The Concept of Abad (Centre of Urban Muslim Culture) and

Jungle in the Life and Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid:

The Final Sixteen Years at Ajodhan.

By

Muhammad Tanveer Jamal

To

Professor: David Jones

TAXILA INSTITUTE OF ASIAN CIVILIZATION

QUAID-I-AZAM UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD,

PAKISTAN

June 2013

CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the M.Phil thesis currently submitted bearing the title “The Concept of

Abad and Jungle in the Life and Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid: At Final Sixteen

Years at Ajodhan” is a result of my own research and has not been submitted to any other

institute for any other degree.

Muhammad Tanveer Jamal

M.Phil. Candidate

SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the M.Phil. candidate Muhammad Tanveer Jamal has completed his

thesis titled “The Concept of Abad and Jungle in the Life and Teachings of Hazrat Baba

Farid: At Final Sixteen Years at Ajodhan” under my supervision. I recommend it for

submission in candidacy for the Master of Philosophy in Taxila Institute of Asian

Civilization.

Dr. David Jones

Professor School of Politics and I.R.

Quaid-i-Azam University

Quaid-i-Azam University

Department: Taxila institute of Asian Civilization

Dated:

Final Approval

This is to certify that we have read the thesis submitted by Mr. Muhammad Tanveer Jamal

and it is our judgment that this thesis is of sufficient standard to warrant acceptance by the

Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, for the award of the degree of Masters of Philosophy in

Taxila Institute of Asian Civilization.

Supervisor:__________________

(Dr. David Jones)

External Examiner:__________________

(Dr. Kishwar Sultana)

Director:__________________

(Dr. Ashraf Khan)

Dedicated

To

Sheikh-ul-Shayohk-ul-Aalam Hazrat Baba Farid-ud-Din Masood Gunj

Shakar

Contents

Sr. # Chapter Name Page #

Acknowledgements i

Introduction 1

1 Historical Back Ground: What is Sufism? 11

2

Chishti Order in India: The Historical Background of Hazrat Baba Farid, and his Approach toward Abad (Duniya or World) and Jungle (Tark-i-Duniya or Wilderness) Before Arrival at Ajodhan.

35

3 The Concept of Abad and Jungle in the Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid: At Final Twenty Four Years at Ajodhan. 58

4 Hazrat Baba Farid, Punjabi poetry, Sama and his Role in the domination of Chishtiyya Order in the Indian Subcontinent 80

Conclusion 105

Bibliography 108

Glossary 117

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I am indebted Allah Almighty with Whom countless blessings, I have been able to

complete my thesis.

I am highly thankful to my supervisor, Dr. David Jones, for his scholastic insight,

encouragement and guidance, whenever I needed it. I think my words cannot express his

cooperation and help that he extended towards me; in one word I would say that he is a great

supervisor.

I am also thankful to all my teachers, from day one to this one. They all contributed in

one way or other, which made me able to write this work. Special thanks to Dr. Tanvir Anjum,

Prof. Hugh Van Skyhawk, Prof. Hafiz Moaz Ahmad, Prof. Saeed Sahib, Dr. Ghani-ur-Rehman

and faculty members of Taxila Institute of Asian Civilization, QAU, Islamabad.

I am indebted to a number of friends, with whom encouragement, company, provision,

discussions, love and above all of their patience to tolerate me. Diwan Azmat Sayed Muhammad

Chishti, Aziz ur Rehman, Attaullah, Attiq Qamar, Nasir Mahmood, Perviz Ali Jiskani, Salim

Bari, Zahid Ullah Khan Wazir Bezan Khel, Waqar Ahmad, Muhammad Saleem Afghan,

Muhammad Amjid Alvi, Zahid Warich, Muhammad Amin Watto, Zahir Bajwa, Sifat Jamal,

Abdul Sattar, Khurram Shahzad Munawwar, Muhammad Yaqub, Ahmad Naeem Chishti,

Qurban Ali Jutt, Ahmad Salim Chishti, Muhammad Shafa, Ghulam Raza Shahani, Faqir Shah,

Atta Muhammad, Gohar Ali, Farooq Ahmad Toor, Ishaq Ahmad Saqi, Mubasshir Ahmad Awan,

Irfanullah, Abdul Guffar from Qabullah, Abdul Guffar From Sukkur, Khalid Hussain Chishti, Pir

Shams-ud-Din Chishti, Sajid Iqbal Chishti, Shahzad Hussain Chishti, Pir Muhammad Faisal

Chishti, Maqbool Chishti, Haroon Abid Chishti, Pir Muhammad Awais Zafar Chishti, Azad

Bhai, Zaigham Sarfraz, Muhammad Gull Khan, Faisal Rehman, Haseen Ullah Jan, Hussain

Ahmad Kakar, Younas Geo Physic Jahanzaib, Muhammad Iqbal Ghazi, Muhammad Fahim,

Hafiz Muhammad Usman, Naveed Gondel, Syed Jamshed Abbas, Shahzad Gujjar, Liaquat

Gujjar, Hammad, Sher Ali and so many more.

i

I am highly thankful to my parents, sisters, brothers, uncle and especially my late

grandfather Pir Ali Ahmad Chishti and late cousin Shahin for their care, love and help that they

extended me. My father, Muhammad Jamal Chishti and Uncle Muhammad Zafar Chishti played

a key role in developing my understanding of local aspects of the topic. My brothers Muhammad

Zahir Chishti, Muhammad Abdullah Chishti, Muhammad Khezar (Bachi), Adnan Farid Chishti

and nephew Saqlain his mother and father always gave me courage and every possible help that I

needed.

Last but not the least; I am obliged to thank the staff members of different libraries. It

starts with department library of Taxila Institute of Asian Civilization, Department of History,

Area Study Centre, National Institute of Pakistan Studies, School of Politics and International

Relations, Central Library of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. National Institute of

Historical, Cultural Research and Baba Farid international library Pakpattan.

Muhammad Tanveer Jamal

ii

Introduction

Sufism or tasawwuf is the soul of religion. The concept of tasawwuf has existed in almost every

religion. The Upanishads also tell us about tasawwuf as well as wahadat-ul-wajud (unity of

being). They tell us that Ishwar or God lives within all human beings. The three most important

books in the Hindu religion, the Bhagwa Gita, Brahman Soter, and Upanishad illustrate

same philosophy of wahadat-ul-wajud (unity of being) that would become the core of

Islamic Sufism.1

There is a much debate and many differences of opinion as to the origin of the

word “Sufi”. However, there are three important and authentic stories or traditions that

are described by many Sufis and historians. First, one argues that the word Sufi derived

from Ashab-e-Sufah, the companions of Holy Prophet (PBUH), who were homeless or

very poor, but who lived in the Mosque of Holy Prophet (Masjid-i-Nabvi) to seek wisdom and

knowledge of the Islamic law. Second, because pious people had always wore woolen

clothes, such as the clothes used by previous Prophets like Hazrat Adam, who wore woolen

cloth,2 Hazrat Esa (Prophet Christ) wore woolen and hair clothes.3 Hazrat Musa (Moses) also

wore woolen cloth when he had his conversation with Allah.4 Woolen clothes were known as

soof in Arabic language, and such people known as Sufis. Third, the people who offered

prayers in the first row of the mosque were known as Sufis. In Seha Sitta, (six famous

books of tradition) the word Sufi is not found at all, and Hazrat Shahab ud Din Suhrwardi

(d.1234) in his book Awarif ul Ma’ruf, maintains that the word Sufi only appeared some

two hundred years after the death of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) (d.632).

People on the Indian subcontinent became aware of Islam and the Prophet of

Islam (PBUH) during his life time. Arab traders had colonies in India, but they did not

play the same essential role in spreading the message of Islam here as they played in

1 Prof Yousaf Salim Chishti, Tarikh -i-Tasawwuf, (Lahore: Dar-ul-Kitab press, 1996), p. 55.2 Ammad ud Din Muhammad bin Ismail (imam Abne khathir) Qasus ul Ambeya, tr. Abu Soban Sayid Muhammad Asadullah Asad (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2003), p. 68.3 Shahab ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 105.4 Ibid., p. 17.

1

Malaysia, Indonesia and Middle East. Credit of spreading Islam in Subcontinent goes to the

Sufis. Although Mansur al-Hallaj (d.921) with his almost one hundred disciples had visited

Gujarat and elsewhere in India, he had not stayed to preach there. Ali Hujwiri (d.1076),

popularly known as Hazrat Data Gunj Bukhash was the first Sufi saint to come to India. He

arrived from Ghazni along with Mus’ood Ghaznavi, and permanently settled in Lahore, where he

brought a large number of people into the fold Islam. One and half centuries later, the Ghourid

defeated the Ghaznavid and established their rule in Subcontinent. The Ghourid then

focused on expanding their empire, but in the end they were defeated by a Chuhan

Rajput, Raja Parithvi Raj (d.1192), who was ruler of Ajmer and Delhi, in 1191 the First

Battle of Train.

At this time the two big Sufi Silsilahs, Chishtiyya and Suhrwardiyya, were in their

initial stages, and they evolved during the period when the Ghourid were attempting to

overcome or subdue the Indian Rajputs. The Suhrwardiyya Silsilah was founded in the

Subcontinent by Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakriya (d.1262) and Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din of Tabriz

(d.1266). Both were disciples and Khulafa of Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi (d.1234). The

Chishtiyya Silsilah, like many others, had its roots in the fourth pious caliph of Islam,

Hazrat Ali (d.661), and then of that of Hassan al Basri (d.727). Chisht is a place or town

situated some hundred kilometers east of Heart in Afghanistan. Hazrat Mumshad Danuri

(d.911) ordered his Khalifa named Abu Ishaq Shami (d.937), to live out his life in Chisht

so he and his latter Khulafa became known as Chishtis.

The founder of the Chishtiyya Silsilah in the Subcontinent was Hazrat Muin-ud-Din

(d.1235) popularly known as khawaja Gharib Nawaz. He was the great Khalifa of Hazrat

Usman Harooni (d.1220), had lived in his service for almost twenty years and then, along

with his Sheikh, visited the shrine of Holy Prophet (PBUH) there the Holy Prophet

(PBUH) spoke to him and ordered him to go to India spread the light of Islam there.5 He

arrived in India about the time the Muslim armies were defeated by Parithvi Raj. The defeated

Muslim soldiers tried to convince khawaja Sahib not to go on, but he rejected their advice

and continued his journey toward Ajmer. In the event, both Muslim rule and the Chishtiyya

Silsilah in the Subcontinent reached on their pinnacle in the same time. Hazrat Qutb-ud-

5 Sayyad Hossein Nasr, Encyclopedia of Spirituality, (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2000), p. 127.

2

Din (d.1235), who was the Khalifa of Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, was with his Sheikh when

he set out on his journey to India and arrived in Ajmer. Gharib Nawaz appointed Hazrat Qutb-

ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki to be his Khalifa just forty days before his death. Sultan Al-Tutamash who

was the great devotee of Sheikh Qutb-ud-Din, also helped to expand his Sheikh’s Sufi order.

Both Sheikhs, Muin-ud-Din and Khawaja Qutb, died on the same year in 1235 (some scholars

argues Hazrat Muin died in 1229), so that thereafter the whole burden fell on Hazrat Baba Farid.

The family of Hazrat Baba Farid came to Subcontinent in 1125 A.D. it is said that

the Mongols defeated Farukh Shah Farooqi, a ruler and predecessor of Baba Sahib, but

this is incorrect because the Mongols only invaded Afghanistan in the second decade of thirteen

centuries. Some historians declare Hazrat Baba Sahib to be an offspring of Hazrat Imam

Hussein (d.681), but a majority agrees that he was a descendent of Hazrat Umar (d.645), the

second pious caliph of Islam. Qazi Shoaib, the grandfather of Baba Farid, was appointed

Qazi of Multan by the Muslim ruler of the time. Hazrat Baba Farid himself was born in 1175

A.D. in a village near Multan, where he was a child when his father Jamal-ud -Din Suleiman

passed away. His mother Qursam bibi raised him up with his other two brothers. It is often

noticed that the fathers of great Sufis, saints, and even prophets died while their sons were still

children, and that responsibility then rested on the shoulders of their mothers. Mothers are

said to play a very vital role in development of good thoughts, beliefs and Tawakul (trust)

through their pious character when their sons are teenagers. This at least was the case with the

mother of Hazrat Baba Farid. Qursam bibi was not an ordinary woman. Rather, she herself was a

great Sufi who had a very strong impact on Baba Farid’s life and mind.6

Baba Sahib was very young when he meet with Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din in a mosque

in Multan. He then expressed his desire to go with the Sheikh, but Hazrat Qutb advised

him to wait till latter. At the age of fifteen, Hazrat Baba Sahib took the bi’at of Hazrat

Qutb in 1190/590 Delhi.7 Sheikh Farid was very fond of meditation in his teens, so after the

permission of his sheikh he performed Chillah-i-Ma’kus. The Chillah-i-Ma’kus had been

performed by Hazrat Abu Sa’id (d.1049), also the Chishti preceptor Hazrat Abu Muhammad

Chishti (d.1020), and latter performed by the popular Chishti Sufi saint Hazrat Baba Farid

6 Muneera Haeri, The Chishtis A Living Light, (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 71.7 Zahur ul Hassan Sharib, Tazkara Auliya-i-Pak-o-Hind, (Zareen Art Press, 1961), p. 52.

3

Gunj Shaker (1175/1265).8After the death of Hazrat Qutb (d.1235), Hazrat Baba Sahib left

Hansi and moved to Ajodhan (Pakpattan). He spent all of his life in search of Jungle or

wilderness. He was loved equally by people all the religions, sects and creeds. His loving attitude

towards humanity made him the most popular saint among the non-Muslim of India.

Statement of Problem

It is generally accepted that Hazrat Baba Farid played a more important role in the dissemination,

and diffusion of Chishtiyya Silsilah than any of earlier Sheikhs. He had almost fifty thousand

Khulafa who played major role in the evolution and domination of Chishtiyya Silsilah in the

Subcontinent.9 Under the Slave Dynasty of Delhi (.1206-1290) Muslim rule reached its apogee,

while the Chishtiyya Silsilah was also achieved its culmination. The dynasty’s rulers had great

respect for the Chishtis as well as the Suhrwardi Sufis, although, the Chishtis did not want to

maintain relations with the sultan. Despite all this, the rulers showed great reverence toward

them. Balban (r.1266-1287), the most powerful ruler of Delhi sultanate, was a disciple of

Baba Farid, and some scholars argue that he married his daughter to the latter.10

Although Hazrat Baba Farid (d.1265) and the Suhrwardi Sheikh Baha-ud-Din Zakriya

(d.1262) respected each other, the overall relationship between these two great Silsilahs was

never very good. The main reason for the Chishti Sufi’s hostility toward the Suhrwardis was

their active participation and involvement in the politics. Baba Farid also garnered spiritual

power from Sheikh Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi (d.1266), another very popular Sheikh of Suhrwardi

School, when he offered sheikh Farid a pomegranate in Multan . So Baba Farid took the

faiz (spirituality or blessing) from both the founder of Chishtiyya Silsilah, as well as from

the founders of Suhrwardi Silsilah, they included Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (d.1235),Qutb-ud-Din

Bakhtiar (d.1235), Baha-ud-Din Zakriya (d.1264), Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi (d.1266). the first two

8 Anne Marie Schimmel, Mystical Dimension of Islam, (Lahore: Sang-e- Meel Publication, 2003), p. 344.9 See also Tazkara Auliya-i-Pak-o-Hind, p.51. while there are also differences in this case both in primary and secondary sources. khazinatul Asfia these are thirty three. (Maqam-i- gunj Shakar p.224) there are a large number of khulafa of Hazrat Baba Farid but in the Mulfoozat mentioned twenty. see Siar ul Aqtab, 198) Hazrat Baba Farid had more them fifty thousand khulafa see Jawaar-i-Faridi p.343 while Muslim Nizami quoted eighty thousand nine hundred and forty two with the reference of Jawaar-i-Faridi see Anwaar ul Farid p.15710 Nahiza Baigam or khatoon Baigam was not the daughter of Balban , see Masood Ali Khan & S. Ram Encyclopedia of Sufism, p. 43.

4

were the founders of the Chishtiyya Silsilah while the latter played a similar role in

fortunes of the Suhrwardi school in Subcontinent.

The present study also focuses on the emergence of Sufism in Islam, and the concept of

Abad and Jungle in the lives and teachings of the earlier Sufis (Tabi’un and Taba-Tabi’un). The

concept of Islamic Sufism started after 661 A.D. and evolved well in the 9 th century A.D.

Therefore, during this period, ten popular Sufis schools came in to being. Then the 10th and 11th

centuries produced numerous intellectuals and erudite Sufi scholars like Abu Talib al Makki

(d.996), Al- Ghazali (d.1111), Ali Hujwiri (d.1076), Al Qalabazi (d.1074), Abu Sa’id Abu al

Khair (d.1049), al Qusheri, and so on. The 12th and 13th centuries saw the emergences of five

Silsilahs (Chishtiyya, Qadriyya, Suhrwardiyya, Naqshbandiyya, and Kubraviyya) that are still

popular especially in the Indo-Pakistan region.

The present study mainly focuses on Hazrat Baba Farid’s last twenty four years and so

concentrates on Ajodhan. At that time, the majority of Ajodhan population’s was Hindu by faith.

There were some Muslims there, but they were few in number. Baba Farid spent his last sixteen

years in Ajodhan, which is now popular as Pakpattan, a district of Sahiwal (Montgomery)

division in Punjab province. Hazrat Nizam (d.1325), the chief Khalifa had received a bi’at at

the hand of Baba Sahib in 1257 A.D., a few years before the latter’s death. 11 Although

Hazrat Jamal of Hansi was the favorite Khalifa of Baba Sahib, he had died during the

latter’s lifetime.

There were number of problems faced by Hazrat Baba Farid in Ajodhan. Among these

were the jealousies of the Qazi, and of the magician son of Shahab ud din. But in the end they

all accepted the great Sheikh. He was in his deep contemplation or muraqaba, when he had heard

his Sheikh’s order to go to Ajodhan. Baba Sahib then entered into the land that is now

known as Pakistan where he visited all four current provinces of that country.

11 Anne Marie Schimmel, Mystical Dimension of Islam, (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 348.

5

Key Research Questions and Objections

This present study explores why Hazrat Baba Farid gave up the places Abad (Delhi and Hansi).

The word Abad (the world) is used in this study mean the civilized place, but it also used as a

place where majority of the worldly people lived, people who forget their purpose of creation.

While Jungle mean a back-ward place, a desert or forest, where one could better perform one’s

meditation, it mostly used to suggest the renunciation of the world and the worldly desire. People

who were living in Ajodhan were almost all superstitious and uncivilized, and they earned their

livelihood through theft, robbery and other illegal and criminal ways. We also well deal with

factors behind the domination of this Silsilah, as well as the role of and efforts made by Hazrat

Baba Farid for the domination of this school as well.

In the present study, therefore, the term Jungle refers to an uncivilized or less cultured

area. Second, it is also a place of meditation or privacy and seclusion. The concept of Jungle or

wilderness is hardly new in the history of Subcontinent. The Hindu hero Ram (d.5114 B.C)

himself spent almost sixteen years in the Jungle for meditation and his search for divine power.

The Buddha (d.544 B.C) also spent many years in the Jungle for the same purpose. History and

the lives of the Prophets also indicate that they spent their time in the Jungle for the worship of

Allah and for gaining divine power. Even the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) spent

most of his time in the cave of Hira before declaring himself as Prophet. After the Holy Prophet

(d.632), the Sahabas (companions) of Holy Prophet (PBUH) also entered the Jungle, some for a

short and others for a long time. Furthermore, the Holy Quran has a focus on worship and

meditation as well. In addition, the concept of Jungle remained very popular during the period of

the Tabi’un and Taba Tabi’un and Hazrat Awais (d.658), Hassan al Basri (d.727), Habib al Ajmi,

Malik bin Dinar (d.748), and Abu Yazid of Bastam (d.876) all spent most of their time in a

Jungle or in meditation. Hazrat Baba Farid (d.1265) also spent much time in the Jungle, but he

became more popular for his meditation (Chillah) as compared to his contemporaries Sufis,

regardless of their school. The current study also explores the places, both in India and Pakistan,

where Hazrat Baba Farid meditated for almost twenty years, as well as his way of spiritual

practice (Riyazat, Mujahadat) in seeking the will of Allah Almighty as well.12

12.Anwar ul Farid, (Lahore: Zaviya Publishers, 2006), pp. 499-500. Also see, Tazkara Auliaya-i-Pak-o-Hind, p .53.

6

In addition, this present study also explores how Hazrat Baba Farid made a Jungle (Ajodhan

where uncivilized people lived) into an Abad (Pakpattan, a culturally advanced town, and a

tower of spiritual light). It also tries to explore the importance of the Sama, particularly in the

Chishti Sufi order and in life of Hazrat Baba Farid. The Sama (religious hymns or song) were

introduced by Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (d.1235) into Subcontinent, and it reached its peak

during the time of Hazrat Baba Farid (d.1265), Jalal-ud-Din Rumi (d.1273), Shebli (d.965/334),

Farid ud Din Attar (d.1220), Hafiz Shirazi (d.1390), Shah Sham of Tabriz (d.1248) and of many

others as well. The state or condition of ecstasy (wajd) was very common among the Chishti

Sheikhs who listened to such Sama or qawwali, and Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki (d.1235),

a great Chishti Sheikh even died in ecstasy during qawwali. The practice of and strong desire to

listen to qawwali is common to both the Suhrwardi and Chishti Schools, while the Naqshbandi

and Qadri dislike the qawwali and condemned the other two Silsilahs for their devotion of the

Sama. Although at present qawwali still exist, this music has lost its importance because of its

un-Islamic kalam or poetry, while in the medieval time the Sufis themself sang the qawwali. But

now, professional singers do so only in return for money or other forms of material gain.

The concept of Jungle (signifying privacy) is also found in the poetry of Hazrat Baba

Farid. The present study tries to explore the services rendered by Hazrat Baba Farid to the

Punjabi language, and particularly to the Punjabi poetry. (He influenced the evolution of the

Punjabi language while living in Ajodhan). Hazrat Nosha Gunj Bakhsh (d.1654) is considered

the father of Punjabi prose, but Hazrat Baba Farid is recognized as the father of Punjabi poetry.

Indeed, the Ashloke (poetry of Hazrat Baba Farid) marks the beginning of Punjabi poetry, while

Punjabi itself has become the twelfth largest language of the world. According to Zahur ul

Hassan Azhar, although Hazrat Baba Farid was the pioneer of Punjabi poetry, there now that a

large number of new words hare become a part of this language, and the younger Punjabi

generation has difficulty in understanding the full meaning of Hazrat Baba Farid’ s poetry. In

addition, here we suggest that Hazrat Baba Farid was also father of Urdu poetry since his poetry

contains of Urdu words as well.

Review of literature.

There is a good literature available on the Chishti Silsilah as well as on Hazrat Baba Farid. Such

material concentrates on the Chishti Silsilah, on biographies of Chishti saints, and their relations

7

with other schools as well as with the sultan (king) at large. Abu ul Hassan Ali Nadvi’s Tarikh-i-

Da’wat-o-Azimat’s third volume (1963) is very informative on the life of Hazrat Baba Farid.

Anwar ul Farid, a very remarkable work of khawaja Muslim Nizami and in it he throws light on

the every aspect of Hazrat Baba Farid’s life, by using primary and secondary sources. Almost all

scholars have argued that Hazrat Baba Farid played a vital role in the domination and expanding

of the Chishti order throughout Subcontinent and according to Dr. Zahur Ul Hassan Sharib, he

had a larger number of Khulafa as compare to their Sheikhs. Dr. Sharib’s two works Hazrat

Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (1961)’ and Tazakara Aulia-i-Pak-o-Hind (1961) are both very

remarkable works, and the latter deal with whole period from the thirteen to the nineteen century

as well.

Athar Abbas Rizvi has also produced a monumental work entitled A History of Sufism in

India. Vol.1, 2. (1986) this work deals with the four Sufi orders, Chishtiyya, Suhrwardiyya,

Kubraviyya, and Firdawsiyya. Another renowned scholar Khaliq Ahmad Nizami has produced a

number of books on Chishti Sufi order these include Tarikh-i-Masha’ikh-i-Chisht (1980), Some

Aspects of Religion and Politics in India During the Thirteenth Century (1961), and The Life and

Time of Sheikh Farid Ud Din Ganj-i-Shakar (1955)’ all are monumental works on the Chishtiyya

Order, as well as on the life of Hazrat Baba Farid. The first is a research oriented study on the

Sama, relationship of Sufis and the role of the shrines, the second work shows the relationship of

the Sufis and the ruling elite while the last was an excellent biography of Hazrat Baba Farid as

well.

Malfuzat Adab Ki Tarikhi Ahammiyat (1995) written by Muhammad Aslam, is another

major study of the twenty nine Malfuzat of different Sufi Sheikhs of different Silsilahs. S.H.

Nizami’s work Sawanih-i-Hazrat Baba Farid Ganj Shakar is another excellent and well

researched work that further discusses both the primary and secondary sources.

Masood Ali Khan and S. Ram’s Encyclopedia of Sufism (2003) is particularly

monumental work on Islamic Sufism. It consisted of twelve volumes but volume first; fourth and

fifth deal with the Chishti Sufi order. Volume four deals with Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz

while volume five discusses the character and achievement of Hazrat Baba Farid. Gurbachan

Singh’s Baba Sheikh Farid: His Life and Teaching (1973), and B.S. Anand’s Hazrat Baba Farid

8

(1975), are thorough biographies of Hazrat Baba Farid, and both worked hard to elaborate the

main theme of Sufi teaching and particularly the teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid.

Other important works includes Sayyid Hossein Nasr’s Encyclopedia of Spirituality

(2000) and Anne Marie Schimmel’s, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (2003). The former

comprises two well researched volumes that are of great importance for all working on Sufism,

but which lack a detailed study of Hazrat Baba Farid. The same is the case with the Schimmel’s

work which, although it is equally remarkable, only has a very brief discussion of the great Sufi

saint Hazrat Baba Farid. Jafar Qasimi’s Hazrat Baba Farid ud Din Mas’ud Ganj-i-Shakar (1971)

is also another biographical study which covers almost all the religious, as well as the social

aspects of Hazrat Baba Farid’s life.

Methodology

The present study employs a historical approach, and uses narrative, exploratory and analytical

methodologies in its different chapters. The historical narrative explicates the establishment of

Sufism in India, along with the inter-relationship between the different Sufi orders in India.

There are some Arabic and some Persian words that cannot be translated into English with

confusion and so they have been retained here. These included Sufi, Sheikh, Khalifa, Mureed,

Sultan, Khanqah, Sama, Baba, Wali, and so on. The calendar that used is almost always

Christian except in some places where Hijrah dates are necessarily mentioned. Sufi literature is

usually divided in to four categories Malfuzat, Tadhkirat, Diwan, and Muktubat. Some historians

have declared Malfuzat as dubious and unauthentic, while others accept them an accurate and

without methodological blunders.

Organizational Structure

The present study is divided in four chapters. The first seeks to detail the emergence of Islamic

Sufism. Chapter Two studies historical background of Hazrat Baba Farid, before his arrival at

Ajodhan (Pakpattan). It therefore, deals both with the family background and the manner in

which Hazrat Baba Farid performed his spiritual practice and meditation (Riyazat, Mujahadat).

Chapter Three then focuses on the final sixteen years of his life, which he spent in Ajodhan, and

discuss why Hazrat Baba Farid gave up Abad (centers of urban Muslim culture) like Delhi to

select a Jungle (Ajodhan where there were few Muslim and uncivilized people). Finally chapter

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four demonstrates the role of Hazrat Baba Farid in establishing the domination of Chishtiyya

Order. This chapter elaborates on the socio-religious characteristics, as well as the achievements,

of Hazrat Baba Farid when he was in Ajodhan and the role of his Jamaat Khana as a university in

that town. Its students included numerous religious scholars, in addition to such Sufis as Ala-ud

Din Ali Ahmad Sabir (d.1291), Badr-ud-Din Suleiman, Badr-ud-Din Ishaq (d.1291), sheikh

Najib-ud-Din Mutawakkil (d.1261) and Sheikh Nizam ud Din (d.1325) among others. Finally,

the role of the Sama under Hazrat Baba Farid also is examined in this chapter.

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Chapter 1

Historical Back Ground

What is Sufism?

Mysticism (Sufism) is not a new concept in Islam; it has existed in almost every religion. The

Islamic mystics are known as Sufis. There is a very hot debate over the origin of words Sufi and

Sufism. It is commonly thought that the Sufi, Zahid, and Faqir are one and same thing, but this is

incorrect. They are in fact totally different from each other13.

The goal of Sufi is to become one with the will of Allah Almighty while the Faqir and

Zahid worship in order to reach heaven. For that purpose Sufis retired from the world and go into

the jungle or wilderness. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that “the faqirs of my Ummah

(followers) will go to paradise half day before the wealthy people, and that half day is equal to

five hundred years of this world”.14 So faqirs have some identifiable desire, but the Sufis prefer

Allah above everything. According to Hazrat Dhal ul Noon the Egyptian (b.796 A.D/d.861),

“Allah preferred them (Sufis) over everything”15.

Hazrat Abu Ul Hassan Nuri (b.907) says that “Sufism is a name of a state in which one

gives up the human desires; and the Sufis are those who live free from human jealousies and

have become totally disassociated from worldly desires and human wishes”.16 Similarly, Hazrat

Abu Umar of Damascus maintained that “to shut your eyes before the world is Sufism”.17

Origin of the Word Sufi

There are many conflicts and contradictions among the Sufis as well as among the historians

concerning the origin of the word Sufi. Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was not only a Prophet, but

13 Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 100.14 Ibid.15 Ibid., p. 101.16 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Ghulam Muin-ud-Din Naeemi Ashrafi (Lahore: Gohar Publications, n.d.), p. 90.17 Ibid., p. 91.

11

also a Sufi18. Some insist that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) lived an austere life. He spent

everything upon others and saved nothing for him. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) often wore raged

clothes.

Companions of Suffa. (Ashab-i-Suffa)

There were many companions of Holy Prophet (PBUH) who lived in the mosque (Masjid-i-

Nabvi). They were known as Ashab-i-Suffa. These companions gave up their houses, as well as

their families in order to seek religious and divine knowledge. Such companions of the Holy

Prophet (PBUH) lived under the direct supervision of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). The Ahle-i-

Suffa were four hundred in number; they followed no professions, but only collected wood and

dates to live on. The Ansar of Medina helped them. In this regard, Hazrat S’ad bin Mo’ az

catered to almost eighty one of them. There were many important members of the Ashab-i-

Suffa.19 In Khurasan they started living in caves and a wilderness known as Shagiftiya; in Syria

they were known as Jo’aya (those who live without food) due to their scanty diet.20 The author of

Mirat ul Asrar also insists out that the word Sufi is derived from Ashab-i- Suffa21

Concept of Woolen Clothe.

