CHAPTER 7—ARABIC* INTRODUCTION. THE COMMERCIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA and Arabia Felix are very old and could be traced back to the time of the Queen of Sheba. The Arabs in those days were in sole possession of the trade between Asia and Europe. The Arab ships were not only continually traversing the Mediterranean, which had become at that time an Arab Lake, but were just as much at home in our waters. They had established several entrepots between Aden and Bombay and there had sprung up a large number of Arab settlements at Chaul, Kalyan and Sopara. Agarthakhides (c. 180 B. C.) says that in his time Indian trade was in the hands of the Sabaeans of Yemen. He also speaks of Sabaeans sending from Aden "colonies and factories" to settle in India. Warmington observes that the Sabaeans of the Yemen had built up a prosperous and undisturbed trade with India and that they had grown immensely wealthy. India finds a place in the Himyarite inscriptions of the Yemen as a country exporting "fresh fruits" to the land of the Arabs. From the seventh century onwards there was a large and continuous influx of Arab merchants to the Western coast of India, where they were settled at various ports and married Indian women. In the beginning of the seventh century of the Christian era the Arabs were welded into a strong united nation with a centralised state under the Prophet of Islam. Stimulated by the vigorous and universal nature of his teachings, the Arabs started their movement of expansion with astounding rapidity. The military success of the Arabs not only brought them to the outskirts of India but also gave a tremendous impetus to their maritime trade. The first post-Islamic Arab expedition to the State of Bombay was the one despatched by ' Uthman b. Abu-l-Asath-Thaqafi, the Governor of Bahrain, to Thana a little after 636 A. C. The Caliph 'Umar, however, did not approve of the Governor's action and warned him not to repeat the experiment. The next expedition to the Bombay State took place between 640-645 A. C. It was organised by Hakam b. al-' As, the brother of ' Uthman ath-Thaqafi, and was directed against the then famous and flourishing port of Broach. During the first quarter of the 8th century after the conquest of Sind by the Arabs, Junayd ibn ' Abd ur-Rahman al-Murri, the

* This Chapter is contributed by the late Dr. B. M. Tirmidhi, M.A., Ph.D. 456 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Arab Governor of Sind, sent his lieutenants against several ports of Gujarat including Rander and Broach; while in the year 761 A. C. Hisham b. ' Amr at-Taghlibi the then Arab Governor of Sind, attacked in person Broach and Kandahar (a small village near Broach), and built a mosque which is supposed to be the first to be built in the State. There have been several Arab expeditions to the State including the important one during the time of Pulakeshi. When these expeditions ceased, the contact between the State and Arabia was kept up by several Arab and non-Arab travellers and geographers like Mas 'udi, Ibn Hawqal, Istakhri, Idrisi and several others. These geographers and travellers tell us about the social conditions then prevailing in the State, the religion of its people, their customs, their dress, the imports and exports, etc., of the State of Bombay. Mas 'udi' who visited this country in 915 A. C. informs us that no less than 10,000 Arabs had colonised themselves at Chaimur (near Bombay) and round about. He also speaks of the Arab colonisers at Cambay and other places. Ibn Hawqal remarks: "There are Jami' mosques at Famhal, Sirudan, Saymur and Cambay, all of which are strong and great cities and the Islamic precepts are openly observed. " It may be mentioned in passing that the Arabs were enamoured of Balahras and that they have lavished upon them praises for their justice and hospitality. Mu 'izz ud-Din Muhammad Sam Ghori and Qutb ud-Din Aybak made several inroads into the State but their attacks did not leave behind any lasting impression. It was when ' Ala-ud-Din Khilji finally conquered Gujarat and annexed it to the Muslim Empire in India, that Gujarat came to be administered by the Imperial Nazims. In the year 1407 A. C. owing to the weakening of the central authority, the Imperial Nazim declared his independence. Thus an independent Muslim kingdom was established for the first time in the State of Bombay. The rulers of this new kingdom, who traced their descent from the purely Indian stock, the brave , were great patrons of learning and scholarship. In the galaxy of these patrons of learning the following stand