Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Sani Life & History | Karamat | Documentary - Story of Allah's Friend

Bismillah Ar Rahmaan Ar Rahiim (“In the name of Allah (God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful")

Laa Ilaaha Illallaah Muhammadur Rasulullah ((There is) none worthy of worship except Allah. Muhammad is Messenger of ALLAH.)

Mazaar puranvaar Hazrat Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alifsani Sheikh ahmed Faruqui Naqshbandi Sirhindi rahmat ullah alaih

The illuminated mausoleum of Hazrat Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alifsani Sheikh ahmed Faruqui Naqshbandi Sirhindi (may Allah have mercy upon him)

Mujaddid of the Hijri 14th Century

It was during the debates surrounding Ahle Sunnat differences with the Nadwis that a number of Ahle Sunnat ‘ulema’ made the remarkable claim that Imam Ahmad Raza was the mujaddid (renewer) of the Hijri 14th century. In the course of the Ahle Sunnat meeting in Patna in 1900, Maulana Abdul Muqtadir Badayuni (may Allah be pleased with him), the sajjada-nishan [successor to a Sufi pir] of the Khanqah e-Qadiria at Badayun, referred to Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) in his sermon as the ‘mujaddid’ of the present [that is, 14th century Hijri] century. Zafaruddin Bihari wrote that all those present at the meeting accepted the title, and that later thousands of others, including several ‘ulema’ of the Haramain, did so. Thus there was ijma (consensus) among the Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat on the question.

The proclamation of Imam Ahle Sunnat Ahmad Raza Khan Qadiri as the mujaddid at this meeting occurred at a time when ‘ulema’ who identified themselves as Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat were strongly united in condemnation of the Nadwat ‘ulema’ and Ahmad Raza had written extensively in its rebuttal, and it was not surprising that his personal influence should have grown considerable as a result.

As Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) and his followers saw it, of course, their movement was not new: their main purpose being to revive the beloved Prophet’s sunna, they were following in the footsteps of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) and his Companions (RA), and thereby reviving the ‘old’ way. For the same reason, the term ‘founder’ was, as it is today, rejected as a way of describing Imam Ahamd Raza’s relationship to the movement. To the ‘ulema’ attending the Ahle Sunnat meetings, the term ‘mujaddid’ seemed to perfectly describe the role he had come to play, while at the same time being a means of commenting on that they collectively found wrong with the Muslim community of their day.

The concept of mujaddid is based, as Zafaruddin Bilhari indicated on the hadis of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) from Abu Daud (Radhiya Allah ta'ala anhu) in which the Prophet is reported to have said, "On the eve of every century Allah will send to this community a person who will renew its religion". The need for renewal is premised on the Muslim belief that, ‘an almost unwarrantable process of decline’ set in immediately after the death of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). The process of decline could, however, be temporally reversed by the appearance once every hundred years, of the renewer or mujaddid who would revive the beliefs and customs of the prophetic age.

Among the conditions necessary for one to qualify as mujaddid, Maulana Zafaruddin Qadiri Razvi (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote, were that the man (it could not be a woman) be a Sunni of sound belief, an alim who combined in himself all the sciences and skills (ulum o funun ka jami), that he be well known (the most famous among the celebrated of his age), a protector of religion unfettered by fear of going against prevailing ‘innovations’, and learned in Sharia and Tariqa (Sufism). He also has to satisfy the technical requirement that he be well known by the end of the century in which he was born, and at the beginning of that in which he was to die. In fact, failure to appear at the right time disqualified an otherwise acceptable person. According to Zafaruddin, Shah Wali Ullah (may Allah be pleased with him) [1115-76/1703-62] could not be a mujaddid because he was born and died in the Hijri 12th century, thus failing to span two centuries. Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (1201-47/1786-1831) was disqualified for the same reason. Imam Ahmad Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) on the other hand, did span two Islamic centuries, having been born in 1272/1856, and died in 1340/1921.

The Ahle Sunnat saw Imam Ahmad Raza Khan as having succeeded Shah Abdul Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him), Shah Wali Ullah’s (may Allah be pleased with him) eldest son, as mujaddid. Shah Abdul Aziz as mujaddid of the Hijri 13th century was said to have had all the necessary qualities of learning, piety, and fame among the ‘ulema’ both in India and the Arab countries. He was a brilliant teacher of Hadis, and writer of fatawa, and moreover, had disassociated himself with the movement of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi and Shah Muhammad Ismail. When Shah Ismail wrote the book ‘Taqwiyat al-Iman (strengthening the faith)’, he was unable to write a rebuttal (disproof) to it, being then a blind man in old age. However had he not been so weak it is said that he would have done so.

