In this essay we will discuss about Sufism in India. After reading this essay you will learn about:- 1. Evolution of the Sufi Movement 2. Meaning of Sufism 3. History of Sufism 4. Sufism in India 5. Impact of Sufism.
Contents:
- Essay on the Evolution of Sufi Movement
- Essay on the Meaning of Sufism
- Essay on the History of Sufism
- Essay on Sufism in India
- Essay on the Impact of Sufism
1. Essay on the Evolution of Sufi Movement:
If the impact of Islamism on Hinduism gave rise to Bhakti Movement, the impact of Hinduism on Islamism led to Sufi Movement. Sufism is another name for the Islamic mysticism.
The term Sufi according to Edward Sell, is most probably derived from the Arabic word Sufi, “Wool” of which material, the garments worn by eastern ascetics used to be generally made though the Sufi movement in India gained momentum in the 14th century, its traces go back to the period before the foundation of the Turkish rule.
Broadly speaking, the Sufi movement can be divided into two parts. The first, from the earliest time to the beginning of the 9th century and the second from 9th century onwards. During the first period Sufism possessed no system and during second it developed its own organisation and monastic orders.
2. Essay on the Meaning of Sufism:
Sufism has been defined by Dr. Tara Chand as “a complex phenomenon; it is like a stream which gathers volume by the joining of tributaries from many lands. Its original source is the Quran and the life of Muhammad. Christianity and neo-Platonism swelled it by a large contribution. Hinduism and Buddhism supplied a number of ideas, and the religions of ancient Persia Zoroastrianism, Manism, etc., brought to it their share.”
F. Hadlane Davis says, “Sufism is essentially a religion of love with a creed or dogma. No merciless hells leap up in the Sufi’s beliefs. He has no one way theory for the beyond! The ways of God are as the number of souls of men”.
Prof. K.D. Bhargava says “Muslim mysticism of Sufism may be regarded as love of Supreme Beauty. The thought of the East and the West converges in the fundamentals of love. In the admiration for the Supreme beauty, minor differences in the East and the West converge in the fundamentals of love. In the admiration for the Supreme Beauty, minor differences in the East and West are annihilated, and mystics all over world, whether in India, China or Europe, sing the same prayer for Union with the beloved, There are bound to be differences in detail, but all of them tend, in the main, in the same direction.”
3. History of Sufism:
The Sufis drew their inspiration mainly from Quran and the life of Muhammad, even though Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Manism and Neo-Platonism also made valuable contribution to its growth.
Amongst the Muslim devotees there were certain persons who attached great importance to principles of Tauba (repentance) and Tawakkul (trust in God), and took to asceticism and abstinence. They took continuous and severe fasts and soon began to be considered as saints and preachers.
One of the earliest Sufis was a woman saint by the name Rabia of Basra. She was more ethical rather than metaphysical. She said “Love of God hath so absorbed me that neither love nor hate of any other thing remains in my heart.” She also initiated the practice of using symbolical language of human love to describe the relations between the mystic and his Divine Beloved.
The Sufi movement was given theolosophyical basis by Abbasids of Baghdad. But the most celebrated role in the evolution of Sufism was played by the Persian saint Bayazid Bustami, who introduced the element of ecstasy and mystic doctrine of the immanence of God. The term ‘Fana’ or annihilation of the self, which became the basis of the Sufi philosophy was for the first time used by him.
When the Muslims came into contact with the Christians they adopted certain other principles like mediation and repetition of Goods name and prayer (dhikr), complete detachment from the affairs of personal interest, utter dependence upon God, rejection of material goods (fuqr), indifference towards suffering, praise or blame etc.
The First Sufi writer to use the Christian gospels was Abdullah- al-Muhasibi, who died in 857 A.D.
Hinduism also exercised profound influence on Sufism. Certain elements of Hindu philosophy had been assimilated by Plato, the great Greek philosopher, after the preliminary contact between the cultures of the Greeks and the Hindus was established.
Subsequently when the Greek works were translated into Arabic, the Neo-Platonism ideas (containing the Hindu elements) found their way into Islam. The ideas which thus gained entry into Islam included contempt of the world, leaning towards divine life etc. Certain Buddhist ideas, of Vedanta also found their way into Islam in the like manner.