out prominently: Ahmad Shah l, Mahmud Shah I, Muzaffar Shah II, and Bahadur Shah. They diligently applied themselves also to social reforms and gave much impetus to agriculture and industry. Architecture was highly developed and even at present occupies an enviable position for its many magnificent specimens of architecture. It was during their regimes that the learned divines flocked to Ahmedabad and other places on the West coast of India from Arabia, Persia, and Egypt. Ahmedabad, particularly, became a great centre of learning throughout the Muslim world. Here were gathered together commentators, traditionists, jurists, speculative theologians, poets, historians, mathematicians, astronomers and others. The Sultans established academies and seminars for these persons to work and teach therein and adopted various measures to foster the study of Arabic and Islamic sciences. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 457

MEDIAEVAL TIMES. One of the earliest scholars attracted by this literary patronage was ad-Damamini, an eminent Egyptian scholar and grammarian born at Alexandria. Damamini arrived at Ahmedabad in 1397 A. C. and kept himself occupied for some time in lecturing and other literary work in that city. It was at Ahmedabad that he composed most of his works and dedicated them to the then ruler of Gujarat. He wrote a number of books on grammar of which he was a great master. He is particularly known for a series of commentaries on the grammatical works of Ibn Malik. Al-'Uyun ul-Fakhira, Jawahir ul- Buhur, Kitab ul-Qawafi and al-Manhal us-Safi are some of his noteworthy compositions. Ad- Damamini has also epitomised the famous Zoological dictionary, Hayat ul-Hayawan of Damiri, under the name of 'Ayn ul-Hayat. It was dedicated to Sultan (of Gujarat) to whose praises he had devoted a special section towards the end of the book. A portion of this section is reproduced by Haji Dabir (Vol. I, p. xiii). An equally illustrious contemporary of ad-Damamini was 'Ali-al-Mahaimi, a great commentator, philosopher and mystic. He could rightly be called "Ibn ul-Arabi of India". He belonged to the Nawait community, claiming descent from the Arabs. Al-Mahaimi is perhaps the greatest exponent of Ibn-ul-'Arabi's pantheistic philosophy in India and has written several commentaries on the Awarif of Shihab-u-din Suhrawardi. Ali al-Mahaimi is the author of several books but the important of them are:— Tabsir ur-Rahman, a commentary on the Holy Qur'an, is the masterpiece of al-Mahaimi. It chiefly discusses the subtle points concerning the natural connection between the verses of the Qur'an. In'am Malik il-'Allam, a book on the raison d' etre of Law is a pioneer work on this subject. Shah Waliyyullah's Hujiat ullah il-Baligha which is generally considered to be the first book on the subject was written nearly 300 years after al-Mahaimi wrote his In’am. He breathed his last in 835 A. H. at Mahim near Bombay where his shrine is still venerated. The all round influence of the Bukhari Sayyids of Ahmedabad is a well-known fact. The Bimbanis, a very distinguished family which produced some of the leading traditionists and foremost ministers of Gujarat were the spiritual disciples of the Bukhari Sayyids and it was in their seminary that they learnt the Hadith with great enthusiasm. Shaykh Sadar Ud-Din, a distinguished member of this family, evinced great interest in Arabic poetry, by writing commentaries on the Qasidat ul-Burdah, the Qasida of Ka'bub-Zuhayr, the Lamiyya of Qadi 'Abd ul-Muqtadir and the Qasidat ul-Amali. Besides some of his books on Arabic grammar, a commentary on the Holy Qur'an entitled the Bahrul-Ma'ani is recorded in the list of his works. His son Minhaj ud-Din Bimbani advocated Ibn 'Arabi's theory of Wahdat ul-Wujud in his commentary on the Fusus ul-Hikam. He has also commented upon the two famous canonical books of Hadith, viz., the Jami's Sahih of Bukhari and the Sahih of Muslim. Besides the Bimbanis, a large number of scholars received their training in the seminars conducted by the Bukhari Sayyid Divines, such as 458 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Qutb-i-Alam, Shah. Alam, Maqbul-i-Alam, Maqsud-i-Alam and others, both intellectually and spiritually. Amongst members of this celebrated family the name of Shah 'Alam stands out very prominently. He is the author of about 36 treatises, some of which are named after the twelve Imams. All these treatises deal with various problems connected with mysticism. He used to deliver public lectures on Fridays. These lectures, noted for their erudition and learning, have been