Muslim saints who put on `Sufi’, an ordinary woolen garment were called Sufis. It is a spiritual movement of the Muslims devotees, comparable to the Hindu Bhakti movement. It originated in Arabia. It was evidenced in India too.
The Sufis in India were also influenced by the Hindu philosophy. Love and devotion can help to reach Allah (God) was their main teaching. They stressed on giving respect to all section of the society. Following the teaching of a Pir (teacher) was stressed. Music and dance filled with devotion can help one to be closer to God, the Sufis believed. They were tolerant towards other religions. Through many Sultans in Delhi opposed them, the sultans from the Deccan including the Bahamanis honored them.
The Sufis composed poems in Urdu and Hindi to popularize devotion to God. Kutuban composed `Mrigavati’ (1501) and Jayasi composed `Padmavat’ (1520) to uphold the ideas of Sufi philosophy. The Sufis played a prominent role in bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer.
Moin-ud-din Chistti of Ajmer, Sheikh Ismail of Lahore, Nizam –ud-Din Auilya and Malik Mohammed of Delhi, Kwaza Bande Nawaz of Gulbarga Karnataka were prominent Sufi saints. People honor the Dargahs (tombs) of these saints and go on piligrimage to these places.