Sufi Saints of South Asia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sufism in India had an instrumental role in spreading Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The Sufis belonged to different tariqas (orders) of Sufism

Sufism

Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

. The most prominent tariqahs of India are the Shadhiliyya, Chishtiyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Qadiriyyah, Suhrawardiyya

Suhrawardiyya

Suhrawardy redirects here. For the East Bengali politician and Prime Minister of Pakistan, see Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. The well-known Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi "the Executed" , the Shia founder of Illuminationism, is unconnected....

, and Sarwari Qadri, orders. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

Moinuddin Chishti

Sultan-ul-Hind, Moinuddin Chishti was born in 1141 and died in 1230 CE. Also known as Gharīb Nawāz "Benefactor of the Poor" , he is the most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of the Indian Subcontinent. He introduced and established the order in South Asia...

introduced the Chishtiyyah in India. He came to India from Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

in 1192 AD and started living permanently in Ajmer

Ajmer

Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...

in 1195. Centuries later, with the support of Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

rulers, his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. Akbar would visit the shrine every year. In India, Sufi saints have emerged periodically to reshape the sacred in society.
Although Sufi teachings convey the message of love and harmony, many movements, including the Wahhabi movement, arose against the developments in Sufism which appeared during the reign of Akbar.

History

In the 9th century, when the ‘Abbasids were in decline and Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

was slipping out of their control, India was regarded as one of the most civilized regions outside of Islamic rule. By the time the ‘Abbasid Caliphate fell, there were many Sufi

Sufism

Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

orders that had sprung up across the Muslim world, founded by eminent scholars. They built khaniqahs

Khanqah

A Khanqah, Khaniqah , ribat, zawiya, or tekke is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood, or tariqa, and is a place for spiritual retreat and character reformation...

or hospices which were the focal points for the spread of Islam and Islamic teaching. Under each main center, sub-centers sprang up which owed their allegiance to the order. While the kings at that time used their political power

Political power

Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...

, the Sufi saints exercised their spiritual power and had a greater hold on people. The orthodox ulema

Ulema

Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...

(Islamic legal scholars) were generally critical of the Sufis, but in the history of Islam

Muslim history

Muslim history is the history of Muslim people. In the history of Islam the followers of the religion of Islam have impacted political history, economic history, and military history...

Sufis played a major role. They interpreted Islam in a liberal way and brought about large-scale conversions to Islam. The relations between Sufis and the rulers of Sindh were greatly influenced by the presence of the Suhrawardi

Suhrawardiyya

order, which enjoyed the favor of the Sindhi rulers. The Sufis in Sindh received a step-motherly treatment until the arrival of the Mughals in 1707. Sufi saints helped in the refinement and development of Indian languages

Languages of India

The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...

and bridging the spiritual gap between the masses.

The Shadhiliyya order

Shadhilyya was founded by Imam Nooruddeen Abu Al Hasan Ali Ash Sadhili Razi. It was brought to India by Sheikh Aboobakkar Miskeen sahib Radiyallah of Kayalpatnam

Kayalpatnam

Kayalpatnam or Korkai is a town in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, India. Kayal is referred to in Marco Polo's travel diaries dating to 1250 AD. Korkai or Kayal was an ancient port dating to the 1st centuries of the Christian era and was contemporaneous to the existence of Kollam, another...

and Sheikh Mir Ahmad Ibrahim Raziyallah of Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

. Mir Ahmad Ibrahim became the first of the three Sufi saints

Wali

Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...

revered at the Madurai Maqbara

Madurai Maqbara

Madurai Maqbara refers to the Dargahs of three Sufi saints: Mir Ahmad Ibrahim, Mir Amjad Ibrahim, and Abdus Salaam Ibrahim.The Arabic word "Maqbara", which means mausoleum, is derived from the word "qabr", which means grave...

in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. There are more than 70 branches of Shadhiliyya and in India

India

. Of these, the Fassiyatush Shadhiliyya is the most widely practised order.

The Chishti order

The first of the Chishti saints was Abu Ishaq Shami

Abu Ishaq Shami

Abu Ishaq Shami was a Muslim scholar who is often regarded as the founder of the Sufi Chishti Order because he was the person in the Chishti silsila who was the first to live in Chisht. The name Shami implies he came from Syria or even from Damascus...

(d. 329 AH/AD 940–41), whose teacher was a well-known Sufi, Mimshad al-Dinawari (d. 299/911-12). Abu Ishaq Shami established the Chishti order in Chisht-i-Sharif in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

, but it took root in India, where it was brought by several Central Asian mystics, most notably Moinuddin Chishti

Moinuddin Chishti

and Bakhtiar Kaki.

The first four saints of the Chistiyyah order in India were Moinuddin Chishti (d. AD 1233 in Ajmer), Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki

Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki

Qutub ul Aqtab Hazrat Khwaja Syed Muhammad Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki was a renowned Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the disciple and the spiritual successor of Moinuddin Chishti as head of the Chishti order. Before him the Chishti order in India...

