This article examines Sufism as a textual world composed of several overlapping genres of writing, arguing that the crucial interface between different kinds of writing, the world and the individual Muslim presents a major challenge for the study of Sufism. The co-existence of the embodied realities of powerful Sufi practitioners of South Asia’s past and present with the alternative textual reality of the literary world of Sufi writings from the region is explored in depth. The article presents an overview of the Sufi traditions of South Asia, emphasizing some emerging research angles on the problematic convergences between texts, territories and the transcendent elements in Sufism in four major sections.
Aziz, Abdul (1967) The Imperial Library of the Mughals. Lahore: n.p .
8.
Babur, Zahiruddin Muhammad (1996) (tr. and ed. W.M. Thackston ) The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. Washington and Oxford: Smithsonian Institution and Oxford University Press .
9.
Baldick J. (1981) ‘Medieval SØufi Literature in Persian Prose’, in G. Morrison (ed.) History of Persian Literature(pp. 83–109). Leiden: E.J. Brill .
10.
Basu, H. (1994) Habshi-Sklaven, Sidi-Fakire: Muslimische Heiligenverehrung im westlichen Indien[Habshi Slaves, Sidi Fakirs: Muslim Saint Veneration in Western India]. Berlin: Das Arabische Buch .
11.
Begam, Qamar Jahan (1991) Princess Jahan Ara Begam: Her Life and Works. Karachi: S.M. Hamid Ali .
12.
Begley, W.A. & Desai, Z.A. (1989) Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb. Washington, DC: University of Washington Press .
13.
BilgrØamØi , GhulØam ‘AlØi ØAzØad (1996) Rawzat al-awliyØa. Kanpur: Liberty Art Press [Persian] .
14.
Bilgrami, R. (1978) ‘The Ajmer Wakf Under the Mughals’ , Islamic Culture52: 97–103 .
15.
B®owering, G. (1984) ‘The AdabLiterature of Classical Sufism: AnsØarØi’s Code of Conduct’, in B.D. Metcalf (ed.) Moral Conduct and Authority: The Place of Adab in South Asian Islam(pp. 62–87). Berkeley: University of California Press .
16.
Bredi, D.C. (1988) ‘Shi’ism in the Deccan: A Hypothetical Study’ , Islamic Culture62(2–3): 97–112 .
17.
Canaan, T. (1927) Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine. London: Luzac and Co .
18.
Cashin, D. (1985) The Ocean of Love: Middle Bengali Sufi Literature a the Fakirs of Bengal. Stockholm: Association of Oriental Studies, Stockholm University .
19.
A Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Private Library of Shamsul Ulama Sayyid Ali BilgrØamØi of Hyderabad, Deccan, India(1908) Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons .
20.
Chittick W.C. (1992) ‘Notes on Ibn ‘ArabØi’s Influence in the Indian Sub-Continent’ , Muslim World82: 218–241 .
21.
Chittick, W.C. (1999) ‘Travelling the Sufi Path: A ChishtØi Handbook from Bijapur’, in L. Lewisohn and D. Morgan (eds) The Heritage of Sufism. Vo1. 3. Late Classical Persianate Sufism (1501–1750)(pp. 247–265). Oxford: Oneworld .
22.
Cole, J.R.I. (1988) Roots of North Indian ShØi’ism in Iran and Iraq: Religion and State in Awadh, 1722–1859. Berkeley: University of California Press .
23.
Currie, P.M. (1989) The Shrine and Cult of Mu‘Øin al-DØin ChishtØi of Ajmer. Delhi: Oxford University Press .
24.
De Bruijn, T. (1999) ‘Images of the Last Days: JØayasØi’s ØAkhirØi KalØamand Indian Islam’in A.W. Entwistle , C. Salomon , H. Pauwels and M. Shapiro (eds) Studies in Early Modern Indo-Aryan Languages, Literature and Culture(pp. 71–85). Delhi: Manohar .
25.
De Bruijn, T. (2002) ‘Positions in the Field of Medieval Indian Culture’in W.M. Callewaert and D. Taillieu (eds) Devotional Literature in South Asia: Current Research 1997–2000(pp. 39–45). Delhi: Manohar .
26.
De Weese, D. (1999) ‘The Politics of Sacred Lineages in 19th Century Central Asia: Descent Groups Linked to Khwaja Ahmad Yasavi in Shrine Documents and Genealogical Charters’ , International Journal of Middle East Studies31(4): 507–530 .
27.
