The Mughals and the Sufis: Islam and the Political Imagination in India, 1500–1750

Description

Examines the relationship between Mughal political culture and the two dominant strains of Islam’s Sufi traditions in South Asia: one centred around orthodoxy, the other focusing on a more accommodating and mystical spirituality. Based on a critical study of a large number of contemporary Persian texts, court chronicles, epistolary collections, and biographies of sufi mystics, The Mughals and the Sufis examines the complexities in the relationship between Mughal political culture and the two dominant strains of Islam's Sufi traditions in South Asia: one centered around orthodoxy, the other focusing on a more accommodating and mystical spirituality. Muzaffar Alam analyses the interplay of these elements, their negotiation and struggle for resolution via conflict and coordination, and their longer-term outcomes as the empire followed its own political and cultural trajectory as it shifted from the more liberal outlook of Emperor Akbar "The Great" (r. 1556–1605) to the more rigid attitudes of his great-grandson, Aurangzeb 'Alamgir (r. 1658–1701). Alam brings to light many new and underutilized sources relevant to the religious and cultural history of the Mughals and reinterprets well-known sources from a new perspective to provide one of the most detailed and nuanced portraits of Indian Islam under the Mughal Empire available today. Muzaffar Alam is George V. Bobrinskoy Professor in South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books, including, The Languages of Political Islam: India 1200–1800 and The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and the Punjab, 1707–1748. Contents Preface and Acknowledgements 1 Introduction: A Long View of Sufism and Political Culture in India Tasawwuf in Mughal Society Eighteenth-Century Delhi Sufis in Nineteenth-Century North India Deoband Shaikhs and the Chishti–Sabiri Tradition The ‘Other’ in Indian Tasawwuf Modern Muslim Intellectuals and Tasawwuf Shibli Nu‘mani (d. 1914) Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) Conclusion 2 The Mughals, the Sufi Shaikhs, and the Formation of the Akbari Dispensation Introduction The Chishti Shaikhs, the Afghans, and the Mughals Naqshbandi Shaikhs and Timurids in Mawarannahr The Mawarannahri Shaikhs and the Early Mughals Akbar Encounters the Naqshbandis The Sufi Shaikhs and the Formation of the Akbari Dispensation The Return of the Naqshbandi Shaikhs Conclusion 3 A Sufi Critique of Religious Law, Tasawwuf, and Politics in Mughal India Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rahman Chishti’s Mir’at al-Asrar The “Religion” (Mazhab) of the Sufi The Debate on Religious Law and Tasawwuf The Naqshbandi View of Tasawwuf Chishti and the Mughal Rulers Towards a Redefinition of Tradition Conclusion 4 Shah Madar, Sufi Religion, and a View of “True Islam” in a Mughal Chishti Tazkira Shah Madar in Mughal Indian Tazkiras Bada’uni Shaikh ‘Abd al-Haqq Muhaddis Dehlavi, Akhbar al-Akhyar Muhammad Ghausi Shattari’s Gulzar-i Abrar Muhammad Sadiq, Tabaqat-i Shahjahani Shah Madar, the Saint of the Commoners: Dara Shukoh’s Safinat al-Auliya’ The Dabistan-i Mazahib (compiled around 1650) Conclusion of the Preliminary Survey of Sources ‘Abd al-Rahman Chishti’s Account of Shah Madar Shah Madar’s Early Years and First Exposure to Islam Two Tangential Discussions: Religious Differences and Sectarianism Shah Madar is Sent to Hindustan Shah Madar in Hindustan: Discourse on Samadiyat, Religious Knowledge, and Sufism Shah Madar, Sufism, and the Bani Isra’il in Awadh The Sufi’s Religion and the Question of “True Islam” Shah Madar’s Unique Death Concluding Remarks 5 Strategy and Imagination in a Mughal Sufi Story of Creation Introduction The Story The Story Retold in the Mir’at al-Asrar The Reception of the Story The Sufi Vision of Time: A Hundred Thousand Adams Polemics and Politics Conclusion 6 In Search of a Sacred King: Dara Shukoh and the Yogavasisthas of Mughal India The Yogavasistha The Persian Yogavasisthas The Yogavasistha of Nizam Panipati The Yogavasistha of Shaikh Qutb-i Jahani Abu al-Qasim Findiriski (d. 1640–1) The Yogavasistha in Persian as a Sufi Text Dara Shukoh’s Translation The Political Orientation of Dara Shukoh’s Text Dara’s Dream Reconsidered Conclusion 7 Piety, Poetry, and the Contested Loyalties of Mughal Princesses, c. 1635–1700 Introduction Jahanara Begum: An Introduction Jahanara’s Writings Jahanara: The Perfect Woman (insan-i kamil) Continuing as a Chishti Roshanara Begum: An Introduction Letters from Shaikh Saif al-Din to Roshanara Begum Zeb-un-nisa’ (1639–1701): An Introduction Conclusion Appendix: The Mujaddidi–Naqshbandi Shaikhs’ Letters to Zeb-un-nisa’ 8 The Naqshbandi Shaikhs of Sirhind in Aurangzeb’s Empire and Its Aftermath Introduction The Sirhindi Shaikhs and the Mughals Sufism and Shari‘a in the Sirhindi Shaikhs’ Tradition The Sirhindi Shaikhs’ Self-Image The Sirhindi Shaikhs and the Court Shaikh Saif al-Din (d. 1685) and Aurangzeb Shaikh Muhammad Naqshband (d. 1703), the Third Qaiyum, and Aurangzeb The Shaikh in the Waqa’i‘ of Ni‘mat Khan ‘Ali The Mujaddidis in Mughal Society The Controversy Around Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi’s Doctrine and Its Defence The Sirhindi Shaikhs and Their Followers in Early-Eighteenth-Century Delhi Summing up Conclusion Bibliography Index