Biographical Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia

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A Sufi's quest for spiritual identity is distinguishable from the external scholars ('ulama-i-zahiri), radical reformers, politico-religious activists and average Muslims whose belief in the fundamentals of Islam in a given religious environment is simply literal or even superficial in certain cases. Central to this difference of approach is the Sufi's life-long concern to conquer his self for the greater spiritual and ethical good of humankind than the mere pragmatic and worldly concerns of the 'ulama in relation to the Shari'ah.

Without dramatizing divide between Shari'ah and Sufism, unlike orientalism, this dictionary intrinsically portrays the abiding contribution of numerous Sufis of South Asia to Islam and history. Definitive and interpretative, it lends a certain degree of objectivity to the supernatural role that characterizes the historical personalities listed in it.

The work is based on research spanning a period of 27 years, both in India and abroad. Besides Persian sources, in manuscript and printed form, their Urdu translations, wherever available, have been used carefully in conjunction with the original. This dictionary may, then, be the first to provide succinctly and objectively a fairly comprehensive account of the Sufis, recorded in various historical sources, in just one volume. The author takes special care to highlight how certain religious traditions were adapted by the Sufis to the larger framework of Sufism without violating the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

This work is an antidote to the tarnished image of Islam in the aftermath of 9/11.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mohammad Ishaq Khan

Formerly Professor and Head of the Department of History, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Dean Academic at Kashmir University, Mohammad Ishaq Khan is presently Director, Centre for Kashmir Studies at the same university. Awarded the Senior Leverhulme Research Fellowship by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in 1992, his several publications including Perspectives on Kashmir: Historical Dimensions (1983); Kashmir's Transition to Islam: The Role of Muslim Rishis (1994, 1997, 2002, 2005), and Experiencing Islam (1997) have been well received in academic circles throughout the globe. His already published three seminal research articles concerning Islam and Kashmir have been reprinted recently by Oxford University Press in its prestigious publication: India's Islamic Traditions, 711-1750 (Ed. Richard M. Eaton), Religious Movements in Northern India (ed. David Lorenzen) and India's Religions (ed. T.N. Madan). His monumental work: Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia is print.