Genealogies of Maizbhandari Thoughts: Syed Delawor Hossain and his Paradigm of Sufi Perception

Abstract

Syed Delawor Hossain is a key person to decipher the genealogies of Maizbhandari Tariqa, a relatively new, often gnomic and a fast growing Sufi Order in modern Bangladesh. Its founder, Syed Ahmad Ullah, did not leave any written instructions outlining its ideologies and practices. Hossain, being his vicegerent, has been identified as the primary source for the seekers and researchers alike to understand and to travel the path of Maizbhandari Divinity. His contributions speak volumes of his genius especially when speaking of his standardization of the practice of a new tariqa. However, there is still little specific or detailed study about the spiritual ethnography of this Sufi order. Drawing on his extensive contributions, this study asks: how and to what extent the Maizbhandari thoughts and practices are shaped by his very personality and writings. It further aims to explore his own Sufi epistemology, ethical ideas, his treatment of wilayat, his quest for perfected humanity and Divine communion, his adaptation of the concept of tawhid-ul-adyan, wahdatul wajud and Sufi physiology, and his approach to the issue of sharia compliance that is always at the centre of intense discourse of this tariqa, both externally and internally.