Impact of the Naqshbandisilsilah on Indian Muslims
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IMPACT OF THE NAQSHBANDISILSILAH ON INDIAN MUSLIMS ABSTRACT /> / THESIS . / \v SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DC.GREE OF / \\L^\\ IDoctor of pl|tlo?tipfm Islamic Studies \ By Shamsul Hasan Under the Supervision of Dr. Muhammad Ismail ^y^ (Associate Professor) DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC STUDIES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2010 Abstract The present work seeks to investigate "Impact of the Naqshbandi Silsilah on Indian Muslims". The Sihilah-i- Khwajgan known as the Naqshbandi Sufi Silsilah in India, originated in Transoxiana (Turkey) under the foundership of Khwajah Abu Yousuf Hamdani (d.c.e. *f14G),Khwajah B^au'd-din Naqshband (c. e. 1318) was the seventh in the Naqshbandi series. He was adopted by Khwajah Muhammad Shamsi, the fifth descendent of Hamdani. Bahau'd-din Naqshbandi died in (c.e 1389) and buried near Bukliara. His successor was Alau'd-din Attar (c.e. 1393) who was married to his daughter and though Attar was a renowned Sufi, it was Maulana Yaqub Carkhi (d. c. e. 1477) who continued the Naqshbandi lineage. It was his descendant Khwajah 'Ubaydullah Ahrar, who established Naqshbandi supremacy in Central Asia. Khwajah Nuru'd-din 'Ubaydullah Ahrar, was the forerunner of the Indian line of the Naqshbandis. Khwajah Nuru'd- din 'Ubaydullah Ahrar died in 29 Kabiul Awwal 895 A.H/ 20 Februrj, 1490 c.e. and buried in his Khanqah in Samarkand. The Khwajah had a large number of disciples of whom the prominent were 'Umar Shaykh Mirza, father of Babur and his son Khwajah Muhammad Yahya. Khwajah 'Abdul Shahid and Khwajah Kalan who migrated from central Asia to India, and Khwajah 'Abdur Rahim Jami, was also the disciple of Khwajah 'UbayduUah Ahrar. Khwajah Khawand Mahmud-al-Attar-al-Na^s/i/jcinc/i-al-Husayni was the eldest son of Khwajah 'UbayduUah Ahrar. He was highly revered by Babur. Akbar's reign brought a flourishing period of the Naqshbandi order in India. A number of scholars of the order migrated to India and settled here. Among them Mirza Sharfu'd-din Husayn, son of Khwajah Muin also migrated to India, in the fifth year of Akbar's reign and was honoured with governorship of Ajmer by Akbar. Akbar's sister Bakshi Banu Begum was married to him. Among other Naqshbandi Sufi Saints who settled in India were, Khwajah 'Abdus Shahid who was a son of Khdwand Dost, a disciple of Khwajah 'Abdus Shahid. He was highly placed in Akbar's court and Danyal, Akbar's son was married to his daughter. Another famous Sufi of the Naqshbandi order was 'Abdullah Khan, who migrated from Transoxiana to India. He was the son of a sister of Khwajah Hasan Naqshbandi. He died on 17 Shawwal 1054/ 17 December 1644. The Naqshbandi order brought into limeUght in India by Khwajah Muhammad Baqi or Baqi Billah Berang, who was bom in 971 / 1563-64 at Kabul. His father was a Sufi Qari 'Abdus Salim Khalji Samarkandi Quraishi. While on his mother's side he belonged to the 'Ubaydullah family. Kawaka Baqi Billah received his spiritual education from a number of renowned Sufi Saints; prominent among them were Mauland Sadiq Halawi, Shaykh Khwajahh 'Ubaydullah, Khwajah Iftikhar, Amir 'Abdullah Balkhi, Khwajah Shaykh Bahau'd-din Naqshbandi and Mauland Shaykh Muhammad Khwajagi Amaknagi. His search for spiritual guidance and the attainment of spiritual perfection took him to various places such as Transoxiana, Kashmir, Delhi, Sambhal and Lahore. Hazrat Khwajah Baqi Billah was blessed with great spiritual qualities because of his extra-ordinary love for and obedience to the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Khwajah Baqi Billah was a profound teacher and had a number of disciples. A few of his prominent disciples were Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi {Mujaddid Alf Thani), Khwajah Husamu'd-din Ahmad bin Nizamu'd-din of Badakshah and Shaykh Taju'd-din bin Sultan Usmani of Sambhal and Shaykh Ilahdad of Delhi, The next phase of development and impact of Naqshbandi Sufi Silsilah on Indian Muslims was made appearance under the iii guidance of Hazrat Shaykh Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi. Shaykh Ahmad was a descendant of Khalifah Hazrat Umar (RA) with 31 intermediaries separating the two. He was the son of Makhdum Shaykh 'Abdul Ahad Faruqi Kabuh Naqshbandi (C.E. 1521-1598). He was known as Mujaddid AlfThani. He was bom on 14 Shawwal 911/May 26, 1564 in Sirhind, Punjab. He is co-founder of Naqshbandi Sufi Silsilah in India. He refined Sufi doctrines of all Sufi orders in India in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah. Shaykh Ahmad became a renowned Sufi preacher and renovator of Naqshbandi Silsilah. Some works, research papers, articles are available on the Naqshbandi Silsilah and its doctrines, but no critical work, has so far been done on the impact of Naqshbandi Silsilah on Indian Muslims. The books, monographs, magazines, reviews, research papers, seminar proceedings, lectures related to the topic and with