Author: Nasir Raza Khan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100078519X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Sufism in India and Central Asia is an attempt to put into perspective the relevance of Sufism – the concept and teaching, and to provide a realistic assessment of its role in India and Central Asia. The people of these regions with different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and languages have been intermingling for many centuries, as seen in the cross-current exchanges of religious ideas and belief. The word Sufism, popularly known as mysticism is most likely derived from the Arabic word suf (meaning “wool”), more specifically it means “the person wearing ascetic woollen garments.” Sufism is deeply rooted in Islam and its development began in the late 7th and 8th centuries. The present volume is an attempt to look for answers to questions in relation to Sufism in India and Central Asia and to evaluate its relevance in the contemporary period. A group of distinguished scholars from India and Central Asia have contributed papers to this volume. This volume will be useful to students and researchers working on social and cultural aspects of India and Central Asia.
Sufism in Central Asia
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004373071
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
Sufism in Central Asia: New Perspectives on Sufi Traditions, 15th-21st Centuries brings together ten original studies on historical aspects of Sufism in this region. A central question, of ongoing significance, underlies each contribution: what is the relationship between Sufism as it was manifested in this region prior to the Russian conquest and the Soviet era, on the one hand, and the features of Islamic religious life in the region during the Tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras on the other? The authors address multiple aspects of Central Asian religious life rooted in Sufism, examining interpretative strategies, realignments in Sufi communities and sources from the Russian to the post-Soviet period, and social, political and economic perspectives on Sufi communities. Contributors include: Shahzad Bashir, Devin DeWeese, Allen Frank, Jo-Ann Gross, Kawahara Yayoi, Robert McChesney, Ashirbek Muminov, Maria Subtelny, Eren Tasar, and Waleed Ziad.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004373071
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
Sufism in Central Asia: New Perspectives on Sufi Traditions, 15th-21st Centuries brings together ten original studies on historical aspects of Sufism in this region. A central question, of ongoing significance, underlies each contribution: what is the relationship between Sufism as it was manifested in this region prior to the Russian conquest and the Soviet era, on the one hand, and the features of Islamic religious life in the region during the Tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras on the other? The authors address multiple aspects of Central Asian religious life rooted in Sufism, examining interpretative strategies, realignments in Sufi communities and sources from the Russian to the post-Soviet period, and social, political and economic perspectives on Sufi communities. Contributors include: Shahzad Bashir, Devin DeWeese, Allen Frank, Jo-Ann Gross, Kawahara Yayoi, Robert McChesney, Ashirbek Muminov, Maria Subtelny, Eren Tasar, and Waleed Ziad.
Sufism in India and Central Asia
Author: Nasir Raza Khan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100078519X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Sufism in India and Central Asia is an attempt to put into perspective the relevance of Sufism – the concept and teaching, and to provide a realistic assessment of its role in India and Central Asia. The people of these regions with different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and languages have been intermingling for many centuries, as seen in the cross-current exchanges of religious ideas and belief. The word Sufism, popularly known as mysticism is most likely derived from the Arabic word suf (meaning “wool”), more specifically it means “the person wearing ascetic woollen garments.” Sufism is deeply rooted in Islam and its development began in the late 7th and 8th centuries. The present volume is an attempt to look for answers to questions in relation to Sufism in India and Central Asia and to evaluate its relevance in the contemporary period. A group of distinguished scholars from India and Central Asia have contributed papers to this volume. This volume will be useful to students and researchers working on social and cultural aspects of India and Central Asia.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100078519X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Sufism in India and Central Asia is an attempt to put into perspective the relevance of Sufism – the concept and teaching, and to provide a realistic assessment of its role in India and Central Asia. The people of these regions with different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and languages have been intermingling for many centuries, as seen in the cross-current exchanges of religious ideas and belief. The word Sufism, popularly known as mysticism is most likely derived from the Arabic word suf (meaning “wool”), more specifically it means “the person wearing ascetic woollen garments.” Sufism is deeply rooted in Islam and its development began in the late 7th and 8th centuries. The present volume is an attempt to look for answers to questions in relation to Sufism in India and Central Asia and to evaluate its relevance in the contemporary period. A group of distinguished scholars from India and Central Asia have contributed papers to this volume. This volume will be useful to students and researchers working on social and cultural aspects of India and Central Asia.
Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia
Author: Hasan Lutfi Shushud
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620553627
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 179
Book Description
Reveals the secret teachings of the Khwajagan, the Masters of Wisdom of Turkish Sufism • Provides biographies for the entire lineage of teachers in the Naqshbandi order, such as Yusuf Hamdani, the first recognized Khwajagan, and Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, from whom the Naqshbandi order of Sufis took its name • Shows that this spiritual path focuses on expanding awareness of the heart to reach God-consciousness • An essential guide for understanding Itlak Yolu, the Sufi path of Absolute Liberation, and fana’, Annihilation in God Almost one thousand years ago a new and powerful nexus of spiritual transmission emerged in Central Asia and lasted for five centuries, reaching its culmination in the work of the Khwajagan, or “Masters of Wisdom.” Like the much earlier Rishi Pantha of India, these masters of Turkish Sufism were not renunciates but advocated maintaining an active connection with the world, including raising a family or running a business. They exerted a remarkable influence on the destiny of Central Asia, yet their chief significance lies in their almost unparalleled depth of spiritual perfection. Based on primary Persian and Turkish sources, the same texts used by the Sufi authority Idries Shah in his many books, Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia explores the entire lineage of teachers from this golden age of Islamic Sufism. Author Hasan Shushud provides brief biographies of each teacher, such as Yusuf Hamdani, the first recognized Khwajagan; Ahmad al-Yasavi, the father of Turkish Sufism; and Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, from whom the Naqshbandi order of Sufis took its name. He examines their spiritual journeys, their writings and teachings, and their most famous sayings, incorporating occasional parables to illustrate their wisdom. Shushud reveals how this spiritual path focuses on expanding awareness of the heart and how heart awareness is a prerequisite for divine contemplation and God-consciousness, for the heart is the manuscript within the body on which the infinite mysteries of the Godhead are recorded. An essential guide for understanding Itlak Yolu, the Sufi path of Absolute Liberation, and fana’ fi-llah, Annihilation in God, this book is an indispensable work for anyone interested in Sufism or the spiritual history of Central Asia.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620553627
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 179
Book Description
Reveals the secret teachings of the Khwajagan, the Masters of Wisdom of Turkish Sufism • Provides biographies for the entire lineage of teachers in the Naqshbandi order, such as Yusuf Hamdani, the first recognized Khwajagan, and Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, from whom the Naqshbandi order of Sufis took its name • Shows that this spiritual path focuses on expanding awareness of the heart to reach God-consciousness • An essential guide for understanding Itlak Yolu, the Sufi path of Absolute Liberation, and fana’, Annihilation in God Almost one thousand years ago a new and powerful nexus of spiritual transmission emerged in Central Asia and lasted for five centuries, reaching its culmination in the work of the Khwajagan, or “Masters of Wisdom.” Like the much earlier Rishi Pantha of India, these masters of Turkish Sufism were not renunciates but advocated maintaining an active connection with the world, including raising a family or running a business. They exerted a remarkable influence on the destiny of Central Asia, yet their chief significance lies in their almost unparalleled depth of spiritual perfection. Based on primary Persian and Turkish sources, the same texts used by the Sufi authority Idries Shah in his many books, Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia explores the entire lineage of teachers from this golden age of Islamic Sufism. Author Hasan Shushud provides brief biographies of each teacher, such as Yusuf Hamdani, the first recognized Khwajagan; Ahmad al-Yasavi, the father of Turkish Sufism; and Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, from whom the Naqshbandi order of Sufis took its name. He examines their spiritual journeys, their writings and teachings, and their most famous sayings, incorporating occasional parables to illustrate their wisdom. Shushud reveals how this spiritual path focuses on expanding awareness of the heart and how heart awareness is a prerequisite for divine contemplation and God-consciousness, for the heart is the manuscript within the body on which the infinite mysteries of the Godhead are recorded. An essential guide for understanding Itlak Yolu, the Sufi path of Absolute Liberation, and fana’ fi-llah, Annihilation in God, this book is an indispensable work for anyone interested in Sufism or the spiritual history of Central Asia.
