For the initiated, it fills in the crucial gaps and for the uninitiated, it kind of ushers them in. But even if “The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi” (HarperCollins) doesn't assume the above-mentioned role for some, its author Sadia Dehlvi wouldn't have any qualms. The writer expresses that the book can facilitate as easily an appreciation of the city's architectural value or be used as a guide to explore the unexplored. Just the way Sadia did it for years before it all flowed into her latest labour of love “The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi” released on this Monday.
A creative work is often multi-layered which necessitates varied interpretations but is never without a solid core. So, yes, you can see it like a guide, actually following Sadia's precise directions to take you to never-seen-before spots in the city, you, me and so many of us claim to know so well. You can appreciate it for showcasing the city's heritage and its historical value. But essentially the book looks at Sufism and its connection with Delhi. Earlier too, Sadia penned a book on the subject “Sufism, The Heart of Islam” but with this work, the writer charts the journey of Sufism alongside that of the Capital.
Through both the well-known and the lesser known dargahs, Sadia recreates the journey that began sometime in the 13th Century as by then, Delhi, she says, had emerged as the centre of Islamic studies. “All the five Chishti orders – Qadris, Chishtis, Suharwadis, Naqshbandis are represented in Delhi and that's why Sufis referred to the city as ‘Hazrat e Dilli', ‘Dar ul Auliya', ‘Dilli Sharif'. I wanted to document the dargahs of the city. There are these small, small wonderful dargahs all around which are layered with anecdotes and stories. There is no single book in which you find them all. I have carefully collected them over the years during the course of my research and verified them. I would head out to explore these ruins, which vaguely described the area. I discovered few through oral traditions and pored over some rare archival books like the 16th century Urdu books, INTACH's work etc.”
Herself initiated into the Chishti order or silsila, Sadia's heart was attuned to the underlying thought of Sufi philosophy and was thus curious to make many more discoveries along the way. These stories were later woven into the narrative. “There is so much I didn't know for instance who all were buried in Hazrat Amir Khusrau's tomb or the tombs in the inner compound of Khwaja Qutub Bakhtiar Kaki. I identified all of them. Then there is this amazing story of how Gandhi ji visited Khwaja Qutub and apologised to him on behalf of people of India as during the partition, it was one of several sacred spaces which was vandalised.”
At times, the narrative acquires the tone of a memoir when Sadia unravels her familial connections with a particular dargah. In the book, she traces the Sufi map by dividing the city into various areas. So, in the chapter titled ‘Sadar', about the dargah of Shah Muhammad Farhad, she writes, “My family has a very special connection with Shah Farhad Sahab. Hafiz Yusuf Dehlvi, my paternal grandfather, visited the dargah every Thursday almost throughout his life. He attributed the success and bounties in his life to the blessings of Shah Farhad. This is one of the dargahs that I visit regularly.”
Besides introducing the reader to these hidden treasures for instance, the dargah of Shaykh Shihabuddin Aashiq Allah, inside the Qutub Minar Complex, from where one can see the walls of Rai Pithora or sharing with her readers basic information like why these sacred spaces are filled with devotees on Thursdays or what's the right time to seek blessings there, Sadia also discusses the spaces in our immediate contexts.
She points to “the modern trend in both Muslim and non-Muslim societies to alienate Sufism from Islam…”. “I think it emerges from the lack of knowledge and a lot of Western scholars have added to this belief that it is borrowed from the Hindu traditions. I am disturbed by this delinking because Islam is the message of Sufi and the fact is that you have dargahs in Morocco, Algeria, Bosnia, Chechnya, Turkey, Cyprus and even in Europe. It is only in the middle-east that you don't find them because of its allegiance to puritanical Wahabi Islam,” observes Sadia.
She laments the havoc urban growth and neglect has wreaked on this invaluable heritage and calls on the State and the surrounding Muslim communities to take immediate corrective steps. Attributing Delhi's composite culture and Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Sadia urges the various caretakers of these spaces to convert them into vibrant centres of learning which they once were.
She consciously chose Hazrat Nizamuddin's Chillah and Khanqah, the lesser-known courtyard of the 14th Century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya as the venue for the launch of her book. “It's where he lived and began his mission of spreading love and faith.”
