THE SUFI MOVEMENT    

The arrival of Islam in India

There were two currents of Islam, arrived and mixed into the sea of Indian civilization, one from the top and other from the bottom of the social system of India. Till very recently the primary sources available were very much written from the top and its study was focused on the upper strata of the society. This elitist approach is in the core of the communal belief which often fuelled the perception that Islam came only as conqueror and remained so. The wars and atrocities of Central Asian Turks and Turk-Mongols are projected as the atrocities of Islam. However, the similar wars and atrocities of the Central Asian tribes and armies who marched to India well before the birth of Islam, is not taken into the account.

The historiography of Sufism

The scholars are deeply divided on the origin of Sufism. Was Sufism born in the bosom of Islam in total isolation and later affected the belief system of other religions or was it born under the influence of the beliefs and mystic practices of other religions, perhaps when Islam was absorbing the people of these religion into itself or when Islamic mystics came into the contact of such beliefs and practices.

The former view proposes that the Sufism was born with Muhammad himself and the Arab peninsula of the time was full of pagan religions which were not known to have such philosophical beliefs. Its main source is the Holy Quran and the life of Muhammad himself.

The latter view, however opines that no religion emerges in isolation and with time it incorporates the ideas of others on one hand and affect other religions with its own ideas on the other. The concept of unity of God and soul was peculiar to Hinduism and according to Ulemas, run contrary to the idea of Islam which see this relation as of master and slave. The ascetic practices of starving oneself and torturing of the body were present in Hinduism, Buddhism and very strongly in Jainism.

The general consensus is that Sufism is the amalgamation of many religions. The unending debate is about which religion affected which one and up to what extent.

In the opinion of many scholars, Sufism cannot be placed under any religion and in itself it is a different religion altogether. 

Origin of the word ‘Sufi’

There are three accepted views about the origin of the word Sufi.

One says that it is derived from the word ‘Safa’ meaning ‘pure’, the saints who devoted their lives to renunciation and purity are called Sufi.

The second says that the word came from ‘Soof’ which means ‘wool’. In those times the rulers and elite wore silk and fine clothes whereas wearing hand knitted woollen clothes was the symbol of simplicity and purity.

Third view suggests that the word is a derivative of Greek word ‘Sofia’ meaning knowledge.

The economic and social background

The prime social factor for the rise of Sufism was the casteism prevalent in India. Saint figures and mythical stories provided solace and inspiration to Hindu caste communities.

The Third urbanization in the Indian subcontinent also helped the rise of Sufism, very much as second urbanization helped in the rise of Buddhism and Jainism.

An urban setup demands a life free of rituals and dogmas and the groups carving for vertical mobility in society is obviously drawn towards such belief system. The attraction of Sufism in trading communities indicates this.

Also the wealthy Khanqahs provided loan and credits for commercial purposes which became a reason for the congregation of traders in huge numbers around Sufi khanqahs.

The extreme laws of Sharia in Islam too favoured the growth of Sufism, where the thought of love and not fear of God must have attracted many.

The history of Sufism

Sufism or Tasawwuf is the name for various mystical tendencies and movements in Islam.

It aims at establishing direct communion between God and man through personal experience of the mystery which lies within Islam.

Every religion gives rise to mystical tendencies in its fold at a particular stage of its evolution. In this sense, Sufism was a natural development within Islam.

One of the major cause of rise of Sufism in the Muslim world was the reaction towards the corruption, luxury and pomp crept into the Islamic elite since the Abbasid Caliphate matured in 9th and 10th centuries.

The 18th century Indian scholar Shah Waliullah divided Sufism into 4 epochs or stages. These epochs were not mutually exclusive and there were Sufis who practised the methods of one epoch in the timeline of another epoch (i.e., an epoch represents the dominant belief of its time).

- The first began with Prophet Muhammad himself and continued till the early 10th century. The Sufis of this period devoted themselves to fasting, prayers and chanting the God's name.

- The second epoch began in early 10th century. The Sufis of this period lived in meditation and contemplation. To stay away from material desires, they practiced self-mortification and many of them ate grass, wore rags and lived in the mountains and jungles.

