MALFUZAT 

Malfuzat literature is a significant subgenre of sufi literature in

South Asia (conversations of sufi masters). This genre has a lot of
compilations. To mention a few: Manaqib al- Makhdum-i
Jahaniyan, Khazana-i' Jawahir-i Jalaliyya, Khazana-i' Fawaid al-
Jalaliyya, Khulasat al-alfazJami al- 'Ulum, Siraj Al Hidaya, and
Khazana-i' Fawaid al-Jalaliyya are malfuzat collections of
Makhdum-i Jahaniyan. 
Malfuzat, which translates as "the spoken words," were the
contemporaneous accounts of a sufi shaykh's teachings and
deeds. As the sufi traditions developed the sufi master or shaykh
became the main figure for seekers to receive guidance and
blessings. People were curious to learn more about the teachings
and lives of the sufi shaykhs who had inspired them. The sufi
writings gave the followers direction just as the sufi shrines
allowed them to physically connect with a deceased sufi shaykh. 

The creation of sufi literature was influenced either directly or

indirectly by the Indian sufis of the thirteenth and fourteenth
century. The genre of malfuzat concentrates on an Individual sufi,
and its author is typically a devoted student of the sufi shaykh.
These malfuzat provide comprehensive illumination of the sufi
practices in khanqahs. Although the format of malfuzat varied,
they were typically written in a diary-style or organized into
chapters according to various subjects. Steinfels is of the opinion
that “In their preservation of a sufi master’s personality and
instruction long after his death, the malfuzat can be compared
with that other structure by which the power of saints is
preserved after death: the tomb.” As a result, the malfuzat, or
sufi phrases, were seen as a source of barakah for sufi followers
rather than simple writings. 

Malfuzat has a lot of anecdotes, which grabs the interest of the

general reader. Due to mythical components and the problem
with the timeline and geographic authenticity of the events It
presents a challenge to accept these accounts as historical reality.
but one should Remember that the purpose of citing the
anecdotes was moralization, not to preserve historic data. 

Malfuzat is an independent genre, each text focusing on a single

figure whose teachings were recorded during his lifetime by a
disciple in direct contact with him. The ideal example of this
genre, that firmly established both its form and its popularity in
South Asian Sufism, is Fawaid al-fuad by Amir Hasan Sijzi. Fawaid
al-fuad recorded the conversations of the widely revered Chishti
saint Nizamuddin Auliya. Because of the popularity of this saint
and the literary abilities of his disciple, Fawad al-fuad became a
widely read and much imitated text. Imitation took the shape of
later shaykhs' malfuzat authored by their followers and forgeries
purporting to be Nizamuddin Auliya's predecessors'
malfuzat. Although there are several malfuzat of earlier Chishti
figures, Fawaid al-fuad is the earliest such text considered
authentic by most scholars. Fawaid al-fuad was composed as a
day-by-day memoir of Nizamuddin Auliya’s teaching sessions, and
this diary structure has continued to be the dominant format for
malfuzat texts. 
 
The variety of materials used to construct the malfuzat is
indicative of their various uses. On the one hand, the malfuzat
tells life stories as the disciple's memoir of their time with the
shaykh, as the shaykh's biography-hagiography, and as the
shaykh's autobiography. On the other hand, they serve as
textbooks and anthologies that condense Sufi practice, legal
principles, and Islamic doctrine. The combination of these two
different modes reduces the impact of each on the reader. The
legal arguments are so varied that the biographical narratives get
lost. The doctrinal expositions are fragmented, disorganized,
interrupted, and occasionally arranged by explanation order
rather than logical progression. 

The compiler's desire to disappear behind the words of his shaykh

and the quoted passages in part results from his reluctance to
take the authorial stance required to write a biography or manual.
Beyond this, however, the primary goal of the malfuzat—to
replicate the sensation of being in the presence of the shaykh—
can be used to explain why they are structured the way they are..
As Husayni, the compiler of Jami' al-ulum, wrote: "[Reading and
under- standing this] will be as if one were in the company of the
speaker of these words (sahib-i malfüz)." Sayyid Jalal al-din
Bukhari said much the same thing: "Those who have not been
with me, this will suffice for them." 

The malfuzat tries to remedy this difficulty by reproducing the

whole experience of a saint's company: everything he taught, did,
or said. 

the malfuzat literature is an important source for reconstructing

the history of medieval India. These malfuzat throw light on social,
cultural, and religious life of the period. Through it one can have a
glimpse of medieval society and assess the issues, beliefs, and
traditions of the common people. 

