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

the teenagers to provide us a proper insight of their culture. d) Data Collection We collected the data from 5 December 2021 to 30 December 2021. During this time, we stayed at our selected research site: Maizbhandar, Fatikchhari, Chittagong. We prepared an open ended questionnaire based on our research objectives. We entered there for our data collection with the help of our gatekeeper, who is a Sufi master, to whom we were previously known. We selected our respondents from his followers. Then we described to them the purpose of our study to build trust. At first, we arranged a time slot for our 30 respondents to take their in-depth interview and also fixed a slot and place for three focus group discussions of 18 respondents. We took the interview of the key informant in several slots whenever we got the opportunity to talk to him as we were staying in his place during our fieldwork. All the interviews were conducted in Bengali. Later on, we translated them into English and tried to keep the data as authentic as possible while translating them. The duration of the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were around 1.5 hours. Besides taking field notes, we recorded all the interviews on a mobile phone with the consent of the respondents. e) Data Analysis We have used a qualitative thematic method to analyze the data that we got from the fieldwork. First of all, we made a transcript for each of the interviews. Then, we finalized the data by reading and re-reading. After that we started coding and categorizing our codes. Based on that, we made our themes for the data analysis. We managed and analyzed all the data manually. f) Ethical Consideration Ethical guidelines are a very crucial part of every academic research. We took the informed consent from each of the participants before data collection. We took their written consent about their participation in this study. Besides, we also ensured that every single unit of data would be secured and their name and identity would not be mentioned. We also requested them to give us permission to record their interviews and everyone agreed. We also assured that after the procedure is complete, we would destroy the recorded data and we must not disclose their name or identity in the transcript. IV. F indings The findings of the study include socio- demographic characteristics of respondents, the beliefs, traditions, practices and major events of Maizbhandari Sufi culture. The findings are written under the themes that were developed based on the data by coding and categorizing. Thematically, the findings are presented in this section. a) Socio-Demographic characteristics of the respondents Table 1 shows the socio-demographic information of our total 49 respondents. Among them 29 were male and 20 were female. 14 of them aged from 30-40, while 15 of them aged from 40-50 and 20 were over 50. All the respondents of this study were married. 41 respondents were literate and 8 were illiterate. We have also presented the number of respondents in Pie Chart 1. b) Belief System Belief is considered the core of every religion. The belief of Maizbhandari followers is based on the principles of “Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat '' and Hanafi school of jurisprudence (fiqh). They have proper submission to the major principles of Islam and they comply with all the beliefs and rituals that are legal in Islami Shariah. Shahzada Syed Saifuddin Ahmed al Hasani wal Husaini (31st descendent of Holy Prophet Slw) said: “Without following Shariah properly, no one can be a Sufi.” Like all other Sufi cultures, Maizbhandar tariqa also strictly emphasizes the proper submission of the followers to the Sufi Masters (Shaykh/Murshid). They believe that by surrendering to their master accordingly they can get the proximity (Qurbat) of Allah and his Holy Prophet (PBUH). One of our respondents of in-depth interview (IDI-3) reported: “We believe that our Murshid (Master) is Wali-Allah (Friends of Allah). On top of that, he is also the direct descendent of Holy Prophet (PBUH). Our priority is to achieve the stage of Fana- fis- Shaykh (by destroying his own will for the master) because without that we cannot get Allah. Allah said in the Quran that his mercy is near to the Muhsinin (Good doers). So, we show boundless and deep love for our Murshid and seek mercy.” Their notion of salvation is not about heaven; they are concerned about the union with the beloved (the creator). This optimistic journey of being united starts with Fana-Fis-Shaykh (Highest devotion for the master) through Fana-Fir-Rasuland (Highest devotion for the Holy Prophet) and ends with Fana-Fillah (Merging self with God). To achieve so they first follow all the orders and advice of their master. As the Sufi masters of Maizbhandar are from the progeny of the Holy Prophet, people try to show the highest respect for them. It is a non-separable part of Islamic belief to love each and every descendant of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). They also believe that Ghous ul Azam Maizbhandari and Ghous ul Azam Bababhandari can help them with their spiritual power as they are the wali of Allah (Friends of Allah). I have observed during my fieldwork that they pray to Allah by the wasila (recommendation) of Ghous ul Azam Maizbhandari and © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue VI Version I 53 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C Establishing Peace through a Mystic Journey towards Fana : An Ethnographic Study on the Sufi Culture of Maizbhandar in Chittagong, Bangladesh