Maulana Zafaruddin recognized (as does the classical theory of tajdid) that there could be more than a single mujaddid in any one century. Sometimes there was no consensus on any one person. This was indeed the situation in late 19th and early 20th century British India, in which different Muslim groups looked to different people as the mujaddid of the century. The Deobandis looked to Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (though he himself suggested that the term could be applied to a group of ‘ulema’ rather than a single individual), while the founder of the Ahmadi movement claimed that he was the mujaddid.

Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him), a Naqshbandi Sufi and contemporary of Shaikh Abdul Haq (may Allah be pleased with him) was widely accepted by the 19th century ‘ulema’ as the renewer of 11th Hijri century, and perhaps even as ‘Renewer of Second Millenium’ [mujaddid-e alf-e sani], whose task was of particular importance because it happened to inaugurate a millennium. Alahazrat Imam Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) respectfully refers to him on one occasion as ‘Hazrat Shaikh Mujaddid’, and mentions with approval his work ‘Mabda’ o Ma’ad’. Imam Ahmad Raza’s evident familiarities with Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) works make it unlikely that he would not have known about Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi’s (may Allah be pleased with him) ‘unothodox’ views on the Prophet Muhammad’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) prophethood, and of Shaikh Abdul Haqq’s (may Allah be pleased with him) strong objections to these. The controversy over Shaikh Sirhindi grew even greater during Aurangzeb’s reign and in 1682 some Indian ulema asked certain others in the Haramain for their opinion, and the Sharif of Mecca wrote that ‘the ulema’ of the Hejaz thought Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) was a kafir (infidel). In 1679 Aurangzeb issued a decree forbidding the teaching of those ‘false ideas’ contained in Shaikh Sirhindi’s ‘Maktubat’, which ‘are apparently opposed to the views of the Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat’.

Debate about Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) appears to have ceased in the 18th century, perhaps Shah Wali Ullah’s (may Allah be pleased with him) acceptance of Shaikh Sirhindi as renewer of the 11th century (though not the Renewer of the Second Millennium) eased the way and calmed the later ‘ulema’, who do not appear to have interested themselves in the controversy. Barbara Metcalf writes that the Naqshbandi order, increasingly influential in the 18th century in north India due to the contribution of mystics and poets like Mirza Mazhar Jan-i Janan (1700-80) and Mir Dard (1721-85), both of Delhi, ‘was to shape the views of many ulema toward sobriety in spiritual experience and rigorous adherence to religious law’. In this their position resembled Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlawi’s (may Allah be pleased with him) insistence that tasawwuf be guided by sharia.

The same trend is also associated with the Chishti order, though along somewhat different lines than the Qadiri and Naqshbandi sufi orders.

Shaykh Ahmad al-Farooqi Sirhindi was an Islamic scholar and prominent member of the Naqshbandi Sufi order. He is regarded as having rejuvenated Islam, due to which he is commonly called "Mujadid Alf Thani", meaning "reviver of the second millennium", referring to the Islamic tradition of Mujaddid. Numerous Naqshbandi suborders ,such the Mujaddidi ,the Khalidi and the Haqqani sub-orders , trace their spiritual lineage through Shaykh Sirhindi, referring to themselves as "Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi". He was born on the day of 'Ashura, the 10th of Muharram in the year 971 H., in the village of Sirhind near the city of Lahore in present-day India. Sirhindi's shrine is located in Sirhind, India and is referred to as "Rauza Sharif".

Early Education

He received his knowledge and education through his father and through many shaikhs in his time. He made progress in three tariqats: Suhrawardiyya, Qadiriyya, and Chistiyya. He was given permission to train followers in all three tariqats at the age of 17 years. He was busy in spreading the teachings of these tariqats and in guiding his followers, yet he felt that something was missing in himself and he was continuously searching for it. He felt an interest in the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, because he could see by means of the secrets of the other three tariqats that it was the best and highest. His spiritual progress eventually brought him to the presence of the Ghawth and Qutb of his time, ash-Shaikh Muhammad al-Baqi, who had been sent from Samarqand to India by the order of his shaikh, Muhammad al-Amkanaki. He took the Naqshbandi Order from the shaikh and stayed with him for two months and some days, until Sayyidina Muhammad al-Baqi opened to his heart the secret of this tariqat and gave him authorization to train his murids in the Order.

