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Ur’s Rituals

By Hafez Fuzail Soofie

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) says in the Holy Qur'aan, in the 22^nd Sura, al-Hajj, in Verse 32:

Most respected Mashaikh, Ulama, Elders my brothers and sisters in Islam, as-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa barakatu.  Alhamdulillah, with the grace of Almighty Allah we are gathered here today to celebrate the Ur’s of his eminence Hazrath Shah Ghulam Haafiz Soofie (may Allah be well pleased with him) and we will be observing the symbolic ceremonial rites of the Ur’s such as the Procession (Juloos) Of Sundal and so on, later on in the evening and I wish to base my talk this evening on those symbolic ceremonial rites for those people who may be unaware of its significance and how we can benefit there from, Insha-Allah.

Ur’s as we know is derived from a Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) where it is narrated in Mishkaat Shareef[1] that when the Waliullah, a Beloved Of Allah successfully answers three questions in the grave then the angels (malaika) give him glad tidings of his success in this world and in the hereafter stating, Sleep Like The Sleep Of A Bridegroom (nim ka naumatil aroos) who is only going to be awakened by the Beloved, who is Allah, on the Day Of Qiyaamah.

Khwaja Habib[2] (may Allah be well pleased with him) expounding on this Hadith of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) stated that you have aroos, you have irs and you have ur’s. Aroos is the ain with a zabar or fatha on the top is bridegroom. The irs, ain with a kasra, the zer at the bottom is the bride and urs with the damma or pesh on the top is actually wedding or ‘the wedding party’ (baraat). This is where ur’s is derived from in brief and it is celebrated, to commemorate and to observe the success which is enjoyed by the Waliullah in the sight of Almighty Allah. For the lovers of Allah, the beloved ones of Allah and the devotees of the beloved ones of Allah it is motivation to follow in the footsteps of the Waliullah so that they may also achieve supreme success in the hereafter as well.

One of the most unique and most beautiful expressions of love, admiration and devotion to a Waliullah, is expressed in what we will be celebrating, what we will be performing after Salaatul Isha, which is known as The Procession Of Sandal (Juloose Sandal). Sundal is literally speaking ‘fragrance or scent’ (khushboo); and Procession of Chaadar (juloose chaadar) that is literally the sheet covers (gilaaf). For very many of us, we may not even know where the origins or what the origins of this juloose sandal may be.  We may think wrongfully that this is an innovation of some of over zealous devotees of the Beloved Ones Of Allah, of the Aulia-Allah who created this ceremonial rite just to express their love in this manner. It is not humanly created. It is not a human innovation it has been started of by angels (malaika) themselves because mind you, if you didn’t know Aulia-Allah are loved by the Angels. It’s odd whilst people in this world, some may love Aulia-Allah and some may not love Aulia-Allah, in the heavens every angel loves the Waliullah or the Beloved Ones Of Allah and they have been loving the Waliullah according to Sahih Bukhari[3] since the time when Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) declared, ‘I love so and so’, and then Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) informed Jibraeel (may Allah bless him with peace), that ‘you also love so and so’. Jibraeel, being the Arch- Angel informs the other angels that, ‘Allah loves this Waliullah, I therefore love this  Waliullah and all you angels must also love this Waliullah.’ So, they have loved the Waliullah ever since Allah declared his love for the Waliullah. So great is their love for the Waliullah, that according to another Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions), to the inhabitants of the heavens, the angels, the home and the place of worship (ibaadah) of the Waliullah is seen like we see stars in the sky. So like we have stars in our sky, in the (view of the earth) ‘sky’ of the angels, the status (maqaam) the Place Of Worship (ibaadah) of a Waliullah, like e.g. Forty-Fifth Cutting, the place of ibaadah of Hazrath Bhaijaan Soofie (may Allah be well pleased with him), seems like a star, which is shining in the horizon. So you can imagine, what love the angels must have for them, for when they see his place of ibaadah, they see it as we see a shining star in the sky.

