Annemarie Schimmel - Islam in India and Pakistan (1982)

ISLAM IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN
Ongin.al from
ogtiz o Gocgle UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
INSTITUTE OF RELIGIOUS ICONOGRAPHY
STATE UNIVERSITY GRONINGEN
ICONOGRAPHY OF RELIGIONS ·
EDITED BY
TH. P. VAN BAAREN, L. P. VAN DEN BoSCH, L. LEERTOUWl!R, F. LEEMHUIS

and H. BUNINC {Secrelary)
SE CTION XXII: ISLAM
FASCICLE NINE
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1982
Digitized by Google Original from

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ISLA M
IN INDIA A ND PAKISTAN
ANN EM ARIE ~C H I MM E L
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'JfNTfO IN TH.I N n 'Hll LANDS
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CONTENTS
-...--.
' Foreword. . . . • • Vil
...,.- Reading Suggestions. • • • • IX
,
I ' Introduction . . . • • • I
.. .- Catalogue of Illustrations .
. Plates I-XLVIII
20
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Digitized by Google UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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-
FOREWORD
This book forms, in a certain sense, a companion volume to my contribution I slam

;,. the /11dian S"bcontinent in the Ha11dbr<ch d~r Orientalistik, Leiden 198o. In collecting
the material for this booklet , the problems connected with the compilation of a very brief,
sketchy survey of Indo-Pakistani Islam proved even greater than in the text volume.
For to represent the manifold aspects of Indian Islam as it developed during a period of
1300 years in areas so diflercnt as Kashmir and Bengal, Sind and Tamilnadu is next to
impossible, all the more, as conflicting trends of adaptation to and separation from the
culture of the Hindu neighbours have always shaped the history of Indian Islam. Further·
more, black and white photographs cannot possibly catch the colorful- in the true sense
of the word I-world of Subcontinental Islam. Thus, this volume is not more than a modest
introduction to what appears to me as some particularly outstanding aspects of Islam
in India and Pakistan as they manifest themselves in the life of the Muslims as well as
in their art. Perhaps one day it will be possible to produce something like a continuation,
in grand style, of Hermann Goetz's Bilderallas zur Kulturgeschichte Indiens. In preparing
this small volume I have enjoyed the help of many friends and colleagues as well as in·
stitutions in Europe and the USA as well as India and Pakistan. I have to express my
gratitude to the following individuals and institut ions who provided me with photographs
and permitted me to publish them, or simply answered my questions:
Mr. S. A. Ali, Director, The Indian Institute of Islamic Studies, Delhi; the Archeological
Survey of India, Nagpur, and particularly its head epigraphist, Dr. z. A. Desai ; Mr.
Athaullah, Hyderabad A.P.; Mr. Edwin Binney 3rd, San Diego, Calif.; the Bodleian
Library, Oxford; the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin; the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard
University, Cambridge, Mass.; the Freer Gallery of Art, \Vashington D.C.; Professor Dr.
Klaus Fischer, Bonn; Dr. Eberhard Fischer, Rietberg-Muscum, Zurich; Professor Dr.
M. Hamidullah, Paris; The India Office Library and Records, London; Begum Shayeste
Ikramullah, Karachi; the Khudabakhsh Public Library and its director, Dr. Bedar,
Patna; the late Mr. M. G. Konieczny, )funich; Dr. Gulshan Khakec, Santa Monica,
Calif.; Dr. Jan Marek, Prague; the L. A. Mayer Memorial Museum, Jerusalem; Dr.
Elizabet h Merklinger, Ottawa ; Shri Jagdisb Mittal, The Jagdish and Kamala Mittal
Museum, Hyderabad A.P.; the Ministry of Information, Government of Pakistan, Islama·
bad and the Pres.• Attache of the Embas.•y of Pakistan in Bonn, Mr. Munir Ahmad Sheikh;
the Museum fiir Islamische Kunst, Staatliche Museen Berlin (East); the Naprstek Museum,
Prague; the National Museum, Karachi; Professor K. A. Nizami, Aligarh; Mrs. Samina
Quraeshi, Newton, Mass.; Pir Sayyid Hussamuddin Rashdi, Karachi; the Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam; the John Rylands Library, Manchester and in particular Dr. Frank Taylor;
the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad A.P.; the Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz,
Berlin, especially Dr. Dieter George; Dr. David Shulman, Jerusalem; the Victoria and
Albert Museum, London; Dr. Andreas Volwahsen, Bonn; and the \Vallers Art Gallery,
Baltimore. Or. Ziauddin Ahmad Shakeb, Hyderabad A.P., opened to me many doors of
Original from
VUI t' OREWORD
Sufi khanqiihs in the Deccan. My special thanks are due to Stuart Cary Welch, Fogg Art
Museum and Metropolitan Museum New York, for constant encouragement and in-
spiration.
Bonn-Cambridge, Mass., January 1981 ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL
Original from
READING SUGGESTIONS
AHMAD, Aziz:, StwdUs i• Islamic Cwlltue i" IM Indian E flvi,.Oftntn&l, Ox.ford 1964.
- - . AN t·,.ullectwal History of ls/a,,, i" Indio, Edinburgh 1968.
- - and G. E. VON CHUWF.BAU M (ed$.), J\1uslirn Sel/-Statem1nl i" India attd Pakisla• , 1857-1968,
Wiesbaden 1970.
AHMAD, lmtiat (ed.), Fat1tily, Ki'll.Sltip, atsd f.fa,-,iag1 Onwtfl Indian Mu.slim$, Delhi 1976.
ARNOLD, Sir Thomas, Tlte Pf'1acJ1ing of I slam . .A History of the fwopagation of tM Mu.slim faith, London
1896, 2nd. ed. 1913, repr. Lahore s.d. (ca. 1950).
- - , "Saints, 1'fuhammadan, in India", in Hastings' £ neyclcptdia of R1ligi<>11 and Ethics, Vol. XI,
68-73.
BADA ' UNI, 'Abdulqadir ibn ?tfuluk Shah, Jl,f wnlakltab 4l•lawdr'IRll, ed. W . Nassau Lees, Maulwi Kabirud·
din and !.laulwi Ahmad Ali, Calcutta 1864-69, transl. Vol. I by G. Ranking, Vol. II by W. H . Lowe,
Vol. Ill by T. W. Haig, Calcutta 1884-1925, repr. Deihl 1973.
BEACH, Milo C., TA1 Wairut J\fopl. Imperial PaiJtJing in Indio 16oo-166o. Williamstown, Ma.s.'i. 1978.
B1NN£Y, JRD, Edwin, India,. l\{inialtwl Pai"'int from 1111 Colkdi01t of E .B .: The J\fugW a..d Deccani
Stl1ools, Portland Art ~lu~um, Portland. Oregon 1974.
B u SSAGL1, ~fario. Indian Miniah4,.es, London· New York 1969 (transl. of: La mini°"4f'a Indiana,
Milan 1966).
C HOPRA, N . P .. Life a"d Ulkrs urukr the .'doglsuJt, Delhi 196s.
CouSl!.NS, H enri, Bijaf"Ut' and its Of'tliile&.twf'al f'en&aifl,.f, witll 111' Aistorical O"Wllim of tM Adil SliaAi
Dyna.sty (Arch. Survey of India), Bombay 1916, repr. 1976.
- - . TA• A "'jqvitiu of Siftd (Arch. Survey of India), Calcutta 1929.
CROOKE, \Villiam, An Introduction to Poj>wlar RtligU,.,. a"4 FolkUw1 in N<WIAe,.,. India, '1 vols., Allaha·
bad 1894, repr. Delhi 1968.
DANI, Ahmad H .. MU5li'" .A,.thiletl1're iN Bengal, Dacca 1961.
DESAI, Ziauddin A .• Mosqt4eS of India, (Ministry of Information), Delhi 1966.
- , Studie1 i11 Indian E'f>igraplay, 3 vols.. 1-fysore 1975.78.
EATON, Richard M .. Su/is of Bijapur, Princeton 1978.
ETTtl'iGHAUSBN, Richard, PaiJtJings of tJw Sulla,.s and Emper<Ws of lttdia i11 Amwiu11 Coll"'i"""·
(Lalit Kala Academy) Bombay 1961.
- . "The Emperor's Choice", in M. Meiss (ed.), De Arlib-Ms Qpusculo XL, Essays in Hon<W of Ef'tVi11
PanofsAy, New York 1961.
FISCHER, Klau_,, D4clan. Declte11 ""d Gew6lb~ indiscAw Kwll$tallnt wNd Nw.tr~. Wiesbaden 1974.
- und Christa-Friederike F'lSCHER, INdiscA1 BatUrwf&SI islamiscAw Zeil, Baden-Baden 1976.
FUHRER, A .• The SAarqi 11,chiteelvre of ]aunp-ur (Arch. Survey of India), Calcutta 1889.
GASCOIGNE:, Bamber, TM G1'tat hfogliuls, London 1971 (a popular but well·researched book with fine
pictures).
Goan, Hermann, 8ilder411a.s '"" Kwllw,.ge$t.laiehU lndieN.$ i?I de,. GroPmogJiuluit, Berlin 1930.
Gutscuow, Niels und Jan P1BP!:R, l'IUIUn, Du1\lont Kun.'Ot· Reisefilhrer, K61n 1978.
HOLLISTER, John N .. Tiu Slaia of India. London 1953.
HUSAIN, A. B. M., The Mateiro i11 !Mio, Dacc:a 1970.
IKRAM, Shaikh 1.fuhammad, J\{uslim Ciuilieali0?1 i,. India , ed. A. T. Embree, New York, Columbia
University Press, 1964.
jA>vAR SHARIF and G. A. HF.RKLOTS, Islam i11 India, ed. William Crooke, London 1921, repr. 1972.
jAKANGtR, Emperor, The Tweuk·i jah4,,glri, <W Memoi's of jaha11gir, ed. by H. Beveridge and transl.
by A. Rogers, London 1909-14, repr. Delhi 1978.
KONlBCZNY, M . G ., "Unbeachtetc muslimische Kultstiitten in Pakistan", Boessler-Af't1'io, XXIV,
1976, pp. 1<)6°215.
L\W"RENCI!:, Bruce B ., No.Us from a di$lo?1t Flw.11. Moj<W Featwrt$ of Swfi Litnatu,., i,. p ,, .,11,fwglaaJ
/Mia, London-Tehran 1978.
MF.F.R HASAN ALT, 1.lrs.. Obsnvation.$ ow llf1 Mwssulmaun.$ of India, 2 vols .• London 1832, repr. 1973·
MARSHALL, D. N .• Mwglla.ls in India: a Bibliograpllical Sv"1ty, Bombay 1967.
llf•s•A, Rekha, w....,. in MuchaJ lftdU., Delhi 1967.

x READING SUGGESTIONS
MUJBllB, M., Tlta India11 Muslims, Montreal·Loodon 1969.

- -, Islamic l#fluence on Indian Society, Mecrut 1972.
NJZAMI, Khaliq Ahmad, so,ne Aspects of Religit>n and Politi(;.$ .. ,. I ndio dMring the ,,,,,,,enllt ''"'"''Y·
Bombay 1961, 2nd. ed. 0.lhi 1974.
PINDER-WILSON, Ralph (ed.), Pai11ti"Gs f rom Islam ic Lands, Oxford 1969 (abbrev, PIL).
QuRAESHI, Samina, Legacy of the Indus, New York. \Veatherbill, 197<4·
QuR£SHI, lshtiaq Husain, Tlte Muslim Comn1u nity of Ille lndo-Pakista" Subcont inent, s'Cravcnhage
1963.
Sctt1MMEL. Annemarie, Pakistan--ein ScltloP mil tauseJUi ToYen , ZUrich 1965.
- - , Afystical Dimensions of Islam, Chapel Hill 1975 (German edit. Aalcn, Qalandar-Vcrlag, 1980).
- , Islam in the Indian Subco-nlintnl (Ha.ndbucb der Orientalistik, 2 . Abt. IV Bel., 3. Abscbnitt),
Leiden t980.
S11ARAR, 1\bdul Halin1, Luc.Jtnow. The Last Phase of an Oriental CuUure, London 1975,
SH&RWANI, Haroon Khan. Mu~ammad·Qull (Ju/b$hah, 1--ounder of Haidnabod. 1-..ondon 1967.
STCH<'>UKI N£. Ivan, /11inia lures lndien ·n es du 1\1usle du Louvre, Paris 1919.
Sueu,\!", John A .• Sufism, it.s $Oints and shrines, 2nd. ed. Lucknow IC){)().
SUFI, B. rtt. O., Ka$hi,., bei11g a History of Kashmi,., 2 ,·ol~ .. Laho re 1949, repr. Delhi 1974.
TITUS, ~furray , Islam ;,. India and Pakista,., 2nd. ed., Calcutta 1959.
VoLWAHSEN, Andreas, lslamis,hes lndUn (\Veltkulturen und Baukunst} P..ICinchen 1969,
WELCH, Stuart Cary, Tiie A rl of J\1wgltal I ndia. Pa1'.nling$ and Pt'ecious objects, New York 1964 (abbrev.
AM!).
- . A Fl<>wef' from evny Mtadow. Indian Paintings fron1 An1erican Collections with contributions
b)• Mark Zebrov.•ski. (The As-ia Societ)·) Ne~· York 1973.
- , Indian Drawings and painted Sketches. Nev.· York 1976.
- -, Room Jo,. Wondtt', lnd1'an Painting duri ng the Brffi$1r Period 176o-188o (The American Federation
of Arts) Kc''' York 1978.
- , lmpe,.ial Mughal Pafnling, New York 1977 (abbrev. IMP).
- - and J\1ilo C. BRACH, G014, Thrones a1'd P~acocAs, Nev.· '\'ork 1965.
\\'P.Ll.E Ct, Emmy, Akbar's Religious Thought as Re//t(,trd in /11ughaJ Pllinlint. London 1952.
YAZDANI, Chulam, 8idar. Its Histof'y and ft.fon umrnts. London 1947.
ZAJ AOACZ-HASTl!NRATH, Salotnc, Chawhhandi-G,.dlHr. Stwdien etw Grabk"nst i11 Sind t.tnd BalueJafstan,
Wiesbaden 1978.
Further literature is gi,·cn \\'ith the description of the plates.