collected in seven volumes under the name of the Jumu'at-i-Shahiyya, by his great grandson Muhammad Maqbul. It was at the instance of Shah 'Alam that Shaykh 'Abd ul-Latif of Nahrwala composed his Zad ul' Ashiqin, about 1397. Besides the Zad he is the author of about eight books on different topics. Another pupil of Shah Alam is Qadi Jagan (d. 920 H) known for his manual on Hanafite jurisprudence, the Khizanat ur-Riwayata, a popular work during the tenth and the eleventh centuries of the Hijra. Another work on Hanafite jurisprudence is the famous al-Fatawa al- Hammadiyya by Shaykh Rukh ud-Din Nagori, written at the request of the Chief Justice of Nahrwala Hammad ud-Din Ahmad b. Qadi Muhammad Auram. Qadi Jamal ud-Din Muhammad Bahraq, an erudite scholar of Hardramawt (South Arabia) was warmly received by Sultan Muzaffar Shah Halim, (r. 1511—1526 A. D.) who conferred great favours upon him and ultimately appointed him his own tutor, Bahraq dedicated most of his works to this Sultan. Out of his numerous books on diverse subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, trigonometry, music, etc., only thirty works are known to us. Although poetry was not his profession he was a poet of no mean order as could be seen from various poems cited in An-Nur us-Safir and the Arabic History of Gujarat. Bahraq was strongly inclined towards mysticism and had spiritual training from Shaykh Abu Bakr 'Afif ud-Din 'Aydarus, whose ' merits' he had described in a treatise entitled Mawahib-ul-Quddus fi-Manaqib ibn al-'Aydarus. Again at the instance of Muzaffar Shah he wrote a book on the life of the prophet. This prolific writer breathed his last in 1523 A. C. at the age of 59 years. Abu-l-Fadl Gazruni (d. 1533 A. C), another distinguished scholar and a pupil of the celebrated Muhaqqiq Dawwani, left Shiraz for Ahmedabad and became a pioneer in spreading the philosophical sciences in Gujarat. He is known for his commentary on the Baydawi which has been printed both in Egypt and Iran. Shah Mir, another pupil of the aforesaid Dawwani, came to Gujarat and settled down at . Like his teacher, Shah Mir was very proficient in Philosophy and mathematics, and is the author of several learned works. One of the most distinguished scholars of Gujarat who left a permanent mark upon the Hadith literature is Shaykh 'Ali b. Husam ad-Din of Burhanpur popularly known as 'Ali al-Muttaqi. He was born at Burhanpur in 1480 A. C./885 H. He studied at various places and entered the service of the king of Mandu, and amassed considerable wealth. But he soon gave it up and came to Ahmedabad and stayed there for some years. Later on he migrated to LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 459

Mecca, where he came into contact with Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri and Shaykh Ibn Hajar, who in later years seeing his pupil's erudition, became his disciple. Ali al-Muttaqi was a prolific writer and is credited to have written more than 150 books and treatises in Arabic most of which deal with the science of Hadith. But his monumental work upon which his reputation chiefly rests is his areat corpus the Kanz-ul-Ummal in ten volumes. The Kanz, a re-arrangement of Suyuti's Jam ul-Jawami is held in such high esteem that Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri (Muttaqi's teacher) remarked: " Suyuti tobliged the world by compiling the Jam' and 'Ali al-Muttaqi obliged Suyuti by re-arranging this work." The Kanz has been published in Hyderabad while its epitome was printed long ago in Egypt. Among others who did much to encourage the study of Hadith in Gujarat were Shaykh 'Abdullah and Rahmatullah of Sind. A disciple of 'Ali Muttaqi, Shaykh Muhammad b. Tahir of Patan (Sidhpure) followed his master to Mecca and received instruction from him and other traditionists of the holy city. After the completion of his studies there, he returned to Gujarat and waged crusade, against the "heretical views" of the Mahdawi sect. He inherited a large fortune from his father, which he spent in helping the students generally and those of Hadith particularly. The Shaykh was one of the greatest authorities on Hadith in India and has left behind him a rich intellectual heritage. His Majma' u-Bihar, is a dictionary of ' uncommon' words occurring in the Qur'an and the six canonical books of Hadith. His Mawafujaat deserves mention. He was killed by one of his religious adversaries in 1578/ 986 at Ujjain and was buried at his native place (Sidhpure) Patan. Some of his descendents distinguished themselves as Qadis at the Mughal court. One of them, Shaykh 'Abd ul-Qadir, the