Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 22 Issue 6

Establishing Peace through a Mystic Journey towards Fana : An Ethnographic Study on the Sufi Culture of Maizbhandar in Chittagong, Bangladesh Azmain Tanjim α & Md. Didar Hossain σ Abstract- This paper examined the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar. Sufism is the spiritual a nd mystical branch of Islam with a concrete system of belief, customs, and practices. It also focuses on the belief, traditions and practices of Maizbhandari Sufi culture. Maizbhandar has millions of follow ers who follow this S ufi culture. An e thnographic approach has been applied to conduct the study. The center of Maizbhandar (Fatikcchari, Chittagong) was the site (field) of the study. There were 30 in-depth interview respondents, 18 focus group discussion respondents, and 1 key informant of the research. All of them were selected through purposive sampling. Qualitative data were collected from the respondents, and a thematic analysis method was used for data analysis. The findings of the study include the beliefs, traditions, practices, major events, and the gender dimension of Maizbhandari Sufi culture in detail. The paper concludes that their culture is associated with love, peace, patience, and humanity, which can make a more peaceful and harmonious society. I. I ntroduction ufism refers to the spiritual and mystical branch of Islam (Peeran, 2012) which is associated with the union with divine and unitary beloved (Peeran, 2015). According to Sabra, Sufism can also be considered a concrete system of belief, customs, and practices and can influence every aspect of our life (Sabra, 2021). Sufis have mystical knowledge about self, creation and universe (Ali, 2019). The Sufi saints were involved in the process of spreading Islam in Bengal. Through their religious and missionary zeal, exemplary character and humanitarian activities, they greatly influenced the mind of the masses and attracted them to the faith of Islam (Masud, 2017). In Bangladesh, people came in contact with Islam through the contribution of Sufis who spread Islam in this region with love, affection, sacrifice and humanitarian activities. There are many Sufi tariqas such as Qadiriyya, Chisthiyya, Naqshbandiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Kubriya, and Shadhiliin Bangladesh (Numani & Chowdhury, 2021) most of which were imported from other regions. In contrast, Maizbhandari Sufi Tariqa, having a rich Sufi culture with its tradition, music, literature and practices, is the only one to have originated and established in Bangladesh. (Nabi, 2011) This tariqa has successfully influenced millions of followers all over the country positively. Sufism is associated with renunciation (zuhd), patience (sabr), sacrifice and love (Al Hujwiri, 1976; Al Qushayri, 1940; Ghazali, Year not found ) and Maizbhandari Sufi culture also nurtures these characteristics. This paper explored the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar through an ethnographic approach. The main objective of the study was to understand the Maizbhandari Sufi culture. There are some specific objectives as well and those are: 1. To explore the traditions and practices of Maizbhandari followers. 2. To know about the belief system of the Sufi Culture of Maizbhandar. 3. To find out the major events and festivals of the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar. 4. To understand the gender dimension of the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar. Maizbhandri Sufi culture has such a great impact among the followers that it is essential to explore the culture. II. L iterature R eview Sufism refers to the spiritual and mystical branch of Islam (Peeran, 2012) which is associated with the union with divine and unitary beloved (Peeran, 2015). According to Sabra, Sufism can also be considered a concrete system of beliefs, customs and practices and can influence every aspect of our life (Sabra, 2021). Sufism tries to unite people on the basis of equality, brotherhood, and social justice (Yakhyaevich, 2020). It is the abandonment of the desire of Nafs (self) (Arifah, 2018). Sufis provide different mystical descriptions to the followers (Sidik, 2018). Sufism originated from Arab with the establishment of Islam and later spread all over the world (Yakhyaevich, 2020). The Sufi leaders discovered the subcontinental region through the help of the Muslim traders and they started to came here to spread Islam. (Syatori, 2019; Khan & Bano, 2020). There are different explanations for the origin of the word Sufi. Most scholars accepted that the word Sufi originated from “Souf” which means woolen dress. S © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue VI Version I 51 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C Corresponding Author α : Bachelor of Social Science, East West University. e-mail: aaaatanjimm@gmail.com Co-author σ : Assistant Professor, English and Coordinator English Language Institute, United International University, United City, Madani Avenue Badda, Dhaka-Bangladesh. e-mails: didarmunna1@gmail.com , didar@eli.uiu.ac.bd