International Sufi Order

786/92  

TRANSLATIONS OF LECTURES BY

Hazrath Sayed Allama Abd al Haq  Qadri t

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Abu Muhammad Hazrath Muhayuddin Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani

Ghaws al-Azam Mahboob e Subhaanit

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Ur ’s Ghaus al-Azam

Allah Y says in the Holy Qur’aan in the 10th Sura, Yunus in Verse 62 and 63:

Who Shahe Baghdad heh aur Ghause Jalli heh

Who nawasae Rasul heh aur ibne Ali heh

Jis ki khushbu se muattar huwa dunya ka har chaman

Jis ki mahek se, mehki har ek kali heh

Teri ruthbe koh dekh kar, jalte heh a’da tere

Bujh nahi sakti yeh shama, Joh Madineh she chali heh

Sare tasleem kham heh jitney Aulia heh sare

Tere hukm ka munkir sirf Wahhabi aur Rafizi heh

Meh pisa jata hu mere aaka hawa bi se zamaana seh

Mujhe who rah dikhlade, joh rah tujhe bali heh

Zafar ki bath joh mu se nikhle, Baghdad me le ponche

[Hamari bath joh mu se nikhle, Baghdad me le ponche]

Baade sabha koh hukm de, joh tere kuche se chali heh

After praising Allah Y and saluting His Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad e I pray Allah Y, the Merciful forgive us all and bathe us in the perfect light of this illuminated din. This is the blessed month of Rabi as-Saani but in this country and in many parts of the world it is known as the month of the Blessed Eleventh or Gyarawi Shareef  and we celebrate the Blessed Eleventh or Gyarawi Shareef  of Hazrath Abu Muhammad Hazrath Muhayuddin Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani Ghaws al-Azam Mahboob e Subhaani t. As the month of Rabi al-Awwal starts and we Sunnis start commemorating the Blessed Birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e (Meelad Shareef)we are bombarded with Religious Verdicts (fatwa) of polytheism (shirk) and innovation (bidat) . Many questions are directly or indirectly forwarded to us. Some say that the Holy Prophet Muhammad e was not born on the twelfth of Rabi al-Awwal so why do we celebrate the blessed birth on this day? Some say that this was the day of the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e so why do we express happiness on this day? Some question whether the Companions (Sahaba) celebrated the Meelad an-Nabie and whether they used illumination to light up their environment as we do? As the month of Rabi al-Awwal terminates and the month of Rabi as-Saani begins then another barrage of questions begin. Wherein lays the proof of the commemoration of Gyarawi Shareef? Is it permissible to send rewards to the deceased (esaale sawaab), celebrate Death Anniversary (U’rs), Gyarawi etc? Then with the arrival of the month of Rajab a new round of questioning starts. Is it permissible to celebrate the Blessed Sixth or Chatti Shareef of Hazrath Khwaja Muin al-Haq wad-Deen, Hassan Sanjari Chishti Ajmeri, Sarkaar Gharib Nawaaz t? Unfortunately most of our people especially the youth are not equipped to answer these questions and are at most times left embarrassed. If we make time to sit with scholars and acquire knowledge we would have been able to silence our critics. Unfortunately we have distanced our selves from scholars and are forcing ourselves to be humiliated. Let me present to you a discourse outlining that the celebration of Gyarawi Shareef is not something new. Neither Ala Hazrath Maulana Shah Ahmad Raza Khan t of Bareilli nor his two sons Maulana Haamid Raza Khan Sahib t or Huzoor Mufti Azam al-Hind t started this. Let me outline how old this celebration of Gyarawi Shareef is.