Hidden Caliphate
Author: Waleed Ziad
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674248813
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 367
Book Description
Sufis created the most extensive Muslim revivalist network in Asia before the twentieth century, generating a vibrant Persianate literary, intellectual, and spiritual culture while tying together a politically fractured world. In a pathbreaking work combining social history, religious studies, and anthropology, Waleed Ziad examines the development across Asia of Muslim revivalist networks from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. At the center of the story are the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Sufis, who inspired major reformist movements and articulated effective social responses to the fracturing of Muslim political power amid European colonialism. In a time of political upheaval, the Mujaddidis fused Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and Indic literary traditions, mystical virtuosity, popular religious practices, and urban scholasticism in a unified yet flexible expression of Islam. The Mujaddidi ÒHidden Caliphate,Ó as it was known, brought cohesion to diverse Muslim communities from Delhi through Peshawar to the steppes of Central Asia. And the legacy of Mujaddidi Sufis continues to shape the Muslim world, as their institutional structures, pedagogies, and critiques have worked their way into leading social movements from Turkey to Indonesia, and among the Muslims of China. By shifting attention away from court politics, colonial actors, and the standard narrative of the ÒGreat Game,Ó Ziad offers a new vision of Islamic sovereignty. At the same time, he demonstrates the pivotal place of the Afghan Empire in sustaining this vast inter-Asian web of scholastic and economic exchange. Based on extensive fieldwork across Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan at madrasas, Sufi monasteries, private libraries, and archives, Hidden Caliphate reveals the long-term influence of Mujaddidi reform and revival in the eastern Muslim world, bringing together seemingly disparate social, political, and intellectual currents from the Indian Ocean to Siberia.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674248813
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 367
Book Description
Sufis created the most extensive Muslim revivalist network in Asia before the twentieth century, generating a vibrant Persianate literary, intellectual, and spiritual culture while tying together a politically fractured world. In a pathbreaking work combining social history, religious studies, and anthropology, Waleed Ziad examines the development across Asia of Muslim revivalist networks from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. At the center of the story are the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Sufis, who inspired major reformist movements and articulated effective social responses to the fracturing of Muslim political power amid European colonialism. In a time of political upheaval, the Mujaddidis fused Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and Indic literary traditions, mystical virtuosity, popular religious practices, and urban scholasticism in a unified yet flexible expression of Islam. The Mujaddidi ÒHidden Caliphate,Ó as it was known, brought cohesion to diverse Muslim communities from Delhi through Peshawar to the steppes of Central Asia. And the legacy of Mujaddidi Sufis continues to shape the Muslim world, as their institutional structures, pedagogies, and critiques have worked their way into leading social movements from Turkey to Indonesia, and among the Muslims of China. By shifting attention away from court politics, colonial actors, and the standard narrative of the ÒGreat Game,Ó Ziad offers a new vision of Islamic sovereignty. At the same time, he demonstrates the pivotal place of the Afghan Empire in sustaining this vast inter-Asian web of scholastic and economic exchange. Based on extensive fieldwork across Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan at madrasas, Sufi monasteries, private libraries, and archives, Hidden Caliphate reveals the long-term influence of Mujaddidi reform and revival in the eastern Muslim world, bringing together seemingly disparate social, political, and intellectual currents from the Indian Ocean to Siberia.
