The Sufi Saints of the Indian Subcontinent

Preface The Second century of the Hijra (AD 719-816) saw the emergence of a class of persons wearing garments of coarse undyed wool or Suf and came to be known as "Sufis" or the purified. The sifis sought not to be involved in wrong- doing, to nurturer a righteous spirit, and prayed for a clean heart and the renewal of the right spirit within.

The origin of Sufism was humble, its rise phenomenal, its development rapid, its influence widespread and its impact profound.

Sufism, born in Arabia, was in course of time reborn in other countries of the world. It conquered nations inturn and nations conquered it.

The Sufi saints, belonging to various Orders, in particular the Qadiri, the Chishti, the Suhrawardi, and the Naqshbandi, came to the Indian subcontinent by way of Multan and Sind to preach and to propagate the Gospel of Truth.

By their personal example as well as their precepts and preaching, they transformed and transfigured society, endowing it with new concepts, new values, renewed vigour, and a new lease of life.

A new type of society came into being which had no invidious distinctions of caste, class, creed, or colour, and had, as its foundation, a deep routed humanism, a belief in social equality, universal brotherhood, equality of opportunity, an insistence on women's rights, protection of orphans and the handicapped, the right use of money, a sense of contentment, trust in God, emphasis on inner purification, hope belief, and faith, tolerance, a reliance on meditation, self-introspection, self-realisation, self-effacement, a belief in an ascetic life, self-help, mutual-help, selfless service, the dignity of individual and, above all, on love, which alone can transform and individual in a way nothing else can.

In the following pages an attempt has been made to describe and discuss in some detail the lives of the Sufi saints who have worked, preached, practiced, and died on the Indian subcontinent. Attention has been given to their antecedents, rituals, ascetic practices, initiation in the sufi Order, teachings sayings, and supernatural powers.

I wish in conclusion to acknowledge with love and joy the interest evinced by Khurshid Hasan and Mohammad Siraj in the life and teachings of the Sufi saints. I am only too well aware of the labour that Mohammad Siraj put into typing the manuscript at personal inconvenience.

May the saints reward them suitably and provide them amply for their labour and for their sustained interest in the life and teachings on the Sufi saints. Amen!

From the Jacket

Sufi - a man of the people called Sufiyah who profess the mystic principles of tasawwuf (mysticism). There are many silsilas (concatenations) in Sufis, but they are all agreed in their principal tenet- submission to a murshid (inspired guide). The great object of the mystic is to lose his own identity. The sole object of Sufism is to lead the wandering soul onward, stage by stage, until it reaches the desired goal- perfect union with the Divine Being.

This book The Sufi Saints of the Indian Subcontinent is a short biographical sketch of Sufiya-e-kiram (the generous mystics) of Indian subcontinent. If we want falaah wa behbood (Success and well-being) here faani (perishable) world and in aakhirat (the next world, life after death) which is baqa'e- davam (everlastingness), the teachings of Sufis (described in this book) will be very useful because Sufis have left a lasting legacy that will guide the people today and in future.

Hazrat Dr. Zahurul Hassan Sharib [(1914-96), Gudri Shah Baba IV, affectionately known as Zahur Miyan] was born in Moradabad, U. P. He received a doctorate in political Science and thereafter pursued a legal career.

However, a deep interest in spiritual life steered him towards Sufism (Islamic mysticism). He moved to Ajmer, the city of the renowned Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti, where he spent many years in the love and service of his pir-o-murshid (spiritual guide) Hazrat Nawab Khadim Hasan Shah Sahib, Gudri Shah Baba III. In 1971, upon the demise of his spiritual guide, Dr. Sharib succeeded as the Head of the Gudri Shahi Order of Sufis. Under his inspiring guidance, the Order gained momentum both in the East and the West.

Dr. Sharib was fluent in many languages, including some modern European languages. He has, to his credit, a vast number of publications in Urdu, English, Dutch, and Italian. Apart from writing books on mysticism, he has translated classical Persian poetry into other languages. He has also authored several books on rural sociology.