Sirhindi's World view

Sirhindi's worldview focused on the idea that ontologically, the prophet hood is far greater than closeness with God. He believed that Sufi ideas which centered around spiritual growth beyond the material world, while exhibiting key concepts, fell short of encompassing Islam as a whole. Sirhindi, still accepting and using these ideas of walayat, or closeness with God, focused on a much more human understanding and reality by focusing on following the sunnah of Muhammad (SAWS) and his companions. His influence went so far as implementing jurisprudence in the Islamic world by emphasizing the Shariah and fiqh, integrating both into Indian Muslim government and society. This was accomplished through his 536 letters collectively entitled Collected Letters or Maktubat, to the Mughal rulers conveying his ideas.

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Sirhindi

Sayings“

Abu Dawud related an authentic hadith that the Prophet, upon whom be God's peace and blessings, said, 'Allah will send at the beginning of every century someone by whom the religion will be revived,' but there is a difference between the Reviver of the Century and the Reviver of the Millennium. It is like the difference between one hundred and one thousand."

In a vision, the Prophet gave me good tidings: 'You are going to be a spiritual inheritor and Allah is going to give you the authority to intercede on behalf of hundreds of thousands on the Day of Judgment.' He bestowed on me with his holy hand the authority to guide people, and he said to me, 'Never before have I given that authority to guide people.'”

“Allah unveiled to me the Secrets of the Unique Oneness and He poured into my heart all kinds of Spiritual Knowledge and its refinement. He unveiled to me the Secrets of the ayats of Qur'an so that I found beneath every letter of the Qur'an an ocean of knowledge all pointing to the High Essence of Allah Almighty and Exalted. If I were to reveal one word of the meaning of it they would cut off my head, as they did to Hallaj and to Ibn 'Arabi. This is the meaning of the hadith of the Prophet, in Bukhari, narrated by Abu Huraira (r), "The Prophet poured into my heart two kinds of knowledge, one of which I have revealed and another which if I were to reveal they would cut my throat.”

From Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition Works

His works are his letters written to many of his contemporaries known as Maktubaat.

“ - "Moving to Allah is a vertical movement from the lower stations to the higher stations; until the movement surpasses time and space and all the states dissolve into what is called the Necessary Knowledge (cilm ul-wajib) of Allah. This is also called Annihilation (fana').

- "Moving in Allah is the stage in which the seeker moves from the station of Names and Attributes to a state which neither word nor sign can describe. This is the State of Existence in Allah called Baqa.

- "Moving from Allah is the stage in which the seeker returns from the heavenly world to the world of cause and effect, descending from the highest station of knowledge to the lowest. Here he forgets Allah by Allah, and he knows Allah with Allah, and he returns from Allah to Allah. This is called the State of the Farthest and the Nearest.

- "Moving in things is a movement within creation. This involves knowing intimately all elements and states in this world after having vanished in Annihilation. Here the seeker can achieve the State of Guidance, which is the state of the prophets and the people following the footsteps of the Prophet . It brings the Divine Knowledge into the world of creation in order to establish Guidance.”

— Maktubat Ahmad Sirhindi

References

Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Islamic Supreme Council of America (June 2004), ISBN: 1930409230.

Shari'at and Ulama in Ahmad Sirhindi's Collected Letters by Arthur F. Buehler

NFIE Research

A Lecture in Urdu by Muhaddith-e-Dakkan

Abul Hasanât Hazrat Allâma Sayyid Abdullah Shâh Naqshbandi

Qâdiri Hanafi `alaihi rahmatu war ridwan On

Allah ki Naafarmani aur Amraaz-e-Qalb

Disobedience to Allah and its relationship with the Heart and its ailments

Moulana Abul Hasnath Syed Abdullah Shah, alias Muhaddith-e- Deccan, was born in Hussaini Alam, Hyderabad on 10 Dil Hajj, 1292 AH or 6 Feb 1872 AD. Moulana Syed Muzaffer Hussain Ibn Syed Yaqoob of Naldrug was his father. Since the migration of his ancestor, Hazrat Syed Ali, this family has been the recipient of land grant from Adil Shah I, the ruler of Bijapur. The daughter of Hazrat Gul Badshah was his mother.