Fi1. r
INTIWDUCTION
lsbm in the Inda-Pakistan Suhcootinent is an extffinely coml'lex phenMlenon. It ha,,
de\•clopffi o•·er a"l~n olalm05t \hjrteen C<"nturicsand h<lsgrown in relation with the
indig<cnousrc hgionso fth~S\lhwnli,,.,nt, eitheTadaptingsorncoftheirritcsand c11'101M
or c~ abhorring them and turning back, time and again, lo the "pristine" Islam of Ara·
bia_ Per-.ian and Turkish clement< ha\•e ll«!n brought to lndo- Paki<t an by the ~l \lslim
conqueror-.; and in tl>e literary heritage of Indian Islam. all major lsbmk I~ are
rrpr..,.nted. Arabic:"o.sthe languageolthc Kornnandnltheologybut al5o thatolthe
first conqueTnn; p.,,..fan wu imported by Mal;imiid of Ghuna's men and used through
the centuri .. u the ger>erallr ;w:<:pted liten1ry idiom u ....,u as the languag<: of adminiotra·
tk>nunti!it wa<rrpbced,inthi• lattorcapadt)', b)' English in the wake of the ~la<:>.uley
Schome (183S). Turkisl1 was spokffi br the Moghul emperors and aloo at some smaller
courts,,.·hilcUrdude•·elopcdintoalitcrarylanguag<:firstintheDeecanandthenbec;i1ne
lheV<:hiclcofhigherliteraturcinnorth,.·estem lndia duringthe eiglr.tccnthcentury. llu:
rcgionallanguages,Sindhi , Panjat.i , Pa<hto,andlkngali.produc:edrichrrlig\<>usand
popularliteraturewhkhrefloct<the''lndian"sideof lslamk culture more clearly than
the books and l>Otll\5written in the da.s5iul languagn.. In SootMm India , Muslim lk•·o-
tiona!workswerccom,..,....t in Tami!, Tdugu, Malayalam a nd other Ia n~ To <lcocribe
a rdigion ol "ll<:h van.gated facets in a >malt picture book i< an imp<,..<ihle tuk. Orthodo ~
lslamrarrlyallo,...pictorial ttJ>tt"lltalion. at>dthu< thebookwillha,·e tocontaincom-
parati\'Cly murcpict urn relatingtomysticalandlolk Islam than toitsorthodoxmani-
fcshhons. ln ace rt ai n,.·ar thisiskgitimato.foritw>StheSufis who....,re instrumental
in spreading- lslamk cultun: throui;h "Sind and Hind", and it wa• their ""ah or \nmbs
around which faithful ~luslim< gatherrd to wonhip God , prai'" Iii< Prophet, a"d >Sk
thesaint.!ivingordcad, forinto...,.,...ion on their behalf. R"l"""'n tativ..,.of the refonn
movement s. many of them also Sufis, u'ua\ly condemned popular superstitions connected
with saintS tombs. n.. eigbtct nth-cen t\lr}' rdormisMheologian Shih Wa!iul\ah of 0.hli
compared ti...... who vi.;1 Ajmer or S!l!r ~fas 'iid' s .tu-inc in Uahraich in the hope of the
°'"""'" Google
INTRODUCTION
saint's help to the pagans who worshipped Lat and Manat in pre-Islamic Arabia.' However,
saints' tombs and shrines (dargiih; kM.nqiih for the larger communal building) reflect
very well the development of Muslim architecture in the Subcontinent besides allowing
interesting insights into popular forms of religion.
The other important external sign of Islam is, as all over the Islamic world, the mosque,
which is found in every place where Muslims ever set foot.
The mosques range from tiny enclosures, sometimes protected
by a tree (fig. 2) in the wilderness of the hills to most elaborate
and spacious congregational mosques erected by Muslim rulers
all over the country; their architecture is often influenced,
particularly in the border zones (Kashmir, Carnatic, etc.), by
the building traditions of their Hindu neighbors or by local
styles and the material available.
Islam was brought first to the Subcontinent in 711, when the
young Iraqi commander MuJ:tammad ibn al-Qasim conquered
Sind, the lower Indus valley, up to Multan, seat of a famous
sun temple, and incorporated it into the Arabic Empire. Although
the exact site of Daibul, where the conquest began, has not
yet been identified, a mosque in Bhambhore near Karachi can
be regarded as the oldest relic of Islam on lndo-Pakistani soil;
Fig. 2
its inscription in simple floriated Kufic style bears the date of
294h/906-07 (Pl. I a). Other inscriptions from Cutch, dated 554bJ1159 (Pl. I c) show the
presence of Muslims farther south-east, for merchants bad travelled from Iraq and South
Arabia along the western Indian coast and had reached South India even earlier than the
Muslim conquerors had settled in the Northwest. These southern Muslims developed a
culture of their own which was highly admired by the fourteenth-century Moroccan trav-
eller lbn Battuta. who found flourishing seats of learning all along the coast down to
Calicut.•
The major Muslim conquest, however, began around the year 1000, when MalJmud
of Gha211a, "Help of the Abbasid Caliph", entered the Subcontinent seventeen times from
his residence in Ghazna, reaching as far as Somnath in Kathiawar, where he destroyed a
famous Hindu temple. Al-Biriini, who accompanied him, studied the customs and teachings
of the Hindus in an objective work which is still an important source for the historian
of religion; but even he, for all his objectivity, could not overlook the basic differences
between Hindus and Muslims so that some of his remarks were used, in our time, by the
defenders of the Two-Nations theory, which clearly distinguishes Muslim and Hindu
cultures. 1 The Muslims introduced special features into the daily life: they were, first of
all, largely city dwellers, and their homes were constructed in such a way that the women-
1 A. SCHIMMEL, "The Golden Chain of S incere l\luhanlmadans", in : Bruce ll. Lawrence (ed.).
Tlte Rose ond Ille Rock, Duke University 1979, p. 114 .
1 The Reh/a of lbn B"ttula, /\fa/dive l slaxds and Ct)•lon. transl. into Englis h with conlruentary and
introduction b)• Pifahdi Husain, 2nd. ed .. Baroda 1976; ~tohd . Yousuf Kokan, A,-tJbi, and Persian
in Ca,-nalic 1710.1 96o, 1-fadras 1974.
3 AL·HIMONI, Kz'.t4b fi'l· Hind : Albt,uni's India, an (ICto unJ t>f the reli~io u, philosophy, likrah4re,
cJi,onology, a.sl,-onon1.v, cusloms, laW$ and 4$1,.ology of India about 1030, ed. Ed. Sacbau, London 1887;
Engl. transl. London 1888, 2nd . ed. 1910.
Original from
.-
INTRODUCTION 3
folk occupied a special tract, not visible from the outside. and generally opening toward
an inner courtyard. Their dresses were cut and stitched in a fashion to allow the movements
of prayer during which the body should be decently covered, which would be impossible
in the loosely draped garments in Indian style; women took usually to shaJ.u,iir qami~.
baggy trousers and a wide shirt, along with a dupatta to cover the head, or to full skirts;
the graceful Indian saree has often been objected by orthodox reformers as "un-Islamic".
Islam in India has always had two faces, "orthodox" and "popular". The orthodox
(Pl. II a -b) studied the sacred law and wrote commentaries and supercommentaries on
the Koran, collected and sifted the Prophetic traditions, and produced an immense learned
literature; in the course of time they, and especially the lower ran ks of mollas trained
in the traditional madrasas, became quite immobile in their views; they were often in
the forefront of those who tried to rid Indian Islam of the accretions that had contaminated
it through the close contact with Hinduism. Particularly the ashriif, the descendants of
non-indigenous high-ranking groups of lndo-Muslim society usually regarded themselves
as protectors of pure Islam. The ashraf consist mainly of t he sayyids, Muhammad's des-
cendants, who played an important religious and political role thanks to the particular
sanctity of t heir family and whose women kept even stricter purdah than other noble-
women. There were also the Mirza, immigrants of Persian and Turkish stock who formed
the majority of the military aristocracy. and the Pathans, members of Afghan clans who
rather regularly descended into the Indian plains as conquerors and founded more than
one dynasty. The loyalty of these groups was often more directed toward their Arabic
and Middle-Eastern cultural heritage than to India where they had lived for generations.
The common people, on the other hand, tended to a more mystical a nd sometimes super-
stitious religion which not rarely incorporated religious and social customs of their Hindu
ancestors. Their faith in the saint or pir or sayyid sustained them in the hardships of life
and at times Muslims and Hindus shared the veneration of the same spiritual guide. The
regional languages were developed into literary idioms by mystical bards who translated
the secrets of Divine love, longing, and t rust in the Prophet into the vocabulary of farmers,
fisher-men and housewives, using largely an imagery parallel to that of bhakti mysticism.
As sophisticated mystical and high-flown poetry was alive in every corner of the Sub-
continent, it is this simple, "rustic" mystical piety which colors large areas of Indian Islam
(Pl. III a-b)
The first major Sufi to settle in the Subcontinent was Hujwiri (d. ca. 1071), called Data
Ganj Bakhsh by his followers. Known to the historian as the author of the first major
treatise on Sufism in Persian, the Kash/ al-ma~jub, be is venerated by the Panjabis in
his beautiful tomb in Lahore.• According to one author, Iqbal conceived of the idea of a
separate Muslim homeland while meditating at Data $iil)ib's shrine.• H ujwiri became the
"gatekeeper" for all later Sufis who came to settle in the Subcontinent; before proceeding
further they used to pay a vi.it to bis tomb (s. Pl. IV b). Among them was Mu'inuddin
Chishti (d. 1236) whose tomb in Ajmer was and still is one of the most frequently visited
places in India; it was particularly patronized by Akbar and his descendants (Pl. XX).
Another member of the early Chishtiyya was Qu\buddin Bakhti<l.r Kaki (d. 1235), buried
' The "Kaslif al·mafijUb" , the oldest l'nsian IYealise of Sufism, transl. by I{. A. NICHOLSON, Loudon-
Leiden 1911, repr. 1955.
' Masoodul HASAN, Dala Ganj Balthsh, Lahore (Ashraf), 1974 , p. 2.
Original from
dose I<> !he Qu\ub Minir ar•a in ~lhi (Pl. Va). The Qu\ub ~linir belongs to the Quwwat
al-l.itm M""<Jue. which Qu!budtlln Aibek, the first •ultan of the Slave Dynuty (n07-
1290) C"T«:ttd in 0.:lhi from the •1>0ilsof 27 Hindu temples; it is~rtainlyoneof the most
imptt<.§;,.., ""Towcnof \"ictory" " in the hJamW: "·orld. The inner mo\'Nt~nt of its inocrip-
tionsinhugelhw/Nlhcharactenisadmirablc. Thccompanionto,...,r. planntd by 'Ali'uddin
Khalji(1'>']6-1316)w:.s nc•·crcom1>1.icd.( Fig.3.)
ThcChishti ... intsli\•od in gttat simplicit y, aU di>eiplesd,.·cllinginoncroomin the