The Masters of Wisdom
Author: J. Bennett
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781720853787
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
"The Masters of Wisdom" is the last book to have been published during the John Bennett's lifetime, and is probably the most unusual, having little in common with his previously published works, except in serving a number of discrete objectives. Originally planned to be incorporated into a single volume to be entitled "Gurdjieff and the Masters of Wisdom" this work was separated from what became "Gurdjieff: Making a New World" which eventually was published a year earlier in 1973. In the last years of Bennett's life, he had been deeply affected by his close association with the Turkish mystic, Hasan Lutfi Shushud, and originally a contract was drawn up with a London publishing house for the combined work, in which both men were signed as joint authors. However, before anything was written, Shushud abruptly withdrew his support for the project, ostensibly on the grounds of a disagreement with the publishers. Only after Bennett's death in 1974, Shushud indicated privately that he found Gurdjieff's teaching and methods offensive. There is however some overlap between the two books, and "The Masters of Wisdom" draws on Gurdjieff's resources as well as material provided by Hasan Shushud. "The Masters of Wisdom" is unlike Bennett's other books not only in the way it is constructed, which appears to be somewhat out of balance, but also in the content. The first three chapters provide an overview of material presented 8 years earlier in the fourth volume of "The Dramatic Universe", of the Earth as single intelligent whole, in which humanity plays an increasingly active role and - must accept greater responsibility. These chapters provide an introduction to Chapter 4 which presents an account of the Christ Event not to be found anywhere else, and by Bennett's own account, arising out of insights vouchsafed to him privately by Gurdjieff. The next chapter serves as a bridge to the second major detailed message Bennett shares, which concerns the extraordinary period spanning at least 350 years, when a group of men within a single unbroken tradition played a pivotal and benign role in otherwise catastrophic events. It is not clear why Bennett devotes an entire chapter to Genghis Khan in a book entitled "The Masters of Wisdom" except that he appears to have been an exceptionally gifted individual whom Bennett apparently admired for his great self-control, and his willingness to accept guidance from a spiritual director. The researches Bennett completed in his last years led him to certain conclusions which may not have been fully expressed in this account. Unlike Bennett's other books, "The Masters of Wisdom" contains hidden messages, and also occult elements which are accessible to those able to access them. "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" and "The Dramatic Universe" showed the transformative power of books, but like "Meetings with Remarkable Men" this book imparts information which remains hidden except from those readers who find the key. The book is also unlike any of Bennett's other books in containing secret "magic" elements, opening mystical channels. Since the text was left unfinished when Bennett died, it is not possible to know for certain whether the message of the book is complete or would have included other material such as the very detailed accounts that Bennett gave to his student in the last months - the "esoteric phase" - of the Third Basic Course. Overall the message is of the planet we inhabit seen as a single indivisible whole, of which we human beings are an important element, but which is subordinate to the Cosmic forces.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781720853787
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
"The Masters of Wisdom" is the last book to have been published during the John Bennett's lifetime, and is probably the most unusual, having little in common with his previously published works, except in serving a number of discrete objectives. Originally planned to be incorporated into a single volume to be entitled "Gurdjieff and the Masters of Wisdom" this work was separated from what became "Gurdjieff: Making a New World" which eventually was published a year earlier in 1973. In the last years of Bennett's life, he had been deeply affected by his close association with the Turkish mystic, Hasan Lutfi Shushud, and originally a contract was drawn up with a London publishing house for the combined work, in which both men were signed as joint authors. However, before anything was written, Shushud abruptly withdrew his support for the project, ostensibly on the grounds of a disagreement with the publishers. Only after Bennett's death in 1974, Shushud indicated privately that he found Gurdjieff's teaching and methods offensive. There is however some overlap between the two books, and "The Masters of Wisdom" draws on Gurdjieff's resources as well as material provided by Hasan Shushud. "The Masters of Wisdom" is unlike Bennett's other books not only in the way it is constructed, which appears to be somewhat out of balance, but also in the content. The first three chapters provide an overview of material presented 8 years earlier in the fourth volume of "The Dramatic Universe", of the Earth as single intelligent whole, in which humanity plays an increasingly active role and - must accept greater responsibility. These chapters provide an introduction to Chapter 4 which presents an account of the Christ Event not to be found anywhere else, and by Bennett's own account, arising out of insights vouchsafed to him privately by Gurdjieff. The next chapter serves as a bridge to the second major detailed message Bennett shares, which concerns the extraordinary period spanning at least 350 years, when a group of men within a single unbroken tradition played a pivotal and benign role in otherwise catastrophic events. It is not clear why Bennett devotes an entire chapter to Genghis Khan in a book entitled "The Masters of Wisdom" except that he appears to have been an exceptionally gifted individual whom Bennett apparently admired for his great self-control, and his willingness to accept guidance from a spiritual director. The researches Bennett completed in his last years led him to certain conclusions which may not have been fully expressed in this account. Unlike Bennett's other books, "The Masters of Wisdom" contains hidden messages, and also occult elements which are accessible to those able to access them. "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" and "The Dramatic Universe" showed the transformative power of books, but like "Meetings with Remarkable Men" this book imparts information which remains hidden except from those readers who find the key. The book is also unlike any of Bennett's other books in containing secret "magic" elements, opening mystical channels. Since the text was left unfinished when Bennett died, it is not possible to know for certain whether the message of the book is complete or would have included other material such as the very detailed accounts that Bennett gave to his student in the last months - the "esoteric phase" - of the Third Basic Course. Overall the message is of the planet we inhabit seen as a single indivisible whole, of which we human beings are an important element, but which is subordinate to the Cosmic forces.
