"If God causes one to approach Him,
He reveals Himself to him as the object of his desire, without his knowing,
As the fire of Moses, which he saw through the eye of his need,
And who is the Divinity which he did not recognize.
If thou understandeth my words
thou knowest that thou hast need of the apparent form:
If Moses had searched for something other than the fire
He would have seen Him in that, and not inversely."
Ibn cArabi, Fusus al-Hikam
He was the Pearl of the Crown of the Knowledgeable Saints. He was the Treasure of Those who Came Before and of Those who Came After. In him were combined all their favors and generosity. He was the Sinai of Divine Manifestation, the Furthermost Lote Tree of the Unique Knowledge, and the Fountain of the Hidden Prophetic Knowledge. He was the Genius of Scholars and he was the Sultan of the Earth, which smiled when he was born and was honored by his existence. He was the perfect Perfected Guide. He was the Caller to Allah's presence, the One Qutb and the Unique Heavenly Imam. He was the Reviver of the Second Millennium, Sayyidina wa Mawlana (our Leader and Master) ash-Shaikh Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi, ibn ash-Shaikh cAbdul Ahad son of Zainu-l-cAbidin son of cAbdulhayy, son of Muhammad son of Habibullah, son of Raficuddin, son of Nur, son of Sulayman, son of Yusuf, son of cAbdullah, son of Ishaq, son of cAbdullah, son of Shucayb, son of Aad, son of Yusuf, son of Shihabuddin, known as Farq Shah al-Qabidi, son of Nairuddin, son of Mahmud, son of Sulayman, son of Mascud, son of cAbdullah al-Waci al-Asghari, son of cAbdullah al-Waci al-Akbar, son of Abdu-l-Fattah, son of Ishaq, son of Ibrahim, son of Nair, son of Sayyidina cAbdullah (r), the son of Amir al-Mu'minin, the khalif of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم, Sayyidina cUmar al-Faruq (r).
He was born on the day of 'Ashura, the 10th of Muharram in the year 971 H., in the village of Sihar Nidbasin. In some translations it is called Sirhind in the city of Lahore, in India. He received his knowledge and education through his father and through many shaikhs in his time. He made progress in three tariqats: Suhrawardiyya, Qadiriyya, and Chistiyya. He was given permission to train followers in all three tariqats at the age of 17 years. He was busy in spreading the teachings of these tariqats and in guiding his followers, yet he felt that something was missing in himself and he was continuously searching for it. He felt an interest in the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, because he could see by means of the secrets of the other three tariqats that it was the best and highest. His spiritual progress eventually brought him to the presence of the Ghawth and Qutb of his time, ash-Shaikh Muhammad al-Baqi, who had been sent from Samarqand to India by the order of his shaikh, Muhammad al-Amkanaki. He took the Naqshbandi Order from the shaikh and stayed with him for two months and some days, until Sayyidina Muhammad al-Baqi opened to his heart the secret of this tariqat and gave him authorization to train his murids in the Order. He said about him, "He is the highest Qutb in this time."
The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم predicted his advent in one of his hadith when he said, "There will be among my nation a man called Silah. By his intercession many people will be saved." It was mentioned in the collection of Suyuti, Jamc ul-Jawamic. What confirmed the truth of this hadith is what Imam Rabbani wrote about himself: "God has made me the Silah between the two Oceans." Silah means "connection." So he meant that God had made him a connection between the two oceans -- the two knowledges, external and internal. Shaikh Mir Husamuddin said, "I saw the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم in one of my dreams standing on the minbar (pulpit) and praising Shaikh Ahmad as-Sirhindi. The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم was saying, 'I am proud and happy with his presence among my Nation. God has made him a reviver of the religion.'"
Many saints predicted his advent. One of them was Shaikh Ahmad al-Jami (q). He said, "After me will appear seventeen men of the People of God, all of whom are named Ahmad and the last one among them will be at the head of the millennium. He is going to be the highest of them and he is going to receive the state of Unveiling. He is going to revive this religion."
