Fawa’id al-Fu’ad: Spiritual and Literary Discourses of Shaikh Nizammuddin Awliya

Fawa’id al-Fu’ad is a monumental work of spiritual and literary discourses of Shaikh Nizamuddin Awliya who lived in medieval India. The book is a didactic classic in the form of recorded conversations. Devoid of supernatural elements, it provides useful information about a large number of Shufi saints and ‘ulama’. A living testimony to the accord between the Shari‘ah and Tariqah, therein he spoke on the necessity of practising values that could transform man into a true human being, full of love, tolerance, forgiveness, patience, forbearance, sincerity in devotion, adherence to truth and generosity. Sufism or Islamic spiritualism that flourished in India with the advent of the Turkish rule in the 13th century forms the backdrop of this work. The moral teachings of his spiritual mentors, dwelt at length, in various majlises, constitute the bed-rock of this treatise which has great literary distinction. Written in fluent Persian prose style, it is embellished with apt verses to elucidate the points of discussion. The Shufi way of life and the teachings of the Chishtiyah order have been vindicated as a sharp contrast to the material prosperity, territorial conquest and the lust for power in the contemporary world. The compiler — Amir Hasan ‘Ala’ sijzi — a great scholar of Persian language, has done a yeoman’s service in giving a definite shape to this monumental work. The Shaikh’s didactic intention and spiritual flavour have been well-preserved through the compiler’s directness of style. Fawa’id al-Fu’ad rendered into English from the original Persian text based on an ably edited edition of the book represents a serious attempt to understand the nuances of the mystic mind of a great shufi saint of the sub-continent. This academic venture of Prof. Faruqi will be of great use to lay readers as well as the scholars of Islamic mysticism.