I refer you to an Arabic book Ma Sabata Bi Sunnah written by Shaykh ‘Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlawi t who passed on to the realm of Divine Beauty on  21 Rabi al-Awwal 1052 A.H or 1642 C.E). He says in this book ‘In our country the date of the eleventh (Gyarawi) is very popular amongst the descendants of Shaykh Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t who have settled in Hindustan as well as the Spiritual Masters (shuyuk)’. You can gather from this as to how many years ago the Gyarawi Shareef was observed. In another book written in Arabic by Shaykh ‘Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlawi t Akhbar al-Akhyar (Narratives about the Chosen Ones) of which numerous Urdu translations are available. I refer to the version printed at Deoband. Shaykh ‘Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlawi t says, ‘On the eleventh of the month of Rabi as-Saani people celebrate the U’rs of  Shaykh Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t.’ The third reference I give you is the book called Kalimaate Tayyibaat written by Shah Waliyullah Muhaddith Dehlawi t (passed away 1176 A.H, 1762 C.E) in which he refers to the Utterances (malfuzaat) of Mirza Mazhare Janejanan t. Keep in mind that the ahle hadith claim that Hazrath Mirza Mazhare Janejanan t, Shah Waliyullah Muhaddith Dehlawi t Shah Abd al-Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi t are of them. So Shah Waliyullah Muhaddith Dehlawi t refers to the Utterances (malfuzaat) of Mirza Mazhare Janejanan t in his book Kalimaate Tayyibaat wherein Mirza Mazhare Janejanan t  says, ‘I saw a terrace or platform in my dream upon which many Aulia where sitting in circles in meditation (muraqaba) and amongst them was Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband t who was squatting and Hazrath Junaid Baghdadi t was sitting on a pillow. One could see they were completely absorbed and in a state of annihilation. Thereafter all of them got up and started walking away. I enquired as to where they were going and one of them said that they are going to welcome Hazrath Ali t.’ Mirza Mazhare Janejanan t continues, ‘as they walked on I followed and I saw Hazrath Ali t lovingly holding somebody’s hand. I enquired as to who this person was whose hand Hazrath Ali t lovingly holds and was told that this was khairut ta’bieen Hazrath Uwais Qarni t. I then saw a very clean retreat (hujra) which was being showered with radiations of light. All these great personages entered this room.  I enquired as to what place this was and received the answer that it was the celebration of the Blessed Eleventh or Gyarawi Shareef  of Hazrath Abu Muhammad Hazrath Muhayuddin Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t and all these great people have gone to attend.’ So we will have to accept that in the commemoration of the Blessed Eleventh or Gyarawi Shareef  of Hazrath Abu Muhammad Hazrath Muhayuddin Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t , Hazrath Ali t himself attends. Hazrath Abu Muhammad Hazrath Muhayuddin Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t is a descendant of Hazrath Ali t being a Sayyid both from paternal and maternal descent. Paternally he is the twelfth generation linked to Hazrath Ali t via Imam Hassan t and maternally he is the fifteenth generation linked to Hazrath Ali t via Imam Husayn t.

In Malfuzaat e Azizi of  Shah Abd al-Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi[1] t[ passed away in 1052/1642 at the age of 94], in Persian, printed in Meerut, it is written, ‘In our time at the Blessed Mazaar of  Hazrath Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t on the eleventh the public gathers including the ruler of the time and nobles. From Asr to Maghrib, Holy Qur’aan is recited, Manqabat in praise of Hazrath Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t is read. After Maghrib the Sajjada Nashin surrounded by a circle of disciples sit and performs zikrullah. In the course of the zikr some become ecstatic. Food and niaz is thereafter distributed and people read esha and then go home.’ So it is recorded more than three hundred years ago that a similar method to ours Gyarawi was observed. Once someone asked Shah Abd al-Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi t whether conducting esaale sawaab for Hazrath Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t by cooking food etc is permissible or not? The question was in Persian and the answer is in Persian in Fatawa Azizi. The question was asked by Muhammad Zaki Deobandi. He answered that to recite fatiha is permissible and to present esaale sawaab is permissible. He then states that the blessed month of Ramadan is a month of great commemoration of Ur ’s. The 3^rd being the U’rs of the beloved daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e Hazrath Fatimah y , 18^th being the Ur’s of the Mother of Faithful, Hazrath Aisha Siddiqua y , the 21^st being the Ur’s of Hazrath Ali t and Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh t.  Here Shah Abd al-Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi t has acknowledged the celebration of Ur ’s over three hundred years ago. It is up to you to decide whether celebrating Ur ’s is innovation (bid’ah) or stopping celebration of Ur ’s is innovation (bid’ah)?   

In Shah Abd al-Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi t ‘s book as-Seerat, It is mentioned about  Aurangzeb Alamgir[2] t (1618-1707). He arranged the compilation of the famous book Fatawa Alamgiri conferring with five hundred Ulama. That masterpiece which five hundred Ulama compiled was compiled single-handed as Fatawa Razvia by Ala Hazrath Imam Ahmad Raza Khan t. These works strengthen the foundation of Iman. Aurangzeb Alamgir t had a teacher Mullah Jivan t, a very famous personality. Mullah Jivan t’s son Allamah Faiz e Aalam t states that, ‘on the Day of Ashura we cook food in memory of Imam Hassan t and Imam Hussain t and we present the sawaab of this to their blessed souls. Similar to this is food prepared for Gyarawi Shareef which is the Ur’s of  (listen to the epithets of praise used) Hazrath Ghaus as-Saqalain, Kareemut Tarfain, Qurratul ainil Hasnain, Mahboob e Subhaani, Qutbe Rabbani, Sayyidina wa Maulana, Fardul Afraad, Abu Muhammad Shaykh Muhayuddin Abd' al Qaadir Jilaani t .  Whilst other Aulias Ur’s is commemorated once a year, his Ur ’s is celebrated twelve times a year.’ Which means that on the eleventh of every month they celebrated the Ur ’s of Ghaws al-Azam t. So this is no innovation of a monthly commemoration. There is a book by ‘Allama ‘Abdur Rahim Khan Qadiri, Sirat-e-Ghawth-e-A’zam (The History of the Ghaws al-Azam). This is a comprehensive biography of about 250 pages. It is mentioned about commemorating on the eleventh of every month. It is stated that, ‘on the eleventh of every month, Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t, used to celebrate the Ur’s of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e thus his students began the celebration of Gyarawi Shareef’. Thus it is a methodology that every follower of his has adopted and they remember him.

Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki t [3] the spiritual guide of eminent Deobandis writes in his book, Faysla Haft Masaail, which is also printed from Deoband. Some of our elders write rahmatullah alai after his name since his beliefs were exactly like ours. He says, ‘The holding of esaale sawaab is not imitation of any community and similarly to have Eleventh day (Gyarawi), tenth day or twentieth day or fortieth day, Ur’s and cooking sweets etc … is permissible because Fatiha is read’. In Fatawa Rashidia, printed in Delhi , Molvi Rashid Ahmad Gangohi was asked if to hold Gyarawi Shareef with the niyyah of Esaale Sawaab is permissible. He answers that it is permissible.  

I have placed before you references from the great scholars but let’s talk a little on Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t. was born in 470 A.H/1077 C.E. There are differences regarding the exact date of birth. His name is Sayyid Abd al-Qaadir and his father is Abu Saleh Sayyid Muhammad Musa t. His mother is Ummul Khair Fatimah y. His patronym or kunniyat is Abu Muhammad and his titles are many but the most famous being Mahboob e Subhaani t and another being Muhayuddin. Some Ulama have stated that through this title Allah Y has granted Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t everlasting fame. Muhayuddin means ‘Reviver of the Religion’. Someone asked Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t, since the people of those days asked questions and rewarded us with beautiful answers. We have adopted silence and regard it as beneath our dignity to enquire from scholars. Someone asked Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t as to since when he was called Muhayuddin or why? He answered, ‘It was the year 511 AH and he was walking bare-footed towards Baghdad , after an arduous journey. As I was a little way from entering Baghdad I saw  a thin,  frail person sitting on the middle of the road. He called me towards him and as I approached him he greeted me. I returned his greeting and he told me to help him stand up with both my hands, which I did’. He continues, “As I touched him to help him stand he became strong. He asked me, ‘O Abd al-Qaadir of Jilaan do you recognize me?’ I replied that in don’t recognize him. He said that he is the din of Islam that was weakened by kufr, shirk and wrong belief and he has been strengthened by Shaykh Abd al-Qaadir who will henceforth be known as Muhayuddin.” Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam states that besides Allah Y and the Holy Prophet e only two of them knew what had transpired. As he reached Baghdad a man in front of him greeted him, ‘As salamu alaikum Ya Muhayuddin!  He says he became surprised as to how the stranger got to know this title. He says he then went in the mosque and after his prayer he saw all the people of Baghdad standing behind him and everyone of them was saying in a loud voice, ‘Ya Muhayuddin!’ He says I then understood that this title was given to me by Allah Y and His beloved Holy Prophet e.  

There are many aspects to the life of Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t. Whatever our great Aulia have written we Sunnis believe. Whilst he was still in the womb of his mother, his mother was walking in one of his fathers gardens. She was about to pluck a ripe fruit but she did not notice a snake was sitting on the branch. As she lifted her hand, the unborn child in the womb Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t poked her on her liver. Due to the pain she felt she fell to the ground and the snake was spotted and killed. When Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t was about three to four months old, he was in the lap of his mother. She was cutting his nails and Allah Y gave Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t the power to speak. He said, ‘Mother do you recognize this nail. It is the same one I poked on your liver when the snake was waiting to bite you. I beg your forgiveness.’ This is the merit of Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t that whilst in the womb he can see the outside world, then why he can’t see us Sunnis    from within his blessed grave. Therefore we proclaim, ‘Ya Ghaws al-Azam!’ and attend such gatherings.