Another popular notion about the origin of word Sufi is that they wear woolen clothes. The word

Sufi did not exist during the life of Holy Prophet (PBUH), but only emerged during the time of

Tabi’un (661 A.D). Hazrat Hassan al-Basri (d.728 A. d) recalled that “once I saw a Sufi at Ka’ba

and when I came to offer him something, he turned me down.22

A large number of erudite scholars have argued that the word Sufi derived from soof

(wool) and that those who wore woolen clothes were known as Sufis. Not only the Sufis but the

18Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi, A History of Sufism in India.vol.1, (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2003), p. 20.19 Kashf al- Mahjub, pp. 155-56. Mentioned some important companions who belonged to Ashab-i-Suffa, like Hazrat Abu Zar Ghafari, were Hazrat Bilal, Hazrat Umair bin Yasir, Hazrat Salman the Persian, and Hazrat Utba Abne Mus’ood (brother of Hazrat Abdullah bin Mus’ood), Hazrat Abu Obadiah bin al- Jarah, Hazrat Abu Darda, Hazrat Zaid bin Khatab (brother of Hazrat Umar bin Khatab) Hazrat Suhaib, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar, Hazrat Abu Hurarah.20 Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 108.21Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 120.22 Ibid., p. 110.

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Prophets also wore the woolen clothes. Hazrat Adam dressed woolen cloth,23 while Hazrat Anas

bin Malik once maintained that “the Holy Prophet (PBUH) wore woolen clothes.”24 Other

Prophets also dressed in woolen garments. According to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Hazrat Esa

(Christ) wore clothes of wool and hair.25 Hazrat Musa (Moses) had been wearing woolen clothes

as well when he had his conversation with Allah on the mountain of Toor.26 The immediate

companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) also dressed in woolen clothes. Hazrat Hassan al-Basri

said he saw seventy companions of Holy Prophet (PBUH) wearing woolen clothes in the Battle

of Badr.27

Third important explanation is that the word Sufi derives from the people who offered

prayer in the first line (suf) of worshipers. They are in the first line before Allah in order to

comprehend his will, divinity and spirituality.

First Phase of Sufism: 661 to 850 A.D. (The Period of Tabi’un and Taba Tabi’un)

The Tabi’un were the students or followers of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad

(PBUH), while the Taba Tabi’un in return were the followers of the Tabi’un. In the first two

centuries of Hijra, two other schools, besides Sufism, appeared on the scene the Mu'tazila school

of thought and Shi’ites. The Mu'tazila school came into being during the later Umayyad period

(661-750 A.D) and, under the official patronage of Mamun (r.813-832) the Mu’tazilites reached

their apogee. The Shi’ites,’ who adopted a totally new dogma of Islam, later created constant

problems for the Abbasids, and for Sunni scholars, as well as for the Sufis.

Almost all the Sufi Orders belong to the fourth pious caliph Hazrat Ali (d.661), but the

Naqshbandiyya Order belongs to that of Hazrat Abu Bakr (d.634), the first pious caliph of Islam.

According to the author of Mirat ul Asrar, one day the Holy Prophet (PBUH) became gloomy

that everyone discussed shariat with him but no one talked of spirituality or esoteric knowledge.

As result, this secret would remain undiscovered and go to his grave with him. Hazrat Ali,

23 Ammad-ud-Din Muhammad bin Ismail (Imam Abne khathir) Qasus ul Ambeya, tr. Abu Soban Sayid Muhammad Asadullah Asad (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2003), p. 68.24 Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 105.25 Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi , Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 105.26 Ibid., p. 17.27 Ibid., p. 105.

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having pondered on this complaint, then came to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and asked to share

his wisdom. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) was much amused to hear this and taught him all the

divine secrets, saying “Ali, you are like me in wilayat (sainthood).”28

Hazrat Awais (d.658) was another important Sufi. He too was a contemporary of the

companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Indeed, The Prophet of Islam (PBUH) declared him to

be his companion even though he never had visited or personally saw the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

during his life. Awais lived an ascetic lifetime; he was martyred in the battle of Suffin (658 A.D)

while fighting alongside of Hazrat Ali.29 This latter had four spiritual khulafa: the first was

Hazrat Hassan (d.670), his elder son the second Hazrat Hussein (m.681) his younger son, the

third was Hazrat Hassan al-Basri ((d.728) and the fourth Kumail bin Ziad (d.703). 30

Aside from Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Hassan Al-Basri (642/728 A.D) taught and obtained the

company of one hundred and twenty companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), including

seventy Sahabas (those who took part in the battle of Badr).31 Another disciple of Hazrat Ali was

Kumail bin Ziad (d.703/82 A.H). He had spent most of his time with Hazrat Ali, but after the

latter’s assassination he retired into privacy. Kumail himself was assassinated by Umayyad

governor Hujjaj bin Yousaf.32 Two other important Tabi’un were Harem bin Hayyan and Sa’id

bin Musayyib (b.637-d.715/14-94 A.H). The former having lived for some time in the company

of Awais Qarani.33

Jami, along with Ali bin Usman as well as Farid ud Din Attar, did not mention Khawaja

Abdel Wahad bin Zaid (d.793/177 A.H) as a Taba Tabi’un in their works. But in fact he was a

very prominent Sufi. According to Amir Kurd, he was the disciple and khalifa of Hazrat Hassan

28 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p.42.29Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p.114.30 ibid., p. 4831 Farid-ud-Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p.17.32Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010) p.236.33 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 84.

14

al- Basri, while the author of Mirat ul Asrar mentions him as the first khalifa of Hazrat Hassan

al- Basri, and at the same time he received his khalafat from Hazrat Kumail bin Ziad.34

The word Sufi in Islamic sources was first applied to Hazrat Abu Hashám al-Sufi

(d.766/150). He lived in Syria, but originally was from Kufa. Sufyan al Thawri (d.777/161) said

that he did not know what a Sufi was until he met Abu Hashám the Sufi.35 Like Awais, Aslam al-

Ra’i also took a flock of his goats to the bank of a river and busied himself for the whole day in

meditation. Also deserving mentioned is Abdullah bin Mubarak (b.736-d.797) who studied under

the famous scholars of Merv. Subsequently he himself led two schools in Merv that were

traditionalist and devoted to jurisprudence and he died in 797.36 Although Habib al-Ajmi

(d.737/120 A.H) was a usurer, a brief incident changed his life and he took the bayt of Hassan al-

Basri. Soon he had become so supreme in his divine power that he often surprised even his

Sheikh.

Malik bin Dinar (d.748/ 109) was another disciple of Hassan al-Basri. Some scholars say

that his father named Dinar; others relate the story that when the boatmen demanded his fare he

replied that he had no money. When they beat him fishes with dinars in their mouths appeared

upon the surface of the river.37 Another leading Sufi, Ibrahim bin Adham (d.782), was the

disciple of Hazrat Khezar. Once he was the prince of the Balkh, but latter he joined Hazrat Imam

Abu Hanifa and gained his own divinity from him. As Junaid of Baghdad put it, “Ibrahim is the

key to the mystical sciences.”38 He received his robe of khalafat from Hazrat Fozail bin Iyaz.

Bishr the Barefooted (767/841), and Abu Yazid of Bestam (d.876) were two other

important mystics. The former was born in Merv in 767 A.D, later settled in Baghdad, and for

some time lived with the company of Fozail. One day Beshr perfumed a piece of paper on which

the name of Allah was written and deposited it in his house. On that night Allah appeared in the

34 Sayid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, Siar ul Aulia. tr. Ghulam Ahmad Bariyyan ((Lahore: Mushtaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 85. also see Mirat ul Asrar, p. 247. 35Abdul Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 60.36Muslim Saints and Mystics Episodes from the Tazkarat ul Auliya by Farid ud Din Attar, tr. A.J. Arberry (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,1966), pp. 124-25.37Muslim Saints and Mystics Episodes from the Tazkarat ul Auliya by Farid ud Din Attar , tr. A.J. Arberry (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,1966) p.27.38Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976)), p. 103.

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pious man’s dream and said to Beshr that “as thou hast perfumed my name so I have perfumed

thee”.39As for as Abu Yazid Bestami (804-876) is the concerned, he became one of the Imams of

the Islamic Sufism and as Hazrat Junaid said, “Abu Yazid holds the same rank among us as

Gabriel among the angels”.40 He was the founder of Tayfuria or Bestamiyya Sufi Order, known

as the Shattariyya Sufi Order in India. Fozail bin Iyaz (d.803) was another leading Sufi. He was a

robber but later on a little incident changed his mind. Imam Jafar Sadiq was his teacher while he

also spent some time in the company of Imam Abu Hanifa.

Rabi’a al-Adawiya (d.801) is another leading figure in the history of Islamic Sufism. She

grew up in very poor and miserable conditions, since her parents had died when she was very

young. Due to a famine, she lost her three sisters and was sold into slavery for six dirham.41 Her

master was very harsh and tried to keep her busy all the day, but at night Rabi’a occupied herself

in meditation to please her Allah. She also said that He had placed her in the hand of brutes or

otherwise she would spend all of her time serving her Beloved Allah.42 Soon she was released

and immediately turned her attention to meditation. She used to participate in the spiritual

advises (wahz) of Hassan al- Basri, and he often visited her house.

Another leading Sufi in Balkh (Khurasan) was Shaqiq al-Balkhi (d.810). He is said to

have consulted with almost 1,700 Sufis. Hatem the Deaf (d.852) was his disciple and Hazrat

Ibrahim bin Adham was his Sheikh.43Al Muhasibi (781/857) was a leading personality in Islamic

Sufis. Hazrat Abdullah bin Khafif said that among all the Sheikhs of tariqa, (spirituality) five are

the most important and worthy to be followed. These are Harith al- Muhasibi, Junaid of

Baghdad, Muhammad Ruwaym bin Ahmad, Abne Atta and Hazrat Amar bin Usman al- Makki.44

The leading Islamic philosopher Abu Hamid al- Ghazali (d.1111) was very impressed by

al-Muhasibi, and most of his works show the latter’s influence since in general, he followed the

doctrine of al-Muhasibi.45 Hatem the Deaf (d.852) was another great Sufi of Balkh. It is said that

39Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976)), p. 81.40 Ibid., p. 106.41Muslim Saints and Mystics Episodes from the Tazkarat ul Auliya by Farid ud Din Attar, tr. A.J. Arberry (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,1966), p. 41.42 Ibid., p. 42.43 Ibid., p. 133.44Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 149.45 Margaret Smith, Al-Muhasibi an Early Mystic of Baghdad, (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, n.d.), p. 269.

16

when, one day, a woman came to him over some religious issue, but at that moment was unable

to stop breaking wind, Hatem asked her to speak more loudly since he was deaf.46 Like Beshr the

Bare Footed, (767/841), he lived the whole of his life as if deaf before her. In addition, he was

the beloved pupil of Shafiq al-Balkhi (m.810).

Dawud al-Ta’i (d.777) was born in Kufa and won recognition as an Imam of tariqa in this

period, and Habib al Ra’i became his spiritual master while he had also lived in the company of

Imam Abu Hanifa. Ma’ruf al-Karkhi (d.815), the preceptor of Sari Saqti, was another leading

Sufi in Baghdad. His parents were Christians, but when his teacher taught him about the Trinity,

he insisted God is one. Then when his parents forced him to follow their religion, he left their

house.47 He embraced Islam on the hand of Musa al-Raza, a Shi’ite Imam, and lived in the

company of Dawud Ta’i (d.777).48

Sari al-Saqti (d.867) a maternal uncle of Junaid and pupil of Ma’ruf al-Karkhi, was

considered to be the Imam of tariqa (spirituality) in Baghdad. He also spent time in the company

of Hazrat Habib Ra’i. He had earned his livelihood as a huckster (Saqat) in the market of

Baghdad but, when all the rest of the market burned down and only his shop remained intact, he

distributed all his property to the poor and adopted a life of ascetic.49

The Second Generation of Sufis.

While the first generation of Sufis had witnessed of the replacement of the caliphate with an

autocracy, the second group face the perils of rationalism and innovation in their religion Islam

because of the Mu’tazilites. In the time of Umar, the second pious caliph (r.634-645 A.D), Egypt

had been conquered by the Muslims, who had thus taken control on the popular Greek

educational center of Alexandria. As a result, Greek philosophical thought developed and

influenced the Muslim thought. During the caliphate (632-661) and Umayyad period (661-750),

attention had focused on chemistry and medicine. But in the Abbasid period (750-1258), scholars

46Muslim Saints and Mystics Episodes from the Tazkarat tul Auliya by Farid ud Din Attar, tr. A.J. Arberry (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,1966), p. 150.47 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 170.48 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 114.49Muslim Saints and Mystics Episodes from the Tazkarat ul Auliya by Farid ud Din Attar, tr. A.J. Arberry (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966), p. 110.

17

tried to apply reason to everything religion included. This approach was unacceptable to the

Sufis, who in this period focused on the mystical love of Allah (ishaq).

Ahmad bin Hawari (d.858/246) and Ahmad bin Khazruya Balkhi (d.864/240) were

popular Sufis of this period. The former was from Syria and Junaid of Baghdad therefore said

that “Ahmad bin Abi ‘l-Hawari is the sweet basil of Syria”.50Ahmad bin Khazruya’s wife,

Fatima, was the daughter of the governor of Balkh, and she was considered the Rabi’a of her

time. She had spent a long time in the company of Hazrat Abu Yazid of Bestam (d.876), and she

told Ahmad that he was her natural spouse although Abu Yazid was her religious consort.51As

for Ahmad Khazruya, he was a prominent Sufi of Balkh, the disciple of Hatem the deaf (d.852).52

Abu Sa’id Ahmad bin Isa al-Kharraz (d.899/286) was native of Baghdad who wrote almost 400

books on Sufism. He spent most of his time in the company of two other great Sufis: Hazrat

Dhul al-Noun Al- Misri (d.861) and Hazrat Beshr the Bare Footed (d.841).53 Hazrat Yahya bin

Ma ‘az (d.871) was another leading Sufi of his time. Of him, Hazrat Huszri said “God had two

Yahiyas, one a prophet and the other a saint”,54 although he preferred wealth over poverty,

because he saw poverty is dangerous to the faith.

Another prominent Sufi of this second generation, Hazrat Amr bin Usman al-Makki

(d.909/297), spent a long time in Mecca. He also wrote many books and had numerous great

disciples, of whom the most important was Junaid al-Baghdadi. Al-Makki himself had lived with

the company of Abu Si’d al-Kharraz. Hazrat Hubayrah al-Basri (d.900/287), another renowned

Sufi, belonged to the very respectable Sayid family. He especially focused on providing a good

spiritual training to his disciples, who were known as Habrians and he broke his fasts after three

or four days by eating only the fruit of wilderness.55Another native of Baghdad, Hazrat Abu al-

Hassan al-Nuri (d.907/295), and became very popular among his contemporaries, as well as

50 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 118.51 Ibid., p. 120.52 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya. (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 179.53 Ibid., p. 219.54 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 122.55 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 320.

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among later generations. His Nuria Order is among the ten most famous silsillas in Islamic

Sufism. 56

Hazrat Junaid of Baghdad (d.910/298) was a very important mystic among the second

generation. He often maintained that he got this position by adopting a course of seclusion,

starvation and wakefulness at night,57 and spent most of his time under the supervision of his

Sheikh Sari Saqti. Indeed, the latter was not only his Sheikh but also his maternal uncle.

Meanwhile, Hazrat Junaid also spent time in the company of Harith al-Muhasibi. Somebody

once asked Junaid’s Sheikh whether it was possible for any disciple to achieve a higher rank then

his Sheikh. Sari Saqti replied “yes, no doubt”, since Junaid was his disciple, and higher in rank

as compare to he himself.58

Hazrat al-Huzefah (d.890/276) was the disciple of Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham and spent

most of his time in the company of his Sheikh. Al-Huzefah belonged to Chishtiyya Sufi Order

and many important Chishti Sufis obtained spiritual guidance while in his company. He had no

wife or children, and he often kept fasts.59 As a result, his sheikh gave him robe (khirqa) and

appointed him to be his spiritual successor (khalifa). Sheikh Ibrahim further advised him to reject

the world and always follow the path of their sheikhs, seeking the help of his own Sheikhs with

weeping and sorrow.60 He was very pious and humble, and gave the same advice to others.

Everybody already had respected Hazrat Huzefah while he was still in his teens. Hazrat Abu

Yazid of Bestam (d.876) predicted that Huzefah would become a great Sufi, and that a large

number of people would reach their spiritual goal thanks to this Sheikh.61

Abu’l Mughith al-Mansur al-Hallaj (d.309/921) is the most controversial figure in the

history Islamic Sufism. Some Sufis have showed him respect while others totally rejected his

teachings and philosophy.62 But in his famous book Tazkarat al Aulia, Farid ud Din Attar

56Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 360.57 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 205.58Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al- Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson. (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 128.59 Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Iqtibas al- Anwar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore, 2004), p. 254.60 Ibid., p. 71.61 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai. (Karachi: Nafees Academy , 1979), p. 72.62 Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (P. 150) claimed that Amr bin Usman al-Makki, Abu Yaqub, and Abu Yaqub Nahrajuri, Ali bin Sahl dismissed or condemned him, but Muhammad bin Khafif, Abu al- Qasim Nasrabadi

19

(d.1220) demonstrated his respect for al-Hallaj and condemned his critics.63 Muhammad bin

Khafif (882-982) expressed gratitude for al-Hallaj when he said that “he is divinely learned man”

while Shebli said “Al- Hallaj and I are of one belief but while my madness saves me, his

intelligence destroyed him.”64

Al-Hallaj was born in Beza, a city in Persia. According to Abu Sa’id Abu ul Khair he

held the highest rank before Allah and there was no other Sufi like him during his period in the

east.65He had lived eighteen years in the company of Hazrat Amr bin Usman al-Makki and when

the latter angrily expelled al-Hallaj (for theft of the Gunj Namah a sacred book of his Sheikh), he

went to Junaid. When Junaid asked who was he, he said ‘Haq’(Allah) Junaid replied he was not

Haq but with the Haq (Allah).66AL-Hallaj presented a doctrine about the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

which is close to that of the latter Sufis, especially the Chishtis. His doctrine of the “unity of

being” (wahadat ul wajud) proclaimed that “Allah is with him (Muhammad): he is the first in the

union and the last to be commissioned as a Prophet”.67 Abne al-Arabi, who was considered to be

founder of the doctrine of the “unity of being” argued that the existence of Allah is in everything,

but more so in human and most of all, in the prophets.

Hazrat Abu Saleh Hamdun al-Qassar (d.885/271) was not only a very prominent Sufi, but

also the founder of Qassariyya Sufi Order. He lived in Nishapur, and was considered to be head

of the Malamtiyya Order (the Blamed Ones).68 There are three categories of Malamat (blame):

the first for straying from path (Malamat-i-rast-i-raftan); the second from a deliberate or an

intentional act or sin (Malamat-i-qasd kardan), and a third for abandoning shariat law (Malamat-

i-tark kardan). In the first case, a man performed religious work cautiously and also tried to treat

others well, but people were unhappy with him and accused him of being a liar, a disbeliever, a

and all the modern Sufi thinkers accept his authority.63Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 26764 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 151.65 Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers 2002), p. 187.66 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 379.67 Hussain Bin Mansur al- Hallaj, The Tawasin, tr. Aisha Abd Arhman At – Tarjumana (Lahore: Islamic

Book Foundation, 1978) , p. 22

68Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 217.

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zindaqa (hypocrite), and such a man would endure all such charges (or Malamat) with ease. In

the second case, a man who is most respected and popular among the people deliberately choses

a path that people do not like, so that they will begin castigating (Malamat) him. But in the third

case, a man does something that is absolutely prohibited by his religion, but he does so only to

rid himself of the people’s devotion.69Qassar was disciple of Abu Turab and preceptor of Safyan

al-Thuri (d.778) and Abdullah Bin Mubarak (d.797),70 he was so pious and intention self-

annihilation (fana) that Junaid of Baghdad (d.910) and Sahl bin Abdullah Tastari (d.897) agreed

that if there was any possibility of achieving a Prophet Hood second only to that of the Holy

Prophet (PBUH), then al-Qassar was the person most capable of doing so.71

Abu Muhammad Sahl Bin Abdullah Al-Tastari (d.897/283) was born in Taster, and met

with Hazrat Dhul al-Nuon al-Misri (796-861) while performing his hajj. He stayed at night and

fasted, at first, for three days. Thereafter he fasted for five, then for seven, and finally broke his

fast only after twenty-five days. He continued this practice for almost twenty years.72 A

contemporary of al-Junaid, and a disciple of Hazrat Dhul al-Nuon al-Misri (d.861),73 advised his

disciples to eat as little as possible. According to al-Tastari, to eat one time a day is only done by

those who are Sadiquain (the true ones), to eat twice in a day is the habit of Momenin (true

Muslims), but to eat thrice a day is the practice of grazing animals. So to eat little, avoid people

and worship of Allah is true Sufism.74 Hazrat Sahl bin Abdullah himself became the founder of

Sahlis Order, another of the ten righteous Sufi sects.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ali al-Tirmizi (824-892) was the founder of Tirmizziyya

Sufi sect. He lived within the company of Hazrat Ahmad Khazruya, Hazrat Abu Turab and that

of Abne Jalah.75In addition, he wrote a large number of books, the most important of which are

69Ibid., pp. 63-64.70 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, p. 199; also see Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 217. 71Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 91.72 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), pp. 88-8973Abdul Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 98.74 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011) , pp. 168-69.75 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009 ), p. 113.

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Khatm ul Wilayat, Kitab ul Nahj, Nawadir ul Usul, and Kitab ul Tawhid.76 As for as the

Hakimiyya Order, its most important feature was sainthood. Who tried to make other people

aware of the value Wilayat (sainthood), and of how much Allah Almighty respected his wali

(friend).

Abu ‘l Abbas Qasim bin Al-Mahdi al-Sayyari, (d.956/342), the founder of Sayyariyya

Sufi order was another leading Sufis among his contemporaries. Born into a very rich family in

Merv, he was became the disciple of Abu Bakr Wasiti (d.934).77 He gave up all his wealth and in

return, he received two hairs of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). Later he admitted that he achieved

his rank due to the sacred hairs of Holy Prophet (PBUH), and advised his followers to place

these hairs in his mouth when he died.78 The primary characteristics of the Sayyari Order were

jam’ (union) and tafriqa (separation). Jam’ represented the will of Allah, while separation

(tafriqa) refers to his commands and prohibitions (awamer-o-nahi). One group argued that “the

knowledge of divine unity is union (jam’) and the knowledge of command is separation

(tafriqa)”, while another group simply insisted that “union is that on which theologians are

agreed, and separation is that in which they differ.”79

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Ahmad al- Khawwas (d.905) was another very prominent Sufi,

who was a contemporary with al-Junaid (d.910) and Abu ul Hassan al-Nuri (d.907).80 When

people asked him about the wonderment (karamat) that he saw, he replied that when Khezar81

asked him for permission to be included in his gathering; he had refused, fearing that his trust in

Allah Almighty might be disturbed.82Once Zoroastrian permission requested to participate in his

76 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 141.77 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 133.78 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), pp. 157-58.79Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Ghulam Muin ud Din Naeemi Ashrafi (Lahore:2007), p. 404. 80Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 118.

81 There is a conflict on the authority of apostle Khezar. Some scholars argued that he is a prophet while others maintain that he is saint (wali). He was the contemporary of Alexander the great. His main duty is to guide the Sufis and saints to the right path. 82 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 153.

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journey and after eight days, the al- Khawwas prayed for some food, as a result, different types

of food arrived. After passing another eight days al-Khawwas asked the Zoroastrian for food.

When, after his prayer, the same type of food again arrived, al-Khawwas surprised to see it all.

The fire worshiper told him he had prayed to Allah to save himself from being shamed by

producing in the name of Allah’s beloved (al- Khawwas),83the same food as before.

The Third Generation of Sufis.

The third generation in Islamic Sufism arose in 10 th and 11TH centuries. Both these centuries

produced a very large number of renowned Sufis who were also distinguished as scholars. In that

period, the important thing was the blind following of the jurisprudence (fiqh) that developed by

four Imams in the second generation (Imam Abu Hanifa d.766, Imam Malik d.795, Imam Shafi

d.820, Imam Ahmad bin Hammbal d.855 ). The Sufis of third generation tried once again to

prove that the Sufism not against the Islamic sharia.

An important Sufi and scholar of this generation was Abu‘l Qasim Abdel Karim

Hawazan Al-Qusheri (b.985-376/d.1072-465). He was not only a major mystic but also a great

intellectual. Of his numerous books, his Risalah is considered the master piece. In this he not

only gave brief biographies of eighty-two leading Sufis, but also described the basic fundamental

principles of Sufism, as well as of Islam. A disciple of Abu Ali Daqaq (d.1012) and Sheikh of

Abu Ali Farmadi, al- Qusheri died in 1072/465.84

Another leading Sufi of that period was Hazrat Abu ‘l Hassan Ali bin Ahmad al-

Khurqani (d.1032/425), who was born in Khurqan thirty nine years after the death of Hazrat Abu

Yazid of Bestam. He was a farmer by profession,85 just like the Prophet Adam (the first man and

the Prophet) who was also a farmer.86 As for al-Khurqani, Al-Qusheri has elaborated on his

spiritual power and said that whenever he entered the city of Khurqan, he lost all of his

eloquences and felt that he was deprived of his sainthood.87 Al-Khurqani advised his disciples

83 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 345.84Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 349.85 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 298.86Ammad ud Din Muhammad bin Ismail (Imam Abne khathir) Qasus ul Ambeya, tr. Abu Soban Sayid Muhammad Asadullah Asad (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2003), p. 68. 87 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 163.

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that they must bury him thirty feet down in the earth because Khurqan city is located higher than

Bestam, and he did not want his grave to be higher than that of Hazrat Bayazid.88

Another very significant figure was Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri (d.1076/469),

and doubly so when we consider Islamic Sufism in Indian Subcontinent. Popularly known as

Data Gunj Bukhash, he was a Saiyid by caste. The reason for the “Jullabi” and “Hujwiri” is that

he spent some of his time in both these villages of Ghazni. His father was a native of Jullab while

his mother came from Hujwir.89 Ali bin Usman was the disciple of Hazrat Hassan al-Khattali, as

he mentioned in his book Kashf ul Mahjub, and al-Khattali was an adherent of the al-Junaid’s

doctrine of Sufism, and a disciple of Hazrat Huszri who had been the disciple of Hazrat Shebli

(861-946). Huszri lived Baghdad for his whole life, until his death in 371 A.H.90 Hazrat Data

Sahib after completing his spiritual education moved to Lahore. Another disciple of Hazrat

Hassan al-Khattali, named Sheikh Hussain Zanjani, also appointed by his Sheikh was already

living there. Although Hazrat Data Sahib did not want to go there, when his Sheikh insisted he

agreed. When Data Sahib reached Lahore, it was night. Then when the sun rose, he saw a funeral

and on enquiring he was surprised to find that it was funeral of Hazrat Hussain Zanjani.91

Hazrat Data Sahib had fallen in love while he was very young, but had avoided marriage

because he quickly realized that if one become weds, he will no longer perform his meditations

well. He said that for a full eleven years, Allah Almighty had saved him from the trouble of

marriage. Then he finally fell in love with a very beautiful woman, and for a full year he

remained so passionately involved with her that his spiritual devotion was nearly destroyed. At

last Allah Almighty rescued him and cleansed his heart of this love.92

The influential Sufi teacher Hazrat Abu Sa’id Abu al-Khair was born (b. 967/ 357) in Khurasan.

Although a disciple of Sheikh Abu Al-Fazl bin Hassan, he also lived for some time in the

88 Farid ud Din Attar, Tazkarat ul Auliya, (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2011), p. 325.89Misbah-ul-Haque Siddique, The Life and Teachings of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, (Lahore: Shahzad Publishers, 1977), p. 25. 90 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 140.91Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 171. 92 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), P. 364.

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company of Abu al-Abbas Qassab,93and died the in 1049. The ‘Halatu Sukhunan-i-Sheikh Abu

Sa’id Abne Abi ‘u Khayer’ provides a primary source, on his life. It was written some hundred

years after his death by his grandson. Between 1170-1200, Muhammad ibne Munawwar, a

cousin of that author and himself great-great grandson of Abu Sa’id, reworked this book (with

some additions) as the Asraru‘l Tawhid fi Maqamati‘l Shaykh Abi Sa’id.94

Abu Sa’id was very fond of Sama when he was young. Once in Tus he told his disciples,

pointing his finger toward a small child, that he would become a prime minister of the world. In

fact, the boy became an Abbasid Wizir, the great Nizam ul Mulk Tusi (r. 1061-1091). 95 Tusi was

the prime minister of Jalal-ud-Din Mulk Shah Saljuki (r. 1072-1092). Along with Abu Yazid

(d.876), Ibrahim bin Adham (d.782), al Hallaj (d.921), Shaqiq-al-Balkhi (d.810), and Abu al-

Hassan al-Khurqani (d.1032), Abu Sa’id is considered to be one of the greatest Sufis in

Khurasan. Although he did not found a Sufi Order, he remained very popular among both his

contemporaries and among the followers of latter Sufi orders.

The Chishti Preceptors.

The Chishtiyya Sufi Order had a strong link with the leading Sufi Hazrat Mumshad Danuri (d.

911/299) 96. The disciple of Hazrat Hubayrah al-Basri (d. 900/287), he had received his khalafat

from Hazrat Ma’ruf al-Karkhi (d.815) and was known Danuri because he born in Danur.97In

Mirat-ul-Asrar, the author mentions him as the disciple of Hazrat Junaid of Baghdad (d.910),

and as being a contemporary of Hazrat Ruwaym and Hazrat Abu al-Hassan al-Nuri (d.907).98 He

was very fond of the Sama and when people asked the reason, he told them that since the Holy

Prophet (PBUH), Hazrat Ali, and all of the Aulia Allah had declared the Sama godly and

acceptable, he saw no reason not enjoy it.99 93Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), pp. 337-38.94 Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, Studies in Islamic Mysticism, (Lahore: Hijra International Publishers, 1983), pp. 1-2. R.A Nicholson translated this work and divided it into three sections in his Studies in Islamic Mysticism.95Ibid., p. 27.96Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 122.97 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 77.98Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 349.99 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 80-81.

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Most famous and prominent among the khulafa of Hazrat Mumshad were Hazrat Abu

Ishaq Shami (d. 937/325), Sheikh Abu Amar, and Sheikh Ahmad Aswad Danuri.100 He once said

that paradise and its full pleasures had been revealed to him for almost forty years, but that he

could not give any importance to them.101 Khawaja Mumshad succeeded Hazrat Abu Ishaq

Shami, whose disciples were known as the Chishti. When he appeared before his Sheikh and was

asked his name, he answered that it was Abu Ishaq Shami. Khawaja then said to him “from today

you are known by the name of Abu Ishaq Chishti”, and then sent him forth to Chisht.102 There are

two places named Chisht, one in Khurasan, near Herat, and the other in Pakistan near, Multan. 103

A Tehsil (sub-district) is named Chishtiyya Mandi, in the Pakistani district Bahawal Nagar,

because two prominent Chishti sheikhs, Taj ud Din Sarwar, and Noor Muhammad Moharwi are

buried there.

