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History of India
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HISTORY
Subject
:
History
Paper No.
:
Paper - III
History of Mughal India
Topic No. & Title
:
Topic - 9
Religion & Culture
Lecture No. & Title
:
Lecture - 1
Sufis
(For under graduate student)
Script
SUFISM DURING THE MUGHAL PERIOD
Sufism is the mystic interpretation of Islamic life which
stressed the bond between God and the individual soul. The
word Sufism is derived from the word Suf which in Arabic
means coarse wool. The Sufis generally used to wear
garments made of Suf or coarse wool, which according to
them was a legacy of the prophets, and thus came to be
known as Sufis. Most of the early Sufi saints were persons
of deep devotion who were disgusted with the vulgar display
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of wealth and degeneration of morals among Muslims
following the establishment of the Islamic Empire of the
Umayyid Caliphate.
The Sufis propagated the gospel of humanity and stood for
peace and harmony. They were characterized by their
attachment to ‘dhikr’( the practice of repeating the name of
God) and asceticism.
To enter the way of Sufism, the seeker begins by finding a
teacher who has received the authorization to teach or
‘ijazah’, in an unbroken succession of saints leading back to
the Prophet Mohammad. These teachers renounced the
world and devoted themselves to the service of God. The
Sufis were broadly divided into two groups, - a) Ba-shara or
those who followed the Islamic Law or Shariat; b) Be-shara,
or those who were not bound by Islamic Law. In their
spiritual
quest
they
were
not
alone
but
shared
the
philosophy of mystical traditions found in other religions
such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. The
tenth century witnessed a new phase in the history of Islam
marked by the formation of orthodox schools based on the
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Quran and the Hadis, on the one hand and the rise to
prominence of the Sufi mystic orders.
Many Sufis had accompanied Muslim invaders during their
conquests in India which brought them into contact with
Hindu saints. In India the Sufi movement began as a
response to the increasing materialism pervading the
Muslim society under the growing influence of the Muslim
rulers all over the country. The Sufis stressed on harmony
in the society and also harped on the unity of human
beings. The Sufis were organized in orders or silsilahs each
led by a prominent mystic who lived in a hospice or
khanqah along with his disciples. The link between the
teacher or ‘pir’, and his disciples or ‘murids’, was a vital part
of the Sufi system.
In
India,
the
Chishti
silsilah
established
by
Khwaja
Moinuddin Chishti was essentially Indian. He came to India
after the battle of Tarain in the year 1192 and settled in
Ajmer, because it was a small town and was away from the
centre of political activity in Delhi. His main object was to
help Muslims to lead a life of devotion to God. The Chishti
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influence in Delhi was firmly established by Qutbuddin
Bakhtyar Kaki. Other eminent Sufi saints of the Chishti
silsila were Baba Fariduddin, Nizamuddin Auliya, Mian Mir
and Nasiruddin Chirag.
Chishti Sufis had some practices of their own which were
not followed particularly by other Sufi orders. They never
tried to consort with the kings and royal officers. Secondly
they did not earn their livelihood. Futuh or wilful or unasked
charity which was given to them was the only source of
their livelihood. The Chishti Sufis liked Shama or devotional
music. Their hospice or khanqua was open to the common
man, poor and rich, who could sit and dine with the Sufis.
The Sufis believed in the philosophy of 'Hamma az Usht'. It
means that everything is from Him. He means the Almighty
God. They advised devotees not to accumulate money
beyond their daily needs. Honesty and fair dealing in
business was emphasized. The values of forbearance,
avoiding anger or causing hurt to others and a policy of love
and tolerance were stressed.
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The other major Sufi traditions in India were the Qadri,
Suhrawardi, Naqshbandi, Madari, Firdausi, Shattari and a
few minor traditions.
The Qadri tradition of Sufism was founded by Abdul Qadir
Gilani who lived in Baghdad, the capital of present Iraq. It
was brought to India by a Sufi, Abdul Karim Jilji, in 1388.
The real founder of this tradition of Sufism in India was
Syed Muhammad Ghaus Al Qadri, who had settled in Uch,
from where this order spread to other places in India
including Bihar and Bengal. These two places in eastern
India are very famous particularly for the Qadri tradition.
The founder of the Suhrawardi tradition in India was
Bahauddin
Zakariya.
Hamid-ud-din
Nagori,
Jalal-ud-din
Tabreji and some others were the other prominent Sufis of
the Suhrawardi tradition. They maintained independent
views regarding secular and religious problems in the
society. They maintained very good relations with the kings
and officials.
They believed that
this
world and
the
attributes of this world, whatever had been created by God
on this earth, are for the use of the human being. The
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Suhrawardis were opposed to some of the Hindu practices
adopted by the Chishtis, such as bowing before the sheikh,
presenting water to visitors and tonsuring the heads of new
entrants to the mystic order. They were also keen on
conversions.
The Shattari order was popular among the common people.
The term 'Shattari' has come from the Arabic word 'Shattr’
means to move very quickly. This Sufi order was founded by
Shah Abdulla Shattari. The Shattari order believed in
practices which were very common to the Hindu practices in
India. The practices of the Hindu yogis were very similar to
the Shattari practices.
The practices of the Madari Sufi order resembled those of
the Hindu yogis. They used to rub ashes on their body. They
used to perform yoga and used to wear black turbans and
have black flags in their hands. They did not observe fast
and they seldom offered prayers or namaz. Badi-ud-din
Madar in Kalpi was the exponent of this Madari Sufi order in
India.
