d.751 - 1000 H
Short Biographies [4] d.751 - 1000 H
.
AKHI SIRAJ AL-DIN UTHMAN [d.758 H - 1357 CE]
TAJ AL-DIN AL-SUBKI [d.771 H - 1369 CE]
IBN KATHIR [d.774 H - 1373 CE]
MAKHDOOM JAHANIAN JAHAN GASHT [d.785 H - 1384 CE]
SHAH BAHA'AL-DIN NAQSHBAND [d.791 H - 1388 CE]
HAFIZ AL-SHIRAZI [d.791 H - 1389 CE]
ALA AL-HAQ WADEEN [d.800 H - 1398 CE]
MAKHDOOM ASHRAF JAHANGIR SEMNANI [d.807 H - 1405 CE]
IBN KHALDUN [d.808 H - 1406 CE]
GESU DERAZ BANDA NAWAZ [d.825 H - 1422 CE]
IMAM IBN HAJAR AL-ASQALANI [d.852 H - 1448 CE]
IMAM MUHAMMAD AL-JAZULI [d.870 H - 1465 CE]
ABD'AL RAZZAQ, NUR 'AL-AYN [d.871 H - 1467 CE]
ABD 'AR-RAHMAN AL-JAMI [d.897 H - 1492 CE]
SHAMS AL-DIN AL-SAKHAWI [d.902 H - 1497 CE]
JALAL AL-DIN AL-SUYUTI [d.911 H - 1505 CE]
'ABD 'AL WAHHAB AL-SHARANI [d.973 H - 1566 CE]
IBN HAJAR AL-HAYTAMI [d.974 H - 1567 CE]
SHAH WAJIH AL-DIN ALVI GUJERATI [d.998 H - 1590 CE]
Akhi Siraj al-Din
Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din Uthman Chisti al-Nizami [d.758 H/1357 CE] 'alayhir ar-rahman w'al ridwan
Akhi Siraj al-Din Usman, was a famous 13th century sufi-saint of Bengal, and a disciple of Shaykh Nizam al-Din Awliya [d.1325 CE]. Akhi Siraj al-Din learnt the Islamic sciences thoroughly with Shaykh Fakhr ud-Din Zarradi. He read Kafiyat,Quduri, Mufassal and Majma-ul-Bahrain as a student of Mawlana Rukn al-Din and became an accomplished scholar. Shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya alayhir rahmanconferred khilafat (spiritual viceregency) upon him and gave him the epithet 'Aina-i-Hindustan' (mirror of Hindustan).
After the death of (Nizam al-Din Awliya d.1325) his spiritual leader, Akhi Siraj al-Dincame to Bengal and began preaching in the capital cities of Gaur (Lakhnauti) and Pandua. He was the founder of the Chishtiya Tariqa (path of devotion) in Bengal.Shaykh 'Ala al-Haq Wadeen (d.1398) alayhir rahman of Pandua was his chief disciple.Akhi Siraj al-Din alayhir rahman was noted to break some of his more highborn disciples of their aristocratic ways. In the case of Shaykh 'Ala al-Haq, whose father was a prominent migrant from Lahore and the treasurer of Bengal's provincial government, Siraj al-Din taught his disciple to humble himself by walking with a hot cauldron on his head through the quarter of Lakhnauti where his family lived.[1]
It is said that Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din buried the robes that he had received from Shaykh Nizam al-Din Awliya in the northwestern corner of the Sagar Dighi at Gaur. He was buried near the grave of his robes according to his wishes and a mausoleum was erected over his grave.
Local people called him Purana Pir (Purana Pir) or Piran-i-Pir (Piran-i-Pir); the former term means 'the old saint' and the latter means, 'the saint of saints'. It seems that Purana Pir is more probable, because he is the oldest of the known Chishtiya saints in Bengal. Moreover,Piran-i-Pir is a title reserved by the Muslims of India for the 'al-Ghawth al-Adham' Muhy-ud-Din Abd'al-Qadir al-Jilani Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu who is regarded as Bara Pir (the great Pir). The date of the construction of the mausoleum is not known, but two epigraphs attached to the gates of the shrine show that the gates were built by Sultan Ala al-Din Husayn Shah and Sultan Nasir al-Din Nusrat Shah respectively. Ala al-Din Husayn Shah also built a siqayah or shed for drinking water at the dargah of the saint.
The urs (death anniversary; 758 AH/1357 CE) is commemorated annually on Id al-Fitr. On this occasion the jhanda or heraldic symbol of Makhdoom Jahaniyan Jahan Gasht, preserved in the shrine of Shaykh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi at Pandua and the Panja (reproduction of hand) of Shaykh Nur Qutb al-Alam at Pandua are sent to the shrine of Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din at Gaur as a mark of respect to the old saint. Shaykh Akhi's tomb at Gaur (Lakhnauti) still attracts hundreds of devotees from all over the country.
It is believed in some quarters that Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din originally came from Badayun (the epithet Badayuni is concequently attached to his name), but modern researchers have shown that it is not true. Shaykh Abd'al-Haq Muhaddith Dehlavi [d.1642CE] alayhir rahman in his Akhbar-ul-Akhyar fi Asrar-ul-Abrar calls Akhi Siraj al-Din Gauri, ie he was from Gaur, Bengal. The same scholar says that Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din while staying in the khanqah of Shaykh Nizam al-Din at Delhi, used to go to Bengal to see his mother who was staying there. He is enjoying his eternal rest in Bengal and his teachings have also been preserved there through his disciples, the Chishtiya saints. [Abdul Karim]
Bibliography Enam al-Huq, A History of Sufism in Bengal, Dhaka, 1974; A Karim, Social History of the Muslims in Bengal down to AD 1538, Dhaka, 1959
[1] Akhbar al-akhyar, comp. 'Abd al-Haq Muhaddis Dihlavi (U. P.: Kitab Khana-yi Rahimia, 1915–16), 149.
top
Taj al-Din al-Subki
Shaykh al Islam Taj al-Din al-Subki [d. 771] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Taj al-Din Abu Nasr 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Subki, according to Ibn Ayyub, al-Ghazzi, and Ibn Shuhba was born in Cairo. He was the author of the Mu'id al-Ni'am wa Mubid al-Niqam, and belongs to a large family of al-Subkis, whose members during the seventh and eighth century A.H. made themselves renowned, not only for their learning, high positions as qadis, jurisconsultants, professors, preachers, and writers, but also for their high personal qualities. As the family name al-Subki shows and historical records prove, the family of these times came from one of the two villages Subk in lower Egypt, namely the Subk in the province of Sharkiyya, near Memphis. Here, as we know, the father of the author, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, was born. Mubarak says that Allah had bestowed special favours on this village in allowing it to give to the world two such men as Taqi al-Din and his son Taj al-Din (1).
Taj al-Din was without doubt a man with a strong sense of duty and an equal strong sense of right and wrong. His character was one of unquestionable honesty and integrity. He was carried by unselfish motives and lofty aspirations.We will also have to regard Taj al-Din as a pious man. His great ideal was Omar II, known for his piety, not to say bigotry. He was obviously inclined towards religious mysticism. Thus he speaks with great deference of the Sufis, and those he put forward as the benefactors of the world.
Shaykh al-Islam Taj al-Din al-Subki, the son of Shaykh al-Islam al-hafiz Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756) who was a student of IBN ATA' ALLAH, mentioned in his book 'Mu'id al-Ni'am' under the chapter entitled Sufism:
''May Allah give them life and greet them (Sufis), and may He place us with them in Paradise. Too many things have been said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them... The truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship.''
Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (Imam al-Haramayn's father) said: They are among Allah's people and His elite. His mercy is sought through their remembrance of Allah, and rain descends with their invocation. May Allah be pleased with them and may Allah be pleased with us for their sake.(2)
Ref; Living Islam & Masud.co.uk
(1) From this statement it would seem as if also our author was born at Subk. Some native biographers indeed only use the general term Egypt in denoting the birthplace, while others distinctly state that he was born in Cairo.
(2) al-Subki, Mu'id al-ni'am wa mubid al-niqam p. 190.
top
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Hafiz Shihab al-Din Umar Imad al-Din Ibn Kathir [d. 774H /1373CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wal-ridwan
Abu al Fida Ismail ibn Abi Hafs Shihab al-Din Umar Imad al-Din ibn Kathir al Busrawi; was born in the year 701 AH in an area called Majdal, near Busra, west of Damascus (Syria). He was a hadith master (hafiz, someone with at least 100,000 hadiths by memory) and was of the Shafi'i school as well as part of the 'Ahl al-Sunnah w'al Jama'ah'. Ibn Kathir’s tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis) is widely regarded as one of the great works of tafsir. Also among his best-known works is his masterpiece in history 'al-Bidaya wan-Nihaya' ('The Beginning and the End') .He also interpreted part of Imam Bukhari's Sahih (book of authentic Hadiths).
Even though he was a student of the heretic IBN TAYMIYA whatever length of time Ibn Kathir studied with Ibn Taymiya, he was in his twenties when the latter died, and his long and fruitful career extended over the next forty-six years. It cannot be lost on us how far away Ibn Kathir is from anthropomorphism, and there is no evidence in his tafsir that suggests he followed the ideas of Ibn Taymiya or his student Ibn Qayyim in the literalism that gives the impression of likening Allah to created things. That is not to say that Salafis [modern day wahabis] havent altered the texts to mislead the general public. And Allah knows best. Read more: IBN TAYMIYA & IBN KATHIR
Ibn Kathir on Mawlid:
In the time of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, it is well-known that poets came to him with all kinds of works praising him, writing about his campaigns and battles and about the Sahaba. This is proved by the numerous poems quoted in theSiras of Ibn Hisham, al-Waqidi, and others. The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was happy with good poetry. It is reported in Bukhari's "al-Adab al-Mufrad"that he said:
"There is wisdom in poetry."
Ibn Kathir says in his "Mawlid," page 30:
"The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's uncle al-'Abbas radi Allahu ta'ala anhu composed poetry praising the birth of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, in which are found the following lines:
'When you were born,
the earth was shining,
and the firmament barely contained your light,
and we can pierce through,
thanks to that radiance and light
and path of guidance.'"
Ibn Kathir mentions the fact that according to the Sahaba, the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam praised his own name and recited poetry about himself in the middle of the battle of Hunayn in order to encourage the companions and frighten the enemies. That day he Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said:
"Ana an-Nabee, laa kadhib, Ana ibn 'abd al-Muttalib"
"I am the Prophet! This is no lie. I am the son of 'Abd al-Muttalib!"
Also read : DHIKR MAWLID RASUL'ALLAH by IBN KATHIR
top
Jahanian Jahan Gasht
Al Haaj Makhdoom Mir Sayyad Jalal al-Din Jahanian Jahan Gasht [d.785 H / 1384 CE] 'alayhir ar-rahman w'al ridwan
Hadrat Mir Sayyad Jalal al-Din Makhdoom Jahanian Jahan Gasht Radi Allahu anhu was a renowned scholar, philosopher and theologist. He belonged to the Suhrawardiya order of Sufi Saints and took the religious oath [bay'ah] from his father and uncle. He was born in Uch in 707 A.H. (1307 C.E.) [also spelt auch, ooch] in the state of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
The first Suhrawardi Sufi to settle in Uch was Jalal ad-Din Bukhari (d. 1290 CE), also known as ''Surkh (red) Bukhari''. He came to India from Bukhara and became the disciple of BAHA AL-DIN ZAKARIYA MULTANI [d.665 H - 1267 CE] . He remained at his khanaqah for thirty years and was then sent by him to Uch. At his death he was suceeded by his son Ahmad Kabir but it was his grandson Jahanian Jahan Gasht, who ''inspired loyalty and admiration among a wide section of Muslim mystics, both Suhrawardi and non-Suhrawardi.'' Having spent most of his time travelling in Arabia (he amazingly performed the Hajj pilgrimage thirty-six times), he became known as 'Jahanian Jahan Gasht', meaning 'Traveller of the World'. Jahanian Jahan Gasht spent a number of years in Makkah and Madina mainly in studying the religious sciences.
This, what may be termed the ''Makkan connection'', was to play a very important role in subsequent history of not only the development of Sufism, or to be more precise, what Allama Iqbal termed Islamic Sufism, but of Islam as a whole in India. It gave religous orthodoxy a strong place in Sufism, which culminated in the ''reform'' of Sufism at he hands of Mujaddid Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruq as-Sirhindi [d.1624CE] in the early seventeenth century. Henceforth in India, as before in the other Islamic lands, Sufism was not to be wholly a movement of transcendental culture. Besides the groups and individuals who were indeed committed to the ideal of transcendence, there emerged a strong and influential group which concieved of Sufism in terms of total dedication to the shariah on the one hand and identification of religion with the state on the other. They incorporated and emphasized the elements of asceticism into orthodoxy, and the strength of Muslim rule in India for them was as much the responsibility of the Sufis as that of the scholars.
During his travels, he studied with Hadrat Shaykh Rukn-i-Alam Radi Allahu anhu, in Multan, and it is also a common belief that the town of Jahanian, in Punjab [PAKISTAN] was so named after Jahanian Jahan Gasht, after visits preaching there.
Jahanian Jahan Gasht Radi Allahu anhu passed away on the 6th of Rabi al-Awwal 785 A.H. (1384 C.E.) at the age of 77 and is laid to rest in Uch Shareef. The shrine is situated on a high platform surrounded by a wall with a gateway and is visited by devotees all the year round. The date of the original construction of his tomb is uncertain. Most of the structure was restored or rebuilt during the 19th and 20th centuries. Nevertheless, its present form resembles the original built in the 13th or 14th century. This is borne out by inscription recording restoration dates.
top
Shah Naqshband
Muhammad Baha 'al-Din Uways al-Bukhari Shah Naqshband [d.791h] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Muhammad Baha 'al-Din Uways al-Bukhari Radi Allahu anhu, known as Shah Naqshband, the Imam of the Naqshbandi Tariqat without peer. He was born in the year 1317 C.E. in the village of Qasr al-'arifan, near Bukhara. After he mastered the shari'ah sciences at the tender age of 18, he kept company with the Shaykh Muhammad Baba as-Samasi Radi Allahu anhu, who was an authority in hadith in Central Asia. After the latter's death, he followed Shaykh Amir Kulal Radi Allahu anhu who continued and perfected his training in the external and the internal knowledge.
The students of Shaykh Amir Kulal Radi Allahu anhu used to make dhikr aloud when sitting together in association, and silent dhikr when alone. Hadrat Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu, however, although he never criticized nor objected to the loud dhikr, preferred the silent dhikr. Concerning this he says, "There are two methods of dhikr; one is silent and one is loud. I chose the silent one because it is stronger and therefore more preferable." The silent dhikr thus became the distinguishing feature of the Naqshbandiyya among othertariqats.
Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu performed Hajj (Pilgrimage) three times, after which he resided in Merv and Bukhara. Towards the end of his life he went back to settle in his native city of Qasr al-'Arifan. His teachings became quoted everywhere and his name was on every tongue. Visitors from far and wide came to see him and to seek his advice. They received teaching in his school and mosque, a complex which at one time accommodated more than five thousand people. This school is the largest Islamic center of learning in Central Asia and still exists in our day. It was recently renovated and reopened after surviving seventy years of Communist rule.
Shah Naqshband's Radi Allahu anhu teachings changed the hearts of seekers from darkness to light. He continued to teach his students the knowledge of the Oneness of God in which his precedessors had specialized, emphasizing the realization of the state of ihsan(excellence) for his followers according to the hadith of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, "Ihsan is to worship God as if you see Him."
When Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu died he was buried in his garden as he requested. The succeeding Kings of Bukhara took care of his school and mosque, expanding them and increasing their religious endowments (awqaf).
Succeeding Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Tariqat wrote many biographies of Shah NaqshbandRadi Allahu anhu. Among them are Mas'ud al-Bukhari and Sharif al-Jarjani, who composed the Awrad Baha 'al-Din which describes him and his life's works including his fatawa (legal decisions). Shaykh Muhammad Parsa, who died in Madinah in 822 H. (1419 C.E.) wroteRisala Qudsiyya in which he talks of Shah Naqshband's Radi Allahu anhu life, his virtues, and his teachings.
Shah Naqshband's Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu literary legacy included many books. Among them are Awrad an-Naqshbandiyyah, the Devotions of Shah Naqshband. Another book is Tanbih al-Ghafilin. A third book is Maslakul Anwar. A fourth is Hadiyyatu-s-Salikan wa Tuhfat at-Talibin. He left many noble expressions praising the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallam and he wrote many legal rulings. One of his opinions was that all the different acts and kinds of worship, whether obligatory or voluntary, were permitted for the seeker in order to reach reality. Prayer, fasting, zakat (paying the poor-tax), mujahadat(striving) and zuhd (self-denial) were emphasized as ways to reach Allah Almighty.
Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu built his school on the renewal of the teachings of the Islamic religion. He insisted on the necessity of keeping the Qur'an al-kareem and the teachings of the Sunnah. When they asked him, "What are the requirements of one who follows your way?" he said, "To follow the Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallam." He continued saying: "Our way is a rare one. It keeps the 'Urwat ul-Wuthqa, the Unbreakable Bond, and it asks nothing else of its followers but to take hold of the Pure Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallam and follow the way of the Sahaba (Companions of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallamin their ijtihad (efforts for Allah).
top
Hafiz al Shirazi
Shams al-Din Hafiz al Shirazi [d.791H /1389 CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Khawaja Shams al-Din Muhammad Ibn-i Muhammad, known as Hafiz, was born into a merchant family of Shiraz, Iran, some time between 1321 and 1326; he died in the same city around 1389. The word "hafiz" means reciter. The poet chose this takhallus because, allegedly, he could recite the Qur'an in a number of different forms--fourteen according to his own poetry and seven according to his colleague and biographer, Muhammad Gulandam.