Another to predict his advent was Mawlana Khwaja al-Amkanaki (q). He said to his khalif, "A man from India is going to appear. He will be the Imam of his century. He will be trained by you, so hurry to meet him, because the people of God are awaiting his arrival." Muhammad al-Baqi (q) said, "That is why I moved from Bukhara to India." When they met he told him, "You are the one whose appearance the shaikh Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanaki predicted. When I saw you I knew you were the Qutb of your time. When I entered the region of Sirhind in India, I found a lamp which was so big and so bright that its light reached up to the heavens. Everyone took from that lamp's light. You are that lamp."
It is said that the shaikh of his father, Shaikh cAbdul Ahad, who was a shaikh of the Qadiri Order, had been given a jubba (cloak) from his shaikh which had been passed down from the Ghawth al-Azam, Sayyidina cAbdul Qadir al-Jilani (q). Sayyidina cAbdul Qadir had said about it to his successors, "Keep it for that one who is going to appear at the end of the first millennium. His name is Ahmad. He is going to revive this religion. I have dressed him with all my secrets. He combines in himself both the internal and external knowledge."
The Seeking of the Kings and the Kings of Seeking
Sayyidina Ahmad al-Faruqi said,
"Let it be known to you that the Heavenly Guardians attracted me because They wanted me to be attracted, and They facilitated for me the passage through time and space (at-tayy) in the different states of the seeker. I found that God is the Essence of all matter, as it had been said by the People of Sufism. Then I found God in all matter without incarnation (hulul). Then I found God together with all matter. Then I saw Him ahead of everything and then I saw Him following everything. Finally I reached a state where I saw Him and I saw nothing else. This is what is meant by the term, Witnessing the Oneness, which is also the state of Annihilation (fana'). That is the first step in Sainthood, and the highest state in the Beginning of the Way. This vision appears first on the horizons, then secondly in the Self. Then I have been lifted to the station of Subsistence (baqa') which is the second step in Sainthood.
"This is a station which many saints did not speak about because they did not reach it. All of them speak about the station of Annihilation, but following that state is Subsistence. In that state I found all creation another time, but I found that the essence of all these creations is Allah, and Allah's Essence is the Essence of Myself. Then I found Allah in everything, but in reality in myself. I was raised to a higher state, to find Allah with everything, but in reality He was with myself. Then I was lifted to see Him preceding everything, but in reality He was preceding myself. Then I was lifted to a state where He was following everything, but in reality He was following myself. Then I saw Him in everything, but in reality He was in myself. Then I saw everything and I didn't see God. And this is the end of the Stations by which They had brought me back to the beginning. In sum, they lifted me to the Station of Annihilation, then to the station of Existence, then they brought me back to be with people, in the Station of the common people. This is the highest state in guiding people to the Presence of God. It is the perfect state of guidance, because it matches the understanding of human beings."
He said, "I accompanied today one who has reached the End of Ends, the Qutub of all Creatures, the Perfect Man, Shaikh Muhammad al-Baqi. Through him I received incredible blessings, and by his blessing I was granted a power of attraction that allowed me to reach every human being that Allah had created. I was honored to attain a station that combines the state of the Ending with the state of the Beginning. I achieved all the states of Seeking and I reached the Ending, which is the meaning of 'Reaching the name of ar-Rabb' (the Sustainer), by the support of the Lion of God, Asadullah, cAli ibin Abi Talib, May God ennoble his face. I was raised up to the state of the Throne, which is the Reality of the Truth of Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم, by the support (madad) of Shaikh Shah Baha'uddin Naqshband. Then I was lifted even higher, to the state of Beauty, which is the state of the Truth of the Muhammadan Qutbs, by the support of the Prophetic Holy Spirit.
"I was supported by Shaikh Ala`addin al-Attar, from whom I received the states of the Greatest Spiritual Poles (al-qutubiyyati-l-cuzma) from the Presence of Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم. Then Allah's Heavenly Care attracted me and I ascended to a State that is beyond that of the Qutubs, the Special Original State. Here the support of al-Ghawth al-Aczam, Abdul Qadir Jilani (q) pushed me up to the State of the Origin of Origins. Then I was ordered to come back down, and as I was descending I passed by all 39 tariqats other than the Naqshbandiyya and the Qadiriyya. I looked at the states of their shaikhs and they greeted me and saluted me and they threw on me all their treasures and all their private knowledge, which unveiled to me realities which had never been unveiled to any person in my time.
