Gujarat and Delhi, but also in Kashmir.A disciple of a
khalifah
of Shihabuddin
Suhrawardi, named Sayyid Sharafuddin, came to Kashmir from Turkestan
in the 14
th
century and converted Richana, the Buddhist ruler of Laddakh to
Islam. Sayyid Sharfuddin is remembered in Kashmir as Bulbul Shah and
reputedly his
khanqah
became a great centre of Sufi activities. As he had no
outstanding successors, it fell into abeyance after his death. However, the
Suhrawardi teachings were revived by Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani, a disciple
of Makhdum-i Jahaniyan, who was a contemporary of Sultan Zainu’l ‘Abidin
(1420-70) of Kashmir.
Suhrawardi Thought and Practice
The Suhrawardis entered India in the 13
th
century and went on to
consolidate their hold over the Indian mind as a result of the activities of
the
khalifas
of Shaykh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi. Initially, they were centred
in Multan in Sind, but later their teachings were carried on to other parts
of north India with centres developing in Delhi, Badayun and in Bengal .
The Sufis of the Chishti order were already there in Ajmer, Delhi, Nagaur
and Ajodhan. There was much interaction between these two orders and
the great masters of both corresponded with each other and also met
personally. There are records of Hamiduddin Suvali of Nagaur, a Chishti
shaykh, writing to Bahauddin Zakariya on the issue of the wealth that Sufis
were permitted to hold, along with that of a meeting of both in Delhi .
Qadi Hamiduddin Nagauri, a Suhrawardi shaykh and a close friend of
Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki and his
khalifah
Nizamuddin Auliya, in fact,
performed the formal handing over of the relics of Nizamuddin Auliya to
Baba Farid, his spiritual successor.
A Sufi text,
‘Awarifu’l Ma’arif
, written by Shihabuddin Suhrawardi, was
the standard manual for most of the Sufis of the subcontinent, with both the
The Suh r awa r d i Or d e r 146
