Une interprétation mystique de la sari'a selon Sayh Ahmad Sirhindi

sayh Ahmad Sirhindi (971/1574-1034/1624) is one of the most influential figures of Indian Islam and Sufism during the Moghul Period. This article deals with one of the central themes of his thought: the saria and its status in the doctrine of the mystical quest. Indian history often portrays Sirhindi as the <<champion>> of the reestablishment of Islamic religious orthodoxy. Nevertheless, Sirhindian teaching about the saria is not a purely legalistic and external vision of the law. The letter from the Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani, which is translated here, shows that Sihindi invites us to interpret the profoun meaning of the law in the light of an esoteric exegesis. The law is normally conceived of in its formal and external parts, but, says Sirhindi, that is only the outward part of the law, its <<form>> (surat-i saria). In fact, another way of conceiving of it exists, that is to say its <<essential reality>> (haqiqat-i saria). In this conception the law loses its formal connotations and is seen in its the true dimension; it is the source of external law which is like the former's shadow.