The Controversy of Shaykh Awḥad al-Dīn Kirmānī and Handsome, Moon-Faced Youths: A Case Study of Shāhid-Bāzī in Medieval Sufism
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Abstract
The ability to witness the divine in creation has been one of the features that has often distinguished Sufis from non-Sufis. One of the most controversial manifestations of this was shāhid-bāzī (“playing the witness”), which was a practice of gazing at the form of young males in order to witness the inner, divine presence. Since medieval times a Persian Sufi by the name of Awḥad al-Dīn Kirmānī has been most commonly associated with shāhid-bāzī (especially during the samāʿ—or the ritual of Sufi music and dance). The controversy relating to Kirmānī seems to have focused on the homoerotic nature of shāhid-bāzī, yet a close examination of the texts reveal that the criticisms about Kirmānī relate to a wide range of Sufi practices and doctrines. An investigation of the contexts of these criticisms indicate that thirteenth–fourteenth-century Sufism was diverse and fluid, and that the systematisation of Sufism into brotherhoods (ṭarīqa) which was taking place in Kirmānī’s lifetime had not resulted in a bland conformity of faith and practice.
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The Controversy of Shaykh Awḥad al-Dīn Kirmānī and Handsome, Moon-Faced Youths: A Case Study of Shāhid-Bāzī in Medieval Sufism
In: Journal of Sufi StudiesSearch for other papers by Lloyd Ridgeon in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
The ability to witness the divine in creation has been one of the features that has often distinguished Sufis from non-Sufis. One of the most controversial manifestations of this was shāhid-bāzī (“playing the witness”), which was a practice of gazing at the form of young males in order to witness the inner, divine presence. Since medieval times a Persian Sufi by the name of Awḥad al-Dīn Kirmānī has been most commonly associated with shāhid-bāzī (especially during the samāʿ—or the ritual of Sufi music and dance). The controversy relating to Kirmānī seems to have focused on the homoerotic nature of shāhid-bāzī, yet a close examination of the texts reveal that the criticisms about Kirmānī relate to a wide range of Sufi practices and doctrines. An investigation of the contexts of these criticisms indicate that thirteenth–fourteenth-century Sufism was diverse and fluid, and that the systematisation of Sufism into brotherhoods (ṭarīqa) which was taking place in Kirmānī’s lifetime had not resulted in a bland conformity of faith and practice.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 467 | 102 | 20 |
| Full Text Views | 335 | 8 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 241 | 30 | 3 |