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Sufi Literature As a Source of Social History: a Case Study of 14Th Century Text, Siyar Al-Awliyā

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Sufi Literature As a Source of Social History: a Case Study of 14Th Century Text, Siyar Al-Awliyā Sufi Literature as a Source of Social History: A Case Study of 14th Century Text, Siyar Al-Awliyā By Adeela Ghazanfar Department of History Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan 2019 Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan 2019 ii AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I Adeela Ghazanfar hereby declare that my PhD thesis titled “Sufi Literature as a Source of Social History: A Case Study of 14th Text, Siyar al-Awliyā” is the result of my own research and has not been submitted previously by me for taking any degree from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. At any time if my statement is found to be incorrect even after my Graduation the university has the right to withdraw my PhD degree. Adeela Ghazanfar September 05, 2019 iii SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the PhD. candidate Adeela Ghazanfar (Reg. No. 03121411001) has completed her thesis titled “Sufi Literature as a Source of Social History: A Case Study of 14th Century Text, Siyar Al-Awliyā” under my supervision. I recommend it for submission in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. Dr. Tanvir Anjum Tenured Professor Department of History Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. September 05, 2019 iv CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL This is to certify that the research work presented in this thesis, entitled “Sufi Literature as a Source of Social History: A Case Study of 14th Century Text, Siyar Al-Awliyā” was conducted by Ms. Adeela Ghazanfar under the supervision of Dr. Tanvir Anjum. No part of this thesis has been submitted anywhere else for any other degree. This thesis is submitted to the Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Field of History. Department of: History University of: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Student Name: Adeela Ghazanfar Signature: Examination Committee: External Examiner 1: Name Signature: a) (Designation & Office Address) External Examiner 2: Name Signature: a) (Designation & Office Address) Supervisor Name: Dr. Tanvir Anjum Signature: Name of HOD: Dr. Rabia Umar Ali Signature: v To AMMI AND ABBU vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my gratitude to the One who is the Most Beneficent, Altruistic and Merciful. Then I am grateful to many people who made it possible for me to complete my dissertation. At first, I cannot pay thanks to my kind supervisor, Dr Tanvir Anjum, for making my PhD an intense and deep learning experience for me. I thank her for being a wonderful and inspiring teacher and a dedicated historian. I thank her for telling me all the time how to find fun in academic work; truly, more drafts meant more fun. I also thank her for introducing me to the world of ‘medieval India, social history and Sufism’ when everybody around me is obsessed with political history. She not only made me work in a better way, but also worked really hard with me patiently, while checking my chapters more than thrice. Her office and drawing room at home are the two places where I have worked more than in my own room at hostel. I owe thanks to her family members too. Dr. Anjum proved to be a mentor, a friend and more than a family member. I am grateful to her for being my ‘guide’ in uncountable ways. I would like to pay thanks to all my teachers in the Department of History, Quaid- i-Azam University, Islamabad. Dr. S. Wiqar Ali Shah, Dr. Rabia Umar Ali, Dr. Ilhan Niaz, Dr. Fouzia Farooq, Dr. Fakhar Bilal for their support, especially Dr. Rabia for being positive and encouraging all the time. I am hugely indebted to Dr. Abdul Aziz Sahir, Chairperson, Urdu Department, Allama Iqbal Open University, for generously sharing Persian sources. I am grateful to Higher Education Commission (HEC) for awarding me a scholarship under IRSIP program, which enabled me to undertake doctoral fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. I am very thankful to Dr. Nile Green, Department of History, UCLA for guiding me in many ways. He sensitized me about historiographical traditions on Sufism. I am thankful to him for keeping my curiosity going and for being patient with all the my queries. He proved very helpful in introducing me to other historians and the faculty of Religious Studies, including Dr. Asma Saeed, Dr. Domenico Ingenito, Dr. Latifeh Hagigi at Near Eastern Language and Culture Department, Dr. Akhil Gupta at South Asian Studies, Dr. Sanjay Subrahmanyum, Dr. Vinay Lal at History Department for allowing me to audit their courses, and teachers vii at Persian Department UCLA, especially Dr. Banafsheh Pourzangiabadi, who became my inspiration to learn Persian with more vigour. I am also indebted to Dr. David Hirsch, Head of the South Asian Studies Department at Young