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Sufi Movement
Sufism is a term used to refer to mystical religious ideas in Islam. It had evolved into a well-
developed movement by the 11th century. It originated and developed in the Arab peninsula
and spread thereafter in the vast Muslim empire which was established by the rulers after
conquering many alien lands in Europe, Asia and Africa. Retaining the Islamic Character the
movement readily admitted the local influence and adapted to the social conditions, cultural
features and spiritual needs of the native peoples.
Islam
Shias Sunnis
● Hadis are traditions of the Prophet’s saying and doings.
● Sufis → turned to asceticism and mysticism in protest against the growing materialism of the
Caliphate as a religious and political institution.
● Mutazilas → Had rationalist philosophy and strict monotheism.
○ God is just and has nothing to do with man’s evil actions.
○ Men are endowed with free will and are responsible for their own actions.
○ The Mutazilas were opposed by the Ashari School.
Ashari school & Abu Hamid al-Ghazali:
● Evolved its own rationalist argument in defence of the orthodox doctrine (kalam).
This school believes that God knows, sees and speaks.
● The Quran is eternal and uncreated.
● The greatest exponent of this school was Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD), who
is credited with having reconciled orthodoxy with mysticism.
● He is deeply respected by both orthodox elements and Sufis.
● Influence of the ideas of Ghazali was greater because of the new educational system
set up by the state, it provided for setting up of seminaries of higher learning (called
madrasas) where scholars were familiarised with Ashari ideas.
● They were taught how to run the government in accordance with orthodox Sunni
ideas.
● These scholars were known as Ulama.
The Sufis:
● Contrary to the Ulema were the Sufis. The Sufis were mystics and had different
philosophy.
● Opposed the vulgar display of wealth in public life and the readiness of the ulema to
serve “ungodly” rulers.
● Emphasis upon free thought and liberal ideas. against formal worship, rigidity and
fanaticism in religion.
● The Sufis turned to meditation in order to achieve religious satisfaction.
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● Like the Bhakti saints, the Sufis too interpreted religion as ‘love of god’ and service of
humanity. Fundamental to Sufism is God, man and the relation between them, which
is Love.
● Sufis stress the importance of traversing the path of the Sufi pir, enabling one to
establish a direct communion with the divine.
● The murid (disciple) passes through maqamat (various stages) in this process of
experiencing communication with the divine.
● Divided into different silsilahs (orders) with each silsilah having its own pir (guide)
called Khawaja or Sheikh. The word silsilah meant chain, signifying an unbreakable
chain between the pir and the murid.
● The Khanqah (the hospice) was the centre of activities of the various Sufi orders. The
khanqah was led by a shaikh, pir or murshid (teacher) who lived with his murids
(disciples).
● With the death of the pir, his tomb or shrine, the dargah became a centre for his
disciples and followers.
● Organised samas (a recital of holy songs) to arouse mystical ecstasy.
● They were not setting up a new religion, but were preparing a more liberal movement
within the framework of Islam.
● They owed their allegiance to the Quran as much as the ulema did.
● Silsilahs were divided
Sufi-Orders
Ba-shara Be-shara
→Followed Islamic →Not bound by the
Law (Sharia) and Sharia.
its directives such →The Qalandars,
as namaz and roza. Madaris, Malangs
→Chishti, belonged to this
Suhrawardi, group
Firdawsi, Qadiri
and Naqshbandi
silsilahs
● The Sufi saints were poets who chose to write in local languages.
● The Sufis were regarded as people who kept their hearts pure.
● Sufis believed in the concept of Wahdat-ul-Wajud (Unity of Being) promoted by Ibn-
i-Arabi (1165-1240).
● Sufi movement encouraged equality and brotherhood.
● The Sufis also denounced the ulema.
● They believed that the ulema had succumbed to world by temptations and were
moving away from the original democratic and egalitarian principles of the Quran.
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Sufism in India:
● The Sufi movement in India commenced in the 11th century A.D.
● Shaikh ali Hujwari of Data Gunj was the first reputed sufi in India.
○ Earlier some other Sufis like Shaikh Mohammad also visited India but their
preceptors did not permit them to stay here.
○ Shaikh Ali Hujwari on the exhortation of his guide lived here to preach Islam to
the native people. He successfully performed his task of proselytism in and
around Sindh.
○ Hujwari belonged to the early phase of Sufism and emphasized the basic
doctrines of Sufism like worship of God, love of God, knowledge of God,
purification and annihilation.