The Chishti Sheikhs sought to avoid relations with any king or sultan. They also

demanded that their disciples abide by this prohibition in all conditions. So when the sultan came

to meet him for a second time, Hazrat Abu Ishaq started weeping. When his disciples asked the

cause, he told them that he did not know what sin he had committed to make the sultan

continually call on him.104

Abu Ishaq Chishti (d.937/325) succeeded Sheikh Abu Ahmad Chishti (d.966/355). He

was born the son of sultan Farstana and was a Sayid by caste. His father was the sultan of his

state of Chisht, yet Abu Ahmad gave up the worldly life to become a disciple of Hazrat Abu

Ishaq. The later appointed his paternal aunt to look after him and, even before his birth that her

sister-in-law had given birth to a boy who latter was appointed a Qutb or Ghous (the higher rank

in sainthood). When the young Ahmad grew up, he joined the company of Abu Ishaq and even

when his father ordered his soldiers to bring his son back, Ahmad refused to return home.105

100 Ibid., p. 82.101Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 125.102Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 371.103 Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Iqtibas ul-Anwar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2004 ), p. 271.104 Ibid., p. 86.105Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 359.

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Meanwhile, Abu Ahmad Chishti had nominated his son Abu Muhammad Chishti (d.

1020/411) to be his khalifa in Chisht. Some authors [Maulana Jami, Dara Shakoh and Allah

Diyya] have argued that he helped Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna when he attacked Somnath,106but

Farid ud Din Attar has insisted that it was Abu-al-Hassan al-Khurqani who helped the sultan in

this campaign. Like Hazrat Baba Farid, Abu Muhammad also performed Chillah Ma’kus (40

days meditation) in a well.107 Abu Ahmad saw the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in his dream and was

told that his son was born, and that he should adopt the Prophet’s name for him. He had chosen

seclusion when he was only seven years old, and his father appointed him his khalifa when he

was 24 years, just a few days before his death. The apostle Khezar was also among his

teachers.108

Before his death in 1020, Hazrat Abu Muhammad had nominated his grandson, Abu

Yousaf Chishti (d.1067/459) as his khalifa. The latter only died in 1067/459, at the age of 84

years, and he in turn had appointed his younger son, Qutb ud Din Moodud Chishti (d.1132/527),

as his own khalifa and successor in Chisht. Because of the criticism of some people, a

misunderstanding thus occurred between Sheikh Moodud Chishti and Sheikh-ul-Islam Ahmad

Jam. In the end, the two Sheikhs resolved the matter and when Sheikh Ahmad Jam advised

Sheikh Moodud to seek further education, he requested the former to instruct him. Consequently,

Sheikh Ahmad Jam taught his fellow Sheikh for three days.109

Sufism in 12th Century

The 12th century has an especial importance in the history of Islamic Sufism; for the philosophy

of Sufism matured during this period. Indeed, while the Sufi schools would reach their apogee in

the 13th century, they had found their initiative in the 12th. That century is also important because

all the founders of the new orders belong to that period. Its most fascinating personalities were

Imam Ghazali (d.1111), Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani (d.1166), Sheikh Najib ud Din Suhrwardi

106 Dara Shakoh, Safinatul Aulia, p. 125 also see Abdul Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Un, p. 360.107 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 96. also see Siar ul Aqtab, p. 97108 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim. Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 97-98.109Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers , 2002), pp. 362-64.

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(d.1165), Khawaja Muin ud Din Chishti (b.1141) Abne al Arabi (d.1240), Sheikh Najm ud Din

Kubra (b.1145) and Sheikh Shahab ud Din Suhrwardi (d.1234).

Abu Hamid Muhammad (d.1111), popularly known as Imam Ghazali, was a leading

Islamic philosopher and intellectual, as well as a Sufi. He was born at Tus in Khurasan in 1058

and although his father died while he was a child, educated under his Sheikh, Yousaf al-Nassaj,

and under Imam al-Haramyn. He became a popular theologian and was appointed as the head of

Nizamiyya College in Baghdad. Along with theology, medicine and philosophy were the major

subjects taught at the college, which had been founded by Nizam ul Mulk Tusi (d.1091). Al-

Ghazali was only 34 years old when took charge this great institution.110He wrote a number of

books, most important being Ihya llum-Id-Din, Kimiyya-i- Sa’adat, Menhaj al-Abedeen, Elm al-

Kalam, Haqiqat-i-Ruhe Insani, Rodhiatul Talebeen. He was the disciple of Sheikh Abu Ali

Farendi and followed the Shafi school of thought. When the Imam al-Haramyn read his book

Kitab al-Manhol, he said that this sole book of al-Ghazali was more important than all of his own

works.111

Another leading Sufi was Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad bin Ali bin al- Arabi (d.1240). He

propounded the doctrine of wahadat ul wajud (unity of being), which has remained very popular

among the Sufis of all sects and schools. Sheikh Ahmad of Serhind (d.1624) did not reject his

doctrine, but argued that wahadat-ul-shahud was superior to the wahadat-ul-shahud. Fatuhat ul

Mekkiyya and Fusus al Hikm were his most famous books. He was a disciple of apostle

Khezar.112

Qadriyya Order.

The twelfth century saw the rise of a number new Sufi Orders in different areas of the Islamic

world. Among them the most popular, especially in South Asia, were the Qadriyya,

Suhrwardiyya, Chishtiyya, Kubraviyya, Naqshbandiyya, and the Shattariyya schools. The

Chishti School would come in to the being only after the arrival of Sheikh Abu Ishaq (d.937) in

Chisht, but in Subcontinent it was founded by Hazrat Muin-ud-Din Chishti Ajmeri (d.1236). By

110 Margaret Smith, AL- Ghazali The Mystic, (Lahore: Hijra International Publishers, 1983), pp. 19-20.111 Dara Shakoh, Safinatul Aulia, tr. Muhammad Ali Lutfi (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1959), p. 212.112Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 572,581.

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that time Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani (d.1166) had founded Qadriyya silsilla, while the

founders of the other schools had remained in his company and obtained their divine knowledge

from him. Himself a descendent of Hazrat Hassan bin Ali, he was linked to the Junaidiyya Sufi

Order. Born in Jiyal in 1078/471, his father was Hazrat Abu Sahle, and mother Hazrat Ume al-

Khair Fatima. The village of Jiyal was located on a popular mountain named Jodi in Iraq,

believed to be the mountain where the boat of the Prophet (Noah) had landed.113 Abdul Qadir got

the robe of khalafat from three Sheikhs: the first was his own father, the second was Sheikh Abu

Sa’id Mukhzomi, and the third was Abu al-Wafa Baghdadi. He was also took bayt on the hand of

Hazrat Khezar.

When Hazrat Ghous-ul-Azam was in his teens, he lived in the company of Sheikh

Hammad. Then one day he left the Sheikh and for some time went to work. The Sheikh said that

one day that non-Arab (Sheikh Abdel Qadir Jillani) set his foot on the neck of all the Auliaallah

(saints).114 Once he said of al-Hallaj that there was not a contemporary of al-Hallaj who guided

him and if he was there at that time, he would guide al-Hallaj, and he would not be hanged or

prosecuted. Instead he would help his disciples and those who loved him till the Day of

Judgment.115 Like the Chishti Sheikhs, Hazrat Abdul Qadir refused to have any relations with the

king. Whenever dervishes came to see him, he came out to his hujra (small room, or cell), shook

hands with them and then returned inside without sitting with them. Yet he sat with the non-

dervish, and when someone complained he replied: “I have a heartfelt relationship with

dervishes: That is enough. But we deal with non-dervishes in a worldly manner because

otherwise, they feel insulted”.116 Mesheikhs, like Imam Yafai, claimed that Hazrat Ghous al-

Azam himself celebrated Giarhwin Sharif on 11 Rabi ul Sani, in the remembrance of the Holy

Prophet (PBUH) every year.117

Chishtiyya Order

113Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 562.114 Ibid., p. 533.115 Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Iqtibas al Anwar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2004), p. 184.116Shahab Ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdel SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 540.117 Abdul Aziz Urfi, Ghous ul Azam Dastgir, (Karachi: Gilani Publishers, 1973), p. 155.

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Hazrat Haji Sharif Zandni (d. 1215/612) was the Sheikh of Hazrat Usman Harooni/Harwani

(d.1220) and, along with Abu Ahmad bin Moodud Chishti, the most prominent khalifa of Hazrat

Moodud Chishti (d.1132). He lived in seclusion for almost forty years, during which period he

ate wild fruit and the leaves of trees, while no one dared to talk about worldly matters in front of

him. In addition, no one dared to offer him money.118 The very first time he came to see Hazrat

Moodud Chishti, he put his head on the feet of the Sheikh, and the latter prayed for him. He also

was as fond of the Sama as his ancestor sheikhs had been.119 Like Hazrat Sharif, his descendent

Sheikh Farid ud Din also put his head on his sheikh’s feet whenever they met. It was said that the

Sultan of Sanjr was permitted to enter the paradise by Almighty Allah because he once had

kissed the feet of Sheikh Sharif.120

Hazrat Sharif Zandni succeeded Hazrat Khawaja Usman Harooni (d. 1220/617).121 He

was born in a village named Harwan or Haroon in Nishapur 1113/510. Whether living in

seclusion, listening to the Sama, or meditating, he strictly followed the preceptors of his Sheikh

and his ancestors. Hazrat Usman Harooni loved his favorite disciple Hazrat Muin-ud-Din so

much that he visited India to see his favorite khalifa. Finally, he went to Mecca and spent his last

years there. The Sheikh prayed to Allah let him be buried in Mecca, and to make Sheikh Muin-

ud-Din a wali (saint) so unique that none other should have parallel to him. Both of his prayers

accepted by Allah and he died in Mecca. Among the prominent khulafa of Sheikh Usman were

Hazrat Muin-ud-Din; Sheikh S’adi Lunkuchi and Sheikh Muhammad Turk.122

Hazrat khawaja Muin-ud-Din Chishti was born in Sanjar in 1141/537, and he became the

favorite khalifa of Hazrat khawaja Usman Harooni. Muin-ud-Din was popularly known as

khawaja Gharib Nawaz and became a founder of Chishti Order in India. He spent almost twenty

years in the company of his Sheikh; for as he himself admitted, he had served his Sheikh for

118 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mushtaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 100.119 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 125.120 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 127-28.121 The author of Iqtibas al Anwar mentioned that Hazrat Usman Harooni died in 1198/607. See Iqtibas al Anwar, pp. 342-43.122 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 135.

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almost two decades before his Sheikh gave him the spiritual power he sought.123 A member of a

respectable Sayid family, his father Sayid Ghiyas ud Din, was a very pious and religious man.

Yet he died when the young khawaja was only fifteen years old and Hazrat Muin-ud-Din

inherited an orchard from his father’s estate. The orchard was the same orchard where Sheikh

Ibrahim Qunduzi was served by the young khawaja and, in return, the Mujzub Sheikh gave him a

little piece of bread after first chewing it in his own mouth. The young khawaja immediately

received the spiritual in sighted. He then sold his orchard and all of his property, left to obtain an

education, and studied in many important centers as Khurasan, Samarqand and Iraq. Finally, he

reached Harwan/Haroon and became the disciple of Hazrat Usman Harooni.124

Suhrwardiyya Order

After the Chishtiyya, the Suhrwardiyya Order is the second most popular Sufi Order in India. It

was founded by Hazrat Abu Najib (d.1165), the uncle of Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din Umar, (d.1234).

This order further expanded under Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din. Hazrat Abu Ishaq (d.937) was a

founder of Chishti School while Hazrat Muin-ud-Din also spread and popularized the Chishti

silsilla. Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi was the disciple of Hazrat Abu Najib, and he was a

descendent of Hazrat Abu Bakr (d.634/13), the first pious caliph of Islam. He wrote numerous

books but his Awarif ul Ma’ruf, which he wrote in Mecca, was by the far most important. This

was taught as a syllabus for many years, and many important Sufis recommended it to their

disciples. Hazrat Bahu ud Din Zakriya (d.1262), Hazrat Jalal ud Din Tabrizi (d.1266) and Hazrat

Hamid ud Din Naguri (d.1244), all of whom expanded the influence of the Suhrwardiyya Order

in India, were the prominent disciples of Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din Umar Suhrwardi. He enjoyed the

company of Hazrat Ghous-ul-Azam (d.1166) and also lived in the company of apostle Khezar.125

Kubraviyya Order

The founder of this Order was Ahmad-bin-Umar bin Muhammad bin Abdullah-al-Janoqi,

popularly known as Hazrat Najm ud Din Kubra (1145-1220). He lived in the company of many

123 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mushtaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 102.124 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 137.125 Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Hafiz Sayid Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizami (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 496.

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prominent Sheikhs in his search for divine knowledge. The head of Fardosiyya order, Hazrat

Najm-ud-Din Kubra had received the robe of khalafat from Hazrat Abu Najib Suhrwardi as well

as from Sheikh Abdel Qadir Jillani, Sheikh Umar Yasir, Kabir the Egyptian and Sheikh Ismail

Qasri. The last three Sheikhs were also the disciples of Hazrat Abu Najib Suhrwardi.126

It is said that when Sheikh Najm ud Din Kubra became dubious of the spiritual power of

Sheikh Kabir, the latter disappeared while offering prayer at the same moment as Sheikh Najm

ud Din Kubra received a vision of the Day of Judgment in which angels were throwing the sinful

into hell. In this state he saw his Sheikh Kabir sitting on a mound, observing everything, and

ordering the angles to spare his disciples if they called to him for help, and claimed to be his

disciples. Sheikh Kabir slapped Kubra when he claimed that privilege and demanded that he

have no further doubts about the authority of his sheikhs.127

Naqshbandiyya Order

The Khawajgan Sufi Order, known popularly as Naqshbandiyya Order, arose up in Central Asia.

Khawaja Abu Yaqub Hamdani, also known as Abu Yousaf (d.1166), was the founder of this

school. He had four khulafa [Khawaja Abdullah Barqi, Hassan Andiqi, Ahmad Basoi and

Khawaja Abdul Khalaq of Ghajdwan]. Abdul Khalaq (d.1179) was the most popular and the

other three always followed him.128Hazrat Baha ud Din Naqshbandi (b.1318/d.1388) popularized

the Naqshbandiyya order. His real name was Muhammad bin Muhammad al Bukhari and he

obtained his education in tariqa from Amir Kalal. But as a matter of the fact, he obtained his

spiritual teaching from Abdul Khalaq Ghajdwani, the latter also living in the company of Hazrat

Khezar.129The Naqshbandiyya silsilla only reached India during the reign of Akbar the Great

(r.1556-1605). Hazrat Baqi Billah (d.1603) was the founder of Naqshbandiyya Sufi order there,

after which it latter spread and became popular thanks to his favorite disciple, Hazrat Sheikh

Ahmed of Serhind (d.1624), who is commonly known as Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-I- Sani.

Shattariyya Order

126 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 614.127Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizam (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2002), p. 449. 128Ibid., p. 408.129 Abdel Rahman Jami, Nafahat ul Uns, tr. Ahmad Ali shah Chishti Nizam (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers 2002), p. 415.

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The Shattariyya silsilla was basically a branch of Bestamiyya Sufi order in the same way as the

Nizamiyya and Saberiyya were the branches of Chishtiyya school. Hazrat Abdullah Shattari

(d.1415)) established this order. He was the descendent of Hazrat Shahab ud Din Suhrwardi

(d.1234) and a khalifa of Hazrat Sheikh Muhammad Arif, and his order’s lineage went back to

Hazrat Bayazid of Bestam (d.876).130 Sheikh Abdullah himself visited Khurasan, Iraq,

Azerbaijan, and in the last he lived in the company of Hazrat Ali Muwahid. After he entered in

Chittor, in1143, sultan Mahmud Shah Khalji besieged its fort but could not take it. Finally, with

the prayers of Abdullah Shattari, he captured the strong hold.

The Shattariyya silsilla spread to Bengal, Malwa, Burhanpur and Gujarat, and then into

Medina, Malaya, and Indonesia.131The Shattari made rapid progress in tariqa as compared to the

Mesheikhs of other orders. For other Sufis last step in wilayat (sainthood) but this is considered

to be merely the first in the order of the Shattari.132

In conclusion, then the concept of mysticism or Sufism is not particular to Islam, but it

exists in every religion. Consequently, the practices of meditation, seclusion and renunciation of

this world as well as of worldly desires, can be found in every faith. In the case of Islamic

Sufism, this movement began developing just after the demise of the last righteous caliph

(d.661), and it remained very popular in Islamic countries for the next six to seven centuries.

Then, when it began declining in all the older Islamic countries, it reached its peak in the Indian

Subcontinent.

130 Muhammad Ghousi Shattari, Gulzar-i-Abrar, tr. Fazl Ahmad Jiuri (Lahore: Muktaba Sultan Alamgir, 2005), p. 161.131Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi, A History of Sufism in India.vol.2, (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2003), p. 153.132Muhammad Ghousi Shattari, Gulzar-i-Abrar, tr. Fazl Ahmad Jiuri (Lahore: Muktaba Sultan Alamgir, 2005), p. 163.

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Chapter 2

Chishti Order in India: The Historical Background of Hazrat Baba Farid,

and his Approach toward Abad (Duniya or World) and Jungle (Tark-i-

Duniya or Wilderness) Before Arrival at Ajodhan.

Throughout history, India has attracted the attention of outsiders. There is long chronicle of

invaders and terrible invasions that have destroyed many families and dynasties in the

Subcontinent. These newcomers usually did not settle permanently because of the environment,

the insurgency of the natives, or indeed, a new wave of invaders. The Aryans were the only

people who permanently settled there and they made the local people (the Harappa and Mohenjo-

Daro) their slaves. Traditionally, Hind and Sindh were the sons of Ham and grandsons of

Prophet (Noah). Hind told his followers to worship one God and the idol worship in India

appeared in the reign of Maharaj, son of the powerful ruler Keshan, an Iranian who had

propagated Zoroastrianism in India. And descendent of Bang named Brahman (Bang was the son

of Hind), who was prime minister of King Keshan, established idol worshiping in India.133

The Arab and Mahmud’s Campaign.

Arab traders long had some trade relations with the native population, many of whom were

impressed with the Islamic teachings of brotherhood and equality. Astonishingly, one major

incident Raja Dhār’s refusal to send the Muslim prisoners back to Hujjaj bin Yousaf changed the

history of Subcontinent.

Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Raja Dhār in 712 A.D and conquered almost all the Sind

and Punjab. But with the sudden death of Khalifa Walid (d.715) and Hujjaj bin Yousaf (d.714)

governor of Iraq, Qasim was not only recalled, but also was prosecuted by Caliph Suleiman

(d.717). Sindh and Multan were ruled by the Muslims for almost two-and-half centuries, the rest

of India remained under Hindu monarchs. Ghaznavid (r.963-1187) then launched new invasions

in 998 A.D but established his rule only the areas held previously (Punjab and Sindh). Mahmud

133 Muhammad Qasim Farishta, Tarikh -I Farishta, vol, 1, tr. Abdul Hye Khawaja (Lahore: Ghulam Ali and Sons, 1974), pp. 60-65.

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of Ghazna (d.1030) was a good general as well as a patron of art and learning. The Sufis had

some achievements in this Ghaznavid period. The most representatives and important Sufis were

Hazrat Data Sahib (d.1076 A.D), Sheikh Ismail (d.1056-57), Sheikh Hassan Zanjani (d.1034),

and Sakhi Sarwar. At this time Lahore emerged as a center of Sufism, as well as of government

administration under the Ghaznavids.

Beginning of Chishtiyya Order in the Subcontinent.

The fall of the Ghaznavid (1187) saw the rise of the Chishti Sufi Order. Ghourid dynasty

replaced the Ghaznavids. They established first Muslim empire in India. The culmination of

Sufism started in India during the period of the Slave Dynasty (1206-1290).

Hazrat Muin-ud-Din Chishti (d.1235), popularly known as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, had

arrived in India in 1191. On his way he had met men of the defeated army of Shahab ud Din

Ghuri, and they tried to persuade the great Sufi not to continue his journey toward Ajmer. He

rejected their advice and reached Ajmer in 587/1191-92 when he was 52, along with 40

disciples. 134 Meanwhile, Parithvi Raj Chuhan (d.1192), the last powerful Rajput ruler of India,

had sent his spies into the northern area. It is said because his mother had warned him that in the

north, a derwaish would arrive in Ajmer and prove to be the cause of his downfall.135 She

therefore advised him to treat the derwaish well. He ignored her advice; however, when Shadi

Dev (The most powerful and popular Hindu Braham priest), along with other Hindus, saw the

slaughter of a cow. They attacked the Khawaja Sahib and his followers, and, when all their

efforts proved futile, Shadi Dev converted to Islam.136

Islam spread rapidly among the people of Ajmer and its surrounding region after the

conversion of Jai Pal (some write his name Ajai Pal), a popular yogi and magician. At that time

yogis, due to their presumed magic, had become the centre of attention of both Indian public and

ruling classes, and they were greatly respected by Hindus. Parithvi Raj had convinced Jai Pal to

compel Khawaja Gharib Nawaz to leave India by means of his magic power. For this purpose Jai

134 W.G Begg. The Holy Biography of Hazrat Khawaja MuinudDin Chishti, (Tucson: The Chishti Sufi Mission of America, 1977), p. 82. 135 Zahuar ul Hassan Sharib, Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, p. 48; also see W.G Begg. The Holy Biography of Hazrat Khawaja MuinudDin Chishti, p. 80.136 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 143-44.

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Pal himself gathered 1,500 cheelas, (disciples), among whom 700 were expert magicians. But

when Jai Pal and his cheelas saw Shadi Dev standing humbly and gently before Hazrat Khawaja

Gharib Nawaz, they castigated him. Then Khawaja Sahib told them that he had no objection if

Shadi Dev wanted to join them, and that he was completely free to do so. But when Jai Pal and

his followers then failed to convince him, Hazrat Muin-ud-Din asked Shadi Dev to come to Lake

Anasagar. There Shadi Dev took a bowl of water from it, and the whole of the lake flowed into

the bowl. All of his tactics and magic having proved to be useless, Jai Pal embraced Islam on the

hand of great Khawaja of Ajmer.137

Parithvi Raj Chuhan could not put up with all this because the rapid conversation of

Hindus to Islam posed a big threat to both his religion and his rule. After the conversion of Shadi

Dev and Jai Pal, he gave up his direct efforts that induce Khawaja Gharib Nawaz to leave India.

Some Muslim courtiers of Parithvi Raj, who had embraced Islam on the hand of Hazrat Khawaja

Sahib, were pressured by Parithvi Raj. They complained about this to Khawaja Sahib and when

the latter asked Parithvi Raj not to bother them, the ruler become furious and uttered harsh words

about Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz. Charging that “this man came here and talked about fake

jugglery and prophesies”, he fumed, and ordered that “someone must go and tell this faqir to

leave the Ajmer immediately.” When Hazrat Khawaja Sahib heard of these insulting remarks, he

simply said “we have arrested the Raja alive, and handed him over to the army of Islam”.138

Within two months, these words of great saint fulfilled. In the First Battle of Train (1191),

Shahab-ud-Din Ghuri was defeated, but in the Second Battle of Train (1192) he emerged

victorious. He had a large number of army almost 1,70000 but he could not fully trust his

commanders as they had fled the field in the First Battle of Train. Although Parithvi Raj had a

large army of 3,00000 that consisted on Rajputs (a brave Hindu tribe) and Afghan soldiers, but

he lost in the end,139 and just as Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz had foretold, he was taken alive.

137 Ibid., pp. 145-47.138Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d), pp. 103-04. 139 Muhammad Qasim Farishta, Tarikh-i- Farishta.vol, 1, tr. Abdul Hye Khawaja (Lahore: Ghulam Ali and Sons, 1974), pp. 221-22.

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Ajmer.

Ajmer is an ancient city and so called because a Hindu Raja named Aaja had built a castle on the

mount. This was considered the first wall or building in the history of India to be built on a

mountain. In Hindi “Mer” mean mountain, so that “Ajmer” was derived from “Aaja” (king) and

“Mer” (mountain), Aaja had been its first king and Parithvi Raj, who was his descendent, was the

last Hindu ruler in Ajmer. Shortly after its creation, the city had become a religious center of the

Hindus. There was a stream named Phakr located only eight mile away, and Hindus worshiped

at this holy stream, gathering there annually for six days,140 because it was popularly believed

that Brahma had done his yoga in its sacred water.141 Bhīma Raj a relative of Parithvi Raj

defeated that ruler of Ajmer, who was the son of Parithvi Raj. A war was finally fought between

Aibak (deputy of Sultan Muhammad Ghuri) and Bhīma Raj in 591/1194. Although the latter had

a large army, he was defeated and the Muslim seized this great city.142

Family and Disciples of Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz.

Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz had two wives, one the daughter of a governor of Ajmer named

Hazrat bibi Asmat, and the other bibi Ummah, the daughter of a Hindu Raja and who latter

converted to Islam. From them he had three sons, (Khawaja Abu Sa’id, Khawaja Fakhar ud Din

and Khawaja Hassam al-Din), and one daughter named Hazrat bibi Hafiza Jamal.143The sons

seem to have been farmers by profession since Hazrat Banda Nawaz Gisu Diraz mentions an

incident when Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz came to Delhi because of some dispute concerning

agricultural land being cultivated by his son Hazrat Fakhar ud Din.144

In addition Hussain Mushidi a disciple of Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz and as governor of

Ajmer, tried his utmost to spread the message of Islam.145 Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz had

140 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 1997), p. 71.141 Abu ul Hassan Ali Nadwi, Tarikh-i-Dawat-o-Azeemat vol.3, (Karachi: Mujlas-i-Nasheryat-i-Islam, 1983), p. 26. foot note no.2.142 Muhammad Qasim Farishta, Tarikh -i- Farishta.vol, 1, tr. Abdul Hye Khawaja (Lahore: Ghulam Ali and Sons ,1974), p. 225.143 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. prof: Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 151.144Sayid Muhammad Akbar Hussaini, Jawam’al Kalm, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al- Faisal Nasharan Mustaq Book Corner, 2010), pp. 357-58. 145 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board ,1976), p. 14.

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fourteen prominent khulafa. They included as Hazrat Qutb ud Din Bakhtiar Kaki; Hazrat Fakhar

ud Din Abne Hazrat Khawaja Muin ud Din Chishti Ajmeri; Hazrat bibi Jamal bint Hazrat

Khawaja Gharib Nawaz; Sheikh Hameed ud Din Naguri; Sheikh Hameed ud Din Sufi; Sheikh

Burhan ud Din; Sheikh Ahmad; Sheikh Mohsen; Sheikh Suleiman Ghazi; Sheikh Wajeh ud Din;

Sheikh Shams ud Din; Khawaja Hassan Khiyat; Abdullah Biyabani (Jai Pal yogi), and many

other.146 There are differences and some conflict surrounding the date Khawaja Sahib’s death.

Among the various dates proposed, the most important are 1229 and 1235. Whenever he died,

everybody claimed to have seen these words on his forehead “He was a beloved of Allah, and he

died in the love of Allah” (Haza Habib Allah, Maata Fi Hub Allah).147

Delhi as a Centre of Islamic Sufism under Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki.

After the death of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar kaki (d.1235) emerged

as the central figure in the Chishtiyya Sufi Order. He was a Sayid and born in the Central Asian

village of Awash. When he was only six-month-old, his father Hazrat Sayid Musa passed away.

In the event he received his early education from Hazrat Hameed-ud-Din Naguri (d.1244), a

prominent disciple of Hazrat Khawaja Muin-ud-Din Chishti Ajmeri (d.1235). Qutb-ud-Din was

seventeen when he received the robe of khalafat from Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz148 and was

known as (Kaki) because, when he resolved never to take a loan, Allah Almighty bestowed on

him a constant supply bread of millet, bread that continued until his wife told her neighbour of

this secret. 149

Performance of the Sama continued on under Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din who, like his ancestors,

also faced much criticism which he ignored. The condition of ecstasy often prevailed in his Sama

and embraced everybody who took part. Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din died while he was listening to the

Sama or qawwali. He had two sons named Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad and Sheikh Muhammad. The

former lived until the time of Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Aulia while the latter died when still in

teenage. In his will Sheikh Qutb-ud-Din advised Qazi Hameed-ud-Din Naguri and Khawaja Badr-

146 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 154.147 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d), p. 105.148 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 169-70.149 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner) pp. 105- 106.

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ud-Din Ghaznavi to give his turban, prayer mat and wooden shoes (n’alin) to Hazrat Baba Farid-

ud-Din Mus'ood Shaker Gunj.150

Historical Background of Hazrat Baba Farid.

Hazrat Baba Farid was the first chief khalifa of Chishti silsilla to be born in the soil of the Indian

Subcontinent. His ancestors were Arabs from the respectable Quresh tribe. They had migrated to

Central Asia, and later to Afghanistan. Banu Adi was their clan, (one of the ten of the Quresh)

and the clan of second righteous caliph Hazrat Umar (d.645/15) as well. The shrine of Hazrat

Asim bin Umar bin Khatab is situated in Pakpattan. The genealogy of Hazrat Baba Farid151 is

described by the many authors and is presented with considerable consistency.152

Farukh shah Kabuli was then ruler of Afghanistan, but his son Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad

Yousaf was martyred on the battle field Hazrat Qazi Shoaib, the son of Sheikh Yousaf and

grandfather of Hazrat Baba Farid, had left Kabul and moved to Multan. In route he had reached

first Lahore, then Qasur. The Qazi of Qasur, who was well informed about this saintly family,

wrote a letter informing the king, and the latter had ordered that they be shown all possible respect

and the use of his army if they wished, to recover their state back from the Mongols who had

defeated them in 1125 A.D. Although Qazi Shoaib declined this offer, he was appointed a Qazi

(judge) in a village of Khatowal near Multan. He reached Multan with his three sons and other

family members in 559/1163.153 One son among the three Hazrat Jamal ud Din Suleiman, was

appointed the Qazi of Khatowal after his father’s death.154 He himself married the daughter of

150 Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 690, 694.151 Hazrat Baba Farid ud Din Mus'ood bin Hazrat Jamal ud Din Suleiman bin Qazi Shoaib bin Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Yousaf bin Hazrat Sheikh Shahab ud Din Ahmad Farukh shah Kabuli bin Nasser ud Din Mahmud bin Sheikh Suleiman bin Sheikh Mus'ood bin Sheikh Abdullah (Wa’iz- al Asghar) bin Sheikh Abu al- Fateh (Wa’iz-al Akbar) bin Sheikh Ishaq bin Sheikh Ibrahim bin Sheikh Adham bin Suleiman bin Sheikh Mansur bin Sheikh Nassir bin Sheikh Abdullah bin Amir ul Momenin Hazrat Umar bin Khatab.152 There is differences in the genealogy of Hazrat Baba Farid, in Jawahar-i- Faridi (p.250) the author described twenty six predecessors of Baba Sahib while in Anwar ul Farid (p.35) they are nineteen in number, while the author of Siar ul Aqtab (p.187) declared the father of Hazrat Baba Sahib was the matrnal nephew of Mahmud of Ghazna. The author of Siar ul Arafin (p.42) also showed him as a matrnal nephew of Mahmud. 153 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), pp. 119-120.154 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan ,2010), p. 755.

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Sheikh Wajih-ud- Din Khojendi.155The village of Khatowal is now known as Chawali Mesheikhs,

and is located in Mailsi, a district of Multan division.