De Weese D. (2000a) ‘Sacred History for a Central Asian Town: Saints, Shrines and Legends of Origin in Histories of Sayram, 18th to 19th Centuries’[Special Issue, Figures Mythiques des Mondes Musulmans] Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la M¥editteran¥ee89–890: 245–295.
28.
De Weese, D. (2000b) ‘Sacred Places and “Public”Narratives:The Shrine of Ahmad Yasavi in Hagiographical Traditions of the YasavØi Sufi Order, 16th to 17th Centuries’ . [Special Issue, ed. J. J. Elias. Sufi Saints and Shrines in Muslim Society]. Muslim World90(3–4) 353–376 .
29.
Digby, S. (1965) ‘Dreams and Reminiscences of Dattu Sarvani, a Sixteenth Century Indo Afghan Soldier’ , Indian Economic and Social History Review2: 52–80 .
30.
Digby, S. (1986) ‘Tabarrukat and Succession Among the Great Chishti Shaykhs’, in R.E. Frykenberg (ed.) Delhi Through the Ages: Essays in Urban History, Culture and Society(pp. 63–103). Delhi: Oxford University Press .
31.
Digby, S. (1990) ‘The Naqshbandis in the Deccan in the Late Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Century A.D.: Baba Palangposh, Baba Musafir and Their Adherents’, in M. Gaborieau et al. (eds) Naqshbandis: Chiminements et situation actuelle d’un ordre mystique musulman(pp. 167–208). Istanbul: Isis Press .
32.
Digby, S. (2001) Sufis and Soldiers in Aurangzeb’s Deccan. Delhi: Oxford University Press .
33.
Eaton, R.M. (1978) Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700. Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press .
34.
Eaton, R.M. (1984) ‘The Political and Religious Authority of the Shrine of BØabØa FarØid’, in B.D. Metcalf (ed.) Moral Conduct and Authority: The Place of Adab in South Asian Islam(pp. 333–356). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
35.
Eaton, R.M. (1993) The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier,1204–1760. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
36.
Ernst, C.W. (1992) ‘The Textual Formation of Oral Teachings in Early ChishtØi Sufism’, in J.R. Timm (ed.) Texts in Context: Traditional Hermeneutics in South Asia(pp. 271–297). New York: State University of New York Press .
37.
Ernst, C.W. (1995) ‘India as a Sacred Islamic Land’, in D.S. Lopez (ed.) Religions of India in Practice(pp. 556–563). Princeton, NJ: University of Princeton Press .
38.
Ernst, C.W. (1996) ‘Sufism and Yoga According to Muhammad Ghawth’ , Sufi29: 9–13 .
39.
Ernst, C.W. & Lawrence, B.B. (2002) Sufi Martyrs of Love: The Chishti Order in South Asia and Beyond. London: Palgrave/Macmillan .
40.
Ewing, K.P. (1990) ‘The Dream of Spiritual Initiation and the Organization of Self Representation among Pakistani Sufis’ , American Ethnologist17(1): 56–74 .
41.
Faroqhi, S. (1986) ‘Agricultural Activities in a Bektashi Center: The Tekke of Kizil Deli 1750–830’, in S. Faroqhi, Peasants, Dervishes and Traders in the Ottoman Empire(pp. 69–96) London: Variorum Reprints .
42.
Faroqhi, S. (1988) ‘Agricultural Crisis and the Art of Flute-Playing: The Worldly Affairs of the Mevlevi Dervishes’ , Turcica20: 43–70 .
43.
Frembgen, J.W. (1998) Kleidung und Ausr®ustung islamischer Gottsucher: Ein Beitrag zur materiellen Kultur des Derwischwesens[Clothing and Armour of the Islamic Seekers of God: A Contribution to the Material Culture of the Dervish Way]. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz .
44.
Frembgen, J.W. (2000) Reise zu Gott: Sufis und Derwische im Islam[Journey to God: Sufis and Dervishes in Islam]. Munich: Beck .
45.
Gilmartin, D. (1984) ‘Shrines, Succession and Sources of Moral Authority’, in B.D. Metcalf (ed.) Moral Conduct and Authority: The Place of Adab in South Asian Islam(pp. 221–240). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
46.
Golombek, L. (1969) The Timurid Shrine at GazurGah. Toronto: University of Toronto Press .
47.
Green, N. (2002) The Sufi Saints of Awrangabad: Narratives, Contexts, Identities. London: University of London . [Unpublished PhD thesis].
48.