Research Library (UCLA). I am also thankful to the library staff at UCLA who showed their kindness in providing me access to unaccessible sources. I am truly thankful to Prof. Carl W. Ernst, Dr. Marcia K. Hermensen, Dr. David Gilmartin, Dr. Bruce. B. Lawrence, Dr. Mathew A. Cook, and Dr. Scott Kugle who exchanged emails with me and guided me in many ways. I am also thankful to the teachers at Jamia’ al- Sadiq Trust, G-9/2 Islamabad, for helping me to learn Persian. It was an exhilarating experience for me to work with Persian textual material in original and it would not have been possible without their guidance. I am also indebted to LUMS for arranging ‘Persian Manuscript Reading Workshop’ where I learnt much in this regard. I owe special thanks to Dr. Sajjad Rizvi and Dr. Nandini Chatterji from University of Exeter, Dr Noor-Sobers- Khan at British Library, UK. I am also very thankful to other PhD fellows and friends from UK and India, Mr. Muhammad Atta, and Asad Irfan for sending and sharing various sources with me. I am thankful to the staff of the libraries I consulted which includes, Seminar Library at History Department, QAU, DRSM QAU, Islamic Research Institute (IRI), International Islamic University (IIUI), Library at National Institute for Historical and Cultural Research, Central Library AIOU, Islamic Studies library and Central Library at Bahauddin Zakariyya University, Multan, Punjab Public Library Multan, Bagh-i Lehnga Khan Library at Multan, Punjab University Library, Post-Graduate Library and Central Library, GC University, Lahore and Jamia Sadiq Trust Library, Islamabad, Powell Library and Charles E. Young Research Library (UCLA) for allowing me access to the material of my interest. Last but not the least, I am hugely indebted to my family for being the anchor in my life. I thank my Ammi, Abbu Ji, Syed Hassan Mehmood (Baba Jan) and Baji for believing in me and for telling me that I am doing excellent without ever reading a chapter and for just being there when I needed them. I am thankful to them for giving me liberty to focus only on my PhD without worrying about finances and other concerns. viii Furthermore, I truly have no words to pay thanks to my handful of true friends who were a constant source of love and support. They made sure that I do not become a recluse while working on this dissertation. I thank Ms. Ghazala Shaheen, Ms. Noureen Anwar, Ms. Saira Habib, Ms. Mareen Malik, Dr. Rahat Zubair, Ms. Sidra Arzoo, Ms Shamila Arooj, Dr. Sajid Awan, Dr. Muhammad Jamil, Mr. Habib Hassan, Mr. Hammad Hassan, Mr. Muttahir Malik for believing in me with their love and support. I take the opportunity to thank Faheem bhai, Arslan bhai for the many cups of tea and coffee, for their cheerful smiles. My special thanks are due to Zahid bhai in computer lab, Shehnaz in the library, staff in the History Office and Mr. Chanzeb for helping me in many ways. The responsibility of all the lapses in my work remain mine alone. Adeela Ghazanfar ix Abstract The historiographical writings produced by the court writers in medieval north India focused on lives of the sultans and their nobles, rebellions, military campaigns, conquests, and administration. This statist discourse represented elite culture and seems silent on the socio- cultural, socio-religious, spiritual and intellectual life of the common people. Resultantly, social history of medieval India remained an ignored area of study. Social history is interested in studying long-run trends and structures in society and culture. It focuses on experience rather than events or actions, while identifying patterns from daily life. Keeping this in view, the historiographical gap on social history of medieval India can be adequately filled by sufi literature and its varied genres. It can help construct a more informed view of social history of medieval India, with a particular focus on its ‘Indo-sufi culture’. The present research aims at emphasizing the significance of sufi literature in the historic literary traditions of South Asian history. It explores the formation and functioning of the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century north Indian society by utilizing tadhkirah literature with a particular focus on Siyar al-awliyā [Biographies of the Sufis] authored by Amir Khurd Kirmānī, a Chishtī adept, in 1361-64. Based on Siyar al-awliyā, the present study offers a vivid account of a diverse range of social, cultural, religious, intellectual, spiritual aspects of medieval India ranging from, but not limited to, the development of vernacular languages and dialects, place of women, Muslim education, food culture, dressing trends, building and construction, prevalent diseases, spiritual life, recognition of female spirituality, question of conversion, Hindu-Muslim relations, ‘ulema-sufi and khanqāh-madrassa dichotomies, curricula and scholarship, transmission of knowledge and methods of teaching, production of sufi and non-sufi literature, and issues, principles and writings on samā‘ or devotional sufi music.
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