Hazrat Qursam Bibi had three sons; eldest was Izz-ud-Din Mahmud, the second, Hazrat Baba

Farid ud Din Mus'ood and the third. Hazrat Najib ud Din Mutawakkil.156 Hazrat Qursam Bibi, the

mother of Hazrat Baba Farid, was a Rabi’a in her time; who stayed up at night for meditation. It

was said that one night a thief entered her home while she was deep in her meditation, and that he

lost his eyesight as soon as he set his foot in her house. He begged her to pray for his sight; and

when she did, he again gained his sight. With his family he came to Baba Sahib’s house early in

the morning and embraced Islam on the hand of Hazrat Qursam Bibi.157 She died during Hazrat

Najib-ud-Din Mutawakkil’s trip to Ajodhan.158

Childhood and Education

There is a controversy over the date of birth of Hazrat Baba Farid-ud-Din, but it in khatowal was

either in 571/1175, or in 569/1173,159 He obtained his early education from his mother who was,

without any doubt, a great Sufi woman in her time. As mentioned, his father Hazrat Jamal-ud-Din

Suleiman had passed away while Baba Farid was a child. All the responsibility of his education,

along with that of his two brothers, thus had fallen on the shoulders of his mother, and Hazrat Baba

Farid’s deep influence of Islamic Sufism, as well as Islamic thoughts, was in large part thanks to

her.

When Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi (d.1266) later arrived in Khatowal, he had asked the

people there were whether or not there any mystics in this village? The people replied that they did

not know of any mystic, but only of a child who had become famous under the name of Qazi bacha

(bacha means teen or a boy) and spent most of his time in meditation. Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi

(d.1266) came to this Qazi bacha (Hazrat Baba Farid) and offered him a pomegranate, asked him

155 Mirat ul Asrar, p. 755; Siar ul Aqtab, p. 187; also see Siar ul Arafin, P. 43.156 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan , 2010), p. 755; While in Jawam’al Kalm.(p.135) mentioned that Hazrat Jamal ud Din Suleiman had four sons.157 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 43.158 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), pp. 277-278.159 Fawaid ul Fawad (p.195) described date of birth 569/1173 and died at the age of 93 year while according to Siar ul Aulia (p.159) Hazrat Baba Sahib born in 569/1173 and died in 664 at the age of 95 years. Therefore, the author of Akhbar ul Achier (p.142) mentioned his date of birth was 609 A.H and death 668 A.H.

40

to divide it among the people and also to eat from it himself. But since he was fasting, Hazrat Baba

Farid did not eat. When the time came to break the fast (iftar), Hazrat Baba Sahib found a seed of

the same pomegranate lying on the ground. He ate it found spiritual illumination, regretted very

much that he had not eaten the entire pomegranate. Yet latter, when he met Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din

and recounted the story, the Sheikh assured him that all the power and spirituality had resided in

this single seed rather than in the whole pomegranate.160 At eighteen years, Baba Farid went to

Multan and began his education at the mosque of Hazrat Menhaj-ud-Din Tirmizi161. At that time

Multan was a center of Islamic learning and education. In fact, Islam had come first into Multan

and Sindh. Thus Sindh is considered as the door of Islam (Bab-ul-Islam), and Multan therefore, is

considered as the city of saints (Medina- tul-Aulia).

First Meeting with Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki.

One day Hazrat Baba Farid was studying al-Nafeh, a popular book of Muslim law, when Hazrat

Qutb-ud-Din (d.1235) came into the same mosque, offered his prayer, and then noticed the student

who was deep in study. Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din approached the student, asking “O dear student, what

is the name of the book that are you studying?” When Baba Sahib answered it was al-Nafeh, the

Sheikh said “may there be naf’ (benefit) for you” Hazrat Baba Sahib than replied that “there is

benefit for me in your mercy and blessing,” after which he fell down and placed his head at the

feet of great Sheikh.162 When Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakriya (d.1262) became aware of the presence

of Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din in Multan, he came to greet him in the same mosque. There both Sheikh

Qutb-ud-Din and Sheikh Farid-ud-Din met each other. Hazrat Baba Farid also met with Hazrat

Baha-ud-Din Zakriya at that particular time, and when Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din rose to depart, Baha-

ud-Din Zakriya placed his shoes in the right direction (toward Delhi ) to suggest that he would not

like existing in Multan.163 And when Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din did leave the mosque for Delhi, Hazrat

Baba Farid joined him. But after they had gone only a little distance, Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din ordered

him to stay in Multan and continue his education, and then later come to him in Delhi. So Hazrat

160 Khair ul Majaalis, Maulana Hameed Qalander, (Karachi: Wahid book Depo, n.d.), p. 226.161 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 48.162 Khair ul Majaalis. p. 227 ; also see Jawam’al Kalm, p. 48;also see Mirat ul Asrar ; Siar ul Aulia (pp. 121-122) although there is a little differences between Khair ul Majaalis and Siar ul Aulia, in Siar ul Aulia Hazrat Baba Farid stood up when Hazrat Qutb ud Din Bakhtiar kaki entered in the mosque while the rest of the incident is same. 163 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 122.

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Baba Farid lived in Multan for almost another five years.164 During this period he became very

knowledge able about fiqh, sharia, and tradition as well.

Hazrat Baba Farid’s Journeys and Travels: The Concept of the Wilderness or Jungle.

Hazrat Baba Farid travelled to many states and meet with a large number of prominent Sufis. In

the Rahat ul Qaloob, we find that he visited Baghdad, Bukhara, Ghazni, Siwistan, Badkhshan,

and Palestine, and finally settled at the feet of Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar kaki. In Baghdad, he

had lived sometime in the company of Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din Umar Suhrwardi (d.1234). This

Sheikh taught that when Allah almighty wants to make someone his friend, he open the door of

zakr before that man.165Hazrat Shahab-ud-Din wrote a number of books, but of which Awarif ul

Ma’ruf is the most famous, Baba Farid praised this book and named one of his sons after Sheikh

Shahab-ud-Din Suhrwardi.166

In Baghdad, Hazrat Baba Farid met with Sheikh Ajal Shirazi. Baba Sahib maintained that

when he entered his monastery, he asked him salaam and the Sheikh Ajal ordered “set down, O

Shaker-Alam,” and then prayed for Hazrat Baba Farid. Furthermore, he saw a derwaish in a

cave, outside of Baghdad. Sheikh Farid explained that there was not any meat on his body and

bones and skin could be seen easily and thought that his bad physical condition was because of

living in the Jungle. The derwaish told him that he had indeed lived in this cave for forty years.

In addition, Hazrat Baba Farid met with Hazrat Saif-ud-Din Bakharzi (d.1259) in Bukhara. He

said that “Sheikh Farid-ud-Din must become a saint in the future and bestowed him his black

chadar (robe)”.167

Hazrat Baba Farid recalled meeting a disciple of Hazrat Junaid of Baghdad (d.910) on the

bank of Tigris River. When that Sufi asked Hazrat Baba Farid from which city he hailed from, he

replied that he belonged to Ajodhan. The Sufi mentioned that he had lived for almost fifty years

in a cave and had busied himself in meditation. But during the previous night the night of M’raj

164 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 188. While the author of Siar ul Aulia (p. 122) mentioned that Hazrat Baba Farid ud Din Gunj Shaker left Multan with his Sheikh Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din and came to Delhi. The author of Siar ul Arafin (p. 49) Mirat ul Asrar (p.756) argued that Hazrat Baba Farid came three mile along with Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din and then Sheikh Ordered him “Farid get Alm-zahri (esoteric knowledge) for some time and then came to Delhi and lived along with me”. 165 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p. 42.166 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 220.167 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p.12.

42

(twenty seventh night of Rajib), he fell asleep and in a dream saw 70000 angles come to take his

soul into the heaven. When they reached the first sky, the disciple of Junaid saw all the angels

looking toward the sky. He heard a voice say that since the day of their birth, they had looked in

that particular direction. In addition, when in heaven he saw all the prophets and Aulia there, and

Hazrat Junaid of Baghdad as well. Furthermore, he said that anybody who stayed up at night

must repent before Allah Almighty.168 Hazrat Baba Farid then went on to Qandahar, where he

stayed for five years.169 According to the author of the Gulzar-i-Abrar, Hazrat Baba Farid had

permission from his Sheikh to go to Siwistan and Qandahar for further education, 170 and spent

the eleven years (607- 618/1208-1219) visiting different Sufis and Islamic literary

centres.171After all this, he returned to his homeland.

His Short Stay at Delhi as an Eye witness to the Abad’s miseries

When Hazrat Baba Farid finally reached Delhi to appear before his Sheikh Khawaja Qutb-ud-

Din (d.1235), the latter had many prominent disciples, including Hazrat Badr-ud-Din Ghaznavi

and Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Nehrwani. The Hindu rulers had their capital at Ajmer, but the

Muslims moved it to Delhi. Hazrat Muin-ud-Din Chishti (d.1235 )had settled in Ajmer, he had

asked his khalifa, Sheikh Qutb-ud-Din, to live in Delhi, and the latter had compelled. Sultan Al-

Tutamash (r.1211-35) had great respect for the Muslim saints and scholars, and for Hazrat Qutb-

ud-Din in particular. When the Sheikh-ul-Islam (higher post of judge) Maulana Jamal-ud-Din

Muhammad Basmati died, the sultan offered this post to Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki. He

had turned down this offer and the sultan then appointed Sheikh Najm ud Din Sughra the disciple

of Hazrat Khawaja Usman Harooni (d.1220), as the new Sheikh-ul-Islam.172

On receiving this highest rank, Najm-ud-Din fell into arrogance. Rather than showing

respect for the other Sheikhs and saints, he tried to harm their reputations. When the popularity

of Hazrat Sheikh Qutb-ud-Din reached its zenith, Najm-ud-Din became jealous. Again, when

168 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p. 17.169 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 49.170 Muhammad Ghousi Shattari, Gulzar-i-Abrar, tr. Fazl Ahmad Jiuri (Lahore: Muktaba Sultan Alamgir, 2005), 48.171Khawaja Muslim Nizami, .Anwar ul Farid, (Lahore: Zaviya Publishers, 2006), p. 52.

172 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 28.

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Hazrat Muin-ud-Din came to Delhi to settle his son’s land issue, he went to Najm-ud-Din Sughra

as both were the disciples of same Sheikh. In the past they had had a cordial relationship, but

now Najm-ud-Din did not greet or show any interest in meeting his former colleague. When

Hazrat Muin-ud-Din asked the reason of this tension; he was told that although he was a Sheikh

of Islam, he was no longer of any importance thanks to his disciple (Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din). So

Hazrat Muin-ud-Din suggested to Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din that he leave Delhi and settle in Ajmer.

When both Sheikhs and his disciple left the city, both the public and the sultan followed them.

They pleaded with Hazrat Muin-ud-Din to leave Hazrat Qutb in Delhi. When Hazrat Khawaja

Sahib saw their devotion; he allowed to his favorite khalifa to remain in Delhi,173 where Hazrat

Qutb-ud-Din spent the rest of his life.

Najm ud Din Sughra also persecuted another very popular mystic, Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din

Tabrizi (d.1266), who had lived some time in Delhi. The Sheikh-ul-Islam hire a very beautiful

woman musician named Gohar and bribed her with an offer of five hundred dinars, to lay a

charge of adultery against Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi. When the sultan asked the Sheikh-ul-

Islam to appoint a Qazi or judge for this case, Najm nominated Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakriya

Multani to the post. When that judge warned Gohar to tell the truth, or else suffer the wrath of

Allah almighty, she revealed the plot. The furious sultan deposed Najm-ud-Din Sughra from the

position of Sheikh-ul-Islam and appointed Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakriya Multani (d.1262) in his

stead.174

After Hazrat Baba Farid’s arrival in Delhi, his Sheikh initiated his new spiritual training.

There was a tower (burj) near the western gate of Delhi, and beneath this he built a room (hujra)

for Baba Farid, who occupied himself in the worship of Allah Almighty.175 He only visited his

Sheikh after every two weeks, while Hazrat Badr ud Din Ghaznavi, and Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad

Nehrwani and the other disciples spent all their time in their Sheikh’s company.176 The reason

was that Baba Farid’s sole desire was to live an anonymous life. 173 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr.Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner), pp. 112-113.174 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), pp. 244- 247.175 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri. (Lahore: Urdu Science Board , 1976), p.49.176 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 347. while the author of Siar ul Aqtab (p. 188) argued that he met with his Sheikh after a week. In Siar ul Aulia (p.123) it is mentioned that Hazrat Baba Farid lived two days within the monastery of his Sheikh after two weeks.

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Hazrat Baba Farid’s Lifetime Desire for the Jungle or Wilderness

While still young Baba Farid had chosen seclusion and stopped to meeting with everyone his

friends, foes and relatives alike. He had become a popular mystic when a teenager, which is why

Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakriya (d.1262) had wanted to see him.177 There is no other Sheikh in the

history of Sufism in India who performed riyazat and meditation more than Hazrat Baba Farid.

Muhammad Ghousi Shattari maintains that all the Mesheikhs of India agreed that “there is no

one (yet born) among the derwaishes who excelled more in than did Hazrat Baba Farid

meditation and penitence”.178 Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din (d.1235) guided him strictly in these pursuits.

The first aspect of riyazat that recommended Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki to Hazrat Baba

Farid was Tayy, (sahe roza). Tayy means keeping fast for three days and then breaking it with

three or four drops of water,179 a minimum of three days, and a maximum of one year of fasting

falls into the category of Tayy, but if a fast be broken, it should only with water.180 Hazrat Qutb-

ud-Din insisted that the iftar of his Tayy take place only with food that came from unknown

sources (ghaib). Hazrat Baba Farid continued this practice, and after three days somebody took

food to him. But as he ate it, he saw a kite tearing dead animal’s entrails with her beak and

started vomiting thus cleansing his stomach of that food. When he recounted that event to his

Sheikh, Khawaja Qutb-ud-Din answered that he was going to break third fast with a drunken

man’s food.

Hazrat Baba Farid was originally named Mus'ood, but he became popular under the

name of Baba Farid, as well as Gunj-i- Shakar. Hazrat Nizam ud Din Aulia (d.1325) does not use

the title Gunj-i-Shakar in his Fawaid ul Fawad, but all other sources not only include this title, but

also recounted the story of how Baba Farid obtained the famous title of Gunj-i- Shakar. The

Sheikh had ordered him to repeat the Tayy, but now he had to complete six days of fasting. When

nothing came from an unknown source he picked up some pebbles and put them in to his mouth,

177 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), pp.120- 121.178Muhammad Ghousi Shattari, Gulzar-i- Abrar, tr. Fazl Ahmad Jiuri (Lahore: Muktaba Sultan Alamgir, 2005), p. 49.179Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj Shakar, (Aligarh: Muslim University,

1955), P. 26. foot note no.3.

180 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri. (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 1997), pp. 144-45.

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where they turned into sugar. Baba Farid thought that this might be a trick of the devil and spat

the pebbles from his mouth. He repeated this practice three times, but finally realized that if he

did not eat he might be too weak to offer his morning prayer. He therefore, ate these pebbles

which again turned into sugar, and in the morning he told everything to his Sheikh. Hazrat Qutb-

ud-Din replied “Mus'ood you did the right thing when you broke your fast with shaker (sugar),”

and then added “Go; you will be sweet like sugar (shaker)”.181 That is why he was known as

Shaker Bar or Gunj Shaker.

Chillah is the other name for seclusion, but it involves forty-day fasts. The origin of the

Chillah is derived from Hazrat Musa (Prophet Moses), who spent forty days in the wilderness

when he wanted to hear the voice of his Almighty Allah.182 “And we make a promise with Musa

of thirty nights and fulfill it with a further ten nights, so as to complete the duration of forty

nights of his God”.183

When Sufi saints and derwaishes want to talk to or hear God in their spirituality, they

remain fasting for forty days, But when thirty days have passed they rub their teeth with tooth

brush (miswaak) then fast again for ten more days, and finally God speaks to them in their

spirituality.184 In Chillah (fasting) and in seclusion, the best diet is salt and bread; one uses half

the bread in keeping the fast and half when broken. Secondly, the first two nights are devoted to

Tayy, and then the fast broken on the third night. After this, the third principle is that one a

breaks fast in one night among every two days and two nights.185 Hazrat Baba Farid was thus

asking his Sheikh to allow him to perform more rigorous forms of mujahadat, (meditation), and

especially, the Chillah.

Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din disapproved of Farid’s suggestion that he be permitted to perform Chillah.

He told his great disciple that there was not need of Chillah since the only things that were to be

obtained through this practice were popularity and publicity. Hazrat Baba Farid replied that his

Sheikh knew well his faith that he had no desire for popularity, but only sought to live in 181 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), pp. 129-130.182 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al- Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 324.183 The Holy Quran, Al A’raf. 142.184 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 324.185 Shahab Ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), pp. 309-10.

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seclusion and privacy. Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din then asked him to perform the Chillah-i-Ma’kus.

Hazrat Baba Farid did not know how to perform this Chillah and he asked Hazrat Badr-ud-Din

Ghaznavi to tell him about it. Sheikh Badr himself knew nothing about this and, in his turn,

requested Sheikh Qutb-ud-Din to inform him about the Chillah-i-Ma’kus. The latter replied to

Sheikh Badr that it mean to tie one’s feet together with a rope and worship God for forty nights

while suspended him downwards in a well.186 Hazrat Badr-ud-Din then passed this on to Hazrat

Baba Farid as well.

Chillah-i-Ma’kus had been performed by Holy Prophet (PBUH),187 and Hazrat Abu Sa’id

(d.1049) who, learning that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had performed Chillah-i-Ma’kus, also did

so.188 And before Hazrat Baba Farid, the only Chishti Sheikh to perform this Chillah was Hazrat

Abu Muhammad Chishti (d.1020). The latter had tied his feet with a rope and started meditation

in a very deep well that situated in his house.189 But in Chishti order this Chillah popularized by

Sheikh Farid.

Hazrat Baba Farid was very happy on receiving permission to performed Chillah-i-

Ma'kus, but he wished to do so where no one could see him. It proved very difficult to find such

a place. Moreover, Baba Sahib desired that there should be a tree over such well, that it be

situated in a mosque, and that in this mosque he could find very faithful mu’azan (a man who

asked azan for five times a day). When Baba Farid found no such place in Delhi, he moved on to

Hansi. But unfortunately, there too he found no suitable mosque or well. After he had visited

many places search for his site, Baba Farid finally located a suitable mosque in Uch (in

Bahawalpur). There he met a mu’azan named Khawaja Rashid Ahmad, who was a native of

Hansi and a devotee of Hazrat Baba Farid, while the mosque (named as Masjid-i-Hajjiyan) had a

well, as well as a tree. Baba Farid stayed some days there before he became fully convinced of

the true faith of his devoted mu’azan. He then explained his secret plan to him, but only after a

pledging him not to reveal his intention to anybody. When all the people retired to their houses

after offering evening prayer, Baba Farid asked him to go to the market and purchase a strong

186 ibid., p. 31.187 Sayid Muhammad Akbar Hussaini, Jawam’al Kalm, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 399.188 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010) p. 761; also see Siar ul Aulia, p. 133.189 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 96.

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rope. The mu’azan did so. Hazrat Baba Farid did his wudu, tied his feet with one end of the rope

and fastened the other end of the rope to the branches of the tree so as to hang, head downwards.

Then he began his worship, which lasted till the Morning Prayer. Before dawn, as he had

instructed, the mu’azan came and informed the Sheikh in a slow voice that he had arrived. The

Sheikh asked him if dawn had indeed come, and the mu’azan replied it was indeed near. Baba

Farid asked him to pull the rope and coming out of the well became busy worshiping in the

mosque.190 In this manner Hazrat Baba Farid performed his Chillah-i-Ma'kus for forty nights,

without anyone learning about his Chillah.

Somebody once questioned Hazrat Banda Nawaz Gisu Diraz (d.1422) as to why blood

did not come out Baba Farid’s mouth while he hung downward in the well. The Sheikh replied

that due to his very hard mujahadat and meditation, Baba Sahib had not enough blood in his

body, even his intestines, and so his veins became dry.191 Baba Farid also explained this in his

own couplet “Farida rati rat na nekle je tan cheere koi. Jo tan rate Rab sayuon, ten tan rat na

ho,”192 (“if somebody had cut my body he would have found not even a little drop of blood in my

body, because one is deeply immersed in Allah, and he can bear no stain”).

While Hazrat Baba Farid was in Delhi with his Sheikh, Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz

came there for a second time. As a result Sheikh Farid became the only Sheikh in the whole of

Chishti Sufi Order to be blessed by both his Sheikh and the Sheikh of his Sheikh. Hazrat Qutb-

ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki presented his disciples to his own Sheikh and the Hazrat Gharib Nawaz

(d.1235), after giving his blessing to everyone asked if anybody was missing from the disciples

who had been called before him. Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din replied that a derwaish named Mus'ood

was absent because he was sitting in his Chillah.193 Both great saints then went to Baba Farid’s

190 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), pp. 132-33.Also see. Jawam’al Kalm. (p. 398). Although there is little bit differences as the author of Jawam’al Kalm told that Hazrat Baba Farid after prayer of Chasht again come to the well and worship there till the prayer of zuhr.191 Sayid Muhammad Akbar Hussaini, Jawam’al Kalm, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 399.192 Saeedia Durani and Rashid Maten, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra. Shloke,53, p. 44 ; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid. Shloke, 53, p. 36 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne. Shloke, 51, p. 194 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid. Shloke, 54, p. 52 ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid. P. 68; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, Shloke, 57, p.102; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-i- Faridi. shloke, 56, p. 49; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali. Shloke, 51, p. 178.193 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 189.

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hujra, where the latter had become too weak to stand to greet them. He placed his head on the

earth194and Hazrat Gharib Nawaz asked Qutb-ud-Din how long had been burning himself in the

fire of meditation (mujahadat), and then offered to bestow him whatever wanted. Hazrat Qutb-

ud-Din replied that in the presence of his Sheikh, he did not have courage to do so. At that point,

Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz stood up and asked Qutb-ud-Din to do likewise, and both saints

bestowed their blessing to Hazrat Baba Farid.195 Speaking of Baba Farid, Hazrat Muin-ud-Din

often said “Baba Bakhtiar, you have caught a big falcon who will only build his nest on the holy

tree of heaven (sedra tul muntaha),” adding that Farid was a lamp that would illuminate the

families or groups of derwaishes.196 All these prophecies of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz proved to be

true and Hazrat Baba Sahib bestowed his spirituality and esoteric knowledge on a large number

of derwaishes and common people.

Baba Farid Leaves the Abad (Delhi) and Come to Hansi.

It is uncertain how much time Baba Farid spent in Delhi. What is quite clear is that he requested

his Sheikh to allow him to leave that city when he realized that he had become popular among

the people. He had often attended in the sermons of Hazrat Badr-ud-Din Ghaznavi, a prominent

disciple and khalifa of Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki. Once Sheikh Badr praised Hazrat

Baba Farid in his speech, and used very extravagant words to express his respect.197 Baba Farid

therefore resolved to depart Delhi and approached his Sheikh for permission to do so once he had

completed his spiritual training. Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din began to weep but allowed him to depart,

saying “Maulana Farid-ud-Din” he said “I know that you will go to Hansi” Baba Farid replied he

would do so only if ordered. At this, Qutb-ud-Din said “Go! it is predestined that in the future,

when my last days come, you will be not here”. He then asked everybody who were sitting there

to pray for his dearest disciple.198 In this way Sheikh Farid left the Abad in order to keep its

attraction and temptations at arm’s length.

194 Ibid., p. 189 .195 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 136.196 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 29.197 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner), p. 123.198 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p.137.

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Accordingly, Hazrat Baba Farid moved from Delhi to Hansi. This town was an unpopular

place as compared to Delhi. In his mind, the concept of Abad and wilderness was quite clear, and

this is why he abandoned Abad (Delhi a center of urban culture, as well center of Islamic Sufism

and Islamic learning); to move to a backward garrison town. Yet Islam and the conqueror of

India had come to Hansi first: it is located in Hussar district, and sultan Mus'ood bin Mahmud of

Ghazna conquered it in 1036. After that the ancestors of Parithvi Raj taken it back again and,

finally, after the Second Battle of Train in 1192, the army of Muhammad Ghuri had recaptured

it.199 Thereafter it served as strong military cantonment under the Muslims.

After a short while in Hansi, Hazrat Baba Farid had become popular with the Sufis as

well as the common people. When he had arrived in Hansi, Maulana Noor Turk was a famous

scholar as well as mystic who also had already there. Before the latter’s own arrival at Hansi, he

had spent most of his time in Mecca and Delhi. Hazrat Noor Turk was delivering his sermon and

did not yet know about Hazrat Baba Farid. Although, the latter was dressed raged clothes, as

soon as he set his foot in the mosque, Maulana Noor Turk declared to the people: “O Muslims,

the man who judges all matters and who draws distinctions between the true and false, has

arrived, and he should be praised as the most righteous and greatest king”.200 This incident

popularized Hazrat Baba Farid among the masses of that town, so he made up his mind to leave

Hansi as soon as possible.

Sheikh Farid left Hansi and His Beloved Disciple Hazrat Jamal-ud-Din, to the Sake of

Meditation and Seclusion.

In Hansi Hazrat Baba Farid nominated Hazrat Jamal-ud-Din Hanswi as his khalifa. As Sheikh he

felt much love for his disciple and spent at least twelve long years in that town because of him 201

(although latter scholars like K.A Nizami and Abdullah Chaghatai disagree and argue that, in

fact, he spent nineteen or twenty years there).202 Whenever Baba Farid gave his khalafat Namah

(approval letter of a Khalafat) to any of his disciple, he advised him to ratify it with Hazrat

199 Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj Shakar, (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), p. 31.200 Siar ul Aulia, p. 124 ;Fawaid ul Fawad, pp. 360 -361.201 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 273.202 Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj Shakar, (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), p. 32 ;Dr. M. Abdullah Chaghatai, Pakpattan and Sheikh Farid, (Lahore: Kitab Khana Nauras, 1968), p. 17.

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Jamal-ud-Din Hanswi. Hazrat Nizam ud Din Aulia (d.1325) also approved his khalafat Namah to

this great Sheikh. When one disciple of Baba Farid came to Hazrat Jamal-ud-Din to have his

khalafat Namah endorsed, that Sheikh tore it in to pieces. When that disciple returned to his

Sheikh and told of the entire incident, Hazrat Baba Farid simply replied that what Jamal had torn

he could not replace.203 (Some scholars argue, that disciple was Hazrat Sabir (d.1291), who in

response blocked sheikh Jamal’s silsilla)204. Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakriya (d.1262) once offered

his all of disciples as a replacement of Hazrat Jamal-ud-Din Hanswi,205and Hazrat Baba Farid

sometimes declared: “Jamal, I have a desire to sacrifice my life for you”.206

Hazrat Baba Farid was in Hansi when his own Sheikh finally breathed his last. He heard

Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar call out to him in a dream that same night, so he left for Delhi, but only

reached the city four days after his Sheikh’s death. Hazrat Hameed-ud-Din Naguri (d.1244)

handed over to Baba Farid the relics-the robe (khirqa) and wooden shoes, the prayer mat and

stick (aasah) of Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki since the deceased Sheikh advised his

disciples of this wish,207 indeed, although Hazrat Badr-ud-Din Ghaznavi and some other disciples

of Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din had hoped that their Sheikh would nominate them as his successor or

khalifa,208 no one raised any objection about Sheikh Farid’s nomination.

In this new position, Hazrat Baba Sahib spent some of his time in Delhi (possibly three or

seven days) and then again returned to Hansi. The reason was that one of his devotees, a man

named Serhenga had come from Hansi to visit his Sheikh, but the guard would not admit him.

One day when Baba Sahib came out from the sheikh’s house (where he was living at that time),

Serhenga fell down at his feet and started weeping. When Baba Farid asked him the reason for

his tears, his devotee said that in Hansi they could see him easily, but that here it was too

difficult. The Sheikh then decided to live in Delhi no longer, and when some pointed out that his

Sheikh had nominated him as his successor, he replied that the blessing bestowed on him by his

203 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 273.204 Sheikh Abdul Rehman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), pp. 852-53.205 Muhammad Ghousi Shattari, Gulzar-i- Abrar, tr. Fazl Ahmad Jiuri (Lahore: Muktaba Sultan Alamgir, 2005), p. 54.206 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 273.207 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 348.208 Ibid., pp. 347-48.

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Sheikh would work as well either in the Abad ( Delhi, the center of urban Muslim culture) or the

wilderness or Jungle (an uncivilized place).209

We saw above how when Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din asked to Hazrat Baba Farid for Tayy, and

had eaten pebbles that turned into sugar, he had become known as Shakar Bar or Shakar Gunj,210

as well as the story of the traders whose sugar had turned into salt,211 which is dubious or

apocryphal. During his childhood Hazrat Baba Farid had been very fond of sugar, and his

mother, who was a very pious woman, was fully aware of this. She told young Farid that Allah

would give him sugar if he offered his morning prayer consistently. Baba Farid, who was already

a very fond of sugar, started offering his prayers regularly, and every night her mother put a

small packet of sugar into his prayer mat. But when he reached at the age of twelve, and his

mother stopped this practice, he still found this packet regularly. On hearing this, his mother

Hazrat Qursam bibi was surprised and realized that the gift actually did come from the Almighty

Allah.212 Again, one day, it is said when his parents had no sweets, his father placed pebbles in

his prayer mat but these had turned into sweets.213 Setting such stories aside, it is more probable

that he become famous under the name of Gunj-i-Shakar because of the sympathetic, gentle and

loving attitude with which he treated everyone,214 be they Muslim or non-Muslim, rich or poor.

Indeed, he paid great attention to the poor.

Critical Time for the Chishti Saints.

The year 1235/633 had a great importance in the history of Islamic Sufism, as well as in socio-

economic and political history of India. Sultan Al-Tutamash, who himself was a Sufi, died in that

year,215 as did Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar kaki.216 Furthermore, in the view of many scholars,

209 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami. Akbar Book Sellers (Lahore: 2006), p. 348.210 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), pp. 129-31.Also see Akhbar ul Akhyar, (pp.144-45); Siar ul Aqtab, p.188.211Gulzar-i-Abrar, p. 49; also see Akhbar ul Akhyar, pp. 146-47.212 Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj Shakar, (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), p. 117.213 Sant Singh Sekhon & Kartar Singh Duggal, A History of Punjabi literature, (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), pp. 16-17.214 B.S. Anand, Baba Farid, (Lahore: Sucheet Kitab Ghar, 2001), p. 21.215 Ibid., p. 254.216 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner), p. 116.

