Days in the Life of a Sufi

If anyone puts thorns on my way out of animosity

Every flower in the garden of his life remain thornless

- Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya

The lives of Sufis are replete with stories of tantalizing miracles and unforgettable anecdotes of wisdom. The 101 Sufi tales in this book show pursuits of ethical and moral conduct in Sufi spirituality - a vibrant movement within Islamic traditions across time and space. Committed in their love for God, the Sufis found love in all His Creations. Large numbers of followers and devotees have continued to throng Sufi shrines seeking blessings and benediction. The stories of mystical exercises and charitable endeavour in this book illustrate their role and continuing relevance in shaping a pluralistic, diverse and tolerant Indian society. Exactly as the Sufis focused on soul searching and right conduct for themselves and all those around them, these stories are nuggets of wisdom which guide people to become better human beings.

Raziuddin Aquil is Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Delhi. He was previously Fellow in History, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. His voluminous writings on Sufis and many other aspects of medieval Indian history have been read and appreciated by many. He is the author of The Muslim Question: Understanding Islam and Indian History (2017); Lovers of God: Sufism and the Politics of Islam in Medieval India (2017) and Sufism, Culture and Politics: Afghans and Islam in Medieval North India (2007).