Journal of Sindhi Studies (Vol 4), pp. 1-31., 2024
Khwāja Muḥammad Zamān Luārvī (i.e., of Luārī or Lowārī) was a much-revered eighteenth-century Suf... more Khwāja Muḥammad Zamān Luārvī (i.e., of Luārī or Lowārī) was a much-revered eighteenth-century Sufi shaykh (master) who spent his entire life in Luārī and Thatta in lower Sindh. Spiritually affiliated with the Naqshbandī Silsilah, he was also an eloquent Sufi poet. Though small in volume, his poetic compositions are highly symbolic and replete with complex Sufi philosophical and cosmological themes. This article identifies and analyzes the Sufi doctrines in his poetry by undertaking a poetic exegesis of his verses within a Sufi framework. It briefly introduces the life and poetry of the Khwāja, analyzes the articulation of Sufi doctrines in his poetic verses, and assesses his poetry's characteristics.
Journal of Historical Studies, Vol IX, No. 1, Jan-Jun, 2023
Professor Muhammad Aslam (d. 1998) was a distinguished historian of Pakistan who excelled in the ... more Professor Muhammad Aslam (d. 1998) was a distinguished historian of Pakistan who excelled in the history of medieval India, and extensively wrote on its political, religio-spiritual, social, cultural and intellectual aspects. He was a prolific writer, a renowned critic and historian, a devoted teacher, and an extensive traveller. He wrote on varied themes dealing with medieval Indian history based on court chronicles, malfuz (sufi discourses) and maktub (epistles) literature, and hagiographical or tadhkirah (sufi biographies) literature. He also contributed to epigraphy, musicology, as well as to the study of Pakistan movement, history of Pakistan, Islamic history and history of medieval Central Asia. Among his contemporaries, he earned fame as an institution in himself. The present article analyses the varied aspects of Professor Aslam's life, personality and also assesses his academic contribution as a historian.
Chishtī Sufis in the Sultanate of Delhi 1190–1400: From Restrained Indifference to Calculated De... more Chishtī Sufis in the Sultanate of Delhi 1190–1400: From Restrained Indifference to Calculated Defiance. By Tanvir Anjum. Karachi: Oxford Univ. Press, 2011. Pp. xviii + 433. $31.95.
Historically, the Indian society has been and is still beset with hierarchical social divisions b... more Historically, the Indian society has been and is still beset with hierarchical social divisions based on birth-ascribed ranks. Despite strict egalitarian principles of Islam, there existed racial and ethnic discrimination among the Muslims in South Asia, who were primarily divided into two social strata: the ashrāf (the so-called high-born) and the ajlāf (the so-called low-born). However, in the Sufi worldview, these social distinctions did not matter at all. The premodern Sufis of India, as elsewhere in the Islamicate, stressed on the notion of human equality, and preached it through their teachings, especially through poetic compositions. Many Sufis, including those who themselves The title of the paper refers to a poetic verse of a renowned Qadiri-Shattari Sufi named Bullhe Shah (b. 1680-d. 1758), whose views on social stratification in the eighteenth-century Punjabi society have been discussed in the paper with reference to his poetic compositions. Assistant Professor, Depa...
Vernacularization of Islam is the process through which the message and teachings of Islam adjust... more Vernacularization of Islam is the process through which the message and teachings of Islam adjusted and adapted in local regional environments outside Arabia. The universal principles of Islam were vernacularized in specific time and space, and contextualized or localized forms and expressions of Muslim piety emerged in these regions. The credit of vernacularization of Islam and Sufism in South Asia particularly goes to the sufis who challenged the Arabo-Persian linguistic hegemony by producing religious literature in vernacular languages and dialects, as a vast majority of the sufis depended less on Arabic and Persian for the popularization of the sufi message. They employed the medium of vernacular poetry to disseminate the message of Sufism among the common people. They contributed to the development of various scripts as well as new or existing literary genres such as siharfis, kafis, Prem-kahani or „Sufi Romances,‟ and ginans, in order to popularize the teachings of Sufism in S...