•u~a• under the supuvision of the m.a'ltcr (,llfr): they ......, alwa>'5 ..~Uing to "'1arc their
Ynallfoodrationwithguestswhoflocktdtothc•U~lluin<>rdcrt<>findoon.,,Jationor
cnlighi.nmcntfrornttu,maoter.Thesaintwhois mainlyrcsponsiblcforth•instituti<maliz.a-
tion <>f thcChisbtiyya wM Farldutldln Ganj-i Shakar (d. !:l6j). whosc tombinAjodh.an/
Pik\>altanonthcSutloj (P a ki.i_a n)isstill3nimportantccntcrofpilgrim~c (Pl . Vb).
Pcoplcbelie,·tdthat thooe,.·howereablctosqu~uthom...h- .. throughthenarrowcn-
tra~ofhistomb(h<hi$liliJan11dza)duringthesaint's a nni\'ersary,w<>uldcntcrl'aradise
Now, in a more oober age, tltey are made t<> line up in front <>f thc gate, which ccro.inly
distracts from the r<!ligiotH for\·or. - Farlduddin's fa•·orite klwlija (succ.cssor) was Nii.1-
muddln Auliya {d. 132~). wtu- tomb in O.:,lhi is •urroundod by the t<>mbo of numerous
scholars and Toya l persons, for to be buried cl°""' t<> a saint mate. maH "'1arc in his kl-a.la,
hi<b1<$singJ'O"·er(Pl.V l a)
At about the ... mc timeu theChishtiyya,the Suhrawardinadcvel<>ptdintheSut...
contin•nt. Bahl'uddin Zak.ariyl of Multan (d. 1267) twl introducod th i<oTd<:r from its
originalh<>mc,Baghdad,anda1tractcdalargelollo"·ingi11Sir1dandthcoouthem l>anjab;
but con tTaf)' I<> the Chiohtis, wh<> combined harsh a.scctici>m ""i th ardent lo.-e of mll§ic
and J>O"lry, Bah.i'uddin and !ti~ foll<>Wers repccsented a rather '°ber trtnd in Sufi...,.
Ther ill'listtd upon formalco.,vNSion to Islam b.lorc an<>•·ice>1·uadmi1ttd,whilethc
Chishtis all<>wed non - ~lu..lim oo••ices t<> "'ta<te" mystical experience, e•·en before embracing
l>lam. The superb mouumems built for BaM'l>ddln and hi<grandS<>n Ruk11uddln in Multan
revealthecharaclerandlifcs1yleoftbesemasters,whoweren<>1 <>nly endowed with the
"'""" • Google
INTRODUCTION 5
1tafs-i girii, "deep insight into their disciples' minds", but were a!S<>-again contrary to
the Chishtis-active in politics and quite wealthy. Their influence continues to our day.
From Multan one branch of the Suhrawardis went southeast to Ucch, one of the great
centers of Islamic learning in the Middle Ages. Now, time and floods have devastated
some of the most beautiful religious buildings of this place, which were covered with
precious blue tiles. Besides the dargah of the Ucch Bukhari sayyids, the center of the Qadi-
riyya order in Pakistan is also located in Ucch. Members of this order reached Bijapur in
the early fifteenth century a nd settled in Ucch in 1482; they preserve some relics, and as
in all important Sufi centers, registers of the members of the silsita are kept (cf. Pl. XII b).
A completely different kind of Sufism grew around the third center of thirteenth-
century Sufism in Indo-Pakistan, Sehwan Sharif. Sehwan, situated on the banks of the
lower Indus and formerly a Shiva sanct uary, became the seat of Lal Shahbaz ("The Red
Falcon") Qalandar, connected by friendship with Baha'uddin Zakariya. He was a stem
ascetic, and his disciples are strange-looking matangs dressed in black (Pl. IV a), who
perform their dhikr ceremonies with ecstatic drumming near the huge tomb. The 'urs
("wedding") as the anniversaries of a saint's death are called, has given rise to many
"immoral" practices since it celebrates, as does the 'urs of Sa!ar Mas'iid in Bahraich
(Awadh), the nuptials of the saint with his bride whom he never reached in this life. The
tenn 'urs, however, is generally understood to mean the final union of the saint's soul with
God. Lately, the rites during the 'urs in Sehwan have been purged. but the song in honor
of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar with its strong rhythmical flow is popular all over Pakistan .
Fig. 4
Dervishes and faqirs in the Middle Ages in India were of different kinds. In addition
to the members of the orthodox orders such as the Suhrawardiyya and the Chishtiyya
one frequently finds be-shar', unorthodox, dervishes, among whom the sources mention
the J:laidaris, who wore iron rings and could handle red-hot iron, the muwallihs, who were
experts in walking on fire and other extraordinary performances,' and groups of qatandars
• S. DIGBY. "Encounters with Jogis in Indian S ufi Hagiography", mimeographed London SOAS,
Jan. 1970.
Original from
6 INTRODUCTION
who either spent their lives wandering through the country or were attached to a specific
center like Schwan or even more the shrine of the poet Bu 'All Qalandar (d. 1323) in Pani-
pat. Legends tell of the Sufis' friendly relations with animals, or their love of music and
their ecstatic fits, and the painters of Moghul India have lovingly portrayed the various
types that were found in the Subcontinent, both lonely ascetics or vagrants and high-
ranking masters who had access to the court or were rather the object of devout visits
by princes and kings (Pl. VII a, b, fig. 4). All over the country people would light candles
at their tombs, tie cloth to the window of a shrine or a nearby tree, and make vows in
hope of the saint's intercession. (Pl. XV a; XLIV a) They still cast a handful of flowers
over the sarcophagus or spread a piece of cloth over it; after some time, these items are
distributed to honored visitors to grant them baraka, as do the branches of sacred trees
in the precincts of a dargiih.
At the same time that Sufism was spreading over the Subcontinent and reaching
Bengal and the Deccan, various political developments took place. NiiWtluddin Auliya
outlived not less than seven kings of three dynasties in Delhi I Soon after his death, the
Bahmanids declared their independence in the northern Deccan. While the northwest
of the Subcontinent was devastated by Timur in 1399-1400, the southern and eastern
kingdoms (Jaunpur, Malwa, Gujarat) developed in comparative peace in spite of interne-
cine feuds. Places like Jaunpur can boast of some of the most impressive mosques of medie-
val India (fig. 5); it was also the home of Sayyid Muhammad who, claiming to be the Mahdi,
founded a mystical reform movement which greatly influenced Indian Islam in the early
sixteenth century. In Ahmadabad, Gujarat, the architects of the Great Mosque as well as
of numerous smaller mosques and shrines achieved an amazing blending of Hindu, Jain
and Islamic elements so that the mosque, basically a spacious room for a large congrega-
tion, "assumed something of the inwardness of an Indian temple".' and the decorations
are almost vegetabilian. (Pl. VIII) The greatest of the Gujarati rulers, MaJ.imiid Begra
(d. 1511). tutee of a politically active Sufi, decorated not only his capital with beautiful
mosques, but also the recently conquered Champaner (fig. 6).
During the fifteenth century, Kashmir and Bengal too were more important cultural
centers than Delhi. In the Islamicization of Kashmir, the Kubrawi saint Sayyid 'Ali
Hamadhani (d. 1385) had a great share (Pl. XV b); then, the country was ruled for half
a century (1420-1470) by Zainul'abidin Badshah, a most enlightened king under whose
benign role it assumed all those features which are generally associated with Kashmiri
culture (including the manufacture of papiermach~ and weaving of fine shawls) (fig. 7).
Somewhat later the tension between the orthodox Sunni sayyid faction and the Shia-Sufi
movement of the Niirbakhshis, supported by the indigenous clan of the Chak, led to long
feuds, as a result of which Kashmir was finally incorporated into the Moghul Empire.
Bengal, first under "Turkish" rulers, reached its independence with Ilyas Shah (1352).
Although the architecture in that part of the Subcontinent, due to the absence of stone
in the lowlands of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, consists mainly of brick with occasional
stucco work, a remarkable number of major mosques have survived the centuries; they
usually show a simple but functional style (Pl. IX a). In Bengal, as in other places of
the Subcontinent, the relic of a footprint of the Prophet was preserved from early times,
' M. ~f U JEl!B, lslamie lnfltunee o" Indian Society , t\fecrut 1972. p. 5.
Original from
l'i,.,. jounpur
°'"""'" Google
and special """""-•aril 0&11Ctuarieswffi! erected for ii (fig. 8). Hairs of the Prophet. or
pieces lromhis 1hirt, u wcll as reliesol'A!i and l.fos.ain arcprcservcdin ~a rio11Splaces
fromKulunirloSindand theOeccan
I n the Deccan. the first independem kingtloin was that of the Bahmanids. whod""°"'-ted
thcir capitalGulNrga wi1h a largccoogrcga1lonal1"""1.ue inuniquestyle(Pl . X);S01nc
decades lator. a myst ic of the ChisMiyya . Ge.iidara.<. rctumed from Delhi to th<: Deccan .
whcre he had spent hi• youth at t h<: time when llu~ammad Tughluq deported great p>rts
oft heDelhiintelligtntsiatoDaulatahad(1327) .Gesiidarh.aprolilicpoet.corrunentat<>T
on ttligious works, and author of lot ion on m}"Stic.:ol problems , died in 14u in Gult..rg~
whctt his shrine J:>,,came an important seat of Islamic teaching. {Pl. X II a: XIII b)
luthe loUowing ycar thc Bahmanids ,Jtifted thefrcapihl tothe 1tratcgicallyimpor1ant
cityofBidar,whettone c.>n $till adrnitt thc ruin$of thegreat ... ...t•asa...-hiehthe ttuditc
Persian vizier. i.la~m!ld GJ:wln. founded for the training ol Muslim tl>eologian•. His
assassination in 1481 u'!hettd in I he end of the &h manid kingdom. but two of his favorites
wett to become founders uf new kingdoms in the Ilecc:on. i.e .. that of the ' Adi1sh1hh in
Bijapurand th.at of the Qu\b$hlhl•in Golkonda. Both la<t..! till the later 17th century
At a timc. when the Moghul Em1~re under AkOO.r and J ahangir had its gnl<kn age. ~!u .
bammad.Qu.U Qu!J>.Shih of Golconda (d. 16n) [Pl. XI b) founded hi• new capita l
Hyderabad and developed the art of Dc«ani poetry, while his neighbour. Jbd him II
'Adil Shih (d. 16:!6) of 8ijapur h.ad<me of the moi;t 1plcndidcourl•ofthe age (Pl. X ! a)
He too WU a poet and a gttat <:<>nn"'-m of Indian music. about which he co n1 pc~d a
famou~ work. N""'"'· " Nine sentiments"'; the delightful d001es of hi• burial placc, the
y lhl"iblm Ranta, are 5t ill extant as ar.- numerous Sufi tomb!< in Bijap11r. His
successor Mubammad 'Adi!Sh~h spentthe thirtyy.,ari;ofhisreign i11 con<t ructing
his own tomb. the Giii Gurnba•. which is cover«! with the third ~t dome in
the world.Thclac kolmorecl:oboratcdecon.ti<>ns,ho...,w:r.makes 1hccn<>rmous
building less impressi•·e than many of the smaller l)eccani "'""'I""" with their
bulbous domes, which """'m to grow out of >t<>nc J><:tals. The unknown ninct<'Cnth·
e<:ntury p.:iinte< who repr....,11ted two rnollas in front of ~ani building•. ha.
A
c.:ought the peculiar charm of this southern Muslim architecture ' "'•Y ,...,11.
(Pl. Xl\' b)
I n various par!• <>f the country a rapprochement bet"'"""" Hinduism and
lslamisvisible inthe lilt oenthand •ixt.,.,nthcent une.:inl\ ashmirunderllldshlh
Sultan: in popular S.ngali mystici•m: in the poetry o/ ~lul.wnmad-Quli Qu!b
F;1. 9 Sh.lob u wcll >< in the ml1Sicological work of l brlhim II 'Adil Shah. Sufism c~r·
°'""" " Google

