Knowledge before Action

Amina M. Steinfels

Description

In Knowledge before Action, Amina M. Steinfels examines medieval Sufism and its place in Islamic society by telling the story of the life and career of Sayyid Jalal al-din Bukhari, a revered figure in Pakistan. Considered one of the most important Sufi masters of South Asia, Sayyid Jalal al-din Bukhari, more popularly referred to as Makhdum-i Jahaniyan, is known for combining spirituality and scholarship in a formative period for Sufism. Steinfels assembles the details of Bukhari's life from records of his teachings, dynastic chronicles, and correspondence to discover how he achieved his status and laid the groundwork for a devotional cult that has lasted seven centuries. Steinfels also examines Bukhari's theories of the relationship between scholar and mystic. Bukhari's teachings provide windows into the underlying concerns and themes of medieval Sufism.

Knowledge before Action describes Bukhari's training as a scholar and a Sufi, his exercise of religious authority over his disciples, and his theories of the relationships between saint and shaykh. Knowledge before Action discusses ritual and contemplative practices, the economic bases of Sufi institutions, and the interconnectedness between Sufi masters, the 'ulama, and the political authorities by telling the story of Bukhari.

Sujets

• Sufi
• Philosophie et théologie
• Pájaro diablo
• Infiel
• Jeque
• Sufismo
• Exégesis
• Kashf
• Husayn
• Tahajjud
• Exegesis
• Supplication
• Sheikh
• Ulama
• Scholasticism
• Sufism
• Soufisme
• Pok-ta-pok
• Religion
• Responsa
• Saleh
• Islam
• First Things
• Silsila
• Tariqa
• Kafir
• Hussein
• Fiqh
• Sayyid
• Rite

