This is the first authoritative book on the phenomenon of piri-muridi in Pakistan. The author investigates the subject in the perspectives of history, religion, society, politics and economy. He asks vital questions about the nature, working and consequences of a principal aspect of folk religion and provides stimulating answers. The book breaks new ground in the study of an institution that is ruining the national economy, encouraging political corruption and dictatorship, defacing Islam and demoralizing society. Its great virtue lies in the fact it is a work of research as much as it is of analysis and reflection. Specifically, the author discusses the role of the pir, the roots and consequences of piri-muridi, the predicament of the situation and the straight and narrow path of the relationship. A list of some major sufis and thinkers, including the principal urses, is appended, including notes on the sufi saints of South Asia.