ISLAMIC MYSTICISM IN THE EYES OF A HISTORIAN: KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF TASAWWUF

Abstract

Khaliq Ahmad Nizami was one of the most prominent historians of medieval India. His main expertise was in the field of socio-political history of medieval India, particularly the period of Delhi Sultanate. He has made ground-breaking research in this field by discovering the new sources for reformulating the history of medieval India, which include the MALFUZAT and Tadhkirahs of Sufi saints. Nizami has identified them as the main sources of medieval Indian history, that according to him give the minute details about the socio-political system of medieval India, which are lacking in the contemporary political literature. In addition to his works on history, he has also left an enduring influence in the field of Tasawwuf by contributing the various books and articles on Tasawwuf in medieval India. Nizami viewed Tasawwuf as the core of Islam and argued that it is based on the Holy Qur’an and Hadiith in his works. The present paper is an endeavour to highlight his contribution to Sufi studies by analyzing his distinctive approach as a historian of medieval India. In his major writings, he has avoided both the extremes. He neither romanticizes Tasawwuf nor treats it as an isolated mystical current rather he presents it as vibrant socio-political and cultural force that shaped the medieval Indian society. The methodology applied will be historical, analytical and descriptive.