SUFISM AND INDIAN SUFISM

Rupa Abdi

Artisit's impression of Baba Farid

Kaagaa sab tan khaiyo, chun chun khaiyo maans,

Do nenan mat khaiyo, mohe piyaa milan ki aas
(O crow eat my body and every morsel of my flesh
But pray eat not my eyes for they wait for the sight of the Beloved)
-

Hazrat Baba Farid

The above composition by Hazrat Fariduddin Ganj-i Shakar fondly called Baba Farid,
a sufi from Punjab and a disciple of Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, captures in
one couplet the soul of Sufism. Once Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, asked Baba
Farid, to go into 40 day seclusion while hanging upside down in a well. Baba Farid
hung motionless in meditation, mistaking him for a corpse the crows began to gather
around him, that was when he composed the above lines.
Sufism or tassawuf can be simply defined as the mystical dimension of Islam. It is
one of the greatest schools of mysticism which has not only survived the test and
tribulation of time but continues to flourish today in all its infinite shades. Sufism,
like a flowing river, defies description. To know it, one must experience it: drink its
waters, swim in it and drown in it to eventually merge with the Ocean.
Sufism has emerged out of the esoteric significance attached by an important section
of Muslims to the words of the Quran. The elevated feeling of Divine apprehension of
which the Prophet often spoke, the depth and passion of his ecstatic rapture which
characterised his devotions constitute the foundations of Sufism. The Islamic
doctrine of inward light inspired the early Muslim ascetics to lead a contemplative
life, devoted to a higher yearning after the Infinite. Sufism is based on the idea
among nobler Muslim minds that there is a deeper and more inward sense in the
verses of the Quran. This belief did not arise from the wish to escape from the rigour

of texts and dogmas but from a deep conviction that the words of the Quran mean
more, not less, than the popular expounders supposed them to convey. The word
Sufism originally called Tasawuff in Arabic and Urdu, is derived from the word suf
which means wool in Arabic, alluding to the coarse woollen garment worn by the
first generation of Muslim ascetics .
Sufis believe that they live in this world but are not of it: they posses nothing and are
possessed by nothing. However following the basic tenets of the Quran and the
service of fellow humans are an integral part of Sufism .The Path to God, according
to the Prophet, is threefold: the sharia (the words of the Prophet), the tariqa (his
actions), and haqiqa (his interior states. According to the Sufis the seeker of Truth by
intensive inwardness and communion with God can rise by successive stages of
adoration to a state of consciousness when she can actually have a vision of the
divine essence. The various steps or stages along the path are known
as maqam (pl .maqamat). The first step along the Path is for the adept to form
the niyat (the resolve or intention); followed by tauba (repentance and
renunciation). She is now on the firmly on the Path, this stage is called mujahadah
(striving and struggle with the carnal self). After a prolonged mujahadah the ecstatic
soul appears in the Presence still veiled, this stage is called muhazara. The
next maqam is the lifting of the veil of ignorance (mukashafa) and finally when God
becomes revealed to the devotees heart and she begets divine Vision, this stage is
called mushahada .
SUFI ORDERS (SILSILAS)
In the later years, brotherly love began to be emphasised in the social discourse of
the Sufis reflecting the Prophetic tradition of Al-mumin mirat al-mumin (the
faithful is the mirror of the faithful). When a Sufi notices a weakness in his neighbour
he is supposed to correct this very weakness in himself. Brotherly love was to be
extended not just to other Sufis but to whole of humanity. Since service of humanity
also included aiding in their spiritual upliftment Sufis started expanding their groups
and spreading their spiritual message to all levels of population and by early
12th century Sufi fraternities or orders (silsilas) began to emerge each with a
distinct tariqa (set of practices and beliefs) that each founder had evolved to attain
the Infinite. By the 14th century fourteen Sufi orders had crystallised. The
Suhrawardiyya, the Qadariyya, the Kubrawiyya, the Shadhiliyya and the Badawiyya
were some of them. Sufi masters (called sheikh, pir, or murshid) began to send their
disciples (murids) to distant lands to spread their teachings. Many prominent Sufis
travelled to India.
INDIAN SUFISM
Several hundred years before any Muslim invader set foot on the Indian
subcontinent, Muslim traders had been coming to the western ports of India
extending from Gujarat to Kerala. The first Muslim army to reach India was led by an
Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim in 711 who occupied the regions from Sind
to Multan. The first Sufi to come to India was Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj (d.222).
He travelled in the lands conquered by the Arabs and discussed theology with the
saints of this region. The second wave of Muslim conquest was in the year 1000 and

was led by the Gaznawids, and it was Mahmud Ghaznis conquest of Punjab that is
believed to have led a number of prominent Sufis to settle in this region. Lahore
became the first centre of Persian inspired Muslim culture and it was in this city that
Abul-HasanAli bin Usman al-Hujwiri(d.ca.1071), known as Data Ganj Bakhsh
(~Distributor of Unlimited Treasure) composed his famous Kashful-mahjub, in
Persian. This treatise gives the biographies, thought and practices of Sufis from the
time of the Prophet to his own time. However Sufisms full impact began to be felt in
the late 12th and early 13th century after the formation of main Sufi orders in the
Muslim countries and the most outstanding contributor to this movement was
Hazrat Muinuddin Chishti (d.1236). Islam in most parts of India spread not at the
point of sword of the Muslim invaders but by the power of the Sufi saints like
Muinuddin Chishti and his disciples whose simple preaching and practise of love of
God and ones neighbour impressed many Hindus, especially those belonging to the
so called lower castes.

Data Ganj Baksh's durgah at Lahore, courtesy Abdul Nishapuri

While the Sufis of Middle East and North African countries flourished in lands that
had already been islamised, the Sufis in the Indian subcontinent were faced with the
challenge of spreading their message among people belonging to an alien faith. This
was their biggest challenge and this was their biggest triumph and in this respect
they stand above their brethren who served in other parts of the world.
Indian Sufism owes it uniqueness to its great power of selective assimilation of local
culture, folk tales and symbology. While it protected itself from any considerable or
overwhelming external influence, it included whatever struck and impressed it and in
the act of inclusion transformed it in harmony with its own Essence. In this process
Sufism in the Indian subcontinent has developed its own flavours and shades. Apart
from contributing to the spiritual upliftment of rulers and ruled alike, two of the
greatest contributions of the Indian Sufism have been: the creation of syncretic
traditions in the Indian subcontinent thereby creating communal harmony among
followers of diverse faith; and the creation of exquisite and divine music, prose and
poetry that further enriched the astonishingly diverse culture of this subcontinent.

NOTE: All photographs, unless otherwise mentioned, are courtesy Wikipedia