"Then on my descent I met Khidr صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم, and he adorned me with the Heavenly Knowledge (cilmu-l-ladunni) before I reached the state of the Qutubs."
"Abu Dawud said in an authentic hadith that the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم said, 'Allah will send at the beginning of every century someone by whom the religion will be revived,' but there is a difference between the Reviver of the Century and the Reviver of the Millennium. It is like the difference between one hundred and one thousand."
"In a vision, the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم gave me good tidings: 'You are going to be a spiritual inheritor and Allah is going to give you the authority to intercede on behalf of hundreds of thousands on the Day of Judgment.' He bestowed on me with his holy hand the authority to guide people, and he said to me, 'Never before have I given that authority to guide people.'"
"The knowledge that is emerging from me is coming from the state of Sainthood, but I am receiving it from the Light of the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم. Saints are unable to bring forth such knowledge, because it is beyond the knowledge of saints. It is the Knowledge of the Essence of this Religion and the Essence of the Knowledge of Allah's Essence and Attributes. No one before has spoken about it and Allah has granted me to be the one to revive the religion in its second millennium."
"Allah unveiled to me the Secrets of the Unique Oneness and He poured into my heart all kinds of Spiritual Knowledge and its refinement. He unveiled to me the Secrets of the ayats of Qur'an so that I found beneath every letter of the Qur'an an ocean of knowledge all pointing to the High Essence of Allah Almighty and Exalted. If I were to reveal one word of the meaning of it they would cut off my head, as they did to Hallaj and to Ibn 'Arabi. This is the meaning of the hadith of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم, in Bukhari, narrated by Abu Huraira (r), "The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم poured into my heart two kinds of knowledge, one of which I have revealed and another which if I were to reveal they would cut my throat."
"Allah, Almighty and Exalted, has shown me all the names of those who are entering our Tariqat, from the day of Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r) to the Day of Judgment, both men and women, and all of them are going to enter Paradise, with the intercession of the shaikhs of the Tariqat."
"Al-Mahdi will be one of the followers of this Tariqat."
"One day I was in association with my followers doing dhikr and it came to my heart that I had done something wrong. Then Allah opened to my eyes, 'I have forgiven anyone who sits with you and anyone asking intercession by means of you.'"
"Allah has created me from the residue of His Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم."
"The Kacba was always coming and making tawaf (circumambulation) around me."
"Allah Almighty and Exalted said to me, 'Anyone for whom you pray janaza (funeral prayer) will be forgiven, and if anyone mixes earth from your grave with the earth of their grave, they will be forgiven.'"
"Allah said, 'I have given you special gifts and perfections which no one will receive other than you until the time of the Mahdi.'"
"Allah gave me an incredible power of guidance. Even if I direct my guidance to a dead tree, it will become green."
One great shaikh wrote to him asking, "The states that you reached and you are speaking about, did the Sahaba receive them, and if they did, did they receive them at one time or did they receive them at separate times?" He answered, "I cannot give you an answer unless you come into my presence." When the shaikh came, he immediately unveiled to him his spiritual reality and cleaned the darkness of his heart until the shaikh fell prostrate at his feet and said, "I believe, I believe! I see now that these states were all revealed to the Sahaba simply by looking at the Messenger صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم."
One time in the month of fasting, Ramadan, he was invited by ten of his murids to break fast with them. He accepted the invitation of each of them. When it came time to break the fast, he was present at each of their houses, breaking the fast, and they saw him in each of their houses at the same time.
One time he looked at the sky and it was raining. He said, "O rain stop until such and such hour." It stopped until the exact time he had said, after which it started raining again.
One time the King ordered that a man be executed. That man came to Shaikh Amad and said, "Please write a stay of execution for me." He wrote to the Sultan, "Don't execute this man." The Sultan was afraid of Sayyidina Ahmad al-Faruqi and pardoned the man.