- By mid-11th century the third stage began. The emphasis of this stage was to live the life of ecstasy which leads to “tawajjuh” (spiritual telepathy), by which they overcomes the worldly constraints and in their union with the supernatural, they ignore their religious practices of prayers and fasting.

The fourth epoch begins in mid-12th century, when Sufis proposed the theory of the five stages of descent from 'necessary being'(wajibul wajud). The five stages being the essence of primal one, unity of god, sphere of infinite forms, similitude or angelic forms and bodies of the physical world).

By the second epoch the Sufis were better organized and were divided into sects according to their distinctive ideologies and practices evolved. It was this time when many Sufis began to send their disciples to distant lands and many of them thus came to India.

Growth of Sufism in India

Al Hujwiri (11th century) was the earliest Sufi of eminence to have settled in Lahore, India. His tomb is in Lahore. He was the author of Kashf-ul Mahjub, a famous Persian treatise on Sufism.

However, various Sufi orders were introduced in India only after the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. India not only provided a new pasture ground for the propagation of Sufi ideas, but also became the new home of the Sufis who along with many other refugees fled from the parts of the Islamic world under Mongol attacks.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, khanaqahs sprang up in various parts of India.

By the middle of the 14th century, the entire country from Multan to Bengal and from Punjab to Deogiri had come under the sphere of their activity.

Sufism in India originally stemmed from the Sufi thought and practice as it developed in various parts of the Islamic world, especially in Iran and Central Asia. 

However, its subsequent development was influenced more by Indian environment than by non-Indian variants of Sufism. Once the Sufi orders took root in different parts of India, they followed their own phases of growth, stagnation and revival.

These were determined largely by indigenous circumstances, though the influence of developments in Sufism outside lndia cannot altogether be discounted. The main influx of Sufism in India began with the Turkish invasion and many Sufis settled in Sind and Punjab.

Few of the early Sufis were Data Ganj Bakhsh (in Lahore) and Moinuddin Chishti (in Ajmer) whereas Zulekha bibi (mother of Hazrat Nizammuddin) being earliest woman Sufi saint of India.

The ideology and principles

Sufism strove to achieve the inner realization of divine unity by arousing intuitive and spiritual faculties.

Rejecting rational arguments, the Sufis plunged into contemplation and meditation.

It is essentially the love without a creed and dogma. There is no ‘hell’ waiting for men in the Sufi belief system, in fact, no theory of what happens to a man after his death.

It emphasizes to make travel from ‘Ishq-Maziji’ (worldly love) to ‘Ishq-Haqiqi’ (spiritual love).

Sufism as it developed in the Islamic world came to stress the importance of traversing the Sufi path (tariqa) as a method of establishing direct communion with divine reality (haqiqat).

A novice has to pass through a succession of stages (maqamat) and changing psychological conditions or states (haal) to experience God.

Sufism constitutes of three main components, ie Pir (the spiritual guru/guide), Wali (the successor of the guru) and Murid (the disciple). The Sufi path could be traversed only under the strict supervision of a spiritual director (Pir) who himself had successfully traversed it and consequently established direct communion with God.

The disciple (murid) progressed through the "stages" and "states" by practising such spiritual exercises as self-mortification, recollection of God's name to attain concentration (zikr) and contemplation.

Many Sufi orders organized impassioned musical recital (sama) to induce a mystical state of ecstasy.

The prominent feature of Sufism is the organisation of the Sufis into various silsilah (orders). A silsilah consisted of persons who had become disciples of a particular Sufi. It is the spiritual chain in which a Pir passes on his teachings and methodology to his Wali and he passes to his own wali and so on. These are the ‘Sufi orders’ like Chishtis, Nakshbandi etc.

The Sufi orders are basically divided into two. Ba-Shara, those who followed the Islamic law (Sharia) and Be-Shara, those who were not bound by it.

The khanqah (hospice) was the centre of the activities of a Sufi order. It was the place where the imparted spiritual training to his disciples.

The bedrock of Sufism is 'Ihsan', doctrine which says that Allah should be worshiped with the certainty that either the worshiper is watching Allah or he is watching the worshiper. Those who practise it are called ‘awaliya-allah’ (proteges of god) or Sufis.