Dr. Sharib Passed away into the Mercy of the Almighty on April 8, 1996. His tomb at the Usmani Chilla at Ajmer, Rajasthan, attracts scores of people throughout the year. His'urs (death ceremony) is celebrated according to the lunar calendar on Ziq'ada 19 and 20 at his tomb.

Contents

	Foreword	ix
	Preface	xi
1	Hazrat Khawaja Moin-ud-din Hasan Chishti	1
2	Hazrat Khawaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtyar Kaki	19
3	Hazrat Khawaja Fakhr-ud-din Abul-khair	30
4	Hazrat Qazi Hamid-ud-din of Nagore	31
5	Hazrat Sufi Hamid-ud-din of Nagore	35
6	Hazrat Shaikh Badr-ud-din Ghaznavi	36
7	Hazrat Shaikh Najib-ud-din Mutawakkil	41
8	Hazrat Khwaja Nizam-ud-din Ailiya	45
9	Hazrat Syed Ala-ud-din Ahmad Sabir	58
10	Hazrat Shaikh Sharf-ud-din Ahmad of Munir	67
11	Hazrat Shaikh Sharf-ud-din Bu Ali Qalandar	69
12	Hazrat Khwaja Husan-ud-din Soqta	71
13	Hazrat Nasir-ud-din Mahmud Chiragh of Delhi	72
14	Hazrat Shams-ud-din Turk of Panipat	77
15	Hazrat Amir Khusrau	80
16	Hazrat Maulana Fakhr-ud-din Marozi	85
17	Hazrat Maulana Ala-ud-din Nili	87
18	Hazrat Shaikh Burhan-ud-din Gharib	90
19	Hazrat Maulana Shams-ud-din Mohammad Yahya	92
20	Hazrat Qazi Mohi-ud-din of Kashan	95
21	Hazrat Khwaja Amir Hasan	99
22	Hazrat Shaikh Sadr-ud-din Tabib-e-Dilha	101
23	Hazrat Khwaja Zia-ud-din Nakhshabi	103
24	Hazrat Shaikh Kamal-ud-din	105
25	Hazrat Shaikh Jalal-ud-din of Panipat	108
26	Hazrat Shaikh Nur-ul-Haq Wad-din	112
27	Hazrat Shaikh Fath-ul-lah	114
28	Hazrat Khwaja Syed Mohammad Gesoo Daraz	115
29	Hazrat Shaikh Ahmad Abd-ul-Haq	122
30	Hazrat Syed Badi-ud-din Qutb-e-Madar	127
31	Hazrat Qutb-e- Alam	130
32	Hazrat Shaikh Abul-Fatah of Jaunpur	131
33	Hazrat Shaikh Mohammad Arif	132
34	Hazrat Shaikh Mohammad	134
35	Hazrat Syed Abd-ul-Malik	135
36	Hazrat Shaikh Sarang	136
37	Hazrat Shah Meena	138
38	Hazrat Shaikh Ahmad Khatto	142
39	Hazrat Mir Syed Ashraf Jahangir Simnani	144
40	Hazrat Syed Shah Buddhan	146
41	Hazrat Shaikh Abdullah Shattari	147
42	Hazrat Shaikh Darvesh Mohammad	148
43	Hazrat Shaikh Husain-ud-din of Manakpur	149
44	Hazrat Khwaja Husain of Nagore	151
45	Hazrat Shaikh Sa'd-ud-din of Khairabad	153
46	Hazrat Sama-ud-din Suhrawardi	154
47	Hazrat Shaikh Ahmad Mujad Shebani	159
48	Hazrat Khwaja Khanu	161
49	Hazrat Maulana Shah Jamali	162
50	Hazrat Shaikh Abd-ul-Quddus	165
51	Hazrat Shah Abd-ur Razzaq Jhungana	168
52	Hazrat Shaikh Hamza	169
53	Hazrat Shaikh Aman	170
54	Hazrat Shah Abd-ur-Rahman Janbaz Qalandar	172
55	Hazrat Shaikh Salim Chishti	175
56	Hazrat Shaikh Jalal-ud-din Mahmud	177
57	Hazrat Khwaja Baqi Billah	180
