Written by: Dr Tanvir Anjum
Posted on: May 16, 2019 | 
| 中文
Moinuddin Chishti, saint of the Chishti Sufi Order
Spirituality as a universal phenomenon imparts recognition of and relationship with a Supreme incorporeal Being, higher than ourselves. Many great religious traditions of the world embrace varied forms of spirituality. In Islam, this spiritual or mystical tradition is referred to as Sufism, while its affiliate, referred to as a sufi, is a person who enjoys a special proximity with the Supreme Being owing to his/her self-purification and self-discovery. The sufis have often been credited with the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam, but the phenomenon of conversion denies any simplistic explanation. The early orientalist writings mistakenly portray sufis as ‘missionaries’ or proselytizers of Islam, who converted non-Muslims to Islam in large numbers. This sufi-missionary equation first appeared in Thomas W. Arnold’s The Preaching of Islam, published in 1896, wherein the role of the sufis was perceived through the lens of Christianity. The sufi groups, understood as ‘missionaries’ of Islam, were compared to Catholic missions in Christianity. It must be borne in mind that the latter were purpose-specific groups with the mission or goal of conversion to Christianity. However, historically speaking, it would be erroneous to assume that conversion to Islam was a one-point agenda of the sufis like the missionaries. Their chief goal was to create an enhanced awareness of, and connection with, Allah -- the Supreme Being among the people, transforming them to become better human beings in every respect. The same holds true for the sufis in varied parts of the world.
The sufis in medieval India were not always consciously, intentionally and directly involved in the process of conversion. As a matter of fact, their views were not homogenous on the question of conversion. For instance, those who were affiliated with the Naqshbandiyya and Suhrawardiyya Silsilahs or spiritual orders, were generally more inclined to conversion, but their modus operandi was subtle. They did not believe in use of force for conversion purposes. Instead their approach was characterized by direct, though gentle, way of persuasion. Contrarily, the sufis belonging to the Chishtiyya and Qadiriyya Silsilahs were not generally very enthusiastic about converting non-Muslims to Islam. Many of them did not even consider conversion to Islam as a pre-requisite for an individual’s spiritual development and salvation. Transcending religious exclusivism, they recognized multiplicity of views and believed in accommodation of differences. Ontologically speaking, these sufis considered the ‘Universal Truth’ or the ‘Reality’ as essentially One, expressed and articulated in multiple ways by the adherents of varied faiths. Their role in conversion was more implicit as well as indirect, as many non-Muslims got converted to Islam without being persuaded, after getting impressed by the sufis’ moral exemplariness and high ethical ideals which they translated into practice.
The phenomenon of conversion to Islam cannot be understood without reference to the notion of vernacularization of Islam. Arabia is traditionally considered the heartland of Islam, from where Islam is believed to have originated. Islam spread outside Arabia, resulting in mass conversions of local population in Persia in the East, Byzantium in the North, and North Africa in the West. To these fresh converts in these diverse regions, Islam as a faith promised enough flexibility and accommodation to be adjusted in their respective socio-cultural backgrounds. Consequently, universal principles and practices of Islam notwithstanding, many of its beliefs and practices were vernacularized and contextualized in specific time and space. Localized forms and expressions of Muslim piety emerged in these regions. Owing to the regional, geographical and cultural variations, diverse manifestations of Islam in beliefs, thoughts and practices could be seen in these regional settings. In other words, the indigenous social and cultural traditions came to be well-reflected in the beliefs and practices associated with Islam. Historically, in Muslim societies, the sufis have been viewed as the agents of vernacularization of Islam through varied means and at varied levels. In medieval India, it was primarily the sufis associated with the Chishtiyya and Qadiriyya Silsilahs who made conscious attempts to present Islam in a locally accessible idiom, to which the non-Muslims, overwhelmingly Hindus, could relate their belief-systems, cosmology, and day-to-day practices.
In this regard, one major contribution of the sufis in medieval India, as elsewhere in the Islamicate world, was the production of religious literature in vernacular languages and dialects, which challenged the Arabo-Persian linguistic hegemony represented by the socio-cultural and religious hegemony of ulama or the religious clerics. These ulama, having elitist cultural orientation, were conventional in their religious outlook, and had not allowed the local languages to become the vehicle for dissemination and diffusion of Islam. Islam in its Arabo-Persian linguistic and cultural cast failed to get any meaningful response from the common people. Contrarily, the sufis depended less on Arabic and Persian for the popularization of the message of Islam, and instead chose vernacular languages and dialects such as Hindavi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Balochi, Kashmiri, Gujrati, Marathi, Bengali, etc. for this purpose. For instance, the very idea of rendering of the Quran, the holy scripture of the Muslims, in a language other than Arabic, in which it was originally revealed, was not acceptable to the traditionalist ulama. The resulting lack of intelligibility of the Quran had seriously thwarted its understanding by the common people not conversant with Arabic. Moreover, it had created a monopoly of the ulama over the production of meaning, and further strengthened their religious authority, and socio-cultural influence. In medieval India, this ‘Brahmanization’ of the Quran created by the ulama was challenged by the sufis, who despite criticism and condemnation, translated the word of God into local languages, which enabled the dissemination of the message of Islam among local people, and eventually played a key role in conversion. Similarly, this message was also spread through vernacular poetry on sufi themes by these sufis, which are still sung by all irrespective of faith. Such vernacularization of the message of Islam greatly facilitated its diffusion and eventual acceptance at mass level in India.
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