Sufis believe in the concept of Fana ie mystical annihilation of oneself, the shedding of “I” as a snake shed its skin. In 9th century Abu Ali sindi declared, “Glory to me, how great is my majesty. Thy obedience to me is greater than my obedience to thee” His surname suggests he came from Sind and his ideas may have been influenced by Hindu or Buddhist mysticism. The theory is accepted by many scholars and rejected by others. 

Few of the main principles of Sufism-

The oneness of God, ie they believe in Monotheism.

It believes that this world is real and not illusionary.   

They accept the concept of ‘aatma’ (soul) and it is confined in the body. That is the reason Sufi saints welcome death.

It believes that man is the supreme creature of the God.

One must not fear the ‘qahar’ (wrath) of God. God is full of mercy and man should try to imitate him.

Nothing can be achieved without a Pir or Guru and one must surrender himself before his guru.

They consider God as ‘mashooq’ (lover), therefore always eager to meet him and chant his name in ecstasy. They place the love of God above namaz and roza etc.

Malfuzat- Written records of audiences and question-and-answer sessions of notable Sufis, providing historical context, teachings, and attitudes. The texts are typically presented in chronological order and dated.

The Sufi Silsilas

By 13th century the division of Sufis into fourteen silsilas had already been crystallized.

- The Sufis of each silsila guarded their traditions strictly and urged their disciples to refrain from entering more than one.

- Each of the silsila was named after the name or surname of the founder of the particular order. Such as Chishti, Suhrawardi, Naqshbandi etc.

- The first to mention about these 14 silsilas was Abul Fazl who acquaints us with all of them in great detail. For purpose of relevance, the not all of them are mentioned here.

1. Chishti Silsila-

The Chishti order was founded by Khwaja Abdul Chisti in Herat, it was brought to India by Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti (1142-1236). He arrived at Lahore in 1161 AD and settled at Ajmer in about 1206.

He worked among the lower cast people and spent his life in the service of the helpless and downtrodden. Among the most famous of Chishti saints were Nizamuddin Auliya and Nasiruddin Chirag-i-Delhi. Auliya was generally known as Mahbub-i-Ilahi (beloved of God).

Chisti saints made themselves popular by adopting musical recitation called Sama to create mood of nearness to god.

The Chishti saints lived pure and simple lives and with exception of Nizamuddin Auliya all saints married and had children.

They did not accept charity from the state and lives on presents given by disciples.

They undergo fasting and other ascetic hardships to weaken and control basic desires.

The later Chishti Sufis made followers from all classes of society but unlike their predecessors most of them accepted the State patronage.

2. Shattari Silsila

It was founded in India by Shah Abdullah Shattar, however, it gained popularity under Sheikh Muhammad Ghauth of Gwalior. Among his disciples were the famous musician Tansen. Humayun was also said to be attracted towards it.

The Shattari saints sought to synthesize Hindu and mystical Muslim thoughts to practice.

They tried to bring Hindus and Muslims nearer by putting emphasis on the similarity of spiritual thought and practices of both religion.

The Sufis of this order need not go into rigorous self-discipline and led a spiritual life in comfortable worldly surroundings.

3. Qadiri silsila

It was founded by Shaikh Qadir Jilani (1077-1166) in Baghdad. 

This order reached India in 15th century and popularised by Shah Niamatullah Makhdum Jilani.

This order believes that distinctions between believers and non-believers (kafirs) and heaven and hell are superficial.

The Believer is the one who could reach the God and see him and a Kafir is one who fails to do so.

Dara Shikoh was the follower of this order.

This order was opposed to music and singing.

4. Suhrawardi Silsila

It was founded by Sheikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi. The credit of organizing it goes to Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya. Its main centre was Multan and was very popular in Sindh.

He did not believed in poverty and torturing the body and faithfully followed the rules of Islam.

In silsilas, one is not allowed to bow down before the Pir or dargah as its considered un-Islamic practise.

Saints had big Jagirs and had close contact with the state as according to them state is no hindrance to spiritual progress.

The saints of this order opined that wealth is not harmful if one knew its right use.

In many ways this silsila is considered as anti-thesis of Chishti order.