When the time of the physical demise of the Waliullah takes place and is about to take place and the angels are informed that the one they loved for such a long period of time is going to finally leave the earth and become an inhabitant of the heavens, then something absolutely unique takes place. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) says in a Hadith[4] that is in Mishkaat Shareef from Musnad Imam Hamnbal (may Allah be well pleased with him) has stated that when a Waliullah , a mumin, a true believer, in the true sense of the word, the one who loves Allah, over flowingly and profusely, and loves the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) infinitely, so much so that he loves the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) more than himself and the rest of humanity as well. When he is about to leave the world, then angels are informed of it, and when the angels are informed that the person that we loved for such a long period of time is going to be coming back to the heavens; then, do you know what happens? Angels descend from the heavens, in large numbers. Allah knows how many and they descend in what we may call a procession. A procession (juloos) from the heavens comes out to welcome that Waliullah to the heavens. When this procession (juloos) leaves the heavens, they don’t come empty handed. According to the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) on the contrary, they come with ‘The Funeral Shroud’ (kafan or chaadar) from the ‘The Funeral Shroud’ of paradise (min akfaan il-jannah). They come with chaadar, they come with kafan from paradise and not only that, they also come with fragrance, khushboo, scent, itr or sandal from paradise as well. So imagine the scenario, as you will see later on that: whom are we imitating here. We are imitating the process and methodology of ‘welcoming’, istiqbaal, congratulation and celebration of the angels that they perform when a Waliullah is leaving this world. When they descend from the heavens in a procession, they come down with kafan and fragrance from paradise. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) described these angels as being white in colour and their faces are more illuminated than the sun. After the procession bearing chaadar and fragrance comes down, they come and sit in front of the Waliullah who is about to leave this world. Like, e.g. you are sitting in front of me now. The Hadith state that As Far As The Eye Can See (mad al basr or ta hadde nazar) is the amount of angels seated there when the Waliullah is about to leave this world. Can you imagine the crowd of angels at the time of wisaal of the Waliullah? At that moment The Angel Of Death (malakal maut) Hazrath Israeel (may Allah bless him with peace) comes and sits at the head side of the Waliullah and gives him glad tidings. He says, ‘O Beloved one of Allah, return to your Lord, in forgiveness and in the pleasure of Almighty Allah (rida).’ This is the good news that is given That you are in the condition, that everything has been forgiven and Allah is pleased with you. This is in accordance with the Holy Qur'aan in the 89^th Sura, al-Fajr, verses 27 and 28:

When he says this and is about to remove the soul (ruh), then the Holy Qur'aan again describes the scene in the 56^th Sura, al-Waqia: Verse 89:

 The Waliullah is given sweet smelling plants, flowers from The Garden Of Paradise, which he inhales, and as he smells these fragrant flowers and plants, the Angel Of Death removes his soul. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) describes    this removal of the soul. He says it is as if droplets of musk are coming out. You know if you drop a bottle of attar and you see the droplets of musk oozing out. That is the way the ruh of the Waliullah comes out.

 Now, let me tell you the best part. The Holy Prophet  (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) continues and he says, ‘The Angel Of Death, has barely removed the soul of the Waliullah, that so great is the eagerness and love, of the angels to at least get into close proximity of the Waliullah, that before the Angel Of Death has removed the soul, Angels literally in their eagerness, snatch away the soul from the Angel Of Death. The Angel Of Death does not even get a chance for the Angels are literally clamoring over one another just to get into contact with that pure soul that was a lover of Almighty Allah. They literally snatch the soul away from the Angel Of Death. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) has said that the angels snatch it away so quickly, like before one can blink ones eye. They take the ruh and clothe that ruh with the kafan that was brought from paradise. Thereafter they take the sandal, as we know it or the fragrance and they place it on the ruh. I think it a very important note for those who may disagree with placing chaadar on the graves of Waliullah. They object by saying the grave is a piece of stone and not the body of the Waliullah. Here Angels give one an answer to this objection. Does ruh have a material form? No it is A Subtle Entity (jisme lateef). It is not physical in form, yet in spite of the fact, that we are lovers who act senselessly, but the Angels are governed, they wrap the ruh in the kafan from paradise to show the dignity of the Waliullah. Then once this takes place, and the kafan and itr is placed on the ruh of the Waliullah something absolutely remarkable occurs.