Green, N. (2003) ‘Migrant Sufis and Sacred Space in South Asian Islam’ , Contemporary South Asia12(4): 493–509 .
49.
GwØalØiØarØi, Hazrat Shaykh Muhammad Ghaws (n.d.) (tr. Muhammad BØeg NaqshbandØi) JawØahir-e-khamsa. Delhi: NØaz Publishing House. [Urdu] .
50.
Hairi, M.Y. (1981) ‘SuhrawardØi’s An Episode and a Trance: A Philosophical Dialogue in a Mystical Stage’, in P. Morewedge (ed.) Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism(pp. 177–189). Delmar: Caravan Press .
51.
Hardy, P. (1960) Historians of Medieval India: Studies in Indo-Muslim Historical Writing. London: Luzac and Co.
52.
Hardy, P. (1985) ‘Abul Fazl’s Portrait of the Perfect Padshah: A Political Philosophy for Mughal India –Or a Personal Puff for a Pal?’, in C.W. Troll (ed.) Islam in India: Studies and Commentaries.Vol. 2. (pp. 114–137). Delhi: Vikas .
53.
Hardy, P. (1986) ‘The Authority of Muslim Kings in Medieval South Asia’, in M. Gaborieau (ed.) Islam and Society in South Asia(pp. 37–55). Paris: Purusartha .
54.
Hermansen, M.K. and B.B. Lawrence (2000) ‘Indo-Persian Tazkiras as Memorative Communications’, in D. Gilmartin and B.B. Lawrence (eds) Beyond Turk and Hindu: Rethinking Religious Identities in Islamicate South Asia(pp. 149–175). Gainsville: University of Florida Press .
55.
Huda, Q. (2000) ‘Celebrating Death and Engaging in Texts at DØatØa Ganj Bakhsh’s‘Urs’, Muslim World90(3–4): 377–394 .
56.
Huda, Qamar-ul (2003) Striving for Divine Union: Spiritual Exercises for SuhrawardØi SØufØis. London: RoutledgeCurzon .
57.
Husain, A. (1972) ‘The Family of Shaikh Salim Chishti during the Reign of Jehangir’, in K.A. Nizami (ed.) Medieval India –A Miscellany.Vol. 2 (pp. 61–69). Delhi: Asia Publishing House .
58.
Hussain-Moini, S.L. (1989) ‘Rituals and Customary Practices at the Dargah of Ajmer’, in C.W. Troll (ed.) Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History and Significance(pp. 60–75). Delhi: Oxford University Press .
59.
Islam, R. (2002) Sufism in South Asia: Impact on Fourteenth Century Muslim Society. Karachi: Oxford University Press .
60.
Jahanabadi, Kalimullah (1910) The Scallop Shell (Being a Sufite Practical Course on Divine Union). Madras: Ananda Press .
61.
JØamØi , ‘Abdul RahmØan (1955[1375]) (ed. M. TawhØidpØur ) NafahØat al-uns min hazarØat alquds. Tehran: IntishØarØat-e-‘IlmØi .
62.
KØashØanØi, Mu’iz al-dØin (n.d.) (ed. J. HumØa’Øi ) Misbah al-hidØayah va miftah al-kifØayah. Tehran: KitØabkhØanah-ye SanØa‘Øi .
63.
Khalidi, O. (1992) ‘The Shias of the Deccan: An Introduction’ , Hamdard Islamicus15(4): 31–52 .
Khan, Dargah Quli (1989) (tr. Chander Shekhar and S.M. Chenoy) The Muraqqa’-e-Dehli. Delhi: Deputy Publications .
66.
Khan, M. Abid Ali (1979) Memoirs of Gaur and Pandua. Delhi: Asian Publication Services .
67.
Kokan, M.Y. (1974) ‘[Language and Literature, (i)] Arabic’, in H.K. Sherwani and P.M. Joshi (eds) History of Medieval Deccan (1295–1724)Vo1. 2 (pp. 1–15). Hyderabad: Government of Andhra Pradesh .
68.
Kozlowki, G.C. (1995) ‘Imperial Authority, Benefactions and Endowments (awqaf) in Mughal India’ , Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient38(3): 355–370 .
69.
Lahiri, N. (1996) ‘Archaeological Landscapes and Textual Images: A Study of the Sacred Geography of Late Medieval Ballabgarh’ , World Archaeology28: 244–264 .
70.
