Chishtī Sufis in the Sultanate of Delhi, 1190-1400 : from restrained indifference to calculated defiance / Tanvir Anjum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anjum, Tanvir, 1973-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chishtīyah--India--Delhi (Sultanate)--History.

Chishtīyah.

Muslim saints--Cult.

Islam and politics.

History.

India--Delhi (Sultanate).

Islam and politics--India--Delhi (Sultanate)--History.

Delhi (Sultanate)--Politics and government.

Delhi (Sultanate).

Muslim saints--Cult--India--Delhi (Sultanate).

Muslim saints.

Physical Description:

xv, 433 pages : map ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Karachi : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Summary:

The relationship of the Chishti Sufis with the political authorities has been quite controversial. After the introduction of the Chishti Silsilah in India in the last decade of the twelfth century by Khwajah Mu'in al-Din Chishti of Ajmer, the adherents of the Silsilah, in line with its traditions in Persia, made it a definite policy to keep a distance from the rulers by not accepting state services; rejecting lands grants and titles from the rulers; and by not visiting the royal court, or welcoming the Sultans to their khanqahs. By doing so, the early Chishtis in India carved out a space, or an environment for independent action and practice of Chishti principles, free from the interference of the state in the Sultanate of Delhi during the .next two centuries. However, this space was contested both by the rulers and some of the ulama or religious scholars on varied counts. In subsequent decades, the space was preserved and expanded by the Chishtis, employing' multiple strategies, while the state attempted to encroach on it; endeavours which the Chishtis severely resisted. Later, in response to state manoeuvring and containment of the space, the Chishti Shaykhs defended and considerably realigned it, whereas their lineal descendants negotiated it with the rulers for their own benefit. Book jacket.

Contents:

Sufism and its political dimension : a historical perspective

Chishtī Sufis in India : carving out their space in the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1236)

Preservation of the space of the Chishtī Sufis (1236-1265)

Expansion of space (1265-1325)

State encroachment on the space of the Chishtī Sufis (1325-1351)

Chishtī Sufis' resistance to encroachment on their space (1325-1351)

Manoeuvring and containment of the space by their state (1351-1398)

Response to state manoeuvring and containment (I) : defence and realignment of the space by the Chishtīs (1351-1398)

Response to state manoeuvring and containment (II) : negotiation of the space by the descendants of the Chishtī Shaykhs (1351-1400)

Summary and conclusion

Epilogue: Relationship of Khwājah Gēsudirāz with the Bahmanī sultans.

Notes:

Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral--Quaid-i-Azam University, 2005).

Includes bibliographical references (pages [373]-394) and index.

ISBN:

9780199060092

0199060096

OCLC:

730050466