The Nuqṭavī Movement and the Question of Its Exodus during the Ṣafavid Period (Sixteenth Century AD): A Historical Survey

Abstract

The Nuqṭavī Ṣūfī order, an offshoot of the Ḥurūffiayya sect of Islam, emerged during the late fourteenth century in Persia under the spiritual guidance of Maḥmūd Pasīkhānī as a political religious force to reckon with. It projected itself as representative of old glory of Persian culture which, it felt, was undermined under ‘Arab and Turkish influence. Their ideology made them critical of the sixteenth century Ṣafavid rulers’ encouragement of Turkish language and culture. This brought them in confrontation with the Ṣafavids who considered themselves as protectors of Islam and, therefore, attacked the Nuqṭavīs as heretics. The attack resulted in their large scale persecution and mass exodus to the Mughal court and Shia kingdoms of Deccan. Nuqṭavīs were leading figures who were reported to have exercised great influence at the Mughal court. At one point even Abū-I Faẓl, Akbar’s ideologue, came under its sway and was able to impress upon Akbar to write to Shāh ‘Abbās to exercise restraint over religious persecution.