Bangla Pir Kathā and the Fātimār Suratnāmā: Reflecting the Female Sufi Horizon of Bengal

Dr. Sahidul Hasan

Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Dhaka

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59815/bhs.vol2802

Abstract: Sufism originated from the Qur’an and Hadith, absorbed various philosophical elements, knowledge and rituals from Arab, African, European and Asian traditions. It spread in the Indian subcontinent through a process of amalgamation and integration of diverse cultural traits drawn from different regions of the world. In course of time, when it reached Bengal, it interacted with local cultural and religious traditions, and developed distinct regional forms. The present researcher aims to trace the presence of women in Sufi tariqās of Eastern India, especially in Bengal (c. 1700-1900 CE) and investigate how vernacular literature presents female Sufis or the Pirānīs. One such middle Bengali manuscript copied in Arabic-Persian script was Sherbaj Khan’s Fātimār-Suratnāmā. It contains the story about the beauty of Hazrat Fatima (RA), daughter of Hazrat Muhammad (SM). This article attempts to present the story of the Fātimār-Suratnāmā and place the central character of the text in the Sufi horizon. Following conventional historical research methodology, this paper bases itself on the ideas of ‘otherness’ and ‘outsideness’ propagated by existential feminism within the context of the South Asian Sufi horizon.

Key Words: Sufism, Vernacular Text, Existential Feminism, Female Sufi.