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Playing or Praying: A Sufi Saint's Day in Surat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Peter Van Der Veer
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Extract

In surat, an industrial city in Gujarat, a multiplicity of meanings is attached to the cult of the Rifa'i saint by different groups of Muslims, such as the holy man (pir) and his family, his lay followers, the Rifa'i faqirs, and the Tablighis (Reform Muslims who are the main opponents of the cult), as well as by Hindus. It is argued that none of these meanings have come to dominate and entirely marginalize the others. This article will describe a local arena in which debate about Muslim ritual practice is largely an “internal” one among Muslims about such Islamic issues as the relation between God and believer and the sources of authoritative knowledge and behavior. The concept of hereditary, saintly power is paramount in shaping the Rifa'i forms of celebration or “playing” on the saint's day. In discourse about Rifa'i ritual, it is contrasted with “praying” to God.

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Articles
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , August 1992 , pp. 545 - 564
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1992

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