the help of contemporary scholars and works on Naqshbandi Sufi order, this research work is persuaded. The work contains nine chapters. Chapter first discusses introduction. Chapter two is on political and reUgious conditions of the Muslim world during the sixteenth zmd seventeenth centuries. Chapter three deals with socio-religious conditions of India during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Chapter four iv emphasizes socio-religious conditions of Indian Muslims in general. Chapter five examines origin and development of Naqshbandi Sujl Silsilah. Chapter six focuses doctrines of Naqshbandi Silsilah. Chapter seven highlights Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi as a Sufi reformer. Chapter eight evaluates the doctrines of Wahdat-al-WujUd and Wahdat-as-ShuhUd and finally Chapter nine critically analyzes the impact of Naqshbandi Silsilah on Indian Muslims state wise. Akbar's religious policy made a very bad impact on the Indian Muslim society. As a Naqshbandi Sujl Saint and renovator of Islam Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi played a very crucial role to eliminate Akbar's irreligious practices and preached the true doctrines of Islam till death. After his death, disciples and Khalifdhs of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi continued to preach Naqshbandi Sujl doctrines for Islamic revivalism in India. Naqshbandi Sujl Silsilah is closer to orthodoxy than any other Sufi orders in India. The major contribution that Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi made is his reformation in Sufi thoughts. He emphasized that Sufi practices must be based according to the spirit of Qur'cin and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He rejected all un-Isldmic Sujl practices which were prevailed the then in Indian MusHm society, and instructed to follow Sharl'ah. Chapter first focuses the aims and objectives of the study and a brief appraisal of the sources of study. Though there are a lot of sources but it is very difficult to discuss all sources in detail. Therefore, we confined ourselves to outlined only primary and selected secondary sources. Then we have discussed aims and objectives of the works; by whom the works were composed publishers and year of publication. Chapter second highlights the political and religious conditions of the Muslim world during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though we confined ourselves within the boundaries of India alone but for better understanding of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi's thought and its impact on the Indian Muslims we also made a brief survey on environs political and religious conditions of neighboring countries and their religious, cultural and intellectual connections with India as well. In this chapter we have discussed socio-religious conditions of Muslim world, particularly 'Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt etc. For instance, after the death of Sultdn Salahu'd-dln in 589/1139, he left the Arab countries, or the Middle East without VI a strong political leader. However, in the opening decades of the sixteenth century, SuMn Sallm I (918 AH-926 AH), the foimder of the Ottoman Empire, consolidated entire 'Arab world under one banner. He extended his dominion from Syria up to Egypt in 923/1517. This was especially important since this region had been under the sway of the Mamluks for the last two hundred years. During the rule of his descendant, Sultdn Murad III (982- 1004 AH), the Ka'aba was reconstructed in (984/1577). The Mujaddid, then, was young. Transoxiana (Turkey) of medieval literature or Turkey was another important centre of Islam^ well knovsni for its art and culture. Important works on Islamic literature such as Sharah WaqCtyah and Hiddjah, which are still important books of study in India, were written here. The Naqshabandiyah School of Islamic Tasawwuf ori^mited here. The Shaybani dynasty of Uzbeks came to rule Turkey in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and its rulers 'Ubaydllah bin Muhammad (918-946 AD)' and 'Ubaydllah bin Askand (A.H. 961-1006)'^ made Bukhara their capital. Afghanistan, the immediate western neighbor of India was at that time, divided into two, of which the areas of Hirat and Sistan were under Iran, while Kabul was a part of the Mughal Empire. A Safawid prince, Muzaffar Husayn Mirza, surrendered vii Qandhar, which initially was under the rule of the Iranians, to Akbar in 1003/1595. From then on, Afghanistan became a dependency of India and continued to be until the middle of the eighteenth century, when Nadir Shah ended Mughal rule in India in 1151/1738. After this, the Lodi ruled in India, until their last ruler Ibrahim Lodi, was defeated in 932/1526, by the Mughal ruler, Babur who laid the foundation for the longest and most stable Muslim dynasty to rule over India for a long time to come. Sikander Lodi (923/1517) was a pious and generous ruler who had a high regard for scholars. The Lodi rule, followed by a brief rule of Sher Shah SQri from 946/1540 - 952/1545.