INTRODUCTION 9
tainly contributed to the growth of the bhakti movement in the Indian Middle Ages, and
more than one mystical writer tried to find a common denominator between Hinduism and
Islam. The feeling of all-embracing unity seemed common to both religions, particularly
after the ideas of the Spanish-born Ibn 'Arabi (d. 1240) had percolated into Indian Sufi
circles. His theory of walµial al-wujud, Unity of Being, was soon to form a cornerstone of
mystical theology, especially among the Chishtis (although Gesiidar;l.z was critical of it);
in simplifkd form, "Everything is He" was unceasingly repeated by the poets, who claimed
that there is no difference between Turk and Hindu, between a.r-Ra/.tnuln and Riim.
A typical representative of this trend was Kabir the Weaver (probably late 15th century),
who tried to bridge the gap between the two communities, or rather, to show that neither
of them was right in its claims. (Pl. XVI a) Kabir's poetry is antedated by an epic in
which a Hindu romantic tale is used for Islamic didactic purposes, i.e., Molla Da'iid's
Laur Chand, a Hindi work written around 1370 (Pl. XVI b). When Molla Da'iid was
asked why he had used this subject he answered, according to Bada 'iini's report :
The whole of it is divine truth and pleasing in subject, worthy of the ecstatic contemplation of
devout lovers, and in conformance \•.:ith the interpretation of some of the dyd/s of the Koran,
and the sweet sin.g~rs of Hindustan. ~'loreover, by its public recitation hun1an hearts are t.a.kcn
captive.
Laur Chand is the first in a long series of poems in popular languages and poetical forms
which transform Indian folk tales and legends into symbols of the fate of the soul, such as
Padml!.vati, or somewhat later the Sindhi and Panjabi poems about Hir Ranjha, Sohni
Mehanval, Sassui Punhiin and others.
At about the same time that this kind of literature was developing in India, but even
more during the Moghul period, a certain interest in Yoga techniques can be witnes.sed
among certain Muslim mystics. Although the Muslims were always critical of miracles
performed by Yogis and usually disliked the overstressed occupation with bodily postures
as un-Islamic, yet some Sufi practices such as breath control may have been strengthened
under the influence of Yoga theories and practices.
\Vith the year 1526 a new phase in Indian history begins. Babur from the house of
Timur gained a victory over the Lodis, Pathan rulers of Northwest India, in the battle
of Panipat and thus laid the foundations of the Moghul Empire. Although his son Huma-
yiin, who succeeded him in 1530, was driven out of the country by Sher Shii.h Suri, a
masterly organizer and builder of forts. highways and step-wells, he returned to India
from his Persian exile in 1554, bringing with him many painters of high quality. After a
year and a half he died suddenly in Delhi and his young son Akbar took over to rule
supreme until 16o5. Akbar's time is generally regarded as the most glorious period of
Indian Islam. The ruler was first under the tutelage of his father's faithful commander-in-
chief, the Turcoman Bairam Khan, whose son Khankhanan 'Abdur Ral)im (1556-1627)
was not only an outstanding warrior but also a fine poet in Turki, Persian, and Hindi and,
besides the emperor, the greatest maecenas of painters, poets, and musicians. Akbar's
interest in mystical religion was genuine; he had inherited it from his grandfather Biibur,
who called himself in a quatrain "the servant of the dervishes".• From 1564 onward Akbar
performed numerous pilgrimages on foot to Ajmer, Mu'inuddin Chishti's sanctuary
• A. ScHJMMEL, "Babur Pad.i.shah the Poet", Islomie CuJJwre 34, 1900, p. 11.
Original from
IO INTRODUCTION
(Pl. XX a) , where he spent his days in disputations with the mystics, listened to music
and distribut ed large sums as alms, a custom continued by his son and successor Jahangir,
who was born alter Akbar had asked the Chishti saint Salim for his prayer and therefore
bore the name of Salim. Akbar erected a new capital in reddish sandstone, Fatei)piir
Sikri, close to Salim Chishti's tomb (Pl. XVIII) ; it is a city with a superb gateway that
is visible for miles and then leads the visitor to the small, pearl-white shrine of the saint
before one enters the other royal buildings. Most important among them is the '/badat-
kh5.na where the emperor used to listen to the discussions of learned Muslims, Hindus,
Christians (the Jesuits were very active during his reign and built several churches),
Zoroastrians, etc. (Pl. XIX). His dream to reach the essence of all religions beyond the
outward shell manifested itself in the foundation of the d;,._; iliihi, a religious eclectic
group to which nineteen of his friends, among them only one Hindu, belonged. Akbar's
eclecticism and his claim to be superior to the religious scholars of his time have earned
him the aversion of his former faithful imam, the historiographer Bada' iin!, whose chronicle
forms an interesting contrast to Abu'l-Fatl's Akbarniima, in which the emperor is praised
beyond measure. Abu'l-Fatl was the brother of Akbar's prolific court poet Faiti (d. 1595),
who composed, among other works, a commentary on the Koran in undotted letters
{Pl. XXVI a), an extremely difficult but pretty useless tour de force in which the author
had to recur to most obscure Arabic words and to avoid practically all verbal forms.
Akbar's interest in other religions became manifest in his translation scheme in which he
made the best scholars translate Indian classics like the M ahabhiirala (Razm-
niima) and the Ramayana into Persian, and although the pious Bada'uni
curses this attempt to introduce pagan ideas into Islam, the manuscripts
produced during the last decades of the sixteenth century in a cooperative
effort of Muslim and Hindu artists belong to the most fascinating works of
Islamic art and are a visual delight, whether they deal with the emperor's
life or with m}1hical scenes. Scribes and calligraphers, painters and scholars
were in high demand during the century between 1560 and 1660
(Pl. XXVI b); they have also been portrayed by their colleagues, and these
;~ j; portraits, along with the extremely fine drawings on the borders of seven-
I.. '
•'
teenth-century Moghul manuscripts are valuable sources for our knowledge
of Indian society, from dervishes to soldiers and courtiers .
Akbar's son Jahangir continued his religious policy, although he tended
toward a slightly stricter attitude towards the non-Muslims. Yet he met
several times with the Hindu sage Jadrup and liked himself painted as a
friend of scholars and mystics'· Otherwise, the ruler left the empire's reins
more and more to his intelligent Persian queen Niir Mai)al and her relatives
{the tomb of her father I'timiidaddaula in Agra is one of the finest pieces
fig. 10 of Moghul architecture) . Jahangir's interest was more directed toward
' See the miniature Nr. 7.171 in the ~fu* Guimet (Stchoukine, Les miniaJures ixditnnts Nr. 41,
pl. VII} ; c( . l\J . A . ClfAGHATAY, "Emperor jabangir's Jnterviews with Co.o;.a.in Jadrup and his Por-
traits", l .slamie Culture 36, 2, 1962, pp. 119-128; further R. Ettinghausen. "The En1peror's Choice"
about the fan1ous portrait of jahAngir (repr. Jl\ff> pl. 22: Bussagli f:>J. 51) . Rel<lted topics in Binney,
Indian Miniature Painting Nr. 52 : "Dervishes preparing fO()(I for Enthro ned Jahangir". (Beach ,
Grand ~·t ogu l Nr. 13 p.6o) as well"-' ~fanobar 's painting"Shaikhs "'·aiting to greet jahangir at Ajmer"
in the Prince of \Vales ~fu.scum , Bombay (publ. Gascoigne, 1'/te Great i\1oght4l$, p. 1t1).
Original from
Digitized by Google UNIVE!\SITY OF MICHIGAN
INTRODUCTION II
natural sciences (it is the age of superb representations of animals and plants) and towards
wine, as he himself admits in his diary. Niir Mal)al built a simple mausoleum for him in
Lahore, his favorite capital. Jahli.ngir was succeeded, in x627, by his son Khurram,
Shi!.hjahiln, the husband of Nilr Mal).al's niece Mumtaz Mahal; he lost his wife. the mother
of his fourteen children, in 1631 and built in her honor the Taj Mal;lal, most famous of
all Indian buildings. Shahjahan was indeed the most active builder among the Moghuls:
the Red Fort and the Jii.mi'Mosque in Delhi (fig. xz) as well as the great mosque in Agra
r·ig. 11
were erected by him. Shilhjahiln's two eldest children, Princess Jabanilrii. and her brother
Dara Shikoh, the heir apparent, were attracted by mystical Islam, and Dara became a
faithful follower of the Qadiri saint Mian Mir and his khalifa Molla Shah Badakhshl
(Pl. XXV a). His meetings with Hindu sages and with Sufis are among the favorite sub-
jects of the painters of Shilhjahli.n's court (Pl. XXIV a). Dilril was a collector of art and
a good calligrapher as well (Pl. XXIV b) but certainly not a politician; he preferred to
compose mystical works in Persian poetry and prose and translated into Persian the
Upanishads, which according to him are meant by the "book that is hidden" mentioned
in the Koran (Sura 56:78). His younger brother, Aurangzeb, excelling in manly virtues
already as a mere boy, took advantage of Shilhjahiln's illness in 1658. Dara Shikoh was
finally executed on a charge of heresy (1659), and his two other brothers were eliminated
too. A similar fate awaited Dara's friend Sarrnad, a Persian or Armenian Jew who had
embraced Islam and behaved quite strangely in his mystical rapture (Pl. XXV b).
Already during Jahilngir's time a revivalist movement began to counteract the mystical
latitudinarianism. It is connected with Al;lmad Sirhindi, famed as mujadditl-i aJ/·i
thiini, the Renovator of the Second Millenium after Muhammad, who popularized
in India the sober Naqshbandi Order, which strictly disapproves of music and mystical
Original from
dan<:<!anddocsnotaccq>t theideaofUnityofBeing. 1• The Naqs!1b.andi• drawa strict
hne hctw..,n Muslim• •nd non-Muslim• ands!~ the importa"°" of t!•e Prophet Muham-
mad, for it;, the"""""" p;l•I of the profCMion of faith, " Muhammad is the messenger of
GOO"(fig.ua,b.)whichestabli.i..:..lslamaoadistinctreligion,,.·hilceveryonc,partieu-
•
larlyHindushelie,·inginaJvaila,canjoininthcoonle"'ionthat " thereis noclti tysa"e
God" . A~1~ Sirhindl'• mystical dllims for himS<ll were anyt hing hut modest, but he
attract"! quit<" large following and his·-~ w"re ~Lle to exert a growing political
influence,a•"':litheidealoftheordcr.Aurang«b'shudcningattitudetowardnon-Muslims
and hi • incru.,i nga\'ersion tom11sic, poetry, painting,andpop11lurelig;o11sfomi•may
bc""'ril>«l . a t kast in parl,l<>thcgrnwinginflu""""olthe Naqsllbamli•. ThcMoghu!s
did1>0\11'S!rictthcircultura!acti\•itiatuthdrca1ritalsAgra,Delhi,andL1.l>o":theyalso
""'=or:Uft\th<'iroutpostsi11 ,·arioUS\"'rtsnltheSubeontincntwithimer..1ingbuildings.
A high official huilt !he W a~ir li:Mn M""'JUC in l.othon: (16.}4) which is famous fur it•
eolorlultilev.·urkwithflo,..,,rmotil• . l}1'ica loll'anjabi\ast einthc.e\-.,lt..,nthcentury
(Pl. XX l l). One year later ll bea utiful laq,<e 1no.quc wa• er.;etod in Thatta, the old capital
o!Sind.lti<againrcmarkableforthehighquatityofitstolorOOtileswhicltformintricatc
star patterns in theentran<:<!hallandthemainclomes (lhecourtyardissurroundcd by
91 ~ler dom"") (PL XXV!ll a). The S:ltl(lmbu M<>S<iue in Dacca is another example
:~.X\':n:::~~~~~~:;;~~~~o;::.· IX c)-a .iyle that was to continue until rec:cntly in l<id
Aurang&ebhim..,lfcreetOOone major building in the northw<Stofthe SubeontillCnt,
the B.1d<h1hi M""l1te in Lahore (l'I. XXVll b) which isconc<:il·odaoacountcrpartof
the Great Mosque in Delhi but is larger and per!i.aps e\·en more impre.si,-c in iu l'CI)'
..,lcmn ttd sa.nd<toTIC "'ith thn.., white marble dome. and four mh•arets; it• courtyard,
nearly18omcl'1"SM[Uar<·,affordsamplespaccfurcongregationalpny~e'·enon'ldday
Thcseningofthelli<\9'Jhimo5']1leis~l!!Op.'lrticularl}'iortunMesinceitfom1sakindol
unit with the l..ahore Fort (>1-hen: the pictor""J•te tile dewralion is unfortunately almost
destro)~). anti thus herurn"" an ideal ~ymbol for thee],..., union of';" 11 'a.U.., religion
andsutc,in l<lam.Thebuilderhimsel f spentthela>tthirtyy.,..,.,,ofhislilcintheDeccan
tooonqtter!lijapurin 1686andGolcondao1>erearlakr;butthisconquest resultod in
major problem• foc the lloghul •m1ri r~ which ..-... "" longer prote.:;tcd from the r;.jng
~1ar31ha lorcn bi• th""' two buffer '131cs. A number of late minfatuttS show Aurangub
"'""" • Google
INTRODUCTION 13
close to his nineties with his rosary, counting the beads and probably recalling the almost
lifty years of struggle in which he had striven to extend the empire as far as possible;
however. this very over-extension became the cause for its immediate breakdown after
the ruler's death in 1707 (Pl. XXVII a).
The eighteenth century is a time during which India was afflicted by both internal
feuds and external invaders. Delhi, still the capital of the constantly shrinking Moghul
empire, was conquered and pillaged time and again not only by the rising non-Muslims
but even more seriously by the Moghuls' co-religionists, above all Nadir Shah, who
devastated it in 1739. The troops of his successor, AI:>mad Shah Durrani, who was called
into the country by some Delhi noblemen and theologians, plundered the city more than
once, and neither AI:>mad Shi!.h's nor the Moghul power was consolidated after he had
gained a decisive victory over the Marathas in 1761. The British encroached upon India,
beginning from Bengal, and the Sikhs occupied large parts of the Panjab and the North-
western Frontier. However, in terms of religious movements and mysticism the eighteenth
century can be regarded as India's most fertile period. \Vhile Mir Dard, a Naqshbandi
mystic of Delhi (d. 1785), wrote the first mystical Urdu poetry during the years of Delhi's
breakdown, Shah 'Abdul Latif in Sind and Bullbe Shah in the Panjab as well as RaI:>man
Bllbii among the Pashto-speaking tribes composed their immortal poems in their respective
languages. Shah 'Abdul La!if's beautiful tomb, with its blue and white flowerlike tiles,
echoes his mystical songs which are known and loved by everyone in the Indus valley
(Pl. XXVIll b). One of the themes which he took as the basis for a mystical interpretation
was often illustrated in eighteenth-century Rajput painting: it is the story of Sohni who
swims to her beloved every night and is finally drowned. Sohni and the other heroines
of Sindhi and Panjabi folk tales become symbols of the soul who endures all kinds of af-
flictions on her way towards the Divine Beloved (Pl. XXIX b).
One interesting feature of Sind are the tombstones which are attributed to Baloch
tribesmen (fig. 13). the Chaukandi tombs; contrary to Islamic custom,
they are sometimes decorated with figurative motifs, such as men with
weapons, or, in the case of women, with nicely elaborated jewellery.
Figurative painting is also found in some eighteenth-century tombs;
here rural life and scenes from the epics are illustrated in a pleasant
style (Pl. XXIX a). Lately even saints' tombs have been decorated
with scenes from Islamic lore (thus 'Ali's white mule Duldul, or the
Fig. 13 Ka 'ba in Mecca) or with imaginary Matterhoms and Dutch wind-
mills. The whole countryside in Sind, and to some extent also in the
Panjab, is dotted with small and large shrines of saints which are sometimes visited
by Hindus and Muslims alike. Some of the shrines in Indo-Pakistan have sacred
animals around them; we may mention here the crocodiles of Mangho Pir near Karachi
(Pl. VI b); the whitish softshell turtles in the memorial of the ninth-century Persian
saint Bayezid Bis\ami in Chittagong (Bangla Desh), the fish in the shrine of Shah jalal
in Sylhet (Bangla Desh), and the peacocks around a small sanctuary dedicated to two
grandsons of 'Abdul Qadir Gilani in Kallakahar (Salt Range, Pakistan).
The various stages of life are celebrated in Muslim India similarly to the customs in
other Muslim areas. Miniatures allow us a glance into the private life of the ruling classes
where childbirth was c~lebrated with great rejoicing, while the astrologers were called
Original from
14 INTRODUCTION
to cast the child's horoscope. After childbirth, the rite of chhati, the first bath on the sixth
day, is observed, as is the 'aqiqa, the shaving of the baby's hair and almsgiving ; circum-
cision (at various ages) and the beginning of schooling, usually when the boy is four years,
lour months and lour days old. Some miniatures reflect the tender relation of a teacher
with his royal pupil. 11 Finally comes the wedding. Ideally, girls should be married imme-
diately alter reaching puberty, and marriages are often arranged with cousins, otherwise
preferably with a member of the same social group (a sayyid girl must marry a sayyid;
a Kashmiri Panjabi will usually marry another Kashmiri, etc.) . The main part of the
marriage arrangement is to fix the mahr, the price which the groom has to pay and which
belongs to his wife; usually only a certain amount is given at once while the rest will be
paid in case of divorce. One of the most important features of the wedding is the -hndi
ceremony in which hands and feet are dyed with henna, further various "purification"
rites for both sexes. The marriage contract is signed by the groom in the presence of wit-
nesses and the representative of the bride in the presence of the qlQ.i (Pl. XXXV b); the
newlywed couple is supposed to see each other first when the bridegroom looks in a mirror
in which he sees bride reading the Koran. The young woman puts on a large nose-ring
(Pl. XXXIV b); she is soon taken into the house of her in-laws which she, ideally, should
leave again only on the bier. 11 This rule was strictly observed in higher and religious
classes, while in the rural areas women do not observe strict purdah because they have to
work in the fields. Miniatures show princes in their private-even most private!- moments
with lovely women; 11 the representation of decent women is, however, restricted in Mus-
lim painting, and only rarely are true portraits available (Pl. XXXIV a).
11 See for some very beautiful examples AMI pl. 17 and Welch, lnd1'.an Drawings a'ltd Painted
Sktkhts N r , 20.
11 Cf. C. VREBDE,.DE Snu-Rs, Pa,.do-a sJudy of Muslim Women's Lift i,. NOf'tltu" India, Assen·
New York 1968; Shayeste lkramullah, Ff'om Pardah to Parlr'amenl, London 1964.
11 A. L . DALLAPICCOLA, p,.incesses el cou-rli-s anes 4 lravers les miniatures indUnnes, Gal~rie {l.far<:o
Polo, Paris 1978; cf. also all catalogues of seventeenth and eigbteenth·century In d~~fu slim painting.
"Ladid, as opposed to women. did not face anyone than their husbands or other mcrnbers of their
families", \Velch. Indian Drawings Nr. 42. For the phenomenon of the courtesans see Rusw-a, Umr4'J
J4n Ad4, German translation by Ursula Rotben· Dubs, Dia Kwrtisaru v<»t Luckn<>w, Zurich, l.-lanesse,
1971.