One time a murid made intention to visit Shaikh Ahmad al-Faruqi (q). On his way he was invited to be the guest of a man who disliked the shaikh. The murid, however, didn't know this. After dinner, the host began reviling the shaikh. As he went to sleep that night, in his heart he was saying, "O Allah, I came to visit the shaikh, not to hear someone curse the shaikh. Forgive me." Then he slept and when he awoke he found that the man had died. He went quickly to the shaikh and began to tell him the story. Sayyidina Ahmad al-Faruqi raised his hand and said, "Stop! There is no need to tell me what happened. I am the one who caused it."
He said,
"I was authorized to give Tariqat in three tariqats: Naqshbandi, Suhrawardi and Chistiyya."
He was so famous that the scholars of external knowledge in his time became jealous of him. They went to the king and told him, "He is saying things that are not accepted in the religion." They pushed the King until he put him in jail. He stayed in jail for three years. His son, Shaikh Sayyid, said, "He was under very intense security in jail. Guards surrounded his room on every side. Yet every Friday he would be seen in the big mosque. No matter how much security he was under, he would disappear from prison and appear in the mosque." From this they knew they could not put him behind bars and therefore they released him.
He wrote many books, one of the most famous of which is the Maktubat.
In it he said,
"It must be known that Allah has placed us under His Obligations and His Prohibitions. Allah said, 'Whatever the Prophet gave you, take it, and whatever he prohibited you, leave it.' [59:7] If we are going to be sincere in this, we have to attain to Annihilation and the love of the Essence. Without these we cannot reach this degree of obedience. Thus we are under another obligation, which is to seek the Way of Sufism, because this Way will lead us to the state of Annihilation and the love of the Essence. Each Order differs from the other in its states of perfection; so too does each Order keep the Sunnah of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم and have its own definition of what that entails. Every order has its own way of keeping the Sunnah of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم. Our Order, through its shaikhs, requires us to keep all the commands of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم and to leave all the things he prohibited. Our shaikhs don't follow the easy ways (rukhas) but insist on keeping the difficult ways. In all their seeking they keep in mind the verse of Qur'an, 'Men whom neither business nor trade will divert from the Remembrance of Allah' [24:37].
"In the journey leading to the unveiling of the Divine Realities, the seeker moves through various stages of knowledge of and proximity to His Lord:
- "Moving to Allah is a vertical movement from the lower stations to the higher stations; until the movement surpasses time and space and all the states dissolve into what is called the Necessary Knowledge (cilm ul-wajib) of Allah. This is also called Annihilation (fana').
- "Moving in Allah is the stage in which the seeker moves from the station of Names and Attributes to a state which neither word nor sign can describe. This is the State of Existence in Allah called Baqa.
- "Moving from Allah is the stage in which the seeker returns from the heavenly world to the world of cause and effect, descending from the highest station of knowledge to the lowest. Here he forgets Allah by Allah, and he knows Allah with Allah, and he returns from Allah to Allah. This is called the State of the Farthest and the Nearest.
- "Moving in things is a movement within creation. This involves knowing intimately all elements and states in this world after having vanished in Annihilation. Here the seeker can achieve the State of Guidance, which is the state of the prophets and the people following the footsteps of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم. It brings the Divine Knowledge into the world of creation in order to establish Guidance.
"The entire process is like threading a needle. The thread seeks the eye of the needle, passes through and then proceeds down to where it began. There the two ends meet, form a knot and secure the entire thread. They form a whole, thread, eye and needle, and any material they catch is sewn into the fabric of the unity."
"It must be known to everyone that the Naqshbandi shaikhs chose to guide their murids first through the movement from Allah, travelling from the higher states to the lower. For this reason they maintain the common veils over the spiritual vision of the murid, removing the veil of ordinary consciousness only at the final step. All other tariqats begin with the movement to Allah, moving from the lowest states to the highest, and removing the common veils first."
"It is mentioned in the Hadith of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم, 'Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.' The knowledge of prophets is of two kinds: knowledge of laws and knowledge of secrets. The scholar cannot be called an inheritor if he does not inherit both knowledges. If he takes only one knowledge he is incomplete. Thus the real inheritors are the ones who take the knowledge of the laws and the knowledge of the secrets, and only the saints have truly received and protected this inheritance."
