Appendix the Earliest Chishti Masters
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APPENDIX THE EARLIEST CHISHTI MASTERS A CHISHTI CALENDAR OF SAINTS' DEATH ANNIVERSARIES The following list is given as an addendum to a manuscript of Adab al-muridin by Muhammad Chishti, copied in Taunsa ca. 1790 (personal collection of Carl Ernst; thanks to Mr. Khalil al-Rahman Dawoodi of Lahore). It lists the death-anniversary dates of important saints of the Chishti lineage, arranged in sequence according to the months and days of the Muslim lunar calendar. Muharram 1. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph (d. 23/644) 4. Hasan Basri (d. 110/728) 5. Farid ad-Din Mas'udAjodhani [Ganj-i Shakar] (d. 664/1265) 14. Mumshad 'Alu Dinawari (d. 329/941) 28. Yahya Madani (d. 1101/1689) Safar 22. Mahmud Rajan ibn 'Alam ad-Din (d. 901/1495) 26. 'Alam ibn Siraj (d. 809/1406) 27. 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd (d. 177/793) Rabi' I 2. Muhammad the Prophet (d. 11/632) 3. Fuzayl ibn 'Iyaz (d. 187/802) 4. Qutb ad-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki (d. 633/1235) 24. Kalim Allah Jahanabadi (d. 1142/1729) Rabi' II 4. Abu Ishaq Chishti Shami (d. 329/941) SUFI MARTYRS OF LOVE 18. Nizam ad-Din Awliya' (d. 725/1325) 18. Amir Khusraw (d. 725/1325) 26. Nasir ad-Din Abu Ishaq Yusuf Chishti (d. 459/1067) ]umadii 21. Siraj bin Kamal ad-Din 'Allama (d. 817/1414) 26. Ibrahim ibn Adham (d. 163/779) ]umadiii 1. Abu Muhammad Chishti (d. 411/1020) 1. [Abu] Ahmad Chishti (d. 355/966) 22. Abu Bakr, the first caliph (d. 13/634) Rajah 1. Mawdud Chishti (d. 520/1126) 6. Mu'in ad-Din Chishti (d. 633/1236) 16. Hajji Sharif Zandani (d. 612/1215) 27. Ahmad Miyan Jiv ibn Nasir ad-Din (d. 776/1374) 28. Nasir ibn Muhibb ad-Din (?) Sha'ban 16. Abu al-Fath (d. 858/1454) Ramadan 17. Nasir ad-Din Chiragh-i Dihli (d. 757/1356) 21 (or 17). 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40/661), the fourth caliph Shawwal 5. 'Usman Harwani (d. 607/1211) 7. Abu Hubayra Basri (d. 287 /900) 22. Majd ibn Siraj 25. Huzhayfa al-Mar'ashi (d. 207/822) Dhu al-Qi'da 16. Muhammad al-Husayni Gisu Daraz (d. 825/1422) 27. Kamal ad-Din 'Allama (d. 756/1355) 28. Nasir II Hasan Muhammad Miyan Jiv (d. 982/1575) Dhu al-Hijja 6. Jamal ad-Din Jumman ibn Rajan (d. 940/1534) 12. 'Usman ibn 'Affan, the third caliph (d. 35/656) APPENDIX 149 MAJOR CHISHTI MASTERS The story of Shaykh Mu'in ad-Din and all his successors come from a single, hereto fore untranslated tazkira, Akhbar al-akhyar, written by the foremost North Indian compiler of Sufi biographies from the pre-Mughal and early Mughal period, Shaykh 'Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dihlavi (see chapter 3). The book is structured by genera tions and it recounts the lives of great sufi masters from the twelfth to the late six teenth century. Though there is no bias toward any one order or viewpoint, 'Abd al-Haqq accents the pivotal role of the Chishtiyya, at least for the first cycle and ar guably for every cycle thereafter. The first three generations are headed by Mu'in ad Din, Farid ad-Din, and Nasir ad-Din. Many of the biographies relate to disciples of Nizam ad-Din, arguably the foremost Chishti master of the premodern period. 1 Khwaja Mu'in ad-Din Chishti [The strongest accent of' Abd al-Haqq is on location. Where Mu'in ad-Din came from, where he settled and where Ajmer was in relation to Nagaur-all occupy the imagina tion of Shaykh 'Abd al-Haqq. The collection of aphorisms-which may or may not have been uttered by the saint-establish a pervasive tone for the entire Chishti discipline: Al ways maintain loyalty to inner travel; do not cease to search for the ocean of knowledge which is God's domain!] Khwaja Mu'in ad-Din Hasan al-Husayni Sijzi Sanjari, we are told, was the head of the great Shaykhs and leaders of the Chishti order in this region. The foremost peo ple of his era were reckoned as his disciples, his successors and others associated with them.2 He spent twenty years in the service of Khwaja 'Usman Harwani-may God sanctify his secret. On trips and at home he looked after the bedding of his master. Then he was accorded the blessing of successorship. In the reign of Pithaura Rai, he came to Hindustan. Settling in Ajmer, he busied himself with the worship of God. At that time Pithaura Rai, too, was in Ajmer. One day Pithaura on some pretext hassled a Muslim who was among the followers