(d. AD 1236 in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

), Fariduddin Ganjshakar (d. AD 1265 in Pakpattan

Pakpattan

Pakpattan is the capital city of the Pakpattan District in the Sahiwal Division in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Pakpattan is one of the ancient cities of Pakistan. It is the city that has the shrine of the well-known Sufi of all times, Baba Fareed...

now in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

) and Nizamuddin Auliya

Nizamuddin Auliya

Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Hazrat Shaikh Khwaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya , also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, was a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in the Indian Subcontinent, an order that believed in drawing close to God through renunciation of the world and service to...

(d. AD 1335 in Delhi).. During the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq

Muhammad bin Tughluq

Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...

, who spread the Delhi Sultanate

Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...

southward, the Chistiyyah order spread its roots all across India.

During the Mongol invasion

Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia

The Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia from 1219 to 1221 marked the beginning of the Mongol conquest of the Islamic states, in the Mongol expansion would ultimately culminate in the conquest of virtually all of Eurasia, save for Western Europe, Fennoscandia, the Byzantine Empire, Arabia, Indian...

in AD 1220 and Safavid attack in 1509 many Chishti Sufis migrated to Uch

Uch

Uch or Uch Sharif ) is located in 75 km from Bahawalpur in Bahawalpur District, South Punjab, Pakistan Uch is an important historical city, being founded by Alexander the Great. Formerly located at the confluence of the Indus and Chenab rivers, it is now removed to Mithankot, some 100 km...

, Ajodhan, Bhakkar

Bhakkar

Bhakkar is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus river. It has a population of almost 300,000 and was given status of district in 1981.-Administration:...

and Sehwan in Sindh.

The Khanzada

Khanzada

The Khanzada, or Khanzadah, is a subdivision of Rajputs, now found mainly in the Rajasthan, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh of India; and Sindh, Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Khanzadahs, the royal family of Muslim Jadon Rajputs, accepted Islam on their association with the Sufi Saints...

subdivision of the Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

clan was converted to Islam by Chishti Sufis.

The Shattārīya order

The origin of this order is attributed to ‘Abdullāh al-Shattār (died AD 1415), who flourished in Jaunpur

Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh

Jaunpur is a city and a municipal board in Jaunpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.Jaunpur district is located to the northwest of the district of Varanasi in the eastern part of the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. According to the 2001 census, Jaunpur district had a population...

, India. Thereafter he shifted to Mandu, which then became the center of the Shattariya order. The order was popularised in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

by Qazan Shattari. The most important saint of this order was Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus, the author of many books on Sufism. The order was later carried to Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

The Suhrawardi order

The first of the Suhrawardi saints was Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi (490–563 AH). The Suhrawardiyyah order was started by his nephew and disciple Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi

Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi

Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi was a Persian Sufi from Chorasmia and nephew of Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi....

of Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

and brought to India by Baha-ud-din Zakariya

Baha-ud-din Zakariya

Baha-ud-din Zakariya was a Sufi of Suhrawardiyya order . His full name was Al-Sheikh Al-Kabir Sheikh-ul-Islam Baha-ud-Din Abu Muhammad Zakaria Al-Qureshi Al-Asadi Al Hashmi....

of Multan

Multan

Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

. Like the Chishti order, the Suhrawardi order traces the lineage of its teaching back to Memshad-al-Dinawari. Besides Hazrat Wajhuddin Abu Hafs, Hazrat Zeyauddin AbulNajib Abdul Qaher Suhrawardi had achieved khilafat from Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani too; hence the Suhrawardiyyah order was mixed with the Quaderi, and later on all Sufis of the Firdousi order continued both traditions. The Suhrawardiyyah order achieved popularity in Bengal

Bengal

particularly.

The Qadiri order

The Qadiri order was founded by Abdul-Qadir Gilani, whose tomb is in Baghdad. It is popular among the Muslims of South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

. It is one of the most widespread orders in Sufism. It has many branches, such as Sarwari Qadiri

Sarwari Qadiri

The Sarwari Qadiriyya Sufi Order is combination of two Arabic words Sarwari and Qadiriyya.First part Sarwari is derived from an Arabic word Sarwar which is associated with Prophet Muhammad.The second word Qadiriyya The Sarwari Qadiriyya Sufi Order is combination of two Arabic words Sarwari and...

.The present living leader of Qadiri sufi order in India: Sheikh Yousuf Sulthan Shah Qadiri Chisthi
Hazrath Sulthan Shah Qadiri Chishti is one of the greatest sufi Mashaikhs of all the human history. He set off in the path of Sufis at the younger age of 14. For, his spiritual training he followed the paths of about seven Mashaikhs. In those years, he wandered about all over India, completed his spiritual trainings at different locations in North India.Now, he lives the life of the Spiritual Guide, Sufi Sheikh, at his residence in Aluva

Aluva

Aluva , is a suburb of the city of Kochi, situated north of the city center and a municipality in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. Aluva is also a major industrial center of the state....

