Sufism in Punjab : Mystics, Literature and Shrines
Contents: Acknowledgements. Introduction/Surinder Singh and Ishwar Dayal Gaur. I. Sufi mystics: 1. Advent of Sufism in medieval Punjab: a narrative of its historical role/Iqtidar Husain Siddiqui. 2. Sons of bread and sons of soul : lineal and spiritual descendants of Baba Farid and the issue of succession/Tanvir Anjum. 3. Path of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya : a Contrastive model of mysticism/Humaira Arif Dasti. 4. Suhrawardi mysticism in South-Western Punjab : contribution of Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari Makhdum-i-Jahaniyan/Aneesa Iqbal Sabir. 5. A panoramic reconstruction of Sufism in the Jammu Hills/Jigar Mohammed. 6. Development of Qadiri mysticism at Lahore: principles and practices of Miyan Mir/Surinder Singh. 7. Role of Sufis and Bhaktas in North-Western India during the eighteenth century/Zahir Uddin Malik. II. Sufi literature: 8. Theory and practice of Islamic mysticism : an exposition by Ali bin Usman Hujwiri/Mohammad Tazeem. 9. Baba Farid : the pioneer of Punjabi Sufi poetry/Saeed Ahmad. 10. Authenticity of Malfuz literature : a case study of the Rahat-ul-Qulub/S.M. Azizuddin Husain. 11. Female voice in Punjabi Sufi poetry: its character and concerns/Ishwar Dayal Gaur. 12. Formation of Naqshbandi mysticism : studying the major writings of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi/Iqbal Sabir. 13. Some prominent strands in the poetry of Sultan Bahu/Tahir Kamran. III. Sufi shrines: 14. Early Sufi tombs in South-Western Punjab : understanding the architectural features/Subhash Parihar. 15. Some prominent Sufi shrines of South-Eastern Punjab : a study of their history and form/Hitender Kumar. 16. Shrine of Shaikh Sadruddin at Malerkotla : history, politics and culture/Salim Mohammed. 17. Devotional linkages of Punjab with the Chishti Shrine at Ajmer : gleanings from the Vikalatnamas/Syed Liyaqat Hussain Moini. 18. Historicity, orality and the \'Lesser Shrines\': popular culture and change at the Dargah of Panj Pir at Abohar/Yogesh Snehi. Appendix: Shrine of Miyan Mir at Lahore : a note from the Tahqiqat-i-Chishti/Surinder Singh. Index.
"The crystallization of the culture of Punjab began with the advent of Sufism. In due course, Sufism imbibed vernacularity of the region to such an extent that it permeated every aspect of the Punjabi lived experience. Unfortunately, Sufism remained marginalized in the historiography of Punjab, owing to the communitarian consciousness of the colonial period, the partition of the province in 1947 and the subsequent communal politics.
The present volume seeks to fill a major gap in the historical studies on Punjab. A collective endeavour of scholars from India and Pakistan, this anthology of 18 essays is organized in three sections that are devoted to Sufi mystics, Sufi literature and Sufi shrines. In a detailed introduction, the editors present a critique of the divergent approaches to Sufi studies from the early twentieth century to the present
The essays explore the methods adopted by the Punjab Sufis to popularize the mystic ideology and praxis in the medieval socio cultural milieu. These writings also delve into the different genres of Sufi literature, both in the elite and vernacular languages, with a view to appreciate the nuances of Punjab Sufism. Apart from the architectural features of the Sufi shrines, attempts have been made to illumine the organic linkages between these institutions and the Punjabis and, thus, to underscore the Sufic non communitarian devotion as a major ingredient of the Punjabi cultural fusion.
Characterized by an engagement with interdisciplinary tools of historical analysis, this volume is of interest to the students of history, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, literature and folklore." (jacket)
