Signs from Allah: History, Science and Faith in Islam
139. Tradition, Reform and Modernism in the Emergence of Pakistan - 3
By Professor Nazeer Ahmed
Concord, CA
Al Gazzali took on the dual challenge of accommodating tasawwuf within orthodox Sunni Islam and refuting the esoteric doctrines of the Fatimids. He succeeded on both counts through the sheer power of his pen. Tasawwuf thrived. The Fatimid intellectual challenge was contained, and Sunni Islam went on to radiate its spirituality to India, Indonesia, Europe and Africa.
The work of Al Gazzali laid the foundation for the golden age of tasawwuf. The centuries immediately following Al Gazzali (d 1111) witnessed the establishment of Sufi tareeqas which were instrumental in the spread of Islam beyond the Arab-Persian world. The first and foremost of these tareeqas was that of Shaikh Abdel Qader Jeelani (d 1186) of Baghdad. Considered by some to be the greatest of sages, Shaikh Abdel Qader Jeelani is referred to as Ghouse ul Azam (the great helper-for those who seek spiritual help). So powerful was his radiance, and so sublime his message, that thousands flocked to hear him, and the mureeds who learned from him themselves became well known sages. The conservative theologian Ibn Taymiya of Damascus (d 1328), considered by some to be the greatest exponent of Salafi Islam, referred to Shaikh Abdel Qader Jeelani as his own Shaikh.
Tasawwuf served as the life raft for Muslims during the Mongol devastations of the 13th century (1219-1301). The Mongols destroyed the exoteric, empirical Islam that had flourished during its classical age (753-1258). Faced with the prospects of total annihilation, the Islamic world turned to their innate spirituality. This period produced a galaxy of Sufi Shaikhs, the most celebrated among them were Mevlana Rumi of Konya (d 1273), Shaikh Shadhuli of Cairo (d 1258), Shaikh Ibn al Arabi of the Maghreb (d 1240), Khwaja Moeenuddin Chishti of India (d 1236) and Shah Bahauddin Naqshband of Samarqand (d 1389). Seeking nothing but the pleasure of God and their fulfillment in the service of man, these stalwarts succeeded not only in rescuing Islam from annihilation but in converting the conquerors themselves. The conversion of Gazan (1301), the Mongol overlord of Persia, cemented the sway of Islam over Persia and central Asia. History unfolded, revealing in its wake the Mogul, Safavid ad Ottoman empires.
A tareeqa is a brotherhood following a rigorous process prescribed by a Shaikh for tazkiya (purification) of the nafs (soul) so that it becomes worthy of receiving the spirituality passed on through an unending chain of transmission (silsilah) from the Prophet. All of the tareeqas trace their silsilah through Ali (r) except the Naqshbandi which traces its chain of transmission through Abu Bakr (r).
The Shaikhs established zawiyas in the far-flung corners of the Islamic world. A zawiya was a mosque-madrassah complex and a meeting place for the brotherhood wherein the students mastered the methodology of tazkiya under the direction of a Shaikh. It was also a place for the public to gain an audience with the Shaikh and benefit from his wisdom and his Baraka (beneficence). The visitors, touched by the spirituality of the Shaikh renewed their faith. Many accepted Islam. These zawiyas were so widespread throughout the Islamic world that we may refer to the culture that sprang up in the post-Mongol period (1300-1700 CE) as the Zawiya culture.
The Qalandariya tareeqa was one of the first to enter the subcontinent but its influence was confined to Multan and its surroundings. Syed Mohammed Ghouse of Sind introduced the Qadariya silsilah into Pakistan (1482). One of the most important Qadariya Shaikhs was Mian Pir who passed away in Lahore in 1635. Mian Pir was a teacher to Dara Shikoah, the eldest son of Shah Jehan and is widely credited with bringing Islam to Northern Punjab and Kashmir.
It was the Chishtiya tareeqa that was most influential in India and Pakistan. The fountainhead of that tareeqa, Khwaja Moeenuddin Chishti was born in Sijistan, Persia in the year 1139. Orphaned at the age of 12, he received his early education in Samarqand. After becoming a hafiz e Qur’an and mastering the disciplines of kalam, hadith and fiqh, he moved to Neshapur where he was trained by Khwaja Uthman Chishti. After obtaining his ijazah from the Shaikh, he visited Baghdad and met the towering Sufi personages of the age, including Shaikh Abdel Qader Jeelani. From Baghdad, Khwaja Moeenuddin traveled to Multan and then to Lahore.