, in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. Hazrath Sultan Shah was handed over the Khilafa of “La ilaha Illallahu Muhammad Rasoolullahi” from the great hands of Syed Muhammad Badshah Yamani Qadiri(R.A) of Wadi, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. Qadiri of Wadi(R) left this world in 1399th year of Hijra. Now, Hazrath Sultan Shah is sought after by auliya, ulama and common people alike. Jeelani Shareef is the Aastthana of Hzt.Sulthana Shah which situated in the bank of great river Periyar

Periyar

Periyar may refer to*Periyar , a major river in Kerala*Periyar district, the erstwhile name for Erode district in Tamil Nadu*Periyar National Park*Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, a Tamil social reformer...

of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

,nearest Aluva,a developed city as a part of great Cochin. Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport is an international airport located in Nedumbassery, a suburb on the outskirts of the city of Kochi about northeast of downtown Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala...

(Nedumbassery) is very near to Aasthana. Jeelani Study Center is an organization aims to spread the Qadiri Sufi Order, the mission of Hzt.Sulthan Shah.The main office of the organization is at Valanchery,Malappuram, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

.It has many district and unit committees throughout Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

Sayed Muhammed Badshah
Hazrat Khwaja Shaikh Mohammad Badshah Qadri-ul-Chishti Yamani Raichuri Rahmatullan Alayh (1903 (1324 Hijri) – 1978), was a Sufi saint of the Chisti order in India, known commonly as Badshah Quadri or Badesha Qadri, who preached universal brotherhood and peace.Badesha Qadiri was born in Raichur, Karnataka, India, during Bakrid on 10th day of Dhul Hijja, on a Friday, to a sayyid family which originally came from Yemen. His family trace their descent from Hasan ibn Ali, the first grandson of Muhammad. At an early age, Badesha Quadri became a disciple of his paternal uncle Shah Nabi Mohuiddeen Quadri, of the Chisti order, who was then a renowned Chisti elder. He later became a disciple of Karimullah Shah Qadri. Before Karimullah died, he passed the role of Pir, the leadership of the Qadiriyyah and Chishti traditions, to Badesha Quadri.Badesha Quadri is entombed in Halkatta Shareef outside of Wadi in the Gulbarga District of Karnataka. His work is continued there by his son and successor Mohammed Ibrahim Shah Qadri (Ibrahim Shah Khaderi ) There is an annual festival or urs for Badesha Quadri and thousands of his followers travel to Halkatta Shareef for it. The urs marks the anniversary of the saint’s death. The term urs literally means wedding with the divine.Badshah Qadri is one of the most greatest person and we all ahle silsila-e-qadiriya is faith on him. Hazrat Peer Adil Bijapur Rahmathullah is also the peer of the silsila after hazrat Badshah khadri rahmath ullah Hazrat Peer Younus Ali shah khadri al chisti al ifteqari charage peer adil is one of the saint of the silsila who is present alive and give the true massage of allah and mohammed to all people by the grace of god.

The Naqshbandi order

The origin of this order can be traced back to Khwaja Ya‘qub Yusuf al-Hamadani (b. AD 1140), who lived in Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

. It was later organised by Baha’uddin Naqshband

Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari

Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari was the founder of what would become the Naqshbandi. He was born in Bukhara which is located in Uzbekistan...

(1318–1389) of Turkestan

Turkestan

Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...

, who is widely referred to as the founder of the Naqshbandi order. Khwaja Muhammad al-Baqi Billah Berang, whose tomb is in Delhi

Delhi

, introduced the Naqshbandi order to India. The essence of this order was insistence on strict adherence to the shari‘ah and nurturance of love for the Prophet Muhammad. It was patronized by the Mughal rulers, as its founder was their ancestral pīr
Pir (Sufism)
Pir or Peer is a title for a Sufi master equally used in the nath tradition. They are also referred to as a Hazrat or Shaikh, which is Arabic for Old Man. The title is often translated into English as "saint" and could be interpreted as "Elder". In Sufism a Pir's role is to guide and instruct his...

, or spiritual guide. "The conquest of India by Babur

Babur

Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...

in 1526 gave considerable impetus to the Naqshbandiyya order". Its disciples remained loyal to the throne because of their common Turkic origin. With the royal patronage of most of the Mughal rulers, the Naqshbandi order brought about the revival of Islam. The Naqshbandis earned their living by designing patterns printed on cloth.

Impact of Sufism

Sufi saints were responsible for the introduction of the mystical form of Islam. Hindus and Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

ware deeply influenced by the Sufi saints.Sufi scholars instrumental in the social economical and philosophical development of the masses Sufi saints also contributed significantly in spreading Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

in the Indian subcontinent and across Asia. In fact, in most cases, it was Sufi Muslim saints, not conquerors, who spread Islam in this part of the globe.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

The Shadhiliyya order

The Chishti order

The Shattārīya order

The Suhrawardi order

The Qadiri order

The Naqshbandi order

Impact of Sufism

See also

External links