Ritual and Charisma in Naqshbandi Sufi Mysticism

Abstract

This article is an ethnographic study of an Islamic mystical (Sufi) order based in the tribal area of Pakistan. Fieldwork was conducted in 1996-1997 as a participantobserver of the order and at other sites in and around Pakistan. By using broader methods and theory more appropriate to the analysis of mysticism, the article aims to challenge previous ethnographic studies of the Sufi orders that attributed their existence largely to social, political, and economic factors. By more clearly defining both the nature of saintly charisma and the mystical ritual process, it argues that the raison d’etre of the orders is the cultivation of deeper states of consciousness. It concludes by calling for a new theoretical framework, a “transcendental anthropology” more appropriate to elucidating mystical states and practices.

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