INTRODUCTION 15
Muslim festivals are observed in India in the same way as in~other Muslim countries,
the greatest and most awaited being the 'id u/,-fi!r at the end of Ramadan. Most places
have a special '/dgiih, a wide area with a simple niche, where the men gather on the morning
of the ' Id, wruch in Pakistan is still announced when two witnesses have actually seen the
new moon, wrule in India it is astronomically calculated beforehand (Pl. XXXI). General
rejoicing takes place; one visits friends and exchanges gifts; children enjoy colorful fairs
and new toys, and in some areas the men may perform joyful dances (Pl. XXXIII a).
One important aspect of all festivities is illumination and fireworks (Pl. XXXII). That is
particularly the case in the shab-i bariit, the night of the 14th of Sha 'ban (eighth lunar
month), wruch has been celebrated in the Subcontinent from early times onward. Ortho-
dox theologians have often frowned upon it because of its outward similarity with the
Hindu Devali. Besides the two official 'ids at the end of the fasting month and during
t he pilgrimage to Mecca and the popular shab-i bariit, the Prophet's birthday is celebrated
on Rabi' al-awwal 12 (formerly the day was called biirah wafiit because it was regatded
as the anniversary of the Prophet's death). Each saint has rus anniversary when hls
followers gather aiound his shrine or remember rum all over the country; the anniversaiy
of 'Abdul Qadir Gilani on Rabi' uth-thani 11 is most popular.
In the Srua community the celebrations of M~arram have developed in India even
more than in Shia Iran. The first major Shia communities belong to the Deccan kingdoms,
where the introduction of this form of Islam under the influence of Persian immigrants
caused several rebellions in the fifteenth century. The Qutbshahi kingdom was a center
of Srua piety, as the name of its new capital, Hyderabad, indicates (founded in 16oo,
alluding to l:laidar 'Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law and first imam). Here, first
examples of the Urdu marthiya, the threnody lamenting l:lusain's death in t he battle
of Kerbela (68-0) were composed, and the processions during the first ten days of the fatal
month of Mul;larram were celebrated with great enthusiasm and more and more also with
a certain admixture of camivalistic elements (Pl. XXXVI-XXXVIII). In northern
India, the Shia element became more prominent after Humayiin's return from Iran in
1554, when Persian artists and poets found a more congenial place for their talents in
India than in Iran. After Aurangzeb's death, the province of Awadh became the fief of a
Shia nobleman of Persian origin and under rum and hls successors, the nawwilbs, later
(1819) Kings of Awadh, Lucknow developed into the veritable center of Srua piety: the
big imam.hara (Pl. XXX YI a) as well as the small imiimbiira contained the implements for
the Mul;larram celebrations. Musicians and drummers would led the procession in which
people in religious frenzy might inflict upon themselves wounds in order to participate
in the suffering of I;Iusain and thus obtain heavenly reward (Pl. XXXVI b); the miniature
tombs of l:lusain (tabat, la'ziya), sometimes veritable works of art made from colored paper,
mirrors, metalwork, etc. on bamboo frames, were carried around (Pl. XXXVIII b). A
white horse, representing 'Ali's white mule Duldul, was often led in the procession
(Pl. XXXYllI a). The Lucknow rulers invented even new rites to celebrate the memory
of the twelve imams, and it was in their realm t hat the art of Urdu marthiya was developed
to its highest perfection. lmilmbilras were, however, erected all over the country, from
Dacca and Murshidabad to Sind and the Panjab, and marlhiyas exist not only in classical
Urdu but also i.n Sindhi, Siraiki, and Panjabi." The Srua population of Indo-Pakistan
1' Chr. SHACKLE, "The ~lu ltani ma£'3iya", De" l$lam 55 (1978); A. ScHIMMEL. "The Sindhi mar-
thiya", in Peter J. CHELKOWSKJ, Tacziyo. Rilual a-nd Drama in Iran , New York 1978.

;, prob.obly Wger than • tatistics ohow, and conversion~ to the T~l""r Shia stiU occur,
~l{i.!';; =~i~wn:uons bt<:auso the Shia law of inheritana: is mOT~ generous to daugh-
8esides the T~lver Shi.a other Shiite groups are also found in the SubcontiJwmt. The
Cumathi.ans, an e.>:lreme lscnaili group, had oettleJ near ~lultan around the year 900 and
were able to rule over parts of tl>O Panjab and Sind .wh.,.., ~l al;mlldofGh:una tn.dto
cnish them; theyu·=often pr:r':•«utedand thechronicll."Sn<>t infroquently speak of
iW~il ...11\osr: ,.·ho commit incest", which ..,.,n,. 10 repeat the charges against the n rlier
Cvmatbians. whow.,..,accuoed of immon.lit rbt<:a""' theirwomen did not veil themsdV<S
Anew'O... veofhrna.ilisreachedtheSuhcontinentinthetwekthcenturyaf\erthemov.,..
11\<!nt spli t in 1094 into thefoUowersof l'itlrand ~l usta'll, the two so1i.of the Fatimid
caliph al -Mustan~r in Egypt. The Musta'lian missionarics, whosr: center"'"' Yemen.
were able to wnvert an import;in1 :icgment of Ille pop11lation in Gujarat; a5 lor the NiUri
misPon.•iTcs, ther wen: mainlr active in Sind, Multa n and Uceh where ther ""'n o""r a
great numbttof Hind"'; they too worked in Gujarat andCntd1. l n or<krtofacilitate
cooversion,theirleadotrsused.5<1:11CSfrom Hindumythologyandinc:orporated t l>eminto
1heirteachings andth..-irreligious!l<mgs. Particu!arlrtheSatran1hlsofPi,...naarenoted
fOTtheirfar-reaching •yncrctism;but inother cosa too'Aliiscelebr.itedasthetcnth
""414• of Vishnu {Pl. XXX I X) . The Mu.<ta 'lians became kno"'n as llohora• : the NizJrls,
U'h-~giana: belong<totbeAgaKhan,arec.alledKhoja.s;bothgrou1>Sdeveloped
into flourWting, prrdominantl)' commercial communities. When the Aga Khan ldt Iran
in 18JStose11leinSind, laterinBomhar.helonndalargelollowing ,andhisgrandson ,
AgaKhanl\',.,.·uabletoleadhi•lollo...-eninto a modern-oricntedlilew thatthe lsmoili
communit ies belong to tlie m°'t progreo.sive Stt:tio"' of Indian ~l ..Mims. The Bohoru,
such a• Badruddin Tyabjtt. the first )1uslim to become presidcm of the Indian National
CongrCS!<, and A.A. A. F)-ut,are in the forefront of mOOcrni.at;,,n, M.A. J innah, the
leader of the ~luslim l.e;igu< and firs! Governor·(..,neral of Pakistan, belonged to the
Jsrnailicommuni tr
One as1>e<:t of Indian ! <lam, a• of !<lain"" !he popular le\•cl in ~c11rr.il. is the great
faithinmr.iicala!ldmagical1>0"·•n.. l1oeji nnaT<",ofcou....,,acknowledgedintheKoran
asact i,·e creato= . andare therdorepart andparcelofnonnallife.ThebclidintheEvil
Eye i5 lihwi11e common all o•·et the East, and amulets and chann~ U'it!t ,..ord< from <1.e
Konn or strange numberS and lett ers are commonly us<'<i (Pl. XL-XI.I ll ). The Sufis
contributedtothisas1>e<:tofl>lam.fortoU"riteamulets,/~'viih,wasanimporta ntdut}'
of the senior members of a Hii"'l.V.. The great Shal! ~rl m~tic Mu\Jammad Ghauth
Origl,.llrom
"'"""'" Google UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
INTRODUCTION 17
Gwaliori (d. 1562), whose tomb in Gwalior is one of the most magnificent buildings of
the Akbar period, is the author of the widely used mystico-magical work, tU-jawiihir
tU-khamsa, "The Five Jewels", which exists in both Arabic and Persian (Pl. XLII I:>).
It deals with the Divine names, astrological formulae and secret connections between the
various aspects of life and was widely used by all those who needed help in material and
spiritual difficulties. Another important work of this kind was the 'ulum an-nujUm,
which, as its title indicates, deals with astrology and the conjuring up of spirits. It was
written shortly after Mul)ammad Ghauth's work in Bijapur. Besides, numerous ways of
averting evil are in use, such as pious ejaculations and Koranic ser1tences written in
calligraphic pictures (Pl. XL a, XL!, XLII), or, in recent times, inscriptions and paintings
on trucks and tank waggons with religious motifs to protect the driver from all possible
evil (Pl. XL b).
It is natural that the reformers have never ceased speaking against these popular
practices which allowed non-Islamic elements to color Islam. The need for reform became
even more urgent in the nineteenth century when the Muslims were faced not only with
the Hindu majority but with the British, who rapidly extended their power in the Sub-
continent after 1757. The new legislation, the introduction of the British school system
and of the English language as medium of administration, the presence of missionaries
a long with the breakdown of old social structures in the Muslim society affected the
Muslims extremely hard. The general discontent manifosted itself in the so-called Mutiny
of 1857, in which the aged monarch, Bahadur Shah Zafar, poet and calligrapher, for a
short time, under the pressure of his friends, acted as real ruler of India and not as a mere
puppet of the British. The rebellion ended with Bahadur Shah's
deposition, and the British Crown assumed power over the
larger part of India. Understandably, Muslim orthodoxy refused
any cooperation with the British and did not favor participation
in the new educational system; but other Muslims understood
the necessity of modern education, from which the Muslims
could benefit and which would help them to use Western tech-
nology for their own material development. It was Sir Sayyid
Al)mad Khan (Pl. XLVI b) who untiringly called for a reform
of Islamic education and in 1875 founded the Anglo-Muslim
College in Aligarh, UP (Pl. XLVII b). Although the orthodox,
particularly those around the Dar al-'ru<lm of Deoband with
its strictly orthodox curriculum, defied Sir Sayyid and his work,
Fig. 16
the example of Aligarh was imitated in several other citit'S of
the Subcontinent (Dacca, Karachi, etc.); and the college. which acquired University
status after World \Var I, became later a center of the Muslim freedom movement.
Many of the leading scholars and politicians of Muslim India and Pakistan are products
of Aligarh.
Various reformist groups extended their activities during the rarly twentieth century.
and after World War I the so-called khiliifat movement was the first mass movement
in which Hindus and Muslims participated. But the hope that the Turkish Sultan-Caliph
would become the spiritual overlord of all Muslims was destroyed when Atatuk abolished
the caliphate in x924, despite the intervention of the Aga Khan and the noted author
Original from
Sayy;d Ameer Ali. On the other hand, the cruelties that took place during the rebellion
nfthc South Indian )1u$lim$knownas.\tapiUas(Moplas)in 1921-22creatodnewteMlon•
between the Muslim khilifatim and Gandhi. which led to the break-up of the shon -livcd
unity. While Maulinl AM! Kal1m Azid. the theoretician of !he khilifat movement
(1'1. X l.\'l c).rcmaincd faithfultotheidcalofafreeundi•;dedll>diaandbcc:une lndi a'•
fir">tcduco.tion mini•tetalterpa.rtition, .\tulµ.m=<I lqbil (t877-193S) cxpro<<ed for the
fint time O!"'nly the possibility of a "l"lrate )\u$lim homeland in the Mu$lim majority
provin<:Hin theN<>r1bwcst. lqbal.!""'t.philosopl>cr,andar<kntadmircrofGo<:thcand
)faulJ.n1 Rllmi. tried to tnch tlw: Mu$lim$through hi• poetry in Urdu and Pcman a
""""""lf-cmi lidcnceandcallcdthcmtode\"Clopalltheir•treni;thinfaithful imitationof
thcideaJ, ..,1bythc Prophetuntil thcycameaocl""'asP"'<Sible tothe statu•oftbc
Perfect Man.whoisthe most !"'rftt:t..,rvant of God and lli• cooperator (Pl. X l.\' ld)
lqbali• regardod bythe Palli•tanisasthcfathcrofthcirnation.andhis"'1lalltombat
thcstepsofthcll1dsh1hiMosqllCinLahorei• a.opiritu0.:lcc nterofPakist•n.but asapoet.
and•piritualguideh e i<a!SO~at!yadmi=linlndia
Partition took 1~aceonAugun ''4· 1<}47;in 1971.th•""-•t wing of Pakistan.separated
from the WO<! wing by a distance of about 1~ookm and by a diffcrent language a nd ,.;ript.
bccameindeptndentasB>.nglaDesh.Oncmajorissueinallthrecpart>nfthe Subcont inent
i• lhatofeduca1ion.forthegapbet,.·centhetr.1.ditionalth<0logian•andreligiou•lcgalists
and \\'cstem-tr.1.in.,.\ ochola.,;andla...-ye,... haslodto..,inu<tcn<ion•(a<inthe Panjab
riots in 1953. dir..:tod against theAhmadiyya."which wa<de<larcd in 197~tobea non-
}lu•lim group). The problem ol the corr.ct inlet!'rctation of the Koran and ito la...-s
eontinu<><tol>odiocu~a•~th<quc•t;nn.whati • anl.lamic<lal < -The•h«n,..<>f
saintsin allpu\softhe Suhcnn\inPntare•!ill,·isi tedbythou$ands.e,•onthoughtMrit'"
have becorru: "'i~amicized" in !l<ln>e J~attS . Their maintenance ho'""C\'er becomt:5 more
difficult ewn though thel>W/~/dep;ortmcnts ha,·cofliciall}" taken overrt:5ponsibility for
them:butthefamili., ofthewjjill/0MifM"are s1iUlargelyT<:SJ><1nsihleforthchoopitality
offercdto,;sitors. Oneinte.-..tingf.,,.turei•thc de,·elopmentofnowlYJ>l"OfmMqUt5
in Paki•tan which. for the first time. no longer imitate traditional }foghul archit«:ture
but remindthc o1"encerofTurkish 1nodels(PI. Xt.\'l ll a)
o,;g1,.11rom
°'"""'" Google UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
INTRODUCTI ON 19
The problem of the Islamization of the Subcontinent has been succintly expressed by a
Western-trained Indian Muslim, Imtiaz Ahmad, who states:
Islan1ization Jlroducc<l a double and contradicto ry effect upon Indian &Oeicty. One the one hand,
it ser·ved to dis tantiate the Hindus and ~l u~l im.s by creating a consciousness of constjtuting a com-
munity among the ~luslims. On the o ther hand, it enabled Islam to accomodat:e and assilate
indigeno us social and cultural elements thro ugl1 thcir legitin1ization as Islan1ic. This contradiction
has never been \vho11)• resol\'ed and has 1nade Islam in India a unique blend of values, beliefs and
mores t hat are neither v.•holly Arabic nor wholly Indian. It is this blending that also makes Indian
Islam a unique religious tradition 1\0t so rnuch io a formal sense but rather as the actual faith
of living persons.1'
1' In: Attar SISG H {ed.), S<l'i"4Cultural lmpatt of Islam on India, Chandigarh 1976, p. 101.

