Sufism in Indian History: an outline

Raziuddin Aquil 

Sufism can be defined as sharia-compliant ways to acquire knowledge about the truth relating to the loving God - shari'at, tariqat, ma'rifat and haqiqat - achieved through renunciation from the materialism of the world, love and devotion for God, purification of the lower self, tazkiya-i nafs, cultivation of the heart (qalb), meditational practices beyond ritual prayers, and service to humanity, khidmat-i khalq. The Sufis or Muslim holy-men styled themselves as lovers of God.

Sufi traditions and practices began as a spiritual movement against the worldliness and rampant materialism in Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphates in the Middle East within the first couple of centuries of the emergence of Islam in 7th and 8th centuries C.E. Famous early figures such as Bayazid Bustami, Rabiya Basari and Hasan Basari led simple, ascetic lives and aspired to achieve union with God through meditation and other spiritual practices. The early Muslim mystics, who were often charismatic leaders with popular appeal, were eventually organized or institutionalized in silsilas, or orders, branching into quite a few competing strands. Thus, the Sufi movement was an established stream within Islam before the emergence of the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century.

Of the varieties of Sufi orders which emerged, four of them enjoyed considerable importance in India. Two of these, Chishtis and Suhrawardis, flourished in Sultanate period, while the other two, Qadiri and Naqshbandi, became significant in the Mughal era. Several branches of these Sufi spiritual genealogies also made their presence felt in different regions and periods, which included Firdausis and Shattaris. To start with, the living Sufi master (referred to as sheikh, khwaja, pir) guided followers or visitors at his dwelling place, hospice (khanqah/jama‘atkhana), but later shrines (dargahs) of Sufis of previous generations became important and grew into places of pilgrimage. Eventually, a whole sacred geography of Sufism, called wilayat, was carved. It involved a lot of struggle and competition for control of territory, followers and resources. The leading early figures of the Chishti silsila included Mu‘in-ud-Din Chishti Ajmeri, Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki, Sheikh Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar (who is venerated in the Sikh tradition as Baba Farid), Nizam-ud-Din Auliya and Nasir-ud-Din Chiragh-i-Dehli. The comparable figure in the competing Suhrawardi order was Baha-ud-Din Zakariya, with his base in Punjab. Two formidable Naqshbandi personalities, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi and Shah Waliullah, have also left their mark in the history of Sufism in India in 17th and 18th centuries. 

What distinguished Sufism from other forms of Islam was its belief that a human soul could achieve union with God, a belief later formulated in the doctrine of wahdat-ul-wujud (unity of existence, or monism as a reality) by the thirteenth century Iberian Sufi master Ibn-ul-Arabi. This doctrine often brought Sufis into conflict with Islamic orthodoxy (represented by Sunni-Hanafi ulama or theologians of the Delhi Sultanate). The latter believed that God was unique and, therefore, to suggest that a human’s soul could achieve union with God was to imply that there was no distinction between God and human beings. Indeed, the distinction between the concept of wahdat-ul-wujud, unity of existence, and belief in tauhid, oneness of God, needed assertion.

The examples of Bayazid Bustami and Mansur Hallaj may be given here. Bustami's notion of fana, annihilation, may have been an Indian contribution to Sufism. Bustami was a disciple of Abu Ali Sindi, possibly a Siddha from Sindh. Further, in Rushdnama of Abdul Quddus Gangohi, Sufi state of baqa is identical with Natha Yogi's concept of sunya, attained by annihilating the body to achieve eternal bliss, a realm of blissful spiritual merger in divine grace and beauty. Mansur Hallaj, who was ostensibly killed for his scandalous remark, I am the truth, or anal haqq, reportedly belonged to a Magi family of Iran and spent time with Buddhist monks in Turkistan. Also, Ala-ud-Daula Simnani, who propounded the concept of wahdat-us-shuhud, unity of witness, differing from wahdat-ul-wujud, debated with Buddhists on the subject of nirvana, organised sufis as groups of preachers and hosted them in a big khanqah at Simnan - khanqahs in turn resembled Buddhist monastery.

It is for these reasons that we find that even before Islam came to India, Sufis were persecuted for deviating from the straight path of Islam. Sufis were also targeted by the ulama for their occasional indifference to formal religious practices such as regular congregational prayers (namaz/salat), instead focusing on meditations and spiritual exercises which included music. The legitimacy of the latter, that is, listening to music in sama or qawwali, was a major source of confrontation between the ulama and Sufis, especially reflected in the infamous inquest of Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Auliya at Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq's court. The Chishti saint was thoroughly disgusted and forced to curse the Sultan and his men, umara and ulama. In Sufi belief, all of them quickly vanished from the face of the earth.

Further, wahdat-ul-wujud and several forms or techniques of meditation brought Sufis spiritually very close to certain strands of non-Muslim religious traditions in the Indian subcontinent such as Advaita Hinduism, which claimed that atma (a human soul) and parmatma (God) were one and the same, a theory similar to wahdat-ul-wujud. Similarly, Sufis found much to learn from Hindu spiritual disciplines such as yoga, which influenced their techniques of meditation. Mention may be made here of pranayama or breath control, and the more spectacular chilla-i-makus, or inverted chilla - hanging oneself for forty nights upside down with a branch of a tree overlooking a well inside a mosque complex!

If Sufis learnt from non-Muslim traditions, the local, Indic, traditions (local, foreign, Indic are sensitive categories which must be used with care), were also powerfully affected by Sufi beliefs and practices. In the teachings of Kabir and Nanak one can see clear imprint of Sufi Islam. The criticism of idol worship and many rituals, emphasis on one God, and notions of egalitarianism and equality are all to be traced to Sufism. In the case of Sikhism, whole sections of the Guru Granth Saheb comprised Sufi poetry as also compositions of bhakts and sants. However, for reasons political there has also been difficulties in the relationship between Sikhism and Islam, historically.