○ He paved the path for the future sufis in India by writing a monumental book
Kashful-ul-Mehjoob.
● There are multiple orders found in India. Most of these orders were led by some
prominent Sufi saint or pir. It was named after them and was followed by his
disciples.
● Sufism had already taken on a definite form before coming to India.
● Their emphasis upon a pure life, devotional love and service to humanity made them
popular and earned them a place of honour in Indian society.
● The Sufis believed that for union with God, one needs a spiritual guru or Pir.
● The Khanqahs emerged as important centres of learning which were different from
madrasas, the centres of theology
● Many Sufis enjoyed the musical congregation or sama in their Khanqahs. A musical
form called the qawwali developed during this period.
● The ziyarat, or pilgrimage to the tombs of the Sufi saints, soon emerged as an
important form of ritual pilgrimage.
● Most of the Sufis believed in the performance of miracles. Almost all pirs were
associated with the miracles performed by them.
There are many major and minor orders in Sufism. Some of them were founded in India
itself. The major orders are as follows.
1. Chishtiya order.
2. Qadriya order
3. Suharwardiya order
4. Naqsh bandiya order.
Chisti Silsila:
● Founded in the village Khwaja Chishti (near Herat).
● In India, the Chishti Silsila was founded by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (born c.
1142) who came to India around 1192.
● After his death in 1235; his grave was visited by Muhammad Tughlaq, after which
Mahmud Khalji of Malwa erected the mosque and dome in the fifteenth century.
● The patronage of this dargah peaked after the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar.
● Ajmer is the main center for his teaching.
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● During Mughal times, Ajmer became a leading pilgrim centre because the emperors
regularly visited the Sheikh’s tomb.
● Among his disciples were Sheikh Hamiduddin of Nagaur and Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar
Kaki.
● Sultan Iltutmish dedicated the Qutub Minar to Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.
● Not much aligned with state but accepted unsolicited grants and donations from the
political elites.
● The Sultans in turn set up charitable trusts (auqaf ) as endowments for hospices and
granted tax-free land (inam).
● Shaikh NizamuddinAuliya (1238-1325) was responsible for making Delhi an important
centre of the Chishti silsilah. Saw the reign of seven sultans kept aloof from the state.
● Amongst his followers was the Baba Farid (Sheikh Fariduddin) composed verses in the
local language, which were incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib.
● Yet others composed long poems or masnavis to express ideas of divine love using
human love as an allegory. For example, the prem-akhyan (love story) Padmavat
composed by Malik Muhammad Jayasi revolved around the romance of Padmini and
Ratansen, the king of Chittor.
● Other compositions were in the form of lurinama or lullabies and shadinama or
wedding songs.
● It is likely that the sufis of this region were inspired by the pre-existing bhakti tradition
of the Kannada bachanas of the Lingayats and the Marathi abhangs of the sants of
Pandharpur.
● It is through this medium that Islam gradually gained a place in the villages of the
Deccan.
● The Chishti pirs emphasised the simplicity of life, poverty, humility, and selfless
devotion to God. They regarded the renunciation of worldly possessions as necessary
for the control of the senses necessary to maintain a spiritual life.
● In the 13th century, the Chishti Order was established in the Deccan by Shaikh
Burhanuddin Gharib.
○ Changes: Some of the Chishtis began accepting grants and patronage from the
ruling establishment.
○ Important Pir: Muhammad Banda Nawaz.
○ Important centre: Deccan city of Bijapur.
Chistis believed in:
● Love as the bond between God and the individual soul,
● The tolerance between people of different faiths,
● Acceptance of disciples, irrespective of their religious beliefs,
● The attitude of benevolence to all,
● Regulating the breath
● Absorption in meditation on the Divine
● Association with Hindu and Jain yogis, and
● Use of simple language.
READ More:
https://www.thehindu.com/society/faith/Celebrating-the-mystic-
tradition/article17194923.ece
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Baba Farid (1179-1266):
● FarīdGaj Shakar was a Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic.
● Born near by Multan and influenced by Q. Bakhtiyar kaki, his successor and hence one
of the founder of Chisti Silsila.
● Contributions to Punjabi literature is development of the language for literary purposes.
Whereas Sanskrit, Arabic, Turkish and Persian had historically been considered the
languages of the learned and the elite, and used in monastic centres, Punjabi was
generally considered a less refined folk language.
● Baba Farid was given the title Shakar Ganj.
