Picturing the PastSufi Collective Ritual Collective or group rituals, in which Sufis tried through ecstatic experiences to come closer to God, have always fascinated outsiders, including non-Sufi Muslims. Here the sixteenth-century Persian painter Sultan Muhammad illustrates the writing of the fourteenth-century lyric poet Hafiz. Notice the various musical instruments and the delicate floral patterns so characteristic of Persian art. (Or. Ms. 104, from The Kulliyyati-I Sa’di [The Collected Works of Sa’di], 1556, vellum/Edinburgh University Library, Scotland/With kind permission of the University of Edinburgh/The Bridgeman Art Library)ANALYZING THE IMAGE What sort of architectural space is depicted here? What distinctions do you see among the people in terms of how they dress and what they are doing?CONNECTIONS How common are music and dance in religion? What do they provide?