CATALOGUE OF I LLUSTRATIONS
Figures in the Text

Fig. 1. Inscription (" In the Name of God the Merciful the Compassionate") from a tomb-
stone in Gujarat. Drawn by A.S. after a photograph by Dr. Gubhan Khakee.
Fig. 2. Tree-Mosque. Gutschow-Pieper, Ind1:en, p. 211.
Fig. 3. The Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Dehli, early 13th century. Volwahscn, lslamisches
lndien p. 41.
Fig. 4. Sufis. From the border illuminations of an Akbarnama. F. R. Martin, Miniat ure
Painting and Painters, pp. 209, 210.
Fig. 5. Jaunpur, Congregational Mosque, 1470. Volwahscn, I.e. p. 45.
Fig. 6. Champaner. Friday Mosque, 1455. ibid.
Fig. 7. Srinagar, Friday Mosque, i7th century. Fischer, Diicher, Deeken undGewiilbe, p. 9.
Fig. 8. Qadam-rasill Mosque in Gaur, 1531. Dani, Muslim Architecture in Bengal, p. i27 .
Fig. 9. Bijapur, Minaret of the Ibrahim Rau2a, 1626. Cousens, Bijapur, pl. XXXIX .
Fig. 10. Minaret of the Great Mosque in Dchli, ca. 1650. K. Fischer, I.e. p . 95.
Fig. 11. The Great Mosque in Dehli, i644-1658. Volwahsen, I.e. p . 47.
Fig. 12. The Profession of Faith a) from a tomb in Ajmer, 1576; b) from a tomb in Makli
Hill, 17th century. a) Tirmizi, Ajmer throug/1 inscriptions, pl. IV ; b) after photo,
A.S.
Fig. 13. Relief of a warrior, from the Chaukandi tombs near Karachi. Cousens, Sind, fig. 27.
Fig. i 4. Bells at a shrine in t he Punjab. Aft er photo A.S.
Fig. 15. The Profession of faith in mirrored Tughra-style from the Imambara in Rudauli,
UP. Photo A.S.
Fig. 16. Calligraphic head with the names of Muhammad and his family members, by
Bahadur Shah ?afar. National Museum Lahore, after photo.
Fig. 17. Alliih, from the tomb of Shah Daulat, Maner (Bihar), 17th century. After photo
A.S.
Plat.es
Plat.e I
The first phase of Muslim presence in t he Subeontinent is known from some inscriptions:
Plate Ia:
The Kulic inscription of the mosque at Bhambhorc (Sind). excavated by the Pakistan
Archeological Department in 1958-1961; it is dated 294 hf 906-7. - Photo Courtesy
Sayyid Hussamuddin Rashdi, Karachi.
Plate lb :
The second wave of conquest after the year 1000 reached Lahore, later Delhi and Ajmer.
Original from
oigitizeo by Google UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
CATALOGUE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 21
Besides the inscriptions in Delhi (Iltutmish's tomb, Sultan Ghan) a fine specimen of
plaited Kuti is found on the Arhai din ka jhonpra in Ajmer, dating from ca. 1200.
Plate l e:
Other remnants of early inscriptions were found in Bhadreshwar, Distr. Cutch, Gujarat,
at a shrine now devoted to Lal Shahbaz (vd. Pl. IV A); one plaited Kufic inscription is
dated 554 h/1159, another one (partly shown here) on a sarcophagus, 624 h/1227. Courtesy
Dr. Z. A. Desai, Nagpur.
Publi$hed in Epigraphia lwlUa: Arabi' a" Persia" Swpp14ma"' 1965, Copyright Archeological
Survc>• of India..
Plate I-III
Islam in the Subcontinent has two major aspects, orlJwdcx and mystical.
Plate Ila:
Woman from Faisalabad (Lyallpur) in a black burqa' over a white shalt11iir (baggy
trousers) and qami$ (long shirt). to which is added a d()j>atla, a long scarf that covers the
head or is worn around the shoulders. Tailored clothing was introduced to India by the
Muslims. - Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Plate Ilb:
Theologian from Rawalpindi (Pakistan). - Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Plate Illa :
Woman in ecstasy at a saint's tomb in Hyderabad (Sind.). - Photo Dr. Jan Marek,
Prague.
Published in A. Schimmel, 1\1yslical Dime•siMt.s of Isl.am , Chapel Hill 1975, p. 151.
Plate IIIb:
Sufi musician from Bulrri (Sind), singing a mystical folksong in the Sindhi language. -
Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Plate IV-VI: Early Sufi Sanctuaries.

Plate !Va:
Dervish in the black garment of the maJangs at the shrine of L.U Shahblz Qalandar,
Sehwan (Sind). The sanctuary of this Sufi saint of the thirteenth century is built on the
site of an old Shiva temple on the Indus, and the river is said to be subject to the saint's
command. - Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Literature : Richard Burton, SiM and tlte Races lhaJ inllabit tlu Valley of Ille lfldus, London 1851,
repr. 1966; ibid., Sind revisited, Vol. 11, pp. 185. 193: Adrian Druartc, TM Begca,. Saini of S1llwan,
and olhn skel,ltt.t of Sind, Karachi s.d. (ca. 1974); I•eter ~tayne, Saints of SiM, London 1956 (facetious
but well observed}.
Plate !Vb:
Visitors at the oldest shrine in the Subcontinent, Dl!.tl!. Ganj Bakhsh Hujwiri (d. ca. 1071)
in Lahore. - Courtesy Ministry of Information, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.
Original from
22 CATALOGUE OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Plate Va:
Plan of the shrine of Qu\buddin Bakhtiar Kaki in Mehrauli, Delhi, one of the oldest
saints of the Chishti order (d. 1235).
Plate Vb:
Recitation of the Koran in the shrine of Farid-uddin Ganj-i Shakar (d. 1265) in Pak-
pattan (Ajodhan) on the Sutlej. Fariduddin was the main organizer of the Chishti order
and one of the most influential saints in the Punjab. - Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Llteraturc: K. A . Nizami, The Life and Times of ShaiAls Farid ud-Din Ganj- i Shakar, Aliga.rh 1955
Plate VIa:
Tomb of Niiamuddin Auliya in Delhi. Niiamuddin was the most influential North
Indian Chishti saint; he died in 1325, having outlived seven kings.-Drawing from Sangin
Beg ibn 'Ali Akbar Beg, S ayr al-m.anazil, MS. Sprenger 234, fol. 98 b.- Courtesy Staats-
bibliothek Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Berlin .
Plate VIb:
One of the numerous crocodiles in the tank of the sanctuary of Mangho Pir near Karachi,
founded in the 13th century (a saint turned a llower into a croc<>dile l) and ever since
revered.
Plate VII
Medieval Su/is in various guises and positi<>ns belong to the favorite topics of Indo-
Muslim artists.
Plate VIia:
Dervish with a cat, marbleized paper, Deccan. late 17th century (H. ca 22 cm.). In
many pictures a dervish is represented with animals, among which cats play a special role.
Courtesy Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad/Deccan.
For a related picture in the sa1ne technique see Ed. Binney. India n mini<Jlwres ?\r. 128, '''itb a n1is-
leading inscription "}:lafi;-i Shtr3.it".
Plate Vllb:
\Vandering dervish of the qalandar type with stick and rosary ; the stick 'erves him also
as support while sitting. M<>ghul School, 17th century.-Courtcsy L. A. Mayer Memorial
Museum, J erusalem.
Plate V III
Islam came to Gujarat mainly via Sind ; in the late twtlfth century first lsmaili mis-
sionaries entered the country in which a strong Sufi influence can be witnessed during
the 15th century. More than dsewhere, Muslim architecture in this area is reminiscent
of Hindu forms.
Plate VII la:

Detail from the MinarC't of Achiyut Bibi's mosque. 16. century.-Photo Dr. Elizabeth
Merklinger, Ottawa.
Original from
Plate VIIIb :
\Vindow of the Sidi Said Mosque, Ahmadabad, 1572-73, with the vegetabilian decora-
tion typical of Ahmadabad architecture.- Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Plate IX
The Muslims entered Bengal as early as 1204. and developed a distinct culture, partly
in relation with Delhi, partly independently.
Plate IXa:
Chota Sona Masjid, "SmaU Golden Mosque", Gaur, built by 'Alii'uddin l;fusain Shah
(1493-1519), the greatest of the Gaur rulers; measurements 25 x I6 m.; in the background
at the left the ladies' gallery.
From: Klaus Fischer. D4cher, Deeken und CewOJbt, fig. Nr. 55. See a lso A. H. Dani. Muslim architecluYe
i" Bengal, Dacca 1961 ; ~f . Tarafdar, Husa in Sha.hi Bengal, Dacca 1965.
Plate IXb :
Part of the inscription of the mosque of Mandra, Distr. Dacca (836 h/1432), composed
in powerful th1duth calligraphy. Dacca, Museum.
Published in ?.luntt.ai Hasan. In (!Mesi of D"ibul, Karachi 1968, and various Pakjstani calendars.
Plate !Xe:
Dacca, The Satgunbaz ("Seven Domes") Mosque, typical example of provincial Moghul
style, 17th century.
Plaus X-XIV
The Deccan became an independent Muslim area after Mul)ammad Tughluq had exiled
the Muslim intelligentsia from Delhi to Daulatabad in 1327; in 1347, the Bahmanids
established the first Deccani kingdom, settling in Gulbarga and shifting after 1422 to Bidar.
By the end of the fifteenth century the Deccan was split up in five principalities out of
which Bijapur under the Adilshahis and Golconda under the Qutbshahis resisted the
Moghul armies till 1686 and 1687 respectively.
Plate X
Interior of the Great Mosque in the citadel area of Gulbarga (1367), one of the most
outstanding examples of early Muslim architecture in India. It measures 66 X 52 m.
and has 68 bays, each covered by a cupola.-Photo Andreas Volwahsen, Bonn.
Published in ibid., fndisdle Baukunst islamisch~r Z1it. p. 152 ; more photos pp. 151-155.
P late Xia:
Ibrahim 'Adil Shah II of Bijapur (158o-1626), ruler, art lover, musician, and poet,
under whom Bijapuri culture reached its zenith. The miniat ure is a Moghul copy (Labore
1019 h/ 1610-11) of a Deccani original.- Courtesy Naprstek Museum, Prague.
FoT further information about portraits of Ibrahim 'Adil Shih see D. Barret, "Painting at Bijapur"•
in It. l,inder. \\.ilson, PJL, pp. 142-1 .. 3; Lubor Hajek, Indian .Afi'niatures of tlle J\lfogllul School, London
196o, p1. 10-14; Ed. B inney, lnd1'.a n ,\/inialures, Nr. 127 and Nr. 172 (a late Hydtrabadi version) ;
M. Bus~li , Indian J.1iniatures Nr. 27 shows the portrait preserved in tbe British Museum .
Original from
CATALOGUE OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Plate Xlb:
Mu))ammad-Qull Qutbshah (ruled 158o-1612), founder of Hyderabad, poet and maece-
nas of artists.-Courtesy Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Published in H . K. Sherwani, Muhammod·Qull Qu!b Sh4h, Founder o! Haiderabad. London 1967,
Frontispice; on pp. .f0-43 the author discusses the single and group portraits of P.lul;lam1nad·Qult;
the Rijksmuseum O\Yns three; ~·o solo portraits are in the Hyderabad State Museum.
Plate Xlla:
Farman of Mal)miid II Bahmanshah for the family of the Chishti saint Sayyid Mul;tam-
mad Gesiidaraz (d. 1422). Preserved in the family of the present sajjiidanishin, Gulbarga.
Plate Xllb:
Scroll containing the silsila (chain of initiation and family tree) of the Junaidi Sufi
order in Gulbarga; W ca. 40 cm., L more than 15 m. A similar scroll in Gulbarga is some
33 m. long.
Plate Xllla:
XIII A. 'Alam, spearhead, of a Sufi, with invocations of God, the Prophet, 'Ali, Fatima,
J:Iasan und l:lusain, further yii kiifi'l-muhimmiit "O you who fulfills the needs" and yii
mufattiiJ al-abwiib "O You who opens the doors!", Sura 61/13 "Help from God and near
victory" and the niid 'Ali, an invocation of 'Ali; the latter two sentences are very fre-
quently found on amulets, engraved stones, and buildings. Bidri work (silver inlay in
black), the reverse side black inlay in silver. H. ca. 30 cm.-Courtesy Jagdish and Kamala
Mittal Museum, Hyderabad/Deccan.
Plate Xlllb:
Model of the shrine of Gesiidaraz, Bidri work, H ca 45 cm.; preserved in a Sufi shrine
in Bidar.
Plate Xlllc:
Yii buduiJ, protective formula (numerical value 2-4-6-8) in the wall of the citadel of
Gulbarga. H ca 20 cm.
Cf. Encyclopedia of Islam, first edition, Vol. I, s .v. budUfi.
Plate XIVa:
Upper part of the mi!Jriib in the great Mosque of Bijapur (1565), added to the building
in 1636 by Malik Yaqiit J:Iabashi, one of the Abyssinian officers who played a decisive
role in Deccani politics. The mi!Jriib in bas-relief, H. ca 6.70 m., W 6 m., is extensively
decorated in gold, blue, and red; numerous inscriptions in superb tughra-style as well as
naturalistic niches with books in relief fill the space. The mi~rab is usually covered with a
long curtain to preserve its splendour.
See H. Cousens, Bijapur. Pl. I and pl. XX-XX!V.
Plate XIVb:
Two Mollas; in the background the typical Golconda architecture with its graceful
Original from
CATALOGUE OF ILLUSTRATIONS z5
bulbous domes. Last quarter of the 18th century, Hyderabad. H 29.2 cm.-W 42.5 cm.
Private Collection.
Published i.n S . C. \Velch, R0<>m for Wl>Mtr, pl. 68 b.
Plate XV
Kashmir came under Islamic rule soon after r320. Its Islamisation was largely due to
Sufi missionaries, some of them belonging to the traditional orders, others forming a
genuinely Kashmiri Rishi order.
P late XVa:
Pieces of cloth at the window of Baba Rishi, Gulmarg (ca. 2800 m. a bove sea-level).
It is common to bind such pieces at doors, windows, or trees in sanctuaries to " remind"
the saint of a vow one has made in the hope for his help.
P late XVb:
'urs ("wedding", memorial day of the saint's death) at the shrine of Sayyid 'Ali Hama-
dhani (d. r385),Srinagar. (October 16, 1980). This Kubrawi saint, a prolific writer, reached
Kashmir "with 700 sayyids" in l37I.
See. J. K. Teufel, Eine Lehensbtsclirtibung dts Scllei.&hs <Ali-i Hamad4ni, Leiden 1962.
Plaks XVI -XVII: Rapprochement between I slam and Hinduism.

