Book contents
- The Sufi Saint of Jam
- Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
- The Sufi Saint of Jam
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Plates, Figures, and Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on the Text
- Abbreviations
- Maps
- Introduction
- Part I The Saint
- Part II The Successors
- Part III The Shrine
- 5 Setting, Architecture, and Administration
- 6 Agro- and Hydro-management
- 7 Public Service in the Catchment Area
- 8 Sacred Topography and Islamic Learning
- Part IV The Sufis
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other Titles in the Series
- Plate Section
7 - Public Service in the Catchment Area
from Part III - The Shrine
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2021
- The Sufi Saint of Jam
- Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
- The Sufi Saint of Jam
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Plates, Figures, and Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on the Text
- Abbreviations
- Maps
- Introduction
- Part I The Saint
- Part II The Successors
- Part III The Shrine
- 5 Setting, Architecture, and Administration
- 6 Agro- and Hydro-management
- 7 Public Service in the Catchment Area
- 8 Sacred Topography and Islamic Learning
- Part IV The Sufis
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other Titles in the Series
- Plate Section
Summary
In premodern times Islamic institutions (Sufi shrines, hospices, and mosques), were often responsible for the provision of social services: healthcare and food for the indigent and the infirm, schooling, and so on. During times of crises – famine, epidemic, and war – Sufis (especially) served the people. The Persianate social obligation to “feed the people” (takafful-i umur), still valid in Iran, Afghanistan, and South Asia (but known by sundry terms – if at all), was an imperative for the shrine’s leadership in the past, and to an extent today, namely, access to the shrine’s library, the construction of a new public library, and financial aid for students enrolled at the shrine’s seminaries. The provision of services to the public will have intensified symbiotic bonds between shrine and community.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Sufi Saint of JamHistory, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran, pp. 143 - 148Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021