Little is known about the formative years of Hafiz's life other than that he was orphaned at an early age and was employed by a baker as dough maker. What is known is that he was a scholar, an 'arif, a hafiz of the Qur'an and an exegete of the Book. He himself has repeatedly indicated this in his verses:
I haven 't seen more beautiful lines than yours, Hafiz,
By the Qur'an that you have in your breast.
Your love shall cry out if you, like Hafiz,
Recite the Quran memoriter with all the fourteen readings.
Of the memorizers of the world none like me has gathered,
Subtleties of wisdom with Quranic delicacies.
In his poetry Hafiz speaks much of the pir-e tariqat (spiritual guide) and of the murshid (master), yet it is not clear who was the teacher and guide of Hafiz himself.
Hafiz's poetry attains to lofty mystical heights, and there are few people who are able to perceive his mystic subtleties. All the 'urafa' who came after him admit that he had indeed practically covered the lofty stages of 'irfan. Several important scholars have written commentaries on some of his verses. For example, a treatise was written by the well-known philosopher of the ninth century, Muhaqqiq Jalal al-Din Dawwani, on the following verse:
My teacher said: the pen of creation was subject to no error,
Bravo the pure eyes that hide all defects.
Unlike his globe trotter fellow Shirazi, Sa'di, Hafiz stayed in Shiraz almost all his life. One of the two trips that he made was forced upon him--he was exiled from Shiraz due to mass opposition to his singular behavior. He stayed long enough in Yazd until the situation cooled down. The other trip was to the port of Hormuz on the Persian Gulf where he was to travel to India. A stormy sea made him change his mind and return to Shiraz.
Like the Quatrains of Umar Khayyam, Hafiz's poetry has a special public appeal. This appeal is to a degree that his diwan is often treated as if it were the Noble Qur'an. Indeed, to most Iranians he is known as the Lisan al-Qaiyb (tongue of the unperceived). In fact, like the Noble Qur'an, they use his diwan to look into the future. Hafiz's diwan contains 418 ghazals, 5 odes, 41 quatrains, and 3 small mathnavis. Other features of his diwan include the Saqinameh, Ahuye Vahshi, and Muqanninamah.
Hafiz is undeniably the master of the art of the ghazal (sonnet). The ghazal, of course, does not begin with Hafiz but, it is, certainly, a genre which he developed and perfected. His Sufic ghazals usually contain seven beyts with the poet's penname usually appearing in the last beyts. His Sufic ghazals, that have more than seven beyts, have, over the centuries, engaged the attention of the analysts and Hafiz interpreters. It is not clear whether the beyts that fail, in one way or another, to meet Hafiz' standard, thematic development, and the seven-beyt-limit are added by later compilers who, for various reasons, might have amplified the volume, or that they had been added by Hafiz himself to satisfy the demands of his patrons.
Hafiz is a highly controversial figure in Persian literature. The controversy is centered on whether Hafiz uses allegorical symbolism alongside profane love to convey Sufic messages to those knowledgeable to decipher his thoughts. Many scholars in the West have rejected the attribution of any sufistic value to the poetry of Hafiz. On the contrary, many scholars and critics in the East have not given anything but sufistic values to the same poetry. The biggest problem for the Western scholar, of course, is a good understanding of the material with which Hafiz worked; a lack of a good translation of the entire diwan influences this lack of belief in the existence of a level more profound than the mundane. The biggest problem for the Eastern scholar is a lack of analytical orientation. Hafiz passed away in 791Hijri/1389 Common Era.
Extracts from Prof Iraj Bashiri
top
Ala al-Haq Wadeen
Shaykh Ala al-Haq Wadeen al-Chisti al-Nizami [d.800 H/1398 CE ] 'alayhir ar-rahman w'al ridwan
Hadrat Shaykh Ala al-Haq Wadeen was a hugely influential and pious shaykh, known not only in Bengal but throughout India. His father was Umar bin Asad Khalidi rahmtullahi 'alayh, who claimed descent from the famous arab general Khalid bin Walid Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. His ancestors had come to Lahore, and from there migrated to Pandua, Bengal. After the establishment of Muslim rule in Bengal, Umar bin Asad settled at Pandua where his son Ala al Haq was born. The boy, given proper education, grew up into a learned scholar and one of the foremost sufis of his time.
Initially Ala al-Haq earned great fortune and fame as a scholar. His affluence and learning prompted him to assume the title of 'Ganj-i-Nabat' ('the store of wealth'). Some reports suggest that when Nizam al-Din Awliya [d.1325CE] Rahmatullahi 'alayh came to learn of this he became annoyed. His spiritual head, Hadrat Baba Farid [d.1265CE] Rahmatullahi 'alayh, was called 'Ganj-i-Shakar' and assumption of the title of 'Ganj-i-Nabat' by Ala al-Haq meant that he wanted to supersede his spiritual guide. But this thought changed and Ala al-Haq realised the error of his ways, and severely repented and detached himself from the worldly life and pledged allegiance to the sufi shaykh, Akhi Siraj al-Din [d.1357CE].
Soon after, and assuming a more humble approach Ala al-Haq opened a free kitchen (langar-Khaana) for all travellers within the region. News spread of this generous gesture by Ala-al-Haq as thousands of destitute and needy descended within the region. But, the then Sultan of Pandua, Sikander Shah (1358-1389), felt his position was in danger, due to the saint's popularity, and through jealousy ordered Ala al-Haq to leave the region. Shaykh Ala-al-Haqdeparted and soon re-established another khanqah at Sonargaon. The langar-khaanacontinued with the same amount of success and popularity. Approximately two years later, Shaykh Ala-al-Haq was allowed to return from exile to his native town of Pandua, where he breathed his last in 1398 C.E [800H][1]. It is said from persian treatises that Makhdoom Jahanian Jahan Gasht [d.1384CE] rahmatullahi 'alayh led the funeral prayer of Shaykh Ala al-Haq rahmatullahi 'alayh. Makhdoom Jahanian met Ala al-Haq in Pandua and the dialogue of the two saints is recorded at the Jahanian mosque erected in 1535 C.E.
Shaykh Ala al-Haq Wadeen Rahmatullahi 'alayh was succeeded by his son Shaykh Nur al-Din 'Qutb-i-Alam', who was also his mureed (disciple). Other notable mureeds include Shaykh Nasir al-Din Manikpuri, and Makhdoom Sayyad Ashraf Jahangir of Semnan (d.1405 C.E)'alayhir rahman. Nasir al-Din preached Islam in and around Manipur Koda in Bihar. Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh, though the son of a king, renounced the throne of Semnan and became the disciple of Ala al-Haq Wadeen, who subsequently sent him to do dawa 'preach Islam' in Jaunpur, and the surrounding regions.
Unlike his own teacher, who had no known dealings with royalty, Shaykh 'Ala al-Haq was destined to play a special role in the political history of Muslim Bengal. In fact, the earliest-known monument built by the founder of Bengal's longest-lived dynasty, the Ilyas Shahi line of kings (1342–1486), was dedicated to this shaykh. On a mosque built in 1342 in what is now part of Calcutta, Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah praised the Sufi as ''the benevolent and revered saint (Shaykh) whose acts of virtue are attractive and sublime, inspired by Allah, may He illuminate his heart with the light of divine perception and faith, and he is the guide to the religion of the Glorious, 'Ala al-Haq may … his piety last long.''
[1] According to the Akhbar-ul-Akhyar he died in 800 AH
top
Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir
Ghawth al 'Alam Mahboob-i Yazdani Sultan Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Simnani [d.807H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Direct descendant of Ghawth al A'zam Piranai Pir Dastagir, Mahboob-i Subhani, Shaykh Sayyadina Abd'al-Qadir al-Jilani Radi Allahu anhu [QADIRIYA TARIQAT] and spiritually inspired through the ChistI-Nizami Order, Hadrat Makhdoom Ashraf Rahmatullahi ’Alaih became the founder of the Ashrafiya spiritual order. Having abandoned worldy kingdom and crown at a very young age, he set off on a spiritual journey in search of a spiritual guide for inner peace and to ultimately serve mankind. He studied under many great and learned scholars of the time and gained untold blessings from many Sufis and dervishes. Eventually arriving at a place called Pandua in Bengal where his Shaykh to be, was already waiting to bless him.
And today the 'faiz' of this Wali-Allah [saints, freinds of Allah] who abandoned worldly and materialistic wealth for the pleasure of the Almighty has millions of devotees and followers throughout the world.
COMPLETE BIOGRAHY : MAKHDOOM ASHRAF JAHANGIR
top
Ibn Khaldun
Al-Hasan bin Jabir bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Abdur-Rahman Ibn Khaldun [d.808 H - 1406 CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wal-ridwan
He is Abdurahman bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Al-Hasan bin Jabir bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Abdurahman bin Ibn Khaldun. His ancestry according to him originated from Hadramut, Yemen. He also traced his ancestry through another genealogy as supplied by Ibn Hazem using his grandfather who was the first to enter Andalusia back to Wail ibn Hajar one of the oldest Yemenite tribe. Ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis on Ramadan 1, 732h (May 27, 1332). He received a traditional education that was typical of his family's rank and status. He learned first at the hands of his father who was a scholarly person who was not involved in politics like his ancestors. He memorized the Qur'an by heart, learned grammar, Jurisprudence, Hadith, rhetoric, philology, and poetry. He had reached certain proficiency in these subjects and received certification in them.
Ibn Khaldun alayhir rahman is one of the most important figures in the field of History and Sociology in Muslim History. He is one of those shining stars that contributed so richly to the understanding of Civilization. In order for one to understand and appreciate his work, one must understand his life. He lived a life in search of stability and influence. He came from a family of scholars and politicians and he intended to live up to both expectations. He would succeed in the field of Scholarship much more so than in any other field.
Ibn Khaldun said about tasawwuf in his famous Muqaddima:
Tasawwuf is one of the latter-day sciences of the Law in the Islamic Community. The foundation of tasawwuf, however, is (more ancient, as seen in the fact) that these folk and their way have always been present among the Salaf and among the most senior of the Companions and the Successors, and their way is the way of truth and guidance.
The foundation of the way of the Sufis is self-restraint in the world and utter dependence on Allah; shunning of the adornment and beauty of the world; self- deprivation of pleasure, money, and title in the manner agreed upon by the vast majority of the scholars; and isolation from creatures in seclusion and devotion to worship.
All these aspects were widespread among the Companions and the Salaf, but with the pervasiveness of worldliness in the second century and the next, and the general inclination of the people towards the world, those who remained attached to worship became know under the name of Sufis.(1)
Ibn Khaldun died while he was in office as a Qadi on Wednesday March 17th 1406CE (25th of Ramadan 808h). He was buried in the Sufi Cemetery outside Bab an-Nasr, Cairo at the age of seventy-four years.
(1) Muqaddimat ibn Khaldun, p. 328.
Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's _The Repudiation of 'Salafi' Innovations_ (Kazi, 1996) p. 382.
Extracts taken from Muslim Philosophy
top
Khwaja Banda Nawaz
Khawaja Shaykh Sayyad Abul Fatah Muhammad Gesu Daraz 'Banda Nawaz' Dehlavi [d. 825 H/ 1422 CE] 'alayhir al-ridwan w'al rahman
Sufi saint of the Chishtiya order. He was a disciple of Nasir al-Din of Delhi and came to Gulbarga in 1413CE. The Bahmani ruler Ahmed Shah (1422-36) conferred rich endowments on him. The Saint's dargah is a large complex of tombs, mosques, madrasas and gateways.
His name was Abul Fatah, and 'Banda Nawaz' and 'Gesu Daraz' are his titles. Among the scholars and theologians he was Shaykh Abul Fatah Sadr al-Din Muhammad Dehlavi, but people called him Khawaja Banda Nawaz and Khawaja Gaysoo D'raaz. He was the descendant of Amir al Momineen Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. His forefathers resided in Hirat (Afghanistan). One of them travelled to Delhi and eventually decided to settle down and make it his new home. Shaykh Muhammad was born in Delhi on 4, Rajab, 721 Hijri. His father Sayyad Yusuf bin Ali, alias Sayyad Raja was a holy figure and devoted to Hadrat Nizam al-din AwliyaRahmatullahi alayh. Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq once transferred his capital to Daulatabad (Devgiri) and along with him went many scholars, theologians and mystics. His parents also migrated to the place. He was four years at the time Malik-ul-Umar Sayyad Ibrahim Mustafa, his maternal uncle, was the governor of the new Capitol i.e., Daulatabad.
Childhood and Early Education: From the very beginning his father put him on the right track i.e. to learn and to study and gave him his early education. From his childhood he was inclined towards Religion and spent time in meditation and prayer. He was ten when his father died and his maternal grand father assumed the responsibility of his education and training and taught him initial books but he took lessons on "Misbah" and "Qadoori" from another teacher.
Again in Delhi: On the passing away of his father, his mother had a disagreement with her brother and decided to return to Delhi. He was fifteen at the time. He had heard a lot about Hadrat Nizam al-Din and Hadrat Nasir al-Din Roshan Chiragh Dehlavi from his father and maternal grandfather and thus grew devoted to them. One day he went to say his prayer in the Jama-Masjid of Sultan Qutub al-Din, there he saw Hadrat Shaykh Nasir al-Din Mahmood Chiragh Dehlavi and immediately pledged Obedience [bay'ah] to him as his disciple on 16, Rajab.
Completion of Outer and intrinsic studies: Under the guidance of Hadrat Nasir al-Din Chiragh Dehlavi he engaged himself in prayers and meditation and so much enjoyed them that lie forbade studies and requested his teacher to allow him to do so. Hadrat Nasir ad-din strictly denied him permission and instructed him to study with attention Usul-e-Bizoori, Risals Shamsia, Kashaf, Misbah so he restarted the studies under the guidance of renowned teachers. Mawlana Sayyad Shariff al-Din Kaithli, Mawlana Taj al-Din Muqaddam and Mawlana Qazi Abd'al Muqtadir and qualified for the degree at the age of nineteen.
Title Gaisoo Draaz (Gaisu Deraz): One day he with other disciples lifted the palanquin bearing Hadrat Nasir al-Din. His long hair stuck into the foot of the palki and pained him severely but he did not disentangle them for love and respect to the teacher. When Hadrat Nasir al-Din learnt of the episode, he was overjoyed and recited the Persian couplet;
Har ki mureedae Sayyad 'Gesu-Daraz' shud;
Wallah khilaf nest ki Uoo ishq baaz shud.
(Meaning: "Sayyad 'Gesu-Daraz' has pledged his obedience; there is nothing wrong in it because he has deeply fallen in love)."
After this incident he became known as 'Gesu-Daraz.'
Books: He was a prolific writer as well as a revered scholar on a wide range of topics and subjects. He left many books. It is said, he was the first writer of a magazine on mysticism inUrdu. He wrote about 100 books in Persian and Arabic. Some of them are:
Tafseer [Commentary] Qur'an e Majeed
Multaqit
Havashi Kashaf
Shairah-e-Mashareq
Shairah Fiqh-e-Akhbar
Shairah Adab-Ul-Murideen
Shairah Ta-arruf
Risala Sirat-al-Nabi
Tarjuma Mashareq
Ma-Arif
Tarjuma Awaarif
Sharah Fasus al-Hukm
Tarjuma Risala Qerya
Hawa Asahi Quwwat-Ul-Qalb
Stay at Gulbarga: Having lived for about 44 years in Delhi he went to Gulbarga, Deccan. He was about eighthy at that time. Firoz Shah Bahmani ruled over the Deccan during this period. He gave him much respect. For a long time he was engaged in religious discourses, sermons, and spiritual training of the people.
Death: This great scholar, sufi, and renowned spiritual guide lived for over 100 years. He died at the age of 104 years, on the 16th of Dh'ul Q'adah in 825 Hijri, in Gulbarga (Karnataka) and is laid to rest there. His tomb is a place of pilgrimage for all the people rich and poor alike.
Quotes:
" If a Salik prays or meditates for fame, his is an atheist.
" If one prays or meditates out of fear, he is a cheat and a hypocrite.
" So long as a man disengages himself from all the worldly things, he would not step into the road of conduct.
" Divide the night into three periods: in the first period say Darud and recitation; in the second sleep and in the third call His name and meditate.
" The Salik should be careful in food it should be legitimate (Halal).
" The Salik should abstain from the company of the worldly people.
YAA QUTB-E-DECCAN TAAJ-UL-AWLIYA-E-DECCAN SHAHENSHAH-E-KARNATAKA RASOOL-E-HAQQ KI KHUSHBU ALI KA ZORE BAAZU HADRAT SAYYAD MUHAMMAD KHAWAJA BANDE NAWAZ GESU DARAZ AL-MADAD
top
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Imam Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani [d. 852H/1448CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Hajar's family originated in the district of Qabis in Tunisia. Some members of the family had settled in Palestine, which they left again when faced with the Crusader threat, but he himself was born in Egypt in 773, the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur al-Din 'Ali and the learned and aristocratic Tujjar. Both died in his infancy, and he was later to praise his elder sister, Sitt al-Rakb, for acting as his 'second mother'. The two children became wards of the brother of his father's first wife, Zaki al-Din al-Kharrubi, who entered the young Ibn Hajar in a Qur'anic school (kuttab) when he reached five years of age. Here he excelled, learning 'Surat Maryam' in a single day, and progressing to the memorization of texts such as the 'Mukhtasar' of Ibn al-Hajib on usul. By the time he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Makkah at the age of 12, he was competent enough to lead theTarawih prayers in the Holy City, where he spent much time studying and recalling God amid the pleasing simplicity of Kharrubi's house, the Bayt al-'Ayna', whose windows looked directly upon the Black Stone. Two years later his protector died, and his education in Egypt was entrusted to the hadith scholar Shams al-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by the great Cairene scholars al-Bulqini (d.806) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d.804) in Shafi'ifiqh, and of Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi (d.806) in hadith, after which he was able to travel to Damascus and Jerusalem, where he studied under Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi (d.809), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d.803), and Fatima bint al-Manja al-Tanukhiyya (d.803). After a further visit to Makkah and Madina, and to the Yemen, he returned to Egypt.
