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Reviews 191
iteness formulae” (p. xii), an improvement over earlier partial translations, notably
that of M. Abdul Haq Ansari, who paraphrased large sections of each letter. 2
Buehler further reminds us that much of Sirhind\’s work is suprarational
discourse, which is understood experientially when one reaches certain states of
mystical consciousness. (p. 83) In addition to mapping out the Naqˇsband\ path
and cosmology in the introduction with the aid of useful diagrams, Buehler
guides the reader in approaching concepts with examples and metaphors, much
like a suf\ teacher would do in a khaniqa.
Ultimately, Buehler’s work is focused on context. Prior to each epistle,
Buehler summarizes key themes, and discusses the identity and social status of
the recipients where possible. In the introduction, he contextualizes Sirhind\’s
often controversial social views by providing insights into the worldview of the
17 th century ashraf class, and contemporary discourse concerned with the maintenance
of the social order.
Buehler’s translations are also laudable because they shed light on overarching
themes and features of Sirhind\’s Collected Letters which have been
largely overlooked in secondary scholarship.
First, Buehler draws attention to Sirhind\’s encyclopedic work of experiential
classification which introduces readers to different modes of religious experience.
Sirhind\ painstakingly catalogues the different varieties of guides, spiritual
stations, annihilations (p. 208), and divine effulgences, among other categories.
Buehler translates epistle 1:287 which contains some of Sirhind\’s most paradigmatic
discourses on classifying spiritual teachers – from ecstatic wayfarers to
exemplary shuyukh – and their respective pedagogical abilities. Even when discussing
post-rational experiences in this epistle, Sirhind\’s approach is, according
to Buehler, “scientific in that he provides experiential data to support his
claims.” (p. 216)
The letters on “Contemplative Experience” compiled in Chapter 2 also
highlight how Sirhind\’s personal spiritual progression was central to his ability
to contextualize a broad range of religious experiences, including ecstatic states
deemed controversial by contemporary ^ulama#. Sirhind\ constantly reminds
readers that religious experiences are subjective, and can be functions of spiritual
station or even of the historical space in which the Muslim community is situated.
Based on these discourses it is difficult to maintain, as many have in the past
2 Compare, for example, the translation of letter 1:290 provided in Ansari’s Sufism and Shariah
(M. Abdul Haq Ansari, Sufism and Shariah: A Study of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi’s Efforts to
Reform Sufism (Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1986), 202–207), and in Revealed Grace,
135–159.