Sufi Martyrs of Love The Chishti Order in South Asia and Beyond

by Ernst, Carl W.; Lawrence, Bruce B.

• ISBN13: 9781403960276
• ISBN10: 1403960275
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-04
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Sufism is a religion which emphasizes direct knowledge of the divine within each person, and meditation, music, song, and dance are seen as crucial spiritual strides toward attaining unity with God. The Chishti Sufi order has been the most widespread and popular of all Sufi traditions since the twelfth century. Sufi Martyrs of Love offers a critical perspective on Western attitudes towards Islam and Sufism, clarifying its contemporary importance, both in the West and in traditional Sufi homelands. Finally, it provides access to the voices of Sufi authorities, through the translation of texts being offered in English for the first time.

Author Biography

Carl W. Ernst is Zachary Smith Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of Teachings of Sufism; The Shambhala Guide to Sufism; and Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center.

Bruce B. Lawrence is the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion at Duke University. He is the author of Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence; New Faiths, Old Fears: Muslims and Other Asian Immigrants in American Religious Life; and the translation of Morals for the Heart: Conversations of Shaykh Nizam ad-Din Awliya.

Table of Contents

Figures	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	1	(10)
What is a Sufi Order?	11	(16)
The Core Chishti Practices	27	(20)
The Art of Ancestry	47	(17)
The Chishti Masters	64	(21)
Major Chishti Shrines	85	(20)
Colonial Chishtis	105	(24)
Modern Day Chishtis	129	(18)
Appendix: The Earliest Chishti Masters: Anniversaries and Select Biographies	147	(42)
A Chishti Calendar of Saints' Death Anniversaries
Major Chishti Masters
Regional Chishti Masters
Notes	189	(20)
Bibliography on the Chishtiyya: European Language Sources	209	(14)
Select Bibliography on the Chishtiyya: Persian and Urdu Sources	223	(14)
Index of Names and Glossary of Terms	237