Presently, varied schemes of periodization of history are prevalent in historical studies, the mo... more Presently, varied schemes of periodization of history are prevalent in historical studies, the most common being the tripartite scheme of ancient-medieval-modern periods. In European history, ancient, medieval and modern eras have remained the dominant standard epochal frontiers since the eighteenth century. In the wake of colonial rule, this scheme was applied by the European historians and orientalists to the colonized regions in Africa and Asia, including India, for historiographical purposes. The concept of medieval period in Indian history is not without problems and limitations. First, not only there are conceptual intricacies involved in it, the whole process of periodization has been politicized. Moreover, the chronological frontiers of medieval India have become conceptual barriers, which restrict historical imagination. Secondly, the medieval period in Indian history, as in European history, is often referred to as the ‘Middle Ages’. It is understood as a post-classical ag...
The sufis of the Islamicate world have sometimes articulated the transcendent experience of Divin... more The sufis of the Islamicate world have sometimes articulated the transcendent experience of Divine love in their poetic compositions in an idiom of temporal human love. The woman-soul symbol abounds in Indo-Muslim literature, wherein the sufi poets employed gendered imagery of human lover and Divine Beloved, which necessitated the use of metaphorical and figurative language. By inversing their gender and acquiring a feminine persona, they spoke in the voice of ardent feminine lovers, while portraying God as a male Beloved. In bhakti or Hindu devotional literature, it is often expressed through the literary motif of virahimi, a bride-in-waiting or a devoted wife separated from her groom or husband, and thus waiting for his return and union with him. The sufi poets often evoked the metaphor of virahimi, borrowed from the bhakti literary traditions. These poets identified themselves with a virahimi, whereas the Divine Self was symbolized by a groom or husband. In Punjabi poetic traditi...
INTRODUCTION 1. Sufism and its Political Dimension: A Historical Background 2. Chisht? Sufis in I... more INTRODUCTION 1. Sufism and its Political Dimension: A Historical Background 2. Chisht? Sufis in India: Carving out their Space in the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1236) 3. Preservation of the Space of the Chisht? Sufis (1236-1265) 4. Expansion of the Space (1265-1325) 5. State's Encroachment on the Space of the Chisht? Sufis (1325-1351) 6. Chisht? Sufis' Resistance to Encroachment on the Space (1325-1351) 7. Manoeuvring and Containment of the Space by the State (1351-1398) 8. Response to State Manoeuvring and Containment (I): Defence and Realignment of the Space by the Chisht?s (1351-1398) 9. Response to State Manoeuvring and Containment (II): Negotiation of the Space by the Descendants of the Chisht? Shaykhs (1351-1400) SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION EPILOGUE: RELATIONSHIP OF KHW?JAH G?S?DIR?Z WITH THE BAHMAN? SULTANS BIBLIOGRAPHY GLOSSARY APPENDIX I SPIRITUAL GENEALOGY OF NOTABLE CHISHT? SUFIS IN INDIA DURING THE 13TH AND 14TH CENTURIES APPENDIX II TIMELINE INDICATING IMPORTANT DEVELOPME...
Sufism, the mystical or esoteric aspect of Islam, is primarily seen as devoted to the spiritual d... more Sufism, the mystical or esoteric aspect of Islam, is primarily seen as devoted to the spiritual dimension of one’s life, but despite it religio-spiritual outlook, Sufism is inextricably linked with power and politics. Historically, the sufi shaykhs as masters of the spiritual domain have engaged with the notions of power, authority and legitimacy. They have engaged with those who have been the custodians of political authority—the Caliphs, Emperors, Sultans, rulers, and their subordinates. In the words of a scholar on Sufism:
The Sufi poetic articulation of transcendent experience of Divine love is often characterized by ... more The Sufi poetic articulation of transcendent experience of Divine love is often characterized by gendered imagery, as it is expressed in metaphorical and figurative language by employing idioms of temporal human love. Reversing their gender and assuming a female persona, many male Sufi poets in premodern Punjab spoke in the voice of ardent female lovers, while portraying God as a male Beloved. They often employed a bridal metaphor, identifying themselves with a bride-in-waiting or a loyal and devoted wife, whereas the Divine Self was symbolized by a groom or husband. The poetic exegesis of the love lyrics of Shah Husayn of Lahore reveals that he expanded the bridal metaphor through borrowing rich imagery from socio-cultural topography of premodern Punjab, and situated it in context of local cultural ethos and literary conventions.
