Which one of the following is the correct meaning of ziyarat?
- (a)Pilgrimage to the tombs of sufi saints
- (b)The practice of revenue farming
- (c)The death anniversary of a sufi shaikh
- (d)A form of Islamic divorce
Correct — A, Pilgrimage to the tombs of sufi saints. Ziyarat is the pious visit to the dargah (tomb-shrine) of a sufi saint to seek blessings; such pilgrimages, especially to the shrines of the great Chishti shaikhs, became a central devotional practice of Sufism in India.
- (b)The practice of revenue farming — Revenue farming — auctioning the right to collect revenue to the highest bidder — is called ijara, a fiscal/administrative term with no connection to sufi devotion.
- (c)The death anniversary of a sufi shaikh — The death anniversary of a sufi saint, celebrated as a union with God, is the urs, not ziyarat; ziyarat is the visit to the tomb (which may or may not coincide with the urs).
- (d)A form of Islamic divorce — A form of divorce in Islamic law is talaq; it has nothing to do with pilgrimage to a shrine.
Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, developed devotional practices around living shaikhs and their tombs. A dargah is the tomb-shrine of a sufi saint; ziyarat is the act of visiting it as pilgrimage. Related terms include urs (the saint's death anniversary), sama (devotional music), khanqah (hospice) and silsila (a spiritual lineage/order).
The options bundle four look-alike technical terms; the key is to attach each to its own word — ziyarat = tomb pilgrimage, urs = death anniversary, ijara = revenue farming, talaq = divorce. Knowing the tomb-visit meaning of ziyarat isolates option (a).
- Ziyarat = pilgrimage/visit to the tomb (dargah) of a sufi saint.
- Urs = the death anniversary of a sufi shaikh, observed as a spiritual union with God.
- The Chishti order's shrines (e.g., Ajmer) are major centres of ziyarat in India.
- Sama (devotional music) was favoured by the Chishtis as a means of reaching ecstasy.
- Swapping ziyarat (tomb visit) with urs (death anniversary) — the two are closely related but distinct.
- Mistaking a fiscal term (ijara) or a legal term (talaq) for a devotional practice.
Asked as 'what does term X mean' or by matching sufi terms to their definitions.
With reference to the religious history of medieval India, the Sufi mystics were known to pursue which of the following practices? 1. Meditation and control of breath 2. Severe ascetic exercises in a lonely place 3. Recitation of holy songs to arouse a state of ecstasy in their audience
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3 — dhikr with breath control, solitary ascetic retreats, and sama (devotional music) were all sufi practices.
Same topic — Sufi devotional practices, of which visiting shrines (ziyarat) alongside sama and dhikr forms a part.
Which one of the following terms is associated with the practice of Sufism?
- (a) Jizya
- (b) Ijma
- (c) Muqaddam
- (d) Murid
Answer(d) Murid
Same concept — the vocabulary of Sufism; identifying which term belongs to sufi practice, exactly the skill needed to fix the meaning of ziyarat.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the context of Sufism, the term 'urs' refers to
- (a)the visit to a saint's tomb
- (b)the death anniversary of a sufi saint
- (c)a hospice for sufis
- (d)a spiritual lineage
Answer(b) the death anniversary of a sufi saint — observed as the saint's union with God.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A 'khanqah' in the sufi tradition was
- (a)a revenue unit
- (b)a hospice where a sufi shaikh lived with disciples
- (c)a form of taxation
- (d)a devotional song
Answer(b) a hospice where a sufi shaikh lived with disciples — a centre of teaching and hospitality.