author of a collection of Fatawa in four volumes, was Mufti of Mecca. Sayyid 'Ala ul-Din 'Ata Muhammad Qadiri, the " Ibn ul-Farid," of India accompanied the retreating army of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and was taken prisoner by the Portuguese. After his release he proceeded to the Holy Cities of Mecca and Madina but later returned to his native place, Ahmedabad. The Sayyid, besides his poems after the model of Ibn-ul-Farid, is the author of two Diwans in Arabic, namely, Ujubatul-Zaman and the Nadirat ud-Dawran. He died in 1578/986. A great contemporary of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Tahir of Patan, and the most celebrated and the greatest teacher of Gujarat, Shaykh Wajih-ud-din 'Alawi of Ahmedabad, was born at Champaner in the beginning of the 16th century. He imparted instruction in all sciences—traditional and intellectual—to the seekers of knowledge for a long period of sixty years. His works which exceed 125 consist mostly of commentaries and glosses on standard works. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Tahir Patani's equally distinguished compatriot Mufti Qutb-ud-Din Nahrwali' established his reputation in the science of tradition and Arabic belles letters far beyond his native country. He studied at Mecca, Cairo and Constantinople and was introduced to Sultan Sulayman, the king of Turkey who put him in charge of the four schools at Mecca. He is 460 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER author of two well-known historical works which have been widely appreciated in the Muslim countries. Al-I-lam hi A' lam bayt Allah il-Haram is a detailed history of Mecca while Al-Barq-ul- Yamani is a history of the Turkish conquest of Yemen. He died in 1582/990 A.H. Shaykh Baha ud- din Nahrwali (d. 1605/1014 H), a nephew of the author under notice is known for his am il Ulama il- A' lam bi bina il-Masjid-il-Haram which is an abridgement of his uncle's Ilam with his own continuation up to the year 1592/1000 H. Shaykh Muhammad of Nahrwala (Patan), son of Mufti Qutb ud-din flourished during the later half of the 16th century. He is the author of a history of Mecca and Medina, and also the exploits of Hasan Basha, the Turkish governor of Yemen. Another scholar who enjoyed wide reputation was Sayyid Sib-ghat ullah of Broach (d. 1606/1015 H.), a disciple of Shaykh Wajih ud-din Alawi. Sibgha-tullah, the author of several works in Arabic, is primarily known for giving currency to the Shattari order of the mystics in Arabia, where he had taken abode. The most eminent historian of Gujarat is Shaykh 'Abdullah Muhammad Asafi, Ulugh-khani, commonly known as Haji ud-Dabir (Hajj is commonly pronounced in W. India as Haji). He belonged to a learned family, whose members held high offices of Muftis and Qadis for generations at Ahmedabad. Even the ladies of this family were known for their scholarship and learning. Haji ud- Dabir was a born adventurer, a brave soldier, a historian of high rank, a poet and a man of letters of no mean order. He will ever be known for his memorable Zafar al-Walih bi Muzzafar wa Alih commonly known as the " Arabic History of Gujarat ". The author known for his accuracy and impartiality not only gives a detailed history of the province, but surveys briefly the outstanding events of contemporary Muslim countries.* An illustrious and gifted family of South Arabia which settled down in Gujarat is that of the Banu 'Aydarus of Hadramaut. Amongst the Arab families who came to this State they are perhaps the only people who continued to maintain their connections with their home-land for a considerable time. Sayyid Shaykh (d. 1582 at Ahmedabad) the first of the family to come to this State, settled down at Surat, where he built a mosque in the year 1563. He is the author of many books, the chief amongst them are: al-Iqd un-Nabawi, the Tuhfat ul-Murid al-Fawz wa'l Bushra, etc. The most distinguished scholar of this famous family is, however, Shaykh 'Abd ul-Qadir' Aydarus born of an Indian mother in 1570 A. D. at Ahmedabad. It is not possible to give here an account of his prolific and almost encyclopaedic literary activities. His an-Nur us-Saffir, a companion volume to the famous ad-Durar ul-Kamina of Ibn Hajar and ad-Daw ul-Lami of as-Sakhawi, is an indispensable work for the literary history of the 10th century of