When he reached 25 he married the lively and brilliant Anas Khatun, then 18 years of age. She was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi, and she gave celebrated public lectures in the presence of her husband to crowds of ulema among whom was Imam al-Sakhawi. After the marriage, Ibn Hajar moved into her house, where he lived until his death. Many noted how she surrounded herself with the old, the poor and the physically handicapped, whom it was her privilege and pleasure to support. So widely did her reputation for sanctity extend that during her fifteen years of widowhood, which she devoted to good works, she received a proposal from Imam 'Alam al-Din al-Bulqini, who considered that a marriage to a woman of such charity and baraka would be a source of great pride.
Once ensconced in Egypt, Ibn Hajar taught in the Sufi lodge (khaniqah) of Baybars for some twenty years, and then in the hadith college known as Dar al-Hadith al-Kamiliyya. During these years, he served on occasion as the Shafi'i chief justice of Egypt.
It was in Cairo that the Imam wrote some of the most thorough and beneficial books ever added to the library of Islamic civilization. Among these are al-Durar al-Kamina (a biographical dictionary of leading figures of the eighth century), a commentary on the Forty Hadith of Imam al-Nawawi (a scholar for whom he had particular respect); Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (an abbreviation of Tahdhib al-Kamal, the encyclopedia of hadith narrators by al-Mizzi), al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba (the most widely-used dictionary of Companions), and Bulugh al-Maram min adillat al-ahkam (on Shafi'i fiqh).
In 817, Ibn Hajar commenced the enormous task of assembling his Fath al-Bari. It began as a series of formal dictations to his hadith students, after which he wrote it out in his own hand and circulated it section by section to his pupils, who would discuss it with him once a week. As the work progressed and its author's fame grew, the Islamic world took a close interest in the new work. In 833, Timur's son Shahrukh sent a letter to the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay requesting several gifts, including a copy of the Fath, and Ibn Hajar was able to send him the first three volumes. In 839 the request was repeated, and further volumes were sent, until, in the reign of al-Zahir Jaqmaq, the whole text was finished and a complete copy was dispatched. Similarly, the Moroccan sultan Abu Faris 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hafsi requested a copy before its completion. When it was finished, in Rajab 842, a great celebration was held in an open place near Cairo, in the presence of the ulema, judges, and leading personages of Egypt. Ibn Hajar sat on a platform and read out the final pages of his work, and then poets recited eulogies and gold was distributed. It was, says the historian Ibn Iyas, 'the greatest celebration of the age in Egypt.'
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar departed this life in 852 Hijri. His funeral was attended by 'fifty thousand people', including the sultan and the caliph; 'even the Christians grieved.' He was remembered as a gentle man, short, slender, and white-bearded, a lover of chess and calligraphy, much inclined to charity; 'good to those who wronged him, and forgiving to those he was able to punish.' A lifetime's proximity to the hadith had imbued him with a deep love of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), as is shown nowhere more clearly than in the poetry assembled in his Diwan, an original manuscript of which has been preserved at the Egyptian National Library. A few lines will suffice to show this well:
By the gate of your generosity stands a sinner, who is mad with love,
O best of mankind in radiance of face and countenance!
Through you he seeks a means [tawassala], hoping for Allah's forgiveness of slips;
from fear of Him, his eyelid is wet with pouring tears.
Although his genealogy attributes him to a stone [hajar],
how often tears have flowed, sweet, pure and fresh!
Praise of you does not do you justice, but perhaps,
In eternity, its verses will be transformed into mansions.
My praise of you shall continue for as long as I live,
For I see nothing that could ever deflect me from your praise.
Source: Mas'ud Khan's Ahl as-Sunnah Website
copyright: Abdal Hakim Murad
top
Imam al-Jazuli
Imam Abu Abd'ullah Muhmmad al Jazuli [d.870H - 1465CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
His full name was Abu Abdullah Muhammad, son of Sulayman, son of Abi Bakr al-Jazuli al-Simlali. He was a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, praise and veneration be upon him, via his grandson Hasan, son of Ali, may Allah be pleased with them.
Imam al Jazuli alayhir rahman belonged to the Berber tribe of Jazula that settled in the Sus area of Morocco which lies between the Atlantic ocean and the Atlas mountains. When he was young he studied in Sus, then continued his studies in the Madrassa as-Saffareen in Fez. Al-Jazuli was ''frequent in reciting litanies (awrad), observant of Allah most High in all his states, not exceeding the boundaries Allah established, and exerting himself in following the Book of Allah and the example of his beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).” He founded the Shadhiliyya Jazuliyya order, with Dala'il al-Khayrat [Guidance to Righteousness] at its core, and its disciples received spiritual training (tarbiya) at his hands.After the completion of his studies in the Madrassa he left Fez and spent the next forty years between Makkah, Madina and Jerusalem. It was after this period that he returned to Fez where he was blessed to complete his great work of the 'Dala'il ul Khayrat'.
Imam al Jazuli alayhir rahman was a very pious man and the foremost Judge of his town. One day, while on a journey he became very thirsty and also needed to renew his ablution but his water skin was empty and there was no water in sight. In his search for water he found a well, however the well had neither a bucket nor a rope with which to draw the water. Al Jazuli was very distressed by the situation, the water was so near and yet so far, and he did not know what to do. Shortly after finding the well a young girl approached and upon realizing al Jazuli’s dilemma spat dry air into the well and the water miraculous rose to the top. Imam al Jazuli alayhir rahman was astounded by this miracle and asked the girl how such a miracle was possible. To this she replied "I was able to do this through my asking Allah for 'peace and blessings upon' Prophet Muhammad."
Having witnessed the blessed benefit of asking for blessings upon the Prophet, may Allah praise and venerate him, and give him peace. Al Jazuli decided to compose 'Dala'il ul-Khayrat' by gathering and selecting material from a multitude of authentic Islamic references that praise and supplicate for blessings upon the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. When one reads these supplications on the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, Allah showers not only His Prophet with blessings but also its reader.
This great work has been, and still is acclaimed by all the lovers of Prophet Muhammad, praise and veneration be upon him, as being the foremost book to praise him. Dalail was later explained by Imam Al-Fasi and subsequently all authentic references were added at the end of each statement in his famous explanation of Dalail. However, one must not suppose that this work contains all the authentic prayers that praise the Beloved Prophet, they are so numerous that they would exhaust volumes of writing; but they are the most precious.
The style of Imam al Jazuli's alayhir rahman presentation is uniquely his own and scented with musk in sincere love of the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him. His writing flows both swiftly yet with smoothness at an exhilarating pace and has attracted many learned Muslim scholars, including Imam Yusuf, son of Ishmael an-Nabahani, to write books that expound its deeper meaning and enriches one’s understanding. Such is the love for this blessed book that Muslim scholars of various tongues such as urdu felt the compelling urge to translated it into their native language so that their people may praise the beloved Prophet in the best manner and be blessed by its reading.
Dala'il al-Khayrat : stands witness to the tremendous baraka of blessing the Chosen and Most Beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Al Jazuli alayhir rahman, devoted his life to this cause and, in the process, renewed the spiritual landscape of his native Morocco. Dala'il al-Khayrat spread from Morocco to all corners of the world, inspiring and inculcating love of the Beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the hearts of Muslims everywhere. It is the most universally acclaimed and the most popular among books of salawaat on the beloved ProphetSalla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. Just as al-Muwatta of Imam Malik Rahmatullahi 'alaih is the first major book of Hadith Shareef to be compiled, Dala'il al-Khayrat is the first major book of salawaat.
The Sufi Shadhili Path:
Al Jazuli was initiated into the 'Shadhili Path' (Tariqa) by Sharif Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Amghar. He spent fourteen years in seclusion and then went to Safi where we are told by Al-Habib Abdullah, son of Alawi, son of Hasan al Attas in his book that ''The Way of Bani 'Alawi'' that al Jazuli had twelve thousand followers, whom he led deeper into the love of Allah and His Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him.
The date of his death is uncertain however, it occurred between the years 869-873 H during an obligatory prayer. In the Encyclopedia of Islam, 1957 Leiden, it is reported that seventy-seven years after his death his body was exhumed for reburial in Marrakesh and his body had not decomposed.
top
Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn
Makhdoom al Afaaq Sayyad Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn [d. 871H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
The family of Sultan Sayyad Hadrat Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh came to be known as 'Khandan al-Ashrafiya' and the forefather of this dynasty in Asia is Hadrat Sayyad Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn Rahmatullahi ta'ala alayh . This family came to be known as 'Ashrafi Sadat '. All the descendents are of the family of Hadrat Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn. A great saint and scholar of his time. Direct descendent of Ghawth al Azam Shaykh Abd'al Qadir al Jilani Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. His shrine is next to his murshid and uncle Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh in Kicchocha Shareef, Faizabad, UP, India.
Read more : Abd 'al Razzaq Nur al-Ayn
top
al-Jami
Nur al-Din Abd 'ar-Rahman Jami [d.897H - 1492CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Nur al-Din Abd 'ar-Rahman Jami alayhir al Rahman was born on August the 14th 1414 Common Era. [d.897H] and was from the decent from the well-known jurisprudent of the second century, IBN AL HASAN AL-SHAIBANI [d.189H]. Jami was arguably the greatest Persian poet in the 15th century. He was a famous Sufi, and a follower of SHAH BAHA'AL-DIN NAQSHBAND [d.791H] ; Naqshbandiyah Sufi Order. He was born in a village near 'Jam', (vicinity of Mashhad) but a few years after his birth, his family migrated to the cultural city of Herat in present day Afghanistan where he was able to study Peripateticism, mathematics, Arabic literature, natural sciences and Islamic knowledge at the Nizamiyyah University of Herat. He wrote :
My birthplace is Jam and the drops of my pen
Are the draught of the cup of Shaykh al-Islam,
Thus in the pages of my poetry
In two ways my pen-name is Jami.
Afterwards he went to Samarqand city, the most important center for scientific studies in the Islamic World and completed his studies there.
Jami wrote approximately 87 books and epistles. Among them are: Diwanha-i Sehganeh (Triplet Divans), the collection of Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones),Baharistan (Spring Land), Nafahat al-Uns (Biographies of the Mystics). He also wrote a commentary on the Fusus al-hikam of IBN AL-'ARABI, MUHIY AL-DIN, a commentary on the Luma'at of Fakhr al-Din 'Iraqi, a commentary on the Ta'iyyahof Ibn al-Farid, a commentary on the Qasidat al-Burdah in praise of the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, a commentary on theQasidah Mimiyyah of Farazdaq in praise of al-'Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husayn Allah be pleased with him, and a book entitled al-Lawdyih, his Bahdristan, written in the style of Sa'di's Gulistans. Some of his quatrains have been translated into English.
Abd 'ar-Rahman Jami alayhir al Rahman died on November the 19th 1492 Common Era [897 Hijri].
Jami poetry at www.chishti.ru
top
Imam al-Sakhawi
Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi [d. 902H/1497CE] 'alayhir al rahman w'al ridwan
Imam al-Sakhawi was born in 831 Hijri in the village of Sakha in Egypt, where his relatives belonged. He was the foremost student of IBN HAJAR ASQALANI alayhir al rahman and a great jurist, historian, and hadith master, like Taqi al-Din al-Subki and JALAL AL-DIN SUYUTI [Allah be pleased with them], he belonged to the Shadhili order founded by SHADHILI, ABU' AL HASAN, as represented by the great Maliki Master IBN ATA' ALLAH, five of whose works al-Sakhawi transmitted to posterity, including the Hikam, from the Shadhili commentator Ahmad Zarruq (d. 899).
In his biography of the famous men of his time entitled al-Daw' al-lami' al-Sakhawi reveals that his father Zayn al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad (d. 874) was a Cairo-born Sufi of great piety, and a member of the Baybarsiyya Sufi community where Ibn Hajar, Sakhawi's teacher, taught for forty years.(1)
In the section of his 'al-Jawahir al-mukallala fi al-akhbar al-musalsala' devoted to the transmission of hadith through chains formed exclusively of Sufi narrators, al-Sakhawi states that he himself had received the Sufi path from Zayn al-Din Ridwan al- Muqri' in Cairo.(2) In the same work Sakhawi also mentions several of his teachers and students of hadith who were Sufis. Here are the names of some of them, together with the words used by him to describe them in his biographical work al-Daw' al-lami':
* Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Hishi al-Halabi al-Shafi'i (b. 848) the head of the Bistamiyya Sufis in Aleppo, the mother trunk of the Naqshbandi Sufi order affiliated with BISTAMI, ABU YAZID. He spent two years in Makkah with Sakhawi, who wrote him an ijaza or permission to teach. In this ijaza Sakhawi calls him: 'Our master, the masterful Imam of merits and guidance, the Educator of Murids (students in the Sufi path), the Mainstay of Wayfarers in the Sufi path, the Noble Abu Bakr al-Hishi al-Halabi, may Allah preserve him and have mercy on his gracious predecessors (i.e. the chain of his shaykhs in the Sufi path), and may Allah grant us and all Muslims their benefits.'(3)
* Badr al-Din Hussayn ibn Siddiq al-Yamani al-Ahdal (d. 903): al-Sakhawi gave him a comprehensive ijaza granting him permission to teach all of his books.(4)
* Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Madani al-Maraghi (d. 859): Sakhawi took hadith from him. He was head of two Sufi khaniqas in Cairo, the Zamamiyya and the Jamaliyya. He led a life of seclusion for the most part, and wrote a commentary on Nawawi's manual of Law Minhaj al-talibin, and an epitome of IBN HAJAR ASQALANI 'Fath al-bari' because of his defense of SHAYKH IBN AL 'ARABI, he was murdered in front of the Ka'ba by a fanatic.(5)
* Taqi al-Din Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Qalqashandi (d. 867), also called 'Abd Allah. He received the Sufi khirqa or cloak of authority in Cairo. He is said to have read the whole of Sahih al-Bukhari in three days while in Makkah. He lived in al-Quds, where al-Sakhawi met him and took hadith from him.(6)
* Thiqat al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-'Uqbi (d. 861). He taught hadith and tajwid in Makkah, where Sakhawi studied under him.(7)
* Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahid al-Sikandari al-Siwasi (d. 861). He was a master of all sciences and taught at the Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya in Cairo, after which he headed the Shaykhuni Sufi khaniqa. He authored many books.(8)
* Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Husayni al-Qahiri al- Shafi'i al-Sufi (d. 876). Munawi's deputy judge in Cairo, a student of `Izz al-Din ibn Jama'a, Jalal al-Din al-Bulqini and many others, and a student and friend of Sakhawi's teacher Ibn Hajar whose work Fath al-bari he copied twice. A teacher of fiqh and hadith, he wrote an epitome of Ibn al-Athir's Kitab al-ansab. He was an old acquaintance of Sakhawi's father, and consequently treated Sakhawi himself 'with indescribable respect.' He was one of the ten students to whom Ibn Hajar gave his authority in teaching hadith after him.(9)
* Abu Khalid Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Jibrini (d. 860). He was a writer, archer, horseman, and Sufi shaykh at the zawiya (alcove-mosque) of Jibrin, where al-Sakhawi met him and took hadith from him. Sakhawi says of him: 'He was handsome, modest, generous, courageous, and endowed with spiritual strength and virility after the shaykhs of true majesty.'(10)
* Zaki al-Din Abu al-`Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ansari al- Khazraji al-Sa'di al-Muqri' al-Sufi (d. 875). An associate of Ibn Hajar and a prolific writer, he wrote an autobiography in more than fifty volumes, although Sakhawi said he was unaffected, congenial, readily given to tears, and quick of repartee.(11)
* Thiqat al-Din Abu 'Ali Mahmud ibn 'Ali al-Sufi al-Khaniki (d. 865). Born and raised in Cairo's Khaniqa al-Siryaqusiyya where he taught late in life. He died while at Makkah the pilgrimage.(12)
* Abu al-Faraj 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalil al-Dimashqi al-Sufi (d. 869). He was a muhaddith. Al-Sakhawi studied under him in Cairo and at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.(13)
notes;
(1) al-Sakhawi, al-Daw' al-lami' (Beirut: dar maktabat al- hayat, 1966) 4:124-125. (2) A.J. Arberry, Sakhawiana: A Study Based on the Chester Beatty Ms. Arab. 773 (London: Emery Walker Ltd., 1951) p. 35. (3) al-Sakhawi, al-Daw' al-lami' 11:96-97, 74-75. (4) Ibid. 3:144-145. (5) Ibid. 7:162-165. (6) Ibid. 11:69-71. (7) Ibid. 2:212-213. (8) Ibid. 8:127-132. (9) Ibid. 8:176-178. (10) Ibid. 7:197. (11) Ibid. 2:146-149. (12) Ibid. 10:140-141. (13) Ibid. 4:76.
Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's _The Repudiation of 'Salafi' Innovations_ (Kazi, 1996) p. 382-385.
top
al-Suyuti
Imam Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti [d. 911H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Kamal al-Din Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Sabiq al-Din, Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti al-Shafi'i al-Ash'ari, also known as Ibn al-Asyuti (d. 849-911), the mujtahid imam and renewer of the tenth Islamic century, foremost hadith master, jurist, Sufi, philologist, and historian, he authored works in virtually every Islamic science.