He left behind him many more books. He died on the 17th of Safar 1034 H. at the age of 63. He was buried in the village of Sirhind. He was a shaikh in the four tariqats: Naqshbandi, Qadiri, Chisti and Suhrawardi. He preferred the Naqshbandi, because he said, "It is the Mother of all tariqats."
☼ Battle of Islam and Deen-e-Elahi
Akbar fixed a day for the people to choose between Islam and Deen-e-Elahi. He ordered to set-up two courts beneath his place. One was named as the court of Muhammad and the other as court of Akbar. The tents of the court of Muhammad were erected with worn and torn clothes. Simple and tasteless food was prepared to entertain the people. The Court of Akbar was decorated with yellow brocade, jewels and rubies. Different types of tasty and dainty dishes were to be served. When Hazrat Mujaddid came to know about this program, he predicted that the king would be punished on that very day. The nobles and the common people were allowed to enter any one of the two courts. Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani Rahmatullah Alyh along-with his devotees including Khan-e-Khanan, Murtaza Khan, Syed Sadar Jehan and Khan-e-Azam etc, entered the court of Muhammad. The other courtiers, ministers, chiefs and nobles of the king stepped into the court of Akbar with pride. Both the parties were busy in enjoying the feast when Hazrat Mujaddid sent one of his devotees to draw a line around the court of Muhammad Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam and to throw a handful of dust (blown over by Hazrat Mujaddid) towards the court of the king. As soon as he cast the dust, a terrible storm arose from the north which turned Akbar’s court topsy-turvy. The ropes and pegs of the tents broke and fell down upon the heads of the followers of the king. It was a terrible scene to watch. The doors of the upper room of the king fell down upon the head of the king. The king fell down on the floor and he died after seven days, on 15th October, 1405 A.D. A whirlwind encircled the court of Muhammad but all the people were safe and sound. When people saw the wonder miracle, thousands of people became his disciples. The nobles like Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi, Sikander Khan Lodhi and Darya Khan etc. became his disciples on that very day.
Prince Jahangir ascended the thrown and the orthodox Muslims heaved a sigh of relief at the death of Akbar. Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh did not take rest and carried on the movement more vigorously. He wrote to Sadar Jahan: “Now when there has been a change in the Empire and the opposition (of Islam) by other religions has been disrupted, it is obligatory on the part of great men of Islam, Ulama and ministers to devote themselves with full energy and attention to promote the laws of the Shariat. At the first opportunity, the tenets of Islam which had been over-ruled should be established because in delay there in no safety”. Besides writing letters to the nobles, he adopted another useful method for the revival of Islam. He trained a number of his disciples and caliphs for this work and deputed them to different parts of the country and beyond India to project Islam in true letter and spirit. The systematic work of preaching Islam began for the first time in the history of Islam in India. Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh himself occasionally visited the capital, ( Agra) on the invitation of Meran Sadar Jahan and Sheikh Farid Bukhari. The effect of his work was felt in every nook and corner of the country. Some Iranian Chiefs especially the Prince Minister Asif Khan poisoned the ears of Jahangir and said that Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh was preparing a large army of his devotees who would prove dangerous for the king. They also blamed Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh to have claimed equality with Hazrat Abu Bakar Razi Allah Ta’ala Unho , the first caliph of Islam and that he regarded himself greater than the latter.
Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh was summoned in the court. He was questioned about the above-mentioned letter. He replied in the negative and to elaborate his answer further he cited an example: “If your Majesty summons an ordinary person to serve you and as an honors you speak to him the secrets, surely that person will reach you after crossing the ranks of ‘Panj-Hazari’ Umara. Afterwards he will return to his place. This does not mean that the man will become higher in rank than the ‘Panj-Hazari’ Umara”. Asif Khan, the brother of the Queen Noor Jehan then pressed the king to demand Sajdeh (Prostration) from Hazrat Mujaddid as a proof of his loyalty. His Farooqi (second caliph of Islam) blood boiled in him and he made an historic statement: “This head cannot bow before anyone except Allah”. So he refused to prostrate before the king. This neglect of court etiquette made the king angry. The poet of the East Allama Iqbal has paid a rich tribute to this greatest Sufi and the bravest person of his times, in his poetry: Stars feel ashamed of The particles of this dust Wherein lies That knower of the secrets Who did not bow his neck Before Jahangir Whose warm breath infuses Enthusiasm into free people He was the guardian Of Ummah’s wealth in India Whom Allah made aware Of the danger (to Islam) Well in time.
