Qalandariyya

Unorthodox Sufi mystical order

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The Qalandariyya (Arabic: قلندرية), Tariqa al-Qalandar, Qalandaris, Kalandaris are wandering ascetic Sufi dervishes. The writings of Qalandaris were not a mere celebration of libertinism, but affirmations of antinomial practices. The order was often viewed with scrutiny by Islamic authorities.

Origin

The Qalandariyya are an unorthodox Tariqa of Sufi dervishes that originated in medieval al-Andalus as an answer to the state sponsored Zahirism of the Almohad Caliphate, and from there they quickly spread into North Africa, the Mashriq, Greater Iran, Central Asia and Pakistan.^[1]^[2]

Spread

Starting in the early 12th century, the movement gained popularity in Greater Khorasan and neighbouring regions, including South Asia.^[3] The first references are found in the 11th-century prose text Qalandarname (The Tale of the Kalandar) attributed to Ansarī Harawī. The term Qalandariyya (the Qalandar way) appears to be first applied by Sanai Ghaznavi (died 1131) in seminal poetic works where diverse practices are described. Particular to the Qalandari genre of poetry are terms that refer to gambling, games, intoxicants and Nazar ila'l-murd, themes commonly referred to as Kufr or Khurafat. The genre was further developed by poets such as Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi and Farid al-Din Attar.

The Qalandariyya may have arisen from the earlier Malamatiyya and exhibited some Buddhist and Hindu influences in South Asia.^[4] The Malamatiyya condemned the use of drugs and dressed only in blankets or in hip-length hairshirts.^[4] Qalandariyya spread to Hazrat Pandua in Bengal and places in Pakistan through the efforts of multiple Qalandari figures.^[1]^[5]

Qalandari songs in Pakistan typically incorporate qawwali styles as well as different local folk styles, such as bhangra and intense naqareh or dhol drumming.^[6]

Bibliography

De Bruijn, The Qalandariyya in Persian Mystical Poetry from Sana'i, in The Heritage of Sufism, 2003.
Ashk Dahlén, The Holy Fool in Medieval Islam: The Qalandariyya of Fakhr al-din Araqi, Orientalia Suecana, vol.52, 2004.

References

^ ^a ^b Ivanov, Sergej Arkadevich (2006) Holy fools in Byzantium and beyond Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, page 368, ISBN 0-19-927251-4
^ de Bruijn, J. T. P. "The Qalandariyyat in Persian Mystical Poetry from Sand'i Onwards". In Lewisohn, Leonard (ed.) (1992) The Legacy of Mediæval Persian Sufism Khaniqahi Nimatullahi, London, pp. 61–75, ISBN 0-933546-45-9
^ Merriam-Webster's Encyclopædia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. 1999. p. 896. Retrieved 22 October 2011. The movement is first mentioned in Khorasan in the 11th century; from there it spread to India, Syria, and western Iran.
^ ^a ^b Merriam-Webster's Encyclopædia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. 1999. p. 896. Retrieved 22 October 2011. The Qalandariyya seem to have arisen from the earlier Malamatiyya in Central Asia and exhibited Buddhist and perhaps Hindu influences.
^ Muhammad Ruhul Amin (2012). "Qalandaria". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
^ Malik, Iftikhar Haider (2006). Culture and customs of Pakistan. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, page 171, ISBN 0-313-33126-X