Product Description Sufi Heirs of the Prophet explores the multifaceted development of personal authority in Islamic societies by tracing the transformation of one mystical sufi lineage in colonial India, the Naqshbandiyya. Arthur F. Buehler isolates four sources of personal authority evident in the practices of the Naqshbandiyya-lineage, spiritual traveling, status as a Prophetic exemplar, and the transmission of religious knowledge-to demonstrate how Muslim religious leaders have exercised charismatic leadership through their association with the most compelling of personal Islamic symbols, the Prophet Muhammad. Buehler clarifies the institutional structure of sufism, analyzes overlapping configurations of personal sufi authority, and details how and why revivalist Indian Naqshbandis abandoned spiritual practices that had sustained their predecessors for more than five centuries. He looks specifically at the role of Jama'at 'Ali Shah (d. 1951) to explain current Naqshbandi practices.
Customer Reviews:
InformativeJune 26, 2006 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is highly informative of technical details in Naqshbandi order practices. The author took great pains to unravel so many arabic, persian and urdu sources. But its not comprehensive, in the sense that it does not provide a consistent picture of the whole. The writing is haphazard and you need to have considerable background to read this book. Otherwise it takes one of the Pakistani shaykhs as a case study and goes into details of Naqshbandi practices, shaykh-disciple relationship, religio-social backgrounds etc. Surprisingly it did not cover, nor mention, any of the other lineages in India-Bangladesh, of the Mujaddidiya order. Good information but bad style of conveying it.
The Best Book on the Naqshbandi Sufi PractisesNovember 30, 2000 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book contains a lot of subjects. But, its most important chapters are on Naqshbandi sufi practises, in my opinion. It gave detailed information about dhikr, lataif and muraqabat which formulated in the Mujaddidi phase. I cogratulates the author.
Scholarly study of Hazrat Jamaat Ali Shah & the NaqshbandisMarch 27, 2000 9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book fulfills two roles: it provides a very good history of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order in general and it also looks in detail at the life of one of the greatest Sufi saints of the 19th/20th century Sayyedina Ameer al Millat Grandshaykh Pir Sayyid Jama'at Ali Shah Naqshbandi (may Allah be pleased with him) of Alipur Sharif, Pakistan, as a case study. It is a welcome first look at this great saint and also it gives detailed information on Naqshbandi Sufi practices and beliefs. It should appeal to all those interested in tassawuf and also of religion in the Subcontinent as well as to the millions of admirers and disciples of Grandshaykh, Hazrat Amir al Millat who was the Ghawth [spiritual helper] of his age. I gave it only 4 stars just because in style it is very academic and meant for the specialist student of Sufism and not for the lay-person; yet with a bit of application all can benefir from this book and discover real Islam from a Master.
