred 18 of the whirling dervish

Our festive countdown, extracted from Rogerson's Book of Numbers, continues with a number linking sacred Sufi verses, meditation and food

The 13th century Sufi mystic Rumi composed 18 verses for the introduction of his iconic teaching verse, the Mathnavi, which like all his work must be referenced back to the Qur'an. For the single great introductory phrase to every Muslim verse, prayer and blessing is "Bismi'llahi' r-rahmani' r-rahim" – "In the name of God, ever-merciful and all-forgiving" – which has 18 consonants in it.

A spiritual apprentice who wished to join the Mevlevi Sufi brotherhood (the whirling dervishes) was expected to first learn to achieve 18 kinds of service in the kitchen, each occupation requiring at least 18 days of study. Similarly, the last ladder in the apprenticeship of learning was to meditate alone for 18 days, having been escorted into one's cell by an 18-armed candelabrum. Gifts and courses of food were customarily served within the tekke (dervish monastery) in sets of nine or 18.

Tomorrow: the sacred 19 of the Bahá'í

• Taken from Rogerson's Book of Numbers by Barnaby Rogerson

Reference and languagesIslamBarnaby Rogerson
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