 
PREMAKHYANS 

Premakhyans are narrative

poems, they are adaptations of
tales of love for
expressing the souls mystic
yearning for god in allegorical
(symbolic) terms.
Chandayan mirgavati and
Padmavat are premakhyans
composed between
fourteenth to sixteenth century.
Premankhyans were immensely
popular and enjoyed
by public. Chandayan and
migravati belong to the Katha
genre which is rendered by
wandering musicians
Premakhyans are narrative
poems, they are adaptations of
tales of love for
expressing the souls mystic
yearning for god in allegorical
(symbolic) terms.
Chandayan mirgavati and
Padmavat are premakhyans
composed between
fourteenth to sixteenth century.
Premankhyans were immensely
popular and enjoyed
by public. Chandayan and
migravati belong to the Katha
genre which is rendered by
wandering musicians
Premakhyans are narrative
poems, they are adaptations of
tales of love for
expressing the souls mystic
yearning for god in allegorical
(symbolic) terms.
Chandayan mirgavati and
Padmavat are premakhyans
composed between
fourteenth to sixteenth century.
Premankhyans were immensely
popular and enjoyed
by public. Chandayan and
migravati belong to the Katha
genre which is rendered by
wandering musicians
Premakhyans are narrative
poems, they are adaptations of
tales of love for
expressing the souls mystic
yearning for god in allegorical
(symbolic) terms.
Chandayan mirgavati and
Padmavat are premakhyans
composed between
fourteenth to sixteenth century.
Premankhyans were immensely
popular and enjoyed
by public. Chandayan and
migravati belong to the Katha
genre which is rendered by
wandering musicians
Premakhyans are narrative poems, they are adaptations of tales of
love for expressing the souls mystic yearning for god in allegorical
(symbolic) terms. Chandayan,F mirgavati and Padmavat are
premakhyans composed between fourteenth to sixteenth century.
Premankhyans were immensely popular and enjoyed by public.
Chandayan and migravati belong to the Katha genre which is
rendered by wandering musicians.

The Sufi Premakhyan tradition dates back to Maulana Daud's

Chandayan (1475) and persisted until Nasir's Prem Darpan (1917).
Poets like Qutuban, Manjhan (c.1593), and Jaisi (d.1599) became
important figures in the literary world during this long period of
almost six hundred years. 

Medieval Sufi Premakhyan is not the life or sayings of great Sufi

saints like Nizamuddin Auliya and Sheikh Nizamuddin Mahmud
Chirag-i Dilli, but rather contemporary north Indian folklore,
particularly Awadhi language folklore. The composers of these
Premakhyan retold these folklores by embedding them with the
Islamic colour of Sufism and ideals in such a way that the readers
and listeners (Muslims, Non-Muslims, Aristocracy, and
commoners) were drawn to them. 

 The poetry of Sufi Premakhyan text are related to old Indian

traditions. Due to these traditions being related to local folklores,
their heroes and heroines are historically dubious. Whereas the
Sufis who were the subject of malfuz literature are frequently
mentioned in various sources. Sufi Premakhyan tradition ably
represents oral tradition. For example, Ahir folklore is described in
Chandayan. Although a malfuz also records oral tradition, its
reliability is greater than Premakhyan text. 

Indian historians like Athar Abbas Rizvi have seen the poetry of
the Premakhyan as an attempt related to create a synthesis of
Hindu-Muslim cultures. On the other hand, Aditya Bahl believes
that Sufi Premakhyan poetry is representative of a distinct Islamic
literary tradition. According to him, this tradition signals towards
the adaptation and localization of Islam in Indian context. The
synthesis of Indian elements in the Indian Islamic tradition was the
result of a well thought of a conscious adaptation of these people
who remained Muslim by faith. Therefore, according to Behl, this
poetry cannot be viewed as the synthesis of opposing elements of
a distinct Islamic tradition.  

The Premakhyan poets did use local folk tales as the basis for their
masnawis, but the praise of Allah, the descriptions and praise of
the prophet, the praise of the poet's own pir (teacher), and the
praise of four caliphs indicate that these works were bounded by
traditional Islamic Sufi ideology. However, despite the fact that
Islamic Sufism directly defines and influences the character of
these Premakhyan compositions, Due to their inclusion and
acceptance of many concepts, customs, and rituals from Indian
literature, these books are regarded as belonging to a unique
Indian Islamic tradition. These are different from Malfuzat and
outline the development of Islam in the context of India. 

Sufi Premakhyan poets, on the one hand, laid the groundwork for
high-quality culture, while on the other, they did not hesitate to
express their own beliefs and views while remaining within the
boundaries of Indian culture. All Sufi compositions bear witness to
the fact that they have expressed nothing except their own ideas
and ideals. These texts must be seen under "tassawuf" and
"sufimat," else they will appear as love stories.