ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the end this book almost wrote itself. The research on which it is based was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK, during the years 198990, by a Leverhulme fellowship in 19901, and by a Leverhulme award in 19992000. I am grateful to both the Leverhulme Trust and the ESRC for their generous support. A sabbatical year granted me by Keele University during 20001 enabled me to complete the writing. I thank Muhammad Talib for his meticulous corrections to the Urdu glossary.
Many people made this study possible. Zindapir Sahib allowed me to share in his divine grace. His family and especially his son Badshah Sahib welcomed me at the lodge and trusted me as a friend and sister. Hajji Bashir Muhammad guided me along the path and was a creative force throughout the research. in particular could not have been written without him. Dr Allah Ditta was generous with his time and ideas. Nyla Ahmed and Munir Choudri were immensely helpful both as friends and as research assistants. I am particularly grateful to them for their translation of the texts presented here. Shaheen and Majid Khan were, as usual, friends in need who gave selflessly of their time, insight and knowledge. Sonia, and Shaheens family in Rawalpindi, the Khans, provided me with a home away from home. Their marvellous warmth and generosity, support and sheer capacity for fun made the research enjoyable as well as fruitful. I am eternally grateful to them for their unstinting generosity and warmth.
The disciples of Zindapir and his khulafa were generous well beyond the call of duty. Pakistanis are the most generous of hosts and I am indebted for all the delicious meals, the care and hospitality I received from numerous people.
My colleagues Helene Basu, Jrgen Frembgen, Sam Landell Mills, Charles Lindholm, Jamal Malik, Barbara Metcalf, Hafeez ur-Rahman, Muhammad Waseem and Lukas Werth gave me enormous intellectual support, shared their ideas with me and criticised my work. I deeply value their friendship. The Pakistan Workshop which meets annually at Satterthwaite in the Lake District was a testing ground for most of the chapters of this book. It would be impossible to thank all the participants at the workshop but Peter Parkes, Anjum Werth, Michael Fischer and Wenonah Lyon have, over the years, deepened my insight into Pakistan society, as have Sylvia Vatuk, Peter van der Veer, Hastings Donnan, David Gilmartin and Karen Leonard.
My family, as is usual in anthropological research, bore it all with stoicism. The research would never have happened if it had not been for my husband Dick, who inspired my interest in ritual in general and regional cults in particular. Travelling around north-east Botswana with him in the late 1970s as he studied the Mwali cult, I never imagined that I would encounter similar types of social organisations thousands of miles removed from South-Central Africa. My intellectual debt to him is evident in this book.
Several chapters draw on parts of published articles: the introduction on Werbner and Basu (1998b), on Werbner (2001). All Urdu notations and spellings follow John D. Platts Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English, Oxford, Clarenden Press, 1984.
In order to protect identities, most of the names presented here are pseudonyms. Given, however, that the study has some historical significance, the names of the saint, his family and close khulafa in Pakistan have not been changed. I have also preserved the names of all the places in Pakistan and of the larger cities in Britain, again, in the light of the potential historical significance of the research, but smaller places in Britain are in some cases given pseudonyms in order to protect peoples identities.
THE SPIRITUAL GENEALOGY OF THE NAQSHBANDI SUFI ORDER OF GHAMKOL SHARIF, KOHAT, PAKISTAN
Oh Allah!
Bless me, for the sake of Your Greatness,
For the sake of Your Chosen Prophet.
Give me most perfect truth and sincerity
For the sake of Hazrat Abu Bakr,
The Truthful and Righteous, Commander of the Faithful
Give me divine love
For the sake of the sincerity of Hazrat Salman Farsi,
Companion of the Prophet.
Give me steadfastness
For the sake of Imam Qasim, grandson of Abu Bakr Saddique
And Imam Jaafar, the Truthful and Most Pure.
For the sake of the Guides,
The Great Helper, the Axis of the world,
The most elevated of Sufi Masters, Bayazid.
Make my heart beat with Gods remembrance
For the sake of the modesty
Of Abul Hasan of Kharqan.
Free me from sin
For the sake of Khajah Abu Qasim of Gargan,
Who is filled with light
Grant me good deeds
For the sake of Khaja Hazrat Bu-Ali of Farmid,
Saint of the World.
Make my selfish soul surrender
For the sake of the Leader,
Khaja Abu Yusuf of Hamadan.
Grant me perfection
For the sake of the most wonderous saint, the Leader,
Khaja Abdul Khaliq of Ghadjdawani.
For my faith,
Let the holiness of Hazrat Hoja Muhammed Arif of Rewagar
Prevail upon me.
Teach me the lesson of mercy
For the sake of the limitless pearl, the man of truth,
Hazrat Mahmood Al-Khair of Faghna.
May Your Name be dear
For the sake of the most honest
Hazrat Khaja Azizah Ali of Ramatin.
Fill my heart with love
For the sake of that lover,
Baba Samasee, Lover of God.
Grant me perfect righteousness
For the sake of the Pious Sayyid
Hazrat Shah Kalal Mir, who is filled with generosity.
Imprint Thy Name on my heart
For the sake of the Saint of Saints, the exalted self,
The King, Baha Udin Naqshband.
Perfume my heart
For the sake of the joyous face of
Hazrat Khaja Ala-Udin of Atar.
Turn me from idleness and neglectfulness
For the sake of Memu Maha,
And of Hazrat Yaqoob Charkhi,
helper of the destitute.
Make me Your absolute lover
For the sake of Khaja Ubaidullah,
The Noble, the Free, the Beloved.
Grant me abstinence too
For the sake of the wonderous ascetic,
Hazrat Khaja Muhammed Zahid.
