Abstract
This article is devoted to the issue of the influence of Sufism on the development of the musical art of the Kazakh people. As we know, in the development of the spiritual culture of the Turkic peoples Sufism played a special role. Sufism, as an esoteric aspect or, inward, deep essence of Islam, unlike lawyers who considered only the outer shell of Islam, did not prevent the development of the traditional spiritual culture of the peoples who adopted Islam. On the contrary, it formed conditions for its further growth, now enriched by the rich spiritual treasure of Islam.As a result of the research, the authors come to the conclusion that Sufism, due to its flexibility with respect to local traditions, formed conditions for the preservation and further development of the musical art of the Turkic peoples. At the same time, as a result of the interaction of the rich spiritual culture of the Turkic peoples with its special relation to the musical art and Sufi traditions, a special spiritual culture of the people was formed, free from dogmatism and stagnation. And these features of the spiritual culture of the medieval Turkic peoples were inherited by the Kazakh people, who for a long time (until the beginning of the 20th century) retained their traditional (nomadic, semi-nomadic) way of life.