Village Journals
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
The Sufis of Sub Continent
I think this is something that can be contributed to this village, especially taking into consideration the objective of this village.
This is an article written and posted on naseeb.com by my son, Sameer (ShauqEtanhaee) in his JE, quite some time back. He is no longer an active Naseeber as he lives in Dubai and naseeb.com cannot be accessed now from there. I have his permission to post it elsewhere on naseeb.com.
BTW I have also posted this article in Thinkville.
___________________
If you read the history of subcontinent, what strikes you is that although this same area was the land of pagans, idol worshippers, magicians and sorcerers at one time; today, Islam and Muslims can be found in every single city, village, town or district In this region. Muslims even ruled the sub-continent for centuries and although after Mughals, we lost the throne, the systems, institutions and the religion of muslims remain deeply rooted in every corner of the sub-continent even after more than 100 years.
On the other hand, Muslims ruled Spain as well for more than seven centuries, but when they were pushed out of that region, all the remains and signs of Islam were also rooted out of Spain. Today, you will not find anything close to what the Islamic system was, in Spain.
Ever wondered WHY such a big difference between the two incidents. The scenarios are almost identical. Muslims ruled both the lands for centuries. They didn't give the throne willfully to others in any of the two regions. Yet, in one area we see Muslims being settled forever and still as the biggest majority. Whereas in the other region, just the word "Moor" (muslims were called the Moors is Spain) still evokes hatred in the hearts of many there, even after all these years. And no Islamic institutions are existent over there anymore from the era bygone.
The difference according to many students of history and Islam and in my opinion too , (since I studied this subject for the last 4 years in detail ranging from Tareekh Farishta to Allama Mashriqi's Tazkara, to Imam Ghazali's Ahya-al-aloom, to Data Sahab's Kashf-al-Mahjoob etc etc) is that HISTORY DOESN'T GIVE US ANY EVIDENCE OF SUFIS SETTLED IN SPAIN DURING THE TIME OF ISLAMIC RULE..........WHEREAS THE HISTORY OF SUB-CONTINENT IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF GREAT SUFIS, SETTLED IN HIND AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEIR SYSTEM CALLED "KHANQAHI NIZAAM...
If you read the Qura'an, only 20-25 messengers of Allah are mentioned by name there. And all of them from almost the same geographical area; Arabia. But as muslims we also believe that the number of messengers sent by Allah to this world is far greater than that. According to a Hadith the number is 1240000 or more mesengers and prophets. So we wouldn't know if any messenger was sent to this region for spreading Allah's message or not before Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). History and historians are silent on that subject generally.
Since Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was the last messenger of Allah and there shall never be any messenger by Allah ever again, the knowledge, the light and the message of Mohammad (PBUH) was to be spread by "the Sahabas" (companions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and from Sahabas to "Taba'een" and from them to other great sons of Islam , who gave so many sacrifices to spread this message wherever they went.
If you read any book on Sufism or "Tasawuff" you will find several definitions of the word "sufi". But the best and the simplest definition is "a Sufi is a person who strives only for two things in this world; For Allah's friendship, and people's welfare or benefit." (" Allah say dosti, aur Makhlooq-e-khuda ki khidmat"). Many people raise an eyebrow when they read or hear this phrase "Allah say dosti, or friendship with Allah"............For their information, Allah mentioned again and again in Quran " the people who I keep as friends.....(wali-Allah). Allah has no parents and no Children but Allah definitely has friends.
