The recent bloodbath in a Sargodha shrine reflects how much influence pirs – who, by and large, represent the decadent form of sufism – exercise over the hearts and minds of their followers.
Over the centuries, the Orient and the Occident have often been contrasted on the basis of the wide discrepancy in which they have produced mystics and scientists. While it is believed that the Orient has been a fertile ground for the rise of mystics, the Occident has been prodigious in the production of scientists. Mystics – or sufis as they are called among Muslims – have played a significant role in the moral reconstruction of the oriental than the occidental society. The areas that now make up India and Pakistan are no exception to this.
The institution of sufism has had two aspects: a body of beliefs or doctrines and a set of rituals through which veneration for the ultimate reality is expressed. The former may be referred to as the doctrinal aspects of sufism while the latter as its cult. Doctrinally, the edifice of sufism rests on three pillars: absolute trust in God – and looking to Him only for satisfaction of needs and the acceptance of events as they come – the belief that every being in the universe partakes in, or reflects, the supreme reality and the purification and, finally, the annihilation of the ego or the self (fana) which leads to an everlasting life with God (baqa).
The word ‘cult’ in English may be traced back to its Latin root ‘cultus’ which means worship, care or devotion. If beliefs constitute the core or soul of sufism, the cult makes up its exterior or body. It is the concrete expression of Sufi ideals through such devotional practices as meditation, contemplation, prolonged silence, asceticism, the uncritical acceptance of the authority of the master (murshid), whirling (dhamal) and devotional music (qawwali).
In principle, the cult is subordinate to the doctrine. In relation to the faith, the same practice may assume a different meaning. For a Sufi, devotional music or dance is a source of ecstasy. However, for the uninitiated it is no more than a means of entertainment. By the same token, authoritarianism will beget different consequences depending on whether the master himself is an earnest seeker of the truth or is merely a con. At the same time, the followers of a Sufi tend to judge him by how diligently he follows – or is believed to follow – devotional practices that reflect the visible expression of the sainthood.
By dint of their immaculate character, purity of thought and plain living, the sufis – who preached universal religious tolerance – were able to attract people professing different creeds in a multi-ethnic India. Above all, the sufis taught respect for life and the dignity of man. They exhibited a singular disdain for wealth and status. Kings, princes and members of the nobility would appear before the great sufis like ordinary folk. The sufis were held in such veneration that their shrines serve as fountains of inspiration, guidance and hope.
The noble institution of sufism began to degenerate with the rise of the so-called hereditary pirs, whose claim to sainthood rested neither on the loftiness of character nor on profundity or purity of thought but on their being descendents of a saint or custodians of his shrine. Thus genealogy – or having the reputation of being otherwise close to a Sufi – became the basis of being a pir. While the great sufis led by personal example, the typical pirs – who are believed to be spiritually barren and intellectually desolate – resorted to performing ‘miracles’ in order to impress their audience.
A pir is regarded by his followers as an epitome of virtue. Even obviously wicked acts – such as torturing or assaulting followers – become virtuous. Pirs are deemed to possess some miraculous power and esoteric knowledge that can cure any illness and resolve any problem. Be it unemployment or infertility, unrequited love or marriage, migraine or mental illness, the pir has an answer to all. On the other hand, if someone incurs a pir’s wrath, he is believed to have placed himself in a hopeless situation both in this world and in the hereafter.
Apart from spiritual significance, shrines have had worldly importance as well – from the political and economic power associated with them. The Sargodha killings were allegedly caused by a dispute over custodianship of the shrine. The enormity of the power depends upon the stature of the patron saint. Not surprisingly, the most powerful among pirs have been custodians of shrines. Those pirs were courted by the royalty when Muslims ruled India and received large tracts of land. This gave birth to the powerful pir-landlord combination.
The British, when they conquered India, allowed pirs to retain their estates in return for the valuable political support that they offered to the Raj. The pirs, by and large, remained staunch supporters of the British regime and had little sympathy for the independence movement. It was only when the end of the British rule became imminent that they shifted their loyalties.
Some of the leading pirs joined the All India Muslim League and, like the feudal, played a pivotal role in its landslide victory in the 1946 elections. By joining the League, the pirs ensured the continuation of their privileged position in the new Muslim state, a stature they have retained to date. Even such towering, forward-looking, secular leaders as Gen Ayub, Z A Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto – leave aside politicians of a lesser stature – made no bones about their devotion to the pirs.
When society’s elite court pirs, or themselves hold this status, ordinary people – trapped in the vicious circle of poverty and ignorance – find it extremely difficult to turn away from them. For many, the pir’s hujra or dargah offers the last refuge from an intolerable life.
Today, sufism in Pakistan faces threats from two sources. The first are the exponents of extremism, who, because of sufism’s message of complete religious tolerance, equate sufism with heterodoxy and deem it their ‘sacred’ duty to attack the shrines. The very fact that shrines have been targeted shows that extremists are averse to the very philosophy of sufism. The other source is fraudulent pirs who carry out all sorts of immoral and illegal acts in the name of the ennobling institution. It’s time to highlight the core teachings of sufism.
The writer is a freelance countributor.
Email: hussainhzaidigmail.com