The vast Indian subcontinent was dominated by Rajput kings. Delhi and Ajmer were ruled by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, a dashing, colorful prince who had earned the enmity of Raja Jai Chand of Kanauj by eloping with his daughter. Khwaja Moeenuddin migrated from Lahore to Ajmer in the year 1191 and established a zawiya. His initial reception was hostile and the Khwaja faced many hardships. However, the political situation changed the following year when Mohammed Ghori of Kabul, backed by Raja Jai Chand of Kanauj, defeated Prithvi Raj at the battle of Tarain (1192). The establishment of the Delhi sultanate removed the impediments to the movement of Sufi mystics. Khwaja Moeenuddin trained and sent his disciples to Delhi, Lahore and other cities in northern India. Thousands embraced Islam through his radiance. Millions came into the fold of Islam through the work of his disciples.
Khwaja Moeenuddin Chishti passed away in 1236 and the mantle of leadership of the Chishtiya order passed on to Khwaja Qutbuddin. Upon the death of Khwaja Qutbuddin, Khwaja Fareed Ganj (d 1257) succeeded him as the Chishtiya Shaikh. Khawaja Fareed moved to Western Punjab and established a Zawiya at Pakpattan. If there is one person to whom is due the introduction of Islam in Pakistan it is Baba Fareed. His piety, sincerity and spirituality acted as a magnet to the Hindus of the Punjab and they embraced Islam in droves. Both the Sabiriya and Nizamiya tareeqas trace their origin to Baba Fareed. He trained and sent a large number of Shaikhs to the far corners of the subcontinent. Notable among those were Shaikh Jamal of Hanswi, Imamul Haq of Sialkot, Mawzum Alauddin Sabir of Saharanpur, Shaikh Muntaqaddin of Deccan and Nizamuddin Awliya of Delhi.
Professor M. Mujeeb has compiled a list of Shaikhs and Pirs in the Pakistan region. The more notable ones listed by him include Shaikh Masud Ganj Shakar of Pak Pattan (d 1266), Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari of Bahawalpur (d 1294), Shaikh Dawud and Shaikh Ismail of Lahore, Shaikh Ruknuddin Rukne Alam of Multan, Shaikh Jehan Gusht of Uch, Pir Jalaluddin of Baluchistan, Mir Syed Hasan Samnani of Kashmir, Shaikh Ishaq of Pak Pattan, Baba Mullah Taher of Ziarat, Pir Hunglaj of Makran, Pir Shori of Bugti, Shah Bilawal of Lasbela, Pir Omar in Khuzdar, Shaikh Chatan Shah of Kalat, Pir Baba of Swat, Shaikh Kaka Sahib of Nowshera, Hazrat Abdullah Shah of Karachi and Hazrat Shah Inayat of Sindh.
Tasawwuf lit the lamp of faith in the subcontinent. It illuminated the landscape, provided guidance to millions, inspired kings and mendicants alike. Islam took roots and became one of the two major faiths in this vast and diverse land. In the Pakistan region, conversion was augmented by the influx of people from Iran and Central Asia. Soldiers from successive invasions settled in the land between Delhi and Peshawar creating a rich mixture of Indian, Afghan, Persian, Turcoman and Central Asian races.
The light of tasawwuf faded with time. Spirituality and ethics gave way to selfishness and greed. The decay is noticeable in the latter half of the 17th century in Mogul India as well as in Safavid Persia and the Ottoman Empire. In a poignant letter to his son Azam written in the year 1704, Emperor Aurangzeb captures the moral bankruptcy of the times:
“My son, my soul, life of my life…Hameeduddin is a cheat…..Siadat Khan and Muhammed Amin Khan in the advanced guard are contemptible…..Kulich Khan is worthless…..Sarbarah Khan, the Kotwal, is a thief and a pickpocket…..Arshi Khan gets drunk and smells of liquor….Akbar is a vagabond in the desert of infamy…..Kam Baksh is perverse. I myself am forlorn and destitute and misery is my lot.”
(The author is Director, World Organization for Resource Development and Education, Washington, DC; Director, American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, CA; Member, State Knowledge Commission, Bangalore; and Chairman, Delixus Group)
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