Coming back to the history of the sub-continent, all the historians agree that Islam spread like wildfire in this region ONLY because of these great Sufis who left their countries, the comforts of their home, traveled all across the world in those times when there was no other means of transport save for camels or on foot only with one objective; to spread the word of Allah and his beloved Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Their methods were totally different than todays "ullma and Maulvis"..They didn't start accusing people of "shirk" and "Kufr" when they reached the land of the idols. Instead they learned the domestic languages, customs, traditions. They spoke to every one, young or old with respect. They had only one weapon against an army of hatred, religious bias, suspicions and hostility.....and that was LOVE.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (r.u.a) reached Ajmer on the orders of Prophet Mohammad himself when he saw the Prophet in a dream in Madina, who instructed him to go to Ajmer to spread the word of Allah in Hind. He was given The Hind as his kingdom where he will rule the hearts of millions for many centuries to come. He didn't know anything about Ajmer at that time, still he traveled hundreds of miles to reach Lahore first. Here he stayed for 40 days on Data Sahab's shrine. From there he went to Multan and lived there for few years to learn the language, culture and traditions of Hindus and pagans. When he reached Ajmer, it was a land of magicians and sorcerers, ruled by the Rajputs. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty's (r.u.a) modus operandi to get on with his mission was simple. He gave love and respect to anyone and everyone who came to his doorstep, even to those who came to him with an intention to kill a "muslim magician". He fed the poor, cured the sick and spread the message of Prophet Mohammad in its truest form, that for Allah all humans are equal, regardless of color , creed or caste. For hindus, this was something extraordinary. Especially the lower caste, "the Shood'res". For years, people of their own religion treated them like animals, and as outcasts. The message and display of equality was almost too good to be true for them. So they started embracing Islam, in dozens first. And then in scores. At that time, if Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty had done what "mullas " of today do, i.e., differentiate himself totally by appearance, behavior and actions from a common man, and giving "fatwas" that all these "idol worshippers" are simply "kaafirs and mushriks", he would have never achieved what he did in such a short time. I cant remember name of a single maulvi who succeeded in converting even 1000 hindus or Christians to Islam in his lifetime. But Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty was just one example of Sufis converting more than 50000 people in a SINGLE DAY. Read our history..its all there. They say in his life time, more than a million people embraced Islam on his hands. Only because of Love, and his devotion to work for people's welfare.
Data Sahab is another shining example of the great Sufis of subcontinent. His real name was Ali Hajveri. Even he left his country, his home , his people, just to serve the poor and the needy so that when he will start spreading the message of Islam, people will listen. And they did.When he reached Lahore, he faced very strong opposition by the magicians, pundits and other leaders of religious sects. Initially people were suspicious of him but then the hindus of lower caste heard something unbelievable. Data sahib used to invite them to drink the cold water of his well, and to eat with him. "How was that possible", for Brahmans always made sure that the lower caste shall never share the same wells for water or should not even be spotted in the close vicinity while they had meals. "This beautiful, "noorani" darwish was strange", they thought "who doesn't care about our caste or color. He talks of a religion where everyone is equal and part of one family??". After they realized that Data Sahab's religion is nothing but love and compassion , there was no way to stop them from embracing Islam. Hundreds of thousands of hindus, mostly of lower castes became Muslims, in a matter of few years. That's what the mission of the Sufis was and still is...
So many more great names can be found in the history of Sufism in subcontinent. "Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan Shareef", " Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria Multani, in Multan", Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi ; Hazrat Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaaki in Delhi and Mehrooli ; Hazrat Sabir Kaleeri, in Kaleer Shareef ; Hazrat Sultan Bahoo in Shorkot and Multan ; Hazrat Baba Fareed GunjShaker in Pak Patan Shareef ; Hazrat Syed Mohammad Gesu daraz in Hyderabad Deccan ; Hazrat Imam Barri Sarkar in Islamabad ; Hazrat Meeran Zanjani in Lahore ; Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi ; Hazrat Bu Ali Shah Qalander in Pani Pat ; Hazrat Ghaus Ali Shah in Karnal ; Hazrat Tajuddin Nagpuri in Nagpur ; Hazrat Qalander Baba Auliya in Karachi............................ ...........so many more ................the list is endless.
But the stories are exactly the same. They all devoted their lives to Islam and welfare of people. They didn't just preach Prophet Mohammad's teachings but practically showed everyone how a person CAN live for others yet survive in this world. Talk about surviving, so many kings and queens came and gone. We don't even remember their names or the location of their graves. Hardly anyone goes to Jahangir's tomb to pray for him really. For people its just a monument. But look at these Sufis. Their bodies have left this earth not decades but centuries ago, yet millions of people are fed at their shrines even today, every single day.
7000 people eat "langur" at Data Sahab alone every single day!!!!! 3000-4000 every day in Ajmer at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty's shrine. , and the same goes for every single one of them. People still go to their graves and cant control their tears, WHY.. That's because the Quran says " there are people who I keep as my friends, and when I make a friend, I place love and affection in people's hearts for my friends too, forever".......................That s a promise by Allah....And we know....that Allah always fulfills His Promises. (INNAKA LA TUKHLIF-UL-MI'AAD)
by Sameer
This is an article written and posted on naseeb.com by my son, Sameer (ShauqEtanhaee) in his JE, quite some time back. He is no longer an active Naseeber as he lives in Dubai and naseeb.com cannot be accessed now from there. I have his permission to post it elsewhere on naseeb.com.