Mediation refers to an intervention between the state or political authorities and the people, as... more Mediation refers to an intervention between the state or political authorities and the people, as well as invention among varied social groups in order to mitigate or resolve differences, and thus avert possible conflicts among them. In premodern polities, Sufism and its institutions provided a mediating space to the people. The sufis in premodern South Asia played a mediational role vis-à-vis the state as well as the society. The sufi shaykhs influenced the state policies in favour of the people by affecting the behavior of the rulers towards other political and social groups. Some of them associated with the rulers for mediating between the rulers and the ruled, and successfully used their influence for redressing the grievances of the aggrieved. Some of the sufis avoided the company of the kings and nobles, but performed the mediational role in their own way by indirectly mediating among the conflicting social and political groups.
Advocacy movements all over the world have been quite instrumental in bringing about social chang... more Advocacy movements all over the world have been quite instrumental in bringing about social change. The efforts of groups involved in such movements are directed towards realising the core human values of justice and equality by securing the human and civil rights of the poor, oppressed, and marginalised sections of society. Lately, many groups have realised that merely obliterating the effects of oppression, discrimination, and injustice is not enough—these efforts must be supplemented by attempts to address their root causes as well. Only by doing so, the constructive changes occurring in society owing to the struggle of these movements can become sustainable.
... Dr. Tanvir Anjum♣ ... Such a position has been taken by Robert Hefner,15 Keith Tester,16 Davi... more ... Dr. Tanvir Anjum♣ ... Such a position has been taken by Robert Hefner,15 Keith Tester,16 David Anderson,17 and Jean Cohen and Andrew Arato.18 These civil society theorists view the autonomy of civil society from the state as a defining characteristic of civil society, and ...
IntroductionThe word androgyny is derived from two ancient Greek words: andro meaning man and gyn... more IntroductionThe word androgyny is derived from two ancient Greek words: andro meaning man and gyne meaning woman. As a phenomenon, androgyny is defined by the psychologists as an ability to display both male and female characteristics in human identity (Kalat 2011: 183). It is understood both in biological or physical and psychological or behavioural sense. An androgynous person who displays such characteristics can be labelled either as male or female in biological terms. Sometimes, the term is specifically used for biological males who display female characteristics or behaviour patterns, while another term gynandry is used to refer to those biological females who exhibit male behaviour or characteristics (Reber 1985: 34).In sociological, anthropological, psychological, and gender studies literature dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, concepts related to androgyny such as transvestism/transvestite (also referred to as transvestitism), transgenderism...
Some of the sufis have conceptualised the relationship of human beings with God in gendered terms... more Some of the sufis have conceptualised the relationship of human beings with God in gendered terms, and identified themselves with the feminine while imagining God in masculine terms. Such a characterisation can be found in sufi poetry, but it also finds manifestation in certain sufi practices as well, such as the male sufis dressing up as women. A fifteenth-century South Asian sufi, Shaykh Musa “Sadā Suhāg” of Gujarat — the founder of Sadā Suhāgiyya Silsilah — dressed up like a married woman or a bride. His androgynous appearance, soubriquet, and the name of the sufi silsilah he founded, indicate that he ingeniously indigenised the sufi idea of God's bride keeping in view the Indian cultural ethos and social conventions.
