Classical Sufis were characterised by their asceticism, especially the attachment to dhikr, the practice of repeating the names of God, often performed after prayers.[25] Sufism gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 ).[26] Sufis have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, originally expressing their beliefs in Arabic, before spreading into Persian, Turkish, and Urdu among dozens of other languages.[27]