 Continuing with the Hadith: the Angels had brought fragrance from paradise but the ruh itself emits so much of fragrance that it perfumes the space from the earth to the sky, with the fragrance emitted from the soul of the Waliullah. Can you imagine? Let me inform you. Hazrath Shah Muhammad Habeeb Soofie (may Allah be well pleased with him), known as Hazrath Jande Pir, who is the younger brother of Hazrath Bhaijaan (may Allah be well pleased with him), has written a poetic composition in honor of his brother, describing this very scene of the ruh, fragrance and the fragrance from the ruh perfuming the area from the earth to the sky. This fragrance from the ruh of the Waliullah actually eclipses the fragrance of paradise. Why not? The fragrance that emits from the ruh of the Waliullah is the fragrance of faith (imaan), recognition of Allah (irfaan) and love of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions). No fragrance can compare to a fragrance emitted due to the love of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions). Hazrath Shah Muhammad Habeeb Soofie says referring to this scene,

The angels ask the Angels that carry this soul through the stages of heaven, on the different planes, ‘who is this ruh?’ (‘maa haza ruhu tayyib’). The question is not asked out of not knowing but out of being flabbergasted. The angels carrying the ruh answer, ‘this is so and so, son of so and so.’ So again Hazrath Shah Muhammad Habeeb Soofie says,

So he asks the question asked by the on looking angels, and he says that the Angels carrying the soul say,

As the ruh is carried upwards by the Angels, the Hadith continues that they not only name the person, but the Angels the sing the praises of the Waliullah. This is the salutations upon the Holy Prophet or manqabat (poetry in praise of the Waliullah) that we read when we conduct the sandal. We derive this practice from the Hadith, for it states that the angels call him by the greatest titles conferred upon him during his earthly stay. The angels continue singing his praises and addressing him by the best-earned titles until they arrive at the first door of paradise. Here they seek permission to open the door. An enquiry is made as to who has come and the parson is named. The Intimate Angels (malaika e muqarrabun) open the door of paradise and on seeing the pure soul, ask for an opportunity to carry it also. The Angels of the first heaven carry the soul to the second heaven, and proceed with the procession (juloos) to all the levels till the seventh heaven. Bear in mind that I am still continuing with the Hadith. When they reach the seventh heaven, which is the highest heaven, they hear a voice from Almighty Allah saying, ‘O My servants, take the soul of my beloved friend, and his record of good deeds, recorded in ‘illiy yeen’ This ‘illiy yeen’ is spoken of in the Holy Qur'aan in the 83^rd Sura, al-Mutaffifeen: Verse 19,

Allah continues in the next verse:

 It is a well-preserved record that I will call the honours list. The roll of honour that Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has opened to record the names for His beloved ones and the so-called graduates of the class. The wali has graduated so to speak on top of the class.  Do you know where illiyin is? This tablet is above the seven heavens and literally, hanging from the arsh of Almighty Allah.

Due to time restraint, I need to address the other issues, but do you understand. The journey of the ruh is not in earthly time, but in cosmic time. So a long period in earthly time measurement is a short period in cosmic time. So all this takes place and Allah, ensures that the ruh is returned to the body of the Waliullah. What happens here is the connection (ta’alluq) remains. The ruh remains in illiyin and also it maintains a contact with its body, wherever it is buried. So what we do in the sandal is actually the imitation of the expression of love that the angels display, for the Aulia Allah. Congratulation to those who have been partaking and performing the rite of sandal all these years. Alhamdulillah, you have been performing the Sunnah of angels. Aulia Allah have taken it one step foreword and they say not only are you performing the Sunnah of angels, but insaan being khalifatullah fil ard must learn something from it as well. Aulia Allah teach through symbolic instruction.

They teach through subtle instruction and hints. This entire procession (juloos) is a lesson for every devotee of the Waliullah.

To go through this very quickly for I want to get to a very important point; when one walks behind the sandal procession, then for every person desirous of reaching Allah, the solemn motivation and intention must be, ‘O Allah! As I walk behind this sandal physically, spiritually and mentally I am making a commitment to follow in the footsteps of your beloved Waliullah. In the manner he was a personification of Qur’aan and Sunnah, I to desire to become a personification of Qur’aan and Sunnah so by following him, I too might achieve success. You may have noticed the use of a awning or umbrella (shamiana) whose practical use is to shelter one from natural elements like the rain and sun, but the spiritual significance is that it is symbolic of the shade of Almighty Allah, for it is stated that the two people who will be under the shade of Almighty Allah, on the day of Qiyaamah will be those that loved one another for the sake of Allah. So if you love the Waliullah and the Waliullah loves you then know and be rest assured, that on he day of Qiyaamah, the day on which the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) said that there will be no shade except the shade of Allah, you will be under the shade of Allah. The shamiana is the symbolic reminder of that aspect.