There is controversy amongst scholars regarding the origin of Sufism. While Dr. Yusuf Husain holds that Sufism was born in the bosom of Islam and the foreign ideas and practices exercised no influence on it. Prof. A.L. Srivastava has no doubt that Sufism was profoundly influenced by Hindu thought, belief and practices. He says the very conception of a loving God and the relations between God and soul as one of the beloved and the lover are peculiar to Hinduism and were adopted by the Sufis in India.
The pacifism and non-violence which were imbibed by the Indian Muslim Sufis were also peculiar to Christianity and to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, Some of the ascetic practices involving starvation and torturing of the body like Chilah-i-makus (which means the tying of a rope to one’s feet and getting one’s body lowered into a well and offering prayer in that posture for forty nights) seem to have been borrowed from the Hindu and Buddhist practices.
Prof. Nizami also holds the view that, “the Chishtis adopted many Hindu customs and ceremonials in the initial stages of the development of their silisilah in India. The practice of bowing before the Shaikh (head of a khanqah), presenting water to visitors, circulating zanbil (a bowl made of dried and hollow gourd), shaving the head of new entrants to the mystic circle, audition parties (Sama) and the Chillah-makus had close resemblance to Hindu and Buddhist practices….”
Going back to the history of Sufism again we find that the name Sufi was first of all applied to Abu Kashim of Kufa. But the most significant contribution to the development of Sufism was made by Husain Ibn Hansur Al-Hallaj in the tenth century.
Hallaj conceived the relation of God with man as the infusion of the divine into the human soul. He provided the basis for the development of the doctrine of Insan-i-Kamil’ (the perfect man) which was worked up by subsequent Sufi writers. F. Hadland Davis has brought out the contributions of Hallaj thus: “With his fanaticism, his absurd indiscretion and love of conjuring, he left much behind of permanent value to the Sufis.”
Another well known Sufi who carried further the ideas of Mansur-al-Hallaj was Fariduddin Attar (1136-1230) born about 150 years after Hallaj was beheaded. Attar is said to have written 114 books on Sufism. He also compiled biographies and sayings of Muslim saints in Tadhkirat-al-auliya, which is considered to be a source book for the study of early Sufism. Attar lived long and his head was cut-off by a soldier of Changez Khan.
Jalaluddin Rumi, established an order of Darveshes. He believed that love is the greatest virtue which purifies the spiritual sentiments giving us the vision of the Supreme. His beloved is not confined with the temple, mosque and church but resides in the pure heart.
Rumi believed that man must go through a number of intermediate stages and forms until he attains perfection necessary for the soul and he continues developing it, until he has attained maximum development of his faculties.
Rumi left a vast store of spiritual knowledge in his Masnavi, which is considered as the text for the study of Sufism. In the words of F. Hadland Davis, “The Masnavi has all the pantheistic beauty of the Psalms, the music of the hills, the colour and scent of the roses, the swaying of forests; but it has considerably more than that these things of scent and form and colour are the Mirror of the Beloved; these earthly loves, the journey down the valley into the Rose-Garden, where the roses never fade, and where love is.” Reuben Levy also holds that, “The Masnavi is an immense work which contains in its six books all the doctrines, traditions and legends of Sufism, presented in a series of parables, allegories and pseudohistorical narratives.”
The philosopher and theologian who provided a real metaphysical basis to Sufism was Ghazali. He also tried to reconcile it with orthodox Islam. Dr. Tara Chand says: “Like the Hindu philosophers, he argued that through ordinary means of knowledge man can know only the relative, and as God is absolute, he cannot gain any positive knowledge of his qualities or nature. He must, therefore, depend upon revelation – prophetic or personal – to obtain that knowledge. He further taught that it was possible to know God, because God’s nature was not different in essence from that of man and that the human soul partook of the divine and would after death return to its divine source.”