* It has been edited in three volumes by the late Sir Denison Ross, to whose masterly introduction and exhaustive indices, the interested reader is referred. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 461 the Hijra (16th/17th)*. His contribution to the Sufistic literature of the State is considerable, but in his books he strikes a new note, not only in the selection of subject-matter but also in the treatment of the subject. Sayyid Ja'far b. Zayn ul-'Abidin, commonly known as Ja'far Sadiq (d. 1654) is one of the new Arabic poets of our State. At the request of Dara Shikoh he translated the former's Safinat ul- Awliya into Arabic. The Chishti saints of the State are only next to the Bukhari Say-yids in influencing the people of the State. This Sufistic order produced many saints who worked enthusiastically to promulgate the faith of Islam. Amongst a great number of scholars belonging to this order mention may be made of Shaykh Hasan Chishti (D. 1574) known for his at-Tafsir ul-Muhammadi in which he specially discusses " the natural connection of one verse with another ". The study of. the Holy Book was more enthusiastically continued by his son Shaykh Muhammad Chishti (d. 1630) who has left, besides his several treatises on Tasawuf, three commentaries on the Qur'an. At-Tafsir ul-Husayni chiefly deals with the connection of one verse with another and one sura with another. In it he takes a special care to discuss the points of punctuation (awqaf). The special feature of the author's other commentary at-Tafsir ul-Mukhtasar is the grammatical analysis of each verse. It also points out where either the Mudaf or the Mudaf ilayhi is not expressed (i.e. Mahdhuk). Out of his sixteen treatises on mysticism some are preserved in one of the libraries of Berlin. One more distinguished member of the Chishtiya Order, Shaykh Jamal ud-Din Chishti, commonly called, Shaykh Jumman (d. 1712), continued with the same enthusiasm the study of the holy Qur' an and wrote annotations not only on the well-known Tafsir of Baydawi and the Tafsir ul-Madarik but also wrote glosses on all the Quranic Commentaries written by his Chishti predecessors. Shaykh Jumman evinced equal enthusiasm in the study of al-Hadith and wrote erudite commentaries on all the six canonical works of this science. The rest of his books—about 140—deal with the different aspects of mysticism. A distinguished family of Shirazi Sayyids has played an important part in the promulgation of Islamic learning in the State. Sayyid Jalal Shirazi (d. 1536) wrote commentaries on the classical works on al-Kalam (Scholastic theology). The author of the Tafsir Surat Yusuf, Sayyid Rafic Shirazi (d. 1581) also belongs to this family. Sayyid Ahmed Shirazi (d. 1624) and Sayyid Jalal Shirazi (d. Oct. 1620—25) are known for their services in the domain of mysticism, while Sayyid Isma'il Shirazi took up the study of the Quranic sciences and composed several works. Sayyid 'Abd ul-Awwal son of 'Ala ud-Din Husayni (d. 968) will always be remembered as one of the early commentators of al-Bukhari's al-Jami us-Sahih. The works of Qadi 'Isa of Radhanpore (d. 1574) mainly consist of annotations and commentaries on almost all the popular text-books. But besides these annotations he is the author of several important books on different subjects.

* It may be pointed out here that the book under consideration is a rich mine of information for the literary and socio-political history of the Sultanate of Gujarat. The book has been recently published in Baghdad. 462 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

An eminent pupil of Shaykh 'Ali al-Muttaqi noticed previously is Shaykh 'Abd ul-Wahhab al- Muttaqi who followed his master to the Holy City of Mecca, and remained with him for twelve years. He was only next to his teacher in respect of learning and influence. He took special pains to study comparative fiqh and was considered an authority on that subject. He refuted the popular idea that the Hanafis were the ahl ur-ra and maintained that they were equally, if not more, attached to al- Hadith, as were the Shafiltes. Tafsir ul-Hikam wa Shu'un il-Munazzhat is an important work of this writer. It is a commentary on the selected passages of the Holy Qur'an. Another prominent pupil of Shaykh Ali al-Muttaqi, is Shah Muhammad. After the completion of his studies at Mecca and Ahmedabad he went to Burhanpur and established there a madrasa. He is the author of several books of which his at-Tuhfat ul-Mursala ila an-Nabi, a small treatise on the difficult subject of Wahdat ul- Wujud (pantheistic sufism) became very popular. Shah Muhammad breathed his last in 1619. A great litterateur and a savant of South Arabia who came to Surat and joined his relatives who had already made this State their homeland, is Shaykh Jamal ud-Din Muhammad Shilli. The chief work of ash-Shilli is