Shiʿi Islam and Sufism: Classical Views and Modern Perspectives

Description

Offering new perspectives on the relationship between Shiʿis and Sufis in modern and pre-modern times, this book challenges the supposed opposition between these two esoteric traditions in Islam by exploring what could be called “Shiʿi Sufism” and “Sufi-oriented Shiʿism” at various points in history. The chapters are based on new research in textual studies as well as fieldwork from a broad geographical areas including the Indian subcontinent, Anatolia and Iran. Covering a long period stretching from the early post-Mongol centuries, throughout the entire Safawid era (906–1134/1501–1722) and beyond, it is concerned not only with the sphere of the religious scholars but also with different strata of society. The first part of the volume looks at the diversity of the discourse on Sufism among the Shiʿi “ulama” in the run up to and during the Safawid period. The second part focuses on the social and intellectual history of the most popular Shiʿi Sufi order in Iran, the Ni'mat Allahiyya. The third part examines the relationship between Shiʿism and Sufism in the little-explored literary traditions of the Alevi-Bektashi and the Khaksariyya Sufi order. With contributions from leading scholars in Shiʿism and Sufism Studies, the book is the first to reveal the mutual influences and connections between Shiʿism and Sufism, which until now have been little explored. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page The Institute of Ismaili Studies Shi'i Heritage Series Contents Contributors Acknowledgements Transliteration and Dates Abbreviations Introduction New Perspectives on Imami Shii–Sufi Relations in the Modern and Pre-Modern Periods NOTES PART ONE ALTERNATIVES TO ANTI-SUFI DISCOURSE IN PRE-MODERN AND MODERN HII LITERATURE 1 The Defence of Sufism among Twelver Shii Scholars of Early Modern and Modern Times: Topics and Arguments Introduction The Tradition of Reconciliation and its Representatives History-Based Argumentation: The Masters of Sufism as Disciples of the Shii Imams The Conceptual Argumentation: The Triad of the Law, the Path and the Truth The Linguistic Argumentation: The Analogy of Imams’ and Sufis’ ‘language-games’ Conclusion NOTES 2 The Limits of ‘Orthodoxy’? Notes on the Anti-Abū Muslim Polemic of Early 11th/17th-Century Iran Setting the Stage: The 10th/16th-Century Attacks on Abū Muslim The Growing Urban Polemic Sahīfat al-rashād (A Page of Good Sense) Izhār al-haqq wa mi'yār al-sidq (The Demonstration of the Correct and the Measure of the Truth) The Second fasl The Third fasl Khulās at al-fawāid (Summary of the Useful Lessons) Additions to the Historical Narrative Sources Brought to Light Marshalling the hadīth New Light on the Contemporary Discourse Summary and Conclusions NOTES PART TWO THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF A SHII SUFI BROTHERHOOD: THE NIMAT ALLĀHIYYA 3 Between the Spiritual and Material: The Nimat Allāhī Order’s Institutionalisation and Architectural Patronage in the 9th/15th Century Shrines and khānaqāhs of the Nimat Allāhī Order under the Patronage of the Timurids and Bahmanids Institutionalisation of the Nimat Allāhī Sufi Order: Challenges Negotiations: The Role of Shāh Khalīl Allāh Shāh Ni`mat Allāh and the Sunni-Shii Dichotomy Architectural Institutionalisation and the Financial and Educational Agenda of the Order The waqf-nāmahs Final Remarks: The Heterogeneous Processes of Institutionalisation and the Function of the Shrine at Mahan NOTES 4 The mujaddid and the majdhūb: Shāh Alī Ridā (d1215/1801) and the Different Narratives of the Nimat Allāhī Renewal The Nimat Allāhīs in the Deccan Environment Shāh `Alī Ridā and the Nimat Allāhī Revival Concluding Remarks NOTES 5 The Institutionalisation of Nimat Allāhī Sufism during the Pahlavi Era: A Study of the Establishment of the Husayniyya Amīr Sulaymānī as a waqf in Tehran1 Introduction to the Social and Doctrinal History of the Nimat Allāhī Sulān `Ali Shāh The Principal Characteristics of the Nimat Allāhī Sultān Alī Shāhī Study of the Amīr Sulaymānī waqf in Tehran Concerning the Rituals of the Nimat Allāhī Sult ān Alī Shāhī Concerning the Hierarchy of the Nimat Allāhī SultānAlī Shāhī Recent Developments of the Husayniyya Amīr Sulaymānī Conclusion NOTES 6 Text and Contest: Theories of Secrecy, taqiyya and Archiving Practices in 20th- and 21st-Century Nimat Allāhī Sufism Theories of Secrecy in Nimat Allāhī Sufism Understanding taqiyya: Theories of Secrecy in Twelver Shiism Tactics for the Maintenance of Secrecy The Cultivation of Private Archives The Emergence of the Digital Archive Persistent Archives NOTES PART THREE RELATIONS BETWEEN SHI ISM AND SUFISM IN OTHER SUFI LITERARY TRADITIONS 7 Sufism and Shiism in South Asia: shahādata nd the Evidence of the Sindhi marthiya Historical Context The Rawd at al-shuhadā and the Issue of Martyrdom in 18th-Century Sindhi Literature Sur Kedāro as the Matrix of the Sindhi marthiya The marthiya as a Genre of Sindhi Poetry Sachal Sarmast and the Junction of usayn’s shahā dat with the Sufi Figure of the Martyr Mīrzā Qalīch Beg and the Final Bridging of Shiism and Sufism Conclusion NOTES 8 Red Sulphur, the Great Remedy and the Supreme Name: Faith in the Twelve Imams and Shii Aspects of Alevi-Bektashi Piety Introduction Sources A Brief Historical Framework: The Rise of the Faith in the Twelve Imams in the Ottoman Realm Ahl al-bayt and Twelve Imams as the Core of Faith Ahl al-bayt as the Cause and Primordial Essence of Existence The Twelve Names as Intercessors The Superiority of the Imams over the Prophets Superiority of the Prophetic Descent Conclusion NOTES 9 The Khāksār Shii Sufi Order: An Updated Introduction The Manuscript Corpus Origins and Practices The Khāksār Groups NOTES 10 Ajam Sufis and Shii Spirituality in 19th-Century Iran Introduction Shiism: The Ajam and Twelver Shiism Origin of the `Ajam and its Shii Orientation `Ajam and Shii Pilgrimage The Sufi Nature of Wasīlat al-najāt The `Ajam and sukhanwarī Conclusion Appendix: Contents of Wasīlat al-najāt NOTES 11 Two Khāksār Treatises of the 19th Century The Fourteen Families (Chahārdah khānawādah) Introduction by Mihrān Afshārī1 The Fourteen Families (Chahārdah khānawādah ) The Booklet of Poverty (Risāla-yi faqriyya)63 Introduction by Mihrān Afshārī64 The Booklet of Poverty (Risāla-yi faqriyya) Explication of the Cloak NOTES Index of Names and Subjects