Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education: Sufi Illuminations Journal - Vol 1, 1996 - Editor's Introduction - Arthur Buehler, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Colgate University

Sufi Illumunations, A Journal Devoted to Islam & Tasawwuf

( Risala-yi-Anwar as-Sufiyya) - Vol 1, August 1996 , published by Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE)

Editor's Introduction - Arthur Buehler, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Colgate University

Five Years ago at the end of over two thousands kilometers of bumpy and dusty motorcycle riding between libraries in Lahore,I stumbled across a dust-covered set of the first twenty five years ( 1904-1924) of Jana'at Ali's monthly journal, Risala-yi anwar as-Sufiyya, which enabled me to have a glimpse of early twentieth-century Sufi life and practices in unprecedented detail. Only someone who has searched for such kind of rare sources ( in this case for two years) can appreciate how fortunate (and how unusual) it is to find such a collection that has been miraculously preserved from the ever-hungry and ubiquitous ants, the bane of any book collector in that part of the world. When Dr.Ahmad Mirza, President and Founder of Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education, asked me be the guest editor of an academic journal, Sufi Illuminations ,which would be dedicated to the memory of Jama'at Ali Shah ( rahmat Allah alayhi ). I was honored to be involved in reviving the longest running Sufi publication of Punjab -- one that had a continuous history from 1904-1987.

The Risla-yi anwar as-Sufiyya (hereafter Risala), the first issue which was personally funded by Jama'at Ali became established as the first Sufi journal in the Punjab and was a part pf a much larger boom of newspapers and journals that had begun in 1880. Unlike the most other religious journals written and published by Muslims of time, it assiduously avoided acting as a forum for religious debate. Although there were occasional references to detractors of Sufism, most of the Risala articles interpreted diverse facets of Sufism, explaining how one arrived near God by loving Muhammad ( sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and one's spiritual mentor. The Risala served an important function to advertise the annual meeting of the Voluntary Association of Sufi Servants ( Anjuman-i Khuddam as-Sufiyya ) and to summarize the highlights of the conference for those who were unable to attend.

Many of the articles in Risala have an educational tone.Some are explicitly instructional, advising readers how to respond to detractors of Islam and Sufism.One article in the Risala counsels readers to respond in a tranquil and polite manner using proofs and facts.Presumably the articles do not function to convince the readers but to assist individual Sufis defend their practices against opponents.Much of the writing on Sufism in the Risala parallels other common genres of Indian Sufi literature.There are articles urging good moral character that cite examples of paradigmatic Muslims, in addition to hagiographies of famous Sufis, explanatory tracts on repentance, initiation and recollection of God.

Overall, the most striking aspect of articles discussing Sufism in Risala was their discontinuity with prior Naqshbandi writing since the magazine format itself was unprecedented in the Naqshbandi tradition. In the first two decades of Risala only a handful of the articles were written by Jama'at Ali when one would expect his writings to have predominated more. Anwar Ali, an English-educated District judge and a successor to Naqshbandi Shaykh Mahmud Shah Jalandari ( rahmat Allah alayhi) was the most prolific writer in the first decade of Risala. He approached the subject of Sufism more as a scholar explaining what others had said than as a practitioner relating his own experience. Anwar Ali's monumental treatise, "Laws of Sufism" must have appealed to those with an intellectual interest in Sufism, instead of formulating his own synthesis from personal experience, Anwar Ali preferred to translate extant works, often using translated excerpts from Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi's Maktubat and occasionally comparing Naqshbandi techniques with those of other groups.

According to Dr.Mirza, the formate of Sufi Illuminations seeks to follow in the footsteps of its Urdu-language predecessor by using Arabic phrases of blessing which piously honor prophets and deceased holy persons.In this regard Sufi Illuminations in innovative for an English academic journal as it serves two unique, but overlapping audiences like Risala in its formative years, Sufi Illuminations will be innovative by incorporating two types of sources in separate sections:Primary Sources written by practitioners within recognized sufi lineages and Academic Sources written by academics who study Sufism. There is an Editorial Board which assures a high standard of intellectual and academic quality, just as Risala splendidly bridged the interests of potentially conflicting Indian Muslims earlier this century, Sufi Illuminations will endeavor to include diverse voices of the modern world. Muslim and non-Muslim, Sufi and non-Sufi, who quest for a greater understanding of Sufism, from the heart and from mind.

This issue of Sufi Illuminations has been made possible through generous donations of time, expertise and money. Mohammad Zakariya graciously designed the cover and contributed the Arabic calligraphy. Aisha Holland produced the English copperplate script. Imad Gire has facilitated the professional printing of the journal at his own expense . Many thanks to Yakub Patel who has masterfully produced the advertisements and to Hatice Gray who has been a cheerful and understanding copy editor.

Risala Anwar as-Sufiyya 1917