Mashra' ur-Rawi, containing biographical accounts of the scholars and the divines of the 'Alawis resident in Hadramut and India. He has written a supplement to an-Nur us- Saffir under the title of as-Sana al-Bahir. Another important book of ash-Shilli on the same subject is 'Iqd ul-fawahir wa ad-Durar fi Akhbar Qarn il-Hadi 'Ashar, dealing with the biographical notices of eminent scholars of the 11th century of the Hijra. This book must be regarded as a companion volume to al-Muhibbi's Khulasat ul-Athar. Ash-Shilli has written several books on philosophical and mathematical sciences, among which the following may be mentioned, viz., Risala fi'l-Muqantar, the Risala fi 'Ilm il-Mujayyab, etc. The Kurdi family is noted for its keen interest in philosophical and mathematical sciences. Although neither Sulayman Kurdi nor his son Ahmad seem to have written any books on pure mathematics yet their services in spreading the mathematical lore were appreciable. Among Ahmad's works Fuyud-ul-quds, a book on scholastic theology, composed in 1680 deserves special mention. Another prominent literary figure of the State is the author of al-Maqamat ul-Nindiyya, Abu Bakr b. Muhsin Ba 'Abud 'Alawi, about whom nothing is known save that he lived at Surat, and besides being a great litterateur he was historian of some reputation. Al-Maqamat ul-Hindiyya (composed in 1715) contains like its prototype the famous al-Maqamat ul-Hariri, fifty assemblies which exclusively pertain to Indian cities. Shaykh 'Abd ul-Nabi of Ahmadnagar is another illustrious scholar. His chief contribution to the Arabic sciences is Jami' ul-'Ulum, entitled the Dastur ul-Ulama. It is a dictionary of technical terms of all branches of Arabic sciences. The author worked hard to prepare this reference work for five laborious years and completed it in 1759, in three volumes and a supplement. The importance of the work can hardly be exaggerated LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 463 as there are very few books on this subject in Arabic literature. Combining in him the traditions, learning and piety of the old masters, the fame of Shaykh Nur ud-Din b. Muhammad Salih as a talented Arabic scholar spread far and wide. He was an exegetist of importance, a traditionist of reputation and a jurist of rank. His works exceed one hundred and seventy in number. Leaving a few books on Quranic exegesis and mysticism most of his works consist of commentaries on standard text-books. Shaykh Nur ud-Din breathed his last in 1742. Shaykh Waliyyu Allah of Surat (d. 1792), after his return from Mecca, engaged himself in lecturing on al-Hadith. Of his several works only one namely At-Tanbihat un-Nabawiyya fi Suluk it-Tariqat il-Mustafawiyya has come to us. The study of al-Hadith was continued by Shaykh 'Abd ul Latif al-Qari of Patan, who has left behind the Kashf ur-Raijal min Ruwat Mashariq al-Anwar of Hasan Saghani of Lahore. Mention may be made of Sayyid Ibrahim of Kalyan for his Damir ul-Insan, a biography of the great Shaykh 'Ali of Mahim noticed previously. ISMAILI LITERATURE. We now pass on to a group of eminent scholars who exclusively expressed themselves in Arabic but whose writings have not been allowed to see the light of publication on account of the rigorous censorship and strict secrecy to which they have been subjected. These scholars form a class by themselves. They belong to the Musta' lian branch of the Isma'ili Da'wat. Owing to political upheavals, the Da'wat was exposed to the danger of being completely wiped out and so Muhammad 'Izz-ud-Din the 23rd Da'i transferred it to India where it had already taken firm roots and where it has maintained great hold on its followers even to the present day. Out of numerous divines and savants produced by this Da'wat we will mention but a few. The most prominet scholar of the Isma'ili Da'wat in India was Shaykh Hasan b. Nuh of Broach. He was educated in Yemen and was the teacher of the first Indian Da'i, namely, Shaykh Yusuf Najm ud-Din. Shaykh Hasan was a business magnate and he had his firms in Syria, Palestine, Egypt and India. He has immortalised his name among the scholars of the Isma'ili Da’wat by writing his memorable work Kitab ul-Azhar, in seven volumes. It is partly autobiographical and mainly a "chrestomathy of extracts and short treatises systematically arranged to give an idea of the whole system of Isma'ilism". Shaykh Hasan breathed his last in 1527. Shaykh Yusuf Najm ud-din of Sidhpore, the first Indian Da'i (d. 1567) is known for his Majma' ul-Fiqh and the Risala which forms a sort of appendix to al-Muqizat min Nawm il-Ghaflat of