When you enter the mazaar and the chaadar is placed on the grave, then learn this lesson, that as you put on external clothing, the Waliullah put on one more garb. The garbs that we should all wear, the libaas at taqwa according to the Holy Qur'aan. You have to put on the Clothing Of Taqwa and Allah consciousness, for that is the garb of the Waliullah. His external garb was something else, but his internal had been fragranced with the Clothing Of Taqwa (libaas at taqwa). You may have noticed people burn fragrant sticks in the mazaar. This gives you three important lessons.

I go over it very quickly due to shortage of time.

1.      For a person who merely comes to the mazaar for dua, to ask through the means (wasila) of the Waliullah, that Allah may accept his dua, the fragrant stick is giving you a message, that no dua of yours will reach Allah, until and unless you do it with a burning heart.

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) says in the Holy Qur'aan, in the 27^th Sura, an-Naml: Verse 62;

So for an ordinary visitor, take a lesson that until your heart is not burning and restless your dua will not be effective.

2. For a Traveler On The Path To Allah (Saalik) the burning stick gives lessons that until you are not prepared to endure pain, live and sacrifice for the benefit of other people, you will not achieve success.

3. The third lesson is, that as you are present at The Station Of A Beloved One Of Allah (maqaam) and seeing the fragrant stick burn, learn what is ‘annihilation in Almighty Allah’ (fana fillah). If you ask the fragrant stick as to what it symbolizes, it will tell you, ‘I am the heart of the lover of Almighty Allah, whose cold sigh reaches the heavens. And when I sigh in the love of Allah, I perfume the entire surroundings. This is the lesson.

To conclude due to restricted time, keep this Hadith we discussed in mind as I relate an occurrence in the life of Hazrath Bhaijaan (may Allah be well pleased with him). He passed away on the day of I’d al-Fitr. We know that on I’d day we are required to put on our best attire and celebrate I’d, since it is a day of rejoicing. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him, his family and his companions) has stated that for a fasting person there are two glad tidings, one being breaking the fast and the second being the meeting with Allah. Keeping this Hadith in mind let us look at the condition of Hazrath Bhaijaan (may Allah be well pleased with him), who as wali of Allah had kept a perpetual fast of abstained from filling his heart with anything but the love of Allah for the duration of his life.  Not a moment went by when their tongues are not wet with the zikr of Allah, or their eye gazed at anything prohibited, or performed an action contrary to the will of Allah. They kept this fast of the elite for the duration of their lives. This is the fast of haqiqa. Their hearts had nothing except the love of Almighty Allah, and their eyes saw nothing but Allah. I say, whilst the whole world celebrated I’d, Hazrath Bhaijaan was blessed with two I’d at one time.  He was blessed with the clothing of paradise before the Day of I’d could end. He has made a reference to his own demise in his poetic composition, when he said

Can you imagine his condition at the time of death. With angels descending with kafn and fragrance of paradise. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) says in the Holy Qur'aan, in the 89^th Sura, al-Fajr: Verses 27 to 30:

First enter into the company of My Beloveds:

Here the Spiritual line of Awliya is there to welcome him. Then the Call To Prayer goes.

Hazrath ibn Ata (may Allah be well pleased with him) has stated that, nafse mutmainna is that nafs, that does not rest until it gets a Vision Of The Beloved. May Allah grant us the way of love, for deeds without love is absolutely useless. For if one does not possess ishq but has the converse which is disrespect, then according to the Holy Qur'aan, ones amaal can be cancelled.

Lecture given By Hafez Fuzail Soofie on the occasion of the Ur’s in 2004.of Hazrath Shah Ghulam Haafiz Soofie (may Allah be well pleased with him) .

Transcribed by Irshad Soofie, from a recording