Sufism’s greatest contribution to Indian culture is considered to be the example it set in the field of religious and cultural co-existence. Sufi masters showed that Muslim and non-Muslim religious traditions could prosper side by side and learn from each other, providing, from the point of view of contemporary demands of secular politics, a shining example of syncretism. Respectful coexistence of a vast diversity of people has been the mantra of Indian pluralism for centuries together.

The closeness to non-Muslim traditions helped Sufis play an important role in conversion and Islamicization, even though they did not work with an explicit agenda of this sort. Formal conversion to Islam was not needed to be followers of Sufis. For some, conversion was indeed meaningless and thus not required. Yet the presence of Sufis was the main factor in the conversion of large sections of the subcontinent’s population to Islam. To start with, Sufi institutions, khanqahs/dargahs, became centres where Muslims and non-Muslims gathered for worship and sought blessings and benediction. The slow and gradual process of Islamisation started with devotion towards a particular Sufi, leading to the emergence of syncretic sects, symbolizing only half conversion. Eventually, there emerged communities of Muslims who professed Islam formally, but continued with their practice of local customs and traditions, which were condemned by puritanical, reformist Islam. Reformist movements have gained ground particularly from 18th-19th centuries onwards.

The custodian of Islam, ulama’s attitude towards Sufis was generally hostile, for the former considered many Sufi ideas and practices as deviation from the point of view of their own interpretation of the shari‘at. The ulama were concerned with guarding orthodoxy than spreading Islam and their contact with non-Muslims was limited. The historical and cultural roles played by Sufis in the making of Indian Islam was not counted as important by the ulama. The latter thought that the quality of Islam practiced and preached by Sufis was not good enough. In fact, the ulama attacked many Sufi practices, condemning them to be un-Islamic. For this purpose, they often used political power also.

It is generally suggested that the relationship between Sufi orders and the political domain was distant. Orders like the Chishtis refused to accept money or support from the ruler. They believed that involvement in politics led to materialism and worldliness which they wished to avoid. However, this attitude varied from order to order and between Sufis within an order also. In all cases, critical on-stage distance was a recommended way to deal with the political domain. Yet, in general, the state needed legitimacy from Sufis and the latter needed the protective umbrella of the state. Ritual Sufic chaadars being sent to dargahs by people in power has a long history, so are the prayers at the shrine for the well-being of the state and society.

Much of what is said above about Sufis in Delhi Sultanate, and in medieval India generally, is derived from modern historical writings based on Sufi sources in Persian and vernacular languages. The vast Sufi literature included i) malfuzat (conversations of a Sufi compiled by a disciple, murid, generally in the lifetime of the Sufi himself), ii) maktubat, or letters, written by a Sufi to his disciples, iii) mystical treatises on Sufism prepared by a Sufi sheikh, iv) compilations of Sufi poetry of love, especially a whole genre in Hindi called premakhyan; v) tazkiras, or hagiographies of Sufis compiled generally after the death of a Sufi. Important information on Sufi activities may also be found in court-chronicles and general histories, particularly on matters relating to Sufis’ relations with rulers.

Not everyone has access to primary sources for the history of Sufism in India. For starters then, Aziz Ahmad, Muzaffar Alam, Simon Digby, Richard Eaton, Carl Ernst, M. Habib, Bruce Lawrence, KA Nizami, and SAA Rizvi, among others, can serve as useful guides to this important field in Indian history and society. More recently, interesting new scholarship of Nile Green, Scott Kugle and Mikko Viitamaki has explored hitherto neglected dimensions of Sufi practices in India. My own work on Sufi miracles and authoritative position of Sufi masters in medieval Indian environment attracting all kinds of visitors to hospices and dargahs shows considerable relevance of Sufi traditions. Criminals, thugs, politicians, ministers, poor, rich, men and women alike are seen visiting the shrines and seeking blessings and benediction. The cultural and even political significance of vibrant Sufi traditions remains relevant even in hostile political contexts.

In conclusion, Sufis dedicated themselves to the love of God, which in turn meant love for all His creations - translating into charitable endeavours, notions of equality, egalitarianism, brotherhood and broad humanism. Service to humanity through feeding (langar), healing (jhar-phuk, blowing and touching, charms and amulets), etc., was considered a better form of worship than ritualistic prayers, which in turn was seen in terms of rewards in heaven and fear of punishment in hell. The control of the lower self, nafs, and cultivation of the heart, qalb, through a variety of meditational-cum-bodily practices and withdrawal from this-worldly demands, tark-i duniya, was recommended. Love for God was to be expressed with the same kind of intensity bordering on madness of Majnun and yet superior to him, for the latter sacrificed his life for a perishable Laila, whereas Sufis devoted themselves for an eternal God. In an ecstatic love for God, Sufis could also sing and dance, not in any vulgar manner but in the most aesthetically sophisticated forms developed through centuries of practice. They taught all along the virtues of tolerance and peace, for after all they sought to preach what they practiced - love for God and respect and service to humanity, styling themselves as friends and lovers of God, waliullah, or aashiq-billah. When Sufis passed away, celebrated as marriage or union with God, Urs, they left behind memories to be cherished forever. Sufis themselves believed that the saints never die. They continue to take care of the world around them, even when resting inside their graves and tombs, which remain illuminated by their spiritual presence, barkat.

The qawwals continue to sing:

Kushtagan-i khanjar-i taslim ra

Har zaman az ghayb jani-i digar-ast

(The victims of the dagger of submission 

Get a new life from the unseen every moment).