Shaykh Ja'far al-Mahfuzi. Shaykh Sham'un al-Ghawri and Shaykh Ali-Muhammad b. Firuz are known for their treatises on fiqh and polemics, respectively. Hisab ul-Mawarith and the Masail Aminji have won an important place for Shaykh Aminji in the legal literature of the Da'wat. Khaj b. Malik (c. 1612) will be remembered for his memorable Majmu'at ur-Rasail is-Sitta, a summary of the six treatises. The epitome is divided into four chapters. Chapter one treats of the history of Ismailism in India; chapter two gives an account of the life of Da'ud b, 'Ajab Shah; while the biography 464 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER of Da'ud b. Qutb Shah forms the subject-matter of the third chapter. The last chapter deals with the geography of the localities inhabited by the Isma'ilis, the noteworthy graves, names of their dignitaries and the remarkable things in their cities. The last section of this chapter is devoted to a life-sketch of the author. A grandson of Shaykh Yusuf b. Sulayman, the first Indian Da'i is the well-known founder of the Is ma'ili Musta'li Sulaymani Da'wat, Shaykh Sulayman b. Hasan (d. 1597). Shaykh Sulayman was a great master of Arabic and an eloquent speaker in that language. He is the author of more than forty books, mostly dealing with occultism and similar matters. Out of these forty titles, which are preserved for us, only An-Nukhab ul-Multaqata is recognised by the Shaykh's adversaries, the Daudis. Adam Safi ud-din, the 28th Da'i (d. 1620) worked in the Deccan in the beginning of his career. He very enthusiastically championed the cause of the Da'udi section against the Sulaymanis. He is the author of a history of Isma'ili community in India, since the time of al-Mustansir. The book also describes subsequent events of Da'wat at Ahmedabad. It is entitled Hisalat fi Kayfiyyat ibtida id- Da'wat il-Hadiya fi Jazirat il-Hind. Nibras ut-Turus fi Ma'rfat in-Nufus is a collection of short works and extracts dealing with the problems about nafs, imamat, etc. Risalat ul-Aba'wa l-Ummahat of Shaykh 'Abd ut-Tayyib Zaki ud-din, the 29th Da'i, (d. 1631) deals with the rights and duties of parents to their children, illustrated by many stories selected from the biographies of eminent persons. The author was called to Lahore by Aurangzeb in pursuance of some complaints made to him by a group of persons who had been excommunicated by him (the da'i Zaki ud-din). The emperor received him with great respect and after the interview he was sent back to Ahmedabad with honour. One of the great dignitaries of the Isma'ili Da'udi Da'wat was Shaykh 'Abd ul-Qadir Hakim ud- Din. He was a poet of reputation, and a prolific writer, and has left a permanent mark on the Da'udi Da'wat literature. Among his works the Diwan ul-Hafiz deserves special mention. It is mainly devoted to the praises of Shaykh's Kalim ud-din, Nur ud-din and Badr-ud-din. It also includes some munajats and a qasida in praise of Amir ul-Mu'minim 'Ali' whose praises the poet has also sung in a long qasida entitled al-Qasidat it Tibriyyafi Madh Khayr il-Bariyya. Another important poetic work of Hakim ud-din is the versification of the famous dialectic story, viz., Buluhar Budhasaf of Indian origin. It may be noted here in passing that the Buluhar Budhasaf and the Kalika wa Dimna have been, perhaps due to the allegorical nature of these books, immensely popular with adherents of the Isma'ili Da'udi Da'wat. An Indian Qadi Nu'man of the Isma'ili Da'udi is Bab ul Ilim Shaykh Luqman Wajih ud-din (d. 1666). Shaykh Luqman was a profound scholar and a prolific writer; he remembered by heart the volumes of the Da'aim ul-Islam. His al-Majmu 'l-Wajihi, a LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 465 collection of letters written to different persons and Mukhtasar fi 't-Tawhid deserve our special attention from amongst so many of his books. One of the illustrious students of Shaykh Luqmanji is Shaykh Isma'il b. 