5. Firdausi Silsila

This sect is a branch of Suhrawardi order. Its most distinguished saints was Sheikh Shamasuddin Yahya Munair who made it popular in Bihar.

He believed in pantheistic monism and tried to bring moderation in Islamic laws.

He wanted his followers to serve the needy by pen, tongue, wealth and position.

6. Nakhshabandi silsila

This order was founded in India by the followers of Khwaja Pir Mohammad. It was popularised in India by Khwaja Baki Billah (1563-1603).

Of all the orders it was the most orthodox and tried to counteract the liberal religious views of Akbar who was considered a heretic by them.

The height of this order was achieved under the leadership of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624), who was antagonistic to both Hindus and Shias.

He was strongly in favour of Shariat and rejected the Chishti belief that a Sufi must remain aloof from King and his court.

The Sufis and the State

The Sufis, including the great Chishti masters of the early period, never questioned the existing political system and the class structure. At the most, they advised the state officials to show leniency in collecting land revenue from the peasants.

On the other hand, they did not forbid their ordinary followers from seeking state favours and involvement in the affairs of the court.

It was perhaps due to these limitations of the otherwise radical Sufi order that the later transition within the Chishti silsilah to the acceptance of state patronage and involvement in court politics was a smooth.

Sufis and the Ulemas

The Ulema always shown their disapproval of the Sufis.

Though orthodox Sufi orders such as the Suhrawardi and the Qadiri, etc. satisfied the Ulema to some extent. The Ulema were in particular hostile to the early Chishtis and their practices. 

However, Chishti Sufis such as Shaikh Nasiruddin (Chiragh e Delhi) and Gesudaraz gave an orthodox orientation to the Chishti order to mitigate the hostility of the Ulema towards the Chishti practice.

Sufis and Conversions

The Sufis of the Sultanate period have been generally considered as propagators of Islam in India. Several traditions and legends of the later medieval period also represented the Sufis as active missionaries.

The first Sufis who entered the Deccan in the late 13th century and early 14th century have been portrayed in the later legends as militant champions of Islam, who waged a jihad.

There were certain active evangelists among the Suhrawardis who entered Kashmir in the 14th century were also imbued with missionary zeal though they did not achieve much success in their mission.

However, it must be pointed out that conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was not a part of the activities of all the Sufis. Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti was not an evangelist and was not actively involved in conversions. His attitude and that of his spiritual successors towards non-Muslims was one of tolerance. Shaikh Nizamuddin Aulia on one occasion observed that many Hindus considered Islam a true religion but did not accept it. He was also of the view that every religious community had its own path and faith and its own way of worship.

Also, there is little historical evidence to show that the early Sufis in the Deccan were warriors fighting for the expansion of Islam.

However, large number of non-Muslims, especially from the low castes were attracted to the Sufis and later to their dargahs where they belonged to the wider circle of devotees. There they gradually came under the influence of Islamic precepts which eventually led to their Islamization.

Later, the descendants of many groups which were Islamized claimed that their ancestors were converted to Islam by one or another medieval Sufi.

The impact of Sufism on India

The arrival of Islam in Indian resulted in a unique mingling of cultural traditions. This mingling led to the growth of a composite culture in the country.

It was a jolt on the centuries old segregated lifestyle practiced everywhere in India.

The non-discriminatory operations of Khanqahs were an eye opener for population who were used to a society where everything was divided into high and low.

Evidences of this contact can be seen in religion, architecture, literature, music and painting.

Contribution

Made Islam acceptable in India as the Turk invaders represented Islam in a very cruel face.

They acted as pressure groups and encouraged Delhi sultans to follow the liberal religious policies.

They helped in the development of composite culture in India and acted a bridge between Hinduism and Islam.

The Sufism contributed a lot to music in India. The ‘Qawwali’ style of singing is the major contribution of Sufism.

They enriched the Indian vernaculars and literature by using regional languages, especially Awadhi, Braj and Punjabi.

They contributed to the development of a common Indo-Islamic language, Urdu.

Many of the major khanqahs developed, due to the vast number of devotees, into urban centres and amassed a huge wealth. Many khanqah started lending money to traders and merchants thus contributing in the economic activities as well. 

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