● His poetry is included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
● Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the 5th guru of Sikhism, included these hymns himself in the
AdiGranth, the predecessor of the GuruGranth Sahib.
Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325):
● Order – Chisti, Born - Badayun,UP
● Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq founder of the Tughluq dynasty interacted with Nizamuddin.
● Initially, they used to share a good relationship but soon this got embittered, and
relation between Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq and Nizamuddin Auliya never been
reformed due to opinion disharmony and their antagonism resulted in regular
disputes between them during that era.
● Ain-i-Akbari mentions him and his short biography.
● His ideas:
○ Emphasis on renunciation and having complete trust in God.
○ The unity of mankind and shunning distinctions based on social, economic, and
religious status.
○ Helping the needy, feeding the hungry and being sympathetic to the oppressed.
○ Strong disapproval of mixing with the Sultans, the princes and the nobles.
Amir Khusrau (1253-1325):
● Khusrau took pride in being an Indian and looked at the history and culture of
Hindostan as a part of his own tradition. He wrote verses in Hindi (Hindawi) and
employed the Persian metre in Hindi.
● He created a new style called sabaq-i-hindi.
● Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), the great poet, musician and disciple of Shaikh
Nizamuddin Auliya, gave a unique form to the Chishti sama‘ by introducing the qaul
(Arabic word meaning “saying”), a hymn sung at the opening or closing of qawwali.
● This was followed by sufi poetry in Persian, Hindavi or Urdu, and sometimes using
words from all of these languages. Qawwals (those who sing these songs) at the
shrine of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya always start their recital with the qaul.
Practice of Ziyarat:
● When the shaikh died, his tomb-shrine (dargah, a Persian term meaning court)
became the centre of devotion for his followers. This encouraged the practice of
pilgrimage or ziyarat to his grave. Thus evolved the cult of the shaikh revered as
wali.
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● The most revered shrine is that of Khwaja Muinuddin, popularly known as “Gharib
Nawaz” (comforter of the poor).
● Muhammad bin Tughlaq (ruled, 1324-51) was the first Sultan to visit the shrine,
but the earliest construction to house the tomb was funded in the late fifteenth
century by Sultan Guiyasuddin Khalji of Malwa.
● Part of ziyarat is the use of music and dance {mystical chants} performed by trained
musicians or qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy. The sufis remember God either by
reciting the zikr (the Divine Names) or evoking His Presence through sama
(literally, “audition”) or performance of mystical music.
Suhrawardi Silsila:
● Founded by Sheikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi in Baghdad. It was established in India
by Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya (1182-1262). He set up a leading khanqah in Multan
(during Qubacha Rule), which was visited by rulers, high government officials and
rich merchants.
● He openly took Iltutmish’s side in his struggle against Qabacha and received from him
the title of Shaikhul Islam (Leader of Islam).
● That unlike the Chishti saints, the Suhrawardis maintained close contacts with the
state.
● They believed that a Sufi should possess the three attributes of property, knowledge
and hal or mystical enlightenment.
● Bahauddin Zakariya stressed the observance of external forms of religious belief and
advocated a combination of ilm (scholarship) and mysticism.
● Practices like bowing before the sheikh, presenting water to visitors and tonsuring the
head at the initiation into the Order that the Chishtis had adopted were rejected.
● They accepted gifts, jagirs and even government posts in the ecclesiastical department.
● The Suhrawardi silsilah was firmly established in Punjab and Sind.
Naqshabandi Silsila:
● Naqshbandiyya order became an influential factor in Indo-Muslim life.
● Baqi Billah Berang is credited for bringing the order to India during the end of the
16th century.
● Ahmed Sirhindi was his disciple and successor.
○ Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi attempted to purge Islam from all liberal and what he
believed were ‘un-Islamic’ practices.
● Aurangzeb was from this gang.
Ahmed Sirhindi (1564-1624):
● Ahmad Sirhindi's teaching emphasized the inter-dependence of both the Sufi path
and sharia → revolutionized his silsilah.
● Sheikh Ahmad broke away from earlier mystic traditions and propounded his theory
of the unity of the phenomenal world.
● In particular, he spoke out against innovations introduced by Sufis. For instance, he
opposed Emperor Akbar's views on Hindu and Muslim marriages. He criticised the
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new status accorded by Akbar to many non-Muslims, the withdrawal of the Jizyah
and the ban on cow slaughter.
● He persuaded Jahangir to disallow drinking alcohol and destruction of pubs and
clubs.
● He opposed the listening of sama (religious music) and the practice of pilgrimage to
the tombs of saints.