Born to a Turkish mother and non-Arab father and raised as an orphan in Cairo, he memorized the Qur'an at eight, then several complete works of Sacred Law, fundamentals of jurisprudence, and Arabic grammar; after which he devoted himself to studying the Sacred Sciences under about a hundred and fifty shaykhs. Among them the foremost Shafi'i and Hanafis shaykhs at the time, such as the hadith master and Shaykh al-Islam Siraj al-Din Bulqini, with whom he studied Shafi'i jurisprudence until his death; the hadith scholar Shaykh al-Islam Sharaf al-Din al-Munawi, with whom he read Qur'anic exegesis and who commented al-Suyuti's al-Jami' al-Saghir in a book entitled Fayd al-Qadir; Taqi al-Din al-Shamani in hadith and the sciences of Arabic; the specialist in the principles of the law Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli, together with whom he compiled the most widespread condensed commentary of Qur'an in our time, 'Tafsir al-Jalalayn'; Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i; Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi; he also studied with the Hanafi shaykhs Taqi al-Din al-Shamni, Shihab al-Din al-Sharmisahi, Muhyi al-Din al-Kafayji, and the hadith master Sayf al-Din Qasim ibn Qatlubagha.
He travelled in the pursuit of knowledge to Damascus, the Hijaz, Yemen, India, Morocco, the lands south of Morocco, as well as to centers of learning in Egypt such as Mahalla, Dumyat, and Fayyum. He was some time head teacher of hadith at the Shaykhuniyya school in Cairo at the recommendation of Imam Kamal al-Din ibn al-Humam, then the Baybarsiyya, out of which he was divested through the complaints of disgruntled shaykhs which he had replaced as teachers. He then retired into scholarly seclusion, never to go back to teaching.
Ibn Iyas in 'Tarikh Misr' states that when al-Suyuti reached forty years of age, he abandoned the company of men for the solitude of the Garden of al-Miqyas by the side of the Nile, avoiding his former colleagues as though he had never known them, and it was here that he authored most of his nearly six hundred books and treatises. Wealthy Muslims and princes would visit him with offers of money and gifts, but he put all of them off, and when the sultan requested his presence a number of times, he refused. He once said to the sultan's envoy: "Do not ever come back to us with a gift, for in truth Allah has put an end to all such needs for us." Blessed with success in his years of solitude, it is difficult to name a field in which al-Suyuti did not make outstanding contributions, among them his ten-volume hadith work Jam' al-Jawami' ("The Collection of Collections"); his Qur'anic exegesis Tafsir al-Jalalayn ("Commentary of the Two Jalals"), of which he finished the second half of an uncompleted manuscript by Jalal al-Din Mahalli in just forty days; his classic commentary on the sciences of hadith 'Tadrib al-Rawi fi Sharh Taqrib al-Nawawi' ("The Training of the Hadith Transmitter: An Exegesis of Nawawi's 'The Facilitation'"); and many others.
A giant among contemporaries, he remained alone, producing a sustained output of scholarly writings until his death at the age of sixty-two. He was buried in Hawsh Qawsun in Cairo. In the introduction to his book entitled 'al-Riyad al-Aniqa' on the names of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam he said: "It is my hope that Allah accept this book and that through this book I shall gain the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's intercession. Perhaps it shall be that Allah make it the seal of all my works, and grant me what I have asked Him with longing regarding the Honorable One."
The editors of the 'Dalil Makhtutat al-Suyuti' ("Guide to al-Suyuti's Manuscripts") have listed 723 works to al-Suyuti's name.1 Some of these are brief fatwas which do not exceed four pages, like his notes on the hadith "Whoever says: 'I am knowledgeable,' he is ignorant"2entitled 'A'dhab al-Manahil fi Hadith Man Qala Ana 'Alim'; while others, like the 'Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an' or 'Tadrib al-Rawi', are full-fledged tomes.
Shaykh al-Islam al-Suyuti, the Renewer of the Eighth Islamic century and Mujtahid Imam said in his book entitled Ta'yid al-haqiqa al-'aliyya wa-tashyid al-tariqa al-shadhiliyya (The upholding of the lofty truth and the buttressing of the Shadhili path):
Tasawwuf in itself is a most honorable knowledge. It explains how to follow theSunnah of the Prophet and to leave innovation, how to purify the ego... and submit to Allah truly...
I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shari'a have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not...
Pursuit of the science of the hearts, knowledge of its diseases such as jealousy, arrogance and pride, and leaving them are an obligation on every Muslim.
His chain of transmission in tasawwuf goes back to SHAYKH 'ABD AL-QADIR AL-GILANI, and al-Suyuti belonged to the Shadhili tariqa, which he eulogized in his brief defense of tasawwuf entitled 'Tashyid al-Haqiqa al-'Aliyya'. In the latter book he states: "I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shari'a have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not." In the Tashyid he also produces narrative chains of transmission proving that AL HASAN AL-BASRI did in fact narrate directly from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib - Allah be well-pleased with him. This goes against commonly received opinion among the scholars of hadith,3 although it was also the opinion of IMAM AHMAD IBN HANBAL.4
When one of his shaykhs, Burhan al-Din Ibrahim ibn 'Umar al-Biqa'i (d. 885), attacked Ibn 'Arabi in a tract entitled Tanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn 'Arabi ("Warning to the Dolt That Ibn 'Arabi is an Apostate"), al-Suyuti countered with a tract entitled Tanbih Al-Ghabi fi Takhti'a Ibn 'Arabi ("Warning to the Dolt That Faults Ibn 'Arabi"). Both epistles have been published.5
In his reply al-Suyuti states that he considers Ibn 'Arabi a Friend of Allah whose writings are forbidden to those who read them without first learning the technical terms used by the Sufis. He cites from Ibn Hajar's list in Anba' al-Ghumr, among the trusted scholars who kept a good opinion of Ibn 'Arabi or counted him a wali: Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Sakandari (d. 709), al-Yafi'i (d. 678), Ibn 'Abd al-Salam after the latter's meeting with al-Shadhili, Shihab al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Malwi al-Tilimsani (d. 776), Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn Ishaq al-Hindi al-Hanafi (d. 773) the author of Sharh al-Hidaya and Sharh al-'Ayni, Najm al-Din al-Bahi al-Hanbali (d. 802), al-Jabarti (d. 806), the major lexicographer al-Fayruzabadi (d. 818), Shams al-Din al-Bisati al-Maliki (d. 842), al-Munawi (d. 871), and others. Of note with regard to the above is the abundant use of Ibn 'Arabi's sayings by al-Munawi in his commentary of al-Suyuti's Jami' al-Saghir entitled Fayd al-Qadir, and by Fayruzabadi in his commentary on Bukhari's Sahih.
Al-Suyuti was Ash'ari in his doctrine as shown in many of his works. In 'Masalik al-Hunafa fi Walidayy al-Mustafa' ("Methods Of Those With Pure Belief Concerning the Parents of The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam") he says:
The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's parents died before he was sent as Prophet and there is no punishment for them, since: (We never punish until We send a Messenger (whom they reject)( (17:15 ). Our Ash'ari Imams among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh agree on the statement that one who dies while da'wa has not reached him, dies saved. This has been defined by Imam al-Shafi'i.. . . Some of the fuqaha'explained that the reason is, such a person follows fitra or Primordial Disposition, and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger.6
Source: Shaykh Gibril F. al-Haddad
top
Imam al-Sharani
Imam Abd al-Wahhab al-Sharani [d. 973AH / 1566CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
A Hanafi scholar of comparative fiqh and author of numerous works on Law and tasawwuf, among which 'al-Tabaqat al-kubra' in which he writes, as cited in the Reliance of the Traveller:
The path of the Sufis is built on the Qur'an and Sunnah, and is based upon living according to the morals of the Prophets and purified ones.
It may not be blamed unless it violates an explicit statement from the Qur'an, sunnah, or scholarly consensus, exclusively. If it does not contravene one of these, the very most that one may say of it is that it is an understanding a Muslim man has been given, so let whoever wishes act upon it, and whoever does not refrain, this being as true of works as of understanding. So no pretext remains for condemning it except one's own low opinion of others, or interpreting what they do as ostentation, which is unlawful.
Whoever carefully examines the branches of knowledge of the Folk of Allah Most High will find that none of them are beyond the pale of the Sacred Law. How should they lie beyond the pale of the Sacred Law when it is the law that connects the Sufis to Allah at every moment? Rather, the reason for the doubts of someone unfamiliar with the way of the Sufis that it is of the very essence of the Sacred Law is the fact that such a person has not thoroughly mastered the knowledge of the law. This is why JUNAYD, AL-BAGHDADI Allah Most High have mercy on him said, "This knowledge of ours is built of the Qur'an and sunnah," in reply to those of his time or any other who imagine that it is beyond the pale of the Qur'an and sunnah.
The Folk unanimously concur that none is fit to teach in the path of Allah Mighty and Majestic save someone with comprehensive mastery of the Sacred Law, who knows its explicit and implicit rulings, which of them are of general applicability and which are particular, which supersede others and which are superseded. He must also have a thorough grounding in Arabic, be familiar with its figurative modes and similes, and so forth. So every true Sufi is a scholar is Sacred Law, though the reverse is not necessarily true.
To summarize, no one denies the states of the Sufis except someone ignorant of the way they are. AL QUSHAYRI Allah be pleased with him, says; "No era of the Islamic period has had a true sheikh of this group, save that the Imams of the scholars of that time deferred to him, showed humility towards him, and visited him for the benefit of his spiritual grace (baraka). If the Folk had no superiority or election, the matter would have been the other way around.1
Dr G.F.Haddad
1 al-Tabaqat al-kubra al-musamma bi Lawaqih al-anwar fi tabaqat al-akhyar (1374/1954) (Reprint, Beirut: dar al-fikr, n.d.) 1:4. In Reliance of the Traveller p. 863-864.
top
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Shaykh al-Islam Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al Makki [d.974 H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami Radi Allahu anhu was a student of Zakariyya al-Ansari. He was born in the 16th century [909 after Hiri]. Ibn Hajar, represents the foremost resource for legal opinion (fatwa) in the entire late Shafi'i school. He was once asked about the legal status of those who criticizes Sufis: Is there an excuse for such critics? He replies in his Fatawa hadithiyya:
It is incumbent upon every person endowed with mind and religion not to fall into the trap of criticizing these folk (Sufis), for it is a mortal poison, as has been witnessed of old and recently.1
Among many others on the same topic, he gave an important fatwa entitled: "Whoever denies, rejects, or disapproves of the Sufis, Allah will not make his knowledge beneficial." We transcribe it below in full:
Our Shaykh, the gnostic ('arif) scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri (d. 952) told me, on the authority of the shaykh and scholar Jamal al-Din al-Sabi verbatim -- and he is one of the most distinguished students of our Shaykh Zakaria al-Sabiq (al-Ansari), that al-Sabi used to reject and criticize the way of the honorable Ibn al-Farid. One time al-Sabi saw in a dream that it was the Day of Judgment, and he was carrying a load which made him exhausted, then he heard a caller saying: "Where is the group of Ibn al-Farid?" He said:I came forward in order to enter with them, but I was told: "You are not one of them, so go back." When I woke up I was in extreme fear, and felt regret and sorrow, so I repented to Allah from rejecting the way of Ibn al-Farid, and renewed my commitment to Allah, and returned to believing that he is one of the awliya -- saints and friends -- of Allah. The following year on the same night, I had the same dream. I heard the caller saying: "Where are the group of Ibn al-Farid? Let them enter Paradise." So I went with them and I was told: "Come in, for now you are one of them."
Examine this matter carefully as it come from a man of knowledge in Islam. It appears -- and Allah knows best -- that it is because of the baraka or blessing of his shaykh Zakariyya al-Ansari that he has seen the dream which made him change his mind. Otherwise, how many of their deniers they have left to their blindness, until they found themselves in loss and destruction!
Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami defined the 'Sunni [Ahl as-Sunnah w'al Jama'ah] Muslims' as follows in his book 'Fath al-jawad':
"A mubtadi (innovator) is the person who does not have the faith (aqid'ah) conveyed unanimously by the Ahl as-Sunnah. This unanimity was transmitted by the two great Imam's Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari (d.324/936; Rahimahullah) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d.333/944; Rahimahullah) and the scholars who followed their path." Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami also said in his book 'al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya' (pg. 205): "Man of BID'AH means one whose beliefs are different from the Ahl as-Sunnah faith. The Ahl as-Sunnah faith, is the faith of Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and those who followed them. One who brings forth something which is not approved by Islam becomes a man of bid'ah."
Ibn Hajar wrote 'al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah', 'Fath al-jawad' and 'al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya' amongst many other works. Ibn Hajar died in 974 After Hijri [1567 Common Era].
1 Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Fatawa hadithiyya (Cairo: al-Halabi, 1970) p. 331
Read more
top
Shah Wajih al Din Alvi
Sayyad Shah Ahmad Wajih al-Din Alvi Gujerati [d. 998H -1590CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Shah Wajihuddin Alvi rahmatullahi 'alayh was the son of Sayyad Shah Nasrullah rahmatullahi 'alayh. He was born at Champanar, Muhammadabad on the 22nd of Muharram ul-Haram 910Hijri [1504 Common Era]. He became Hafidh al Qur'an by the tender age of seven and went onto become educated at the renowned Madrassa Aliya Alviya & Dars-e-Muhammadi in Ahmedabad. Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi excelled under his specialist teachers, in Logic, Hadith andTafsir. It was Sultan Muzaffar Halim who became the Sultan of Gujarat who persuaded Shah Nasrullah rahmatullahi 'alayh to settle in the Badhr Fort area of Ahmedabad city; the capital of Gujerat state in India. Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi went onto become a renowned sufi scholar, writer and poet. In fact he has written explanatory short notes [hashiya] on over 260 books and publications of the earlier scholars. Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi rahmatullahi 'alayh was also a khalifa of Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani alayhir ar-rahman.
Ancestors of Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi
1. Sayyad Kabir-ud-Din: The ancestor of Sayyad Ahmad known as Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi belonged to the Hadramount province of Arabia. Sayyad Kabir-ud-Din was the great grandfather of Shah Wajih-ud-Din Alvi. After moving & settling in the sacred city of Makkah Mukarrama, Sayyad Kabir al-Din was also then therefore referred as 'Makki'.
2. Sayyad Baha-ud-Din : He was the son of Sayyad Kabir-ud-Din Makki. He had a vision in which he was asked to go to India [Gujarat] by the Prophet Muhammad Peace & Blessings upon him. So Sayyad Baha-ud-Din Makki came to India at Patdi, in Gujarat in 799 Hijri [1396 Common Era]. Sayyad Baha-ud-Din Makki and his family had to endure severe prejudice from the native King, whose soldiers had killed two of his men. So he left for Patan [or Pattan] which was the seat of 'Shuba' the Governor appointed by the Muslim King of Delhi. At that time Zafar Khan Ahmad was the Governor Suba of Patan, he was also the ancestor of Sultan Ahmad Shah; the actual Founder of the City of Ahmadabad.
Sayyad Baha-ud-Din Makki had captured the fort of Patdi with the help of Zafar Khan's soldiers. He lived there in peace all of his life and was buried in Patdi near to Viramgam. The good character and nature of Sayyad Baha-ud-Din impressed upon the people of Patdi, as soon many locals and those from the surrounding areas wholeheartedly embraced Islam.
3. Sayyad Muin-ud-Din: He was the son of Sayyad Baha-ud-Din. He was appointed Chief Justice of Patdi by the then Sultan of Gujarat, Muzaffar. Sayyad Moin-ud-Din was also a very pious and upright man. Thus attracted by his demeanour and good nature, many people also entered into the fold of Islam.
4. Sayyad Ata-ud-Din: He was the son of Sayyad Moin-ud-Din. He was a scholar and had the blessing of Sayyad Ganj Ahmad Maghrebi [Qutb al Aqtab]. Sayyad Ata-ud-Din was also appointed the Chief Justice of Patdi by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Gujarat.
5. Sayyad Emad-ud-Din : He was the son of Sayyad Ata-ud-Din. He was also appointed Chief Justice of Khambhat by the Sultan; Muhammad Baig of Gujarat (whom some prejudiced hindu historian referred as 'Begda' instead of 'Baig'). In his role as a Chief Judge Sayyad Emad-ud-Din had gained a lot of respect and his reputation had spread far and wide for his fair & impartial verdicts. He was fortunate to have had the blessing of Sayyad Ala-ud-Din Qazan Chisti Rahmatullahi alaih who had bestowed him with the khilafat of the Chisti Order [permission to lead the Chistiya Silsila]. Sayyad Emad-ud-Din is buried at Patdi in the precinct of his parents.
6. Sayyad Nasr-ul-lah : He was appointed Chief Justice of Champanar Mehmoodabadwhich is now known as Mahemdawad. This was during the time of Khalil Khan IV, son of Sultan Muhammad Baig adopting the title of Sultan Muzaffar II, better known as Sultan Muzaffar Halim who became the Sultan of Gujarat. It was Sultan Muzaffar who persuaded Sayyad Nasr-ul-lah to come and settle in Ahmadabad, the capital of Gujarat thus Shah Nasr-ul-lah, the father of Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi came to live at the Khanpur area, near to Bhadr-Fort in the city of Ahmadabad.
7. Shah Wajih al-Din: He was the son of Sayyad Nasr-ul-lah. The present Janasheen [spiritual successor] is Sayyad Ahmed Alvi, and his father was Pir Sayyad Bada Saheb Alvi Rahmatullahi alayh also known as (Shah Wajih al-Din II) was also a great and pious saint.
Genealogy of Pir Sayyad Bada Saheb Alvi [Shah Wajih al-Din II]
Sayyad Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi
Sayyad Mawlana Abd'al Haq Alvi
Sayyad Mawlana Ghulam Wajih-ud-Din
Sayyad Mawlana Siraj-ud-Din
Sayyad Mawlana Ala-ud-Din
Sayyad Mawlana Hamid Alvi
Sayyad Abd'allah Alvi
Sayyad Hafiz Abd'al Haq
Sayyad Hafiz Abd'allah
Sayyad Waji al-Din II (sani) [Pir Bada Saheb Alvi]
Ridwanallahi ta'ala alayhim'ajmain
Sayyad Ahmed Alvi [Sajjad Nashin]
Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi alayhir rahman was laid to rest at Khanpur, Ahmedabad in 998 Hijri. [1590 Common Era]
.
