Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (B.A.)--Bryn Mawr College, Dept. of Anthropology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

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The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the topoi found in various writings on the Indian subcontinent, which depict Muslim mystics, the Sufis, as responsible for the conversion, forced or peaceful, of non-Muslim Indians to Islam. Our analysis of various historiographical traditions produced in the Subcontinent between the eleventh and the twentieth centuries, will show that this image of Sufis qua missionaries is more the result of socio-political considerations (legitimization of imperial order; posthumous images of Sufis in the eyes of different folk audiences, etc.) than the reflection of historical reality. This thesis also examines the processes, most of them indirect, in which Sufis were involved and which on the long run led to the acculturation and to the Islamization of certain non-Muslim groups, thus opening the way for the birth and then consolidation of a Muslim identity.

Magister Artium - MA / The objective of this thesis was the translation of an original defence of Sufi practice titled "A Kind word in response to those who reject sufism" by Shaykh Aòhmad ibn Muòsòtafá °Alawåi. This book was written in defence of Sufis and Sufism. This research provide some notes on the life, spiritual heritage and writings of the Shaykh °Alawåi in conjunction with a critical introduction to complement the translated text. The Shaykh's methodology applied in his ijtihåad to validate and defend the Sufis and their practices was also reviewed. / South Africa

No description available.

Cette thèse cherche à étudier les rapports entre le pouvoir et les soufis en Syrie et en Égypte à l'époque de Nûr al-Dîn (1154-1174) et de son successeur Saladin (1174-1193). En cette seconde moitié du XIIe siècle, les croisades et la lutte contre les Fatimides et leur idéologie firent de la présence des soufis et des mystiques sur ces territoires une opportunité pour les gouvernants en quête de légitimité. Différents groupes de soufis originaires d'Iran, du Caucase, de Jazîra, du Maghreb et d'al-Andalus convergèrent alors vers ces territoires centraux du dâr al-Islam pour participer à la vie religieuse et soutenir la politique religieuse de ces princes. Les contacts entre le pouvoir et les shaykh; soufis furent alors nombreux et ces derniers se virent confier un certain nombre de missions, notamment diplomatiques, les impliquant directement dans la vie politique. Une politique de construction de lieux d'accueil (ribât et khânqâh) pour les soufis financés par des waqf mobilisa les souverains ainsi que les hommes et les femmes de leur entourage. L’histoire de ces fondations soutenues par le pouvoir est au centre de cette thèse qui cherche aussi à comprendre le mode de vie de ces populations et à étudier les conséquences qu’eut cette ingérence du pouvoir sur la vie matérielle des mystiques au sein de leur structure d'accueil. / This thesis seeks to study the relationship between the authorities and the Sufis in Syria and Egypt in the time of Nûr al-Dîn (1154-1174) and his successor Saladin (1174-1193). In the second half of the twelfth century, the Crusades and the conflict against the Fatimids and their ideology made of the presence of the Sufis and Mystics on these territories an opportunity for rulers in search of legitimacy. Different groups of Sufis from Iran, the Caucasus, the Jazîra, the Maghreb and al-Andalus converged to these central territories of the dâr al-Islâm to take part in religious life and support the religious policy of these princes. Contacts between the authorities and the Sufi shaykh were numerous and the latter were entrusted with a number of missions, including diplomatic missions, directly involving them in political life. A building policy of hosting structures (ribât and khânqâh) for the Sufis, supported by the waqf, mobilized the rulers as well as the men and women of their entourage. The history of these foundations supported by the authorities is at the center of this thesis which also seeks to understand the way of life of these populations and to study the consequences that the interference of the authorities had on the material life of the mystics within their hosting structures.

This dissertation attempts at a systematic study of the life, personality and thought of the second-third/eighth-ninth century Persian Sufi (Muslim Mystic) Abu Yazid al-Bistami.

As the hereditary leader of the Safavid Sufi Order, Shah Ismail founded the Safavid dynasty in 1501. This study goes beyond Shah Ismail's historical legacy, however, to examine the pious and literary sources which have shaped a permanent place for him within the Alevi-Bektashi community, an Islamic sectarian minority in Turkey. / Although Shah Ismail has received extensive treatment in both historical chronicles and modern historiography, this dissertation locates the development of his cult in the legendary versions of his life story. In this respect, the Turkish "Minstrel Tale" (hikaye) is fundamental to the transformation of Shah Ismail's significance in the sectarian context. This dissertation also traces the development of his pious significance through both the "authentic" poetic works of Shah Ismail, as contained in his earliest collections of poetry, as well as the poetry attributed to Shah Ismail by the Alevi-Bektashi. It is further demonstrated how the poetry attributed to Shah Ismail is integrated into ritual structures. Through the examination of these disparate literary genres, this thesis accounts for Shah Ismail's legacy as it transformed and endured within a pious context beyond his lifetime and beyond his empire.

This thesis is a study of the mystical thought of Muhammad Nafis al-Banjari an Indonesian sufi of the eighteenth century, based on his treatise "al-Durr al-Nafis". After introducing the background of the topic, the thesis investigates the life and the religious education of Muhammad Nafis. The thesis then analyzes the concepts of Martabat Tujuh, Tawhid, and the light of Muhammad. This thesis also attempts to compare Nafis' mystical concepts with those of other sufis, especially from the Sammaniyya order. This will lead us to the conclusion that Nafis' ideas are very close to Burhanfuris doctrine of Martabat Tujuh.