● He opposed interaction with Hindus and Shias.
● He believed that he was the mujaddid (renewer) of the first millennium of Islam.
● He maintained that the relationship between man and God was between the slave and
the master and not the relation of a lover and beloved.
● He tried to harmonise the doctrines of mysticism and the teachings of orthodox
Islam.
● He made the Emperor revert the rule of exemption of sacrificing cows. Instead,
religious conferences and meetings for spiritual development (known as halqas) were
held throughout the territory.
● He stated, "Muslims should follow their religion, and non-Muslims their ways, as the
Quran enjoins 'for you yours and for me my religion'".
● Also, he did not believe in keeping the state and ruler separate and worked hard to
change the outlook of the ruling class. After his death, his work was continued by his
sons and descendants.
Qadri Silsila:
● Founded by Sheikh Abdul Qadir.
● Popular in Punjab.
● Supporters of the Mughals under Akbar.
● Supported the concept of Wahdat al Wajud (unity of existence).
● Miyan Mir of this group had enrolled the Mughal princess Jahanara and her brother
Dara as disciples.
● Shah Badakhshani, another pir of this silsilah, while dismissing orthodox elements,
declared that the infidel who had perceived reality and recognised it was a believer
and that a believer who did not recognise reality was an infidel.
The Firdausi order
● The Firdausi order was a branch of the Suhrawardi which established itself at Raigir
in Bihar towards the end of the 14th century.
● Shaikh Badruddin Samarqandi was the founder of this order.
● The most prominent sufi belonging to this silsilah in India was Shaikh Sharfuddin
Yahya Maneri.
The Rishi order
● The Rishi order of Sufism flourished in Kashmir during the 15th and 16th centuries.
● The Rishi order was an indigenous one established by Shaikh Nuruddin Wali.
● It drew inspiration from the popular Shaivite bhakti tradition of Kashmir and was
rooted in the socio-cultural milieu of the region.
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Terminology
Qiyas And Ijma Sources of legislation: qiyas (reasoning by analogy) and ijma (consensus of
the community)
Zimmi Category of the zimmi, meaning protected (derived from the Arabic word
zimma, protection) developed for peoples who followed revealed scriptures,
such as the Jews and Christians, and lived under Muslim rulership. They
paid a tax called jizya and gained the right to be protected by Muslims. In
India this status was extended to Hindus as well.
Mihrab And Used in reference of Mosque architecture mihrab (prayer niche) and the
Minbar minbar (pulpit).
Shakas,Yavanas Used for migrants → Turks and Afghans were referred to as Shakas and
And Mlechchha Yavanas (a term used for Greeks). A more general term for these migrant
communities was mlechchha, indicating that they did not observe the
norms of caste society and spoke languages that were not derived from
Sanskrit.
Tasawwuf Word used for Sufism in Islamic texts.
Bhakti and Sufi interaction:
1. The Bhakti movement was the fruitful outcome of the interaction between the mystics
of the two religions. The sufis from the very outset encouraged communal harmony
and tried to understand the universal elements in the two religions. The emergence of
the movement resulted into a better understanding of each other’s point of view.
2. It produced many great saints in the two communities like Nam-Dev, Kabir, Malik
Mohammad Jaisi, Dadu and Guru Namak etc. They chose the local languages to
express their ideas through the vehicle of poetry. G
3. uru Nanak in his apophthegms quoted many verses from Baba Farid-Shakar ganj. It
speaks of the profound influence of Baba Farid and Islamic mysticism on Guru Nanak.
4. The sufis and the pioneers of Bhakti movement laid emphasis on the points of
agreement between the two religions. They believed that the fundamental truth, aimed
at by the two religions was one and the same. Ram and Raheem are not different
entities. They signify the similar truth.
5. The founders of Bhakti movement, under the influence of Islam and Hinduism both
arrive at the following conclusion.
a. God is one pure and simple. He may be remembered with different names. He
must be loved and worshiped. Their concept of worship is however different.
They do not subscribe to the ritualistic worship. There has been a long and
meaningful debate about the priority of sharia and Tariqat. The earlier sufis
along with highipsities of different orders held sharia as prior to Tariqat. It
should be clarified here that sharia means the Islamic law which explains the
obligations actions and assertions that is Farz-Sunnat and Hadith. Tareeqa on
the other hand is the personal ways of worship. Many sufies consider Tariqat as
prior to sharia and worship God in their own way refraining from the obligatory
or ritualistic prayers. The heretic (Majzoob) and the medicants (Qalander)
generally followed the path of Tariqat. The precursors of Bhakti movement in
both communities cherished this path and considered God as an immanent
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being, present in every thing and every where. Every object is His manifestation.
