In this study of devotional hagiographical texts and contemporary
ritual performances of the Shi'a of Hyderabad, India, Karen Ruffle
demonstrates how traditions of sainthood and localized cultural
values shape gender roles. Ruffle focuses on the annual mourning
assemblies held on 7 Muharram to commemorate the battlefield
wedding of Fatimah Kubra and her warrior-bridegroom Qasem, who was
martyred in 680 C.E. at the battle of Karbala, Iraq, before their
marriage was consummated.
Ruffle argues that hagiography, an important textual tradition in
Islam, plays a dynamic role in constructing the memory, piety, and
social sensibilities of a Shi'i community. Through the Hyderabadi
rituals that idealize and venerate Qasem, Fatimah Kubra, and the
other heroes of Karbala, a distinct form of sainthood is produced.
These saints, Ruffle explains, serve as socioethical role models
and religious paragons whom Shi'i Muslims aim to imitate in their
everyday lives, improving their personal religious practice and
social selves. On a broader community level, Ruffle observes, such
practices help generate and reinforce group identity, shared
ethics, and gendered sensibilities. By putting gender and everyday
practice at the center of her study, Ruffle challenges Shi'i
patriarchal narratives that present only men as saints and brings
to light typically overlooked women's religious practices.