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Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz also died in Rajb 6, 633/1235,217 just a few months before Qutb-

ud-Din. Others however have argued that Hazrat Gharib Nawaz was died in 1229/627.218

Whatever the case, political decadence followed immediately on the death of the sultan in the

form of the wars of succession between the descendants of Al-Tutamash. Initially, Rukn-ud-Din

Firuz (r.1236-36), an incompetent son of the deceased sultan was named as the new sultan of

India, but ruled for only few months during which he spent most of his time drinking and in

sexual excess, consequently, the real ruler was his mother known as shah Turkan. Meanwhile

rebellions and revolts erupted from one corner to the other of the Indian Subcontinent.219

In those terrible times, some Chishti Sufis also suffered tragically. Among the most

important were Hazrat Badr-ud-Din Ghaznavi and Saiyidi Maula. A man named Nizam-ud-Din

had built a monastery to obtain the support of the former Sheikh, but as soon as the government

consolidated its position, an accountability commission opened inquiries. Nizam-ud-Din was

involved in embezzlement, so Hazrat Badr-ud-Din Ghaznavi wrote a later to Hazrat Baba Farid

to request to the latter pray for him (Badr) as well. Sheikh Farid replied that “anybody who did

not follow their Sheikhs should be treated equally,” which mean that there was no tradition of

monasteries among Sufi Chishti Sheikhs.220 Saiyidi Maula was also persecuted when he turned

against his Sheikh’s advice. He was the disciple of Hazrat Baba Farid, who had advised him to

keep the king and nobles at arm’s length while he stayed in Delhi.

Despite this warning Saiyidi Maula had established cordial relations with many nobles,

and especially with a Qazi named Jalal-ud-Din Kashani, some descendants of late sultan,

Ghiyas-ud-Din Balban, the Kotwal (a high rank like wazir ), and many of the other strongest

nobles.221 He was a true mystic and as qualified as his predecessor Chishti Sheikhs. Yet when his

followers demanded the abdication of the strong sultan Jalal-ud-Din khalji (r.1290-96) and

217 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir brothers, 1997), p. 68;also see Gulzar-I Abrar, p. 29; Aab-i-Kusar, pp. 204,207-208 described March 1235, Rajb 6, 633 as a date and year of Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz’s death. The Holy Biography of Hazrat Khawaja MuinudDin Chishti, p. 161; Sufism The Heart of Islam, p. 171.

218Abu ul Hassan Ali Nadwi, Tarikh-i-Dawat-o-Azeemat vol.3, (Karachi: Mujlas-i-Nasheryat-i-Islam, 1983), p. 31; also see Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, (Lahore: Zareen Art Press, 1961), p. 70.

219 Muhammad Qasim Farishta, Tarikh -I Farishta.vol, 1, tr. Abdul Hye Khawaja (Lahore: Ghulam Ali and Sons, 1974), pp. 257-58.220Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 224.221 Zia ud Din Barni, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, tr. Sayid Muin al-Haq (Lahore: Markazi Urdu Board ,1969), p. 320.

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appointed Saiyidi as sultan,222 they failed and he was executed. Moreover, Hazrat Baba Farid had

been eye-witness to the perils faced by his own Sheikh thanks to the jealousy of Najm-ud-Din

Sughra, and Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi (d.1266) also had faced a same threat from the same

Sheikh-ul-Islam. Baba Farid had concluded all this happened because they lived in the Abad

(capital), near to the sultan and mixed with the nobles and ministers. Hazrat Badr-ud-Din

Ghaznavi and Saiyidi Maula were persecuted because they lived in capital.

The 13th century saw the decline of Muslim rule. The Mongols defeated Jalal-ud-Din

khawarzam shah in 1218 and took over control of Central Asia. They proved to be a gale and

storm which destroyed Muslim civilization at large. In India the sultans defeated them due to

their strong armies and such brave commanders like Zafar khan,223 Prince Muhammad

(d.1183),224 Ala-ud-Din (r.1296-1316), Jalal-Din-khalji (r.1290-96)225 and Ghiyas-ud-Din

Tughlaq (r.1220-25).226 These last three were sultans who personally fought on the battlefield

and defeated the Mongols. Prince Muhammad, a favorite son of Ghiyas ud Din Balban along

with Zafar khan proved to be a wall blocking the Mongols and protecting their people. Both were

martyred in the battle, the latter because the treachery of Algh khan.227Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din, a

son of Hazrat Baba Farid, was also a brave general and warrior known as Ali the Second due to

his bravery, was martyred while fighting the Mongols as well.228

In a time when the possibility of peace hardly seemed to exist, Hazrat Baba Farid brought

a massage of peace and harmony to the whole of Subcontinent. He himself settled in the Punjab

from where his eminent disciples and khulafa carried his message to the rest of India. In the end,

the Subcontinent emerged as the sole and supreme Islamic empire in the two aspects; it was a

strong Muslim military power as well as the mystic center of Islam. The Sufis and the

intellectuals of other Muslim countries fled before the Mongols and sought refuge in India, from

the terrible Changiz Khan (d.1227), and numerous distinguished families such as the Sayids

arrived in India.229

222 Ibid., pp. 321-22.223 Zia ud Din Barni, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, tr. Sayid Muin al-Haq (Lahore: Markazi Urdu Board ,1969), pp. 387-88.224 ibid., p. 190.225 Ibid., p. 333.226 Muhammad Qasim Farishta, Tarikh -I Farishta.vol.1, .tr. Abdul Hye Khawaja (Lahore: Ghulam Ali and Sons ,1974), p. 377.227 Zia ud Din Barni, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, tr. Sayid Muin al-Haq (Lahore: Markazi Urdu Board, 1969), pp. 387-88.228 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 288.229 Zia ud Din Barni, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, tr. Sayid Muin al-Haq (Lahore: Markazi Urdu Board, 1969), p. 192.

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Baba Farid Seeks the Wilderness or Jungle.

Although Hansi was not as backward or as much of a wilderness as Sheikh Baba Farid had

hoped,230 while, it was not the Abad like Delhi, yet it remained an ancient and famous town with

a large population. Therefore Hazrat Baba Farid finally left Hansi in the safe hands of his

beloved khalifa Hazrat Jamal-ud-Din Hanswi and moved on to the Punjab. Driven by some inner

or spiritual desire, Sheikh Farid was searching for a quiet, deserted and isolated place in which

he could perform his meditations without disturbance.231 Hazrat Baba Farid had arrived in

Ajodhan (Pakpattan) after leaving Hansi, but first he had visited various other places of Indian

Subcontinent, and especially those in what now known as Pakistan.

Baba Farid stayed for some time in Sindh and there performed meditation as well as

Chillahs, the form of seclusion requiring forty days fasts. In Karachi, he performed a Chillah a

hundred yards from the present shrine of Mungho Pir; the latter being one of his disciples and a

khalifa.232 He also performed these Chillahs in Sewan Sharif, at the place known as “four

friends” since, along with Hazrat Baba Farid, Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalander (d.1274/673), Hazrat

Baha-ud-Din Zakriya Multani (d.1262/661)and Hazrat Jalal-ud-Din Surkh Bukhari (d.1272/671),

all performed their Chillahs there.233 In Assam there is a shrine whose Sajjadah Nashin met with

Khawaja Muslim Nizami in 1945, and told him that Hazrat Baba Farid had performed a Chillah

there as well. Elsewhere, he had performed his Chillah in Lahore near the shrine of Hazrat Data-

Gunj Bukhash (d.1076), which still exists and is known as the mound of Hazrat Baba Farid. In

Kular Kahar, which is located in district Jhelum, Hazrat Baba Farid also performed Chillah and

the Sajjadah Nashin of Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki, named Qazi Muhammad Saeed

Qatbi, came there himself to visit that place. In Chita Gong Hazrat Baba Farid also performed his

Chillah and Haji Mud Khan the friend of Khawaja Muslim Nizami visited this site.234 Hazrat

Baba Farid visited all these places after leaving Hansi, and he stayed at each for some time

before finally reaching Ajodhan, now known as Pakpattan.

230 B.S. Anand, Baba Farid, (Lahore: Sucheet Kitab Ghar, 2001), p. 30.231Ibid., p. 33.232 Khawaja Muslim Nizami, .Anwar ul Farid, (Lahore: Zaviya Publishers, 2006), pp. 499-500.233 Ibid., p. 500.234 Ibid., p. 499.

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All in all, then, it is clear that for his whole life Hazrat Baba Farid had tried his best to

keep the Abad at arm’s length. Moreover, he spent every moment of his life worshiping his

Almighty Allah, be it in prostration, in fasting or in Chillah, and he tried his utmost to please his

Allah. Allah himself says that: “there are those who turn to Allah, who serve Him, who praise

Him, who fast for Him, who bow down, who prostrate themselves, who enjoin what is good and

forbid what is evil, and who keep the limits of Allah, and (O Prophet) tell these Momenin the

good news”.235 Form his childhood until his death, Hazrat Baba Farid followed this ayah and in

return, Allah Almighty gave him great rewards. While people of all religions still show equal

respect and pay tribute to him.

235 The Holy Quran, Al Toba .112.

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Chapter 3

The Concept of Abad and Jungle in the Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid: At

Final Twenty Four Years at Ajodhan.

As one of the most popular Sufis in the history of Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent and a man who

spent all of his life seeking to please Allah Almighty. Hazrat Baba Farid taught that the best way

to achieve this goal was by seclusion, meditation and treating others well. He believed that to

obtain the divine purpose or inspiration, one must control one’s self, and used fascinating similes

in his poetry to teach people moral lessons.

Meaning and explanation of Abad and Jungle (Wilderness)

‘Abad’ the Urdu word means a “civilized place”, or an urbanised area. As Sufis have no interest

in the worldly affairs, they consider such environment to worthless and obnoxious. According to

Muslim mystics or Sufis, Allah is the final destination and every human being should worship

and obey His orders. But Abad or the world is a place in which human beings indulge in worldly

affairs and forget their Master; Allah Almighty. To Sufis, then, the Abad diverts people from

their Creator, so they taught people to avoid the lusts and luxuries of this mortal world. Delhi had

become a thriving city long before the Muslim invasions of India. After the conquest of northern

India (1193), Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Ghuri (d.1206), made Delhi his capital. In his wake

there was an influx of Sufis and theologians in to this city, Hazrat Baba Farid being one of them.

He stayed for only a short period before moving to Hansi, but he also left that town to settle

finally in Ajodhan, at that time a ‘Jungle’ or rural place. Hazrat Baba Farid chose these places in

his attempt to renounce Abad.

Tark-i-Duniya (“Jungle” or “wilderness”) is another Urdu term. Literally, it means

‘forest’ or a “place where people avoid living”. It can also be described as a backward place

where uncivilized people are living. According to Sufis, the wilderness or Jungle is a place of

calmness and loneliness. It does not necessarily mean that it must be a literal forest or desert, but

can also refer to a place with a minimum number of inhabitants. For Hazrat Baba Farid, it is the

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place without worldly temptations, so that an individual could easily worship Allah Almighty.

He stressed that unless one gave up a love of worldly things, one could not achieve the divine

blessings. This is because the desires of the world and love of the wealth makes all of your

prayers and meditations unacceptable before Almighty Allah.236

Jungle plays an important role in the processes of meditation, chillahs, mujahadat, and

riyazat. The Prophets, Sufis, Saints, Yogis and Bhughshu all chose the Jungle for their

meditations. The prime necessity for meditation is a place where no one can disturb you, and this

can only be found in the Jungle. For instance, when Hazrat Abraham came to Mecca, it was a

Jungle/desert where there was no sign of a living creature. When he told his wife Hazrat Hajrah

that it was Allah’s will that they live in this place, she agreed.237 Living in the Jungle, one’s

material desires as well as one’s approach towards the materialist world should be changed.

According to Abdul Qadir Jillani (d.1166), in seeking the blessings of Allah one should cut-off

one’s relations with all other people and their worldly affairs, as if was dead to them.238Since the

prophets had to propagate their religion, they could not spend all of their time in seclusion. Yet

the Sufis were free to choose to live in Abad or in the Jungle. The Prophet Moses got divine in

the Jungle or wilderness of Tuya (sinai). As Allah Almighty said; “I am without any doubt thy

Allah. Put off your shoes; have no doubt that you are in the sacred Jungle of Tuya”. 239 The

commandments of Allah were revealed to Hazrat Musa (Moses) (PBUH) on the Mount of Toor.

Hazrat Musa talked to Allah on that mount. So it means that even the Prophets received Allah’s

blessing in the Jungle, not the Abad.

Similarly, the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (d.632) (PBUH) spent most of his time in

the cave of Hira before receiving revelation. Even the first revelation came upon him in Hira.

This shows that to gain spirituality, calmness and loneliness is necessary. For that, the Jungle is a

suitable place which is away from the Abad and so full of calm. In this respect, according to the

sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the best jihad is not fighting the infidels but to struggle

against your ego (nafs). The Sufi sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani (d.1166) interprets this as meaning

236 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 230.237 Ammad ud din Muhammad bin Ismail (imam Abne khathir) Qasus ul Ambeya, tr. Abu Soban Sayid Muhammad Asadullah Asad (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2003), p. 173.238 Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, Fatuh Al Ghaib, tr. Sayid Muhammad Farooq al Qadri (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation, 1998), p. 19.239 The Holy Quran. Taha, verse 12.

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that through mediation, one should reach such a stage that one able to kill or control his ego. At

that point, his inner-self (nafs) becomes like a broken bowl, in which neither pure nor dirty water

can stand.240 In this case “the pure and dirty water” means ridding oneself of all the good and bad

aspects of this material world through mediation and prayers.

The Concept of Abad and Jungle in Other Religions of India before Islam

The history of mysticism in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent is very old it pre-existed the arrival

of Islam, so that Muslims were not the pioneers of mysticism there.241 There is a long list of

seers, saints, Sufis and yogis who meditated in the Jungle. They all left the Abad, adopted hard

chillahs and meditation, and lived in the seclusion in the Jungle. Ram, who supposedly died in

5114 BC, had spent almost thirteen long years in seclusion in the Jungle of Dandaka. 242 There

were many ascetics and yogis in Hindu mysticism who lived their life in the wilderness. Yoga is

derived from the word yuj, which means ‘to join’. Hindus perform Yoga to attain spirituality, so

through the practice of yoga they can join the ultimate source of being. The important stages of

meditation and yoga are ‘Asceticism’, ‘Contemplation’, ‘Ponderings’ and ‘Resoluteness’.243

These stages require a high degree of individual will power and stamina if one is to reach the

level of perfection.

The Jains religion also advocates the concept the Jungle, meditation and seclusion.

Mahavira (d.500 B.C), the founder of Jainism and a contemporary of Buddha spent most of his

life in the Jungle. Buddha (d.483 B.C), too, started meditation at the age of twenty-nine.

Mahavira gave up the Abad and began his meditation and self-mortification in the Jungle at age

twenty-eight, and so received the divine power. At the age of forty, he then propagated his

religion until his death in B.C. 500.244 All recognized that without leaving the world and worldly

temptations, it is very difficult to achieve such spiritual power. In mysticism be it Hindu,

Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or Jainist, the Jungle or wilderness was the most important 240 Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, Fatuh Al Ghaib, tr. Sayid Muhammad Farooq al Qadri (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation, 1998), p. 23.241 Sayed Shah Khurso Hussaini, Sayyid Muhammad Al-Husayni-Gisu Diraz (721/1321 -825/1422) on Sufism, (New Delhi: Idarah-I-Adabiyat-I-Delli, 1983), p. 1.242 History of India (in 9 volumes) vol-1. Ed. A.V. Williams Jackson (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1906), p. 120.243 Ibid., pp. 258-60.244 Anada K. Coomaraswmy & I. B. Honer, The Living Thoughts of Gotama the Buddha, (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1982), p. 324.

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environment to achieve that divine goal. By abandoning Abad, an ascetic can achieve the status

of true saint, since this is only possible when one has adopted seclusion and isolated oneself from

the material world.245 Silence has a recognized place in every religion.

The Bhagavad Gita preaches that one must become silent and that the voice of truth can

be heard only in silence.246 Like Buddhism, the Bhagavad Gita also described and focused on the

selection of the site for meditation. The yogi must find a place that is situated on the bank of a

river, on the top of the mountain, or in a desert.247 It is also clearly states that the spiritual life is

not one of offering prayer, but one of deep piety and silent meditation.248

Buddhism places great stress on seclusion and meditation. This is why it has approved

various kinds of yoga and places due importance on the “selection of the place” for practicing it.

In Buddhism one can select nine different places for meditation, and these underline the

importance of “Jungle” or wilderness in the Buddhist religion. These nine places are the open

forest, the root of the tree, a mountain, a hill side, a rock cave, a cemetery, a deep Jungle, a

desert, and a mound of straw.249

The word yoga as used in the Bhagavad Gita often has the meaning of to ‘concentrate

on work or action’. Do your works as sacrifice, remove egoism, give up desires and attachments

with the materialistic world: only by these steps one can gain immortality and divine power.250

The Upanishad, (the Hindu Sacred Books) also teaches the same lesson. Anybody who has

relinquished worldly desires, and whose action is free of lust and egoism, can be successful in his

goal. That is why the Upanishad divides the human mind into two categories; the one with

desires and egoism is impure, and the other which is free of worldly desires is pure.251

245 S. RadhaKrishnan, The Brahma Sutra: The Philosophy of Spiritual Life, (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1960), p. 110.246 S. RadhaKrishnan, The BhagavadGita, (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1948), p. 102.247Ibid., pp. 192-93.248 Ibid., pp. 198-99.249 Klaus K. Klostermaier, Buddhism: A Short Introduction, (Oxford: Oneworld publications, 1999), p. 125. 250 S. RadhaKrishnan, The BhagavadGita, (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1948), pp. 134-35.251Ibid., p. 128.

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The Concept of Abad and Jungle among Sufis of Islam before Hazrat Baba Farid

Islam preaches about Jungle (wilderness) and seclusion more than any other religion. The Holy

Prophet (PBUH) said that the best man among you is one who has lived in the top of the hill or

with his goats. When anyone wants to adopt seclusion, he must make his mind that he is saving

the people from his own evil designs rather than adopting privacy to protect himself from the bad

deeds of people.252 Of course, Hazrat Baba Farid (1175/1265) was not the first Sufi in Islam to

teach the importance of the Jungle, seclusion, or privacy, since almost all the prominent Islamic

Sufis teaches us about the Jungle or the seclusion as well.

Abu Bakr Daqaq (d.898/283), a prominent Sufi in early Abbasid period (r.750-1258),

said that he perceived the righteousness of both worlds through seclusion. The theologian Jerrari

(d.923) argued that anybody who preferred the Jungle (seclusion) has achieved his goal. Dhul al

Noon, the Egyptian (d.861), declared seclusion (Jungle) the best environment for meditation.

Abu Abdullah Ramli said that seclusion ought to be one’s best friend and hunger should be his

food. Hazrat Junaid of Baghdad (d.910) emphasized that baring the hardships of seclusion is

much easier than establishing relations with people. Furthermore, he advised that anybody who

has a desire to protect his religion, body and heart, and how seeks spiritual calm and peace,

should hold himself aloof from worldly affairs. According to Abu-al-Abbas Damghani, Shebli

(d.946) advised him to adopt seclusion and cut-back on gatherings with people. Almost identical

views were expressed by Hazrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (d.797). He said that to meet with other

people only occasionally is the medicine of the heart, and that when Allah wants to bestow His

blessings on someone, then He makes him aware of the need for seclusion.253

In general, Sufis exerted their best efforts to avoid the materialistic world, and this is

well-illustrated by the emphasis on seclusion and meditation in the teachings of Hazrat Baba

Farid. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani (d.1166), popularly known as Hazrat Ghous-ul-Azam and

founder of Qadriyya Sufi Order, was not only a great Sufi but also a great theologian. He himself

lived in the Jungle for a long period before finally returning to Abad (Baghdad) to preach

religion to the people. He said that one must give up lust and the pleasures of this material world.

252Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 213.253Ibid., pp. 215-217.

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Sari Saqti (d.867), the preceptor of Junaid of Baghdad once maintained that one should never be

the neighbour of a rich man and wealthy theologians.254

Ajodhan as a Jungle and its Historical Background

Ajodhan was a Jungle when Hazrat Baba Sahib appeared. It was an unpopular and backward

place.255 Its people were superstitious and enemies of Sufis and derwaishes.256 There is debate

over just when Hazrat Baba Farid moved there and just how many years he spent there. Different

sources give different accounts.257 But it seems that he spent some twenty-four years in Ajodhan,

having arrived in 1241 A.D. When Abdullah the Qazi of Ajodhan, presented himself to Hazrat

Baba Farid, he apologize for the perils endured at his hand by the great Sheikh for eighteen

years, but said now he was obeying the Holy Quran.258This means that Hazrat Baba Farid had

already spent eighteen years in Ajodhan by the time the Qazi came to his Jamaat Khana, where

he then lived for another six years. In the meanwhile his disciple as well as his younger brother

Hazrat Najib ud din Mutawakkil visited his sheikh nineteen times and arrived in Pakpattan every

year.259 Before that he had spent some time in Khatowal, his birth place. But it was too near to

Multan and, when people became aware of the presence of a great Sufi, they crowed around him

and visited him day and night. For this reason he departed that town and went to Ajodhan, which

was located on the bank of river Sutlej.

There are different stories concerning the history of the Ajodhan, but it is a fact that it is

an ancient site. Khawaja Muslim Nizami argues that it was a capital of the Ajodhya state, whose

rulers were said to be the predecessors of Ram (c.6th century BC). During the historical battle of

254 Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, Ghanyatul Talebeen, tr. Maulana Ahmad Mudrasi (Lahore: Muktaba Rehmaniyya, 1394 A.H), p. 665.255 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 125.256Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 1997), p. 142.257 In Siar ul Aulia, it is mentioned that Hazrat Baba Farid spent sixteen and twenty four years p.125; Wahid Bakhsh Sial, Maqam -i-Gunj Shakar. Mentioned sixteen years. P.145; Khawaja Muslim Nizami, .Anwar ul Farid .argued eighteen years. P.101; Dr. M. Abdullah Chaghatai, Pakpattan and Baba Farid Ganj-i-Shakar. He mentioned thirty years. P.18; N.K. Singh, Sufis of India Pakistan and Bangladesh vol.1. (New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 2002) surprisingly mentioned sixty years. p.144.258 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d), p. 152.259 Ibid., p. 262.

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Kurus and Pandavas (Mahabharata) its name was Dhara Nagri.260 It was known as Ajodhan from

the name of an ancient local tribe named Yaudheya or Johiya.261 And it was Akbar (r.1556-

1605), who changed its name to Pakpattan.262 Since Baba Farid had long since converted almost

all the people of the western Punjab to Islam, and due to the high respect and esteem he enjoyed

among both Muslims and non-Muslims, people already were referring to ancient Ajodhan as

Pakpattan (the Ferry of the Pure).263 But when Hazrat Baba Farid had settled there he had found

the inhabitants were very rigid and bad-tampered, and that they had little respect for the Sufis.

He declared that he was delighted to find such place.264 It was, he said, a proper place for his

dwelling.265

At that time the majority of the population was Hindu, not Muslim.266 Not only were the

Hindu yogis popular because of their magical powers, but some Muslims also indulged in this

practice and presented themselves as expert magicians. In particular one Shahab the magician,

and his son were popular among the Muslim community in Ajodhan. When Hazrat Baba Farid

(1175/1265) arrived he found that one yogi was making the life of the inhabitants miserable. One

woman told Hazrat Baba Sahib that if she did not give milk to this yogi, it turned into blood. The

Sheikh promised to protect her from the curse of this notorious yogi, who in the end bowed to

the spiritual power of the chief of the Chishti Sheikh. On surrendering, he requested Baba Sahib

to absolve him and his pupils, and the Sheikh forgave them all.267

Abad and Jungle in the life and Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid

The concept of both Abad (Duniya) and Jungle (Tark-i-Duniya) had long as a goal in the existed

life and teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid. Before settling in Ajodhan, he had had an urgent desire

260 Khawaja Muslim Nizami, Anwar ul Farid (Lahore: Zaviya publishers, 2006), p. 98.261 Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj-i-Shakar, (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), p. 36.262 Khawaja Muslim Nizami, .Anwar ul Farid, (Lahore: Zaviya publishers, 2006), p. 99.263 Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj-i-Shakar. (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), p. 36. foot note no.2.264 Khair-ul Majaalis, Maulana Hameed Qalander (Karachi: Wahid book Depo, n.d.), p. 82.265 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir brothers, 1997), p. 142.266Jafar Qasimi, Baba Farid ud Din Masud Ganj -I- Shakar, (Lahore: R. C. D. Cultural Institute West Pakistan Branch, 1971), p. 14. 267 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 190-91.

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to spend his life in the Jungle. As mentioned earlier, he had already spent some time in seclusion,

during which period he had met with no one. Later on, however he had given up the concept of

Tark-i-Duniya (renunciation of the world or the wilderness), and again opened his door to any

one, without distinction of caste and creed.

Sheikh Farid’s Philosophy of Liberalism and Love for Human beings

Baba Farid drew no distinction between the Hindus and Muslims, and he disliked the view of the

orthodox ulema that non-Muslim were disbelievers. As a Sufi, he had not any preaching centre

or any aim to convert the people. But if someone shows their desire for conversion, he readily

converted them.268 When he had first thought of leaving Ajodhan, on that very night he saw his

preceptor Hazrat Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki (d.1236), who ordered him to remain there. Allah

Almighty also gave him signs to stay in Ajodhan and said “O preceptor, do not worry, and bear

the cruelty of the people.” After that Baba Sahib opened his door to everybody,269 whether they

were government ministers or sultans, poor or rich, Muslims or non-Muslims. Although his door

remained opened to everyone, he often recited verses that “anybody who has a desire for

popularity and publicity, his house is outside the Sheikh’s room.270 In other words, such people

did not come to Hazrat Baba Farid.

He himself lived very liberal life as compared to his preceptors. He allowed the sultan

Nassir ud din Mahmud (r. 1246-1266) to meet him along with his army,271 while most other

Chishti Sufis avoided relations with kings and rulers. He took Hindus as his disciples without

converting them into Islam.272 We cannot find such a liberal policy elsewhere in the whole of the

Sufi schools of thought in the Indian Subcontinent. There is not another single Sufi in the history

of Islam who accepted non-Muslims as his disciples. Furthermore, Baba Sahib gave special

respect to non-Muslims,273 as a result of which he was the most popular of all the Muslim saints

268 B.S. Anand, Baba Farid, (Lahore: Sucheet Kitab Ghar, 2001), pp. 30-31.269 Sayid Sabah al- Din Abdul Rahman, Bazm-i-Sufia (Karachi: National Book Foundation, 1990), p. 135.270 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 126.271 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 304.272Medieval Bhakti Movements in India, ed. N.N. Bhattacharyya. (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1989), p. 77. 273Jafar Qasimi, Baba Farid ud Din Masud Ganj-I-Shakar (Lahore: R. C. D. Cultural Institute West Pakistan Branch, 1971), p. 30.

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among the non-Muslims.274 The great Sheikh welcomed everyone regardless of their religion.

The most surprising thing was that Hindu yogis also came to Hazrat Baba Farid to share their

religious views with him. The Sheikh not only appreciated their views, but also commented on

them as well.275 So while Baba Farid did not like the Abad, he cooperated equally with everyone

whether they belonged to the Abad or the Jungle.

Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid about Taming the Self (Nafs) While Living in the Jungle

Whether in the Abad or the Jungle, the only purpose of a Sufi is to please his Allah Almighty by

exerting control over his self (nafs). The nafs (self or ego) is the main cause of every sin. Baba

Farid says, that “there is no doubt that all the perils and maladies that you face are due to your

self’s (nafs) desires and due to your sins.’276 Therefore, one should tame his nafs through

meditation and seclusion. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that one should kill his nafs through

the sword of meditations (mujahadat).277 Sheikh Farid maintained that one should eradicate ‘self’

and cut it into small peace, for only then can he please his Allah Almighty and obtain His

blessings.278In addition, he taught that it was better not to fulfil the nafs’s demands because, if

one should try to satisfy them, it only demanded more.279

Hazrat Baba Farid was unique in the strictness of his meditation and he ate very little.

Indeed, his wooden bread is still in his shrine and demonstrates his way of taming the self

(nafs).280 Sharif Kanjahi has written a book on the Ashloke (poetry) of Hazrat Baba Farid, and

produced one of the best studies yet published in India and Pakistan.281 He argues that “wooden

bread” means the wild fruit or the leaves of trees, which Baba Farid used to eat in order to satisfy

274Medieval Bhakti Movements in India, ed. N.N. Bhattacharyya. (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1989), p. 75. 275 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 230.276Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 142. 277 Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-i-Faridi (Lahore: Allah Wale Ke Qumi Dukan, 1951), p. 77.278 Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 84, p. 77; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 52, p.313; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 78, p.52; Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 72, p. 48; Arshad Mahmud Nashad, Ashloke, p. 82; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 85, p. 119. 279Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 141. 280 Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi, Punjabi De Sufi Sha’r, (Lahore: Aziz Book Depo, 1973), pp. 176-77. 281 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, (Lahore: Pakistan Punjabi Adabi Board, 1967), p.97.

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his nafs.282 Baba Farid himself declared his nafs’s voice was the voice of dog, and that he did not

hear it because that his nafs barked all time about attaining different worldly desires.283 Hazrat

Baba Farid stressed that the taming of one’s self is the greatest success one can have in one’s

life.

The Concept of Abad in the Life and Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid

Although he focused on the role of the Jungle, Hazrat Baba Farid also paid attention to the Abad.

He said that it was inadequate to roam about searching for Allah in Jungles when he lives in the

hearts of people.284 The Holy Quran tells us that Allah Almighty is very close to man, declaring

that Allah is closet to man than his jugular vein,285 and that Allah everywhere where there is a

human being.286 The Sufis interpreted this as meaning that it’s the piety and prayers of human

beings that bring them close to the Allah, and that He is the best observer of whether one

performs good deeds or bad. The place does not matter to Him, but it’s the weakness of men that

makes the place matter. Sheikh Farid came to the Jungle of Ajodhan, but soon turned it into the

Abad of Pakpattan. There he established a Jamaat Khana, which would produce a large number

of prominent Sufis.

Hazrat Baba Farid was influenced by the teachings of his preceptor and grandfather

preceptor. He felt great love for his fellow humans and he cherished the saying of Hazrat Muin-

ud-Din (d.1235) that sin was not as dangerous as the insult or abuse of humans.287 For this

reason, he did not seek to spend his whole life in the Jungle, but sought to help out the needy and

deprived, and he preferred it over seclusion and meditation.288 Hazrat Baba Farid served the

people more them any other Sufis, and he taught that the love of Allah is attainable if you love

282Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, (Islamabad: Look Werse Ka Qumi Idarah, 1978), p. 9.283 Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 93, p. 68; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 97, pp. 90-91.284Saeed Ahmad, Baba Farid: The Pioneer of Punjabi Poetry, in Sufism in Punjab: Mystics, Literature, and Shrines. ed. Surinder Sing and Ishwar Dayal Gaur. (New Delhi: Aakar Books, 2009), p. 198; also see Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 22. p. 32; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid. shloke, 22, P. 16. Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne. shloke, 19. P. 162; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid. P. 38. 285 The Holy Quran. Qaaf, 16.286 The Holy Quran. Al Hadid, 4.287 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 1997), p. 70.288 B.S. Anand, Baba Farid, (Lahore: Sucheet Kitab Ghar, 2001), p. 28.

