Sama

Sama, literally Listening, is a Sufi ritual performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice known as Dhikr (in English, Remembrance [of God]). It is discussed by al-Ghazali in his The Alchemy of Happiness.

It is sometimes associated with Rumi, who is said to have fallen into an ecstatic trance after wandering through a city and hearing the name of God in the rhythmic hammering of a goldbeater (hence the name Sama, i.e. hearing/listening). As an imitation of this, Sama invites the practitioner to reflect on the all-encompassing presence of God, a concept known as tawhid.