Shrine Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sehwan Shareef, Sindh, Pakistan

Dargah_Hazrat_Shah_Abdul_Latif_Bhittai_ra

Dargha_Hadi_Hassan_Bux_Shah_Jilani_duthro_sharif

Sufism in Sindh covers the tradition of

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, which is reputed to be an area of

mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * ...

. Sindh is famous for the enormous number of saints and mystics who lived there and preached peace and brotherhood.Naz, H., D.R. (2015). Significance of the Malfuz Literature as an Alternative Source of History: A Critical Study on the Tadhkirat Al-Murad as the Earliest Malfuz Compiled in Sindh. Pakistan Historical Society. Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 63(2), 83-99. According to popular legend, 125,000 of them are buried on

Makli Hill Makli Necropolis ( ur, ; sd, مڪلي جو مقام) is one of the largest funerary sites in the world, spread over an area of 10 kilometres near the city of Thatta, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The site houses approximately 500,000 to ...

near

Thatta Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...

.Lal, Mohan.
Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: sasay to zorgot
'. Vol. 5. Sahitya Akademi, 1992. There is an abundance of Sufi literature produced in Sindh throughout history.

History

According to some scholars the original torch-bearer of Sufism in Sindh was the 13th century saint Usman Marwandi, also known as Lal Shahbaz. These scholars believe that Sufism arrived in Sindh via Herat, Qandhar and Multan. Sufism reached its zenith in Sindh in the 18th century through the poetry of saints such as

Shah Abdul Latif Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ( sd, شاھ عبداللطيف ڀٽائي, ur, ; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic, a ...

of Bhit and

Sachal Sarmast Sachal Sarmast or Sacho Sarmast ( sd, سچو سرمست (1739–1827), born Abdul Wahab Farooqi ( ur, عبد الوہاب فاروقی) was a prominent and a legendary Sindhi Sufi poet from Sindh (Mehran) in modern-day Pakistan. Biography Sach ...

of Daraz. The mystic Husain ibn Mansur al Hallaj who is credited with the utterance "Anal Haqq" (I am The Creative Truth) reached Sindh in 905, proceeding from Gujarat. He travelled extensively throughout Sindh and discussed theological matters with local sages. He inspired many poets and musicians in the region.

was one of the greatest admirers of Mansur Hallaj and pays homage to him in his poetry frequently.Annemarie Schimmel, ''Pearls from Indus'' Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan: Sindhi Adabi Board (1986). See pp. 5. According to Michel Boivin, music is inseparable from Sufi poetry in Sindh.Boivin, Michel. "Devotional Literature and Sufism in Sindh in the Light of Dr. NB Baloch's contribution." ''Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society'' 9.4 (2012): 13-23. Sufism's relationship with music is ancient in the Indus Valley and was due to Baha' al-Din Zakariyya, the Suhrawardi saint from Multan, and Muin al-Din Chishti, the founder of the Chishtiyyah order. Baha' al-Dïn Zakariyya's son-in-law, Shaykh Hamid al-Din Hakim was a teacher of Sindhi ''dhakirs'' (specialists in poetry). By the close of the 15th century, Sindhi dhakirs had earned acclaim in Mughal courts. The author of the

Akbarnama The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was ...

h wrote that the kafi music originated from Sindh. The art of 'musical narration' had received patronisation under the Surnrah dynasty of Sindh and was further developed and patronised under the Sammahs. The most renowned Sindhi genre of poetry is the ''kafi'' which, according to

Annemarie Schimmel Annemarie Schimmel (7 April 1922 – 26 January 2003) was an influential German Orientalist and scholar who wrote extensively on Islam, especially Sufism. She was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992. Early life and education ...

, is accompanied by instruments and is a vehicle of mystical songs. Shah 'Abd al-Latif is seen as the greatest renovator of Sufi music in Sindh. The most famous expression of Sufism in Sindh is found in the Risalo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. The philosophy of Persian poets deeply influenced Sindhi Sufistic thought and poetry. During Muslim rule in Sindh, the works of Rumi, Attar, Jami, Nizami Hafiz, Khayyam, Saadi and other poetic Persian mystics were keenly studied by both HIndu and Muslim scholars. Sachal was deeply influenced by Attar. Shah Abdul Latif was influenced by Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi. Suffism became a primary marker of Sindhi identity for both Muslims and Hindus.

History

See also

References

Further reading