Http://indianmuslims.in/dargahs-of-india-sirhind-sharif/

Mazaar puranvaar Hazrat Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alifsani Sheikh ahmed Faruqui ... Quite close to the dargah of Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi stands Fatehgarh Sahib

In keeping with the traditions of the then society, this young sufi didn't attend any formal school for his education and training. He received his elementary education and lessons in Persian from his father; logic and philosophy from Moulana Mansoor Ali Khan; the Quranic sciences and other subjects from Moulana Anwarulla Khan; jurisprudence from Moulana Habeebur Rahman Saharanpuri; and the science of Hadith and literature from Moulana Hakim Abdur Rahman Saharanpuri.

Even while a student, he started teaching, in both formal and non-formal ways. At times this was in the form of adult education. Most of his audience consisted of elite and common people. He began his teaching career at the mosque named Ali Aqa at Hussaini Alam, Hyderabad, and continued it uninterrupted till his last breath.

At first he became the discipline of Hazrat Miskeen Shah. On the death of the latter, he approached Hazrat Syed Muhammad Badshah Bukhari, who was a renowned spiritual personality of that time. The latter practiced both the Qadriya and the Naqshbandiya sufi path. So long as his spiritual mentor was alive, he would go to him daily walking about 4 miles whatever the climatic situation. This practice went on for about 20 years until the death of his sheikh. During the life-time of his master, Hazrat Abdullah Shah did not like to have his own followers. The number of his followers in his own life time was in lakhs and now they run into millions. He followed Hanafi School of jurisprudence. He followed his master's practice of initiating his followers in both the Qadriya and Naqshbandiya Orders.

Hazrat Abdullah Shah's greatness lay in the fact that he took care to adhere to the Sunnah in all his actions, sayings and writings. He was always eager to put into practice the teachings of the prophet recorded in Sunnah.

His writings are plenty, and a few are mentioned here as specimens of his literary contributions to the world of knowledge and ideas: Gulzar-e-Auliya, Ilajus Salikeen, Kitab Al-Mahabbat, Tafseer-e-Sur-e-Yusuf, Mawaiz-e-Hasana, Slook-e-Mujadadiya, Qiyamat Nama, Meraj Nama, Meelad Nama, Noor-ul-Masabih (translation of his Magnus opus in Arabic: Zujajat-ul-Masabih), Fazail-e-Namaz, Hassan Hussain, etc

His emotional attachment and sincere commitment to Allah and His Messenger was remarkably evident in all he did. He would spend most of his time in the service of Allah's creations. From Fajr Prayer he would begin his day. He would patiently listen to his disciples. Next he would meet the public and attend to individual grievances till 9 o'clock. After Ishraq prayers, for breakfast and other personal needs, he would spare a few minutes. From almost 10 to 2 0'clock he would have a separate session for women who either approach him for guidance or spiritual consolation. At 2 he would return to the mosque for zuhr prayer and until Asr prayer he would be engaged in giving speeches and individual attention to his disciples, responding to miscellaneous requests for help, and so on. The time between Asr and Maghrib and Awwabeen prayers, he would have dinner, attend to the letters addressed to him and dictate letters of advice. At 10 he would go to the mosque for Isha prayers and return home at 12. He would sleep for three hours. From 2 Am till Fajr prayer he would be busy with Tahajjud prayers. In short, he rested for three hours and the rest 21 hours he devoted to God and His creatures.

One of his miracles observed by a great number of his disciples is worth mentioning here. In the physical presence of their sheikh, they felt their heart stirred and incited to begin the remembrance of God. They have also observed that the end of their sheikh's followers was happy and peaceful. The latter died with the blessed phrase, La Ilaha Illallah (there is no God but Allah), on their lips at their last moment.

When his contemporary Sheikh Hazrat Syed Muhammad Badshah Hussaini died on 25th of August, Hazrat Abdullah Shah predicted that he too would leave this mortal world in two days. His prediction came true. With his death on 18th Rabiuthani, 1384 AH, or 1964 AD, at the age of 92 years, the world lost a great spiritual leader and a scholar. The funeral procession was the biggest of its kind in Hyderabad attended by about 2.5 lakh people. He is buried in Naqshbandi Chaman, Misri Gunj, and Hyderabad. The Khalifa and successor of his mission is his son, Moulana Abul Barakat Syed Khaleelullah, Father of Moulana Abul Kharat Syed Anwarullah shah Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Quadery.