They thought that there is no difference between the worshiper and the
worshiped.
b. The Bhakti saints emphasized communal harmony social integration and
unification of culture. Not only the sufies but also the Muslims in general
preferred to live in peace with their native brothers. They adheared to virtue of
fraternity. The indispensable interaction gave way to the social integration and
unification of culture. The synthesis, if we look at the history, is reflected in the
attitude of the people towards each other. Bhakti movement thus brought people
close to each other.
c. The founders of the movement tried to search universal elements in both the
religions. Guru Nanak, for instance, was in search of a universal religion and
founded Sikhism which embodied the fundamentals of the two religions.
Thus, Bhakti movement in short was an attempt to remove the barriers of religion and to
convince people that the spirit of the two creeds was identical.
Mughal Period interaction:
▪ The mystics of two communities continued influencing each other even after the
decline of the Bhakti movement.
▪ The Sufis kept on studying the religious scriptures of Hindu religion either through
translations into Persian or original Sanskrit texts.
▪ The Yoga Vashishta, Ramayana and Mahabharata fascinated not only the
Sufis but also the scholars. They were rendered into translation in Persian even in the
medieval ages.
▪ Some scholars studied Vedas and quoted their hymns in their works. They also
appealed to many Sufis who experienced their truth.
▪ In the later medieval ages after the establishment of the Mughal rule the Hindu
scriptures became still more fascinating. The Mughal kings directed the scholars
having the knowledge of the two languages Sanskrit and Persian to translate them into
Persian. The bulk of Translation was done in the days of Akbar.
▪ The Muslim Sufis, who were cognizant earlier with the spiritual legacy of Hinduism
had then a better knowledge of Vedic and Buddhist mysticism.
▪ Among the Mughal Princes Dara Shikoh was the most outstanding scholar of
Hinduism and Islam. He went through the earlier translation of the Hindu scriptures.
He leant Sanskrit in the company of Pandits.
o He translated himself some of the important Upanishads in the name of Sir- e-
Akbar “The great secret”. In his preface he acknowledged that the Upanishads
are the hidden Quran (Quran-e-Maknoon). They have also predicted the arrival
of Prophet Mohammad. In the same book he has equated the three principal
angels Gabriel, the Mikail and Israil with Brahma, Vishnu and shiva.
o He wrote another book in Sanskrit and Persian both under the title MAJ-UL-
BAHRAIN the mingling of the two oceans in which he has described 22 points
of agreements in the mysticism of the two religions.
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o In short Dara Shkoh very closely studied the two religions and always held dear
to his breast the Hindu Muslim Unity. He was of the view that mysticism alone
could bring the people closer.
With the accession of Aurangzeb the policy of tolerance and fraternity was badly affected.
The theologians (Ulama) gained ground and became politically more powerful. The
puritanic elements desired to eradicate alien elements from Islam. This gave way to a
perilous orthodoxy. The sufis baring the Nakshbandis were severely condemned. The
Nakshbandi mystics were rigid in attitude and orthodox in their approach.
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ufi Movement
S
(Mains practice questions)
Q1. T
owhatextentBhaktiandSufimovementsweresuccessfulinimprovingtheinter
religious struggle in medieval Indian society? Examine.
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Q2. B
haktiandSufimovementswerenottwobutoneemergingthoughtoflivingwith
humanity. Illustrate.
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Q3. W
hat was the impact of Sufi movement on themusicinparticularandsocietyin
general? Discuss.
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TTS-23
1. In the context of the Sufism, the term ziyarat
denotes
(a) Distributing food among the poors.
(b) Organising musical show in the evening.
(c) Pilgrimage to the tombs of Sufi saint.
(d) None of the above
TTS-22
2. Around twelfth century, Sufi Silsilas began to
crystallize in different parts of the Islamic
world to signify
1. continuous link between master and
disciple
2. the unbroken spiritual genealogy to the
Prophet Muhammad
3. the transmission of spiritual power and
blessings to devotees
Select the correct answer using the code
given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
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Sufi Movement
MAINS PYQs
1. Sufis and medieval mystic saints failed to modify either the religious ideas and practices or the
outward structure of Hindu / Muslim societies to any appreciable extent. Comment. [2014, 10M]
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