Prof. K.D. Bhargava says: “Ghazali rescued Islam from barren and stereotyped phrases and dogmas, and brought them into Jiving contact with the Quran and the Traditions. Ghazali destroyed the dead wood of Muslim scholasticism and emphasised the element of fear in his doctrines. In his magnum opus ‘Ihya u’l ‘ulum’ he laid stress on immediate experience, ecstasy and inward transformation without which no salvation was possible. The doctrines of Sufism were also promoted by Shaikh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi and Ibn-al-Arabi. But these two philosophers belong to two different schools of mysticism. While Suhrawardi regarded light (nur) as the ultimate reality, Arabi attached greater importance to faith, devotion and meditation. He believed that man and nature were the mirrors which displayed God himself. God manifests himself in every atom of creation. He is revealed in every intelligible object and concealed from every intelligence except the intelligence of those who say that the universe is his form and ipseity (Surahwahuwayah) in as much as he stands in the same relation to phenomenal objects as the spirit to the body.”
Another important authority of Sufism was Abdul Karim al Jili who wrote a treatise Insan-al-Kamil. He also wrote commentary on Futuhat-al-MalcKiyah. Jili believed that man attains spiritual perfection passing through four stages…complete surrender to the Will of God, destruction of the individual, acquisition of miraculous power and divine attributes, and lastly entrance into Essence becoming perfect (Insan-i-Kamil) Godman.
He held that all faiths were thoughts about one reality. The differences were due to variety of names and attributes and altogether contribution to the perfection of the whole. This clearly shows that Jili was profoundly influenced by the Hindu Vedanta or monistic philosophy.
It may be noted that the orthodox Muslim leaders—both Shia and Sunni—were opposed to Sufism because of its electric doctrines. It was only due to the powerful personality and intellectual brilliance of Ghazali that they accepted Sufism within its fold.
4. Sufism in India:
The period from 1200 to 1500 A.D. is considered as the period of permeation of Sufi thought in India. During, this period a number of new sects and movements were started which formed a mid-way between Hinduism and Islam.
The Sufis were devout Muslims, who moved within the limits of shara (Law of Islam) and believed it as the true way to salvation. They however, attached an esoteric significance to the teachings of Quran and regarded inward light or intuitive experience as of far more importance than dogmatic formalism of the orthodox type.
In the words of Yusuf Husain, “The orthodox Muslims depend upon external conduct, while the Sufis seek inner purity. The orthodox believe in blind obedience to, or observance to, or observance of religious rituals, while the Sufis think love to be the only means of reaching God.”
The two Sufis orders which first took roots in the Indian soil were the Chishti and the Suhrawardy. Soon certain other orders like Qadri, Naqshbandi, Shuttari and the Madari also started working in northern India. The Suhrawardia Silsilah or order was confined to Sindh, Multan and Punjab, although some of the Suhrawardia saints had also settled down in Delhi and Awadh.
The Chishti Silsilah established itself at Ajmer and other places of Rajasthan as well as in certain parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Deccan. The chief reason for the comparative popularity of the Chishti Silsilah was that the Chishti saints adopted themselves according to the usages and customs of the people.
1. Chishti Order:
Khawaja Muin-ud-Din Chishti:
The Chishtis order was founded by Khawaja Abdul Chishti and was introduced in India by Khawaja Muin-ud-din Chishti, popularly known as Khawaja. Khawaja was born in Sijistan (Persia) in 1141 A.D. He lost his father at an early age.
Due to unsettled conditions in the country he even lost his property and became a recluse. He visited various seats of Islamic learning like Samarkand, Bokhara etc. During the course of his journey he met Khawaja Usam at Naishapur and became his disciple. In the prime of his life he came to India and settled down at Lahore, wherefrom he moved on to Ajmer.
Prof. Yusuf Husain says, “One cannot think without admiration of this man, almost alone, living among the people who considered the least contact with a Muslim as defilement. Sometime he was refused water to drink. In the torried climate of Rajputana this was the hardest punishment one can imagine:”
Khawaja Muin-ud-din Chishti worked amongst the low caste people and spent his life in the service of the helpless and the downtrodden. Khawaja advocated the philosophy of non-Duality. He said : “When we transcended the external and looked around, we found the lover, the beloved and the love (itself) to be one, i.e. in the sphere of Oneness all is one….’ He held that the greatest form of devotion to God consisted in service to humanity. His attitude towards God and people won him great popularity. Khawaja died at a ripe age in 1236 A.D. and he was buried at Ajmer. His mausoleum has become a centre of pilgrimage for people of all classes.