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human being: “Do not say a harsh word, Allah dwells in all men. Do not break a heart, every

jewel is priceless,”289

Anybody who lived in the Abad, but who busied himself in worship, he taught, finally obtains

the love of Allah Almighty. He would not claim the kingdom or other worldly power, for if he

did claim such things, his love of Allah must be removed from his heart, and he instead would

demand worldly objects.290 As the Holy Quran and the tradition of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

explain the Creator (Allah Almighty) dwells in his creatures (human being), whether they live in

the Abad or Jungle alike. In the poetry of Hazrat Baba Farid, one can find the same theme. Allah

Almighty lives in his creatures, and his creatures live in his Creator, so do not insult or think

maliciously about anybody, whether he living in the Abad or in the Jungle,291or whether he be a

Muslim or non-Muslim.

Islam and the Sufis do not claim that Allah Almighty only blessed the majzoob (saints

who do not wear clothes or who wear raged one). By contrast, Hazrat Baba Farid maintained that

in seeking Allah Almighty it is not necessary that one should wear raged clothes instead of silks,

but that, depending upon one’s faith; Allah will meet him in his home, rather than the Jungle.292

One should have no need to leave one’s home and spend days and nights in the Jungle, since

Allah Almighty said “no doubt Allah does not see your shape and your wealth, but he sees your

heart and your doings,”293

Consequently, a man must have sincerity and a true love, for only then can he find God.

Otherwise his prayers, seclusion and meditation will give him no advantage. Sheikh Farid also

tells us that the soul or the heart does not become wise while washing your body, and if Allah

289 Sant Singh Sekhon & Kartar Singh Duggal, A History of Punjabi literature (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), p. 18.290 Sheikh Badr al Din Ishaq, Asrar ul Aulia.tr, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Zaviya foundation, 2007), p. 139.291 Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 77, p. 53 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 75, p. 220 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 80, p. 63 ; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 84, p. 119; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Farid, shloke, 82, p. 74; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 75, p. 192.292 Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 123, p. 142; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi.shloke,122, p. 116.293 The Holy Quran.

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can be met through seclusion, then he met to the rat. But the only way to get him is by love

(Ishaq), and that love is not attainable without the monitoring of your preceptor as well.294

The Concept of Jungle in the Life and Teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid

Hazrat Baba Farid’s a number of different works ranging from historical mysticism to poetry.

Some important books include Rahat ul Qaloob, and Asrar ul Aulia, while Siar ul Aulia, Fawaid

ul Fawad, Khair-ul Majaalis, belong to his disciples and followers. The prime object of these

books is to inform the people of the mortality, of this world and to convince them to free

themselves from worldly desires. The Sheikh ascertained that if anybody spent his days in

fasting and nights in prayers, while he also visited the Ka’ba and the shrine of Holy Prophet

(PBUH) but retained the love for the world in his heart, then all of his worships would prove

useless.295

Through examples in his poetic works he elaborated on the theme that it was not through

pomp and show, but through heart-felt humility and modesty that one can win the love of Allah.

Baba Farid has pointed to the example of sheep: it’s not the shearing of one’s hair that gives

pleasure to Allah when one performs the Hajj, since then sheep can be shared on the daily basis,

but none will go to the paradise.296 Human desires once rooted, develop and increase day by day,

and in the end make the human being a powerless and an obedient slave.

The Sheikh made it clear that he believed an aloof and impassive attitude towards the

world is the better path the man.297 Even in the Jungle there were some people who created

disturbances and obstacles for the Sufis. For example, in Ajodhan the yogi and the son of Shahab

the magician created problems for Hazrat Baba Farid, but he treated them kindly and forgave

them at all. The same teachings and advice are to be found in his poetry. There he said that if

294Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj-i-Shakar (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), pp. 85-86.295Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. Khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), pp. 230-31. 296 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 75, p. 317 ; also see Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 75 , p. 126.297 Sant Singh Sekhon & Kartar Singh Duggal, A History of Punjabi literature, (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), p. 23.

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someone treats you badly, you should not treat them in the same way. Indeed, kiss their feet and

leave them,298 for all good and evil comes from the Almighty Allah.299

The Sheikh preferred to live in a Jungle, or at least at a place where no one knew him. He

told himself that he should make his home in a place where there are strangers, or people who

would not show him any respect.300 From these comments one can easily understand why Hazrat

Baba Farid left Delhi, Hansi, Multan, Lahore, and ended at Ajodhan. The word annhe (blind)

refers to the disbelievers as the Holy Quran says that “these are deaf, dumb, and blinded so that

they do not return” since they were in the majority in Ajodhan, and that the Sheikh was aware of

this fact, he resolved that only among non-Muslim could performed his desired meditation.

While in the Abad, on the other hand, people soon became aware of Sufis and disturbed their

calm through their regular visits and meetings.

There is nothing more harmful for the Sufis than the company of the wealthy people.

Hazrat Baba Farid says that love of the Abad or world is the root of all sins.301 In his poetry we

also find this teaching, along with a condemnation of the world and worldly objects. He devoted

some three couplets to warning people that they should not waste their time in erecting big

palaces or other unnecessary works. Instead they should prepare themselves for the next life,

rather than this temporary present. While encouraging people and advising them to not waste

their short time on this planet, Baba Farid insisted that one should not waste time in running the

house or with sleeping. “You have a very few days in this world” he wrote, “and every day cries

out to you, that before its passing that you must come to the right path.”302 According to Baba

Farid, the life and objects on earth will all vanish in time.

The next couplet has the same lesson: that we should not spend our time and money to

build large palaces, and should not show interest in worldly activities, but should be mindful of

298Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 10, p. 8; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 7, P. 150; Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 10, P. 33; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, p. 15.299 Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi (Lahore: Allah Wale Ke Qumi Dukan, 1951), p. 15. 300 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne (Lahore: Pakistan Punjabi Adabi Board, 1967), p. 318. 301 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob) (Lahore: Shabbir brothers, 2006), pp. 22-23.302 Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 57, p. 38; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 56, p. 201; Arshad Mahmud Nashad, Ashloke, p. 89; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 64, p.107; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 72; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 63, p. 55.

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our coming deaths and try to make our hereafter better through good deeds.303 As for as

surviving, or a living in the Jungle is concerned, each of Hazrat Baba Farid’s disciples came to

the Jungle of Ajodhan to collect wood and other necessary things, one by one,304 whether he was

Ali Ahmad Sabir (d.1291), sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia (d.1325), or Hazrat Badr-ud-Din Ishaq

(d.1291). The teachings of Baba Farid strongly advocated the life of the Jungle where one can

meditate and love God while avoiding a worldly life.

Ethical and Moral Lessons in the Teachings of Baba Farid Relating to Abad and Jungle

Hazrat Baba Farid’s poetry is replete with the ethical and moral lessons. As just suggested he

taught that those who build big and strong houses in this world, through bad practices, cannot

earn real virtue. His poetry instructs us about the value simplicity and a peaceful life. It focuses

solely on the need to please his Beloved. For this reason he tried to teach his disciples to avoid

this world and accordingly, reside in unpopular places. The Sheikh asked 700 Sufis about the

Abad, and they all gave the same answer: that the most intelligent and wisest among all the

people were those who bade farewell to the Abad.305

Hazrat Baba Sahib was once sitting in the company of his Sheikh, Hazrat Khawaja Qutb-

ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki (d.1235). Hazrat Jalal ud din Tabrizi (d.1266), who was also there, said

that he had served almost 1,700 Sufis, and everybody gave him same advice. Finally Khawaja

Shams al Arafin said that if he really had a desired to come close to Allah, he should renounce

the Abad and worldly people, and keep them both at arm’s length.306 In Baba Sahib’s poetry we

can also find him condemning the practice of begging, and banning the taking of loans as he put

it,“Farida aknan aata agla, aknan nahin loon. Age ge sonjha peesen chotan khasi kon” (Some

knead their flour with butter; others are deprived of curry. Only after death we will know, who is

303Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 56, p. 44; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 59, p. 40; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 58, p. 203; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 66, p. 108; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 74; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 65, p. 57; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 63, p. 56; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke,58, p. 183.304 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 270.305 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 139.306 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), pp. 30-31.

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better of the two).307 The sheikh prayed to almighty Allah to save him from begging and

knocking at the doors of others. He said he preferred death over begging or beseeching, or the

taking any loan.308

Hazrat Baba Farid was against accepting offers of gifts and offices from kings. When the

governor of Ajodhan granted him ownership of two villages and large sum of money, he turned

down these gifts. Once Balban (r.1266-87) offered him four villages but he again refused and

with a smile replied that since there were a large number of people who wanted such things, he

should give the villages to them. Furthermore, there is no tradition of his Sheikhs receiving

similar gift.309 Rather, Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Aulia (d.1325) reportedly wept bitterly whenever

someone offered him costly gift, and ordered his disciples to distribute it among the poor and

needy as soon as they could.310

Even so Hazrat Baba Farid lived a tougher and more miserable life than did his own

Sheikh or the other Chishti sheikhs. Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Aulia recalled that in the last days of

his Sheikh’s life they lived hand to mouth, and that when they ate enough karir and delah (wild

fruits), it would be as Eid for them.311 Sometimes they had not enough food even for their

guests.312 One of the sons of Hazrat Baba Farid died due to constant starvation and hunger, 313 but

the Sheikh remained constant throughout his prayers and meditation. “Where there is sugar, the

flies must gather”, and although he moved continually, it was all in vain.314For everywhere, the

miserable, the poor, the magicians and the yogis came to see this great Sufi, a teacher who made

307 Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi, Punjabi De Sufi Sha’r, (Lahore: Aziz Book Depo, 1973), p. 178; also see Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 46, p. 189; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 47 , p. 49; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 46, p. 32; Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 46, p. 42; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 44, p. 175; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 62; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 49 , p. 98; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 48 , p. 42.308 Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 44, p. 41; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 44 , p. 30; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 46 , p. 189; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 45 , p. 48; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 42 , p. 173;Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 60; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 46 , p. 40.309 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p. 37.310 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 213.311Khair-ul Majaalis, Maulana Hameed Qalander (Karachi: Wahid book Depo, n.d.), p. 140.312 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 128.313 Ibid., p. 129.314 Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, (Lahore: Lehran Adabi Board, 2000), p. 59.

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no distinction among religions and caste, the poor, and the wealthy, but instructed them all about

peace and harmony.

Hazrat Baba Farid loved living a life of the Jungle, away from the Abad, because there he

found a lack of materialism and a connection with the God. He said farewell to the life of the

Abad, because he said it would be better for him not to have been born than to live in the Abad

with the numerous perils and maladies that one must face in this world.315Although this world

may be heaven for the worldly people, he believed it is a hell for Sufis or derwaishes. The world

may seem very colourful and beautiful, but in reality it is a garden of thorns and those with a true

preceptor will avoid this garden.316 For in Islamic Sufism, the preceptor plays vital role in the

development of spirituality and the thoughts of his disciples.

Hazrat Baba Farid Enhanced the Sense of Jungle, and Seclusion by Elaborating Models

and Patterns

Allah Almighty created the human being for His worship. As the Holy Quran Allah tells us: “He

created both the men and jinn for his worship.”317 In this regard, Hazrat Baba Farid often

recounted different stories about seclusion in order to develop the passions for meditation and

seclusion among his disciples. He pointed out to them that Khawaja Ibrahim bin Adham (d.782)

remained in seclusion for thirty years, and that during this time met or saw nobody. Again,

Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Moodud (d.1132) had remained in seclusion for twenty years. In addition,

when Hazrat Habib al Ajmi (d.737) set out his journey for Syria, he travelled only in the day and

spent his nights in the wilderness or Jungle rather than in the Abad. In Syria, Al Ajmi met with a

Sufi, who was living in a cave. He told to al Ajmi that he had been living there for seventy years,

315 Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 79 , p. 55 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 76, p. 221 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 81 , p. 64;Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 90; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 86 , p. 120; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 85, p. 78; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 76 , p. 193.316 Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 85, p. 59 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 82 , p. 227 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 87, p. 66; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 92 , p.123; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 91 , p. 84; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 76 , p. 193317 The Holy Quran. Al- Dhuriyat, 56.

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and that his food came from the unknown sources (aalam-i-ghaib).318 By these examples Baba

Farid demonstrated his favourable view of seclusion as an adjunct to living a pious life.

Sufis do not live with Worldly People; As the Latter Has Been Forget His Lord, and the

Former Fulfilled Their Purpose

The path of Sufism is not easy. In their view, those who live in the Abad, or in the company of

worldly people, forget the aim of their creation. They waste all of their life in such company.

They will repent this on the Day of Judgment. A man has a multitude of worldly desires, and it is

too difficult for him to give them up because of the high esteem in which he holds them. The

Sheikh taught that man is well aware about his worldly desires, which will create a problem for

him after his death, yet that in spite of all this; he does not renounce the world, his worldly

desires or the company of the worldly people. For the derwaishe, however it is difficult to live

with such worldly people because they have very different ways of life. Baba Farid said that

because he wore the Sufi’s dress, he found it difficult to live with such worldly people. 319 The

Abad or the world is so fascinating and attractive that a large number of people forget the duties

(fariaz) assigned them by their God, and instead become a slave of their nafs as they indulge in

these worldly desires.

Sheikh Farid tells us that the worldly people enjoy their lives in this world, and think that

this world is blessing for them. But the fact is that this world is a hidden fire, and only those who

are protected from it who have gained the favour of Allah. They thank the Almighty who had

saved them from the worldly life, for otherwise they too would has been consumed in this hidden

fire.320 Only that person who is intelligent and has insight will remain constant in His worship

and meditation in his effort to seek the will of God. Hazrat Baba Farid taught that if you have a

318Sheikh Badr al Din Ishaq, Asrar ul Aulia, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Zaviya foundation, 2007), pp.146-47.319 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 2 , p. 145 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 5, p. 27; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 5, p. 4; Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 5 , p. 32; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 2 , p. 151. ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 22; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 5 , p. 56; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 5 , p. 11. 320Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, Shloke, 6, p. 32; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 6 , p. 4 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 3 , p. 146 ; Arshad Mahmud Nashad, Ashloke, p. 40; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 6 , p. 13.

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little wisdom, then you will not blacken your faith with sin, but see to yourself and your doings,

and be afraid of punishment from your Allah.321 A man who is accountable for his own deeds

will become aware of his own sins, and he should not criticize others, but instead try to repent

before his Allah Almighty.322 In this verse Hazrat Baba Farid teaches that everyone must be

accountable for his nafs or self, and that this is very difficult one lives in the Abad. So, the

Sheikh concluded, “one should consider the Abad to be an unforeseen calamity.”323

Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi has argued, that Hazrat Baba Farid’s poetry tells us in

detail about the renunciation the world, his insistence that this world is inferior, and the fear of

the punishment of the Hereafter (aaqabat).324 Hazrat Baba Farid maintains that one should not

waste one’s life, especially one’s youth, in worldly desires. It is a common in this world that

when one becomes older, and then begins to start his prayers and worship.325Yet the human heart

is the abode of Allah Almighty, and if a person indulges in the world and in worldly temptations,

then his heart becomes the home of Iblis (the devil) as well. The human body, Hazrat Baba Farid

says is as sweet as sugar, but it is man who changes it into poison because of his bad deeds.326

Hazrat Baba Farid advised his disciples to become humble like the grass of the high way.

It lost its hardness under the feet of travellers, so that people took it, brought it to the mosque,

and offered prayer in it.327 Such an ashloke (poetry or verse) favoured the Jungle rather than the

Abad because Dabh (a type of very hard grass) existed in the villages, and it is also used as a

carpet in the mosques of villages. Yet in the materialistic world, everybody tries to establish

321 Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 9, p. 33 ; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 9 , p. 6 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 6 , p. 149 ; Arshad Mahmud Nashad, Ashloke, p. 24. ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 9 , p. 29 ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 26; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 9 , p. 61; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 9 , p. 14.322 Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, (Lahore: Punjabi Adabi Academy, 1965), pp. 61-62.323 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 142.324 Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi, Punjabi De Sufi Sha’r, (Lahore: Aziz Book Depo, 1973), p. 183.325 Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 11, p. 9 ; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 11, p. 8 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 8 , p. 151 ; Arshad Mahmud Nashad, Ashloke, p. 26. ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke,11 , p. 30 ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, P. 28; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 11 , p. 63; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 11 , p. 16; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 8 , p. 154.326 Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 13 , pp. 64-65; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 13 , p. 17. 327 Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 19 , p. 35; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 16 , p. 159.

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relations with men who have high official rank, Baba Farid condemned such worldly people

who, rely on other man rather than on Allah Almighty. He also condemned those in the Abad

who feel pain in their bodies due to much sleep, but who do not rise to offer prayer. 328 If a man,

whether he live in the Abad or the Jungle, commits bad deeds but still expects to enter Paradise

on the Day of Judgment, he is deluded. He is the same as a person who plants keekar (a tree with

thorn), but wants to grow grapes.329 So Hazrat Baba Sahib’s teachings contained much wisdom

for men who sought to lives that would be beneficial for them in the next world.

‘Piousness Stalk’ and ‘Muddy Pond’ are the Best Similes for Abad in the Poetry of Hazrat

Baba Farid

For Baba Farid, then the Abad is a place where there is nothing good for the man who wants to

live a satisfactory life. He compares the Abad or materialistic world with the “poisonous stalk”

that is wrapped with “sugar”. Some people avoid it but others indulge in it and so destroy their

hereafter.330 Hazrat Baba Farid told the inhabitants of both Abad and Jungle that the wealth,

popularity, fame, reputation and power (official or by wealth) were all such poisonous stalks

coated with sugar. In another verse, this Chishti Sheikh compared the world with a ‘muddy

pond’ and pointed out that from such turgid pools (Abad or the world), one can get nothing good,

but only make one’s body and spirit dirty.331 This world is like a dirty pond and if someone

shows interest in it, he will foul his heart or soul with sins and transgressions. Thus it is better for

everyone to keep this muddy pond a distance.

He say that Pious people who come into this world, but who do not indulge in it are like

the bird that sits on the bank of a muddy pond, but does not drink the water because it is not

328 Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 24 , p. 38; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 21 , p. 164; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 26 , p.77; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 25 , p. 24.329 Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 28 , pp. 79-80;also see Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 13 , p. 17.330 Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, P. 54; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 42 , p. 93; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 41 , p. 37; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 37 , p. 171.331 Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 58 , p. 54; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 54 , p. 36.

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healthy.332 In the same way, the Sufis set themselves apart from this materialistic world in order

to keep themselves pure.

Hazrat Baba Farid Paid Tribute to the Sufis Who Lived in the Jungle

Hazrat Baba Farid defended Sufis who left the Abad, lived at the Jungle, and who tried their best

not to harm anyone, or anything in this world. He paid tribute to those derwaishes who dwelled

as hermits and adopted seclusion in the forest. They had renounced the Abad, and eaten the

leaves and wild fruits. Yet even then they did not cut the leaves, but ate only those that fallen

naturally from the branches of the trees. Busying themselves in their meditations, they tried to

please their Allah Almighty.333 So a man who does not cut the leaves from the tree, and takes

care of the grass and everything that has very little value, and thinks that everything is occupied

in the worship (zikr) of its Creator, cannot possibly indulge in the world or create problems for

others.

Hazrat Baba Farid Used Similes of Jungle’s Animal for the Sufis and the Abad’s People

After constant meditation, seclusion and contemplation the Sufis achieved their divine and

spiritual aim. If worldly people think that it is an easy path that can be attained with little effort,

they are surely mistaken. Hazrat Baba Farid compared such worldly people with the seagull, and

Sufis with the swan. When the seagull saw the swan swimming in the river, he also tried to do

the same and as a result drowned.334 Worldly people, who do not have preceptors, take note of

the divine power and the way of meditation of the Sufis, and think that it is an easy task. Yet

when they try to perform such meditation themselves, they die. Because without the blessing of

Allah Almighty and a true preceptor, one cannot find the secret. In the world a man has only one

heart, but there are numerous desires in his heart. Hazrat Baba Farid used similes of the ‘lake’ for

this world, the ‘bird’ for a man, and ‘the fifty hunters’ for the large number of worldly

332Saeedia Durani and Rashid Mateen, Pakistan Ke Sufi Sh’ra, shloke, 62 , p. 46 ; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 65 , p. 44 ; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 64 , p. 209 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 69 , p. 58 ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, P. 80; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 72 , p.112; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 71 , p. 62; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 64 , p.186.333 Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, (Lahore: Allah Wale Ke Qumi Dukan, 1951), pp. 113-114; also see Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 101 , p. 208.334 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 120 , p. 169; Maqbool Elahi, Couplets of Baba Farid, shloke, 126 , p. 85; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 143 , p. 153; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 141 , p. 133.

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temptations which try to overwhelm a man’s heart. In such matters, a man must remember his

Almighty Allah, and always pray for His help against these hunters or worldly desires.335

According to the poetry of Baba Farid, the derwaishes and the deer are the best suited to

life in the Jungle because both cannot survive in the Abad.336 The Sufis, living in Abad, found

their nafs forcing them to indulge in the worldly activities, while in the Jungle they depended on

such natural products as the wild fruits. The same is the case with the deer. They also cannot

survive in the Abad because it is impossible to tame them, as we tame the cow, buffalos and

other domesticated animal. As just indicated, Hazrat Baba Farid also used the similes of seagull

for the worldly man, and the sea or river for the Abad. A man who enjoyed the life in Abad with

all luxuries of life, and who forgot his Allah Almighty, will be deprived of the blessings of his

God.337 Even so, Hazrat Baba Farid maintained that he did not believe that a man could really

forget his Lord, and the purpose of His creation, but thought that when one interacts with this

materialistic world, he must forget his own meditation and worship.338 Like many other Sufis,

Hazrat Baba Farid asserted that the less contact one had with the Abad, the healthier it was for a

human being.339

The overall teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid demonstrate that his only ambition was to

seek the blessings of Allah Almighty. He preferred the Jungle over the Abad, but he believed in

the existence of Allah everywhere. According to the Sheikh, the only thing that helps one obtain

the divine blessings is meditation in the Jungle, under a preceptor. The Sheikh also condemned

those worldly people who forget their God and indulged in materialism. Hazrat Baba Farid used

beautiful similes drawn from daily life to make his followers aware of their purpose in creation.

335Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 25 , p. 274; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 134 , p. 83 ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 128; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 144 , p.154; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 142 , p. 134; Sardar Gurdev Singh Matharu, Faridawali, shloke, 125 , p. 221336 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 21 , p. 309 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 21 , p. 104.337 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 99-100, pp. 245-46 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 105-106, p. 73 ; Sharif Kanjahi, Kehe Farid, p. 116; Dr. Faqir Muhammad Faqir, Bool Faridi, shloke, 115-116, p.138; Manshi Jeshi Ram Mushtaq, Arshadat-I Faridi, shloke, 115 , p. 110.338 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, shloke, 46 , p. 313 ; Amjad Ali Bhatti, Rukhi Sukhi Kha Ke Thunda Paani Pee Kalam-i-Baba Farid, shloke, 46 , p. 114.339 Sant Singh Sekhon & Kartar Singh Duggal, A History of Punjabi literature (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), p. 23.

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The teachings of the Sheikh are full of ethical and moral lessons that help people to become good

members of their society, and to make sacrifices for their fellows.

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Chapter 4

Hazrat Baba Farid, Punjabi poetry, Sama and his Role in the domination of

Chishtiyya Order in the Indian Subcontinent.

Hazrat Baba Farid was a defender of Sama, which in turn did much to extend to the Chishtiyya

Order during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Indian Subcontinent. Equally important,

he was the first poet to use the Punjabi language. Although well versed in Arabic and Persian, 340

he preferred using Punjabi language to convey his message, and he also employed some Urdu

words in his poetry. Sama (which term in the contemporary world has been replaced by the word

qawwali) reflects the liberal and broad minded attitudes of the Chishti Sufi school of thought. In

an Islamic context, the Sama has remained controversial. However, the Islamic sources which

justify the Sama are the more authentic. Thanks to the disciples of Hazrat Baba Farid, the Chishti

Sufi order expanded very rapidly into every nook and cranny of the Indian subcontinent. Another

important factor in the expansion of this Sufi order was the activity of ‘Jamaat Khana’.

Hazrat Baba Farid and Punjabi poetry:

Literally, the word Punjab denotes the “place of five rivers” (the Indus, Sutlej, Chenab, Jhelum,

and Ravi). Muslim invaders gave this name to this land341 when crossing these rivers during their

campaigns. Regarding Baba Farid poetry there is some confusion about the surviving corpus of

Hazrat Baba Farid work. Baba Nanak (1469-1539) had compiled Farid’s Ashloke, (or the

Ashloke of khawaja Ibrahim alias Farid the Second (1450-1575) who was himself as a

descendent (Sajjadah Nashin) of Hazrat Baba Farid. Yet a big difference exists between in the

language used by Hazrat Baba Farid in the thirteen century and that used by Punjabi Sufis (like

Shah Hussein) in sixteenth. The fact is that these Ashloke belong to Hazrat Baba Farid because

their language and words are more difficult than those of Shah Hussain, the contemporary of

Sheikh Ibrahim Farid second. Most scholars agree Hazrat Baba Farid was the pioneer of Punjabi

340 Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, The life and times of Sheikh Farid ud Din Ganj-i-Shakar, (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1955), p. 84.341 Sant Singh Sekhon & Kartar Singh Duggal, A History of Punjabi literature, (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), p. 2.

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poetry,342 while some assert as well that he was the first Sufi poet.343 His teachings, ideas and

thoughts are preserved in his poetry.

It was Guru Granth, who preserved the poetry of Hazrat Baba Farid. Hazrat Baba Guru

Nanak (1469-1539) met with the eleventh Sajjadah Nashin of Hazrat Baba Farid, named Sheikh

Ibrahim Farid the second (1450-1575) at Pakpattan.344 There are 112 ashloke existing in the Guru

Granth’s collections that hail from Hazrat Baba Farid.345 The preceptor intended his poetry to be

a tool to create harmony and tolerance among the people and the main aim of his poetry was to

please his beloved (Allah Almighty). He neither mentioned paradise nor hell in his poetry but

used secular relationships like those between ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ for Allah and man, and

‘bride’ and ‘bridegroom’ for soul and death. He tried to make people aware of the briefness of

human life, and to teach us to keep worldly desires at arm’s length. Finally he never criticized

any religion, creed or sect in his poetry.346

The Sama under Hazrat Baba Farid.

Literally, ‘Sama’ means “hearing”. It is used when listening to the Holy Quran and Sufi poetry

as well. Sama is the most fascinating aspect of the Chishti Sufi order. All the Sheikhs

participated in Sama throughout their lives. In Sama the condition of ecstasy seized the Chishti

Sheikhs. Two leading Sheikhs, Hazrat Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki (d.1235),347and Hazrat Ala-

ud-Din Ali Ahmad Sabir (d.1291), died in this ecstasy of the Sama.348 Hazrat Baba Farid, like his

own Sheikh and his predecessor Sheikhs was very fond of Sama and taught his disciples to

342 Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi, Punjabi De Sufi Sha’r. (p.167) declared Hazrat Baba Farid as the Baba Adam of the Punjabi language. He argued that Hazrat Baba Farid was the first Punjabi poet and also the first Sufi poet as well. Also see B.S. Anand, Baba Farid. (Lahore: Sucheet Kitab Ghar, 2001), p. 74; Sufism in Punjab: Mystics, Literature, and Shrines, Ed. Surinder Sing and Ishwar Dayal Gaur. (New Delhi: Aakar Books, 2009), p. 197. Shafaqat Tanveer Mirza, Resistance themes in Punjabi Literature. (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications,1992), p. 220. Shafaqat argued that Hazrat Baba Farid was also the earliest Urdu poet and founding father of Punjabi and Seraiki poetry. 343 B.S. Anand, Baba Farid, P. 49; Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi, Punjabi De Sufi Sha’r, p. 167.344 Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, p. 99; Professor Sarfraz Hussain Qazi, Punjabi De Sufi Sha’r, p. 173.345Saeed Ahmad, Baba Farid: The Pioneer of Punjabi Sufi Poetry’ in Sufism in Punjab: Mystics, Literature, and Shrines. Ed. Surinder Sing and Ishwar Dayal Gaur, P. 198; Muhammad Asif Khan, Akhiya Baba Farid Ne, p. 99.346 Sant Singh Sekhon & Kartar Singh Duggal, A History of Punjabi literature, (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), p. 23.347 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 115.348 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 199.

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participate in the Sama. According to the Hazrat Baba Farid, there are three occasions during

which the blessing of Allah Almighty should be revealed, and the first occurred in the Sama.349

On some occasions Hazrat Baba Farid and his preceptors would start dancing in their ecstasy or

devotion during the Sama. There are many examples in the history of Islam when the

companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) danced. For example, Hazrat Ali danced when the

Prophet of Islam (PBUH) said to him that “you are from me and I am from you.” Again, when

the Holy Prophet (PBUH) told Hazrat Jafar that “you resemble me in character and conduct”,

Jafar immediately started dancing, Hazrat Zaid danced when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) called

him brother and free from slavery.350 Due to his very intense devotion, Hazrat Baba Farid

sometime began dancing in Sama, and sometime went into a trance. Indeed when someone sang

the verse;

I have not such wisdom that can reach your majesty and there is not any soul who has a

contact with your jalal (dignity, greatness, glory), yet I know that you reveal your beauty,

and that there is not any eye which has the power to see this beauty.351

On one occasion Hazrat Baba Farid became unconscious for a complete day and night.352 He

further defined such a condition of trance as that which occurred when a Sufi lost conscious, but

still remembered the voice and words that he had heard before his arrival on earth.353

Although Hazrat Baba Farid faced castigation and scolding from some people, he made

no response. In this regard, the Qazi (judge) of Ajodhan was a man who tried his level best to

stop the Sama that held sway under Sheikh Farid. Although he also created many problems for

the descendants of Hazrat Baba Farid, the Sheikh, due to his soft heart and sympathetic temper,

endured all this. When the Qazi, whose name was Abdullah, failed to stop the rapid spread of the

349 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p. 36.350 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al- Ghazali, Ihya llum -Id- Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind

SagarAcademy, 1981), p. 223.351 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 309.352 Sheikh Badr al Din Ishaq, Asrar ul Aulia, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Zaviya foundation, 2007), p. 24. Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006) mentioned that Once Hazrat Baba Farid became unconscious when Muhammad shah the musician sings these verses (Malamat kardan Ander ashqi, Malamat ke kandaan kes keh beena ast) and remained unconscious for complete seven days and seven nights but he recovered every time when the time of prayer came. (P. 19) 353 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p. 19. Allah Almighty when asked the soul that ‘Is am not your Allah’ (Alasto be Rebekum) all the Holy souls answered ‘they said yes’ (Qalu Baala). Hazrat Baba Farid mentioned that when the soul recalled his that promise it should become unconscious.

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influence and popularity of the Sheikh, he finally wrote a letter to the ulema of Multan and

complained that a man in Ajodhan participated in music and in dancing. Yet no one dared to

issue a fatwa when the Qazi revealed the name of Hazrat Baba Farid.354 Despite this, Qazi

Abdullah failed to learn his lesson. Instead, he organized a conspiracy to make a surprise attack

on Hazrat Baba Farid. The Sheikh, after offering his morning prayer was deep in contemplation.

