The Preaching of Islam in India! Part 4 (SHAYKH AHMAD SIRHINDI part-1)

 Mujaddid Alf thani 

Imam Rabbani Shaykh Farooq Ahmad Sirhindi...

image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Ahmad_Sirhindi,_Rauza_Sharif_Complex,_Sirhind.jpg

Birth and childhood of Mujaddid:

Shaykh Ahmad was born in Friday night, the 14th of Shawwal, 971 at Sirhindi. From his early childhood he showed signs of various disposition. one of his fathers spiritual guide Shah Kamal was a godly soul. He was specially attached to the young Ahmad and showed a keen interest in his upbringing. 

A descendant of the Mujaddid, Shah Abul Hasan Zaid Faruqi has traced the genealogy in the Muqamat-i-Khair (pp. 26-33) and taken pains to correct a few mistakes found in other sources. Others who have discussed the matter, and reached the same conclusion are Shah Muhammad Hasan Mujaddid of Sain Dad, Sind, Mahmud Ahmad Abbasi and Ahmad Husain Khan. Jawahar-M'asumi by the last mentioned need be seen in this connection.

Mujaddid began his education by memorizing the Qur'an and learnt it by heart in a few years. After finishing the first phase of his education with his father and certain other teachers of the place he went to Sialkot and completed his schooling under maulana Kamal of Kashmir. he is reported to have completed his education at the age of 17 years.

Mujaddid relates that he had often heard his father saying that the love of the Prophet’s household was a guarantee to one’s faith. 

              The Mujaddid started his career as a teacher after gaining a thorough knowledge of the religious and secular sciences. He also wrote a few tracts like the Risdlah Tahhliyah and the Risalah Radd Mazhab Shia in Persian and Arabic. He also went to Agra, then known as Akbarabad, where he came in contact with Faizi and Abul Fazl. He could not, however, make himself comfortable with the two brothers because of the differences of opinion with them. Once Mujaddid showed his displeasure at certain blasphemous remarks of Abul Fazl and ceased meeting him. Abu! Fazl later on sent for the Mujaddid but he excused himself and never went to see him again. This was the time when Faizi was busy in writing his commentary on the Qur’an entirely in words which contained no dotted letters.

 Once when he had a difficulty in finding an undotted word to continue his work, he consulted the Mujaddid who solved his difficulty. Fain open-heartedly acknowledged the wit and learning of the Mujaddid. Mujaddid prolonged his stay at Agra. He returned to Sirhind when his father came to see him at the capital. During their journey back to Lahore, Shaikh Sultan, the Governor of Thanesar warmly received both the father and son and treated them as his guests. Shaikh Sultan was so impressed by Mujaddid that he offered to give his daughter -in marriage to him.

Spiritual Allegiance to Khawaja Baqi Billah

It would suffice to add here that the times in which the Mujaddid had to take ahead his reformatory work, mystical discipline had broadened to become a popular movement in the Indian Muslim society. No scholar could exert a powerful appeal among the elite or even the common folk unless he had undergone schooling under some eminent mystic of a recognized Sufi order. Apart from it, nobody could have called the people to betake the path of virtue or reform their morals merely by being a profound teacher or a fluent speaker. Any attempt to give a call for reform and renovation in those times without any spiritual attainment would have been analogues to inviting an armed conflict without possessing the munitions of war. It was necessary for the Mujaddid or, perhaps, an arrangement made by divine dispensation that he was first led to their path of spirit and thus enabled, under the tutelage of some of the most virtuous men of God to acquire the excellence and perfection of the spiritual realm. All this was necessary for the great task he was about 10 undertake and to leave his indelible mark on the Muslim society spread over a substantially large portion of the world to the end of time

Mujaddid prolonged his stay at Sirhind till his father’s death, attaining the higher reaches of Chishtiya and Qadiriyah orders under his guidance. He also engaged himself in literary pursuits during that period.

This was the time when Mujaddid was pining for haj and paying a visit to the city of the Prophet, but he did not consider it proper to embark on the Jong journey leaving his old father nearing his end. His father died in 1007/1599, and a year after that in 1008/1600 he left his home for pilgrimage. When he arrived in Delhi, several scholars of the city who were already aware of his literary attainments called upon him. One of these scholars was Maulana Hasan of Kashmir who bad already been introduced to him earlier. Maulana Hasan told him about Khawaja Baqi Billah, a Shaikh of the Naqshbandi order, who had arrived in Delhi a few days earlier, and was known to have been endowed with both inward and outward perfection. The Mujaddid having already heard about the merits of Naqshabandiya order, expressed his desire to meet the Shaikh. He called upon Khawaja Baqi Billah in the company of Maulana Hasan.

                           ( Excerpt from saviors of Islamic spirit VOL 3)

                                                        TO BE CONTINUED...