The king was mad with fury as no one had dared to disobey his orders since his ascension to throne and he was the greatest king of the world, a superpower of that age. King: “Prostrate before me or I’ll make you bow”. Sheikh Ahmad: “You can never make me bow before you”. A great scholar Mufti Abdul Rehman was present in the court. He was a devotee of the Sheikh. He wanted to save the life of Sheikh, so he re-quested him to prostrate to save his life. Mullah Abdul Rehman: “I give the ‘fatva’ (verdict) that prostration is inevitable for you to save your life”. Hazrat Mujaddid: “Mullah! This verdict is for you to follow not for me. Thousands of Prophets and their companions sacrificed their lives in the way of Allah. I’ll sacrifice my life following their sunnah but shall never bow before the king”. King: “As nobody had disobeyed me till yet, I request you to bow a little of your head and after that you are allowed to go”. Hazrat Mujaddid: I’ll never bow my head for this reason. The king ordered a few of his nobles to bow down the head of the Sheikh a little. Ten of the most powerful and gigantic nobles stood at once and tried their best to bow down his head but in vain. As he was a delicate Sufi, his nose started bleeding during this struggle. Then the king and the Prime Minister thought of another plan. The king ordered his guards to bring the Sheikh before him through a small door. He thought that in this way, he would be forced to bow his head while passing through the small door and the king would assume that the Sheikh had prostrated before him. Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh foresaw the plan and he brought his foot out from the door but did not bow his head. The minister whispered to the king that the Sheikh was very proud and his feet implied that he would trample his kingdom under his feet. He should be locked up otherwise he would create great disturbance in the country. So the king ordered to imprison the Sheikh. A great Hindu was the eye-witness of this incident. He was an idol-worshipper and an enemy of Islam but he was deeply impressed by the stead-fastness and fortitude of the Sheikh as he was the only person who did not prostrate before this despotic king otherwise everyone had either to prostrate or to be beheaded. The Raja requested Asif Jah to put the Sheikh into his Prison. Asif Jah agreed. The Raja took the Sheikh and his followers to his empire. He treated them as guests of honour and entertained them. Then he embraced Islam among his followers. Groups of people visited the Sheikh daily. They repented and became his disciples. Not only a large number of Hindus accepted Islam but an infinite number of Muslims reformed their lives in his company. When Asif Jah heard these news, he requested the king that the Sheikh must be imprisoned to a safe and isolated place to stop his contact with the people. So it was decided that the Sheikh must be sent to the Gowaliar Fort. It was the safest fort of India situated on a high hill, 24 miles away from the Royal comp. The Sheikh and his caliphs and followers were sent to that fort at night. The officials of the fort were ordered not to let anybody enter the fort.
☼ Battle of Jhelam
The nobles who were the disciples or devotees of Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh like Mohabat Khan, Murtaza Khan, Khan-e-Khanan, Syed Sadar Tehan, Khan-e-Azam, Islam Khan, Sikandar Lodhi etc. and Khan Jehan Lodhi were transferred to distant places. When they heard about the imprison-ment of their Sheikh, they wrote letters to one another to fight a war against Jahangir. They all decided to launch a war under the leadership of Mohabat Khan, the Governor of Kabul. The Mughals and Pathans around Kabul also joined these forces. Mohabat Khan marched towards Dehli, The name of the king was deleted from the currency and Friday sermon. The king marched towards Kabul with a very large army. Both the armies stopped at the bank of river Jehlum. Mohabat Khan was the greatest general of that time. He dispersed his army and only a few of his guards were with him. The army of the king attacked Mohabat Khan. Mohabat Khan steered his horse and dis-appeared. The army of the king was still following him. Mohabat Khan gathered his army within no time and encircled the king. He arrested Jehangir and Asif Jah. He also ordered his men to tie a nosebag of filth at the mouth of Asif Jah. He warned Asif Jah that he was res-ponsible for the imprisonment of Hazrat Mujaddid. All the nobles had sent letters to Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh to accept the throne of India. The reply of Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh has become historic and it is a lesson to all the Sufis, saints, Ulama and other people who want to get power by hook or crook, “Stop this brawl and tumult and obey the king. Why are you making disruption? I do not long for an empire. I have to do another job for which I have accepted the prison willingly. When that work will complete, I shall be released from the prison without your effort. It is better for you to keep away from this disorder. Be patient, God wailing, I shall be set at liberty”. When the battle took place, the forces of Jahangir fought bravely in the beginning but soon they took to their heels. The author of Tehqeeqaat-e-Chishti has written that Jahangir was taken into custody of Mohabat Khan for seven days and he was set free by a written order of Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani Rahmatullah Alyh (from the fort of Gawaliyar). When the king read the letter of Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh, he repented deeply and confessed that he was misguided about the Sheikh and he promised to set him free before Mohabat Khan and other nobles.
