Allahabad, often celebrated for its sacred rivers, holds a far more intimate and profound history in its soil: the legacy of the Sufi saints. Beyond the physical confluence of waters lies a spiritual meeting point where mysticism, scholarship, and a radical commitment to humanity intertwined for centuries. From the early Suhrawardi pioneers who settled in…
In this final installment of our series on the Sufis of Delhi, we explore the vibrant revival of the Chishti order during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. While earlier parts of our journey traced the arrival of mystical traditions and the rise of the Naqshbandis, this post centers on the resilient figures who restored Delhi’s…
In the previous part of this series, I shared the heavy heart with which I left Allahabad in October 1994, bound for a prestigious Senior Leverhulme Fellowship at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. The tears of my young son, Khurram, were still fresh in my memory as I boarded my flight to London, leaving…
In this second installment of our series, we shift our focus from the broad origins of Sufism to its specific flowering within the Indian Subcontinent. As Delhi rose as a preeminent center of political power, it simultaneously became the “Threshold of the Saints,” a spiritual sanctuary for those fleeing upheaval and seeking the Divine. Here,…
Sufism carries the echoes of nearly fourteen centuries, a long-flowing river of devotion that has shaped the spiritual landscape of the East. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is revered by Sufis of all traditions as the first Sufi—the primordial light from which their path emerges. The Prophet’s lifestyle established the foundational archetype…
In the last part of my story, I shared the intense bureaucratic and legal battle I fought to return to the University of Allahabad. After a prestigious tenure at the National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, I finally secured my position as Professor, overcoming institutional politics to return to the “Oxford of the East.” This…
In the ninth part of my story, I shared the excitement of returning to the University of Allahabad with my Ph.D. in hand, followed by a prestigious professional leap to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. Training the nation’s future civil servants was an honor, yet the harsh mountain climate took…
In the eighth part of my memoir, I shared the intense period of my return to the United States. I recounted the challenge of losing my temporary lectureship, the sheer relief of securing my old library job, and the relentless work that culminated in the successful defense of my doctoral dissertation at the University of…
In the previous installment of my story, I recounted the immense effort required to secure my job, visa, and tickets to return to the United States to complete my Ph.D. After a tearful farewell to my mother and family in Allahabad, I was finally on my way. This eighth part of the series chronicles my…
In the last part of my story, I detailed my intense two-year graduate tenure at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, culminating in securing my Ph.D. enrollment and undertaking a three-month research fellowship in Istanbul. That chapter ended with Nilofer, Tipu, and me saying tearful goodbyes to our generous Turkish friends as we prepared to fly back…