Light upon Light: Essays in Islamic Thought and History in Honor of Gerhard Bowering
Author: Jamal J. Elias
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004410120
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 487
Book Description
Light upon Light: Essays in Islamic Thought and History in Honor of Gerhard Bowering brings together studies that explore the richness of Islamic intellectual life in the pre-modern period. Leading scholars around the world present nineteen studies that explore diverse areas of Islamic Studies, in honor of a renowned scholar and teacher: Professor Dr. Gerhard Bowering (Yale University). The volume includes contributions in four main areas: (1) Quran and Early Islam; (2) Sufism, Shiʿism, and Esotericism; (3) Philosophy; (4) Literature and Culture. These areas reflect the enormous breadth of Professor Bowering’s contributions to the field over a lifetime of scholarship, teaching, and mentoring. Contributors: Hussein Ali Abdulsater, Mushegh Asatryan, Shahzad Bashir, Jonathan Brockopp, Yousef Casewit, Jamal Elias, Janis Esots, Li Guo, Matthew Ingalls, Tariq Jaffer, Mareike Koertner, Joseph Lumbard, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, Mahan Mirza, Bilal Orfali, Gabriel Reynolds, Nada Saab, Amina Steinfels & Alexander Treiger.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004410120
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 487
Book Description
Light upon Light: Essays in Islamic Thought and History in Honor of Gerhard Bowering brings together studies that explore the richness of Islamic intellectual life in the pre-modern period. Leading scholars around the world present nineteen studies that explore diverse areas of Islamic Studies, in honor of a renowned scholar and teacher: Professor Dr. Gerhard Bowering (Yale University). The volume includes contributions in four main areas: (1) Quran and Early Islam; (2) Sufism, Shiʿism, and Esotericism; (3) Philosophy; (4) Literature and Culture. These areas reflect the enormous breadth of Professor Bowering’s contributions to the field over a lifetime of scholarship, teaching, and mentoring. Contributors: Hussein Ali Abdulsater, Mushegh Asatryan, Shahzad Bashir, Jonathan Brockopp, Yousef Casewit, Jamal Elias, Janis Esots, Li Guo, Matthew Ingalls, Tariq Jaffer, Mareike Koertner, Joseph Lumbard, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, Mahan Mirza, Bilal Orfali, Gabriel Reynolds, Nada Saab, Amina Steinfels & Alexander Treiger.
Lecture Lahore
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Publisher: Islam International
ISBN: 1853729833
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 84
Book Description
Islam in Comparison with Other Religions of India, which is commonly known as Lecture Lahore, was written by the Promised Messiah(as) and read out before a large gathering in Lahore on 3rd September, 1904. This lecture contains a comparative study of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, and shows that the doctrines and practical teachings of Islam are superior to those of the other two religions. The Promised Messiah(as) says the reason for the deluge of sin in the present age is the lack of awareness about God, and this can be remedied neither by the Christian doctrine of Redemption nor by the teachings laid down in the Vedas. True and perfect awareness about God, which is only possible through direct communion with the Almighty, can only be attained through Islam, because all other religions have closed upon themselves the door to Divine revelation and communion.