Journal of Sindhi Studies (Vol 4), pp. 1-31., 2024
Khwāja Muḥammad Zamān Luārvī (i.e., of Luārī or Lowārī) was a much-revered eighteenth-century Suf... more Khwāja Muḥammad Zamān Luārvī (i.e., of Luārī or Lowārī) was a much-revered eighteenth-century Sufi shaykh (master) who spent his entire life in Luārī and Thatta in lower Sindh. Spiritually affiliated with the Naqshbandī Silsilah, he was also an eloquent Sufi poet. Though small in volume, his poetic compositions are highly symbolic and replete with complex Sufi philosophical and cosmological themes. This article identifies and analyzes the Sufi doctrines in his poetry by undertaking a poetic exegesis of his verses within a Sufi framework. It briefly introduces the life and poetry of the Khwāja, analyzes the articulation of Sufi doctrines in his poetic verses, and assesses his poetry's characteristics.
Journal of Historical Studies, Vol IX, No. 1, Jan-Jun, 2023
Professor Muhammad Aslam (d. 1998) was a distinguished historian of Pakistan who excelled in the ... more Professor Muhammad Aslam (d. 1998) was a distinguished historian of Pakistan who excelled in the history of medieval India, and extensively wrote on its political, religio-spiritual, social, cultural and intellectual aspects. He was a prolific writer, a renowned critic and historian, a devoted teacher, and an extensive traveller. He wrote on varied themes dealing with medieval Indian history based on court chronicles, malfuz (sufi discourses) and maktub (epistles) literature, and hagiographical or tadhkirah (sufi biographies) literature. He also contributed to epigraphy, musicology, as well as to the study of Pakistan movement, history of Pakistan, Islamic history and history of medieval Central Asia. Among his contemporaries, he earned fame as an institution in himself. The present article analyses the varied aspects of Professor Aslam's life, personality and also assesses his academic contribution as a historian.
Chishtī Sufis in the Sultanate of Delhi 1190–1400: From Restrained Indifference to Calculated De... more Chishtī Sufis in the Sultanate of Delhi 1190–1400: From Restrained Indifference to Calculated Defiance. By Tanvir Anjum. Karachi: Oxford Univ. Press, 2011. Pp. xviii + 433. $31.95.
Historically, the Indian society has been and is still beset with hierarchical social divisions b... more Historically, the Indian society has been and is still beset with hierarchical social divisions based on birth-ascribed ranks. Despite strict egalitarian principles of Islam, there existed racial and ethnic discrimination among the Muslims in South Asia, who were primarily divided into two social strata: the ashrāf (the so-called high-born) and the ajlāf (the so-called low-born). However, in the Sufi worldview, these social distinctions did not matter at all. The premodern Sufis of India, as elsewhere in the Islamicate, stressed on the notion of human equality, and preached it through their teachings, especially through poetic compositions. Many Sufis, including those who themselves The title of the paper refers to a poetic verse of a renowned Qadiri-Shattari Sufi named Bullhe Shah (b. 1680-d. 1758), whose views on social stratification in the eighteenth-century Punjabi society have been discussed in the paper with reference to his poetic compositions. Assistant Professor, Depa...
Vernacularization of Islam is the process through which the message and teachings of Islam adjust... more Vernacularization of Islam is the process through which the message and teachings of Islam adjusted and adapted in local regional environments outside Arabia. The universal principles of Islam were vernacularized in specific time and space, and contextualized or localized forms and expressions of Muslim piety emerged in these regions. The credit of vernacularization of Islam and Sufism in South Asia particularly goes to the sufis who challenged the Arabo-Persian linguistic hegemony by producing religious literature in vernacular languages and dialects, as a vast majority of the sufis depended less on Arabic and Persian for the popularization of the sufi message. They employed the medium of vernacular poetry to disseminate the message of Sufism among the common people. They contributed to the development of various scripts as well as new or existing literary genres such as siharfis, kafis, Prem-kahani or „Sufi Romances,‟ and ginans, in order to popularize the teachings of Sufism in S...
