Abstract.This lecture deals with the "Uwaysi" Sufis of Delhi in the late 17th century. Their name refers to Uways al-Qarani, a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad, who never chanced to meet the Prophet but was, according to legend, instructed by him through dreams and visions.
The Uwaysi tradition therefore claims to teach how to receive instruction directly from the Prophet Muhammad, from the mystical prophet Khidr, or from the great Sufi teachers of the past, and not from master to pupil, as in the great Sufi orders (tarîqas). This highly subversive practice was nevertheless thriving in India in the last quarter of the 17th century.