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The Naqshbandi Sufi order was founded by Khwaja Mahaud-din Bukhari. This Sufi tradition became popular in India
particularly during the Mughal period. Khwaja Mohammad
Baqi Billa was the person who brought this Sufi order to
India during the Mughal Emperor Akbar's reign. Khwaja Baqi
Billa died in the year 1603. The other leading Sufis of this
order were Sheikh Abdul Haq Dehlavi and Khwaja Sheikh
Ahmad Sirhindi, both being very famous.
So far as this Naqshbandi Sufi order is concerned it was
very different from the other Sufi silsilahs in India. They
were different in the sense that they stressed on the
orthodox interpretation and its application so far as the
canons or shariat of Islam was concerned. The Naqshbandis
propounded a new philosophy that was known as Wahadatul
Shahood which means the experience of Divine God in the
heart on the basis of ecstasy.
With the foundation of the Mughal rule the Sufis and their
tradition entered into a new phase. We find that during the
Sultanate period most of the kings were to a great extent
orthodox.
But
the
Sufis
during
the
Sultanate
period
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represented
harmonize
the
the
liberal
society
face of
and
a
Islam.
They
harmonious
tried
trend
to
was
established by them. Hence we see that on one hand the
rulers were orthodox and on the other hand the Sufis were
liberal. When the Mughal period came this set-up was
changed, particularly from the time of Akbar. Akbar was the
ruler who tried to ensure that the Mughal rule could be
permanently established in India, for which reason he
adopted a liberal religious policy. Akbar abolished the jizya
and pilgrimage taxes, that were imposed on the Hindus.
However
he
came
up
against
the
opposition
of
the
Naqshbandi tradition of the Sufis. The Naqshbandi tradition
believed that the attitude and measures adopted by Akbar
for ensuring harmony in society was against the Shariat of
Islam. They adopted an orthodox outlook regarding the
Muslim society and the Shariat. In such conditions Sheikh
Ahmad Sirhindi did not have good relations with Akbar the
Great.
Moreover when Akbar declared himself Imam-e-Adil and
assumed the right of the interpretation of the Islamic law,
the Naqshbandis were enraged with him. Sheikh Ahmad
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Sirhindi tried to revive the orthodox or conservative aspect
of Islam and its Shariat.
After Akbar when Jahangir came to power Sheikh Ahmad
Sirhindi began to influence Jahangir so that he could not
follow the liberal policies of Akbar. Noor Jahan, who was a
Persian and the wife of Jahangir, was a Shia. Her brother
Asaf Khan and others were very close to Jahangir. In such
condition Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi thought that under the
influence of Asaf Khan and other Shias, Jahangir would
follow the liberal policies of Akbar. Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi
wrote a book named Rakde Rawafiz, which was against the
Shia practices. This together with the fact that Sirhindi
refused to bow before the Emperor led to his arrest and
imprisonment by Jahangir. When he was released a year
later however Jahangir presented him with one thousand
tanka and a robe of honour, thereby diffusing the tensions
that had developed between the state and Sufism.
The
Sufis
undoubtedly
played
an
important
role
in
harmonizing the Indian society and the two major religions,
Islam and Hinduism, as well as Islam and Sikhism. Mian Mir
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During the period of Akbar and Jahangir, Mian Mir a leading
Sufi of the Qadri tradition who resided in Multan influenced
Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, with his philosophy and
that of Baba Farid. When the foundation of the Golden
Temple was being laid Guru Arjan Dev invited Mian Mir who
was then very old to perform the function. It is indeed
significant that the foundation of the Golden Temple in
Amritsar was laid down by the Islamic Sufi Mian Mir. The
vani or the sayings of Mian Mir and Baba Farid are part of
the Guru Granth Sahib as well.
The two other Sufis who were very significant were Prince
Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan and Mirza
Mazhar Jan-e-Jana. Dara Shikoh was a great Sufi who had
learnt Sanskrit and the Vedas and Upanishads also. He
translated the Upanishads into Persian and he gave it the
title Sevre Akbar the Great Sacred. Then with some Sanskrit
scholars of Benaras, Dara Shikoh translated the Vedas and
he named it Majma-ul-Bahrain, in which he made a
comparative study of the Quran as well as the Vedas. It was
through Majma-ul-Bahrain that the European scholars came
to know about the Indian Vedas.
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Another book written by Dara Shikoh was Sakina-tul- Aulia,
in which he has written the biographies of 107 Sufis. This
philosophy of Dara Shikoh was not liked by Aurangzeb as
well as the orthodox ulemas who issued the fatwah that
Dara Shikoh should be killed and ultimately he was killed.
But the ethos, the concept, the philosophy, which was given
by Dara Shikoh on the deep study of the Vedas as well as
the Quran, and their comparative study, continued in India.
And Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Jana, who lived during the time of
Aurangzeb, continued the philosophy of Dara Shikoh and he
also stressed that Hindus were not kafirs, they were ahl-ekitab, or men of books and that the Vedas were the books
of God and they were given by God. and in this way the Sufi
tradition continued in India.
Most of the Sufi silsilahs advocated toleration between
peoples of different faiths and opened the doors of their
khanqas to all irrespective of their religious beliefs. Their
attitude
of
benevolence
and
their
musical
assemblies
created an atmosphere of interaction between the Hindus
and Muslims and even served to mitigate the harsher
aspects of Islamic rule. But it should be remembered that
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the Sufi saints wandering about in different parts of India
were not all liberal, with some of them being quite
orthodox. It is also true that under the influence of Sufism
which denounced philosophy which they equated with
rationalism, miracle mongering and suspicion about science
and scientists developed.