The Chishti mystics believed in the spiritual value of music and patronized professional singers without any distinction of caste, religion etc. Qutab-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki, the chief successor of Khawaja Muin ud-Din Chishti is said to have died in a State of ecstasy at the monastery of Shaikh Ali Sijistani. A mausoleum of the Khawaja was built near Qutab Minar at Delhi. Kaki Sahib was greatly respected by Iltutmish, who offered him the high office of Shaikh-ul-Islam. However, Kaki Sahib declined the offer.
Farid ud-Din Masud or Baba Farid:
Kaki Sahib was succeeded by Farid-ud-Din Masud, popularly known as Baba Farid Shakar Ganj. He is called Shakar Ganj because according to legend. Baba Farid asked a certain merchant, who was carrying bales of sugar on the back of camels, for some quantity of sugar.
The merchant told the Baba that the bales contained the salt and not the sugar. When the merchant reached home, to his great surprise, he found that the bales contained salt in place of sugar. He immediately came back to Baba Farid and asked for forgiveness .It is said that the bales again turned into sugar. Ever since that incidence, people started calling him by the name of Farid Shakar Ganj.
Farid hailed from a royal family of Afghanistan. His grandfather settled down in Multan and ever since the family was in India. Farid came under the influence of Sufis and gave up his estates and took to travelling. He became a disciple of Khawaja Qutab ud-din Chishti. He finally settled down at Ajoddan now known as Pakpattan where he stayed till his death in 1265 A.D. Baba Farid disliked popularity and preferred solitude. He believed that one should keep away from kings and nobles because a Darvesh who makes friends with kings and nobles will end badly. He laid emphasis on concentration of heart and absentation from prohibited means of livelihood. Balban had great devotion for Baba Farid but the later never took any advantage of this.
Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia:
The chief disciple of Baba Farid was Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia, who was born in Badaun in 1336 A.D. Aulia lost his father at the age of five and was brought up by his mother who was a pious lady. At the age of 20 he became a disciple of Baba Farid who was greatly impressed by his intelligence.
In 1258 A.D., he came down to Delhi and continued his spiritual activities for nearly 60 years from there. Subsequently, he moved away from din of the city to a village near Delhi—Ghiaspur. Though Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia saw the reigns of seven Sultans, he never visited the Darbar of any of them. In fact, he considered it below the dignity of a Sufi to pay visit to a Sultan.
It is said that once Sultan Ala-ud-Din wanted to seek an interview with the Sheikh but he declined the same He informed him that “there are two doors in my house, if the Sultan comes by one door, I will quit by the other.”
It is difficult to understand why Nizam-ud-Din differentiated between the poor and the rich. By permitting the Sultans to have a contact with him, he could have made them less autocratic. Probably, the Sufis avoided the company of the Sultans with a view to avoid any clash or conflict with orthodox Ulemas, at the courts of the Sultans.
Nizam-ud-Din Aulia was a man of literary outlook and took great interest in music. This was completely disliked by the orthodox Ulemas and they even tried to condemn him Nizam-ud-Din however, did not bother about this and continued to case more about the common people. Love of humanity was one of his principles He said, “O Muslims; I swear by God, that he holds dear those who love him for the sake of God. This is only way to love and adore God.” Dr. R.C. Majumdar writes, “He laid stress on the element of love as a means of the realization of God. The love of God implied, in his view, the love of humanity, and this ethical idea was strongly inculcated by him on the hearts of his disciples.”
According to Prof. Yusuf Husain, “Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia, generally known as Mahbub-i-Illalhi (the beloved of God), represents a great spiritual force in the history of Muslim India. His disciples spread all over the country. His personality and the breadth of his religious outlook assured the popularity of the Chishti order in India. For nearly sixty years he was a source of blessing to hundreds and thousands who came from far and near to seek his guidance. He inspired men with the love of God and helped them to get rid of their attachment to worldly affairs. He regulated the life of his disciples, in accordance with the Shari’at, to reach a higher state of spiritual development.”