BTW I have also posted this article in Thinkville.
___________________
If you read the history of subcontinent, what strikes you is that although this same area was the land of pagans, idol worshippers, magicians and sorcerers at one time; today, Islam and Muslims can be found in every single city, village, town or district In this region. Muslims even ruled the sub-continent for centuries and although after Mughals, we lost the throne, the systems, institutions and the religion of muslims remain deeply rooted in every corner of the sub-continent even after more than 100 years.
On the other hand, Muslims ruled Spain as well for more than seven centuries, but when they were pushed out of that region, all the remains and signs of Islam were also rooted out of Spain. Today, you will not find anything close to what the Islamic system was, in Spain.
Ever wondered WHY such a big difference between the two incidents. The scenarios are almost identical. Muslims ruled both the lands for centuries. They didn't give the throne willfully to others in any of the two regions. Yet, in one area we see Muslims being settled forever and still as the biggest majority. Whereas in the other region, just the word "Moor" (muslims were called the Moors is Spain) still evokes hatred in the hearts of many there, even after all these years. And no Islamic institutions are existent over there anymore from the era bygone.
The difference according to many students of history and Islam and in my opinion too , (since I studied this subject for the last 4 years in detail ranging from Tareekh Farishta to Allama Mashriqi's Tazkara, to Imam Ghazali's Ahya-al-aloom, to Data Sahab's Kashf-al-Mahjoob etc etc) is that HISTORY DOESN'T GIVE US ANY EVIDENCE OF SUFIS SETTLED IN SPAIN DURING THE TIME OF ISLAMIC RULE..........WHEREAS THE HISTORY OF SUB-CONTINENT IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF GREAT SUFIS, SETTLED IN HIND AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEIR SYSTEM CALLED "KHANQAHI NIZAAM...
If you read the Qura'an, only 20-25 messengers of Allah are mentioned by name there. And all of them from almost the same geographical area; Arabia. But as muslims we also believe that the number of messengers sent by Allah to this world is far greater than that. According to a Hadith the number is 1240000 or more mesengers and prophets. So we wouldn't know if any messenger was sent to this region for spreading Allah's message or not before Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). History and historians are silent on that subject generally.
Since Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was the last messenger of Allah and there shall never be any messenger by Allah ever again, the knowledge, the light and the message of Mohammad (PBUH) was to be spread by "the Sahabas" (companions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and from Sahabas to "Taba'een" and from them to other great sons of Islam , who gave so many sacrifices to spread this message wherever they went.
If you read any book on Sufism or "Tasawuff" you will find several definitions of the word "sufi". But the best and the simplest definition is "a Sufi is a person who strives only for two things in this world; For Allah's friendship, and people's welfare or benefit." (" Allah say dosti, aur Makhlooq-e-khuda ki khidmat"). Many people raise an eyebrow when they read or hear this phrase "Allah say dosti, or friendship with Allah"............For their information, Allah mentioned again and again in Quran " the people who I keep as friends.....(wali-Allah). Allah has no parents and no Children but Allah definitely has friends.
