History · Ch 6 — Bhakti–Sufi Traditions — Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts
Sufis and the state
Sufis and the state
The Chishti tradition is famous for its emphasis on austerity and keeping a distance from worldly power. But that distance was never absolute isolation. The relationship between Sufis and the state was complex, built on mutual need, respect, and occasional conflict.
Sufis accepted unsolicited grants and donations from political elites. The Sultans, in turn, set up charitable trusts (called auqaf, singular waqf) as endowments for hospices, and granted tax-free land (called inam). The Chishtis accepted donations in both cash and kind. Rather than hoarding these gifts, they spent them fully on immediate needs — food, clothes, living quarters, and ritual necessities like sama‘ (the musical assembly for spiritual listening).
This practice of using donations immediately, rather than accumulating wealth, enhanced the moral authority of the shaikhs. That moral authority attracted people from all walks of life. The piety, scholarship, and the popular belief in the miraculous powers of the Sufis made them beloved among the masses — and kings wished to secure the support of those masses.
Kings did not simply need to demonstrate their association with Sufis; they also required legitimation from them. When the Turks set up the Delhi Sultanate, they resisted the insistence of the ulama (the learned scholars of Islamic law) on imposing shari‘a as state law. Why? Because the Sultans anticipated opposition from their subjects, the majority of whom were non-Muslims. The Sultans then turned to the Sufis — who derived their authority directly from God and did not depend on jurists to interpret the shari‘a.
Besides, it was believed that the auliya (friends of God, i.e., Sufi saints) could intercede with God to improve the material and spiritual conditions of ordinary human beings. This explains why kings often wanted their tombs to be in the vicinity of Sufi shrines and hospices.
However, there were also instances of conflict between Sultans and Sufis. To assert their authority, both sides expected that certain rituals be performed — such as prostration and kissing of the feet. Occasionally, the Sufi shaikh was addressed with high-sounding titles. For example, the disciples of Nizamuddin Auliya addressed him as sultan-ul-mashaikh (literally, "Sultan amongst shaikhs").
The title sultan-ul-mashaikh is a clear example of how Sufi authority was expressed in the same language of power that kings used — but it was a spiritual, not political, sovereignty.
Other Sufi orders, such as the Suhrawardi under the Delhi Sultans and the Naqshbandi under the Mughals, were also associated with the state. But the modes of their association were not the same as those of the Chishtis. In some cases, Sufis accepted courtly offices — something the Chishtis generally avoided.
Declining a royal gift: A telling episode
The textbook includes an excerpt from a Sufi text describing proceedings at Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s hospice in 1313. The author, Amir Hasan Sijzi, records that a local ruler had sent the Shaikh the deed of ownership to two gardens and much land, along with provisions and tools for their maintenance. The ruler had made it clear he was relinquishing all his rights to both the gardens and land.
The master (Nizamuddin Auliya) did not accept that gift. Instead, he lamented: "What have I to do with gardens and fields and lands? … None of … our spiritual masters had engaged in such activity."
He then told an appropriate story about his own spiritual predecessor, Shaikh Fariduddin. Sultan Ghiyasuddin (then still known as Ulugh Khan) had come to visit Shaikh Fariduddin and offered money and ownership deeds for four villages — the money for the benefit of the dervishes (Sufis), and the land for the Shaikh's personal use. Smiling, Shaikh Fariduddin said: "Give me the money. I will dispense it to the dervishes. But as for those land deeds, keep them. There are many who long for them. Give them away to such persons."
This episode illustrates two key aspects of the Sufi-state relationship:
- Acceptance of donations for immediate use — money for the dervishes was fine, but land (which implies long-term ownership and worldly entanglement) was refused. …
Source 9 — Declining a royal gift. This excerpt from a sufi text describes proceedings at Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s hospice in 1313, recorded by the author Amir Hasan Sijzi:
I had the good fortune of kissing his (Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s) feet … At this time a local ruler had sent him the deed of ownership to two gardens and much land, along with the provisions and tools for their maintenance … The master had not accepted that gift. Instead he had lamented: “What have I to do with gardens and fields and lands? … None of our spiritual masters had engaged in such activity.” Then he told a story: Sultan Ghiyasuddin, still known as Ulugh Khan, had offered money and the ownership deeds for four villages to Shaikh Fariduddin. Smiling, Fariduddin said: “Give me the money. I will dispense it to the dervishes. But as for those land deeds, keep them. There are many who long for them. Give them away to such persons.” …
Sufis and the state. Other sufis — such as the Suhrawardi under the Delhi Sultans and the Naqshbandi under the Mughals — were also associated with the state. However, the modes of their association were not the same as those of the Chishtis. In some cases, sufis accepted courtly offices, whereas the Chishtis characteristically kept a distan …
The photograph shows the white marble dargah (tomb-shrine) of Shaikh Salim Chishti, located within the courtyard of the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri. The structure is built entirely of white marble, with a single dome and intricate lattice screens (jali work) on all sides. A wide verandah surrounds the central chamber, supported by carved brackets. Inside, the tomb itself is enclosed by a marble screen, and the floor is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The dargah stands on a raised platform, and the entire complex is set within the larger architectural layout of Akbar’s capital city.
The figure illustrates the close bond between the Chishti Sufi order and the Mughal state. Shaikh Salim Chishti was a direct descendant of Baba Farid, the great Chishti saint of the Delhi Sultanate period. Akbar built this dargah in his new capital at Fatehpur Sikri, after the Shaikh had blessed him with the birth of a son (Prince Salim, later Jahangir). The choice of white marble — a material associated with imperial Mughal architecture — and the prominent location within the royal mosque complex show that the state was actively honouring and associating itself with the Chishti tradition.
This visual evidence directly connects to the textbook discussion of how Sufis and the state interacted. The Chishtis traditionally maintained a degree of austerity and distance from worldly power, yet they accepted unsolicited grants and donations. Here, the Mughal emperor did not merely give a grant — he built an entire marble shrine in his own capital, making the Shaikh’s tomb a central monument of the empire. The dargah became a site of pilgrimage for both nobles and commoners, reinforcing the moral authority of the Chishti lineage and, by extension, legitimising Akbar’s rule. The architecture itself — the marble, the jali work, the dome — symbolises the fusion of spiritual sanctity with imperial patronage.
The figure caption explicitly states that the dargah "symbolised the bond between the Chishtis and the Mughal state." This is not just a tomb; it is a political statement carved in marble. The location in Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s ceremonial capital, makes the shrine part of the state’s self-image. …