Nizam-ud-Din Aulia acquired great fame during his life time and was popularly known as Mahbuba-i- Illahi. To a large extent the popularity of the Chishti Order in India was due to his love of humanity and saintly virtues.
Sheikh Nasir-ud-Din or Chiragh of Delhi:
Sheikh Nasir- ud-Din also known as Chiragh of Delhi was the last great Sufi of the Chishti Order. He was born at Ayodhya where his grandfather had migrated from Lahore. He lost his father at the age of 9 and his mother looked after his education. At the age of 25, he decided to become a mystic.
He spent practically whole of his days in reading, praying and meditation in a mausoleum near his home town and slept very little. At the age of 45, he paid visit to Sheikh Nizam ud-Din Aulia at Delhi and became his disciple. Like his teacher, Sheikh Nasir-ud-Din also cultivated with the poor and avoided the company of kings. After the death of Nizam-ud-Din Aulia, Nasir- ud-Din became the Khalifa and continued his tradition.
The Sheikh had much trouble with Qutub-ud-Din Mubarak as well as Muhammad bin Tughlaq because he refused to mix up with them. It is said that he was forced to pay a visit to Muhammad- bin-Tughlaq, but, he refused to accept the bag of tankas and woolen clothes which were presented to him by the Sultan. Sheikh was also compelled by the Sultan to accompany him on his Thatha expedition.
Sheikh Nasir-ud-Din also played a major role in raising Firoz Tughlaq to the throne but soon he became disappointed with his way of life. During the later years of his life, the Sheikh was in a melancholy mood probably due to the miseries of the people all round. Another probable reason for this unhappiness was that there was so much of people’s crowd all round him that he found very little time for his personal study and prayer. He died in 1336 A.D.
Sheikh Salim:
Another notable Chishti Sufi of the 16th century was Sheikh Salim of Fatehpur Sikri. Though he could not rise to the stature of Nizam-ud-Din Aulia or Nasir-ud- Din, he had quite a good gathering. It is said that Akbar the great, called on him in his cave and sought his blessings for a son, Prince Jahangir was born as a result of this blessings.
Akbar used to call him by the name of Sheikhu Baba. Like other Sufi saints Sheikh Salim Chishti led a married life. His children rose to high position under Akbar and his successors. On his death, he was buried in the famous Jami Mosque of Fatehpur Sikri and a beautiful mausoleum was built over his grave by the great emperor.
Life of Chishti Sufis:
All these Chishti saints had faith in simple living. They used the minimum of clothes and lived a very simple and pure life. They were opposed to the idea of private property and considered it as a big hurdle in the development of their personality.
Although all the Chishti Sufis, with exception of Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia led a married life and had children but they did not own property. They also did not accept charity from the State and usually lived on the charity willingly given by the prosperous persons.
These Chishti Sufis have recorded that they had to go without food many a times but they never borrowed or sought assistance These Sufis were so much absorbed in their mystic contemplation that they did not pay sufficient attention to the upbringing of their children. As a result, their sons failed to attain the standard of their fathers.
As Prof. K A. Nazami has said, “No son of an early Chishti saint of India was mentally or spiritually in a position to keep the torch of his father burning. If the only son of Sheikh Qutub-ud-Din Bakhtiyar was ‘unworthy of his father’, a grandson of Sheikh Najib-ud-Din was a vagabond. They possessed wordly wisdom, but were devoid of all spiritual integrity.”
2. Suharawardi Order:
Suhrawardi is one of the oldest Sufi orders which was founded by Sheikh Shihab-ud-Din Suhrawardi. He (Sheikh Shihab ud-Din Suhrawardi) sent disciples to India and they settled down in Northwestern India. The prominent Suhrawardi saints of India were, Sheikh Hamid-ud Din Nagauri and Sheikh Baha-ud-Din Zakariya of Multan. Sheikh Hami-ud-Din Nagauri was the author of two books, Tawaliush Shams and Lawaih. He was fond of music parties.