Hazrat Nizam ud din Aulia (d.1325) was there, and Hazrat Baba Farid remarked to him that “a

tall man with yellow face is here” Hazrat Nizam saw such a person (who had been sent by the

Qazi), and replied “yes I see him.” The Sheikh then announced that he had a chain at his waist

and jewels in his ear. When the criminal heard this surprising admission, he knew he was

exposed and immediately took to his heels.355

In Islamic theology, not all the ulema have opposed the Sufis or their thought. It is also

true that there were fake ulema and Moulvis who constantly created problems for the Sufis.

Moreover, when the ulema of Indian Subcontinent started castigating the Sama and on the

Sheikh Farid, he not only defended the Sama very well but also defined the ‘ulema’ and the

‘Sufis’. The Sheikh said “the ulema are better (Ashraf) than the common people while the Fuqra

(Sufis) are better (Ashraf) from the better (Ashraaf)”. Furthermore, in order to underline the

status of both the ulema and the Sufis, he said that “the Fuqra are among the ulema like the full

moon is among the stars”,356 Hazrat Baba Farid gave higher marks to the Sufis because whereas

ulema saw the law of Allah, the Sufis actually saw their Almighty Allah. Hazrat Jalal ud din

Tabrizi (d.1266) also defined the status of the ulema and the Sufis. He noted that the ulema

offered prayer while turning their faces toward the Ka’ba, but the Sufis (Fuqra) did not begin the

takbir till they saw the Allah of Ka’ba.357 When the disciples of Hazrat Baba Farid once reported

the chastisement and rebukes made by the ulema about the Sama, the Sheikh replied that the one

is burnt in the fire of love (ishq-e-haqiqi), while other is still falling into conflicts.358

354 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 46.355 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), pp. 146-47. 356ibid., p. 141.357 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 248.358 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 1997), p. 150.

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Hazrat Baba Farid also defined the condition of wajd (ecstasy) that engulfed Sufis when they

took part in Sama. This same state of ecstasy gripped infidels and non-Muslims alike whenever

they participated in the Sama. Thus the infidels of the Quresh were filled with ecstasy when they

heard or listened to the Holy Quran. Once Utba bin Rabi’a, who was the best orator and the most

eloquent of the infidels of the Quresh, lost consciousness while listening to the Holy Quran, he

later told to Abu Jahl that it was not the Kalam (poetry, verses) of humans.359 Sheikh Farid said

that when Sufis fell into ecstasy, they became unaware of themselves, even when they were hit

with a sword for a million times.360 While according to al-Qalabazi, that ecstasy is a state in

which Sufis performed the acts and deeds which are considered by the lay-man to be un-Islamic

and wrong.361 Such a case happened with al-Hallaj (d.921). Moreover, the chief khalifa of Hazrat

Baba Farid, as well as very prominent Chishti Sheikh Hazrat Nizam ud Aulia (d.1325), defined

the ecstasy (wajd) by saying that Allah Almighty has ninety nine names, among which, one is

‘Wajad. He further said that the term wajd (ecstasy) is derived from al Wajad, which means

those who bestowed wajd or ecstasy (Allah bestowed ecstasy).362 When a Sufi fell into ecstasy,

his spiritual power should become much greater. Hazrat Baba Farid was once in such ecstasy.

When Hazrat Nizam ud din Aulia came to later; his preceptor told him. “You have come at very

good movement. Demand what you want” Sheikh Nizam later regretted “why he had not

requested to die in the Sama.?” 363

Hazrat Baba Farid was not only very fond of poetry, but he corrected that of others who

read or sang verses. When once Shams Dabir, a very poor man and poet, came to the Sheikh to

offer the latter tribute and an eulogy by his poetry, the Sheikh listened to him twice. Then, he

granted the poet’s request that the Sheikh pray for him to get good employment, and short a

while the man obtained a good post. In addition, Baba Farid encouraged him and also made

corrections in his poetry.364

359 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 394.360 Hashat Bahisht (Rahat ul Qaloob), (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2006), p. 19.361 Abu Bakr bin Ishaq Al-Qalabazi, T’arruf, tr. Dr Pir Muhammad Hassan (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation, 1998), p. 179.362 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, Tr.khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 170.363Khair-ul Majaalis, Maulana Hameed Qalander (Karachi: Wahid Book Depo, n.d.) p. 233. 364 Fawaid ul Fawad, Amir Hassan Sajzi, tr. khawaja Hassan Nizami (Lahore: Akbar Book Sellers, 2006), p. 283.

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The Sama in Islam: Validity and Legitimacy

The Sama belong in particular to the Chishti School of thought, but there is evidence proving

that some companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) both liked and participated in Sama, and that

even the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself showed his pleasure with the Sama, as well

as with the state of ecstasy that descended upon him. He had fallen into ecstasy when on the

night of M’raj, he had heard the beautiful voice call “come to me”, “come to me,” and while in

his ecstasy he lost his turban.365

All the people of Hejaz declared that singing poetry with sweet voice was permissible,

while the Mesheikhs and predecessors also affirmed the practice. Among these latter was Hazrat

Anas bin Malik, while Abne Jareh also declared it halal. Furthermore, Imam Shafi did not

condemn it as haram, but termed it mukroh for the common people.366Although Al Jawzi quoted

the hadith of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that “song (ghina) is a magic (afsoo) for adultery,”367 he

also accepted the many traditions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that confirmed the validity of the

Sama.

The Holy Quran and the Sama.

The exoteric ulema offered some ayah of the Holy Quran to prove the illegitimacy of Sama. Al

Jawzi, Abne Abi Duniya, and others sought to prove this by references to the Holy Quran and the

tradition of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).They quoted the ayah of the sura luqman: “and of

mankind is he who purchases idle tales [i.e. music, singing etc.] to mislead [men] from the path

of Allah without knowledge and takes it [the path of Allah, the verses of the Quran] by way of

mockery. For such there will be a humiliating torment [in the hell fire].368 That ayah says that

when a disbeliever named Nadhar bin Harith brought home a female musician, and started filling

his house with vulgar sexual poetry and music, thanks to a desire creates by her music, people

365 Saiyid Muhammad Akbar Hussaini, Jawam’al Kalm, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al- Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 428.366 Abu al- Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 573.367 Abdul Rahman Abne Jawzi, Talbees Ablees, tr. Allama Abu Muhammad Abdul Haq Azam Garhi (Karachi: Karkhana Tijarat Kutb, n.d.), p. 291.368 The Holy Quran Al Luqman, 6.

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did not come to the Prophet of Allah. Therefore, Allah Almighty prohibited Muslims from

participating in such music.369 Another ayah reads: “And He has not taught him (Muhammad

) poetry, nor is it meet for him. This is only a Reminder and a plain Qur'an”.370 In these verses

Allah Almighty refers to poetry that creates a distance between Allah and his people, a poetry

that is contrary to Islamic principles as well. As Allah Almighty says: “Do you wonder and laugh

at this talk, and do not weep while you are singing” Yet if music is unlawful according to that

ayah, then laughing and weeping are also unlawful. Again Almighty Allah warns: “As for poets,

the misguided ones follow them,” but this verse is directed against writers of bad poetry, as well

as the infidel poets.371

Yet the Sama is not a zakr or a poetry which creates an un-Islamic passion or desire in the

heart of a man, but it is a Kalam, or poetry that generates fear and enhances one’s relationship

with Allah. The Holy Quran teaches that “the believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned,

feel a tremor in their hearts and when they hear his signs rehearsed, find their faith

strengthened”.372Indeed, Sheikh Zia ud din Suhrwardi has provided some Quran verses to prove

the authority and the legitimacy of the Sama, such as “Tell the good to my people, those who

listen to the conversation and who followed the good once.”373 The Sama is included with in this

ayah’s word ‘conversion’ (qool) and is recognized as being the best conversation (ahsan al

qool).374 The Holy Quran says: “Then as for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic

Monotheism) and did righteous good deeds, such shall be honoured and made to enjoy luxurious

life (forever) in a Garden of Delight (Paradise).” and to serve them in that garden means to serve

them with Sama.375 In fact, Hazrat Mujahid defined this ayah as meaning that Sama will be sung

by the hoors (the women of paradise) in a delightful voice, and that they will especially sing that

verse:

369 Wahid Bukhash Sial, Maqam-i-Gunj Shakar (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 370.370 The Holy Quran. Yasin,69.371 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), p. 214.372 The Holy Quran, al Anfal,2.373 Sheikh Zia al Din Suhrwardi, Aadab al Murideen, tr. Muhammad Basit (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation, 1998), p. 101.374 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 572.375 Ibid., p. 572.

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We will live forever and the death will not came to us

We are soft and charming, and there will not come any hardship to us. 376

Tradition and the Sama.

The sayings and doings of Holy Prophet (PBUH) therefore, do not prove that listening to or the

singing of religious songs are illicit or unlawful.377 Although there are some traditions of the

Holy Prophet (PBUH) which have opposed the Sama or music, himself once said: “Iblis (the

devil) was the first to lament and to sing”.378 Al-Ghazali argued that such a tradition of the Holy

Prophet (PBUH) does not prohibit music because the Prophet David also sang songs lamenting

his sins. He pointed out that the Prophet of Islam (PBUH), listened to this song when he returned

from an expedition: “The full moon alighted on us from the valley of Saniyyatul Bidayi379.”

Another hadith declares that “when a person raises high his voice in a song, God sends for him

two devils,” but Ghazali argued that this referred only to vulgar and offensive songs that filled

the mind of man with sexual desire.380

Hazrat Ayesha recalled that on the day of Eid, some slave girls were sitting with her and

singing, accompanied by the duf, (flute) when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) entered the house. After

some time Hazrat Abu Bakr arrived and scolded the girls, saying that these were the devil’s tools

in the home of Prophet of Allah. But the Holy Prophet (PBUH) asked him to let them continue,

because today is Eid; this hadith is taken to prove that music is halal while played with duf.381

Hazrat Ayesha further added that they had the example of an orphan girl in the Ansar of Medina;

when at her marriage ceremony, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) asked me “why you should not

send the singing girls along with them, because the Ansar of Medina are very fond of music, and

among them there is a tradition of ghazal”.382 When Abyssinian children were dancing and

376Ibid., p. 581.377 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), p. 204.378 Shahab Ud din Suhrwardi, Awarif Ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 268.379 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), p. 214.380 Ibid.381Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali, Kimiyya-i-Sa’adat, tr. Muhammad Sa’id al-Rahman Alvi (Lahore: Muktaba Rehmaniyya, n.d.), pp. 355-56. 382 Abdul Rahman Abne Jawzi, Talbees Ablees, tr. Allama Abu Muhammad Abdul Haq Azam Garhi (Karachi: karkhana Tijarat Kutb, n.d.), pp. 294-95.

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playing in the mosque on the day of Eid, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) allowed his beloved wife,

Ayesha, to watch this.383 Hazrat Ayesha recalled that she had a slave girl, singing to her in her

house, and that she carried on singing when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) entered in the house. But

the girl ran away when Hazrat Umar entered, and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) smiled when Hazrat

Umar asked the reason. Recounting this event, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) later recalled that

when Hazrat Umar said that he would not move from there until he listened to the same song

which was heard by the Prophet of Allah, the Prophet than called the girl back and she sang the

song.384 In addition, there are many other well-known traditions that show that people in heaven

will enjoy Sama, that its source will be the different trees, and that their branches will produce

different sweet sounds.385

Before the arrival of the Islam, poetry and poets already had won great renown among

the Arabs. Poems were recited in war and at fairs, festivals, and so on. But this poetry often

belonged to women, and was full of vulgarity, and the tradition of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

only prohibits this type of poetry. Meanwhile Hazrat Hassan bin Sabit (d.674), Hazrat Zahuar bin

K’ab (d.683) and Hazrat Abdullah bin Rawah (d.628) were all poets of the Holy Prophet

(PBUH).

Amr bin al-Sharid quoted a hadith which includes his father’s memory that the Holy

Prophet (PBUH) had asked his father to recite the poetry of Umayya bin Abi ‘l Salt. He recited

one hundred verses, after each of which the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) had asked him to recite

still more.386 On another occasion, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) showed his affection for Hazrat

Abu Musa Ash’ari’s (d.662) music and explained that “he has been given the musical

instruments of the songs of the family of David”.387 Hadith indeed allow us to hear the sweet

sounds of music for as the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) tells us: “Allah did not send any Prophet

without sweet sounds.” Again he says: “If a man recites the Quran with sweet sounds, Allah 383Shahab ud din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 259. 384 Sheikh Zia al Din Suhrwardi, Aadab al Murideen, tr. Muhammad Basit (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation,1998), p. 102; Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 401.385 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Ghulam Muin Ud din Naeemi Ashrafi (Lahore: Gohar Publications, n.d.), p. 616.386 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p.397.387 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), p. 206.

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hears his recitation more than once,” and he further maintained that: “David used to sing with so

melodious sound that men, jinn, beasts and birds gathered spell bound to hear him.”388 And

finally, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) sometimes molded his own conversation in a form that is very

near to the poetic verses.

Al Qusheri (d.1074) argued that in the conversations of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH),

there are some Kalam that are very near to the poetry. Hazrat Anas said that the Ansar of Medina

chanted these verses when they were busy in digging (for the Battle of the Dig): ‘we are the

people, who have done their bayt for jihad on the hand Holy Prophet,’ Then the Holy Prophet

replied in the same poetic manner: ‘O Almighty Allah! The real life is the life of hereafter. You

bestowed respect to the Ansar and the Mahajars (the migrated).389

The Prophet of Allah (PBUH) and his companions not only listened to but also read

poetry as the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: “Some poetry is wisdom.” And he himself read the

verses of Labid (d.661), the renowned poet of the Arabs.

“Everything except Allah is vain

And all fortune is inevitably fleeting.”390

When a famous Arab poet named Nabgha (d.604) once came to the Holy Prophet to read

some of his verses, he commented “Such wisdom is useless in one who does not make any

differences between right and wrong, and such a man cannot be successful until he has a wiser

guide.” Yet on hearing such poetry, he would pray for the poet. Indeed, he prayed for Hazrat

Hassan bin Sabit (d.674) in replying to the infidel poets, who of Allah in their poetry had called

for misfortunes to befall the beloved.391

Renowned Sufis: Scholars and the Sama.

388Ibid., p. 205.389 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 573.390 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 397.391 Shahab Ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif Ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Frothers, 2011), p. 255.

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A large number of Islamic scholars and Sufis not only were strong advocates of the Sama, but

they also participated in it. Scholars like al Qusheri (d.1074), al Ghazali (d.1111), Abu Talib al

Makki (d.996), Zia ud din Suhrwardi (d.1165) were all firm supporters of the Sama, while such

Sufis such as Ali bin Usman (d.1076), Sheikh Shahab ud din Suhrwardi (d.1234), and al

Qalabazi were advocates of the Sama as well. Indeed, the Chishti Sheikhs were among the most

famous and strong advocates and preservers of Sama.

Abu Talib Makki and the Sama.

Hazrat Abu Talib Makki (d.996) was a renowned scholar as well as a Sufi. Hazrat Shahab ud din

Suhrwardi (d.1234) has praised him greatly in every edition of his book Awarif ul Ma’ruf. While

talking on the Sama, Sheikh Shahab recognized Hazrat Abu Talib as a renowned theologian, as

being very pious, and as one of the leading esoteric Sufi (Ahle batin). Because he was fully

informed of Sufi teachings, his argument is the more valid.392 He insisted that the only thing that

is impermissible in the Sama were the Kalam (poetry) that dealt with worldly desires and lust,

although he admitted that anybody listening to the Sama with his concubine or wife might also

be subject to covetousness and sexual or worldly emotions. Examples of such Sama are some

those of the Tabi’un, but anyone who performed or listened a Sama that brought one to the path

leading toward the beloved Almighty Allah and enlightenment, should speak in plain words so as

to reveal the grandness of Allah Almighty. Such Sama were judged permissible, but were

allowed only to those who had a particular authority regarding Sama, and had ecstasy in their

hearts. This is because it is through that ecstasy that one may reach the point of grief (Maqam-i-

hazen), or the point of appreciation (Maqam-i-Shooq), or the point of fear (Maqam-i- khoof), or

the point of love (Maqam-i-muhabat). The Sama bring one to observation and thanks to Sama, a

person becomes more obedient to God. There were some Sufis for whom the Sama was used as a

food or diet, and among them some ate nothing because of the Sama, and instead busied

themselves in meditation, even though the body required food to give them energy for the

ecstasy of the Sama.393

392 Shahab ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 250.393 Sheikh Abu Talib al Makki, Qut al Qaloob vol.2, tr. Muhammad Munzoor al Wajidi (Lahore: Sheikh Ghulam Ali and Sons Publications, n.d.), pp. 221-22.

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People listening the Sama, from the period of Hazrat Atta bin Abi Rabah (d.737) until

today do so on the sacred days like that of tashriq, when Allah Almighty ordered his people to

worship, and they perform zakr on those particular days, which no theologian will declare to be

unlawful. Furthermore, some Sufis did their Sama in the secret places. Among these were such

companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as Hazrat Abdullah bin Jafar, Hazrat Abne Zubair, and

Hazrat Mughareh bin Sheba hold the Sama.394

Al Qalabazi and the Sama.

Al Qalabazi was a very prominent Sufi and advocate of the Sama. He said that he had been

listening to the Junaid of Baghdad, who told him there are two types of the Sama, and that the

blessing of Allah Almighty is showered on three occasions on the Sufis or Fuqra, among which

one is during the Sama.395

Sheikh Zia-ud-Din Suhrwardi and Sama.

There are three groups of listeners found within the realm of Sama. The first are those who make

contact with Allah Almighty during Sama, and who hear the voice of God. Secondly, there are

those who have thought long on their situation, place and time, and then there are the Sufis

whose hearts are free from worldly desires, and who listen to the Sama with the purity of their

hearts and who find their beloved in the Sama. These people are termed as the most capable of

listening to the Sama.396

When Hazrat Dhul ul Noon Misri (d.861) came Baghdad, people asked to him to obtain

for them permission to listen the Sama, and he did so. Hazrat Abdullah Khafif (d.982) came in

response to an invitation from Shiraz; along with his preceptor Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad bin Yaya.

When they heard the Sama there, Sheikh Ahmad fell into ecstasy. 397

Like many other Sufis and scholars, Sheikh Zia ud din also argued that the Sama is not

suitable for everyone, but it is permitted only to the Sufis and others who have a solid

394Ibid., pp. 224-25. 395 Abu Bakr bin Ishaq Al-Qalabazi, T’arruf, tr. Dr. Pir Muhammad Hassan (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation, 1998), p. 260.396Sheikh Zia al Din Suhrwardi, Aadab al Murideen, tr. Muhammad Basit (Lahore: Tasawuf Foundation, 1998), p. 109.397Ibid., p.106, 108.

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relationship with Allah Almighty. When some Sufis asked the Apostle Khezar for his opinion of

the Sama, he replied that it is like the wet and drizzling earth (pure water), and that only the

ulema (Sufis) can stand or survive there. Moreover, the Sama serves as a spiritual medicine for

the one group (Sufis), and as a source of enjoyment for the other people (worldly people) as

well.398

Al-Ghazali and the Sama.

Al-Ghazali (d.1111) argued that only those ulema that belonged to the Ahle-e-zahar (exoteric

ulema) prohibited the Sama, and that they were unaware of the secret that the love of Allah

reveals itself in the heart of a man. These ulema believed that love, friendship and affection were

possible only with the same gender, or among homosexuals. The exoteric ulema therefore

insisted that Sufi claims of the adoration, love, or Ishaq with Allah Almighty were simply false,

and that when someone asked them to define that love of Allah that was vital for a man, they

replied that this meant simply worshiping and following the law of their Almighty Allah.399

But al-Ghazali objected that if the adoration of Allah Almighty overwhelms a person’s

heart and reaches the level of love (ishq), then the Sama is obligatory for that person. The Sama

of the Sufis fall into this category. They played a very vital role in increasing and enhancing a

person’s relation with Allah, and Sufis often acquired the highest spirituality through the Sama.

It was the Sama that purified their hearts and freed them from evils, just as fire purifies silver. By

itself, worship and meditation (riyazat) do not remove prejudice and evils from the human heart

and body as the Sama removed evils.400

In addition, the role of Sama as an important tool of the Chishti order was discussed in detail by

al-Ghazali. Of course, the Sama were best suited to those whose hearts is filled with the love of

Allah, and for a man who fell in love with a girl, the Sama were useless. Al-Ghazali made the

same case for the Sama as did the Chishti Sheikhs, but he also discussed things that would make

the Sama illegitimate. For example, women should not sing Sama, some musical instruments

must not to be used, [the duf or flute is allowed], and un-Islamic poetry (Kalam) is banned. All

398Ibid., p. 104, 109.399Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali, Kimiyya-i-Sa’adat, tr. Muhammad Sa’id al-Rahman Alvi (Lahore: Muktaba Rehmaniyya, n.d.), pp. 353-54. 400Ibid., p. 357.

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this apart, in his works Al-Ghazali described in great detail the role of wisdom, (fahm), ecstasy

(wajd) and movement (harkat).401Hazrat Abdullah bin Abdullah (d.687), Hazrat Muwiayiah

(d.681) and many of other companions heard the Sama, as did Sarri Saqti (d.867), Dhal al Nun

Misri (d.861), Harith al Muhasibi (d.857), and Abne Askalani (d.1448).402

In al-Ghazali’s view, anybody who denied the Sama of the Sufis, along with their

ecstasy, did so only due to their short sightedness. He said such a man lacked the ability to accept

this belief because his condition was like that of a eunuch, who is deprived of the sexual

pleasure, or like the blind man who cannot see the beauty of the greenery and the water. And of

such people Allah Almighty said: “when they stray from the right path, then they said that this is

the old lie.403

Moreover, al-Ghazali described the seven types of songs that were considered to be

lawful. Among the first are the songs of pilgrims; second and third belong to the songs of

warriors on the battlefield; fourth are the songs of lament, related to mourning over past sins and

bad deeds; fifth are the festival songs, like those for Eid, marriage, birthdays, and so on; sixth are

the songs of lovers, if they are songs which enhance one’s relation with Allah, [although songs

that relate to women or sexual love are unlawful]: and seventh are songs which help one to know

Allah Almighty. The seventh type includes songs that we find only in Sama, and in such songs

(Sama) a man’s spirituality is increased and he should be led to witness the secrets of Allah

Almighty. This is the goal and the final stage for a paramour or lover of God, and it is obtained

only through the Sama songs. 404

Al Qusheri and the Sama.

Many Sufis and scholars argued that listening poetry and songs should be lawful and not be seen

as a violation of the shariat. For them there is no conflict because poems were read before the

Holy Prophet [PBUH], who had listened to them and had made no objection to them. Since it is

permissible to praise Allah without a sweet voice, then it is also lawful to do so in the lovely 401Ibid., pp. 359-64 402 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), p. 204.403 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Kimiyya-i-Sa’adat, tr. Muhammad Sa’id al- Rahman Alvi (Lahore: Muktaba Rehmaniyya, n.d.), pp. 358-59.404 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al- Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), pp. 208-10.

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voice. Any Kalam which encouraged people to perform worship, that compelled them to avoid

sin and bad deeds, these Kalam too should be considered mustahib (the liked one) in Islamic

sharia.405

The Chishti preceptors did not allow the common people to participate in the Sama.

Imam Abu Ali Daqaq (d.1012) declared the Sama ‘haram’ (illegitimate) for the common people,

but permissible for the ‘ascetic;’ and ‘favoured’, (mustahib) for his disciples. Hazrat Dhul al

Noon Misri (d.861) thought that Sama roused feelings that revealed the Almighty Allah and

made the heart sad with the love of Allah, and that those who hear the Sama will achieve this

goal.406

As Hazrat Ahmad bin Abi Hawari (d.858) said, “I explained to Hazrat Abu Suleiman

about Sama, and he told me that there are two Qawwals instead of one.” When somebody asked

Hazrat Abu al Hassan Nuri (d.907) that who is a Sufi, he replied that those were Sufis whose

hear Sama and prefer the Sama. Hazrat Ruwaym spoke about the ecstasy in the Sama, and said

that people who fell into ecstasy saw things which are hidden and unseen to others. In ecstasy

those people began weeping, crying, tearing their clothes, or dancing due to the divine feeling or

sensations which called on them to come here, come here.407 It would be better, he maintained, if

a Sufi could control his body and mind during the Sama, but sometimes one became powerless to

stop these movements. In any case, prayer, fasting, and reciting the Holy Quran were all sources

for achieving the divine goal, but Sama was the best means for doing so. It was a fact that the

concentration, the solidarity of heart, achieved through meditation and through worship; but it

was obtained more in the Sama.408

Hazrat Ahmad bin Ali Karkhi spoke of a group of Sufis who gathered in the house of

Hazrat Hassan Qazaz, together with Qawwals who were performing the qawwali, at the very

moment the Chishti preceptor Mumshad Danuri (d.911) arrived there, the Qawwals fell silent,

and he asked them to carry on with their qawwali. Hazrat Khair al Nassaj (d.924) also said that

405 Abu al-Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al-Qusheria, tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), pp. 572-73.406 Ibid., pp. 578-79.407Abu al- Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al- Qusheria. Tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi. (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009) p.580.408 Sayid Muhammad Akbar Hussaini, Jawam’al Kalm.Tr.cap.Wahid Bukhash Sial. (Lahore: Al- Faisal Nasharan Mustaq Book Corner, 2010) p. 265.

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once Hazrat Musa (Moses) told of an incident among his people, when one among them started

crying. When Prophet Musa scolded the man for his tears, Allah Almighty revealed himself to

Musa with the words: “These people are expressing their love for Allah and cry in my ecstasy

why do you rebuke my people”?409

Sheikh Shahab ud din Umar Suhrwardi and Sama.

Hazrat Shahab ud din Umar Suhrwardi (d.1234) was the founder of Suhrwardiyya Sufi Order,

and the preceptor of Hazrat Baha ud din Zakriya (d.1262), Hazrat Jalal ud Tabrizi (d.1266), and

Hazrat Hameed ud din (d.1272). He also argued that the Sama was proper, and that there should

be no conflict among the Muslims as to their legitimacy. In his view there are two types of

revelation during the Sama. The first is soft, and casts an influence on body, while the second

stimulates the mind and soul, causing a person to begin to cry and shed tears.410

In a dream, Hazrat Junaid of Baghdad asked the shatan (devil), how he overcame the

pious people. The devil replied that he did so with the Sama. When he shared this story, a Sheikh

replied to Hazrat Junaid that if he saw the devil in his dream, he would say to the fiend “O

foolish one! Can you really think that you get some benefit from the haqiqi (real, authentic)

Sama and authentic sight.” When Hazrat Junaid heard this, he too agree that the haqiqi Sama and

haqiqi sight was beyond the devil’s reach.411 As Sheikh Abu Ali Daqaq put it, to find Allah

Almighty, the Sama, when compared to all other paths, such as meditation, seclusion and

worship, is the path that is the most direct to Allah412

In Islamic theology, it makes no difference whether the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

said something in his life, or latter in a dream. According to Sheikh Shahab ud din Suhrwardi,

therefore, in Jeddah a Sheikh once saw some people who were reading and listening in the

mosque. This angered him, since he thought that these were very evil people who recited poetry,

even in the house of Allah Almighty. On that same night, he later recalled, the Holy Prophet

409 Abu al- Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazan Qusheri, Risalah al- Qusheria. Tr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Hazarwi. (Lahore: Muktaba Ala Hazrat, 2009), p. 590.

410Shahab ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), pp. 248-49. 411 Ibid., pp. 253-54.412 Sayid Muhammad Akbar Hussaini, Jawam’al Kalm, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al-Faisal Nasharan Mustaq Book Corner, 2010), p. 265.

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(PBUH) showed him that same mosque in his dream, and in it Hazrat Abu Bakr was reading

poetry before the Holy Prophet (PBUH), who listened to it with concentration. Indeed, the Holy

Prophet (PBUH) placed his right hand on his chest like somebody is in the ecstasy.413

Although ecstasy was a common event in the Sama, it only occurred when the Sama were

heard by a group of Sufis. If ordinary people listened to the Sama, this state would not be

achieved by anyone. The beauty of Allah Almighty was an eternal that he showed only to the

pious and virtuous souls. A Sheikh recalled that in the Sama, one of his friends lay down on the

surface of the sea, while another Sufi lay down on fire, and still another Sufi levitated above

ground, then flew in the air and walked in the atmosphere.414

Sheikh Shahab ud din argued that Sama was not a bi’dat (a new thing in religion) as

many people claimed. For example, among the Arabs it was not a tradition to stand up when

greeting someone, as it was in some other countries, but it had become a tradition so that it

would be painful for the people to give up the practice. Such a practice was a bid’at because it

was not existed in the period of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), but it was now permissible since it

did not violate the sharia. The same case with the Sama, it did not violate either the tradition of

the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or the jurisdiction of Islam.415

Ali bin Usman al Jullabi al Hujwiri and the Sama.

Ali bin Usman preferred hearing the Sama over the vision. The sharia and the Prophets had been

based on hearing. Anybody who disapproved of the Sama thus was denying the entirety of

Islamic law as well.416 Like al-Ghazali (d.1111), Hazrat Ali bin Usman (d.1076) also cited the

Quran as being the best Sama. There are many marvelous qualities of the Holy Quran, one of

which is that a man does not tire of hearing it. The infidel Quresh heard and listened secretly to

413 Shahab Ud Din Suhrwardi, Awarif Ul Ma’ruf, tr. Sufi Muhammad Abdul SattarTahir (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 2011), p. 261.414Ibid., pp. 265-66.415 Ibid., p. 265.416 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), pp. 392-93.

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the Holy Quran when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) recited it, because of its beauty. Among them,

Nadhar bin Harith, Utba bin Rabi’a, Amar bin Hashám (Abu Jahl) were the chief infidels,

eloquent and sophisticated orators of the Quresh,417but they admitted that it was not a Kalam that

created by a man. Ali bin Usman (d.1076) pointed out that if anyone argued that he had not

found any delight or enjoyment from sweet sounds and music, and that he considered it to be an

ineffectual and useless practice, such a man was either a liar or a hypocrite. He was not only cast

out of the Sufis but from humanity as well.418

Ecstasy and dance is common in the Sama. A derwaishe said that once when he was walking

along with Hazrat Ibrahim al Khawwas (d. 905), he recited this verse

All men are sure that I am in love

But they know not whom I love

There is in man no beauty

That is not surpassed

In beauty by a beautiful voice

Hazrat Ibrahim al Khawwas asked him to repeat it and he did. He saw that the Sheikh started

dancing and in his ecstasy his foot sank into the rock as if the rock was wax. Then he became

unconscious, but when he recovered, he told him that he was in the paradise, but that he was not

to be seen.419

Every group of Sufis had their own particular approach toward the Sama. Hazrat Ali bin Usman

(d.1076) compared them with the sun that shines its light on everything. Everything uses or gets

benefit from the sun in accord with its ability and merit.420 He said the case is same with Sama:

that if one seeks to approach the divine power through Sama, then he must listen to it and, if

materialistic and bad passions overcome his consciousness, he will give it up. Hazrat Ali bin

Usman mentioned some rules of the Sama as outlined by al-Ghazali. They agreed that it is 417ibid., p. 394.418Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 401.419 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al- Mahjub, tr. Ghulam Muin Ud din Naeemi Ashrafi (Lahore: Gohar Publications, n.d.), p. 629.420 Ibid., p. 625.