'Abd ur-Rasul, who flourished during the period of the 40th Da'i Shaykh Hibatullah (Shaykh Isma'il-and his son Shaykh Hibatullah seceded from the Da'udi Da'wat and laid the foundation of a new party called the Hibatiya- in popular parlance Hiptiya). According to Da'udi traditions he confessed thrice his mistakes and was thrice pardoned by the Da'i. In a scuffle that ensued between the two parties, Shaykh Isma'il's son Shaykh Hibatullah lost his nose. It is for this reason that both the son and the father are generally spoken of by his opponents as al-Majdu'. Shaykh Isma'il is the author of many books but the most important is the Fihrist ul-Kutub. It gives "the most valuable information about the literature of the Isma'ilis as preserved by the Da'udi branch." The purpose of the book is to create interest in the study of Isma'ili Da'udi works by familiarising the readers with the contents and outlines of the books recommended for study. The reader is gradually initiated into the books of higher grade which could be read only with special permission. The Fihrist is divided into two parts— the Zahir and the Batin of the Shari'at. The Rahat ul-'Uqul and the Zahr ul-Ma'ani which occupy the highest rank among the Isma'ili works on Batin and are kept in strict secrecy, have been discussed at some length in the Fihrist. Shaykh 'Ahd' Ali (d. 1817) the founder of the grand al-Madrasat us-Safiyya, is known for his talents in Arabic verse, while Shaykh Tayyib Zayn ud-din, the 45th Da'i is known for many of his pious deeds specially in rendering help to the refugees rendered homeless by the spate of the Tapi. Recently two of his treatises have come to light. The first is a collection of letters in reply to his deputy in Yemen, Mulla Ibrahim. He gives a summary of the letter he replies and so we get an idea of contemporary events in Yemen. Before we close it seems necessary to review the actual contribution of the scholars of our State to the different branches of Arabic learning. To begin with the study of the Qur'an, we have nearly 30 authors with 50 works to their credit. Out of these the Tabsir ur-Rahman of Shaykh 'Ali of Mahim and the at-Tafsir ul-Husyani of Shaykh Muhammad Chishti remain unsurpassed even today. But more important than these commentaries, is perhaps the pioneer work done by the scholars of our State in translating the Holy Book into Persian. Generally it is believed that in India Shah Waliyyullah of Delhi was the first Indian divine to render the Qur'an into Persian but long before the birth of this most distinguished theologian of northern India Gujarat could boast of a number of Persian translations of the holy book. So far, only in the city of Ahmedabad and the adjoining places, six such translations have been traced. Three of them are preserved in the library of Pir Muhammad Shah, one at Sarkhej in the Mausoleum of Shaykh Ahmed Khattu, one at Pirana in the shrine of Imam ud-din and one 466 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

at Vatva in possession of the present sajjada-nashin of Hadrat, Qutb-i-'Alam. It will be interesting to note that the earliest scholars who initiated the study of Hadith in India, belonged to our State. Our State produced more than one hundred traditionists who have left behind their works to remind us of their services to this science and a host of others who served and propagated the Hadith but did not leave any written record. 'Ali Muttaqi, Tahir Fatani 'Abd ul-Malik Bimbani and some others are recognised as the most trustworthy authorities not only in India but throughout the Islamic world. In fact it could be said without fear of contradiction that if our State had not taken up the study of this science it would have suffered immensely as the Hadith madrasas were fast declining in other Islamic countries, when our State took it up. It was from Ahmedabad that it travelled to Delhi nearly 150 years after its introduction in the State. The State has an inexhaustible list of mystics (Sufis). The convents (khanqahs) where the study "and practice of tasawwuf was undertaken were also academies for esoteric and exoteric disciplines. 'Awarif of Shaykh Shihab ud-din Suhrawardi, al- Futuhat ul-Makkiyya, the Fusus and other works of the famous Ibn ul-'Arabi, were used as noteworthy text-books of esoteric discipline. Our State was an important centre where the principles of Ibn Ul-'Arabi were studied. 'Ali of Mahim, elucidated the principles of this Spanish mystic. It may however be noted here that later Shaykh 'Ali al-Muttaqi tried his best to infuse in tasawwuf the purity and simplicity of the earlier period of Sari Saqati and Junayd Baghdadi, but his efforts seem to have little succeeded in bringing about a change in the outlook of the Sufis, although they diverted the attention of the Sufis more to the moral and ethical aspect of mysticism. Again it may be noted here that Shaykh 'Ali al-Muttaqi strongly recommended to his disciples and fellow-sufis the study of the 'Ayn ul-'Ilm in preference to any other book on the subject. Mujaddid Alf Thani of Sirhind is credited with divesting tasawwuf of alien elements and synchronising it with Hadith, in the Northern India but this process was started in our State at least half a century before it was begun in the North.