Coming back to the history of the sub-continent, all the historians agree that Islam spread like wildfire in this region ONLY because of these great Sufis who left their countries, the comforts of their home, traveled all across the world in those times when there was no other means of transport save for camels or on foot only with one objective; to spread the word of Allah and his beloved Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Their methods were totally different than todays "ullma and Maulvis"..They didn't start accusing people of "shirk" and "Kufr" when they reached the land of the idols. Instead they learned the domestic languages, customs, traditions. They spoke to every one, young or old with respect. They had only one weapon against an army of hatred, religious bias, suspicions and hostility.....and that was LOVE.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (r.u.a) reached Ajmer on the orders of Prophet Mohammad himself when he saw the Prophet in a dream in Madina, who instructed him to go to Ajmer to spread the word of Allah in Hind. He was given The Hind as his kingdom where he will rule the hearts of millions for many centuries to come. He didn't know anything about Ajmer at that time, still he traveled hundreds of miles to reach Lahore first. Here he stayed for 40 days on Data Sahab's shrine. From there he went to Multan and lived there for few years to learn the language, culture and traditions of Hindus and pagans. When he reached Ajmer, it was a land of magicians and sorcerers, ruled by the Rajputs. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty's (r.u.a) modus operandi to get on with his mission was simple. He gave love and respect to anyone and everyone who came to his doorstep, even to those who came to him with an intention to kill a "muslim magician". He fed the poor, cured the sick and spread the message of Prophet Mohammad in its truest form, that for Allah all humans are equal, regardless of color , creed or caste. For hindus, this was something extraordinary. Especially the lower caste, "the Shood'res". For years, people of their own religion treated them like animals, and as outcasts. The message and display of equality was almost too good to be true for them. So they started embracing Islam, in dozens first. And then in scores. At that time, if Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty had done what "mullas " of today do, i.e., differentiate himself totally by appearance, behavior and actions from a common man, and giving "fatwas" that all these "idol worshippers" are simply "kaafirs and mushriks", he would have never achieved what he did in such a short time. I cant remember name of a single maulvi who succeeded in converting even 1000 hindus or Christians to Islam in his lifetime. But Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty was just one example of Sufis converting more than 50000 people in a SINGLE DAY. Read our history..its all there. They say in his life time, more than a million people embraced Islam on his hands. Only because of Love, and his devotion to work for people's welfare.
Data Sahab is another shining example of the great Sufis of subcontinent. His real name was Ali Hajveri. Even he left his country, his home , his people, just to serve the poor and the needy so that when he will start spreading the message of Islam, people will listen. And they did.When he reached Lahore, he faced very strong opposition by the magicians, pundits and other leaders of religious sects. Initially people were suspicious of him but then the hindus of lower caste heard something unbelievable. Data sahib used to invite them to drink the cold water of his well, and to eat with him. "How was that possible", for Brahmans always made sure that the lower caste shall never share the same wells for water or should not even be spotted in the close vicinity while they had meals. "This beautiful, "noorani" darwish was strange", they thought "who doesn't care about our caste or color. He talks of a religion where everyone is equal and part of one family??". After they realized that Data Sahab's religion is nothing but love and compassion , there was no way to stop them from embracing Islam. Hundreds of thousands of hindus, mostly of lower castes became Muslims, in a matter of few years. That's what the mission of the Sufis was and still is...
So many more great names can be found in the history of Sufism in subcontinent. "Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan Shareef", " Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria Multani, in Multan", Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi ; Hazrat Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaaki in Delhi and Mehrooli ; Hazrat Sabir Kaleeri, in Kaleer Shareef ; Hazrat Sultan Bahoo in Shorkot and Multan ; Hazrat Baba Fareed GunjShaker in Pak Patan Shareef ; Hazrat Syed Mohammad Gesu daraz in Hyderabad Deccan ; Hazrat Imam Barri Sarkar in Islamabad ; Hazrat Meeran Zanjani in Lahore ; Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi ; Hazrat Bu Ali Shah Qalander in Pani Pat ; Hazrat Ghaus Ali Shah in Karnal ; Hazrat Tajuddin Nagpuri in Nagpur ; Hazrat Qalander Baba Auliya in Karachi............................ ...........so many more ................the list is endless.
But the stories are exactly the same. They all devoted their lives to Islam and welfare of people. They didn't just preach Prophet Mohammad's teachings but practically showed everyone how a person CAN live for others yet survive in this world. Talk about surviving, so many kings and queens came and gone. We don't even remember their names or the location of their graves. Hardly anyone goes to Jahangir's tomb to pray for him really. For people its just a monument. But look at these Sufis. Their bodies have left this earth not decades but centuries ago, yet millions of people are fed at their shrines even today, every single day.
7000 people eat "langur" at Data Sahab alone every single day!!!!! 3000-4000 every day in Ajmer at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty's shrine. , and the same goes for every single one of them. People still go to their graves and cant control their tears, WHY.. That's because the Quran says " there are people who I keep as my friends, and when I make a friend, I place love and affection in people's hearts for my friends too, forever".......................That s a promise by Allah....And we know....that Allah always fulfills His Promises. (INNAKA LA TUKHLIF-UL-MI'AAD)
by Sameer