Presently, varied schemes of periodization of history are prevalent in historical studies, the mo... more Presently, varied schemes of periodization of history are prevalent in historical studies, the most common being the tripartite scheme of ancient-medieval-modern periods. In European history, ancient, medieval and modern eras have remained the dominant standard epochal frontiers since the eighteenth century. In the wake of colonial rule, this scheme was applied by the European historians and orientalists to the colonized regions in Africa and Asia, including India, for historiographical purposes. The concept of medieval period in Indian history is not without problems and limitations. First, not only there are conceptual intricacies involved in it, the whole process of periodization has been politicized. Moreover, the chronological frontiers of medieval India have become conceptual barriers, which restrict historical imagination. Secondly, the medieval period in Indian history, as in European history, is often referred to as the ‘Middle Ages’. It is understood as a post-classical ag...
The sufis of the Islamicate world have sometimes articulated the transcendent experience of Divin... more The sufis of the Islamicate world have sometimes articulated the transcendent experience of Divine love in their poetic compositions in an idiom of temporal human love. The woman-soul symbol abounds in Indo-Muslim literature, wherein the sufi poets employed gendered imagery of human lover and Divine Beloved, which necessitated the use of metaphorical and figurative language. By inversing their gender and acquiring a feminine persona, they spoke in the voice of ardent feminine lovers, while portraying God as a male Beloved. In bhakti or Hindu devotional literature, it is often expressed through the literary motif of virahimi, a bride-in-waiting or a devoted wife separated from her groom or husband, and thus waiting for his return and union with him. The sufi poets often evoked the metaphor of virahimi, borrowed from the bhakti literary traditions. These poets identified themselves with a virahimi, whereas the Divine Self was symbolized by a groom or husband. In Punjabi poetic traditi...
INTRODUCTION 1. Sufism and its Political Dimension: A Historical Background 2. Chisht? Sufis in I... more INTRODUCTION 1. Sufism and its Political Dimension: A Historical Background 2. Chisht? Sufis in India: Carving out their Space in the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1236) 3. Preservation of the Space of the Chisht? Sufis (1236-1265) 4. Expansion of the Space (1265-1325) 5. State's Encroachment on the Space of the Chisht? Sufis (1325-1351) 6. Chisht? Sufis' Resistance to Encroachment on the Space (1325-1351) 7. Manoeuvring and Containment of the Space by the State (1351-1398) 8. Response to State Manoeuvring and Containment (I): Defence and Realignment of the Space by the Chisht?s (1351-1398) 9. Response to State Manoeuvring and Containment (II): Negotiation of the Space by the Descendants of the Chisht? Shaykhs (1351-1400) SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION EPILOGUE: RELATIONSHIP OF KHW?JAH G?S?DIR?Z WITH THE BAHMAN? SULTANS BIBLIOGRAPHY GLOSSARY APPENDIX I SPIRITUAL GENEALOGY OF NOTABLE CHISHT? SUFIS IN INDIA DURING THE 13TH AND 14TH CENTURIES APPENDIX II TIMELINE INDICATING IMPORTANT DEVELOPME...
Sufism, the mystical or esoteric aspect of Islam, is primarily seen as devoted to the spiritual d... more Sufism, the mystical or esoteric aspect of Islam, is primarily seen as devoted to the spiritual dimension of one’s life, but despite it religio-spiritual outlook, Sufism is inextricably linked with power and politics. Historically, the sufi shaykhs as masters of the spiritual domain have engaged with the notions of power, authority and legitimacy. They have engaged with those who have been the custodians of political authority—the Caliphs, Emperors, Sultans, rulers, and their subordinates. In the words of a scholar on Sufism:
The Sufi poetic articulation of transcendent experience of Divine love is often characterized by ... more The Sufi poetic articulation of transcendent experience of Divine love is often characterized by gendered imagery, as it is expressed in metaphorical and figurative language by employing idioms of temporal human love. Reversing their gender and assuming a female persona, many male Sufi poets in premodern Punjab spoke in the voice of ardent female lovers, while portraying God as a male Beloved. They often employed a bridal metaphor, identifying themselves with a bride-in-waiting or a loyal and devoted wife, whereas the Divine Self was symbolized by a groom or husband. The poetic exegesis of the love lyrics of Shah Husayn of Lahore reveals that he expanded the bridal metaphor through borrowing rich imagery from socio-cultural topography of premodern Punjab, and situated it in context of local cultural ethos and literary conventions.