Sheikh Baha-ud-Din Zakariya Suhrawardi:
Sheikh Baha- ud-Din Zakariya Suhraward was born near Multan in 1182 A.D. Early in his life, he visited Khurasan. Bukhara, Medina and Palestine to gain knowledge in Islamic studies. At Baghdad, he met Sheikh Shihab-ud Din Suhrawardi. On his direction, he set up a khanqah at Multan, where he worked for almost half a century. His philosophy differed from that of the Chishti Sufis. He did not believe in poverty and torturing of the body and led a balanced and comfortable life.
He also did not believe in fasting and mortification and faithfully followed rules of Islam. He wanted the external affairs of Islam to be faithfully followed and rejected the Hindu practice of bowing before the Sheikh, a practice adopted by the Chishtis.
He also took active interest in the political affairs and freely mixed with rulers and administrators. As a result, a large number of well-to-do men became his followers. He accepted land and gifts from kings and nobles and was probably the richest saint of the medieval India.
Split in Suhrawardi Order:
After the death of Sheikh Baha-ud-Din in Zakariya Suhrawardi, the Suhrawardi orders split up into two branches—the Multan and Uchch branch. His son. Badrud-Din Arif became the head of the Multan branch while his disciple Sayyid Jalaluddin Surkh Bukhari headed the Uchch branch.
Badr-ud Din-Arif:
Arif looked after the Multan branch for about 23 years. He fundamentally differed from his father in matter of religion and politics. Unlike his father, he looked upon accumulation of wealth as hurdles in the development of spiritual personality. It is said that he gave away in charity 7 lakhs tankas he inherited from his father. He also insisted on simple living. In other respects he did not make any fundamental changes in the Suhrawardi Order.
Sayyid Jalaluddin Surkh Bukhari:
Jalaluddin Surkh Bukhari also rendered great service co the spread of Suhrawardi Orders in Uchch. He converted a number of Hindus to Islam. He had 3 sons and one of the grandsons of Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din Makhdum-i-Jahanian, emerged as one of the most celebrated Suhrawardi saints of his times.
He exercised tremendous influence in the political and religious life of saints. He was appointed Sheikh-ul Islam by Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq but resigned the job and proceeded to Mecca. Even Firoz Tughlaq, the successor of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq greatly honoured him.
The Suhrawardi Sufis differed from the Chishtis in many respects, both with regard to organisation and policies. They freely mixed with Sultans and other rich people. While Chishti Saints did not keep the money received as charity with them and distributed it amongst the people, the Suhrawardi saints like Baha-ud-Din Zakariya accepted the charity liberally and tried to accumulate them.
As regards the organisation, the Chishti Jamait Khana accommodated all the inmates and visitors in their hall. The Khunqahs of the Suhrawardi were so designed as to provide separate accommodation to all inmates and visitors.
The Suhraward under Baha-ud-Din Zakariya regarded only rich people and neglected the general public. They had also fixed up certain hours for meeting the visitors. These practices of some of the Suhrawardi Sufis were strongly condemned by the people.
3. Firdausia Order:
The Firdausia Order was a branch of the Suhrawardi Order. Its activities were mainly confined to Bihar and it’s headquarter was Rajgir. This Order was popularized by Sheikh Sharf-ud-Din Yahya Manairi, a disciple of Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Firdausi.
Sheikh Sharf-ud-Din Yahya Manairi was not only a practical guide but also an excellent exponent of theoretical mysticism. He tried to bring about moderation in Islamic law and tried to reconcile the “Unity of Being” with the principles of Islam. It may be noted that this principle was introduced by Ibnu ‘l Arabi and was popularized in India by Minairi.
In his Maktubat, Minairi discussed the mystic implications of Islamic Tauhid and expounded that the slave remains a slave and God remains God. His interpretation of the passing way of the self (fana) is that the devotee in this state of consciousness experiences a vision in which he feels one with God who manifests himself in the form of Light or Illumination (tajalli). The union with God is not like the union of a body, or of a substance with a substance, or of an accident with an accident; on the contrary, it is an intuitive contact and a detachment from the world and all that is other than God.”
Sheikh Sharf-ud-din Yahya Manairi was not only a practical guide and speculative thinker but also a prolific writer. Apart from its maktubat and malfuzat, he compiled several books for the guidance of his devotees. The prominent amongst them includes Fawaidu’l Muridin, the Irshadat Talibin and the Rahatu’s Qulab.