58	Hazrat Ahmad Mujaddid Alif Sani	184
59	Hazrat Shaikh Abu Sa'id	191
60	Hazrat Shah Abd-ul-Haq	194
61	Shaikh Mohammad Sadiq	199
62	Hazrat Syed Shah Amir Abul-Ila	201
63	Hazrat Sarmad	209
64	Hazrat Mir Syed Mohammad	214
65	Hazrat Syed Dost Mohammad	216
66	Hazrat Shaikh Dawood	219
67	Hazrat Shah Abul-Ma'ale	221
68	Hazrat Mohammad Sa'id Miran Shah Bhika	223
69	Hazrat Shah Mohammad Farhad	229
70	Hazrat Syed Nur Mohammad	231
71	Hazrat Shaikh Kalim-ul-lah of Shahjahanabad	233
72	Hazrat Shah Nizam-ud-din of Aurangabad	238
73	Hazrat Mohammed Sallim	241
74	Hazrat Shah Wali-ul-lah	242
75	Hazrat Mirza Jane-Janan Mazhar Shaheed	245
76	Hazrat Maulana Mohammad Fakhr-ud-din	250
77	Hazrat Shah Abul-Barkat	255
78	Hazrat Syed Mohammad Azam	257
79	Hazrat Shah Abd-ul-Aziz	259
80	Hazrat Hafiz Musa	264
81	Hazrat Shah Niyaz Ahmad	266
82	Hazrat Shah Mohammad Husain	270
83	Hazrat Shah Abu Sa'id	272
84	Hazrat Hafiz Syed Mohammad Husain	277
85	Hazrat Shah Nasir-ud-din	280
86	Hazrat Syed Mohammad Ghous Ali Shah	282
87	Hazrat Maulana Shah Fazle Rahman	285
88	Hazrat Maulana Syed Waris Ali Shah	289
89	Hazrat Syed Malik Mohammad Alam	292
90	Hazrat Qazi Abd-ur-Rahim Shah	293
91	Hazrat Nawab Gudri Shah Baba	294
92	Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh	297
93	Hazrat Shah Mohammad Yusuf Gurdezi	301
94	Hazrat Shaikh Jalal-ud-din	302
95	Hazrat Baba Farid-ud-din Mas'ud Ganj-e-Shakar	304
96	Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya	313
97	Hazrat Shaikh Badr-ud-din Sulaiman	324
98	Hazrat Shaikh Sadr-ud-din Arif	326
99	Hazrat Shaikh Rukn-un-din Abul Fath	329
100	Hazrat Syed Jalal-ud-din Surq Bukhara	336
101	Hazrat Makhdoom Jahanian-e- Jahan Gasht	337
102	Hazrat Maulana Badr-ud-din Ishaq	349
103	Hazrat Shaikh Jamal-ud-din Ahmad	351
104	Hazrat Lal Shehbaz Qalandar	353
105	Hazrat Qutb-ud-din Manawwar	355
106	Hazrat Syed Sadr-ud-din Raja Qattal	356
107	Hazrat Kabir-ud-din Hasan	358
108	Hazrat Makhdoom Shaikh Mohammad	359
109	Hazrat Makhdoom Shaikh Abd-ul-Qadir	360
110	Hazrat Shaikh Dawood	362
111	Hazrat Miyan Mir	363
112	Hazrat Madhu Lal Husain	370
113	Hazrat Shah Abul-Ma'ali	376
114	Hazrat Sultan Bahu	379
115	Hazrat Bulleh Shah	383
116	Hazrat Shah Abd-ul-Latif	386
117	Hazrat Shaikh Dawood Jhani Wal	390
118	Hazrat Shah Bilawal	391
119	Hazrat Shah Kamal	392
120	Hazrat Shah Jamal	293
121	Hazrat Shah Chiragh	395
122	Hazrat Shah Abu Ishaq	396
123	Hazrat Dargahi Shah	397
124	Hazrat Khwaja Nur Mohammad	398
125	Hazrat Abdullah Shah Qadiri	401
126	Hazrat Khwaja Shah Mohammad Sulaiman	402
	Glossary	405
	Bibliography	407