Tasneem Kabir Sufism
When one thinks of Kashmir, surely the first thing that crosses the mind is “beauty” of the valley and a sense of slow-paced calmness. This beauty stands augmented over time with the entanglement of our daily lives with the Sufi tradition.
Consider how on June 8, tens of thousands of people on Saturday thronged Baba Nagri Wangath in Kangan area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal to attend the annual Urs (death anniversary) of Hazrat Mian Nizam ud din Kiyanvi.

That in today’s busy world of humdrum, so many people took out time for this procession stands as a testimony to how our emotions have remained beautiful and pure all along, even in the face of conflict and uncertainty.
It is often said that Sufism in India began right here in the Valley, owing to its strategic location that allowed for Sufi inflow from Central Asia. The Sufi tradition derives its prime inspiration from the verse of the Quran, “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth…”(24:35). Thus, the Sufi’s life is a mission to attain closeness to this Light, and the method he adopts for it is Zikr, or remembrance.
After the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and salutations upon him), a group of people became worried that one tended to get too caught up in the materialistic affairs and pursuits of the court life, and so resorted to an inward-looking paradigm to retain connection with the Divine.
However, what is interesting about Islamic mysticism or Sufism that sets it apart from other ascetic creeds is that this rigorous regime of self-control did not mean renouncing the world entirely to live in celibate seclusion. Instead, in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, the Sufi ascetics got married alongside their families.
They did live within society, not as though they were part of it, but detached from its desires. That ought to have been very difficult a task, for temptations abound the Sufi everywhere. From the 10th Century onwards, Sufism started to evolve from its formless, ritual-devoid existence to a complete way of being, with its own set rules.
The Sufis came to believe that one attained the much-awaited fanaa, or self-annihilation after passing through a set of pre-defined maqamat or states of being. This philosophy focussed on observing the Shariah not merely in letter, but in spirit as well.
It seems like Kashmir has managed to retain its Sufi legacy better than any other place. But, what is most fascinating about Sufism as we know it in Kashmir is its concentrated focus on inclusion and accommodation of diversity. During the rule of the Chaks and Shahmiris in Kashmir, there existed six orders of Sufiism: Qadiriya, Suhrawardiya, Kibrawiya, Naqashbandia, Noorbakhshiya and Rishiya. The last one of these, the Rishiya, originated here in Kashmir and sought to integrate the best ideals of all religious philosophies.
Interestingly, the most renowned Muslim Sufi of the Rishiya order was Sheikh Nur-ud-Din, who amassed both Hindu and Muslim disciples in large numbers. All of them sought nearness to the Divine Spirit at the Khanqah (or a resting place for Sufis) that Rishi set up. On his death, the Khanqah became a ziyaret, still attracting multitudes of those who seek God. In utter reverence, both Hindus and Muslims call him Nund Rishi, and his ziyaret or shrine is at Chrar-e-Shareif, where all faiths gather to make floral offerings – presenting a sight to behold! His cry for unity resonates even today, and his entire call is enshrined in his pious lines:
“We belong to the same parents.
Then why this difference?
Let Hindus and the Muslims (together) worship God alone. We came to this world like partners.
We should have shared our joys and sorrows together.”

The Sufi culture is, however, not limited to Nundrishi in Kashmir. We have shrines here that revere Sufis of different orders, honouring all the different ways (tariqah) that lead to God. We have the Aishmuqam of Baba Zain-ud-Din Wali, the shrine of Hazrat Maqdoom Saheb, the Dastageer Shrine in reverence of Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani and the Khanqah at Srinagar dedicated to Shah-i-Hamdan.
These are just the major sites, but one can find the Valley lined with smaller shrines all along. What is heart-warming still is that these shrines never go out of funds, because in their own capacities, the visitors in search for the Truth always have something to give. I remember one of my visits to Baba Reshi, where a woman donating a hefty amount to the shrine told me that she would be glad if someone else found within these walls the same peace that she does! How a concrete structure of four walls can house so much piety, so much goodness, so many souls hungry for a piece of the divine, is beyond my humane understanding.
The relevance of Sufism to Kashmir has not dwindled one bit today. The prime ideology of the Sufi tradition is that we were all part of the Divine realm, and upon our humanly birth, we were removed from the heavenly and made earthly. However, the Sufi believes that one can never completely forget his/her divine connection, and seeks to re-establish it bit by bit every day.
All this, in the hope that we may one day peacefully return to the celestial abode we have lost and yearn for. One has to only look around for a bit to see this philosophy in action – all of the schools in the Valley end classes earlier on Fridays so as to not disrupt religious sacraments of the Jumuah, and everywhere you go, enchanting recitations of the Adhan on microphones cut through the crowds and the noises. This has become our rendition of the Sufi tendency of constantly being aware of the Divine presence and seeking its pleasure as often as we can. Let us hope this magical spell lasts, so it may become the wiraasah or legacy we hand down to the generations to come.