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

(Al Hujwiri, 1976; Al Qushayri, 1940; Ghazali, n.d.). The Sufis used to wear “Souf '' or woolen dress and that's why they were called Sufi. This dress is a symbol of self scolding (Coppens, 2018). However, many scholars demonstrated that the word Sufi came from the group of companions of the Holy Prophet (Shahabi) called Ashabi-Safa. In the Quran, Sufis are mentioned as Sabirin (patient men), Abrar (virtuous men), Zuhhad (pious men) (Melchert, 2016). The main goal of every Sufi follower is to purify themselves ( nafs ). They are less concerned about the objective world and even most of the Sufis, especially in the classic period, did not own any property. Wealth, property, fame all are contrary to spiritual perfection. Those individuals ( nafs ) are lowest in quality that seeks wealth, property, and fame (Qudsi, 2021). Sufism is all about zuhd (renunciation), sabr (patience), sacrifice and love (Al Hujwiri, 1976; Al Qushayri, 1940; Ghazali, n.d.). Sufis do zikr (recite) with Sufi music to purify the soul (Schmeding, 2021). Thus, a Sufi follower reaches the destination of Fana where he has total control over himself and converts all of his wills with the divine will of almighty God (Al Hujwiri, 1976). Islam was brought into South Asia by the merchants and warriors but it was the Sufis who played pivotal part in preaching and establishing the core teachings of Islam. Sufis interacted with the indigenous people and influenced their beliefs and thoughts. Thus, Islamization occurred in the south Asian region (Ujampady et al., 2020). Tasawwuf (Sufism) is not new in this country as it has a thousand year old history (Nabi, 2011). There are many Sufi Tariqas (Schools of practice) (Khumidovich et. al., 2021) like Qadiriyya, Chisthiyya, Naqshbandiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Kubriya, and Shadhili in Bangladesh (Numani & Chowdhury, 2021). It is not the sword that spread Islam instead, it is the Sufis of different tariqas who established Islam in Bangladesh (Haq, 2019) and during the 12th century, Sufism started to blossom as many people of Bangladesh accepted Islam (Ali, 1985). Sufis had attracted the people with their humble interaction and social justice and thus, Sufis were successful in creating a concrete brotherhood (Haq, 1975). Tariqa e Qadiriyya is the biggest and most accepted tariqa in the world. This tariqa is founded by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani who has the highest status of Sufis: Ghous ul Azam. He was from the progeny of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him). The Sufis of Qadiriyya tariqa came to many parts of the country (Ahsan, 1994). Tariqa e Maizbhandariyya has its root in Tariqa e Qadiriyya. Tariqa e Maizbhandariyya is the only tariqa to have evolved and spread in Bangladesh. None of the tariqa was founded in Bangladesh including Qadiriyya, Chisthiyya, Naqshbandiyya, Suhrawardiyya, and Shadhili etc. This tariqa was founded by Huzur Ghous ul Azam Shah Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari and carried out by his nephew Huzur Ghous ul Azam Shah Golam ur Rahman Maizbhandari, who is very famous by the name Baba Bhandari (Nabi, 2011). Ghous ul Azam Maizbhandari is the direct (27th) descendant of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him). His progeny is linked with Shah Hamid Uddin Ghouri, who was from the descendants of Abdul Qadir Gilani. Shah Hamid Uddin Ghouri came to Bangladesh from Baghdad more than five hundred years ago. Later on, his grandsons were settled in Fatikchhari, Chittagong. The village was called Maizbhandar which is the root of name of Tariqa e Maizbhandariyya. (Nabi, 2011). This Sufi institution has such a significant impact on the belief and practice system of the people of Bangladesh that one would hardly find a village in this country where there are no Maizbhandari followers (Nabi, 2011). Sufism can influence our psychology (Kim, 2020) and Maizbhandar has also done it. Maizbhandar has its own Sufi culture, literature, music, festivals, etc. which are attached to the life of the Maizbhandari followers (Nabi, 2011). III. M ethods To reach the objectives of our study, we have used a qualitative method: ethnography. Ethnography is widely used to explore cultural phenomena in the research world. Our research objectives are based on the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar. That is why; we found ethnography the best suited approach to complete the study. a) Setting the Research Area This study was conducted in a village called Maizbhandar situated at Fatikchhari in Chittagong, Bangladesh. As we wanted to explore the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar, we selected the head center of the Sufi tariqa. We entered that place with the help of our gatekeeper, a Sufi master and the key informant of our study. b) Study Population We have taken 30 in-depth interviews of the Maizbhandari followers during our ethnographic fieldwork. We also conducted three focus group discussions of 6 respondents and 1 key informant interview (KII), a Maizbhandari Sufi master. We have collected only qualitative data from our respondents. The KII helped us to have a more concrete understanding about the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar. c) Sampling Procedure We used purposive sampling which is a non- probability sampling method. We selected our respondents purposively, based on their potential ability to provide a clear and detailed insight about the Sufi culture of Maizbhandar. All the respondents of our study were aged 30 or more because it would be difficult for Volume XXII Issue VI Version I 52 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals C Establishing Peace through a Mystic Journey towards Fana : An Ethnographic Study on the Sufi Culture of Maizbhandar in Chittagong, Bangladesh