AKHI SIRAJ AL-DIN UTHMAN [d.758 H - 1357 CE]
TAJ AL-DIN AL-SUBKI [d.771 H - 1369 CE]
IBN KATHIR [d.774 H - 1373 CE]
MAKHDOOM JAHANIAN JAHAN GASHT [d.785 H - 1384 CE]
SHAH BAHA'AL-DIN NAQSHBAND [d.791 H - 1388 CE]
HAFIZ AL-SHIRAZI [d.791 H - 1389 CE]
ALA AL-HAQ WADEEN [d.800 H - 1398 CE]
MAKHDOOM ASHRAF JAHANGIR SEMNANI [d.807 H - 1405 CE]
IBN KHALDUN [d.808 H - 1406 CE]
GESU DERAZ BANDA NAWAZ [d.825 H - 1422 CE]
IMAM IBN HAJAR AL-ASQALANI [d.852 H - 1448 CE]
IMAM MUHAMMAD AL-JAZULI [d.870 H - 1465 CE]
ABD'AL RAZZAQ, NUR 'AL-AYN [d.871 H - 1467 CE]
ABD 'AR-RAHMAN AL-JAMI [d.897 H - 1492 CE]
SHAMS AL-DIN AL-SAKHAWI [d.902 H - 1497 CE]
JALAL AL-DIN AL-SUYUTI [d.911 H - 1505 CE]
'ABD 'AL WAHHAB AL-SHARANI [d.973 H - 1566 CE]
IBN HAJAR AL-HAYTAMI [d.974 H - 1567 CE]
SHAH WAJIH AL-DIN ALVI GUJERATI [d.998 H - 1590 CE]
Akhi Siraj al-Din
Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din Uthman Chisti al-Nizami [d.758 H/1357 CE] 'alayhir ar-rahman w'al ridwan
Akhi Siraj al-Din Usman, was a famous 13th century sufi-saint of Bengal, and a disciple of Shaykh Nizam al-Din Awliya [d.1325 CE]. Akhi Siraj al-Din learnt the Islamic sciences thoroughly with Shaykh Fakhr ud-Din Zarradi. He read Kafiyat,Quduri, Mufassal and Majma-ul-Bahrain as a student of Mawlana Rukn al-Din and became an accomplished scholar. Shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya alayhir rahmanconferred khilafat (spiritual viceregency) upon him and gave him the epithet 'Aina-i-Hindustan' (mirror of Hindustan).
After the death of (Nizam al-Din Awliya d.1325) his spiritual leader, Akhi Siraj al-Dincame to Bengal and began preaching in the capital cities of Gaur (Lakhnauti) and Pandua. He was the founder of the Chishtiya Tariqa (path of devotion) in Bengal.Shaykh 'Ala al-Haq Wadeen (d.1398) alayhir rahman of Pandua was his chief disciple.Akhi Siraj al-Din alayhir rahman was noted to break some of his more highborn disciples of their aristocratic ways. In the case of Shaykh 'Ala al-Haq, whose father was a prominent migrant from Lahore and the treasurer of Bengal's provincial government, Siraj al-Din taught his disciple to humble himself by walking with a hot cauldron on his head through the quarter of Lakhnauti where his family lived.[1]
It is said that Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din buried the robes that he had received from Shaykh Nizam al-Din Awliya in the northwestern corner of the Sagar Dighi at Gaur. He was buried near the grave of his robes according to his wishes and a mausoleum was erected over his grave.
Local people called him Purana Pir (Purana Pir) or Piran-i-Pir (Piran-i-Pir); the former term means 'the old saint' and the latter means, 'the saint of saints'. It seems that Purana Pir is more probable, because he is the oldest of the known Chishtiya saints in Bengal. Moreover,Piran-i-Pir is a title reserved by the Muslims of India for the 'al-Ghawth al-Adham' Muhy-ud-Din Abd'al-Qadir al-Jilani Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu who is regarded as Bara Pir (the great Pir). The date of the construction of the mausoleum is not known, but two epigraphs attached to the gates of the shrine show that the gates were built by Sultan Ala al-Din Husayn Shah and Sultan Nasir al-Din Nusrat Shah respectively. Ala al-Din Husayn Shah also built a siqayah or shed for drinking water at the dargah of the saint.
The urs (death anniversary; 758 AH/1357 CE) is commemorated annually on Id al-Fitr. On this occasion the jhanda or heraldic symbol of Makhdoom Jahaniyan Jahan Gasht, preserved in the shrine of Shaykh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi at Pandua and the Panja (reproduction of hand) of Shaykh Nur Qutb al-Alam at Pandua are sent to the shrine of Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din at Gaur as a mark of respect to the old saint. Shaykh Akhi's tomb at Gaur (Lakhnauti) still attracts hundreds of devotees from all over the country.
It is believed in some quarters that Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din originally came from Badayun (the epithet Badayuni is concequently attached to his name), but modern researchers have shown that it is not true. Shaykh Abd'al-Haq Muhaddith Dehlavi [d.1642CE] alayhir rahman in his Akhbar-ul-Akhyar fi Asrar-ul-Abrar calls Akhi Siraj al-Din Gauri, ie he was from Gaur, Bengal. The same scholar says that Shaykh Akhi Siraj al-Din while staying in the khanqah of Shaykh Nizam al-Din at Delhi, used to go to Bengal to see his mother who was staying there. He is enjoying his eternal rest in Bengal and his teachings have also been preserved there through his disciples, the Chishtiya saints. [Abdul Karim]
Bibliography Enam al-Huq, A History of Sufism in Bengal, Dhaka, 1974; A Karim, Social History of the Muslims in Bengal down to AD 1538, Dhaka, 1959
[1] Akhbar al-akhyar, comp. 'Abd al-Haq Muhaddis Dihlavi (U. P.: Kitab Khana-yi Rahimia, 1915–16), 149.
top
Taj al-Din al-Subki
Shaykh al Islam Taj al-Din al-Subki [d. 771] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Taj al-Din Abu Nasr 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Subki, according to Ibn Ayyub, al-Ghazzi, and Ibn Shuhba was born in Cairo. He was the author of the Mu'id al-Ni'am wa Mubid al-Niqam, and belongs to a large family of al-Subkis, whose members during the seventh and eighth century A.H. made themselves renowned, not only for their learning, high positions as qadis, jurisconsultants, professors, preachers, and writers, but also for their high personal qualities. As the family name al-Subki shows and historical records prove, the family of these times came from one of the two villages Subk in lower Egypt, namely the Subk in the province of Sharkiyya, near Memphis. Here, as we know, the father of the author, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, was born. Mubarak says that Allah had bestowed special favours on this village in allowing it to give to the world two such men as Taqi al-Din and his son Taj al-Din (1).
Taj al-Din was without doubt a man with a strong sense of duty and an equal strong sense of right and wrong. His character was one of unquestionable honesty and integrity. He was carried by unselfish motives and lofty aspirations.We will also have to regard Taj al-Din as a pious man. His great ideal was Omar II, known for his piety, not to say bigotry. He was obviously inclined towards religious mysticism. Thus he speaks with great deference of the Sufis, and those he put forward as the benefactors of the world.
Shaykh al-Islam Taj al-Din al-Subki, the son of Shaykh al-Islam al-hafiz Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756) who was a student of IBN ATA' ALLAH, mentioned in his book 'Mu'id al-Ni'am' under the chapter entitled Sufism:
''May Allah give them life and greet them (Sufis), and may He place us with them in Paradise. Too many things have been said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them... The truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship.''
Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (Imam al-Haramayn's father) said: They are among Allah's people and His elite. His mercy is sought through their remembrance of Allah, and rain descends with their invocation. May Allah be pleased with them and may Allah be pleased with us for their sake.(2)
Ref; Living Islam & Masud.co.uk
(1) From this statement it would seem as if also our author was born at Subk. Some native biographers indeed only use the general term Egypt in denoting the birthplace, while others distinctly state that he was born in Cairo.
(2) al-Subki, Mu'id al-ni'am wa mubid al-niqam p. 190.
top
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Hafiz Shihab al-Din Umar Imad al-Din Ibn Kathir [d. 774H /1373CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wal-ridwan
Abu al Fida Ismail ibn Abi Hafs Shihab al-Din Umar Imad al-Din ibn Kathir al Busrawi; was born in the year 701 AH in an area called Majdal, near Busra, west of Damascus (Syria). He was a hadith master (hafiz, someone with at least 100,000 hadiths by memory) and was of the Shafi'i school as well as part of the 'Ahl al-Sunnah w'al Jama'ah'. Ibn Kathir’s tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis) is widely regarded as one of the great works of tafsir. Also among his best-known works is his masterpiece in history 'al-Bidaya wan-Nihaya' ('The Beginning and the End') .He also interpreted part of Imam Bukhari's Sahih (book of authentic Hadiths).
Even though he was a student of the heretic IBN TAYMIYA whatever length of time Ibn Kathir studied with Ibn Taymiya, he was in his twenties when the latter died, and his long and fruitful career extended over the next forty-six years. It cannot be lost on us how far away Ibn Kathir is from anthropomorphism, and there is no evidence in his tafsir that suggests he followed the ideas of Ibn Taymiya or his student Ibn Qayyim in the literalism that gives the impression of likening Allah to created things. That is not to say that Salafis [modern day wahabis] havent altered the texts to mislead the general public. And Allah knows best. Read more: IBN TAYMIYA & IBN KATHIR
Ibn Kathir on Mawlid:
In the time of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, it is well-known that poets came to him with all kinds of works praising him, writing about his campaigns and battles and about the Sahaba. This is proved by the numerous poems quoted in theSiras of Ibn Hisham, al-Waqidi, and others. The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was happy with good poetry. It is reported in Bukhari's "al-Adab al-Mufrad"that he said:
"There is wisdom in poetry."
Ibn Kathir says in his "Mawlid," page 30:
"The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's uncle al-'Abbas radi Allahu ta'ala anhu composed poetry praising the birth of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, in which are found the following lines:
'When you were born,
the earth was shining,
and the firmament barely contained your light,
and we can pierce through,
thanks to that radiance and light
and path of guidance.'"
Ibn Kathir mentions the fact that according to the Sahaba, the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam praised his own name and recited poetry about himself in the middle of the battle of Hunayn in order to encourage the companions and frighten the enemies. That day he Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said:
"Ana an-Nabee, laa kadhib, Ana ibn 'abd al-Muttalib"
"I am the Prophet! This is no lie. I am the son of 'Abd al-Muttalib!"
Also read : DHIKR MAWLID RASUL'ALLAH by IBN KATHIR
top
Jahanian Jahan Gasht
Al Haaj Makhdoom Mir Sayyad Jalal al-Din Jahanian Jahan Gasht [d.785 H / 1384 CE] 'alayhir ar-rahman w'al ridwan
Hadrat Mir Sayyad Jalal al-Din Makhdoom Jahanian Jahan Gasht Radi Allahu anhu was a renowned scholar, philosopher and theologist. He belonged to the Suhrawardiya order of Sufi Saints and took the religious oath [bay'ah] from his father and uncle. He was born in Uch in 707 A.H. (1307 C.E.) [also spelt auch, ooch] in the state of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
The first Suhrawardi Sufi to settle in Uch was Jalal ad-Din Bukhari (d. 1290 CE), also known as ''Surkh (red) Bukhari''. He came to India from Bukhara and became the disciple of BAHA AL-DIN ZAKARIYA MULTANI [d.665 H - 1267 CE] . He remained at his khanaqah for thirty years and was then sent by him to Uch. At his death he was suceeded by his son Ahmad Kabir but it was his grandson Jahanian Jahan Gasht, who ''inspired loyalty and admiration among a wide section of Muslim mystics, both Suhrawardi and non-Suhrawardi.'' Having spent most of his time travelling in Arabia (he amazingly performed the Hajj pilgrimage thirty-six times), he became known as 'Jahanian Jahan Gasht', meaning 'Traveller of the World'. Jahanian Jahan Gasht spent a number of years in Makkah and Madina mainly in studying the religious sciences.
This, what may be termed the ''Makkan connection'', was to play a very important role in subsequent history of not only the development of Sufism, or to be more precise, what Allama Iqbal termed Islamic Sufism, but of Islam as a whole in India. It gave religous orthodoxy a strong place in Sufism, which culminated in the ''reform'' of Sufism at he hands of Mujaddid Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruq as-Sirhindi [d.1624CE] in the early seventeenth century. Henceforth in India, as before in the other Islamic lands, Sufism was not to be wholly a movement of transcendental culture. Besides the groups and individuals who were indeed committed to the ideal of transcendence, there emerged a strong and influential group which concieved of Sufism in terms of total dedication to the shariah on the one hand and identification of religion with the state on the other. They incorporated and emphasized the elements of asceticism into orthodoxy, and the strength of Muslim rule in India for them was as much the responsibility of the Sufis as that of the scholars.
During his travels, he studied with Hadrat Shaykh Rukn-i-Alam Radi Allahu anhu, in Multan, and it is also a common belief that the town of Jahanian, in Punjab [PAKISTAN] was so named after Jahanian Jahan Gasht, after visits preaching there.
Jahanian Jahan Gasht Radi Allahu anhu passed away on the 6th of Rabi al-Awwal 785 A.H. (1384 C.E.) at the age of 77 and is laid to rest in Uch Shareef. The shrine is situated on a high platform surrounded by a wall with a gateway and is visited by devotees all the year round. The date of the original construction of his tomb is uncertain. Most of the structure was restored or rebuilt during the 19th and 20th centuries. Nevertheless, its present form resembles the original built in the 13th or 14th century. This is borne out by inscription recording restoration dates.
top
Shah Naqshband
Muhammad Baha 'al-Din Uways al-Bukhari Shah Naqshband [d.791h] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Muhammad Baha 'al-Din Uways al-Bukhari Radi Allahu anhu, known as Shah Naqshband, the Imam of the Naqshbandi Tariqat without peer. He was born in the year 1317 C.E. in the village of Qasr al-'arifan, near Bukhara. After he mastered the shari'ah sciences at the tender age of 18, he kept company with the Shaykh Muhammad Baba as-Samasi Radi Allahu anhu, who was an authority in hadith in Central Asia. After the latter's death, he followed Shaykh Amir Kulal Radi Allahu anhu who continued and perfected his training in the external and the internal knowledge.
The students of Shaykh Amir Kulal Radi Allahu anhu used to make dhikr aloud when sitting together in association, and silent dhikr when alone. Hadrat Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu, however, although he never criticized nor objected to the loud dhikr, preferred the silent dhikr. Concerning this he says, "There are two methods of dhikr; one is silent and one is loud. I chose the silent one because it is stronger and therefore more preferable." The silent dhikr thus became the distinguishing feature of the Naqshbandiyya among othertariqats.
Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu performed Hajj (Pilgrimage) three times, after which he resided in Merv and Bukhara. Towards the end of his life he went back to settle in his native city of Qasr al-'Arifan. His teachings became quoted everywhere and his name was on every tongue. Visitors from far and wide came to see him and to seek his advice. They received teaching in his school and mosque, a complex which at one time accommodated more than five thousand people. This school is the largest Islamic center of learning in Central Asia and still exists in our day. It was recently renovated and reopened after surviving seventy years of Communist rule.
Shah Naqshband's Radi Allahu anhu teachings changed the hearts of seekers from darkness to light. He continued to teach his students the knowledge of the Oneness of God in which his precedessors had specialized, emphasizing the realization of the state of ihsan(excellence) for his followers according to the hadith of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, "Ihsan is to worship God as if you see Him."
When Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu died he was buried in his garden as he requested. The succeeding Kings of Bukhara took care of his school and mosque, expanding them and increasing their religious endowments (awqaf).
Succeeding Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Tariqat wrote many biographies of Shah NaqshbandRadi Allahu anhu. Among them are Mas'ud al-Bukhari and Sharif al-Jarjani, who composed the Awrad Baha 'al-Din which describes him and his life's works including his fatawa (legal decisions). Shaykh Muhammad Parsa, who died in Madinah in 822 H. (1419 C.E.) wroteRisala Qudsiyya in which he talks of Shah Naqshband's Radi Allahu anhu life, his virtues, and his teachings.
Shah Naqshband's Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu literary legacy included many books. Among them are Awrad an-Naqshbandiyyah, the Devotions of Shah Naqshband. Another book is Tanbih al-Ghafilin. A third book is Maslakul Anwar. A fourth is Hadiyyatu-s-Salikan wa Tuhfat at-Talibin. He left many noble expressions praising the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallam and he wrote many legal rulings. One of his opinions was that all the different acts and kinds of worship, whether obligatory or voluntary, were permitted for the seeker in order to reach reality. Prayer, fasting, zakat (paying the poor-tax), mujahadat(striving) and zuhd (self-denial) were emphasized as ways to reach Allah Almighty.
Shah Naqshband Radi Allahu anhu built his school on the renewal of the teachings of the Islamic religion. He insisted on the necessity of keeping the Qur'an al-kareem and the teachings of the Sunnah. When they asked him, "What are the requirements of one who follows your way?" he said, "To follow the Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallam." He continued saying: "Our way is a rare one. It keeps the 'Urwat ul-Wuthqa, the Unbreakable Bond, and it asks nothing else of its followers but to take hold of the Pure Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallam and follow the way of the Sahaba (Companions of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Ta'ala 'alyhi wa Sallamin their ijtihad (efforts for Allah).
top
Hafiz al Shirazi
Shams al-Din Hafiz al Shirazi [d.791H /1389 CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Khawaja Shams al-Din Muhammad Ibn-i Muhammad, known as Hafiz, was born into a merchant family of Shiraz, Iran, some time between 1321 and 1326; he died in the same city around 1389. The word "hafiz" means reciter. The poet chose this takhallus because, allegedly, he could recite the Qur'an in a number of different forms--fourteen according to his own poetry and seven according to his colleague and biographer, Muhammad Gulandam.
