Presenter
Sham Roshan Mehdi - Department of Slavic and South Asian Studies (SLAS), Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandPanel
112 – Kingship and Commemoration in South Asia (c. 1400-1800)Abstract
The Ṣūfī spiritual conversations (malfūẓāt) are a distinctive Indo-Persian literary genre that emerged in medieval India. Amīr Ḥasan Sijzī Dihlavī’s Fawāʼid al-fuʼād (“Morals of the heart”) (comp. 707-22/1308-22) set the foundation for this tradition by recording the teachings of Nizām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ (d. 725/1325), the distinguished Chishtī Ṣūfī master revered as sulṭān al-mashā’ikh (“the king of Ṣūfīs”). This work inspired a vast body of malfuzat literature, both authentic and apocryphal, which became a key medium for transmitting Ṣūfī wisdom. During the Mughal period, the genre also influenced political discourse, particularly in shaping representations of kingship. For example, the Majālis-i Jahāngīrī (“Assemblies of Jahāngīr”) (comp. 1608-11) adapts Amīr Ḥasan’s model of depicting a Ṣūfī saint to portray Emperor Jahāngīr’s kingship, blending spiritual and royal ideals. This article explores the mutual influence of Ṣūfīsm and kingship in medieval India, demonstrating how Persianate cultural traditions facilitated the integration of Ṣūfī thought into political ideology. By analyzing the malfūẓāt literature and its impact on Mughal sovereignty, the study highlights the enduring role of Ṣūfīsm in shaping Indo-Islamic conceptions of kingship.
