HistoryMedieval India: Bhakti Sufi Traditions

By which century had Sufism evolved into a well-developed movement wi…

By which century had Sufism evolved into a well-developed movement with a body of literature on Quranic studies and sufi practices?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → The eleventh century

Sufism became a well-developed movement by the eleventh century, with its own literature and with communities organised around the khanqah; the sufi silsilas took shape a little later, around the twelfth century.

NCERT (2026-27): “6.1 Khanqahs and silsilas
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.”