After his birth mother, Hazrath Fatimah y noticed that he did not drink milk in the daytime, but only after sunset. After noticing this for 7 to 8 days, she told her husband Hazrath Abu Saleh t about this occurrence. She said, ‘Abu Saleh, this son that Allah Y blessed us with observes fast (siyaam), he does not drink milk in the day, although I tried to feed him on numerous occasions, he only feeds at night.’ Hazrath Abu Saleh t said, ‘It is no marvel if he is fasting for he is the Leader of the Friends of Allah (awliya) and of all Spiritual Poles (aqtaab).’ Hazrath Fatimah y enquired from her husband, ‘Sir! How do you know that he is the leader of Friends of Allah Y  (always) and of all Spiritual Poles (aqtaab)?’

 He replied, “Before this child was born, I was blessed with a dream of the Holy Prophet e who informed me,

‘So if he is fasting it is no surprise because he is the leader of all Friends of Allah (awliya) and of all Spiritual Poles (aqtaab)’. Therefore someone has stated:

Somebody has also said the same in Urdu:

When he was four years old his mother enrolled him in a Madrassah. The teacher made him read ta’awwuz and tasmia and thereafter he told the teacher he will read the rest. He read by heart 17 siparas at the age of four. On enquiry he told his teacher that his mother is Hafiza of 17 siparas and that every morning she reads 17 siparas and thereafter starts her household chores and thus he by-hearted the 17 siparas.  In a short while he by-hearted the entire Holy Qur’aan . He says whenever he slept or got involved in play a voice called out. ‘Abdul Qaadir! Allah Y did not create you for this.’ He says one day a cow walked through their street and the local children interfered with its tail. He says the children prompted him to follow suite and as soon as he touched the cow’s tail, it turned around and said, ‘O Abdul Qaadir. This play is not for you, for Allah Y did not create you for this.’ He says he got into such a state that he ran to his mother who comforted and embraced him. He told his mother that he wished to attain knowledge of the religion. His primary education he had attained and he had to walk 400 miles on foot to reach Baghdad and received education at the Madrassah of Hazrath Shaykh Hammad ibn Muslim ad-Dabbas t. He took the oath of allegiance on the hand of Hazrath Abu Saeed al-Mubarak al-Mukharrimi t.  He says, “One night I was asleep and I saw the Holy Prophet Muhammad e accompanied by Hazrath Ali t. The Holy Prophet e   asked me, ‘O My son, Abdul Qaadir why don’t you lecture?’ I answered, ‘O Messenger of Allah e! These people are all Arabs whilst I am non-Arab (Ajam) so please bless me so that I may be fluent in Arabic’. The Holy Prophet e then put his blessed saliva seven times into my mouth and Hazrath Ali t put his blessed saliva six times into my mouth. They then told me to start lecturing from the next day.” He says when he sat the next day to begin preaching so many people gathered that the Masjid overflowed with people sitting outside also. Thereafter for the next lecture the venue he chose was the large open field used for Eid salaah (Eid Gaah). This also overflowed. He says for every lecture about 70 000 people gathered to listen. At that time there was no amplification system but miraculously every person could hear him clearly. During the lecture if anyone fell of to sleep they were blessed with a vision of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. You know that if one sits in front of the television then even sleep disappears but sleep overtakes one in religious lectures or naat gatherings. Someone asked my paternal grandfather (Allama Abd al-Haq Qadri’s) the reason for this and he stated that when the gathering of naat begins the breeze of heaven blows through the gathering and spiritual solace makes one sleepy.

Whilst Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t was lecturing a wali Hazrath Ali ibn Haidi t joined the gathering and whilst listening he fell asleep and Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t noticed this. Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t stopped the lecture, got off the pulpit and stood respectfully in front of Hazrath Ali ibn Haidi t and looked at him. After a little while Hazrath Ali ibn Haidi t got up and Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t asked him what happened. He explained that he saw the Holy Prophet e whilst asleep but asked Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t as to why he got off the pulpit and stood respectfully in front of him. Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t explained that whilst he was seeing the Holy Prophet Muhammad e in his dream he saw from the pulpit that the Holy Prophet e is in his dream and hence he respectfully stopped the lecture and stood in respect.

It is reported that the Holy Prophet Muhammad e once accompanied by Hazrath Musa u came to the gathering of Hazrath Ghaws al-Azam t and the Holy Prophet e   asked Hazrath Musa u, ‘Is there any person in your Ummah that can match my Ghaws al-Azam t?’ Hazrath Musa u replied in the negative. May Allah Y bless us to walk in his footsteps and acquire knowledge of the deen.

Summarized translation of an Urdu lecture delivered by Allama Syed Shah Abd al-Haq Qadri on Thursday - Night of 11th Rabi-us-Sani 1426 (19 May 2005)

By Irshad Soofi Siddiqui