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necessary that a preceptor be present in the Sama, and that the place of Sama must be barred

from the common people, although the Qawwals still should be pious and moral persons.421

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani and the Sama.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani (d.1166) was founder of Qadri Order and one of the most popular

Sufi in the history of Islamic mysticism. He is popularly known as Hazrat Ghous al Azam.

Although the Qadri Sufis did not like the Sama, Hazrat Ghous al Azam did not reject it. He said

that it was proper either to deliberately or unintentionally ignore a song, but if someone heard the

Sama, then he should sit down to listen with respect and devotion. When he heard the Kalam of

Sama, he imagined that it was the voice that recited the Holy Quran and in his mind made it an

address to the Allah Almighty.422Indeed, Hazrat shah Abu al M’ali Qadri, a leading Qadri Sheikh

in the Subcontinent, mentioned an occasion when Sheikh Umar Bazar, Sheikh Ali, Sheikh Baqa,

and Sheikh Abu Sa’id Fatawi went to see their own Sheikh, so Hazrat Ghous al Azam called the

qawwals and asked them to perform the Sama.423

Chishti Sheikhs and the Sama

Hazrat Hassan al Basri (d.728/110), who was not only a preceptor of Chishti Sheikhs, but also

the Sheikh of the Qadri, and the Suhrwardis. He often said that ecstasy was a secret of the heart

while Sama was a zakr (mentioning) of Allah Almighty, and that anybody who heard it with the

true faith would achieve his goal.424The Chishti School introduced the music of Sama into India,

and almost all the Chishti Sheikhs were very fond of it. Hazrat Mumshad (d.911/299) recounted

that he once asked the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in his dream: “O Messenger of Allah Almighty, do

you dislike anything about the Sama?” And the Holy Prophet (PBUH) replied: “I do not dislike

421 Ali bin Usman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson (Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1976), p. 419.422 Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, Ghanyatul Talebeen, tr. Maulana Ahmad Mudrasi (Lahore: Muktaba Rehmaniyya, 1394 A.H), p. 658.423 Wahid Bukhash Sial, Maqam-i-Gunj Shakar (Lahore: al Faisal Nasharan, 2010) , p. 387.424 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 32.

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it, but tell them that they should begin with verses from the Quran, and finish with its

recitation”.425

Hazrat Abu Ishaq Shami (d.937/325) was also very fond of Sama. It was said that if

anyone with a disease participated in his Sama he would be cured. Common or worldly people

were not allowed to attend his Sama, but if any of them gained entry, he would become a Sufi as

well. Furthermore, Abu Ishaq kept the Tayy in Sama, and qawwals had to make repentance

(tuba).426 Hazrat Abu Ahmad (d.966/355), the chief khalifa of Hazrat Abu Ishaq Shami (d.937),

was very fond of Sama as well. When Fazl, the prime minister of Haroon al Rashid (r. 786-809),

objected to Abu Ahmad’s Sama, he fell ill and doctors declared him incurable. He then involved

himself in deep meditation in which he finally saw the Holy Prophet (PBUH), who ordered him

to attend the Sama of Hazrat Abu Ahmad and explained that his disease was due to his objection

to that Sama. Fazl obeyed, went to the Sheikh and apologized to him. The Sheikh then forgave

him, and he recovered.427 Another occasion, the ulema complained to sultan Nassir that the Sama

was un-Islamic and demanded he give orders for its prohibition. The sultan, who was also a

maternal uncle of Abu Ahmad Chishti, ordered him to discuss and justify the Sama with the

ulema. When Abu Ahmad came to the palace, he won over all the ulema by his solidly Islamic

arguments and proofs, and all the ulema subsequently became his disciples. As result, Hazrat

Sari Saqti (d.867) often participated in his Sama.428

Hazrat Abu Muhammad (d.1020/411) once said that a person could spend a hundred

years in deep meditation but still would not get as much divine power or authority as he received

in one moment devoted to Sama.429 In a similar manner, Hazrat Abu Yousaf (d.1067/459) also

defended the Chishti tradition of Sama. Someone once asked the Sheikh, why if Sama was a

proper practice according to Islam, Junaid of Baghdad had given it up? The Sheikh replied that

his khalifa Sheikh Abu Bakr Shebli ((861-946)) had participated in his Sama, and added “By God,

425 Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Ihya llum-Id-Din (v.1), tr. Maulana Fazlul-ul-Karim (Lahore: Sind Sagar Academy, 1981), p. 204. 426 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 85.427 Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Iqtibas al-Anwar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2004), p. 283.428Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 90-91429 Ibid. 99.

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if Junaid came to my Sama, he did not do his tuba (repentance).” He went on to say that from

Sama, one received revelation that one could not get in a hundred years of worship.430

Another Chishti Sheikh who delighted in the Sama was Hazrat khawaja Qutb ud din

Moodud (d.1132/527). He told to his disciples that if he had celebrated the blessing of Sama, the

people would have hanged him.431Hazrat Khawaja Sharif Zandni (d.1215/612) also held Sama

regularly. Khawaja Usman Harooni (d.1220/617), the chief khalifa of khawaja Sharif and the

preceptor of Hazrat Muin-ud-Din Chishti (d.1236/634), was very fond of Sama as well. But the

reigning king belonged to the Suhrwardi silsilla, and he ordered Sheikh Usman to give up

listening to the Sama. When he held a debate in his palace, however, all of king’s ulema’s minds

went blank and they even forgot the alphabet. At last the ulema and the king fell down before

Sheikh Usman and, after he prayed for them, Allah returned their knowledge to them.432

Many famous Sufis participated in the Sama of Hazrat khawaja Muin-ud-Din Chishti

Ajmeri (d.1235). Their number included Hazrat Shahab ud din Suhrwardi, Sheikh Muhammad

Kirmani, Sheikh Muhammad Safa Hani, Sheikh Burhan ud din Chishti, Baha ud din Bukhari,

Muhammad Baghdadi, Sheikh Ajal Sanjari, Sheikh Ahmad bin Muhammad Isfahani and Sheikh

Jalal-ud-Din Tabrizi. All were great Sufis, although of different school of thought.433 Hazrat

Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki was so fascinated by the Sama that he died in ecstasy while listening

to them.434

Expansion and Domination of Chishti Sufi order under Hazrat Baba Farid.

As a leading Sufi, poet, intellectual and humanist, Hazrat Baba Farid expanded the Chishti Sufi

Order throughout the Subcontinent. He did this by means of his able disciples and khulafa as

well. In the Chishti Sufi Order, a preceptor often nominated a couple of khulafa.435 Hazrat Baba

430 Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Iqtibas al-Anwar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2004), pp. 301-02.431 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979). p. 115.432 Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Iqtibas al-Anwar, pp. 334-35; Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, pp. 132-33.433 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979). p. 138.434 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr.Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 115.

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Farid appointed and nominated more khulafa than did any of his predecessors.436 The Jamaat

Khana of Sheikh Farid produced a large number of scholars who then also helped to spread the

Chishti School from the one corner of the Indian Subcontinent to the other. Among the most

important khulafa and disciples are the following.

Hazrat Jamal ud din Hanswi was discussed in detail in chapter two above. He was the

chief and beloved khalifa of Hazrat Baba Farid, but he had no offspring or successors to start his

branch because he died during the lifetime of his preceptor. Despite this, a large number of

people received spiritual benefit from him while he lived at Hansi.

Hazrat Nizam ud din Aulia (d.1325) was another favourite khalifa of Hazrat Baba Farid.

He had come to Hazrat Baba Farid in 1257 A.D at Ajodhan;437 and later was sent to Delhi, which

was then capital of Delhi sultanate. He settled in a village named Ghyias Pur, a suburb of that

city.

Hazrat Badr ud din Ishaq (d.1291) compiled the Asrar ul Aulia, the very famous book of

the teachings of Hazrat Baba Farid. He was the latter’s son-in-law and a very beloved khalifa.

Living in a Delhi, he become very renowned as theologian and had travelled as for as Bukhara in

search of answers to a questions of sharia. In Ajodhan he met with Hazrat Baba Farid, who

elaborated on the issue in great detail, even though it had not been raised with him earlier by the

Sheikh. Impressed, Hazrat Badr ud din abandoned his family; to spend the rest of his life with his

Sheikh.438 He is the only khalifa of Hazrat Baba Farid who is buried in Ajodhan, very near to the

435 Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham had two khulafa named Hazrat Huzefah Mur’shehi and Hazrat khawaja Shafiq Balkhi. (Siar ul Aqtab. P.69. also see Iqtibas al- Anwar. 252) Hazrat Abu Muhammad had three khulafa, Hazrat khawaja Abu Yousaf, Muhammad Kako, and ustad Mardan (Iqtibas al- Anwar. P.296). Siar ul Aqtab. Iqtibas al- Anwar. P.343.Hazrat Usman Harooni had four khalifa (Hazrat Muin ud din Chishti Ajmeri, Hazrat Najm ud din Sughra, Sheikh S’adi, and Sheikh Muhammad Turk Narnooli. (Siar ul Aqtab.135. Iqtibas al- Anwar. P.343). Hazrat khawaja Gharib Nawaz had two main khalifa named Hazrat Qutb ud din Bakhtiar kaki, and Hazrat Hameed ud din Naguri. While Hazrat Qutb ud Bakhtiar had also two khulafa, Hazrat Baba Farid din Mus’ood and khawaja Badr ud din Ghaznavi. 436 Different writers mentioned different numbers like in khazinatul Asfia it is thirty three. (Maqam-i-Ggunj Shakar p.224) there are a large number of khulafa of Hazrat Baba Farid but in the Mulfoozat mentioned twenty. see Siar ul Aqtab, 198) Hazrat Baba Farid had more them fifty thousand khulafa see Jawaar-i-Faridi, p. 343 while Muslim Nizami quoted eighty thousand nine hundred and forty two with the reference of Jawaar-i-Faridi see also Anwaar ul Farid, p. 157.437 N.Nath & Faiyaz’Gwaliari’, India as Seen by Amir Khusraus (in 1318 A.D.), (Jaipur: Historical Research Documentation Programme, 1981), p.112. 438 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, P. 183;see also Siar ul Aulia, pp. 263-64; Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, p. 800.

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grave of his Sheikh. While Hazrat Badr ud din Suleiman and Hazrat Shahab ud din Gunj-e- Alm

followed their father’s advice and did their bayt on the hand of Sheikh Ali,439 Hazrat Baba Farid

allowed Hazrat Badr ud din Ishaq to take oath of allegiance (bayt) in his presence, and Hazrat

Nizam ud Aulia did not take the bayt of any other person as long as Hazrat Badr din Ishaq lived. 440

Both Hazrat Nizam ud din Aulia (d.1325) and Hazrat Ali Ahmad Sabir (d.1291) played

very vital roles in establishing the domination of Chishti Sufi Order. Saberiyya, clan of Chishti

Order, which belongs to Hazrat Ali Ahmad Sabir, become a very famous and dominate clan of

the Chishti order that was founded by Hazrat Ali Ahmad Sabir. In addition, he was the maternal

nephew of Hazrat Baba Farid,441 while the paternal side his lineage was said to reach back to the

Prophet Moses, and he was the beloved khalifa, as well as son-in-law, of his preceptor.442

Although Hazrat Baba Farid advised all of his disciples after they had left him, but did

not give any advice to Sheikh Sabir. Rather, he told him that he might live his life with great

happiness and in luxury.443 Nonetheless, Sheikh Ali Ahmad Sabir carried on his preceptor’s

practice in Kalyar (in Uttar Pradesh, India). Hazrat Baba Farid said that his knowledge of the

heart was attained by Ali Ahmad Sabir,444 and he spent all of his life in very deep meditation.

Indeed, in the whole of the Chishti order there was not any Sufi who exhibited greater asceticism

and somberness (Jalal, tasarafaaat) than that shown by Hazrat Ali Ahmad Sabir, and he became

so popular among the people that his daily visitors outnumbered the total population of the

Kalyar.445

Hazrat Najib-ud-Din Mutawakkil (d.1261) was the younger brother and khalifa of Hazrat

Baba Farid. He lived for seventy years in Delhi and never accepted a gift. Because he loved his

439 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 286.440 Ibid., p. 266.441 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 199.442 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, tr. Muhammad Munir Raza Qadri (Lahore: Shabbir Brothers, 1997), p. 189.443 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d), p. 280.444 Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), p. 199.445Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, tr. Capt. Wahid Bukhash Sial (Lahore: Al Faisal Nasharan, 2010), p. 852,855.

101

elder brother, who was also his preceptor, he visited Ajodhan nineteen times. In response to his

request, the Sheikh prayed on nineteen occasions to see him, but thereafter the Sheikh ceased

these prayer and Hazrat Najib ud din Mutawakkil died in Delhi.446

Sheikh Arif hailed from Multan but, after getting his khalafat, Hazrat Baba Farid sent him

to Siwistan. He was allowed to take the bayt on the behalf of his preceptor.447 In this way the

Chishti order evolved in Sindh.

Hameed was an official who, after visited Ajodhan and saw Hazrat Baba Farid, gave up

his post as a darugha. Hazrat Baba Farid then appointed him his khalifa and told him that now he

was a star, and since the star has not any light before the sun, ordered him to go to Anderput

(near Delhi), and improve the lives of the people.448 Again, when another Sufi once came from

Palestine, he was so impressed with the spiritual power of Hazrat Baba Farid that he placed his

head on the latter’s foot and became his disciple. After some time Hazrat Baba Farid gave him

his khalafat Namah and sent him to Siwistan.449

The Jamaat Khana of Hazrat Baba Farid played very important role in producing Sufis,

saints and scholars. It strengthened the Chishti School in the Subcontinent. We can compare the

Jamaat Khana with today’s universities. All types of knowledge were discussed, including the

Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, Sharia, Poetry and Medicine. Even Hindus scholars and yogis came to

Hazrat Baba Farid to discuss and exchange of their thoughts and ideas.

Hazrat Baba Farid was the first Punjabi and Sufi poet in Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent. He

used the local language to spread his message of the love of God, harmony and peace among the

natives as well. The Sama was a controversial figure in Islam. Indeed, it is halal and a best way

of seeking the love and blessing of Allah Almighty as well. Anyone who does not feel any

influence from the Sama should not participate in it. But, the Chishti sheikhs and their disciples

446Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhvi, Akhbar ul Akhyar, P. 166; also see Siar ul Aulia. P. 259,262; also see Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chishti, Mirat ul Asrar, p. 798.447 Siar ul Aulia, Saiyid Muhammad bin Mubarak Kirmani, tr. Ghulam Ahmad Biryan (Lahore: Mustaq Book Corner, n.d.), p. 279.448 Hamid Bin Fazl Allah Jamali, Siar ul Arafin, tr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri (Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1976), p. 73.449Allah Diyya bin Sheikh Abdul Rahim, Siar ul Aqtab, tr. Prof. Muhammad Muin ud Din Dardai (Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1979), pp. 195-96.

102

listened the Sama as their spiritual diet. For them it is more important than meditation or any

other type of worship.

103

Conclusion

The phenomenon of Sufism in Islam started after the demise of the last pious caliph Hazrat Ali

(d.661). In fact, the Umayyad rulers (r.661-750) and the early Abbasids (r.750-1258) focused on

the preservation of the tradition of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and arranged the jurisprudence of

Islamic law (fiqh). Both these centuries saw the gradual evolvement of Islamic Sufism. All the

twelve Sufi orders (among them two were considered false) came into being during that period.

The third century of the Hijra saw the decline of the Abbasid rule, especially in the centre, and

the apogee of the Islamic Sufism. The Sufis dislike being involved in politics for their sole

purpose was to please their Allah Almighty. For that purpose, they kept themselves busy in

meditation.

Indeed, the twelfth and the thirteen centuries A.D. produced numerous erudite and

popular Sufis and intellectuals. In this regard, these Sufi orders still exist, especially in India and

Pakistan. These Sufi-orders like the Qadriyya, the Chishtiyya, the Suhrwardiyya, the

Naqshbandiyya, the Kubraviyya and many others have a different approach toward the state and

toward the Sama.

Hazrat Ali bin Usman Hujwiri (d.1076) was a first popular Sufi in India. He came from

Afghanistan and settled in Lahore. But credit for the spread of Islam in the Indo-Pak

Subcontinent must go to the Chishti sheikhs as well. Hazrat Muin-ud-Din Chishti Ajmeri

(d.1236), founder of the Chishtiyya Order in India, was the first most important and popular Sufi

in India. He and his khulafa became much more popular among the Indian ruling elite and

masses in both Hindus and Muslims communities as well.

The forefathers of Hazrat Baba Farid (b.1175-d.1265) came to the Subcontinent in the

middle of the twelfth centuries. Thanks to the mother of Hazrat Farid, who was herself a Rabi’a

in her time, and who gave her full concentration to her child Farid to become a true saint. That

was why he became popular as a mystic as a teenager. Hazrat Baba Farid then visited a large

number of other Sufis to achieve his spiritual goal.

Hazrat Baba Farid adopted an all-embracing policy toward all the human beings. He had

shown equal response toward Muslim and non-Muslim. The Sheikh did not preach Islam before

the Hindus and the non-Muslims, but accepted them as his disciples without converting. Indeed,

104

his non-Muslim disciples were so impressed by his teachings, as well as his deeds, that after

some time they themselves converted to Islam. Whether the sheikh lived in Abad or in the

jungle, he maintained his policy of love and harmony among all sects, creeds, castes, rich and

poor. He taught that through love, one can obtain the divine power.

The Chishti Order emerged as the dominant Sufi order in the Indian Subcontinent, and it

remained very popular until the eighteen and nineteen centuries, till Hazrat Noor Muhammad

Maharwi (d.1793) and Shah Suleiman Taunswi (d.1850). The prime reason of its domination was

Hazrat Baba Farid and his disciples. The role of the Jamaat Khana or school of Hazrat Baba

Farid was also very important in this regard. The other Sufi orders also existed in the same

period. For example Qadri had Bulleh Shah (d.1757) and the last one was Ahmad Raza Khan

(1921). The later finally founded a Sufi school that known as Barelvi school of thought and still

is in majority in Pakistan. The Naqshbandi of that time was Hazrat Shah Waliullah (1763), and

the Deoband movement was represented the Naqshbandi school and contemporary to the Barelvi

movement of the Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi. The Kubraviyya as a sub-branch of

Suhrwardis and the Suhrwardiyya order itself restricted mainly in Deccan and Kashmir in that

period of time as well.

The Sama was very charismatic and fascinating feature in the Chishti order. They have

remained very controversial in every period. Hazrat Baba Farid and his preceptors too faced

much castigation for listening to the Sama. Sama is permissible in Islam and one should seek the

divinity or spirituality through listening them. Therefore, it is better that this should be arranged

under the perfect preceptor and that the Qawwal should also be a virtuous one.

Hazrat Baba Farid appreciated both Abad and Jungle (wilderness) in his teachings throughout his

life. Almost all the prominent Sufis went to the Jungle for meditation. For seclusion and

meditation, the Jungle is the best place. In the Abad (a center of urban culture) both common and

influential people created problems for the Sufis. Hazrat Baba Farid was the eye-witness to all of

these problems, so he made up his mind to settle in the Jungle. Moreover, in his childhood he

had liked the jungle. During the life time of his own preceptor, Hazrat Baba Farid left Delhi the

capital of the Muslim empire and the dwelling place of his sheikh, and to go to Ajodhan, which

was a jungle. Hazrat Baba Farid had a desire to live a very simple and austere life; he condemned

105

those who wasted their time by building big palaces and large buildings. The sheikh also disliked

worldly people because they had forgotten their purpose in creation.

To stress the importance of the jungle and to depreciate the Abad, Hazrat Baba Farid told

different sheikh’s stories in his books, and he used very beautiful similes in his poetry. In this

respect, the muddy pond, poisonous stalk, and the hidden fire are his best similes, among many

others.

It is not necessary that Allah Almighty blesses only those who live in the jungle or the

wilderness. Hazrat Baba Farid also appreciated those who live in the Abad but did not forget

their Allah Almighty. It did not matter whether it is an Abad or a jungle. Credibility comes from

a man’s good and bad deeds, rather than the places in which he dwell. This was especially true of

Baba Farid himself, whose tolerance, humanity and wisdom remains a beacon for those valuing

such virtues in our own troubled work of sectarian and political conflict and hatred.

106

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Glossary

aaqabat

hereafter, the life after death

abadiatsubmission, prayer, worship.

abad

civilized area or place

abidworshipper.

afsoo

magic

ahle

those people who have

ahle-e-batin

people (Sufis, saints) who have esoteric knowledge

ahl as suffahthe people of the bench; the poor and needy amongst the noble Companions of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala alayhi wa Sallam, who lived on a verandah in a courtyard next to his house in Madinah.

ahle-e-zahar

Those who have exoteric knowledge

akhirah [akhir, akhirat]the 'hereafter,' Life after Death. one of the key fundamental beliefs of Islam.

alamworld

'alim (pl. ulema)a learned man, of Islamic legal and religious studies, a faqih

Allahthe muslim term for God, the Almighty One, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Source from which all things seen and unseen emanate and return.

116

annhe

blind

ansari [pl. ansar]anyone of the noble Companions of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam  from the inhabitants of Madinah who embraced and supported Islam

arif'one who knows' --- the knowledge of the self, the gnostic, the knower

asa

wooden staff

ashraf,ashraaf

the better one

Ashabcompanion --the title given to the earliest converts of Islam.

Ayah

(arab. «sign») - the smallest unit of the Qur'an. Ayat are joined together into suras of different size, namely chapters.

Azan.(adhan)

the public call or prayer summons to prayer.

Baba

a religious wandering preacher; an elder-spiritual advisor.

baraka

holiness, goodness as spiritual power; spiritual power of the pir (Master). Blessing, God's grace.

bayt

oath of allegiance for initiation

117

bhaghshu

Buddhist mystic

Bid’at

innovation

Chillah

the forty days fast and practice of retreat.

Esa

the Prophet Christ

Daff (duff)

Drum, flute

Dargah

a shrine of a preceptor or a religious figure.

Dervish 

pers., darvish, arab.: fakir a pauper, a beggar

a member of the sufi community. There existed many groups of dervishes; all dervishes are devided into wandering and living in shrines

Dinar

A gold coin, a currency

Dua

a request addressed to Allah, a prayer

duniya

world

eid

Muslim festival that celebrated two time in a year. First after the holy month of Ramadan, and second on the 10th of the dhal hajja.

Fakir, plur. Fukara

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poor (in the meaning of a needing the mercy of God); a synonim for 'dervish' and a common name for a sufi; fakirat - women-dervishes.

Fana

lit., nonexistence, in sufism the concept of a mystic's dissolution in God.

Fana fi-sheikh

the first stage of Fana, dissolution or disappearance in the Master.

fariaz

obligations, duties,

fatwa

legal verdict given by a mufti or judge

ghaib

unknown, unable to see

ghina

music

Hadith

tradition about the words and deeds of Mohammad (PBUH).

halal

permissible, allowed.

haramprohibited, impermissible

Haqiqa

means true, real existence (or complete attainment of truth). Having reached haqiqa, a wanderer attains the true nature of existence, of God and his personal inclusiveness to it. This is why sufis often call themselves 'ahl al-haqiqa' (people of real existence or people of truth).

hoors

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beautiful women in the paradise

iftar

break the fast

Khezar

the God's legendary prophet, who appears before seekers and directs them to God. There is a belief that khezar had drunk from the source of eternal youth and will live forever. His name, meaning 'green', correlates with this proverb. The story of the meeting of the prophet Moses with khezar is told in the 18th surah of the Qu'ran.

ibadat [ibadah]worship

iblis

devil

Imam 

lit., preceding. the mosque superior, a prayer leader, the head of the muslim religious community.

Ishaq

love, divine love.

Ishaq-e-haqiqitrue love with Allah or with preceptor

Jalal

dignity, greatness, glory – the active principle of masculine energy in sufism. Refers to the right part of the human body. The same as the principle of Yan in Taosism.

Jamal

beauty, grace– the passive feminine principle in sufism, giving gentleness, flexibility, understanding.

jamaat khana

mudrassah, or educational centre of the Chishti sheikhs where both the guests and the students studied and stayed

Jihad

an "effort", fighting for faith.

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kalam

poetry,

Khalifa

a deputized sheikh of the sufi brotherhood.

Khalafat Namah

An approval letter of the preceptor for khalafat

Karamat

miracles of saints.

Khanqa

a house, a place of dervishes and sufis.

Khirqa

lit., sack-clothes -clothes of Sufis and dervishes

majzoob

one who is totally attracted/highly absorbed in God's contemplationand who did not wear cloth, or who lost their senses in love of Allah

Malamati

lit., the blameworthy, the name for a mystic-ascetic movement.

Maqam-i-shoq

place of appreciation

Marifa

mystic intuitive knowledge; mystic gnosis; true knowledge of God. Maulana - lit., our Master, an honourable title of outstanding sufi Teachers.

mashaykh

spiritual master

moulvis

ulema,

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mu’azan

a man who call the people for prayer five time a dayMubaya'ah 

oath (of allegiance and obedience) at being initiated and clothed in the khirqa. Murid – a sufi, a disciple and niviciate of the Sufi Master. Murids, who lived under the guidance of the Sheikh in khanqa were called usually 'fakir' (arab. a beggar) or 'darvish' (pers. a pauper). Murshid (arab.) – a spiritual (mystic) Master in Sufism.

mufti

theologian having the authority to issue verdict

mukroh

impermissible

Musa, Mosa

Prophet Moses

mustahib

the liked one

Nabi, plur. Anbiya

a prophet.

Naib

deputy head of the order, the head's representative in the region.

Nafs

inner self, ego; carnal soul, animal self; instinctive-animal soul«nafs-i-ammara» - The inciting nafs«nafs-i-lawwama» - The self-accusing nafs«nafs-i-mulhama» - The inspired nafs«nafs-i-mutma'inna» - The nafs at peace

Namaz (pers.) or 'salat' (arab.)

a Muslim canonic prayer, repeated five time a day. The prayer can be made in any place, but it must be obligatory preceded by ritual washing.

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Nur

light; the concept of divine light as of manifestation of God's truth.

Order

a sufi community. As a rule, orders are named after their founders.

pilu

a wild fruit

pir

a preceptor

Qalb

the heart; in Islamic theology - the place of faith and devotion, the organ helping to reach religious truths; one of the key ideas of sufism. According to al-Ghazali, 'calb' joins divine and instinctive nature of the human. Calb is the most important organ of true zikr, which lets God move our heart; calb is the only entity in the world capable of receiveng God.

Qawwali

a form of devotional singing, which originates from mystic tradition of sufism, and dates back to the XIII century, when the sufi order Chishti was established in India. The art of Qawwali appeared from the fusion of Persian and Indian music, traditionally it is plated at the shrines of saints in India and Pakistan.

qawwals

singers of qawwali

Qazi

a Muslim judge

Quresh

respectable Arab tribe

Raja or mahraja

titles of Hindu rules or kings

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Rakat, or Rakaʿah

a union of movement and word formula in ritual prayer (namaz).

Ramadan

the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when Allah revealed to the mankind all the holy scriptures, including the Quran. The month of fasting (Ramazan) for muslims.

Rasul Allah

the messenger of God, the prophet Muhammad.

riyazat

meditation

Salat

a daily obligatory muslim prayer.

salikA salik is a person who enganged in Islamic spiritual path or sufism. The word derived from arabic word suluk, which means to walk a (spiritual) path (to God). To become a salik, one must follow both the outer path (exoterism, shariah) and the inner path (esoterism, haqiqa) of Islam virtuously. A salik is also called murid when one becomes a disciple to one particular spiritual teacher (murshid) or a sufi master.

Samahana

a room where sama' is held.

Sama

(arab. hearing) devotional Sufi music, a Sufi concert

Shaitan

devil.

Sharia (shariat)

(liter. «legislation») - the set of Islamic laws and rules based upon the Quran.

Sheikha

a woman-spiritual guide.

Sheikh

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(Peer) – a spiritual guide, the head of a sufi khanqa; the one, who is authorised to give initiations in the order.

Silsillah

Spiritual transmission chain, which ascends to the prophet Muhammad. The line of Spiritual transmission of power and teaching, or tariqa from the Master to his disciple.

Subhan'Allah

"Glorious is God (Allah)".

sufi

a follower of the mystical path,

Sultan

Muslim king or ruler

Sunnah

the samples of behaviour taught by the Prophet Muhammad.

Sura(h)

a division of the Quran. The Quran consists of 114 surahs of different size.

Suf 

("wool") - a coarse wool coat, sack-cloth, a distinctive attribute of sufi clothes.

Sufism (Tasawwuf)

a sacred mystic teaching, the path to attainment the Truth. Its task is to rise a persn to a higher stage of perfection. The true essence of this sacred teaching is revealed by the grace of Allah only to those, who are seeking and making efforts to experience sufism from inside through the special spiritual practice.

Tabi’in

The successors of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Taffakur

silent prayer.

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Ta'ifa

a branch or a part of a sufi order.

Takva

fear of God, fear of Allah, aspiration for piety, attention regarding God.

Tariq i Tariqa

the path, the name for the sufi path; a mystic method, system or school of teaching.

Tariqa(t)

(from «tariq» - the path) - the path of spiritual self-perfection of a murid at presence of a true sufi Sheikh. Tariqa(t) designates spiritual life of a wanderer on his way of knowing God, despite of the order or Sheikh he/she is devoted to. Each wanderer having chosen the sufi method of knowing the Truth has his/her personal, individual, unique only for him/her spiritual world. This is why Sheikhs-sufis used to say that the number of ways to God is equal to the number of wanderers.

Tasawwuf

mysticism.

Tawwakul

complete trust in the will of Allah, reliance upon the will of Allah alone.

tayy

minimum three days fast that break with water

Toor

name of a mountain

tuba

repentance

ulema

theologian

Ummah

Followers, or the Muslim community

ursannual festival at a Sufi shrine commemorating the death anniversary of a sufi

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Auliya siguler wali

standing close to God, a friend of God, a saint.

Vird (Wird), plur. Avrad

a secret prayer of the order; a prayer in general; a canonic prayer of the order; mystic "path" the order is committed to serving.

Wazifa (arab.)

daily service and worship; in sufism - the name of a special exercise (practice of concentration).

wizir. Prime minister

wudu

to wash your hand mouth and feet before the prayer

Zakat (arab. "purification")

the obligatory "purifying" offering, one of " the five pillars of Islam", presented in the Qur'an.

Zakr (Zikr) (arab. "remembrance")

the basic sufi mystic practice, contained in continuous repetition of certain prayers and names of God. This is a moment of union of the inner God with the outer God.

Kinds of zakr:

There is an individual and a collective zakr. In different sufi tariqas zakrs may be recited aloud (zikr 'jali') or silently (zakr 'khafi'). It is believed that jali zikr tradition dates back to Ali ibn Abu Talib, but khafi zikr - back to Abu Bakhr as-Saddik. Preparation for a zikr: in the Mevlevi order - namaz before a collective zikr is an obligatory duty.

Zuhd

"abstention", "repudiation", "ascetism".

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