Informations

• Publié par: University of South Carolina Press
• Date de parution: 05 novembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781611171945
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The text of Knowledge before Action contains European diacritics, as well as, extensive use of non-standard diacritics that aren t available in many font families. It is recommended that you view this book using the Publisher Defaults setting on your e-reader.
Knowledge before Action
Studies in Comparative Religion Frederick M. Denny, Series Editor
Knowledge
before Action
Islamic Learning and Sufi Practice in the Life of Sayyid Jal l al-d n Bukh r Makhd m-i Jah niy n
Amina M. Steinfels
2012 University of South Carolina
Published by the University of South Carolina Press Columbia, South Carolina 29208
www.sc.edu/uscpress
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Steinfels, Amina M.
Knowledge before action : Islamic learning and Sufi practice in the life of Sayyid Jal l al-d n Bukh r Makhd m-i Jah niy n / Amina M. Steinfels.
p. cm. - (Studies in comparative religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61117-073-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Makhd m Jah niy n Jah n Gasht, Jal ludd n, d. 1383. 2. Sufis-Biography. 3. Muslim scholars-Biography. 4. Sufism-History. I. Title.
BP80.M29S74 2012
297.4092-dc23
[B]2011048947
ISBN 978-1-61117-194-5 (ebook)
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Series Editor s Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction
Part One The Education of a Sufi Shaykh
One Initiation into the Sufi Path
Two Pilgrimage and Travel
Part Two Teaching and Practice
Three Book-Learning and Islamic Law
Four Ritual and Practice
Five Money, Non-Muslims, Women, and Saints
Part Three Served by the Inhabitants of the World
Six A Public Figure
Seven Legacy
Conclusion
Appendix A: Jal l al-d n Bukh r s Khirqa s
Appendix B: The Malf t of Jal l al-d n Bukh r
Appendix C: Works Attributed to Jal l al-d n Bukh r
Appendix D: Ta kira Entries on Jal l al-d n Bukh r
Appendix E: Jal l al-d n Bukh r s Bibliography
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
Maps
South Asia
Jal l al-d n Bukh r s Travels
Tables
Table 1: Genealogy of the Bukh r Sayyids
Table 2: Books Read under Bukh r s Supervision
Table 3: Suhraward Khirqa s from the Shaykhs of Multan and Uch
Table 4: Suhraward Khirqa s from the Shaykhs of Hejaz, Yemen and Iran
Table 5: Suhraward Khirqa from Am n al-d n al-Baly n
Table 6: Chisht Khirqa s
Table 7: Kubraw Khirqa s
Table 8: Q dir Khirqa s
Table 9: K zar n Khirqa s
Table 10: Rif Khirqa s
Table 11: Ahistorical or Miraculous Khirqa s
SERIES EDITOR S PREFACE
This is the first ever critical academic evaluation of a figure exceedingly significant for understanding Islamic intellectual history in South Asia, according to a distinguished scholar of Sufism in an external review of the manuscript as it was being considered for publication. Another leading scholar s external review stated that the main contribution of this work to the field is twofold: (1) it provides a detailed and richly textured portrait of a major Sufi figure of South Asia on the basis of careful and searching analysis of appropriate primary sources, and (2) it offers the readers quite possibly the most focused and comprehensive glimpse into the daily lives of institutionalized Sufis of the medieval period that I have read. Once published, this will easily become one of the major go-to works for anyone interested in social, economic, political, and especially ritual aspects of Sufism of the early Middle Period (roughly the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries). This is quite an accomplishment, and the manuscript makes a key contribution to scholarship on this score.
It is always a delight for a series editor to read supportive external reviews of proposed manuscripts that are based on rigorous analysis and profound understanding of what the author has been aiming to achieve. The main title phrase, Knowledge before Action, clearly characterizes both the great Sayyid Jal l al-d n Bukh r s dedication to disciplined and thorough study leading to action in his context as a major Sufi master and the author s rigorous and extensive research, which one reader characterized as exceptionally thorough, both in terms of her coverage of all the relevant dimensions of Bukh r s long life and career as a Sufi master and in her thorough attention to all previous scholarship on the topic. This final comment particularly applies to her productive use of hitherto unutilized or underutilized primary sources on this major Sufi master, as the reviewer concludes.
This book fills a huge gap in our understanding of Islam and Muslims, and particularly Sufi Muslims in South Asia during the period when al-Bukh r (1308-1384) was a principal player there.
It stands as a solid companion to a range of excellent works on Islam and Muslims that have been published over the past quarter century in this series.
Frederick M. Denny
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my profound thanks to my mentor, Professor Gerhard B wering, for his guidance, encouragement, and generosity, without which this project would have foundered long ago. Jamal J. Elias introduced me to the academic study of Sufism more than twenty years ago, and I am deeply grateful that he has continued to be my teacher, friend, and colleague.
This project has benefited greatly from the comments, criticism, and conversation of my colleagues in the fields of Islamic studies and South Asian studies, especially Shahzad Bashir, Kavita Datla, Tariq Jaffer, Suleiman Mourad, Andy Rotman, and Walid Saleh. My colleagues in the Religion Department at Mount Holyoke, Jane Crosthwaite, Larry Fine, John Grayson, Susanne Mrozik, Michael Penn, and Susan Rusiecki, have been unstinting in their support and encouragement. I owe a debt of gratitude to them as well as to many other faculty, staff, students, and colleagues at Mount Holyoke College, Yale University, Amherst College, Gettysburg College, and the Five Colleges consortium.
I would like to thank the Urdu Pundit at the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras; Mrs. Tanvir Fatima and Mrs. Rafat Rizwana at the Andhra Pradesh Government Oriental Library, Hyderabad; Dr. Muhammad Hussain Tasbihi and Dr. Muhammad Mehdi Tavasoli at Kit bkh na-yi D t Ganj-bakhsh, Islamabad; and the librarians at the Punjab University Library, Lahore; Yale University Library; Musselman Library at Gettysburg College; the British Library; and the Mount Holyoke College Library. My research in South Asia would not have been possible without the generous hospitality and practical assistance of Dr. T. J. Jayaraman and Tara Srinivasan in Chennai. Research at the British Library was supported by a grant from Mount Holyoke College. Shaji Ahmed kindly helped me with the maps. Kristin Hansen spent many hours working on the formatting. I am very grateful to the anonymous scholars who carefully read an earlier draft of this manuscript and provided extremely insightful and useful comments. I would also like to thank Bill Adams, Jim Denton, and the University of South Carolina Press.
I am grateful to my parents, Jane Steinfels Hussain and Faheemullah Hussain, and my brother, Nadeem Hussain (and Pauline Larmaraud), for their support, their interest in my work, and their constant willingness to discuss and debate religion, South Asia, and Islam. My late father facilitated my research in Pakistan and India, and his company (and that of Sara Monticone) enlivened my ziy rat to Uch Sharif. My mother, herself an expert in South Asian history, took time out of her busy schedule (with Al Levenson s help) to read and comment on portions of this work. My uncle, Martin Steinfels, and my dearest friend, Francis Gu vremont, read and re-read many early drafts and came to know more than they ever dreamed possible about medieval Sufism. Their insightful comments and questions kept alive my own interest in the project. My friends, Shana Brown, Herschel Farbman, Dan Friedman, Adinah Miller, Jenny Robertson, and Jackie Urla, have challenged me, entertained me, fed me, and generally preserved my sanity.
NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION
Persian, Arabic, and Urdu words have been transliterated according to the following chart. Arabic words used in Persian texts have been transliterated as Persian. Apostrophes have been used to distinguish some aspirated consonants in Urdu words such as Lak hnaw . Words appearing in the Oxford American Dictionary have not been transliterated nor italicized but I have retained the ayn ( ) in words such as Shi a.
Transliteration Chart
Introduction
Sufis tell stories. They tell stories to teach moral points or religious ideas, they tell stories of the pious or miraculous actions of past saints, and they tell stories of their own journey on the Sufi path. Anecdotes, myths, fables, hagiography, and personal reminiscences are all constant features of Sufi teaching. It is fitting, therefore, to explore medieval Sufism and its place in an Islamic society by telling a story, the life story of a Sufi master (a shaykh , to use the Arabic word, or a p r in Persian). This book is a critical retelling of a formative period in Sufism in the form of a biography of one individual, Sayyid Jal l al-d n Bukh r (1308-1384). Bukh r , a shaykh of the Suhraward order, is widely known in Pakistan today as Makhd m-i jah niy n Jah ngasht (served by the inhabitants of the world, world-traveler), and his tomb in the Punjabi town of Uch attracts a constant stream of pilgrims. As part of his instruction of students and disciples, Bukh r told and retold ep