Sheikh Sarfuddin Yahya Maniri laid great stress on the service of humanity as a part of his mystic discipline. In one of his letters addressed to Malik Khizir, he wrote, “In this dark world it is incumbent to serve the needy by the pen, tongue, wealth and position. Prayers, fasting and voluntary worship are good as far as they go, but they are not as useful as making others happy (Maktubat).”
In another letter he wrote, “The nearest way to reach God for kings and nobles and men of means and wealth is to succour the needy and to offer a helping hand to the downtrodden. A saint has said that there are many paths leading to the Lord, but the shortest is to console the afflicted and to give comfort to the hearts of men.
Someone mentioned to the saint the goodness of a ruler who kept awake the whole night to offer prayers and fasted during the day. Having heard this the saint said: ‘He is neglecting his own work, while he is doing the work of others.’ When the saint was asked what he meant by his remark, he added: “The real function of a ruler is to feed his people well, to clothe the naked to rehabilitate the desolate hearts of men and to succour the needy. As far prayers and fasting and voluntary worship, the Darveshes can very well do this (Maktubat).”
4. Qadiri Order:
The Qadiri order was founded by the celebrated Shaikh Abdul Qadiri Jilani of Baghdad and was instrumental in the spread of Islam in Central Asia and Western Africa. This order reached India in 15th century and the credit for popularizing it in India goes to Shah Ni’amatullah and Makhdum Muhammad Jilani.
The followers of this order opposed to music and singing as well as recital of the blessings of the prophet. They wear green turbans and one of their garments must be ochre-coloured. Dara Shikoh son of Emperor Shahjahan was a follower of his order. Some of the prominent Qadiri saints included Shaikh Hamid Ganj Baksh, Abdul Qadir and Shaikh Musa. During the early years the order was confined to Uch in Sind but later on it spread to Agra and other places.
5. Naqshbandi Order:
Naqshbandi order was founded in India by the followers of Khwaja Pir Muhammad. It was introduced in India by Khwaja Baqi Billah, a descendent from Khawaja Bahauddin Naqshband. This order laid great emphasis on the observations of law of Shariat and denounced all the innovations which had spoiled the purity of the Islamic doctrine. They challenged the idea of Unity of Being. The Naqshbandi saints were opposed to music although they started meditation.
Shaikh Ahmed Sarhindi:
Shaikh Ahmed Sarhindi was a disciple of Khwaja Baqi Billah and is popularly known as mujaddid He was a man of dynamic personality. He attacked mystic philosophy of the Unity of Being and expounded the philosophy of apparatus.
He also rejected the principle of immanence and asserted that the relationship between man and God is that of slave and master and not that of lover and beloved as the other Sufis held. In short, he tried to harmonize the doctrine of mysticism with the teachings of orthodox Islam Shaikh Ahmed Sarhindi wrote a number of letters to his disciples and his followers which have been collected and printed in three volumes under the title Maktubat i-Rahbani. After his death, he was buried at Sarhind and his tomb is a place of pilgrimage.
Shaikh Walli-Ullah:
Another Sufi saint of the Naqshbandi order was Shaikh Walli-Ullah. He tried to reconcile the doctrines of Wuhdat-ul-Wujud and Wahdat-ush-Shuhud. He held that there was no contradiction between the two doctrines and said that, “God is the only self subsisting, eternal and necessary being and all else is created and has a contingent existence. In different respects God united through their different functions in God’s total being, in which all reality is included and all distinctions are annulled.”
Shaikh Walli-Ullah was a scholar of great repute and produced a number of books on mysticism. He justified this reconciliation of the two doctrines in his Madina letter and said, “Wahdatu’l Wujud” and “Wahdatush Shuhud” are relative terms used on two different occasions as agreements about the existence of the Divine Being and his relation with man and the world. It is only a difference of approach to the same reality. Both are based on direct mystic experience and they do not contradict each other. The difference of interpretation is due to the metaphorical language which has been employed by the two parties. And yet on another occasion he has observed that in the mystic path the stage of “Apparentism” is higher than that of the “Unity of Being” (Tafhimate Ilahia).
