Recovering Women’s Religious Authority in the Medieval Chishti Order: Gender, Piety, and Spiritual Agency in India

Abstract This study examines the overlooked role of women within the Chishtisilsila in medieval India, challenging the predominantly male-centred historiography of South Asian Sufism. It investigates women’s religious agency, spiritual authority, devotional practices, and familial participation between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries through a qualitative historical analysis of Siyar-ul-Auliya, Akhbar-ul-Akhyar, Khair-ul-Majalis, and Jawahir-i-Faridi, supplemented by relevant secondary scholarship. The study identifies eighteen women associated with Chishti saints as daughters, wives, mothers, disciples, and spiritual exemplars, revealing diverse forms of religious influence operating within and beyond domestic spaces. Although women such as Bibi Fatima Sam and BibiSharifa received recognition for exceptional spiritual stature, institutional khilafat remained predominantly male-controlled. The findings demonstrate that women constituted significant yet underrepresented agents of Chishti devotional culture, thereby enriching debates on gender, authority, and Sufi networks in medieval India.