Plate XV!a :
Kabir, the Weaver saint (ca. 1500), from a manuscript of Chandar Bhan Brahman's
(d. 1661) Tu~fat al-fuqara.-Courtesy J ohn R ylands Library, Manchester, Pers. Ms. 39.
See Charlotte Vaudeville. Kahi,,, Vol. I., Ox.ford 197~ .
Plate XVlb :
Miniature from an early manuscript of lllolla Da'ild's L6rak Chanda, written about
1370 in Hindi: a love story used for devotional purposes.-Courtesy John Rylands
Libarary Manchester. Hindustani Ms. I , fol. 147 recto.
D. Barrett·B. Gray, P aifllling of frtdt'a, pp. 69-71; Ed. Binney, I ndian J\1i" iaJures, Nr. 6; R. Pinder-
\ \'ilson, PIL fig. 87; Frank Taylor. "A n1iss-ing Hindustani text", Bull. of IAe Joh" Rylands Lilwary
\ roJ. 48, pp. 252 {.: S . H . Askari, "l\·l ulli Da 'Gd's ChapdA'in and Sadhan's Afaina Sat', Paino Un iv.
journal XV 19(>o, pp. 6 1-83. The. most famous L6r Ch4-nda miniatures are in the Prince o{ Wales
1'fuscum, Bonlbay.
Plat~ XVII
Assembly of Dervishes, a superb representation of a meeting probably in Ajmer.
with the leading Sufi masters of India from a ll ages getting together. Some indulge in
dance and ecstasy. The most famous Hindu sages such as Kabir, Namdev, and others
a re portrayed and identified in the foreground. Most likely painted under Dara Shikoh's
patronage.-Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Plates XVIII-XX: A kbar and Hi'.s Age.
Plate XVIII
Marble screen in Salim Chishti's shrine, Fathpur Sikri. After securing the blessings of
Salim Chishti, which resulted in the birth of a son, Akbar constructed his temporary
Original from
capital around the splendid mausoleum of the saint after whom Salim, the later JaMngir,
was called.-Photo Andreas Volwahsen, Bonn.
Published id .. lndisclle BavA"Wnsl islamiscllw Zei.t, p . J.s; more photos of Fathpur Sikri ibid. pp. 21-38.
Plate XIX
Akbar in Fathpur Sikri, discussing with the Jesuit father Rudolfo Aquaviva and his
companions. From the Akbarniima of Abii'l-Fazl, 22.5 x 12.4 cm .. painted by Nan Singh.
---Olurtesy Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.
Published in \Vellecz, Akbar's religious I/sought . . , pl. 30. See further Binney, Indian ,\fiNi4'Nt'e.t, Nr.
28 b the picture from Jerome Xavier's D4.sl411·i ma.silt. written Agra 16o1-16o15 . It was quite fashion-
able in the first half of the 17th century to copy Christian motifs: see esp. Beach. The Grand Mogul.
pp. 155-157.
Plate XXa:
Akbar visiting the shrine of Mu"inuddin Chishti (d. 1236) in Ajmer (detail). Akbar used
to go to Ajmer regularly from 1564 onward. In this miniature from an Akbarn4ma, painted
after 1590 (outline Ikhl~. painting Kanha. portraits Basa.wan), the emperor, his compa-
nions and the sajjiidanishin and his companions lift their hands to recite FiUi!ia (Sura 1)
in front of the sanctuary, as it is done for the soul of a deceased person. At the door, flower
garlands are sold to be put on the sarcophage; one of Akbar's men distributes alms from
a large basket and food is dispensed from huge vessels (Jahangir was later to give two large
cauldrons to the shrine.)-Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Published in Wellecz. AAba,.'s Ytligious lhovglrl, pl. 16; ibid. pl. 17 shows Akbar's pilgrimage on foot
to Ajrner.
Plate XXb :
Beginning of an inscription at the shrine in Ajmer from Shah Jahan's time.
Published in S . A . 1. Tirmid.hi, AjmeY lliYMICh i11StYif>li<Jn.s, New Delhi 1968. Pl. X.
Plates XXI-XXVII : Moglsul India.
Plate XXI:
Page from a manuscript of the Divan of J:{afi~ with autographs of Hum:iyiin and
Jahangir who used the book for prognostication, as it was customary in Iran and the coun-
tries under Persian cultural influence.---Olurtesy Khudabakhsh Public Library, Patna.
Plate XXIIa:
The Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore, built 1634, is noted for its decoration in colored til<'S
with flower motifs as they arc typical for later Moghul architecture mainly in the Punjab.
Plate XX lib:
Elevation of the Wazir Khan Mosque.
From K. Fischer, DiklaeY,, Detken und Geu.-dlbe, Nr. Sq,
Plate XXIIc:
A Muslim performing his ablution before prayer in the tank of the \'l'azir Khan Mosque.
-Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Color reproduction of the Mosque in K. u.nd Ch. F . Fischer, lffdis'h' Bavku11sl, pl. XXX, XXXl.
Original from
Plate XXIII:
Shah Jahan honours the religious orthodoxy. Right side of a double page from the
Windsor Castk Shahjahannama, completed 1656; 35.1 x 24.2 cm. inside the borders
{not shown here). On the left side, one sees Shah Jahan with Dara Shikoh behind him
on the royal platform, along with attendants. Painted by Murad.- Courtesy Freer
Gallery of Art, Washington DC., Nr. 42.18 A.
Both halves published in color in \Vclch, f ,lfp pl. 31-32; see also B. Ca.'iCoigne, TM GYeat A1ogla-uls,
p. 200.
Plate XXIVa:
Dara Shikoh with Hindu sages (attributed to Govardhan). One might of think a re-
presentation of Dara's discussion with Baba Lal Das, but the prince looks too young for
that event. For the time being, the identity of the figures has not yet been established.
H 22, W 15.5 cm. Private Collection.
The topic "prince visiting ascetics" or ''an hermit" is quite common in the {irst half of t he 17th century,
Ct. Welch, IMP pl. 36. and Beach. G.a.d Mogul. Nr. 63 p. 166 and Nr. 61 p. 16~.
For Dara see B. J. Hasrat, Dara Shikoh: Life and WQf'k, Shantiniketam 1953; L. Massigno,. -Cl. fl wart.
''Les E11tretlens de Lahore", }A CCIX, 1925.
Plate XXIVb:
A prayer in Dara Shikoh's handwriting on marbleized paper. Private Collection.
Published in Beach, The GraJ&d Mogul. Nr. 68 p. 171 . An albu1n of calligraphies by this prince is pte-
$crvcd in the British Library, London, see R . Pinder-Wilson, Paintings fro,,. tlae M uslim Courts of
fftdia, London 1976.
Plate XXVa:
The Qadiri saint Mian Mir (d. 1635), to whom Dara Shikoh dedicated his hagiographic
work Saklnat al-auliya, with his successor Molla Shah Badakhshi (d. 1661) on the left.
(Original size).-Courtesy Bodleian Library. Oxford, Ms. Ouseley Add. 167, fol. 15 v.
PublishM in !'ltlr (Alf Qiini<, J\1aqdl4t asA·sflu<ard, ed. Sayyid Hussamuddin R.3.$hdi, Karachi 1956.
The Sa.klnat al-auliytl ed. by i'it. R . Jalali r...'a>ini, Tehran 1344shf1965.
Plate XXVb:
Sarmad Shahid, a Persian Jew converted to Islam, who came to India, joined Dara's
circle and antagonized the establishment by his eccentric behaviour and his daring Persian
quatrains; he was executed in 1661. His tomb is in Delhi between the Jami Masjid and
the Red Fort.-Courtesy National Museum, Karachi.
See B. A. Hashmi, "Sarma<I", Islamic Culture l \'-V, 1930-31: \V. J. Fischel, ''je"'s and Judaism at
the Court of the ~~ogbul En1pcrors in t.'ledieval India", lslomic Culture XX\' , 1951.
Plate XXVc :
Motif from the marble basis of Milin Mir's beautiful, small tomb in Lahore Cantonment.
Plate XXVIa:
Page from a manuscript of Fayii's (d. 1595) commentary on the Koran in undotted
letters, Sawa!i' al-ilham (printed in 78o ff. big folio in Lucknow, Naval Kishore, 13o6 H/
1888). Fayii, homme-de-lettres and brother of Akbar's historiographer Abu'l-Fatl, be-

longed to Akbar's closest friends and allegedly influenced the emperor in his shifting away
from orthodox Islam.-Courtesy National Museum Karachi.
Plate XXVIb:
A scribe with a youth burnishing paper; Portrait of Mir 'Abdall~h K~tib at the end of a
manuscript of the Divan of the Chishti poet l;Iasan Dihlawi (d. 1328 in Daulatabad),
commissioned by Prince Salim (later jahangir) in Allahabad, dated lOllh/1602-1603,
fol. 187 reeto.-Courtesy Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
Published Beach. T114 Grand 1\ 1ogwl, Nr. 1 p. 39; for the manuscript see R. Ettingbausen. Painlift8S
of JM Sultans aM Emperors of India in American ColUction.s, Bombay 1961, pl. 8. For other portraits
of scribes-honored masters of their noble craft-see also \Vellccz. AkbaT's reJigious lhoutlsl, pl. 11
{end of a Gulistan, 1581); \Velch IMP, pl. 19 a portrait of Daulat the Painter and 'Abdur Ra.l)Im the
Scribe: further the superb portrait of an aged scribe ibid. pl. 29 and Beach, I.e. Nr. 66 p. 169.
Plate XXVIIa:
Aurangzeb (ruled 1658-1707) in his last days, bent over his prayer beads; detail from
an 18th century miniature. Courtesy Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge. Mass. Purchase
Francis H. Burr Memorial Fund, Inv. Nr. 1953.46.
Cf. also Indisclte Atbumbl4tttr. M i nialvren und KaUigrapliitf'I au.s de,. Zeil der fl•loghul-Kaise,., Leip:tig
• und Weimar 1979, Nr. 39.
Plate XXVllb:
Courtyard of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, built by Aurangzeb in 1673. It surpasses
in grandeur the two congregational mosques built by his father Shah jahan in Agra (1648)
and Delhi (1654-55); its courtyard measures ca. 180 m. to 180 m., it prayer hall ca. 91 m.
to 28 m., and it contains numerous relics.-Photo Swissair.
Exact description in Muhd. \Vall Ullah Khan, LahMe and its im/J01'ta'41 mo"um.nts, Dept. of Archeology,
Government of Pakistan, 1961: Dr. M. Abdullah Cbagbtai, The Bods"4hi !<fosjid. Lahore 1972.
Plates XXVIII-XXIX
Sind was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in 711 and incorporated into the Moghul
Empire in 1592.
Plate XXVIlla:
The Great Mosque in Thatta, one of the best examples of provincial Moghul style,
built in 1635. Famous for its fine woven fabrics, Thatta was then an important trade center
with a factory of the British East India Company.- Photo Dr. Klaus Fischer, Bonn.
Plate XXVIIIb :
The shrine of Shah 'Abdul Latif in Bhit Shah, covered with white and blue tiles. Shah
'Abdul Latif (d. t752) was the foremost mystical poet in the Sindhi language ; his Risa/6
is still loved by all Sindhis, Muslims and Hindus alike.-Courtesy Ministry of Information,
Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.
Literature.: H. T . Sorley, Shali Abdul LaJij of Bhil, Oxford 1940, repr. 1966; 1'fotilal jotwani, Shah
Abdwl LaJif: His life and work, New Delhi 197s: A. Schi1nmel, Pain and G,.ace, Leiden 1977, part II.
Plate XX!Xa :
Wall painting in a tomb in Pat Gui Mul;lammad near Dadii. Many tombs from the late

18th and 19th centuries are decorated with representations of rural or romantic scenes.-
Photo M. G. Konieczny, Karachi.
P late XXIXb:
Sohni swims through the Indus to meet her beloved. This folk story forms the basis
of one chapter in Sh~h 'Abdul La\lf's RisaJO and has often been used in Sindhi and Panjabi
mystical poetry. Rajput miniature, 18th century.-Courtesy Rietberg Museum, Zurich.
Similar miniatures in t he collection of Ed. Binney, lndia1t miniaJurds Nr. 105 (Farrukbabad. ca. 1770-
1775, ex. coll. Nawwab A~fuddaula of cAwadh), and Bodlcian Library Oxford, Ms. Ouseley Add. 166,
fol. 14 recto (Rajput, ca. 1700).
Plate XXX: South India

Plate XXXa :
The first Sura in a Malayalam translation of the Koran. (K. Umar Moulavi, Tarjumiin
aJ...qur'an, Tirurangadi, Kerala, 3rd. ed. 1974).-Courtesy Dr. M. Hamidullah, Paris.
Plate XXXb:
Beginning of 'Omar Pulavar's Sira Puranam, a Tamil poem about t he life of t he Pro-
p het, written in the late 17th century.- Courtesy Dr. David Shulman , Jerusalem.
Plates XXXI-XXXIII: Festive Days
P late XXXIa:
'Id prayer in Karachi during the '/ d al-a4/Jii. the Feast of Pilgrimage.-Courtesy
Ministry of Information, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.
Plate XXX lb:
'Id fair in Clifton, Karachi-the end of the fasting month, Ramadan , is always cele-
brated with great rejoicing.-Courtesy Ministry of Information, Government of Pakistan,
Islamabad.
Plate XXXIIa :
Making an elephant for firework, Lucknow 1815-1820; H 23.7 cm .. W 19.9 cm. An
armature is covered with a combustible paste to be burnt at a festive occasion, either at
' Id or, more likely, during the shab-i bariiJ, mid-Sha 'ban (the eighth lunar month). It is
believed that the fat es of all creatures are decreed on that date, and from early times
onward illuminations and firework were common during that night so that a topos des-
cribes a perfectly happy person by saying: "All his days were like the days of the <Jd,
and all his nights like the shab-i baral".
Private collection. Published in S. C. Welch. Roon1 for \Vonder. Nr. '40.
Plate XXXIlb:
Princess enjoys firework, ca. 1700. The picture most probably represents Aurangzeb's
gifted daughter Ub un-Nisa (d. 1689), known as poetess and maecenas of scholars.-
Courtesy Staatliche Museen, Museum for Islamische Kunst, Berlin (East).
Published in color in JMUche Albumbl411t,. Nr. 43.- For similar miniat ures see Binney. Indian Mi"ia·
lures Nr. 74 (ca. 1720) and the later miniature Nr. 154 from Hyderabad.
Original from
Plate XXXIUa:
Pathan Dance at 'Id, Quetta.-Photo Sayyid Hussamuddin Rashdi, Karachi.
Plate XXXlllb:
Children- as here in the old city of Lahore-enjoy balloons, young girls bangles and
new clothes, and everywhere sweets are distributed to friends and neighbours at the end
of Ramac;lan.-Photo Samina Quraeshi, Newton, Mass.
Published in ibid., Ugacy of Ille Indus, p. 141.
Plates XXXIV-XXXV: Family and Marriage

Plate XXXIVa:
A Moghul noblewoman of mature age. Drawing from Shah Jahan's time.-Courtesy
India Office Library, Johnston Album XIII fol. 5.
Published in BussagJi, Indian Miniatures, pl. 32.Cf. also \Viebke \Valthcr, Die Frau im Islam, Stuttgart
1980, pt 43: Moguldame mit Dienerinnen {Museum fiir Indische Kunst I 5055, Berlin~West). and
pl. 115 : bloguldamc (~fus6e Gui1nct, Paris, Inv. Nr. 3619 HC).
Plate XXXIVb :
Young bride from Hyderabad/Deccan. The saree and veil are of radiant red silk: the
nose ring is the sign of the newly married woman.
Plate XXXVa:
The ceremony of "mirror and Koran" in a noble family. The bridegroom is supposed
to see his wife for the first time in a mirror while she is reading the Koran .
Published in Shayeste lkran1ullah. From Pardalt to Parliamenl, London 1964.
Plate XXX Vb:

