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MIGRANT SUFIS AND SHRINES: A MICROCOSM OF ISLAM INTHE TRIBAL STRUCTURE OF MIANWALI DISTRICT

Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 158 - 164, 22.04.2016

Saadia Sumbal

Abstract

This paper discusses the relationship between sufis and local tribal and kinship structures in the last half of eighteenth century to the end of nineteenth century Mianwali, a district in the south-west of Punjab. The study shows how tribal identities and local forms of religious organizations were closely associated. Attention is paid to the conditions in society which grounded the power of sufi and shrine in heterodox beliefs regarding saint’s ability of intercession between man and God. Sufi’s role as mediator between tribes is discussed in the context of changed social and economic structures. Their role as mediator was essentially depended on their genealogical link with the migrants. This shows how tribal genealogy was given precedence over religiously based meta-genealogy of the sufi-order. The focus is also on politics shaped by ideology of British imperial state which created sufis as intermediary rural elite. The intrusion of state power in sufi institutions through land grants brought sufis into more formal relations with the government as well as the general population. The state patronage reinforced their social authority and personal wealth and became invested with the authority of colonial state. Using hagiographical sources, factors which integrated pir and disciples in a spiritual bond are also discussed. This relationship is discussed in two main contexts, one the hyper-corporeality of pir, which includes his power and ability to move through time and space and multilocate himself to protect his disciples. The other is through dreams and visions, as an important aspect of Muslim religiosity.

Keywords: Mianwali, Sufism, Islamic Reformism, Khanqah, Shrine, Colonial

Keywords

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References

  • Ahmed, A. S. (2013). Islam in Tribal Societies: from the Atlas to the Indus (Vol. 18): Routledge.
  • Ansari, S. F. (1992). Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843-1947. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Arberry, A. J. (1950). Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam (Vol. 2). London: George Allen & Unwin.
  • Barth, F. (1965). Political Leadership among Swat Pathans. London: Athlone Press.
  • Bashir, S. (2011). Sufi Bodies: Religion and Society in Medieval Islam. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice (Vol. 16). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
  • Bruinessen, M. v. (2003). “Sufism and the 'Modern' in Islam”. ISIM Newsletter, 13, 1.
  • Clancy-Smith, J. A. (1994). Rebel and Saint: Muslim Notables, Populist Protest, Colonial Encounters (Algeria and Tunisia, 1800-1904) (Vol. 18). Berkley: University of California Press.
  • Dupree, L. (1973). Afghanistan. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Eaton, R. M. (1978). Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Eaton, R. M. (2003). India's Islamic Traditions, 711-1750. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Eickelman, D. F. (1989). The Middle East: An Anthropological Approach. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
  • Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books.
  • Gellner, E. (1969). Saints of the Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Gilmartin, D. (1988). Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan. London: I. B. Tauris & Co.
  • Green, N. (2003). “Migrant Sufis and Sacred Space in South Asian Islam”. Contemporary South Asia, 12(4), 493-509.
  • Green, N. (2003). “The Religious and Cultural Roles of Dreams and Visions in Islam”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 13(03), 287-313.
  • Green, N. (2004). “Stories of Saints and Sultans: Re-Membering History at the Sufi Shrines of Aurangabad”. Modern Asian Studies, 38(02), 419-446.
  • Green, N. (2008). “Tribe, Diaspora, and Sainthood in Afghan History”. Journal of Asian Studies-Ann Arbor-, 67(1), 171.
  • Green, N. (2011). Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, 1840–1915. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Green, N. (2012). Sufism: A Global History (Vol. 34). MA: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Griffin, L. H., Massy, C. F., Conran, W. L., & Craik, H. D. (1909). Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore: Printed at the Civil and military gazette Press.
  • Harder, H. (2011). Sufism and Saint Veneration in Contemporary Bangladesh: The Maijbhandaris of Chittagong. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor &Francis.
  • Haroon, S. (2011). Frontier of Faith: Islam, in the Indo-Afghan Borderland. London: Hurst Publishers.
  • Hoffman, V. J. (1995). Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press.
  • Katz, J. G. (1996). Dreams, Sufism, and Sainthood: The Visionary Career of Muhammad Al-Zawâwî (Vol. 71): Brill.
  • Kazmi, Shah, Masood. Tariq (2001). Sarzameen-e-Aulia Mianwali. District Mianwali Publishers.
  • Liebeskind, C. (1998). Piety on its Knees. Three Sufi Traditions in South Asia. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Metcalf, B. D. (1984). Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860-1900: Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Mianwali, District. (1915), Gazetteer. Lahore, Sang-e-Meel Publishers.
  • Nanda, B. N., & Talib, M. (1989). Soul of the Soulless: An Analysis of Pir-Murid Relationships in Sufi Discourse. Muslim shrines in India. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • O'Brien, A. (1911). “The Mohammedan Saints of the Western Punjab”. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 41, 509-520.
  • Pasha, M. K. (1998). Colonial Political Economy: Recruitment and Underdevelopment in the Punjab. Karachi: Oxford University Press, USA.
  • Pinto, D. (1989). The Mystery of the Nizamuddin Dargah: The Accounts of Pilgrims. Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History and Significance. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Robinson, F. (1983). ”Islam and Muslim Society in South Asia”. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 17(2), 185-203.
  • Robinson, F. (2008). “Islamic Reform and Modernities in South Asia”. Modern Asian Studies, 42(2-3), 259-281.
  • Rozehnal, R. (2007). Islamic Sufism Unbound: Politics and Piety in Twenty-First Century. Pakistan: Pelgrave, Macmillan.
  • Sumbal, Saadia, (2008). Tribal Configuration of Mianwali: A study in Colonial Dispensation, (Unpublished M-Phil thesis).
  • Shah, Alamgir (1999). Malfuzaat Maratib-e-Sultani. District Mianwali Publishers.
  • Troll, C. W., & Gaborieau, M. (2003). Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History and Significance. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Werbner, P., & Basu, H. (1998). Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality, and Performance of Emotion in Sufi Cults. Psychology Press.

Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 158 - 164, 22.04.2016

Saadia Sumbal

Abstract

References

  • Ahmed, A. S. (2013). Islam in Tribal Societies: from the Atlas to the Indus (Vol. 18): Routledge.
  • Ansari, S. F. (1992). Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843-1947. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Arberry, A. J. (1950). Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam (Vol. 2). London: George Allen & Unwin.
  • Barth, F. (1965). Political Leadership among Swat Pathans. London: Athlone Press.
  • Bashir, S. (2011). Sufi Bodies: Religion and Society in Medieval Islam. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice (Vol. 16). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
  • Bruinessen, M. v. (2003). “Sufism and the 'Modern' in Islam”. ISIM Newsletter, 13, 1.
  • Clancy-Smith, J. A. (1994). Rebel and Saint: Muslim Notables, Populist Protest, Colonial Encounters (Algeria and Tunisia, 1800-1904) (Vol. 18). Berkley: University of California Press.
  • Dupree, L. (1973). Afghanistan. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Eaton, R. M. (1978). Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Eaton, R. M. (2003). India's Islamic Traditions, 711-1750. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Eickelman, D. F. (1989). The Middle East: An Anthropological Approach. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
  • Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books.
  • Gellner, E. (1969). Saints of the Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Gilmartin, D. (1988). Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan. London: I. B. Tauris & Co.
  • Green, N. (2003). “Migrant Sufis and Sacred Space in South Asian Islam”. Contemporary South Asia, 12(4), 493-509.
  • Green, N. (2003). “The Religious and Cultural Roles of Dreams and Visions in Islam”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 13(03), 287-313.
  • Green, N. (2004). “Stories of Saints and Sultans: Re-Membering History at the Sufi Shrines of Aurangabad”. Modern Asian Studies, 38(02), 419-446.
  • Green, N. (2008). “Tribe, Diaspora, and Sainthood in Afghan History”. Journal of Asian Studies-Ann Arbor-, 67(1), 171.
  • Green, N. (2011). Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, 1840–1915. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Green, N. (2012). Sufism: A Global History (Vol. 34). MA: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Griffin, L. H., Massy, C. F., Conran, W. L., & Craik, H. D. (1909). Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore: Printed at the Civil and military gazette Press.
  • Harder, H. (2011). Sufism and Saint Veneration in Contemporary Bangladesh: The Maijbhandaris of Chittagong. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor &Francis.
  • Haroon, S. (2011). Frontier of Faith: Islam, in the Indo-Afghan Borderland. London: Hurst Publishers.
  • Hoffman, V. J. (1995). Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press.
  • Katz, J. G. (1996). Dreams, Sufism, and Sainthood: The Visionary Career of Muhammad Al-Zawâwî (Vol. 71): Brill.
  • Kazmi, Shah, Masood. Tariq (2001). Sarzameen-e-Aulia Mianwali. District Mianwali Publishers.
  • Liebeskind, C. (1998). Piety on its Knees. Three Sufi Traditions in South Asia. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Metcalf, B. D. (1984). Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860-1900: Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Mianwali, District. (1915), Gazetteer. Lahore, Sang-e-Meel Publishers.
  • Nanda, B. N., & Talib, M. (1989). Soul of the Soulless: An Analysis of Pir-Murid Relationships in Sufi Discourse. Muslim shrines in India. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • O'Brien, A. (1911). “The Mohammedan Saints of the Western Punjab”. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 41, 509-520.
  • Pasha, M. K. (1998). Colonial Political Economy: Recruitment and Underdevelopment in the Punjab. Karachi: Oxford University Press, USA.
  • Pinto, D. (1989). The Mystery of the Nizamuddin Dargah: The Accounts of Pilgrims. Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History and Significance. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Robinson, F. (1983). ”Islam and Muslim Society in South Asia”. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 17(2), 185-203.
  • Robinson, F. (2008). “Islamic Reform and Modernities in South Asia”. Modern Asian Studies, 42(2-3), 259-281.
  • Rozehnal, R. (2007). Islamic Sufism Unbound: Politics and Piety in Twenty-First Century. Pakistan: Pelgrave, Macmillan.
  • Sumbal, Saadia, (2008). Tribal Configuration of Mianwali: A study in Colonial Dispensation, (Unpublished M-Phil thesis).
  • Shah, Alamgir (1999). Malfuzaat Maratib-e-Sultani. District Mianwali Publishers.
  • Troll, C. W., & Gaborieau, M. (2003). Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History and Significance. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Werbner, P., & Basu, H. (1998). Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality, and Performance of Emotion in Sufi Cults. Psychology Press.
There are 42 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Saadia Sumbal

Publication Date April 22, 2016
Submission Date April 21, 2016
Published in Issue Year 2016Volume: 2 Issue: 4

Cite

EndNote Sumbal S (April 1, 2016) MIGRANT SUFIS AND SHRINES: A MICROCOSM OF ISLAM INTHE TRIBAL STRUCTURE OF MIANWALI DISTRICT. IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences 2 4 158–164.

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