Fawa'id al-Fu'ad
Also called: Fawaid-ul-Fuad · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"
Meaning
The Fawa'id al-Fu'ad, also spelt Fawaid-ul-Fuad, is a record of the conversations of the Chishti sufi master Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi. Sufis are Muslim mystics who seek God through love and devotion. The poet Amir Hasan Sijzi Dehlavi, a disciple of the shaikh, compiled it in the 14th century. It belongs to the malfuzat genre. Malfuzat means "uttered": these are a shaikh's spoken teachings, written down with his permission and used to teach his followers. It shows us how a sufi hospice ran from day to day and how the shaikh dealt with rulers.
Example
The Fawa'id al-Fu'ad records that in 1313 Nizamuddin Auliya turned down a ruler's gift of gardens and land. He followed his teacher Baba Farid's advice: take money for the poor, but refuse land deeds.
Don't confuse with
- Maktubat: letters that sufi masters wrote to their disciples, such as those of Ahmad Sirhindi. Malfuzat are spoken words written down by someone else.
- Tazkira: life stories of saints, such as the Siyar-ul-Auliya. They are not a record of one shaikh's conversations.