Tracing origins: ‘Sindh practised Sufism much like the rest of the Muslim world’

Dr Boivin from Paris talks about the four orders of Sufism.


Our Correspondent September 25, 2013
A file photo of Baba Farid Pakpattan shrine.

KARACHI: Though there are no written accounts of the early days of Sufism in Sindh, it is believed that the principles were no different from those practised in other parts of the Muslim world, said Dr Michael Boivin, a research fellow at the Centre for Indian and South Asian Studies in Paris.

He was delivering a lecture on ‘Sufism in Sindh’ at a seminar organised by the Endowment Fund Trust in collaboration with the Mohatta Palace Museum on Tuesday. “All Sufis are not saints and all saints are not Sufis. It is difficult to understand Sufism as there are many factors to this particular ideology,” Dr Boivin said. He said that there were four ‘Silsila’ [order] of Sufism in Sindh, including the Soharwardia, Naqshbandi, Qadri and Chishti. Explaining the historical background of Sufism, Dr Boivin said that the Soharwardia order was the first to be introduced in the province. “It was closely associated with Delhi [Tughlaq dynasty].” Pir Patho, a Sufi saint in Thatta, is one of the examples of Soharwardia silsila in Sindh, he said.

“The Qadri and Naqshbandi orders were introduced in Sindh in the 16th century,” he traced. Giving the example of Sheikh Abdul Qadar Gilani [of the Qadri order] he said that meditation was a common practice among the followers of the order. “Ziker [meditation] is common practice in this order,” he said. “Music is a controversial issue in the Muslim world but followers of the Chishti Sufi order adopted it,” he said. Qawali, in this order, which is also famous in Europe today, somewhat restricted the spread of this particular Sufi order in Sindh, he explained. “This Sufi order was not popular in Sindh because of the music it ordained.”

“Sufism cannot solve issues at large but individuals can solve a lot of their problems by following its principles.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2013.

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