Bridegroom before the Qadi, signing the marriage contract in the presence of witnesses.
-Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
There are &e\'nal miniatures shov..-ing the marriage proces..coions of ~foghul princes such as Diri. ShikOb ;
amusing is a miniature in the. Rietberg l\.luseum Zurich: "Shah <Alain rocciving his bride". Likewise,
the birth of princes has been represented se,·eral times, the most famous example being the Birth of a
Prince {Akbar's son Salfm Jahanglr}, ca. 16~0. preserved in the ~1useun1 <>f Fine Arts, Boston. 17.3112,
published in Welch, I Jl,f P pl. 16 and Beach, Tlie Grand ,'i:foguJ. Nr. is p. 65 with bibUograpby. Another
account of the same event in the Akba,.,.dma, Victoria and Albert Museum, s . \\'ellecz, Akbar's ,.4li-
giow$ lh011ghl, pl. 22 ; see further Chester Beatty Library, l\.f$. 3, fol. 143 b, ..\bu ,1 Fai:l's A ,in· i A kbarl,
pub1. in \\1 • Vlalthcr, Die Frau im Islam, p. 2'2.
Plates XXXVI-XXXVIII
Shia Islam is concentrated in the areas around Lucknow and Hyderabad/Deccan:
smaller pockets of Shia population are however found everywh~re in the Subcontinent,
from Peshawar to Dacca, and their number may be greater than officially registered. Of
particular interest are their Mul)arram celebrations.
Plate XXXVla:
The big Imambara in Lucknow, built by Nawwab A~afuddaula in 1784, partly in order
to employ the starving population . It is 65 m. long and x6 m. deep and contains many of

CATALOGUE OF ILLUSTRATI ONS 31
the implements for the Mul)arram celebrations. A'i"fuddaula would spend some 6oooo ru-
pees in a single Mui)arram.-Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
~ ~lrs. Ptleer Hasan Ali, Obstniations c:>n llie i\:fussulmaun.s of India, 2 vols., London 1832, repr. 1973 ;
A. H . Sharar, Lucknow, Iha last phase of an OrienlaJ ctdlure, transl. a11d edited by E . S. Harcourt and
Fakhir Husain, London 1975.
P late XXXV!b :
"Breastbeating" during Mul)arram in Lucknow; with knives and swords, the partici-
pants inflict wounds upon themselves in order to participate in the suffering of Imam
J:lusain and his family during the battle of Kerbela. on tenth Muharram (10. October)
680.- Photo Courtesy Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
More photographs of 1.ful;t.a.rram in Lucknow in id., Po Slopach sultanti a rad./W, Prague 1973.
Plate XXXVIla:
Mul)arram procession in Hyderabad/Deccan. Part of a scroll painted in Hyderabad
or Arcot around 1840. L 565.5 cm .. H 16.2 cm. It depicts the wild events during Mul)arram
when religious frenzy and carnival-like jokes became increasingly mixed.- Private Collec-
tion.
Published in \\'elch, Room fOI' W.,,.,..,.,.. Nr. 6<).
See Jafar Sharif and G. A. Hcrklots. Islam in India, ed. William Croke, London 1921, rcpr 1972.
Plate XXXVIlb :
Drummers in a Jllul)arram procession in Lucknow.-Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Plate XXXVIIIa :
A white horse, representing Ali's white mule Duldul, is usually lead in the Jllul)arram
p rocession, as here in ]hang, Punjab, Pakistan.-Photo Samina Quraeshi, Newton, Mass.
Published in id., Lega.c)• of I.he Indus, p. 164 ; there arc more pictures of a rural li:lul)arram and the
preparations in the village pp. 16'Z· 16s. 168-169.
Plate XXXVIIlb:
Ta'ziya in Lucknow. Replicas of the Imam's tomb are prepared for Mul)arram in various
shapes and sizes, often with rich decorations and gilding; smaller la'ziyas are buried
after the tenth of Muharram, bigger and more expensive ones are kept in store in the
Im:imbaras or other places such as shrines.- Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Plate XX XIX : I smaili I slam
'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, first Imam of the Shia, was
represented in the Dasa..W Avatar literature of the Ismailis of Indo-Pakistan as the tenth
avatar of Vishnu ; on this picture his white mule Duldul is attended by Hanuman. Painting
from a Satpanthi Ismaili community in Pirana, 1973.-Courtesy Dr. Gulshan Khakee,
Santa Monica.
See Gulsban Khakee, The Dasam6 Ava14,. of lh1 SatpanJAi 1.snuiilis and the Imam Shiihis of Jndo--
Pakislart, Ph. D. Diss. Harvard 197'2.
PlaUs XL-X LIV: Amulets, protective /Mmulas

Plate XL
Amulet in the shape of a mi/trilb or more probably of an arrow; it contains the last
Original from
three verses of Sura 68 which are used to ave.r t the Evil Eye. This large drawing (23.5 cm. X
15 cm.) comes probably from the Deccan, ca. 1800.-Courtesy Fogg Art Museum, Harvard
University, Cambridge, Mass. Gift: John Goelet, Inv. 1958. 181.
Published in Vlelch, !11dian Drawings, Nr. 38. A sirnilar drawing, without the background decorations,
is in a private collectioo.
Plate XL!a:
The Throne verse (Sura 2/256) in the form of a horse. Deccan, possibly Bijapur, late
16th century, H 16.7 cm., \IJ 25.5 cm. This verse is widely recommended for its protective
power.- Private Collection.
Published in Welch, Indian Drawings aftd Pai-.Jings Nr. 31 ; Rudi Paret , Der K01'an, Verlag fi.ir Sa.mm-
lcr, Graz 1979, pl. 28 a.
Plate XLib:
Buraq, painted on the back of a Pakistani tank waggon. The mysterious mount on
which the Prophet performed his nightly journey to Jerusalem and through the heavens
has been described in poetry and represented in refined Persian ascension miniatures, but
has also impressed the rural artists of Afghanistan and Pakistan who trust in the Prophet's
intercession for his community .- Photo A.S. 1975 near Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Publl&.hed in id., Und kluhammad isl s1in Pr<>Phtt, Cologne 1981.
Plate X LIIa :
Window in the shrine of Mul)ammad Ghauth Gwaliori, Gwalior, 16th century.
Plate X LIIb:
Page from Mul)ammad Ghauth Gawliori's ]awahir-i khamsa, " The Five Jewels" , which
deals with the Divine Names, astrology, and mystico-magical practices. The ShaHari
saint Mul)ammad Ghauth (d. 1562) was famous for his power in invocating the Divine
Names. H is ]awahir, extant in both Arabic and Persian, was widely used in India, as
Jafar Sharif's numerous quotations prove.- Manuscript in the Library of the Muslim
University Aligarh, Courtesy Professor K. A. Nizami, Aligarh.
A similar work is the ' U IUm an.,,.ujtlm, Bijapur 1570, the main part of \\'hicll is preserved in the
Chester Beatty Library Dublin, and some pages in Ed. Binney's collection, see Binney. ltulimt Minia~
lures Nr. J 17 in color, and \Velcb. A Flowt-,, /,,om tt;tr)' meadow Nr. 74
Plate XLII!a:
Bangles at the door of a woman saint's shrine, Khuldabad. Instead of pieces of cloth
as they are tied to almost every shrine it is customary to hang bangles at the shrine of
woman saints to which men have no access. Photo A.S. 1980.
Plate XLIIlb:
Arrows in the memorial room of Baba Shah Muslifir, Panchakki, Aurangabad (early
18th century). Nobles would bring an arrow to their spiritual guide before embarking on
military pursuits; the saint then would bless it for "the saints can tum back the arrows
to the bow" (Riimi). The idea of having arrows blessed must have developed under the
influence of Sura 8/17: " Not you did cast when you cast, but God cast". Some Indian
treatises of the 17th century deal with such practiees.-Photo A.S. 1980.
Original from
Plate XLIVa:
"Koranic coat'', underwear with invocations and verses from the Koran, formerly
worn by the officers of the Nizam of Hyderabad, Deccan. Late 18th century.-Courtesy
Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad/Deccan.
Plate XLIVb:
Brass bowl with the zodiacal signs, the 99 Most Beautiful Names of God and the Throne
verse on the exterior, Sura Ya-Si11 (36) in the interior, further some letters and numbers.
H 6 cm .. Diam 19.4 cm .. South India first half of the x;rth century.- Private Collection.
Published in Anthony Welch, Calligraphy in the Arl.s of lite Muslim JV<>rld, The Asia Society, U. of
Texas Press, Austin, 1979, Nr. 80.
PlaJe XLV : Sacred Relics

Plate XLVa:
A piece of the Prophet's shirt is preserved in Khuldabad in t he shrine of Burhanuddin
Gharib.-Photo A.S. 1980.
Numerous other sanctuaries boast of sacred relics: a beautiful m05que \\'M recently built for a hair of
the Prophet in Srinagar (l;lairatl>4l ri..tosque); other hairs are p rescn't.-d in the J\tb.ar ~fal)al, Bijapur,
and in Rohri, Sind ; footprints of the Prophet are prt."S(,,'Tved in various places, particularly Bengal.
Plate XLVb:
A footprint of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib is shown in Maulali on a hill near Hyderabad/Deccan.-
Photo A.S. 1980.
Plate XLVc:
Sellers of flowers at the threshold of sanctuaries are a common sight all over the Sub-
continent.-Photo A.S. 1980.
Plate XL VI : I mlian Muslim Reformers
Plate XLVia:
Maulana Mul)ammad 'Ali Gauhar, journalist and advocate of the khi/iifat movement,
one of the leading Muslim freedom fighters in the 192o's. He died during the Round Table
Conference in London 1931 after ddivcring a moving speech about the complicated situa-
tion of the Indian Muslims who, like the Hindus, craved for freedom.-Courtesy Ministry
of Information, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad .
See Afzal Iqbal, Life and Times of ,\fohamed Ali, Lahore 1974 ; ibid . Selected Writings and Speeches
of 1\faukttta Mohamed Ali, Lahore, '2Ud. ed. 1963.
Plate XLVlb:
Sir Sayyid Al)mad Khan (1817-1898). leader of the reform movement among the lndiau
Muslims and founder of the Aligarh Anglo-Muslim College (1875).-Courtcsy Ministry
of Information, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.
Sec Christian \\·', ·rroll, Sayyid AJ1mad Khan, a Yeinterpretation of J\fu.slim theology. Delhi 1977.
Plate XLVic:
Abiil Kalarn Azad (1888-1956), foremost advocate and theoretician of the khilafat
Original from
movement, closely associated with Gandhi, president of the Indian Congress Party, and
first Education Minister of the Indian Union after partition.
See Abut Kalam Aud, /fJdia wins Freedom, Bombay 1959; Speich.ts of Mauldnd Azdd IC),47·1953,
Delhi 1956; TM Ta,-jumdn al·QMrdn, ed. and rendered into English by Syed Abdul Latif, New )'ork
1967.
Plate XLVl d:
AU~ma Dr. Mul)ammad lqb;l.l (1877-1938), poet, philosopher, and "spiritual father of
Pakistan" . Iqbal's combination of Islamic traditional knowledge and poetical strength
with a thorough understanding of European philosophy makes his literary work highly in-
teresting; he replaced the ideal of all-embracing mystical unity by a new evaluation of
man's personal responsibility. His desire to see the Muslims of the majority zones of the
Subcontinent living in a state of their own, which he expressed 1930 in the annual meeting
of the All India !lluslim League, materialized in the state of Pakistan in 1947.-Courtesy
Ministry of Information, Government of Pakistan , Islamabad.
See A. Schimmel, Gobrul's Wi>tg. Leiden 1963; Hafeei Malik, Muhammad Iqbal, Po.t-Phik>sOf>,,,,. of
Pakis/.a", New York 1971, and an almost limitless number of publications from India, Pakistan, and
Europe. Iqbal's main poetical '\\'Orks, such as Secrets of the Self, ,\fessage of the Ea.st, and javid"4me,
are available in translations.
Plate XL VI I: Edut4tional ChangetJ

Plate XL VIia :
The traditional way of teach.ing the Koran, Bengal.- Photo Dr. Jan Marek, Prague.
Published in A . Schimmel, Poki.staJt, Ein 5,111os$ mil t.austnd TOf'tn , Zurich 1963, pl. 18.
Plate XL Vllb :
Aligarh Muslim University, Old Buildings, where the modernization of Muslim education
in India began.-Courtesy Professor K. A. Nizami, Aligarh.
Plate XLVIJJ: Modern Islam
Plate XLVilla:
Defence Mosque, Karachi, in the recently established Defence Colony, a fine example
of modem religious architecture, influenced by Turkish model~.-Courtesy Ministry of
Information, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad .
Plate XLV!Ilb:
Iqbal's autograph : the last line of his threnody on the lawyer and educationalist Shah
Din Humaylin (d. 1918); it contains in a nutshell Iqbal's ideal of the constant develop-
ment of man.
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Annemarie Schimmel - Islam in India and Pakistan (1982)

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Annemarie Schimmel - Islam in India and Pakistan (1982)

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ISLAM IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN

TH. P. VAN BAAREN, L. P. VAN DEN BoSCH, L. LEERTOUWl!R, F. LEEMHUIS

SE CTION XXII: ISLAM

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Cop,,;,,i,t 1982 &1 B. / . Bt/11, Lll/1•, Tiu N116,,U./1

...,.- Reading Suggestions. • • • • IX

This book forms, in a certain sense, a companion volume to my contribution I slam

Bonn-Cambridge, Mass., January 1981 ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL

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MUJBllB, M., Tlta India11 Muslims, Montreal·Loodon 1969.

Further literature is gi,·cn \\'ith the description of the plates.

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ThcChishti ... intsli\•od in gttat simplicit y, aU di>eiplesd,.·cllinginoncroomin the

' M. ~f U JEl!B, lslamie lnfltunee o" Indian Society , t\fecrut 1972. p. 5.

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Plate IV-VI: Early Sufi Sanctuaries.

Plate VII la:

Plaks XVI -XVII: Rapprochement between I slam and Hinduism.

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Plate XXX: South India

Plates XXXIV-XXXV: Family and Marriage

Plate XXX Vb:

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PlaUs XL-X LIV: Amulets, protective /Mmulas

PlaJe XLV : Sacred Relics

Plate XL VI I: Edut4tional ChangetJ

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