Table Of ContentARTHUR F. BUEHLER is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies
Emeritus at Victoria University of Wellington and Senior Editor
of the Journal of the History of Sufism. He is the author of
several books, including Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The Indian
Naqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh and
Revealed Grace: The Juristic Sufism of Ahmad Sirhindi, 1564–1624.
‘All too often students complain, after reading an introduction to Sufism,
that they have learned about historical developments and some major
Sufi figures and yet still know very little about what it truly means to be a
seeker on the Sufi path. Arthur F. Buehler’s new introduction offers astute
guidance for the reader embarking on a study of Islam’s major contem-
plative tradition.’
ELIZABETH SIRRIYEH, Senior Lecturer Emerita in
Islamic Studies, University of Leeds
‘This readable survey places contemplation and transformation at the
heart of Sufism, past and present. Based on deep familiarity with texts
and practices, Recognizing Sufism covers doctrines, teaching methods,
pilgrimages and politics, with an emphasis on the spiritual purpose of the
Sufi path. Erudite and engaging, Buehler’s book blends the scholarly and
personal with rare poise.’
NILE GREEN, Professor of History, UCLA, author of
Sufism: A Global History
RECOGNIZING
SUFISM
CONTEMPLATION IN THE ISLAMIC
TRADITION
Arthur F. Buehler
In memory of
Annemarie Schimmel
(1922–2003)
Scholar of heart
Published in 2016 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London • New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright © 2016 Arthur F. Buehler
The right of Arthur F. Buehler to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part
thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book.
Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
ISBN: 978 1 84885 789 6 (HB)
978 1 84885 790 2 (PB)
eISBN: 978 0 85772 981 1
ePDF: 978 0 85772 783 1
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham NR21 8NN
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vi
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction: Sufism, Sufis and Transformation 1
1 Qur’an, Transformative Practices and the Discipline of
Sufism: 700–1000 30
2 Institutionalization of Sufi Practice 65
3 Sufi Shrines: Down-to-earth, Day-to-day, Devotional Sufism for
the Masses 89
4 Sufi Authority and Politics 122
5 The Relationship between the Shaykh and the Seeker 141
6 Sufi Varieties of Transformative Practice: Transformation of the
Ego-Self 161
7 Two Contemporary Women Sufi Teachers 189
Afterword: Future Scenarios for Sufi Practice – Guesses for the
Twenty-first Century 211
Notes 216
Suggested Reading 227
Bibliography 230
Index 236
ILLUSTRATIONS
0.1 Portrait of a qalandar, Timurid, late ninth/fifteenth century. 8
1.1 Qur’an (2:4–20) written in Naskhi script by Hasan ibn Ahmad
al-Qarahisari (d. 1556, Turkey) for the Ottoman Sultan Salim II. 49
2.1 A tree of sufi lineages, beginning at the bottom with Allah,
the angel Gabriel, Muhammad and the first four caliphs, and
culminating at the top with the Sanusiyya lineage. 74
2.2 Mevlevi lineage records of dervishes in the Yenikapı sufi lodge
associated with Ali Nutki Dede (d. 1804), with the dates of their
1001-day retreat. 75
3.1 Artist unknown. Photocopy of a calendar, 1994. 91
3.2 Artist unknown. Calligram. 92
3.3 Elimane Fall. Amadu Bamba and khassaid (a litany to
remember God), c.2000. 93
3.4 Serigne Batch. Shirt covered with calligraphy and khatems
(devotional prayers), late twentieth century. 94
vi
ILLUSTRATIONS
3.5 A modern rendition of La‘l Shahbaz Qalandar in ecstasy,
depicted in a sufi poster available at the shrine (in author’s private
collection). 102
3.6 Modern government-constructed shrine of Data Ganj Bakhsh
(‘Ali Hujwiri, d. c.1075) in Lahore, Pakistan (in author’s private
collection). 105
3.7 Mihr ‘Ali Shah and his tomb, as depicted in a poster available at
the shrine (in author’s private collection). 107
3.8 A Qur’anic board and the qalam, or sacred pen, 1990s. 109
3.9 Tomb of Abu Bakr Haydari-Qalandari in Delhi. 112
3.10 The Wali Songa as wayang puppet figures (in author’s private
collection). 115
4.1 Haci Bektash Vali, who talked with deer and rode on lions
(in author’s private collection). 127
4.2 Haci Bektash Vali’s tomb in Haci Bektash, Turkey (in author’s
private collection). 128
6.1 The Mujaddidi path. 171
6.2 Three Mevlevi conical hats. 175
6.3 Three turbans on tombstones. 176
6.4 A Shamsi crown-hat, said to be like that of Shams-i Tabrizi,
which can be traced back to Central Asia (Konya Mevlana Museum). 176
6.5 Early twentieth-century photo of Mevlevi dervishes in front of
a water fountain alongside the Galata Mevlevi sufi lodge in Istanbul. 177
vii
ILLUSTRATIONS
6.6 Interlaced letters ‘Ya Hazret-i Mevlânâ’ (O holy presence of
Mevlana), forming a conical hat. 178
6.7 Front entrance to the Galata Mevlevi sufi lodge, early twentieth
century. 181
6.8 The Mevlevi-presiding shaykh, sitting on the sheepskin with the
dervishes on his left. 182
6.9 A seventeenth-century artist’s depiction of the Galata Mevlevi
sufi lodge, with dervishes ‘turning towards God’. 183
6.10 A contemporary view of the ceremony of turning towards
God, seen from above. 184
6.11 A miniature painting depicting Rumi’s ecstatic encounter with
Salahuddin Zarkub, a goldsmith and Rumi’s future son-in-law, as he
was beating the gold. 185
6.12 ‘Ya Hazret-i Mevlânâ, quddus Allah sirrahu’ (O holy presence
of Mevlana, may God bless his inner heart). Calligrapher: Ömer
al-Mevlevi. 186
7.1 Cemalnur Sargut. 191
7.2 Nahid Angha (photography by Gay Block). 201
viii
PREFACE
books introducing the subject of sufism would benefit from
having detailed labels, just like processed food. A reader has the right
to understand the background of the author, whether academic or sufi.
The first step in this direction is authorial transparency. The second is for
the author to be sceptical about what he thinks he knows. This writer is
not a sufi, yet is writing about sufis after working with sufis and reading
hundreds of books on sufism over the past 25 years. This is akin to
someone who sits with people drinking wine in taverns all over the world
and who has read hundreds of catalogues and descriptions of wine, but
who has never really tasted wine except accidentally a few drops here and
there.
It is only recently that I have begun to realize the importance of self-
disclosure. My first book, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet, written as a pre-tenured
assistant professor, deliberately omitted some background details, both for
personal reasons and for the safety of readers, because it was (and still is)
physically dangerous, especially for foreigners, to visit those discussed in the
text. Often there are other good reasons for not revealing one’s collaborators
because sufi activity is more than frowned upon in some countries and may
even result in jail sentences. In my last book, Revealed Grace, I became
over-zealous about self-disclosure and was kindly reminded by Professor
Chodkiewicz that his reference to the initiatory robe of Ibn al-‘Arabi was
necessarily non-specific in order to protect one of his colleagues.
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