Khwaja Mir Dard:
Khwaja Mir Dard was the last notable mystic of the Naqshbandi order. He was also opposed to the doctrine of Wuhdat-ul-Wujud. But he accepted that in the last analysis both the doctrines aimed at detachment of one’s heart from affiliations to the phenomenal world.
Though like Shaikh Ahmad Sarhindi he also had leaning towards Muslim orthodoxy, yet he expounded its own theory of ‘Ilme-Ilahi Muhammadi’ (Knowledge of God in the teachings of Muhammad). Apart from writing a number of books on mysticism Khwaja Mir Dard was also a notable poet of Persian and Urdu. Some of his prominent works include ‘Ilmu’i Kitab’ (work on mysticism), Wardate Dard, Nalae Dard, Ahe Dard, Shami-i-Mahfil and Dard-Dil.
In addition to the above mystic orders certain other mystic orders also existed in India. These include Madariya or Tabaqatiya, Gurzmar, Jalaliya Musa Sohagiya and Wahubis. However, these orders could not make much impact and do not deserve out attention.
5. Impact of Sufism:
There is a controversy amongst scholars regarding the impact of Sufism on Indian culture. On the one hand, Prof. A.L. Srivastava holds the opinion that, “Though the Sufi movement might have, in the long run exerted some influence on the contemporary Hindu religious practice, the Hindus in general had kept themselves aloof from the Muslim Sufis for a pretty long time. Some Hindus of the lower classes might have come into contact with the sufis, but the bulk of them did not associate themselves with them.”
Further Srivastava admits that, “It was from the time of Akbar, however, that the Hindus began coming into close contact with Muslim Sufis. During the 17th and 18th centuries quite a good number of Hindu intellectuals not only associated themselves with Muslim Sufis, but they also adopted sufistic thought, behaviour and practices. These Hindus belonged to the upper strata of society and were highly educated and cultured.”
Prof. R.C. Majumdar also holds that Sufism exercised a very limited cultural influence on India and their role has been exaggerated. He says, The role of both Medieval Mysticism and Sufism in the history of Indian culture is often exaggerated beyond all proportions.
Whatever might have been the value of either as a distinctive phase of Hinduism and Islam, from moral, spiritual and philosophical points of view, their historical importance is considerably limited by the fact that number of Indians directly affected by them, even at their hey day which was short-lived, could not be very large.
The number dwindled very appreciably in course of time, and the two orthodox religions showed no visible sign of being seriously affected by this sudden intrusion of radical elements. They pursued their even tenor, resembling the two banks of a river, separated by the stream that flows between them. Attempts were made to build a bridge connecting the two, but ended in failure. Even if there were any temporary bridge it collapsed in no time.
Prof. J.N. Sarkar also holds that Sufism gained popularity only in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Explaining the reasons for the popularity of Sufism during this period in India, he says that it was mainly due to two factors:
(1) The political and economic anarchy that came in the wake of downfall of Mughal Empire,
(2) And an urge on the part of the two communities to come nearer, because in this alone lay their salvation and that of their country.
He says that the Bhakti Movement and Sufi philosophy intended to bring the ruling sect and dominated people closer together.
Prof. Sarkar says. “It was essentially a faith —often an intellectual emotional enjoyment served for the Philosophers, authors and mystics from bigotry. The eastern variety of Sufism is mainly an off-shoot of the Vedanta of the Hindus and it rapidly spread and developed in India from the time of Akbar.”
Prof. Yusuf Husain has appreciated the role of the Sufis in these words, “The Sufis in India, as elsewhere, attached an esoteric significance to the teachings of the Quran. To them it had a deeper and more inward sense, but they did not claim any exclusive knowledge of the mysteries of existence. They, however, propounded a scheme of life within the limits set by the law of Islam (Shariat) which, they considered formed the true path (Tariqat) to the ultimate goal of attaining nearness to God. They preached inward light as against the dogmatic formalism of the ecclesiastics and the legists, and their exalted idealism brought spiritual solace and comfort to many a heart tossed on the sea of uncertainty and doubt.”