Little is known about the formative years of Hafiz's life other than that he was orphaned at an early age and was employed by a baker as dough maker. What is known is that he was a scholar, an 'arif, a hafiz of the Qur'an and an exegete of the Book. He himself has repeatedly indicated this in his verses:
I haven 't seen more beautiful lines than yours, Hafiz,
By the Qur'an that you have in your breast.
Your love shall cry out if you, like Hafiz,
Recite the Quran memoriter with all the fourteen readings.
Of the memorizers of the world none like me has gathered,
Subtleties of wisdom with Quranic delicacies.
In his poetry Hafiz speaks much of the pir-e tariqat (spiritual guide) and of the murshid (master), yet it is not clear who was the teacher and guide of Hafiz himself.
Hafiz's poetry attains to lofty mystical heights, and there are few people who are able to perceive his mystic subtleties. All the 'urafa' who came after him admit that he had indeed practically covered the lofty stages of 'irfan. Several important scholars have written commentaries on some of his verses. For example, a treatise was written by the well-known philosopher of the ninth century, Muhaqqiq Jalal al-Din Dawwani, on the following verse:
My teacher said: the pen of creation was subject to no error,
Bravo the pure eyes that hide all defects.
Unlike his globe trotter fellow Shirazi, Sa'di, Hafiz stayed in Shiraz almost all his life. One of the two trips that he made was forced upon him--he was exiled from Shiraz due to mass opposition to his singular behavior. He stayed long enough in Yazd until the situation cooled down. The other trip was to the port of Hormuz on the Persian Gulf where he was to travel to India. A stormy sea made him change his mind and return to Shiraz.
Like the Quatrains of Umar Khayyam, Hafiz's poetry has a special public appeal. This appeal is to a degree that his diwan is often treated as if it were the Noble Qur'an. Indeed, to most Iranians he is known as the Lisan al-Qaiyb (tongue of the unperceived). In fact, like the Noble Qur'an, they use his diwan to look into the future. Hafiz's diwan contains 418 ghazals, 5 odes, 41 quatrains, and 3 small mathnavis. Other features of his diwan include the Saqinameh, Ahuye Vahshi, and Muqanninamah.
Hafiz is undeniably the master of the art of the ghazal (sonnet). The ghazal, of course, does not begin with Hafiz but, it is, certainly, a genre which he developed and perfected. His Sufic ghazals usually contain seven beyts with the poet's penname usually appearing in the last beyts. His Sufic ghazals, that have more than seven beyts, have, over the centuries, engaged the attention of the analysts and Hafiz interpreters. It is not clear whether the beyts that fail, in one way or another, to meet Hafiz' standard, thematic development, and the seven-beyt-limit are added by later compilers who, for various reasons, might have amplified the volume, or that they had been added by Hafiz himself to satisfy the demands of his patrons.
Hafiz is a highly controversial figure in Persian literature. The controversy is centered on whether Hafiz uses allegorical symbolism alongside profane love to convey Sufic messages to those knowledgeable to decipher his thoughts. Many scholars in the West have rejected the attribution of any sufistic value to the poetry of Hafiz. On the contrary, many scholars and critics in the East have not given anything but sufistic values to the same poetry. The biggest problem for the Western scholar, of course, is a good understanding of the material with which Hafiz worked; a lack of a good translation of the entire diwan influences this lack of belief in the existence of a level more profound than the mundane. The biggest problem for the Eastern scholar is a lack of analytical orientation. Hafiz passed away in 791Hijri/1389 Common Era.
Extracts from Prof Iraj Bashiri
top
Ala al-Haq Wadeen
Shaykh Ala al-Haq Wadeen al-Chisti al-Nizami [d.800 H/1398 CE ] 'alayhir ar-rahman w'al ridwan
Hadrat Shaykh Ala al-Haq Wadeen was a hugely influential and pious shaykh, known not only in Bengal but throughout India. His father was Umar bin Asad Khalidi rahmtullahi 'alayh, who claimed descent from the famous arab general Khalid bin Walid Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. His ancestors had come to Lahore, and from there migrated to Pandua, Bengal. After the establishment of Muslim rule in Bengal, Umar bin Asad settled at Pandua where his son Ala al Haq was born. The boy, given proper education, grew up into a learned scholar and one of the foremost sufis of his time.
Initially Ala al-Haq earned great fortune and fame as a scholar. His affluence and learning prompted him to assume the title of 'Ganj-i-Nabat' ('the store of wealth'). Some reports suggest that when Nizam al-Din Awliya [d.1325CE] Rahmatullahi 'alayh came to learn of this he became annoyed. His spiritual head, Hadrat Baba Farid [d.1265CE] Rahmatullahi 'alayh, was called 'Ganj-i-Shakar' and assumption of the title of 'Ganj-i-Nabat' by Ala al-Haq meant that he wanted to supersede his spiritual guide. But this thought changed and Ala al-Haq realised the error of his ways, and severely repented and detached himself from the worldly life and pledged allegiance to the sufi shaykh, Akhi Siraj al-Din [d.1357CE].
Soon after, and assuming a more humble approach Ala al-Haq opened a free kitchen (langar-Khaana) for all travellers within the region. News spread of this generous gesture by Ala-al-Haq as thousands of destitute and needy descended within the region. But, the then Sultan of Pandua, Sikander Shah (1358-1389), felt his position was in danger, due to the saint's popularity, and through jealousy ordered Ala al-Haq to leave the region. Shaykh Ala-al-Haqdeparted and soon re-established another khanqah at Sonargaon. The langar-khaanacontinued with the same amount of success and popularity. Approximately two years later, Shaykh Ala-al-Haq was allowed to return from exile to his native town of Pandua, where he breathed his last in 1398 C.E [800H][1]. It is said from persian treatises that Makhdoom Jahanian Jahan Gasht [d.1384CE] rahmatullahi 'alayh led the funeral prayer of Shaykh Ala al-Haq rahmatullahi 'alayh. Makhdoom Jahanian met Ala al-Haq in Pandua and the dialogue of the two saints is recorded at the Jahanian mosque erected in 1535 C.E.
Shaykh Ala al-Haq Wadeen Rahmatullahi 'alayh was succeeded by his son Shaykh Nur al-Din 'Qutb-i-Alam', who was also his mureed (disciple). Other notable mureeds include Shaykh Nasir al-Din Manikpuri, and Makhdoom Sayyad Ashraf Jahangir of Semnan (d.1405 C.E)'alayhir rahman. Nasir al-Din preached Islam in and around Manipur Koda in Bihar. Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh, though the son of a king, renounced the throne of Semnan and became the disciple of Ala al-Haq Wadeen, who subsequently sent him to do dawa 'preach Islam' in Jaunpur, and the surrounding regions.
Unlike his own teacher, who had no known dealings with royalty, Shaykh 'Ala al-Haq was destined to play a special role in the political history of Muslim Bengal. In fact, the earliest-known monument built by the founder of Bengal's longest-lived dynasty, the Ilyas Shahi line of kings (1342–1486), was dedicated to this shaykh. On a mosque built in 1342 in what is now part of Calcutta, Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah praised the Sufi as ''the benevolent and revered saint (Shaykh) whose acts of virtue are attractive and sublime, inspired by Allah, may He illuminate his heart with the light of divine perception and faith, and he is the guide to the religion of the Glorious, 'Ala al-Haq may … his piety last long.''
[1] According to the Akhbar-ul-Akhyar he died in 800 AH
top
Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir
Ghawth al 'Alam Mahboob-i Yazdani Sultan Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Simnani [d.807H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Direct descendant of Ghawth al A'zam Piranai Pir Dastagir, Mahboob-i Subhani, Shaykh Sayyadina Abd'al-Qadir al-Jilani Radi Allahu anhu [QADIRIYA TARIQAT] and spiritually inspired through the ChistI-Nizami Order, Hadrat Makhdoom Ashraf Rahmatullahi ’Alaih became the founder of the Ashrafiya spiritual order. Having abandoned worldy kingdom and crown at a very young age, he set off on a spiritual journey in search of a spiritual guide for inner peace and to ultimately serve mankind. He studied under many great and learned scholars of the time and gained untold blessings from many Sufis and dervishes. Eventually arriving at a place called Pandua in Bengal where his Shaykh to be, was already waiting to bless him.
And today the 'faiz' of this Wali-Allah [saints, freinds of Allah] who abandoned worldly and materialistic wealth for the pleasure of the Almighty has millions of devotees and followers throughout the world.
COMPLETE BIOGRAHY : MAKHDOOM ASHRAF JAHANGIR
top
Ibn Khaldun
Al-Hasan bin Jabir bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Abdur-Rahman Ibn Khaldun [d.808 H - 1406 CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wal-ridwan
He is Abdurahman bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Al-Hasan bin Jabir bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Abdurahman bin Ibn Khaldun. His ancestry according to him originated from Hadramut, Yemen. He also traced his ancestry through another genealogy as supplied by Ibn Hazem using his grandfather who was the first to enter Andalusia back to Wail ibn Hajar one of the oldest Yemenite tribe. Ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis on Ramadan 1, 732h (May 27, 1332). He received a traditional education that was typical of his family's rank and status. He learned first at the hands of his father who was a scholarly person who was not involved in politics like his ancestors. He memorized the Qur'an by heart, learned grammar, Jurisprudence, Hadith, rhetoric, philology, and poetry. He had reached certain proficiency in these subjects and received certification in them.
Ibn Khaldun alayhir rahman is one of the most important figures in the field of History and Sociology in Muslim History. He is one of those shining stars that contributed so richly to the understanding of Civilization. In order for one to understand and appreciate his work, one must understand his life. He lived a life in search of stability and influence. He came from a family of scholars and politicians and he intended to live up to both expectations. He would succeed in the field of Scholarship much more so than in any other field.
Ibn Khaldun said about tasawwuf in his famous Muqaddima:
Tasawwuf is one of the latter-day sciences of the Law in the Islamic Community. The foundation of tasawwuf, however, is (more ancient, as seen in the fact) that these folk and their way have always been present among the Salaf and among the most senior of the Companions and the Successors, and their way is the way of truth and guidance.
The foundation of the way of the Sufis is self-restraint in the world and utter dependence on Allah; shunning of the adornment and beauty of the world; self- deprivation of pleasure, money, and title in the manner agreed upon by the vast majority of the scholars; and isolation from creatures in seclusion and devotion to worship.
All these aspects were widespread among the Companions and the Salaf, but with the pervasiveness of worldliness in the second century and the next, and the general inclination of the people towards the world, those who remained attached to worship became know under the name of Sufis.(1)
Ibn Khaldun died while he was in office as a Qadi on Wednesday March 17th 1406CE (25th of Ramadan 808h). He was buried in the Sufi Cemetery outside Bab an-Nasr, Cairo at the age of seventy-four years.
(1) Muqaddimat ibn Khaldun, p. 328.
Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's _The Repudiation of 'Salafi' Innovations_ (Kazi, 1996) p. 382.
Extracts taken from Muslim Philosophy
top
Khwaja Banda Nawaz
Khawaja Shaykh Sayyad Abul Fatah Muhammad Gesu Daraz 'Banda Nawaz' Dehlavi [d. 825 H/ 1422 CE] 'alayhir al-ridwan w'al rahman
Sufi saint of the Chishtiya order. He was a disciple of Nasir al-Din of Delhi and came to Gulbarga in 1413CE. The Bahmani ruler Ahmed Shah (1422-36) conferred rich endowments on him. The Saint's dargah is a large complex of tombs, mosques, madrasas and gateways.
His name was Abul Fatah, and 'Banda Nawaz' and 'Gesu Daraz' are his titles. Among the scholars and theologians he was Shaykh Abul Fatah Sadr al-Din Muhammad Dehlavi, but people called him Khawaja Banda Nawaz and Khawaja Gaysoo D'raaz. He was the descendant of Amir al Momineen Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. His forefathers resided in Hirat (Afghanistan). One of them travelled to Delhi and eventually decided to settle down and make it his new home. Shaykh Muhammad was born in Delhi on 4, Rajab, 721 Hijri. His father Sayyad Yusuf bin Ali, alias Sayyad Raja was a holy figure and devoted to Hadrat Nizam al-din AwliyaRahmatullahi alayh. Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq once transferred his capital to Daulatabad (Devgiri) and along with him went many scholars, theologians and mystics. His parents also migrated to the place. He was four years at the time Malik-ul-Umar Sayyad Ibrahim Mustafa, his maternal uncle, was the governor of the new Capitol i.e., Daulatabad.
Childhood and Early Education: From the very beginning his father put him on the right track i.e. to learn and to study and gave him his early education. From his childhood he was inclined towards Religion and spent time in meditation and prayer. He was ten when his father died and his maternal grand father assumed the responsibility of his education and training and taught him initial books but he took lessons on "Misbah" and "Qadoori" from another teacher.
Again in Delhi: On the passing away of his father, his mother had a disagreement with her brother and decided to return to Delhi. He was fifteen at the time. He had heard a lot about Hadrat Nizam al-Din and Hadrat Nasir al-Din Roshan Chiragh Dehlavi from his father and maternal grandfather and thus grew devoted to them. One day he went to say his prayer in the Jama-Masjid of Sultan Qutub al-Din, there he saw Hadrat Shaykh Nasir al-Din Mahmood Chiragh Dehlavi and immediately pledged Obedience [bay'ah] to him as his disciple on 16, Rajab.
Completion of Outer and intrinsic studies: Under the guidance of Hadrat Nasir al-Din Chiragh Dehlavi he engaged himself in prayers and meditation and so much enjoyed them that lie forbade studies and requested his teacher to allow him to do so. Hadrat Nasir ad-din strictly denied him permission and instructed him to study with attention Usul-e-Bizoori, Risals Shamsia, Kashaf, Misbah so he restarted the studies under the guidance of renowned teachers. Mawlana Sayyad Shariff al-Din Kaithli, Mawlana Taj al-Din Muqaddam and Mawlana Qazi Abd'al Muqtadir and qualified for the degree at the age of nineteen.
Title Gaisoo Draaz (Gaisu Deraz): One day he with other disciples lifted the palanquin bearing Hadrat Nasir al-Din. His long hair stuck into the foot of the palki and pained him severely but he did not disentangle them for love and respect to the teacher. When Hadrat Nasir al-Din learnt of the episode, he was overjoyed and recited the Persian couplet;
Har ki mureedae Sayyad 'Gesu-Daraz' shud;
Wallah khilaf nest ki Uoo ishq baaz shud.
(Meaning: "Sayyad 'Gesu-Daraz' has pledged his obedience; there is nothing wrong in it because he has deeply fallen in love)."
After this incident he became known as 'Gesu-Daraz.'
Books: He was a prolific writer as well as a revered scholar on a wide range of topics and subjects. He left many books. It is said, he was the first writer of a magazine on mysticism inUrdu. He wrote about 100 books in Persian and Arabic. Some of them are:
Tafseer [Commentary] Qur'an e Majeed
Multaqit
Havashi Kashaf
Shairah-e-Mashareq
Shairah Fiqh-e-Akhbar
Shairah Adab-Ul-Murideen
Shairah Ta-arruf
Risala Sirat-al-Nabi
Tarjuma Mashareq
Ma-Arif
Tarjuma Awaarif
Sharah Fasus al-Hukm
Tarjuma Risala Qerya
Hawa Asahi Quwwat-Ul-Qalb
Stay at Gulbarga: Having lived for about 44 years in Delhi he went to Gulbarga, Deccan. He was about eighthy at that time. Firoz Shah Bahmani ruled over the Deccan during this period. He gave him much respect. For a long time he was engaged in religious discourses, sermons, and spiritual training of the people.
Death: This great scholar, sufi, and renowned spiritual guide lived for over 100 years. He died at the age of 104 years, on the 16th of Dh'ul Q'adah in 825 Hijri, in Gulbarga (Karnataka) and is laid to rest there. His tomb is a place of pilgrimage for all the people rich and poor alike.
Quotes:
" If a Salik prays or meditates for fame, his is an atheist.
" If one prays or meditates out of fear, he is a cheat and a hypocrite.
" So long as a man disengages himself from all the worldly things, he would not step into the road of conduct.
" Divide the night into three periods: in the first period say Darud and recitation; in the second sleep and in the third call His name and meditate.
" The Salik should be careful in food it should be legitimate (Halal).
" The Salik should abstain from the company of the worldly people.
YAA QUTB-E-DECCAN TAAJ-UL-AWLIYA-E-DECCAN SHAHENSHAH-E-KARNATAKA RASOOL-E-HAQQ KI KHUSHBU ALI KA ZORE BAAZU HADRAT SAYYAD MUHAMMAD KHAWAJA BANDE NAWAZ GESU DARAZ AL-MADAD
top
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Imam Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani [d. 852H/1448CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Hajar's family originated in the district of Qabis in Tunisia. Some members of the family had settled in Palestine, which they left again when faced with the Crusader threat, but he himself was born in Egypt in 773, the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur al-Din 'Ali and the learned and aristocratic Tujjar. Both died in his infancy, and he was later to praise his elder sister, Sitt al-Rakb, for acting as his 'second mother'. The two children became wards of the brother of his father's first wife, Zaki al-Din al-Kharrubi, who entered the young Ibn Hajar in a Qur'anic school (kuttab) when he reached five years of age. Here he excelled, learning 'Surat Maryam' in a single day, and progressing to the memorization of texts such as the 'Mukhtasar' of Ibn al-Hajib on usul. By the time he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Makkah at the age of 12, he was competent enough to lead theTarawih prayers in the Holy City, where he spent much time studying and recalling God amid the pleasing simplicity of Kharrubi's house, the Bayt al-'Ayna', whose windows looked directly upon the Black Stone. Two years later his protector died, and his education in Egypt was entrusted to the hadith scholar Shams al-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by the great Cairene scholars al-Bulqini (d.806) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d.804) in Shafi'ifiqh, and of Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi (d.806) in hadith, after which he was able to travel to Damascus and Jerusalem, where he studied under Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi (d.809), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d.803), and Fatima bint al-Manja al-Tanukhiyya (d.803). After a further visit to Makkah and Madina, and to the Yemen, he returned to Egypt.