According to the orders of Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani Rahmatullah Alyh, Mohabat Khan vowed to obey Jahangir as the king of India. After his release Jahangir went to visit Kashmir. The king stressed Asif Jah daily to send orders for the liberty of the Sheikh to the fort of Gawaliyar, but as Asif Jah was a Rafizy, he did not implement the orders and used delaying tactics. Prince Shah Jahan warned the king that if the Sheikh was not set free soon, a great calamity would befall on the empire. Queen Noor Jahan also tried her best for the release of the Sheikh. Jahangir’s daughter saw the Holy Prophet Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam in a dream. The last Prophet Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam said to her: “I am angry with your father as he has imprisoned my favourite Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani Rahmatullah Alyh”.
When Jahangir heard about the dream, he sought forgiveness of the Sheikh for his disobedience and mis-deeds and he issued orders of his release but the great Sheikh refused to come out of the prison unless his following demands were fulfilled: When the king vowed to accept all the demands, the great Sheikh stepped out of the prison after a year. 1) The custom to prostrate before the king must be banned. 2) The Muslims should not be checked from slaughtering the crows and the king himself must slaughter a cow with his own hands. 3) The demolished mosques (by the Hindus) must be re-built by the state. 4) The Infidels must be extorted with Jizyah (Toll-tax) 5) The laws of Muhammadon Shariat must be implemented. 6) All guiltless prisoners must be released. 7) The king should build a mosque in front of his court for the Muslims to offer prayers. The great Sheikh followed the Sunnah of Prophet Joseph A.S by suffering the rigours of prison. Thousands of infidels accepted Islam at his hands in the prison. The great Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh himself said: “I have been brought here for the guidance and training of he people. If the king had not been angry with me how would have these prisoners been rightly guided and how would have I ascended to those lofty ranks (of Sufism)”. The king requested him to stay with him, which he readily accepted. I don’t agree with the writers who have stated that the Sheikh was forced to stay with the Royal army. As he was the greatest Sufi-Saint of the world, he preferred the Will of Allah and his Prophet Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam to his own will. He sacrificed his life, wealth, property even his progeny for the Will of Allah like Prophet Ibrahim A.S. Secondly he knew that his sons were guiding the people successfully on his behalf. No one, even the king himself, could make him prostrate in the court and no body could make him stay with the Royal army. It was a voluntary act. He obeyed the Will of Allah when he was staying with the Royal army, he visited the tomb of Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chishty at Ajmair Rahmatullah Alyh. He meditated and felt: “Hazrat Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chishty Rahmatullah Alyh advised me not to leave the army, but to leave this matter to the Will of Allah”. The great Sheikh was released from the prison in 1029 A.H and he stayed with the Royal army still 1033 A.H for four years. The result of this blessed company of the Sheikh was that the mind of Jahangir was revolutionized and he was changed into a true Muslim. He believed in the miracles and greatness of the Sheikh. A writer, Muhammad Mian writes: “Anyhow because of the bless-ings of these special meetings and favour (of the Sheikh), the king repented at his divine hand and gave up drinking and other forbidden things”. Not only the king but also his nobles and issues repented of their sins. Jahangir admired the wonderful influ-ence of the Sheikh when the son of Khan-e-Jahan (a great noble) repented of drinking wine during his youth.
