Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The Indian Naqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh (Studies in Comparative Religion) [Hardcover]

Arthur F. Buehler (Author), Frederick Mathewson Denny (Editor), Annemarie Schimmel (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1570032017 | ISBN-13: 978-1570032011 | Publication Date: January 1998

Sufi Heirs of the Prophet explores the multifaceted development of personal authority in Islamic societies by tracing the transformation of one mystical sufi lineage in colonial India, the Naqshbandiyya. Arthur F. Buehler isolates four sources of personal authority evident in the practices of the Naqshbandiyya-lineage, spiritual traveling, status as a Prophetic exemplar, and the transmission of religious knowledge-to demonstrate how Muslim religious leaders have exercised charismatic leadership through their association with the most compelling of personal Islamic symbols, the Prophet Muhammad. Buehler clarifies the institutional structure of sufism, analyzes overlapping configurations of personal sufi authority, and details how and why revivalist Indian Naqshbandis abandoned spiritual practices that had sustained their predecessors for more than five centuries. He looks specifically at the role of Jama'at 'Ali Shah (d. 1951) to explain current Naqshbandi practices.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English

From the Inside Flap

"It is heartening to see such important questions--on change, and on the complex relationship between authority, colonial society and Sufism in India and Pakistan--raised and engaged in such an insightful and stimulating manner."--Journal of Islamic Studies

"In this well-researched and convincing book, Buehler argues that the Naqshbandi order appropriated a shift in models of personal authority to establish and perpetuate its own institutional structure. Because of its theoretical sophistication and excellent first-hand research, this book should be recommended for both specialists and comparativists."--Religious Studies Review

"This meticulously researched work is not only to be recommended to all those who are particularly concerned with the more recent developments of the Indian Naqshbandiyya but provides some useful pointers for those scholars interested in the analysis of patterns of adaptation."--Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570032017
• ISBN-13: 978-1570032011
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,649,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly study of Hazrat Jamaat Ali Shah & the Naqshbandis, March 27, 2000

By 

Mr. A. Jehangir - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The Indian Naqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh (Studies in Comparative Religion) (Hardcover)

This book fulfills two roles: it provides a very good history of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order in general and it also looks in detail at the life of one of the greatest Sufi saints of the 19th/20th century Sayyedina Ameer al Millat Grandshaykh Pir Sayyid Jama'at Ali Shah Naqshbandi (may Allah be pleased with him) of Alipur Sharif, Pakistan, as a case study. It is a welcome first look at this great saint and also it gives detailed information on Naqshbandi Sufi practices and beliefs. It should appeal to all those interested in tassawuf and also of religion in the Subcontinent as well as to the millions of admirers and disciples of Grandshaykh, Hazrat Amir al Millat who was the Ghawth [spiritual helper] of his age. I gave it only 4 stars just because in style it is very academic and meant for the specialist student of Sufism and not for the lay-person; yet with a bit of application all can benefir from this book and discover real Islam from a Master.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on the Naqshbandi Sufi Practises, November 30, 2000

By 

Necdet Tosun (Istanbul TURKEY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The Indian Naqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh (Studies in Comparative Religion) (Hardcover)

This book contains a lot of subjects. But, its most important chapters are on Naqshbandi sufi practises, in my opinion. It gave detailed information about dhikr, lataif and muraqabat which formulated in the Mujaddidi phase. I cogratulates the author.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, June 26, 2006

By 

Farseem Mohammedy (Hamilton, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The Indian Naqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh (Studies in Comparative Religion) (Hardcover)

This book is highly informative of technical details in Naqshbandi order practices. The author took great pains to unravel so many arabic, persian and urdu sources. But its not comprehensive, in the sense that it does not provide a consistent picture of the whole. The writing is haphazard and you need to have considerable background to read this book. Otherwise it takes one of the Pakistani shaykhs as a case study and goes into details of Naqshbandi practices, shaykh-disciple relationship, religio-social backgrounds etc. Surprisingly it did not cover, nor mention, any of the other lineages in India-Bangladesh, of the Mujaddidiya order. Good information but bad style of conveying it.