When he reached 25 he married the lively and brilliant Anas Khatun, then 18 years of age. She was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi, and she gave celebrated public lectures in the presence of her husband to crowds of ulema among whom was Imam al-Sakhawi. After the marriage, Ibn Hajar moved into her house, where he lived until his death. Many noted how she surrounded herself with the old, the poor and the physically handicapped, whom it was her privilege and pleasure to support. So widely did her reputation for sanctity extend that during her fifteen years of widowhood, which she devoted to good works, she received a proposal from Imam 'Alam al-Din al-Bulqini, who considered that a marriage to a woman of such charity and baraka would be a source of great pride.
Once ensconced in Egypt, Ibn Hajar taught in the Sufi lodge (khaniqah) of Baybars for some twenty years, and then in the hadith college known as Dar al-Hadith al-Kamiliyya. During these years, he served on occasion as the Shafi'i chief justice of Egypt.
It was in Cairo that the Imam wrote some of the most thorough and beneficial books ever added to the library of Islamic civilization. Among these are al-Durar al-Kamina (a biographical dictionary of leading figures of the eighth century), a commentary on the Forty Hadith of Imam al-Nawawi (a scholar for whom he had particular respect); Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (an abbreviation of Tahdhib al-Kamal, the encyclopedia of hadith narrators by al-Mizzi), al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba (the most widely-used dictionary of Companions), and Bulugh al-Maram min adillat al-ahkam (on Shafi'i fiqh).
In 817, Ibn Hajar commenced the enormous task of assembling his Fath al-Bari. It began as a series of formal dictations to his hadith students, after which he wrote it out in his own hand and circulated it section by section to his pupils, who would discuss it with him once a week. As the work progressed and its author's fame grew, the Islamic world took a close interest in the new work. In 833, Timur's son Shahrukh sent a letter to the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay requesting several gifts, including a copy of the Fath, and Ibn Hajar was able to send him the first three volumes. In 839 the request was repeated, and further volumes were sent, until, in the reign of al-Zahir Jaqmaq, the whole text was finished and a complete copy was dispatched. Similarly, the Moroccan sultan Abu Faris 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hafsi requested a copy before its completion. When it was finished, in Rajab 842, a great celebration was held in an open place near Cairo, in the presence of the ulema, judges, and leading personages of Egypt. Ibn Hajar sat on a platform and read out the final pages of his work, and then poets recited eulogies and gold was distributed. It was, says the historian Ibn Iyas, 'the greatest celebration of the age in Egypt.'
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar departed this life in 852 Hijri. His funeral was attended by 'fifty thousand people', including the sultan and the caliph; 'even the Christians grieved.' He was remembered as a gentle man, short, slender, and white-bearded, a lover of chess and calligraphy, much inclined to charity; 'good to those who wronged him, and forgiving to those he was able to punish.' A lifetime's proximity to the hadith had imbued him with a deep love of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), as is shown nowhere more clearly than in the poetry assembled in his Diwan, an original manuscript of which has been preserved at the Egyptian National Library. A few lines will suffice to show this well:
By the gate of your generosity stands a sinner, who is mad with love,
O best of mankind in radiance of face and countenance!
Through you he seeks a means [tawassala], hoping for Allah's forgiveness of slips;
from fear of Him, his eyelid is wet with pouring tears.
Although his genealogy attributes him to a stone [hajar],
how often tears have flowed, sweet, pure and fresh!
Praise of you does not do you justice, but perhaps,
In eternity, its verses will be transformed into mansions.
My praise of you shall continue for as long as I live,
For I see nothing that could ever deflect me from your praise.
Source: Mas'ud Khan's Ahl as-Sunnah Website
copyright: Abdal Hakim Murad
top
Imam al-Jazuli
Imam Abu Abd'ullah Muhmmad al Jazuli [d.870H - 1465CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
His full name was Abu Abdullah Muhammad, son of Sulayman, son of Abi Bakr al-Jazuli al-Simlali. He was a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, praise and veneration be upon him, via his grandson Hasan, son of Ali, may Allah be pleased with them.
Imam al Jazuli alayhir rahman belonged to the Berber tribe of Jazula that settled in the Sus area of Morocco which lies between the Atlantic ocean and the Atlas mountains. When he was young he studied in Sus, then continued his studies in the Madrassa as-Saffareen in Fez. Al-Jazuli was ''frequent in reciting litanies (awrad), observant of Allah most High in all his states, not exceeding the boundaries Allah established, and exerting himself in following the Book of Allah and the example of his beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).” He founded the Shadhiliyya Jazuliyya order, with Dala'il al-Khayrat [Guidance to Righteousness] at its core, and its disciples received spiritual training (tarbiya) at his hands.After the completion of his studies in the Madrassa he left Fez and spent the next forty years between Makkah, Madina and Jerusalem. It was after this period that he returned to Fez where he was blessed to complete his great work of the 'Dala'il ul Khayrat'.
Imam al Jazuli alayhir rahman was a very pious man and the foremost Judge of his town. One day, while on a journey he became very thirsty and also needed to renew his ablution but his water skin was empty and there was no water in sight. In his search for water he found a well, however the well had neither a bucket nor a rope with which to draw the water. Al Jazuli was very distressed by the situation, the water was so near and yet so far, and he did not know what to do. Shortly after finding the well a young girl approached and upon realizing al Jazuli’s dilemma spat dry air into the well and the water miraculous rose to the top. Imam al Jazuli alayhir rahman was astounded by this miracle and asked the girl how such a miracle was possible. To this she replied "I was able to do this through my asking Allah for 'peace and blessings upon' Prophet Muhammad."
Having witnessed the blessed benefit of asking for blessings upon the Prophet, may Allah praise and venerate him, and give him peace. Al Jazuli decided to compose 'Dala'il ul-Khayrat' by gathering and selecting material from a multitude of authentic Islamic references that praise and supplicate for blessings upon the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. When one reads these supplications on the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, Allah showers not only His Prophet with blessings but also its reader.
This great work has been, and still is acclaimed by all the lovers of Prophet Muhammad, praise and veneration be upon him, as being the foremost book to praise him. Dalail was later explained by Imam Al-Fasi and subsequently all authentic references were added at the end of each statement in his famous explanation of Dalail. However, one must not suppose that this work contains all the authentic prayers that praise the Beloved Prophet, they are so numerous that they would exhaust volumes of writing; but they are the most precious.
The style of Imam al Jazuli's alayhir rahman presentation is uniquely his own and scented with musk in sincere love of the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him. His writing flows both swiftly yet with smoothness at an exhilarating pace and has attracted many learned Muslim scholars, including Imam Yusuf, son of Ishmael an-Nabahani, to write books that expound its deeper meaning and enriches one’s understanding. Such is the love for this blessed book that Muslim scholars of various tongues such as urdu felt the compelling urge to translated it into their native language so that their people may praise the beloved Prophet in the best manner and be blessed by its reading.
Dala'il al-Khayrat : stands witness to the tremendous baraka of blessing the Chosen and Most Beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Al Jazuli alayhir rahman, devoted his life to this cause and, in the process, renewed the spiritual landscape of his native Morocco. Dala'il al-Khayrat spread from Morocco to all corners of the world, inspiring and inculcating love of the Beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the hearts of Muslims everywhere. It is the most universally acclaimed and the most popular among books of salawaat on the beloved ProphetSalla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. Just as al-Muwatta of Imam Malik Rahmatullahi 'alaih is the first major book of Hadith Shareef to be compiled, Dala'il al-Khayrat is the first major book of salawaat.
The Sufi Shadhili Path:
Al Jazuli was initiated into the 'Shadhili Path' (Tariqa) by Sharif Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Amghar. He spent fourteen years in seclusion and then went to Safi where we are told by Al-Habib Abdullah, son of Alawi, son of Hasan al Attas in his book that ''The Way of Bani 'Alawi'' that al Jazuli had twelve thousand followers, whom he led deeper into the love of Allah and His Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him.
The date of his death is uncertain however, it occurred between the years 869-873 H during an obligatory prayer. In the Encyclopedia of Islam, 1957 Leiden, it is reported that seventy-seven years after his death his body was exhumed for reburial in Marrakesh and his body had not decomposed.
top
Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn
Makhdoom al Afaaq Sayyad Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn [d. 871H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
The family of Sultan Sayyad Hadrat Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh came to be known as 'Khandan al-Ashrafiya' and the forefather of this dynasty in Asia is Hadrat Sayyad Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn Rahmatullahi ta'ala alayh . This family came to be known as 'Ashrafi Sadat '. All the descendents are of the family of Hadrat Abd'al Razzaq Noor al-Ayn. A great saint and scholar of his time. Direct descendent of Ghawth al Azam Shaykh Abd'al Qadir al Jilani Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. His shrine is next to his murshid and uncle Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh in Kicchocha Shareef, Faizabad, UP, India.
Read more : Abd 'al Razzaq Nur al-Ayn
top
al-Jami
Nur al-Din Abd 'ar-Rahman Jami [d.897H - 1492CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Nur al-Din Abd 'ar-Rahman Jami alayhir al Rahman was born on August the 14th 1414 Common Era. [d.897H] and was from the decent from the well-known jurisprudent of the second century, IBN AL HASAN AL-SHAIBANI [d.189H]. Jami was arguably the greatest Persian poet in the 15th century. He was a famous Sufi, and a follower of SHAH BAHA'AL-DIN NAQSHBAND [d.791H] ; Naqshbandiyah Sufi Order. He was born in a village near 'Jam', (vicinity of Mashhad) but a few years after his birth, his family migrated to the cultural city of Herat in present day Afghanistan where he was able to study Peripateticism, mathematics, Arabic literature, natural sciences and Islamic knowledge at the Nizamiyyah University of Herat. He wrote :
My birthplace is Jam and the drops of my pen
Are the draught of the cup of Shaykh al-Islam,
Thus in the pages of my poetry
In two ways my pen-name is Jami.
Afterwards he went to Samarqand city, the most important center for scientific studies in the Islamic World and completed his studies there.
Jami wrote approximately 87 books and epistles. Among them are: Diwanha-i Sehganeh (Triplet Divans), the collection of Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones),Baharistan (Spring Land), Nafahat al-Uns (Biographies of the Mystics). He also wrote a commentary on the Fusus al-hikam of IBN AL-'ARABI, MUHIY AL-DIN, a commentary on the Luma'at of Fakhr al-Din 'Iraqi, a commentary on the Ta'iyyahof Ibn al-Farid, a commentary on the Qasidat al-Burdah in praise of the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, a commentary on theQasidah Mimiyyah of Farazdaq in praise of al-'Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husayn Allah be pleased with him, and a book entitled al-Lawdyih, his Bahdristan, written in the style of Sa'di's Gulistans. Some of his quatrains have been translated into English.
Abd 'ar-Rahman Jami alayhir al Rahman died on November the 19th 1492 Common Era [897 Hijri].
Jami poetry at www.chishti.ru
top
Imam al-Sakhawi
Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi [d. 902H/1497CE] 'alayhir al rahman w'al ridwan
Imam al-Sakhawi was born in 831 Hijri in the village of Sakha in Egypt, where his relatives belonged. He was the foremost student of IBN HAJAR ASQALANI alayhir al rahman and a great jurist, historian, and hadith master, like Taqi al-Din al-Subki and JALAL AL-DIN SUYUTI [Allah be pleased with them], he belonged to the Shadhili order founded by SHADHILI, ABU' AL HASAN, as represented by the great Maliki Master IBN ATA' ALLAH, five of whose works al-Sakhawi transmitted to posterity, including the Hikam, from the Shadhili commentator Ahmad Zarruq (d. 899).
In his biography of the famous men of his time entitled al-Daw' al-lami' al-Sakhawi reveals that his father Zayn al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad (d. 874) was a Cairo-born Sufi of great piety, and a member of the Baybarsiyya Sufi community where Ibn Hajar, Sakhawi's teacher, taught for forty years.(1)
In the section of his 'al-Jawahir al-mukallala fi al-akhbar al-musalsala' devoted to the transmission of hadith through chains formed exclusively of Sufi narrators, al-Sakhawi states that he himself had received the Sufi path from Zayn al-Din Ridwan al- Muqri' in Cairo.(2) In the same work Sakhawi also mentions several of his teachers and students of hadith who were Sufis. Here are the names of some of them, together with the words used by him to describe them in his biographical work al-Daw' al-lami':
* Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Hishi al-Halabi al-Shafi'i (b. 848) the head of the Bistamiyya Sufis in Aleppo, the mother trunk of the Naqshbandi Sufi order affiliated with BISTAMI, ABU YAZID. He spent two years in Makkah with Sakhawi, who wrote him an ijaza or permission to teach. In this ijaza Sakhawi calls him: 'Our master, the masterful Imam of merits and guidance, the Educator of Murids (students in the Sufi path), the Mainstay of Wayfarers in the Sufi path, the Noble Abu Bakr al-Hishi al-Halabi, may Allah preserve him and have mercy on his gracious predecessors (i.e. the chain of his shaykhs in the Sufi path), and may Allah grant us and all Muslims their benefits.'(3)
* Badr al-Din Hussayn ibn Siddiq al-Yamani al-Ahdal (d. 903): al-Sakhawi gave him a comprehensive ijaza granting him permission to teach all of his books.(4)
* Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Madani al-Maraghi (d. 859): Sakhawi took hadith from him. He was head of two Sufi khaniqas in Cairo, the Zamamiyya and the Jamaliyya. He led a life of seclusion for the most part, and wrote a commentary on Nawawi's manual of Law Minhaj al-talibin, and an epitome of IBN HAJAR ASQALANI 'Fath al-bari' because of his defense of SHAYKH IBN AL 'ARABI, he was murdered in front of the Ka'ba by a fanatic.(5)
* Taqi al-Din Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Qalqashandi (d. 867), also called 'Abd Allah. He received the Sufi khirqa or cloak of authority in Cairo. He is said to have read the whole of Sahih al-Bukhari in three days while in Makkah. He lived in al-Quds, where al-Sakhawi met him and took hadith from him.(6)
* Thiqat al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-'Uqbi (d. 861). He taught hadith and tajwid in Makkah, where Sakhawi studied under him.(7)
* Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahid al-Sikandari al-Siwasi (d. 861). He was a master of all sciences and taught at the Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya in Cairo, after which he headed the Shaykhuni Sufi khaniqa. He authored many books.(8)
* Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Husayni al-Qahiri al- Shafi'i al-Sufi (d. 876). Munawi's deputy judge in Cairo, a student of `Izz al-Din ibn Jama'a, Jalal al-Din al-Bulqini and many others, and a student and friend of Sakhawi's teacher Ibn Hajar whose work Fath al-bari he copied twice. A teacher of fiqh and hadith, he wrote an epitome of Ibn al-Athir's Kitab al-ansab. He was an old acquaintance of Sakhawi's father, and consequently treated Sakhawi himself 'with indescribable respect.' He was one of the ten students to whom Ibn Hajar gave his authority in teaching hadith after him.(9)
* Abu Khalid Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Jibrini (d. 860). He was a writer, archer, horseman, and Sufi shaykh at the zawiya (alcove-mosque) of Jibrin, where al-Sakhawi met him and took hadith from him. Sakhawi says of him: 'He was handsome, modest, generous, courageous, and endowed with spiritual strength and virility after the shaykhs of true majesty.'(10)
* Zaki al-Din Abu al-`Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ansari al- Khazraji al-Sa'di al-Muqri' al-Sufi (d. 875). An associate of Ibn Hajar and a prolific writer, he wrote an autobiography in more than fifty volumes, although Sakhawi said he was unaffected, congenial, readily given to tears, and quick of repartee.(11)
* Thiqat al-Din Abu 'Ali Mahmud ibn 'Ali al-Sufi al-Khaniki (d. 865). Born and raised in Cairo's Khaniqa al-Siryaqusiyya where he taught late in life. He died while at Makkah the pilgrimage.(12)
* Abu al-Faraj 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalil al-Dimashqi al-Sufi (d. 869). He was a muhaddith. Al-Sakhawi studied under him in Cairo and at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.(13)
notes;
(1) al-Sakhawi, al-Daw' al-lami' (Beirut: dar maktabat al- hayat, 1966) 4:124-125. (2) A.J. Arberry, Sakhawiana: A Study Based on the Chester Beatty Ms. Arab. 773 (London: Emery Walker Ltd., 1951) p. 35. (3) al-Sakhawi, al-Daw' al-lami' 11:96-97, 74-75. (4) Ibid. 3:144-145. (5) Ibid. 7:162-165. (6) Ibid. 11:69-71. (7) Ibid. 2:212-213. (8) Ibid. 8:127-132. (9) Ibid. 8:176-178. (10) Ibid. 7:197. (11) Ibid. 2:146-149. (12) Ibid. 10:140-141. (13) Ibid. 4:76.
Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's _The Repudiation of 'Salafi' Innovations_ (Kazi, 1996) p. 382-385.
top
al-Suyuti
Imam Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti [d. 911H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Kamal al-Din Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Sabiq al-Din, Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti al-Shafi'i al-Ash'ari, also known as Ibn al-Asyuti (d. 849-911), the mujtahid imam and renewer of the tenth Islamic century, foremost hadith master, jurist, Sufi, philologist, and historian, he authored works in virtually every Islamic science.