Jahangir fell seriously ill when he come back from Kashmir. He sent a messenger to request the great Sheikh to pray for him. The Sheikh left for Kashmir, after staying for a few days with his family. Our Holy Prophet Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam used to nurse his worst enemies. The great Mujaddid followed the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam by visiting Jahangir. The king requested him to pray for him. The Sheikh promised to pray for him provided the king would assured him of implementing the laws of Islamic Sharia. As the king was suffering form Asthma (a fatal disease during those days), he promised to enfore Sharia in India after his recovery. As soon as the Sheikh prayed for him, the king recovered. When the royal caravan reached Sarhand, Jahangir requested: “As I have recovered because of your prayer, I shall break my abstinence with the meal from your free Public kitchen”. The Great Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh went home and sent the lunch through his elder sons; Hazrat Khawaja Muhammad Saeed Rahmatullah Alyh and Hazrat Khawaja Muhammad Masoom Rahmatullah Alyh. The king ate the lunch and said to Asif Jah: “I ate the lunch sent from the house of the Sheikh. It was very delicious, especially the chicken was cooked excellently. I ate the half of it and saved the other half to eat on the next day”. The king ordered for the implemen-tation of Sharia in the whole country. He ordered to build mosques and schools in every village and city. Ban on cow meat was lifted and it was being sold openly in the bazaars. The custom of prostration before the king was prohibited. The king with his nobles slaughtered cows before the public court and all of them ate the ‘kababs’ cooked of beef. The king built a mosque in front of the door of the court. The king with his nobles came to the mosque and offered the prayers under the Imamat (leadership) of Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani Rahmatullah Alyh. One thousand army men took the oath of allegiance to the Sheikh. At least twenty thousand people attended the company of the Sheikh daily.
Prime Minister Asif Jah sent for Noor Ullah Shastari from Iran. He was the leader of Rowafiz. Asif Jah praised the new scholar before the king. By and by king was impressed by him. Now Asif Jah decided to press the king to issue an order for the implementation of Shia Religion. When the great Sheikh came to know about this intrigue, he held a meeting with the king and advised him to adhere to the religion of his forefathers. One day Noor Ullah Shustri reproached the companions of the Holy Prophet Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam. He also admonished Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani Rahmatullah Alyh and Sheikh Saleem Chishti Rahmatullah Alyh. The king could not tolerate it and he ordered to trample him under the feet of a mad elephant. The Queen Noor Jahan requested the king very humbly to spare the life of Shastri. But Jahangir replied. “My beloved! I have given you my life but not my faith”.
And Shustri was trampled under the feet of a mad elephant. Asif Jah felt humiliated at this incident and he sent for the Christian clergies form Europe. Asif Jah introduced them to the king and admired them. They impressed the king by showing some feats and marvels. The foolish king decided to adopt Christianity. When the great Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh came to know about this state of affairs, he called on Jahangir and scolded him for adopting the abrogated religion. The king argued that the clergies had shown marvels. Hazrat Mujaddid Rahmatullah Alyh sent for the clergies and asked them to show their marvels before the king but in vain. Then the clergies claimed that their prophet granted lives to the dead. The great Sheikh said that even the slaves of our Holy Prophets Sallalaho Alyhe Wasalam can full down the sky over the earth at a signal. The king was frightened and he requested the Sheikh not to show such a miracle, which would destroy all of them. The great Mujaddid looked at a group of clergies with a divine wrath. All of them fell down and died. He told the other group that he could bring them to life again if they wished. All of them requested him to do the same. The Great Sheikh said: “Stand up with the orders of Allah”. And all the clergies stood up as living beings. The other group was also treated like this. But they firmly stuck to their religion and did not repent. Then the king ordered his guards to kill all the clergies present in the court. He also ordered to expel the Christians from his country. After this incident Asif Jah felt deeply ashamed. He repented and he begged pardon of the Sheikh.
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He passed the secret of the Tariqat to Shaikh Muhammad al-Macsum (q).
