Sufism In India

Sufism is also known as Islamic mysticism. It deals with special powers that are mentioned in the Quran. It is a more philosophical approach, where a person tries to become one with nature and feel the power of God. A person who belongs to Sufism is called a Sufi. The word Sufi comes from the Arabic word ‘Suf’ which means wool. Sufism believed that the Quran and Hadith have secret meanings of mysticism. The word mysticism can be defined as the consciousness of the one reality, also called wisdom or love. Sufism has become widely popular in India for mystical practices and thoughts.

Sufism developed in the eighth and ninth centuries in three major places:

1) In the cities of Basra, Kufa, and Baghdad in Iraq.

2) In the city of Balkh in the Khorasan district of Persia.

3) In Egypt.

The origin of Sufism goes back to the Prophet Muhammad who received the Revelation known as the ‘Quran’. He is regarded as the first Sufi master who passed his mysterious teachings orally to his followers who also received his special grace or barakat (Armanios 1).

The Muslim shrine of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya is the famous Sufi saint of the chisti order in India. He was popularly known as Hazrat Nizamuddin. His shrine is located in Delhi, which is a popular attraction for Sufi followers. The devotees come from different part of the world for Ziyarat. The Ziyarat is something that people go to the saint’s grave and pray to give the soul peace. The devotees are not only Muslim but also Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. Sufis believed that if they pray to the saint, they could get closer to god and also cures many diseases or pains. For example, there’s a Baoli, a large well in the shrine where devotees go there and have a bath with that well water, as a saint’s karamat or blessings. Which shows the Nizamuddin’s living presence. “Muslim shrines in Indo-Muslim thought is the belief that they emanate the saint’s blessedness, a spiritual quality that survives after their death” (Saniotis 3). It is believed that saint’s blessed his devotees by full filling their desires and cures devotes with spiritual powers.

The second attracting Sufi shrine is the Hazrat Khwaja Garib Nawaz shrine, which is located in Ajmer, India.