Editing Ulama (section)

===Sufism===
{{main|Sufism}}
Early on in Islamic history, a line of thought developed around the idea of [[mysticism]], striving for the perfection ''([[Ihsan]])'' of worship.<ref name="Hourani_HAP_P72_75">{{cite book| last1=Hourani| first1=Albert| title=A history of the Arab peoples| date=2012| publisher=Faber| location=London| isbn=978-0-571-28801-4| pages=72_75| edition=New}}</ref> During the first Islamic century, [[Hasan al-Basri]] (642–728 AD) was one of the first Muslim scholars to describe, according to [[Albert Hourani]] (1991) "the sense of the distance and nearness of God&nbsp;... in the language of love". During the 7th century, the ritual of [[Dhikr]] evolved as a "way of freeing the soul from the distractions of the world". Important early scholars who further elaborated on mysticism were [[Harith al-Muhasibi]] (781–857 AD) and [[Junayd of Baghdad|Junayd al-Baghdadi]] (835–910 AD).<ref name="Hourani_HAP_P72_75"/>