The Sufi Who Was a Sayyid: Muḥammad ḤusaynÄ« GesÅ«darÄzâs Assertions of Spiritual Authority
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Abstract
In the context of contested succession within a silsila (lineage) of sufis, this paper studies Sayyid Muḥammad ḤusaynÄ« GesÅ«darÄzâs (d. 1422) recourse to a familial genealogy in order to claim the status of a pÄ«r or sufi master, while attempting to entrench his legacy in Gulbarga where he emigrated to from Delhi after the incursions of Timur (d. 1405). As he arrived in the Deccan at the turn of the fifteenth century, GesÅ«darÄz used his kinship with the Prophet and particularly his identity of sayyid (a descendant of the Prophet through Ḥusayn) as a persuasive device, to set himself apart from other sufi shaykhs in the area who claimed an equivalent spiritual genealogy. The case of GesÅ«darÄz reveals a societal pattern wherein the identity of sayyid was gaining new traction, and relational ties were evoked not only as a means of establishing an identity as part of a community but also to supersede others who made the same claim. Kinship was a device through which GesÅ«darÄz staked his claim to authority, and it was also a mechanism that he and his family utilized to cement their hold on the Muslim community of Gulbarga.
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The Sufi Who Was a Sayyid: Muḥammad ḤusaynÄ« GesÅ«darÄzâs Assertions of Spiritual Authority
In: Medieval EncountersSearch for other papers by Pia Maria Malik in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In the context of contested succession within a silsila (lineage) of sufis, this paper studies Sayyid Muḥammad ḤusaynÄ« GesÅ«darÄzâs (d. 1422) recourse to a familial genealogy in order to claim the status of a pÄ«r or sufi master, while attempting to entrench his legacy in Gulbarga where he emigrated to from Delhi after the incursions of Timur (d. 1405). As he arrived in the Deccan at the turn of the fifteenth century, GesÅ«darÄz used his kinship with the Prophet and particularly his identity of sayyid (a descendant of the Prophet through Ḥusayn) as a persuasive device, to set himself apart from other sufi shaykhs in the area who claimed an equivalent spiritual genealogy. The case of GesÅ«darÄz reveals a societal pattern wherein the identity of sayyid was gaining new traction, and relational ties were evoked not only as a means of establishing an identity as part of a community but also to supersede others who made the same claim. Kinship was a device through which GesÅ«darÄz staked his claim to authority, and it was also a mechanism that he and his family utilized to cement their hold on the Muslim community of Gulbarga.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 2697 | 612 | 15 |
| Full Text Views | 56 | 6 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 314 | 13 | 0 |
