Sufism in India

Muslim Shrines in India
A History of Sufism in India

Muslim Shrines in India : Their Character, History and Significance

Hardback - 327 pages

'A reprint of Muslim Shrines in India is most welcome, and reading the volume again of great profit to anyone interested in Sufism, Indian Islam and contemporary politics in India.' -- The Medieval History Journal.

The rhythm of Muslim life in India has always been marked by customs and festivals relating to saints and their tombs. The dargahs, or shrines erected on an around these tombs remain some of the finest specimens of Indo-Muslim architecture. This book brings together documentary, interpretive, and theological approaches to the study of the dargah. It describes the location, architecture, rituals, and vaious kinds of worship that take place in the country's major Muslim shrines. It also looks at pilgrims who are drawn to the dargah--their aspirations, their faith, their general social and religious outlook. The collection includes contributions from a number of eminent scholars in the field. A new introduction, written especially for this edition by Marc Gab orieau, addresses the developments that have taken place in the research on Muslim shrines since this book was first published.

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A History of Sufism in India (Vol.1) by Sayyad Athar Abbas Rizvi

Hardback - 467 pages

Early Sufism and its History in India to 1600 CE.
(Volume 1). Dedicated to the memories of Sufis and Saints.

The terms, sufi, Wali-Allah (protege of God), dervish and faqir, are applied to Muslim spiritualists who attempt to achieve a development of their intuitive faculties through ascetic exercises, contemplation, renunciation and self-denial. This work seeks to study sufism as a psycho-historical phenomenon. The author finds it efficacious to combat social and political upheavals which are brought about by prolonged political revolutions, associated with autocratic oppression and economic deprivation. This volume outlines the history of sufism before it was firmly established in India and then goes on to discuss the principal trends in sufi developments there from the 13th to the beginning of the 16th centuries. Chronologically it is concerned with sufi history from the establishment of the Delhi sultanate to the beginning of the Mughal Empire. Naturally it lays great emphasis on the Chistiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Firdausiyya and Kubrawiyya orders, but the contributions made by qalandars and legendary and semi legendary saints have also not been neglected.