of the saint-may God sanctify his secret. That Muslim came and complained to Khwaja Mu'in ad-Din. The master sent ames sage to Pithaura Rai on behalf of this man, but Pithaura Rai rejected it, saying: "This man (i.e., Khwaja Mu'in ad-Din) has come here but what does he do except sit and converse with the Unseen?" When this response reached the master, he said: "We have caught Pithaura Rai alive, and delivered him (to his enemy):' Soon thereafter the army of Sultan Mu'izz ad-Din Sam (i.e., Sultan Shihab ad-Din Ghori) invaded from Ghaznin. Pithaura Rai, opposing the army of Islam, was taken captive by Mu'izz ad-Din. Since that time Islam has prevailed in this region and the root of unbelief and corruption has been eradicated. After his death, on the forehead of Mu'in ad-Din appeared this inscription: "The lover of God has died in the love of God." The master died on the sixth of Rajah, A.H. 633 (A.D. March 15, 1236), though some say that he died in Dhu'l-Hijja in the same year, but the first date is correct. In Ajmer, where he had lived, he was also buried. The first tomb for Mu'in ad-Din was made of wood, and then they built above it a stone canopy. In other words, they left the first tomb in its place, erecting a lofty, 150 SUFI MARTYRS OF LOVE noble canopy over it. The first person to add to the tomb edifice of Mu'in ad-Din was Khwaja Husayn Nagori. Afterward, some of the kings of Mandu added the doorway and hospice. Among the holy, celestial dicta of Mu 'in ad-Din in Dalil al-'arifin, (a book) that Khwaja Qutb ad-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki compiled from the conversations of his master (may God sanctify his secret), are the following: The heart of the lover is set ablaze with love. Everyone who enters the domain oflove is scorched. It should not be avoided, since there is no loftier fire than the fire of love! Listen to the voice from the incoming waves; it is loud. But when the tide goes out, the voice becomes silent. I heard from the tongue of Khwaja 'Usman Harwani-may God sanctify his se cret-that those who befriend God Almighty, even though for a time they be come veiled from Him in this world, will not remain veiled. I have heard from the tongue of Khwaja 'Usman Harwani that everyone in whom these three qualities are to be found-it is certain that God Almighty has befriended him. First, generosity like the generosity of the ocean. Second, com passion like the compassion of the sun. Third, humility like the humility of the earth. The company of the righteous is better than a righteous deed, just as the com pany of the evil is worse than an evil deed. That disciple is firm in his resolve to repent when the angel on his left side records no sin for him during a period of twenty years! The recorder of these lines attests that some of the early saints also spoke such words and the truth of the meaning of these words is such that some of the latter-day scholarly Sufis have said: "Repentance and seeking of forgiveness are indispensable for the spiritual development of the disciple, and the recording of sins, once repen tance and seeking forgiveness are evident, is impossible since by nature such a person can commit no sin. And for this reason they have made it incumbent (on disciples) to recite the prayer seeking forgiveness just before going to sleep, in order that the recording of sins from the previous day, having been sus pended due to the mercy of God Almighty, will not become manifest. From the blessed tongue ofKhwaja 'Usman Harwani I have heard the question; "Who is the man who has attained (spiritual) poverty? It is he for whom in the world of annihilation (fani) nothing remains ( baqi):' The sign of love is that you obey (unconditionally), and not out of fear that the Friend is near. There is this rank for the gnostics that when they reach it, they see the entire world and all that is in it between two of their fingers. APPENDIX 151 The gnostic is he who whatever he wants he acquires, and whatever he asks he obtains an answer from God. The lowest stage and degree of the gnostic, with respect to love, is that the di vine attributes appear in him. The highest degree for the gnostic, with respect to love, is that if someone requests something of him, he provides it through the power of saintly miracles. For years we are engaged in this work, and in the end we obtain nothing but awe (haybat) [at God's power].