Arrange in chronological order:
(A) Sufis turned to asceticism and mysticism in protest against the growing materialism of the Caliphate
(B) Sufism evolved into a well-developed movement with a body of literature on Quranic studies
(C) Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world
(D) Shaikh Nizamuddin's hospice stood on the banks of the Yamuna at Ghiyaspur near Delhi
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A, B, C, D
(A) Sufis turned to asceticism and mysticism in protest against the growing materialism of the Caliphate — First. This came first, in the early centuries of Islam, when some religious-minded people protested against the worldliness of the Caliphate.
(B) Sufism evolved into a well-developed movement with a body of literature on Quranic studies — Second. By the eleventh century these ideas had grown into a full movement with its own literature and khanqahs.
(C) Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world — Third. The silsilas, chains linking master and disciple back to the Prophet, took shape around the twelfth century.
(D) Shaikh Nizamuddin's hospice stood on the banks of the Yamuna at Ghiyaspur near Delhi — Fourth. Shaikh Nizamuddin's hospice at Ghiyaspur belongs to about the fourteenth century, after the Chishtis had settled in India, so it comes last.
NCERT (2026-27): “6. The Growth of Sufism “By the eleventh century Sufism evolved into a welldeveloped movement with a body of literature on Quranic studies and sufi practices. Institutionally, the sufis began to organise communities around the hospice or khanqah (Persian) controlled by a teaching master known as shaikh (in Arabic), pir or murshid (in Persian). He enrolled disciples (murids) and appointed a successor (khalifa). He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the master.” “Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century. The word silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuous link between master and disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad. …” “The khanqah was the centre of social life. We know about Shaikh Nizamuddin’s hospice (c. fourteenth century) on the banks of the river Yamuna in Ghiyaspur, on the outskirts of what was then the city of Delhi. …” |