Mediation refers to an intervention between the state or political authorities and the people, as... more Mediation refers to an intervention between the state or political authorities and the people, as well as invention among varied social groups in order to mitigate or resolve differences, and thus avert possible conflicts among them. In premodern polities, Sufism and its institutions provided a mediating space to the people. The sufis in premodern South Asia played a mediational role vis-à-vis the state as well as the society. The sufi shaykhs influenced the state policies in favour of the people by affecting the behavior of the rulers towards other political and social groups. Some of them associated with the rulers for mediating between the rulers and the ruled, and successfully used their influence for redressing the grievances of the aggrieved. Some of the sufis avoided the company of the kings and nobles, but performed the mediational role in their own way by indirectly mediating among the conflicting social and political groups.
Advocacy movements all over the world have been quite instrumental in bringing about social chang... more Advocacy movements all over the world have been quite instrumental in bringing about social change. The efforts of groups involved in such movements are directed towards realising the core human values of justice and equality by securing the human and civil rights of the poor, oppressed, and marginalised sections of society. Lately, many groups have realised that merely obliterating the effects of oppression, discrimination, and injustice is not enough—these efforts must be supplemented by attempts to address their root causes as well. Only by doing so, the constructive changes occurring in society owing to the struggle of these movements can become sustainable.
... Dr. Tanvir Anjum♣ ... Such a position has been taken by Robert Hefner,15 Keith Tester,16 Davi... more ... Dr. Tanvir Anjum♣ ... Such a position has been taken by Robert Hefner,15 Keith Tester,16 David Anderson,17 and Jean Cohen and Andrew Arato.18 These civil society theorists view the autonomy of civil society from the state as a defining characteristic of civil society, and ...
IntroductionThe word androgyny is derived from two ancient Greek words: andro meaning man and gyn... more IntroductionThe word androgyny is derived from two ancient Greek words: andro meaning man and gyne meaning woman. As a phenomenon, androgyny is defined by the psychologists as an ability to display both male and female characteristics in human identity (Kalat 2011: 183). It is understood both in biological or physical and psychological or behavioural sense. An androgynous person who displays such characteristics can be labelled either as male or female in biological terms. Sometimes, the term is specifically used for biological males who display female characteristics or behaviour patterns, while another term gynandry is used to refer to those biological females who exhibit male behaviour or characteristics (Reber 1985: 34).In sociological, anthropological, psychological, and gender studies literature dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, concepts related to androgyny such as transvestism/transvestite (also referred to as transvestitism), transgenderism...
Some of the sufis have conceptualised the relationship of human beings with God in gendered terms... more Some of the sufis have conceptualised the relationship of human beings with God in gendered terms, and identified themselves with the feminine while imagining God in masculine terms. Such a characterisation can be found in sufi poetry, but it also finds manifestation in certain sufi practices as well, such as the male sufis dressing up as women. A fifteenth-century South Asian sufi, Shaykh Musa “Sadā Suhāg” of Gujarat — the founder of Sadā Suhāgiyya Silsilah — dressed up like a married woman or a bride. His androgynous appearance, soubriquet, and the name of the sufi silsilah he founded, indicate that he ingeniously indigenised the sufi idea of God's bride keeping in view the Indian cultural ethos and social conventions.
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