The name “Sufis” is derived from sūf (wool), since wool was the usual clothing of ascetics. It has also been said to derive from Sūfah ibn Murr ibn Udd ibn Tābikhah, an Arab tribe whose members used to reside around the Sacred House.

As for those who derive it from suffah (the shaded platform), the objection has been raised that the proper form would be Suffiyyah. Likewise, those who derive it from safāʾ (purity) are told that the proper form would be Safāʾiyyah. If the word ended instead in an unhamzated long ā, the form would be Safawiyyah; if derived from safwah (the elect), it would be Safwiyyah. Those who derive it from saff, meaning the foremost rank before Allah, are told that the proper form would be Saffiyyah. There is no doubt that these would be the required forms of attribution and affiliation if due regard were given to the rules of Arabic.

The correct explanation, however, is that these derivations were proposed on the basis of greater and intermediate derivation, rather than minor derivation. This resembles Abū Ja‘far’s statement that al-‘āmmah (the common people) is a name derived from ‘amā (blindness). Such derivations take account either of shared letters without regard to their order—which is intermediate derivation—or of letters belonging to the same kind without being identical—which is greater derivation. An example of intermediate derivation is the Kufan grammarians’ assertion that ism (name) derives from simah (mark). The same applies when “Sufi” is said to derive from safāʾ (purity). If, however, it is said to derive from suffah or saff, this falls under greater derivation.

A number of the leading scholars, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others, used this designation.