Landell-Mills, S. (1998) ‘The Hardware of Sanctity: Anthropomorphic Objects in Bangladeshi Sufism’, in P. Werbner and H. Basu (eds) Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality and the Performance of Emotion in Sufi Cults(pp. 31–54). London: Routledge .
71.
Lawrence, B.B. (1999) ‘Veiled Opposition to Sufis in Muslim South Asia: Dynastic Manipulation of Mystical Brotherhoods by the Great Mughal’, in F. De Jong and B. Radtke (eds) Islamic Mysticism Contested: 13 Centuries of Controversies and Polemics(pp. 436–451). Leiden: E.J. Brill .
72.
McChesney, R.D. (1991) Waqf in Central Asia: Four Hundred Years in the History of a Muslim Shrine. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press .
73.
Maneri, Sharaf al-din (1980) (tr. P. Jackson) The Hundred Letters. London: SPCK .
74.
Manjhan (2000) Madhumalati.(tr. A. Behl and S. Weightman). Oxford: Oxford University Press .
75.
Marefat, R. (1991) Beyond the Architecture of Death: The Shrine of the Shah-i-Zindah in Samarkand. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University . [Unpublished PhD dissertation].
76.
Marek, J. (1968) ‘Persian Literature in India’, in J. Rypka (ed.) History of Iranian Literature. Dordrecht: D. Riedel .
77.
Markovits, C. , Pouchepadass, J. and Subrahmanyam, S. (eds) (2003) Society and Circulation: Mobile People and Itinerant Cultures in South Asia 1750–1950. Delhi: Permanent Black .
78.
Martin, R.C. (1988) ‘Islamic Textuality in the Light of Poststructuralist Criticism’, in F. Kazemi and R.D. McChesney (eds) A Way Prepared: Essays on Islamic Culture in Honor of Richard Bayly Winder(pp. 116–131). New York: New York University Press .
79.
Massignon, L. (1922) Essai sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane[Essay on the Origins of the Technical Lexicon of Islamic Mysticism]. Paris: Paul Geuthner .
80.
Matringe, D. (2000) ‘La cr¥eation d’un saint et ses enjeux dans le Panjab Pakistanais’ [The Creation of a Saint and its Wagers in the Pakistani Punjab], Journal Asiatique288(1): 137–152 .
81.
Matringe D. (2001) ‘Adab al-sufiyya:Les r`egles de vie dans les couvents soufis de 1’Inde medi¥evale’ [Adab al-sufiyya:Life Rules in the Sufi Convents of Medieval India], Journal Asiatique289(1): 67–86 .
82.
Meri, J. (2002) The Cult of Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria. Oxford: Oxford University Press .
83.
Metcalf, B. D. (ed.) Moral Conduct and Authority: The Place of Adab in South Asian Islam. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
84.
Michell, G. & Eaton, R.M. (1992) Firuzabad: Palace City of the Deccan. Oxford: Oxford University Press .
85.
Michell, G. & Zebrowski, M. (1999) Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates. New Cambridge History of India 1:7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
86.
Mojadeddi, J.A. (2001) The Biographical Tradition in Sufism: The Tabaqat Genre from al-Sulami to Jami. London: Curzon .
87.
Nadvi, S.A.Z. (1945–6) ‘Libraries During Muslim Rule in India’ , Islamic Culture19: 329–347 and 20: 3–20 .
88.
Nath, R. (1978) ‘The Tomb of Shaikh Muhammad Ghauth at Gwalior’ , Studies in Islam11(1): 21–30 .
89.
Nizami, K.A. (1979) ‘Review of R.M. Eaton (1978) Sufis of Bijapur’ , Islamic Culture53(4): 257–261 .
90.
Petruccioli, A. (1987) ‘The Geometry of Power: The City’s Planning’, in M. Brand and G.D. Lowry (eds) Fatehpur Sikri(pp. 49–64). Bombay: Marg .
91.
Phillott, D.C. (1908) ‘Note on the Shrine at Taunsa’ , Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal4(1): 21–29 .
92.
Pollock, S. (1998a) ‘The Cosmopolitan Vernacular’ , Journal of Asian Studies57(1): 6–37 .
93.
Pollock, S. (1998b) ‘India in the Vernacular Millenium: Literary Culture and Polity, 1000–1500’ , Daedalus127(3): 41–74 .
94.
Pourjavady, N. & Lamborn Wilson, P. (1978) Kings of Love: The Poetry and History of the Ni’matu’llahiSufi Order. Tehran: Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy .
95.