Publisher: Islam International
ISBN: 1853729833
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 84
Book Description
Islam in Comparison with Other Religions of India, which is commonly known as Lecture Lahore, was written by the Promised Messiah(as) and read out before a large gathering in Lahore on 3rd September, 1904. This lecture contains a comparative study of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, and shows that the doctrines and practical teachings of Islam are superior to those of the other two religions. The Promised Messiah(as) says the reason for the deluge of sin in the present age is the lack of awareness about God, and this can be remedied neither by the Christian doctrine of Redemption nor by the teachings laid down in the Vedas. True and perfect awareness about God, which is only possible through direct communion with the Almighty, can only be attained through Islam, because all other religions have closed upon themselves the door to Divine revelation and communion.
Polymaths of Islam
Author: James Pickett
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501750259
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
Polymaths of Islam analyzes the social and intellectual power of religious leaders who created a shared culture that integrated Central Asia, Iran, and India from the mid-eighteenth century through the early twentieth. James Pickett demonstrates that Islamic scholars were simultaneously mystics and administrators, judges and occultists, physicians and poets. This integrated understanding of the world of Islamic scholarship unlocks a different way of thinking about transregional exchange networks. Pickett reveals a Persian-language cultural sphere that transcended state boundaries and integrated a spectacularly vibrant Eurasia that is invisible from published sources alone. Through a high cultural complex that he terms the "Persian cosmopolis" or "Persianate sphere," Pickett argues that an intersection of diverse disciplines shaped geographical trajectories across and between political states. In Polymaths of Islam he paints a comprehensive, colorful, and often contradictory portrait of mosque and state in the age of empire.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501750259
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
Polymaths of Islam analyzes the social and intellectual power of religious leaders who created a shared culture that integrated Central Asia, Iran, and India from the mid-eighteenth century through the early twentieth. James Pickett demonstrates that Islamic scholars were simultaneously mystics and administrators, judges and occultists, physicians and poets. This integrated understanding of the world of Islamic scholarship unlocks a different way of thinking about transregional exchange networks. Pickett reveals a Persian-language cultural sphere that transcended state boundaries and integrated a spectacularly vibrant Eurasia that is invisible from published sources alone. Through a high cultural complex that he terms the "Persian cosmopolis" or "Persianate sphere," Pickett argues that an intersection of diverse disciplines shaped geographical trajectories across and between political states. In Polymaths of Islam he paints a comprehensive, colorful, and often contradictory portrait of mosque and state in the age of empire.
The Millennial Sovereign
Author: A. Azfar Moin
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231504713
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 365
Book Description
At the end of the sixteenth century and the turn of the first Islamic millennium, the powerful Mughal emperor Akbar declared himself the most sacred being on earth. The holiest of all saints and above the distinctions of religion, he styled himself as the messiah reborn. Yet the Mughal emperor was not alone in doing so. In this field-changing study, A. Azfar Moin explores why Muslim sovereigns in this period began to imitate the exalted nature of Sufi saints. Uncovering a startling yet widespread phenomenon, he shows how the charismatic pull of sainthood (wilayat)—rather than the draw of religious law (sharia) or holy war (jihad)—inspired a new style of sovereignty in Islam. A work of history richly informed by the anthropology of religion and art, The Millennial Sovereign traces how royal dynastic cults and shrine-centered Sufism came together in the imperial cultures of Timurid Central Asia, Safavid Iran, and Mughal India. By juxtaposing imperial chronicles, paintings, and architecture with theories of sainthood, apocalyptic treatises, and manuals on astrology and magic, Moin uncovers a pattern of Islamic politics shaped by Sufi and millennial motifs. He shows how alchemical symbols and astrological rituals enveloped the body of the monarch, casting him as both spiritual guide and material lord. Ultimately, Moin offers a striking new perspective on the history of Islam and the religious and political developments linking South Asia and Iran in early-modern times.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231504713
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 365
Book Description
At the end of the sixteenth century and the turn of the first Islamic millennium, the powerful Mughal emperor Akbar declared himself the most sacred being on earth. The holiest of all saints and above the distinctions of religion, he styled himself as the messiah reborn. Yet the Mughal emperor was not alone in doing so. In this field-changing study, A. Azfar Moin explores why Muslim sovereigns in this period began to imitate the exalted nature of Sufi saints. Uncovering a startling yet widespread phenomenon, he shows how the charismatic pull of sainthood (wilayat)—rather than the draw of religious law (sharia) or holy war (jihad)—inspired a new style of sovereignty in Islam. A work of history richly informed by the anthropology of religion and art, The Millennial Sovereign traces how royal dynastic cults and shrine-centered Sufism came together in the imperial cultures of Timurid Central Asia, Safavid Iran, and Mughal India. By juxtaposing imperial chronicles, paintings, and architecture with theories of sainthood, apocalyptic treatises, and manuals on astrology and magic, Moin uncovers a pattern of Islamic politics shaped by Sufi and millennial motifs. He shows how alchemical symbols and astrological rituals enveloped the body of the monarch, casting him as both spiritual guide and material lord. Ultimately, Moin offers a striking new perspective on the history of Islam and the religious and political developments linking South Asia and Iran in early-modern times.