Born to a Turkish mother and non-Arab father and raised as an orphan in Cairo, he memorized the Qur'an at eight, then several complete works of Sacred Law, fundamentals of jurisprudence, and Arabic grammar; after which he devoted himself to studying the Sacred Sciences under about a hundred and fifty shaykhs. Among them the foremost Shafi'i and Hanafis shaykhs at the time, such as the hadith master and Shaykh al-Islam Siraj al-Din Bulqini, with whom he studied Shafi'i jurisprudence until his death; the hadith scholar Shaykh al-Islam Sharaf al-Din al-Munawi, with whom he read Qur'anic exegesis and who commented al-Suyuti's al-Jami' al-Saghir in a book entitled Fayd al-Qadir; Taqi al-Din al-Shamani in hadith and the sciences of Arabic; the specialist in the principles of the law Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli, together with whom he compiled the most widespread condensed commentary of Qur'an in our time, 'Tafsir al-Jalalayn'; Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i; Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi; he also studied with the Hanafi shaykhs Taqi al-Din al-Shamni, Shihab al-Din al-Sharmisahi, Muhyi al-Din al-Kafayji, and the hadith master Sayf al-Din Qasim ibn Qatlubagha.
He travelled in the pursuit of knowledge to Damascus, the Hijaz, Yemen, India, Morocco, the lands south of Morocco, as well as to centers of learning in Egypt such as Mahalla, Dumyat, and Fayyum. He was some time head teacher of hadith at the Shaykhuniyya school in Cairo at the recommendation of Imam Kamal al-Din ibn al-Humam, then the Baybarsiyya, out of which he was divested through the complaints of disgruntled shaykhs which he had replaced as teachers. He then retired into scholarly seclusion, never to go back to teaching.
Ibn Iyas in 'Tarikh Misr' states that when al-Suyuti reached forty years of age, he abandoned the company of men for the solitude of the Garden of al-Miqyas by the side of the Nile, avoiding his former colleagues as though he had never known them, and it was here that he authored most of his nearly six hundred books and treatises. Wealthy Muslims and princes would visit him with offers of money and gifts, but he put all of them off, and when the sultan requested his presence a number of times, he refused. He once said to the sultan's envoy: "Do not ever come back to us with a gift, for in truth Allah has put an end to all such needs for us." Blessed with success in his years of solitude, it is difficult to name a field in which al-Suyuti did not make outstanding contributions, among them his ten-volume hadith work Jam' al-Jawami' ("The Collection of Collections"); his Qur'anic exegesis Tafsir al-Jalalayn ("Commentary of the Two Jalals"), of which he finished the second half of an uncompleted manuscript by Jalal al-Din Mahalli in just forty days; his classic commentary on the sciences of hadith 'Tadrib al-Rawi fi Sharh Taqrib al-Nawawi' ("The Training of the Hadith Transmitter: An Exegesis of Nawawi's 'The Facilitation'"); and many others.
A giant among contemporaries, he remained alone, producing a sustained output of scholarly writings until his death at the age of sixty-two. He was buried in Hawsh Qawsun in Cairo. In the introduction to his book entitled 'al-Riyad al-Aniqa' on the names of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam he said: "It is my hope that Allah accept this book and that through this book I shall gain the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's intercession. Perhaps it shall be that Allah make it the seal of all my works, and grant me what I have asked Him with longing regarding the Honorable One."
The editors of the 'Dalil Makhtutat al-Suyuti' ("Guide to al-Suyuti's Manuscripts") have listed 723 works to al-Suyuti's name.1 Some of these are brief fatwas which do not exceed four pages, like his notes on the hadith "Whoever says: 'I am knowledgeable,' he is ignorant"2entitled 'A'dhab al-Manahil fi Hadith Man Qala Ana 'Alim'; while others, like the 'Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an' or 'Tadrib al-Rawi', are full-fledged tomes.
Shaykh al-Islam al-Suyuti, the Renewer of the Eighth Islamic century and Mujtahid Imam said in his book entitled Ta'yid al-haqiqa al-'aliyya wa-tashyid al-tariqa al-shadhiliyya (The upholding of the lofty truth and the buttressing of the Shadhili path):
Tasawwuf in itself is a most honorable knowledge. It explains how to follow theSunnah of the Prophet and to leave innovation, how to purify the ego... and submit to Allah truly...
I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shari'a have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not...
Pursuit of the science of the hearts, knowledge of its diseases such as jealousy, arrogance and pride, and leaving them are an obligation on every Muslim.
His chain of transmission in tasawwuf goes back to SHAYKH 'ABD AL-QADIR AL-GILANI, and al-Suyuti belonged to the Shadhili tariqa, which he eulogized in his brief defense of tasawwuf entitled 'Tashyid al-Haqiqa al-'Aliyya'. In the latter book he states: "I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shari'a have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not." In the Tashyid he also produces narrative chains of transmission proving that AL HASAN AL-BASRI did in fact narrate directly from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib - Allah be well-pleased with him. This goes against commonly received opinion among the scholars of hadith,3 although it was also the opinion of IMAM AHMAD IBN HANBAL.4
When one of his shaykhs, Burhan al-Din Ibrahim ibn 'Umar al-Biqa'i (d. 885), attacked Ibn 'Arabi in a tract entitled Tanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn 'Arabi ("Warning to the Dolt That Ibn 'Arabi is an Apostate"), al-Suyuti countered with a tract entitled Tanbih Al-Ghabi fi Takhti'a Ibn 'Arabi ("Warning to the Dolt That Faults Ibn 'Arabi"). Both epistles have been published.5
In his reply al-Suyuti states that he considers Ibn 'Arabi a Friend of Allah whose writings are forbidden to those who read them without first learning the technical terms used by the Sufis. He cites from Ibn Hajar's list in Anba' al-Ghumr, among the trusted scholars who kept a good opinion of Ibn 'Arabi or counted him a wali: Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Sakandari (d. 709), al-Yafi'i (d. 678), Ibn 'Abd al-Salam after the latter's meeting with al-Shadhili, Shihab al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Malwi al-Tilimsani (d. 776), Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn Ishaq al-Hindi al-Hanafi (d. 773) the author of Sharh al-Hidaya and Sharh al-'Ayni, Najm al-Din al-Bahi al-Hanbali (d. 802), al-Jabarti (d. 806), the major lexicographer al-Fayruzabadi (d. 818), Shams al-Din al-Bisati al-Maliki (d. 842), al-Munawi (d. 871), and others. Of note with regard to the above is the abundant use of Ibn 'Arabi's sayings by al-Munawi in his commentary of al-Suyuti's Jami' al-Saghir entitled Fayd al-Qadir, and by Fayruzabadi in his commentary on Bukhari's Sahih.
Al-Suyuti was Ash'ari in his doctrine as shown in many of his works. In 'Masalik al-Hunafa fi Walidayy al-Mustafa' ("Methods Of Those With Pure Belief Concerning the Parents of The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam") he says:
The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's parents died before he was sent as Prophet and there is no punishment for them, since: (We never punish until We send a Messenger (whom they reject)( (17:15 ). Our Ash'ari Imams among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh agree on the statement that one who dies while da'wa has not reached him, dies saved. This has been defined by Imam al-Shafi'i.. . . Some of the fuqaha'explained that the reason is, such a person follows fitra or Primordial Disposition, and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger.6
Source: Shaykh Gibril F. al-Haddad
top
Imam al-Sharani
Imam Abd al-Wahhab al-Sharani [d. 973AH / 1566CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
A Hanafi scholar of comparative fiqh and author of numerous works on Law and tasawwuf, among which 'al-Tabaqat al-kubra' in which he writes, as cited in the Reliance of the Traveller:
The path of the Sufis is built on the Qur'an and Sunnah, and is based upon living according to the morals of the Prophets and purified ones.
It may not be blamed unless it violates an explicit statement from the Qur'an, sunnah, or scholarly consensus, exclusively. If it does not contravene one of these, the very most that one may say of it is that it is an understanding a Muslim man has been given, so let whoever wishes act upon it, and whoever does not refrain, this being as true of works as of understanding. So no pretext remains for condemning it except one's own low opinion of others, or interpreting what they do as ostentation, which is unlawful.
Whoever carefully examines the branches of knowledge of the Folk of Allah Most High will find that none of them are beyond the pale of the Sacred Law. How should they lie beyond the pale of the Sacred Law when it is the law that connects the Sufis to Allah at every moment? Rather, the reason for the doubts of someone unfamiliar with the way of the Sufis that it is of the very essence of the Sacred Law is the fact that such a person has not thoroughly mastered the knowledge of the law. This is why JUNAYD, AL-BAGHDADI Allah Most High have mercy on him said, "This knowledge of ours is built of the Qur'an and sunnah," in reply to those of his time or any other who imagine that it is beyond the pale of the Qur'an and sunnah.
The Folk unanimously concur that none is fit to teach in the path of Allah Mighty and Majestic save someone with comprehensive mastery of the Sacred Law, who knows its explicit and implicit rulings, which of them are of general applicability and which are particular, which supersede others and which are superseded. He must also have a thorough grounding in Arabic, be familiar with its figurative modes and similes, and so forth. So every true Sufi is a scholar is Sacred Law, though the reverse is not necessarily true.
To summarize, no one denies the states of the Sufis except someone ignorant of the way they are. AL QUSHAYRI Allah be pleased with him, says; "No era of the Islamic period has had a true sheikh of this group, save that the Imams of the scholars of that time deferred to him, showed humility towards him, and visited him for the benefit of his spiritual grace (baraka). If the Folk had no superiority or election, the matter would have been the other way around.1
Dr G.F.Haddad
1 al-Tabaqat al-kubra al-musamma bi Lawaqih al-anwar fi tabaqat al-akhyar (1374/1954) (Reprint, Beirut: dar al-fikr, n.d.) 1:4. In Reliance of the Traveller p. 863-864.
top
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Shaykh al-Islam Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al Makki [d.974 H] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami Radi Allahu anhu was a student of Zakariyya al-Ansari. He was born in the 16th century [909 after Hiri]. Ibn Hajar, represents the foremost resource for legal opinion (fatwa) in the entire late Shafi'i school. He was once asked about the legal status of those who criticizes Sufis: Is there an excuse for such critics? He replies in his Fatawa hadithiyya:
It is incumbent upon every person endowed with mind and religion not to fall into the trap of criticizing these folk (Sufis), for it is a mortal poison, as has been witnessed of old and recently.1
Among many others on the same topic, he gave an important fatwa entitled: "Whoever denies, rejects, or disapproves of the Sufis, Allah will not make his knowledge beneficial." We transcribe it below in full:
Our Shaykh, the gnostic ('arif) scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri (d. 952) told me, on the authority of the shaykh and scholar Jamal al-Din al-Sabi verbatim -- and he is one of the most distinguished students of our Shaykh Zakaria al-Sabiq (al-Ansari), that al-Sabi used to reject and criticize the way of the honorable Ibn al-Farid. One time al-Sabi saw in a dream that it was the Day of Judgment, and he was carrying a load which made him exhausted, then he heard a caller saying: "Where is the group of Ibn al-Farid?" He said:I came forward in order to enter with them, but I was told: "You are not one of them, so go back." When I woke up I was in extreme fear, and felt regret and sorrow, so I repented to Allah from rejecting the way of Ibn al-Farid, and renewed my commitment to Allah, and returned to believing that he is one of the awliya -- saints and friends -- of Allah. The following year on the same night, I had the same dream. I heard the caller saying: "Where are the group of Ibn al-Farid? Let them enter Paradise." So I went with them and I was told: "Come in, for now you are one of them."
Examine this matter carefully as it come from a man of knowledge in Islam. It appears -- and Allah knows best -- that it is because of the baraka or blessing of his shaykh Zakariyya al-Ansari that he has seen the dream which made him change his mind. Otherwise, how many of their deniers they have left to their blindness, until they found themselves in loss and destruction!
Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami defined the 'Sunni [Ahl as-Sunnah w'al Jama'ah] Muslims' as follows in his book 'Fath al-jawad':
"A mubtadi (innovator) is the person who does not have the faith (aqid'ah) conveyed unanimously by the Ahl as-Sunnah. This unanimity was transmitted by the two great Imam's Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari (d.324/936; Rahimahullah) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d.333/944; Rahimahullah) and the scholars who followed their path." Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami also said in his book 'al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya' (pg. 205): "Man of BID'AH means one whose beliefs are different from the Ahl as-Sunnah faith. The Ahl as-Sunnah faith, is the faith of Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and those who followed them. One who brings forth something which is not approved by Islam becomes a man of bid'ah."
Ibn Hajar wrote 'al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah', 'Fath al-jawad' and 'al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya' amongst many other works. Ibn Hajar died in 974 After Hijri [1567 Common Era].
1 Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Fatawa hadithiyya (Cairo: al-Halabi, 1970) p. 331
Read more
top
Shah Wajih al Din Alvi
Sayyad Shah Ahmad Wajih al-Din Alvi Gujerati [d. 998H -1590CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan
Shah Wajihuddin Alvi rahmatullahi 'alayh was the son of Sayyad Shah Nasrullah rahmatullahi 'alayh. He was born at Champanar, Muhammadabad on the 22nd of Muharram ul-Haram 910Hijri [1504 Common Era]. He became Hafidh al Qur'an by the tender age of seven and went onto become educated at the renowned Madrassa Aliya Alviya & Dars-e-Muhammadi in Ahmedabad. Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi excelled under his specialist teachers, in Logic, Hadith andTafsir. It was Sultan Muzaffar Halim who became the Sultan of Gujarat who persuaded Shah Nasrullah rahmatullahi 'alayh to settle in the Badhr Fort area of Ahmedabad city; the capital of Gujerat state in India. Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi went onto become a renowned sufi scholar, writer and poet. In fact he has written explanatory short notes [hashiya] on over 260 books and publications of the earlier scholars. Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi rahmatullahi 'alayh was also a khalifa of Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani alayhir ar-rahman.
Ancestors of Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi
1. Sayyad Kabir-ud-Din: The ancestor of Sayyad Ahmad known as Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi belonged to the Hadramount province of Arabia. Sayyad Kabir-ud-Din was the great grandfather of Shah Wajih-ud-Din Alvi. After moving & settling in the sacred city of Makkah Mukarrama, Sayyad Kabir al-Din was also then therefore referred as 'Makki'.
2. Sayyad Baha-ud-Din : He was the son of Sayyad Kabir-ud-Din Makki. He had a vision in which he was asked to go to India [Gujarat] by the Prophet Muhammad Peace & Blessings upon him. So Sayyad Baha-ud-Din Makki came to India at Patdi, in Gujarat in 799 Hijri [1396 Common Era]. Sayyad Baha-ud-Din Makki and his family had to endure severe prejudice from the native King, whose soldiers had killed two of his men. So he left for Patan [or Pattan] which was the seat of 'Shuba' the Governor appointed by the Muslim King of Delhi. At that time Zafar Khan Ahmad was the Governor Suba of Patan, he was also the ancestor of Sultan Ahmad Shah; the actual Founder of the City of Ahmadabad.
Sayyad Baha-ud-Din Makki had captured the fort of Patdi with the help of Zafar Khan's soldiers. He lived there in peace all of his life and was buried in Patdi near to Viramgam. The good character and nature of Sayyad Baha-ud-Din impressed upon the people of Patdi, as soon many locals and those from the surrounding areas wholeheartedly embraced Islam.
3. Sayyad Muin-ud-Din: He was the son of Sayyad Baha-ud-Din. He was appointed Chief Justice of Patdi by the then Sultan of Gujarat, Muzaffar. Sayyad Moin-ud-Din was also a very pious and upright man. Thus attracted by his demeanour and good nature, many people also entered into the fold of Islam.
4. Sayyad Ata-ud-Din: He was the son of Sayyad Moin-ud-Din. He was a scholar and had the blessing of Sayyad Ganj Ahmad Maghrebi [Qutb al Aqtab]. Sayyad Ata-ud-Din was also appointed the Chief Justice of Patdi by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Gujarat.
5. Sayyad Emad-ud-Din : He was the son of Sayyad Ata-ud-Din. He was also appointed Chief Justice of Khambhat by the Sultan; Muhammad Baig of Gujarat (whom some prejudiced hindu historian referred as 'Begda' instead of 'Baig'). In his role as a Chief Judge Sayyad Emad-ud-Din had gained a lot of respect and his reputation had spread far and wide for his fair & impartial verdicts. He was fortunate to have had the blessing of Sayyad Ala-ud-Din Qazan Chisti Rahmatullahi alaih who had bestowed him with the khilafat of the Chisti Order [permission to lead the Chistiya Silsila]. Sayyad Emad-ud-Din is buried at Patdi in the precinct of his parents.
6. Sayyad Nasr-ul-lah : He was appointed Chief Justice of Champanar Mehmoodabadwhich is now known as Mahemdawad. This was during the time of Khalil Khan IV, son of Sultan Muhammad Baig adopting the title of Sultan Muzaffar II, better known as Sultan Muzaffar Halim who became the Sultan of Gujarat. It was Sultan Muzaffar who persuaded Sayyad Nasr-ul-lah to come and settle in Ahmadabad, the capital of Gujarat thus Shah Nasr-ul-lah, the father of Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi came to live at the Khanpur area, near to Bhadr-Fort in the city of Ahmadabad.
7. Shah Wajih al-Din: He was the son of Sayyad Nasr-ul-lah. The present Janasheen [spiritual successor] is Sayyad Ahmed Alvi, and his father was Pir Sayyad Bada Saheb Alvi Rahmatullahi alayh also known as (Shah Wajih al-Din II) was also a great and pious saint.
Genealogy of Pir Sayyad Bada Saheb Alvi [Shah Wajih al-Din II]
Sayyad Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi
Sayyad Mawlana Abd'al Haq Alvi
Sayyad Mawlana Ghulam Wajih-ud-Din
Sayyad Mawlana Siraj-ud-Din
Sayyad Mawlana Ala-ud-Din
Sayyad Mawlana Hamid Alvi
Sayyad Abd'allah Alvi
Sayyad Hafiz Abd'al Haq
Sayyad Hafiz Abd'allah
Sayyad Waji al-Din II (sani) [Pir Bada Saheb Alvi]
Ridwanallahi ta'ala alayhim'ajmain
Sayyad Ahmed Alvi [Sajjad Nashin]
Shah Wajih al-Din Alvi alayhir rahman was laid to rest at Khanpur, Ahmedabad in 998 Hijri. [1590 Common Era]