Qureshi, R.B. (1993) ‘Sama’in the Royal Court of Saints: The Chishtiyya of South Asia’in G.M. Smith and C.W. Ernst (eds) Manifestations of Sainthood in Islam(pp. 111–127). Istanbul: Isis Press .
96.
Reeves, E.B. (1990) The Hidden Government: Ritual, Clientelism and Legitimation in Northern Egypt. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press .
97.
Reynolds, F.E. & Waugh, E.H. (eds) (1977) Religious Encounters With Death: Insights From the History and Anthropology of Death. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press .
98.
Robinson, F.C.R. (1997a) ‘Ottomans-Safawids-Mughals: Shared Knowledge and Connective Systems’ , Journal of Islamic Studies8(2): 151–184 .
99.
Robinson, F.C.R. (1997b) ‘Religious Change and the Self in South Asia since 1800’ , South Asia20(1): 1–15 .
100.
Roy, A. (1983) The Islamic Syncretist Movement in Bengal. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press .
101.
Rumi, Jalaluddin (1999) (tr. W.M. Thackston) Signs of the Unseen: The Discourses of Jalaluddin Rumi. Boston: Shambhala .
102.
Sarangal, T.R. (1995) Islamic Relics of Sirhind Rouza Sharif. Pathankot: Sadashiv Print Packs Works Limited .
103.
Schimmel, A. (1973) History of Indian Literature. Vol. 7: Islamic Literatures of India. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz .
104.
Schimmel, A. (1999) ‘The Vernacular Tradition in Persianate Sufi Poetry’, in L. Lewisohn and D. Morgan (eds) The Heritage of Sufism. Vo1.3. Late Classical Persianate Sufism (1501–1750)(pp. 417–434). Oxford: Oneworld .
105.
Schimmel, A. (2000) Im Reich der Grossmoguln[In the Empire of the Great Mughals]. Munich: Beck .
106.
Shah II, Ibrahim Adil (1956) (tr. and ed. N. Ahmad) Kitab-i Nauras[Book of the Nine Jewels]. Delhi: Sangit Natak Akademi .
107.
Sherwani, H.K. (1985) The Bahmanis of the Deccan. Delhi: Munshiram .
108.
Sherwani, H.K and P.M. Joshi (eds) (1973–4) History of Medieval Deccan (1295–1724).2 Vols. Hyderabad: Govt. of Andhra Pradesh .
109.
Smith, J. & Haddad, Y.Y. (1981) The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press .
110.
Spear, P. (1951) Twilight of the Mughals: Studies in Late Mughal Delhi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
111.
Sprenger, A. (1854) A Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Hindustany Manuscripts of the Libraries of the King of Oudh. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press .
112.
Stewart, T.K. (2001) ‘In Search of Equivalence: Conceiving the Muslim-Hindu Encounter Through Translation Theory’ , History of Religions40(3): 260–287 .
113.
SuhrawardØi, AbØu Hafs (1978) (tr. R. Gramlich) Die Gaben der Erkenntnisse[The Gifts of Realization]. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz .
114.
Suvorova, A. (2000) Masnavi: A Study of Urdu Romance. Karachi: Oxford University Press .
115.
Tarafdar, M.R (1992) ‘The Influence of the Natha Cult on the Growth of Sufism in Bengal’in F. De Jong (ed.) ShØi’a Islam, Sects and Sufism(pp. 97–104). Utrecht: M. Th. Houtsma Stichting .
116.
Taylor, C.S. (1999) In the Vicinity of the Righteous: Ziy¥ara and the Veneration of Muslim Saints in Late Medieval Egypt. Leiden: E. J. Brill .
117.
Terzioglu, D. (2002) ‘Man in the Image of God in the Image of the Times: Sufi Self Narratives and the Diary of NiyØazØi-i Misri’(1618–94)’ , Studia Islamica94: 139–165 .
118.
Troll, C.W. (ed.) (1989) Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History and Significance. Delhi: Oxford University Press .
119.
Vassie, R. (1999) ‘’Abd al-Rahman ChishtØi and the Bhagavadgita: ‘Unity of Religion’Theory in Practice’, in L. Lewisohn (ed.) The Heritage of Sufism. Vo1. 2. The Legacy of Medieval Persian Sufism (1150-1500)(pp. 367–377). Oxford: Oneworld .
120.
Werbner, P. & Basu, H. (1998) ‘The Embodiment of Charisma’, in P. Werbner and H. Basu (eds) Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality and the Performance of Emotion in Sufi Cults(3–27). London: Routledge .