Studies on Sufism in Central Asia
Author: Devin DeWeese
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000950158
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
Studies on Sufism in Central Asia reproduces 12 studies which explore previously unstudied sources with an eye to identifying prominent developments in the social and organizational history of the major Sufi groupings of the region; The chronological range reflected in the studies included here runs from the 13th century to the 17th, with a somewhat uneven distribution between the earlier half of the period (13th-15th centuries, with six articles, Nos. II, IV, V, VII, VIII, and XI) and the later half (16th-17th centuries, with four pieces, Nos. III, IX, X, XII), and two studies (Nos. I and VI) spanning the entire period. In terms of specific Sufi traditions, the studies included here reflect DeWeese’s attention to groups and individuals that might be identified (despite the focus of some of his more recent work on questioning the use and meaning of such labels) as Kubravī, Yasavī, and KhwÄjagÄnī/Naqshbandī, with four studies focused entirely on ’Kubravī’ circles (Nos. I, II, V, XI), five on ’Yasavī’ subjects (Nos. III, VII, IX, X, XII), and one on the KhwÄjagÄn (No. VIII), as well as one dealing with Yasavī-Naqshbandī relations (No. VI) and another exploring a group that falls outside these labels (No. IV). KhwÄjagÄnī and Naqshbandī history has a strong ’background’ presence, nevertheless, in five other articles (Nos. I, III, IV, VII, and IX), reflecting the steady rise of the Naqshbandīya to predominance among Central Asian Sufi traditions.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000950158
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
Studies on Sufism in Central Asia reproduces 12 studies which explore previously unstudied sources with an eye to identifying prominent developments in the social and organizational history of the major Sufi groupings of the region; The chronological range reflected in the studies included here runs from the 13th century to the 17th, with a somewhat uneven distribution between the earlier half of the period (13th-15th centuries, with six articles, Nos. II, IV, V, VII, VIII, and XI) and the later half (16th-17th centuries, with four pieces, Nos. III, IX, X, XII), and two studies (Nos. I and VI) spanning the entire period. In terms of specific Sufi traditions, the studies included here reflect DeWeese’s attention to groups and individuals that might be identified (despite the focus of some of his more recent work on questioning the use and meaning of such labels) as Kubravī, Yasavī, and KhwÄjagÄnī/Naqshbandī, with four studies focused entirely on ’Kubravī’ circles (Nos. I, II, V, XI), five on ’Yasavī’ subjects (Nos. III, VII, IX, X, XII), and one on the KhwÄjagÄn (No. VIII), as well as one dealing with Yasavī-Naqshbandī relations (No. VI) and another exploring a group that falls outside these labels (No. IV). KhwÄjagÄnī and Naqshbandī history has a strong ’background’ presence, nevertheless, in five other articles (Nos. I, III, IV, VII, and IX), reflecting the steady rise of the Naqshbandīya to predominance among Central Asian Sufi traditions.