This book recasts the history of Sufism in the Deccan and in India in general. Establishing the presence and active involvement of the Junaydi Sufis in the Deccan during the Bahmani period (1347-1538), contrary to established assumption that it was the Chishtis who spread Sufi teachings there. Two sacred scrolls of the seventeenth century from the private collection of a prominent Junaydi Sufi family of Bijapur, tracing its spiritual and family descent to Abul Qasim al-Junayd of Baghdad have also been produced. The scrolls contain extracts from an extinct fourteenth century text, Atwar al-abrar, by `Ayn al-Din Ganj al-`Ilm, revealing rich details on prominent Junaydis, including women Sufis.
This groundbreaking study does what scholars, including the late Annemarie Schimmel, of Harvard University, have long advocated-the need to unearth and study the hidden treasure trove of documents on the Deccan.
About the Author
Dr Mohammed Suleman Siddiqi, formerly Vice Chancellor of Osmania University, Hyderabad. An authority on the history of Sufism in the Deccan, he was earlier Chairman of the Department of Islamic Studies of the same University. At present, he is Professor of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Chair at Maulana Azad National Urdu University.
Professor Siddiqi's pioneering works include The Bahmani Sufis (1998), Index of Islamic Culture and a subject and author index of 50 volumes (1927-78) of Islamic Culture.
Loading...
