The lion is a fitting metaphor: powerful, fierce, and dangerous when ruled by hunger or pride. But when tamed, that same power becomes a source of protection, dignity, and strength.

The path of the seeker is not to kill the lion, but to master it – to turn its strength toward service of the Divine.
As the Qur’an reminds us: “Indeed, the successful one is he who purifies his nafs.” (91:9)

#Sufism #Tasawwuf #Nafs #Tazkiya #SelfPurification #Mujahada #SpiritualJourney #InnerStruggle #LionWithin #EgoControl #TamingTheNafs #SufiWisdom #PathToGod #IslamicSpirituality #MysticPath #SufiQuotes #SoulDiscipline #HeartOverEgo #DivineLove #Ihsan

After the delicious dinner, when the ladies were happily sated, Zulaikha presented each lady with a plate of tangerines and knives and once they were busy with peeling and cutting them she called out to Yusuf to enter.
‘Come out and show yourself to them!’ The ladies had heard of Yusuf’s beauty and charismatic appearance but no one was prepared for Husn e Yusuf!
for the man who entered the room. His manliness, innocence and charm flustered the ladies, who became heedless of the knives in their hands and the task at hand, and all of them cut their hands!
There were stunned murmurs. One said, ‘This
is not a mortal being!’
Another whispered in disbelief, ‘This is a noble
angel?
excerpted from
Tales from the Quran and Hadith . You can read the full story there.

Tho there’s nothing in the Quran to prove or disprove their marriage, Zulaikha ‘s love for Yusuf was taken as soul’s quest for God in Sufi tales.
image: Jami’s Haft Awrang
Depicts the marriage of Yusuf and Zulaikha. @NatAsianArt
#sufism
@juggernautbooks
https://amzn.in/d/2zcPqBD

Read more in my book
In Search of the Divine

If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,
Lock me out of Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.
Rabia al Basri

Sincerity is worshipping Allah for His sake, and not with the expectation of rewards or out of fear of punishment. This is best exemplified in Rabia al-Basri’s aforementioned verse.
Sincere worship is to embrace the divine command with utmost humility – in heart and spirit. Sincerity in oneself is to avoid being critical of others; sincerity of the heart is to be oblivious to others’ opinions about you, and sincerity of the spirit is cleansing oneself of the desire to be distinguished.
( from In Search of the Divine)

One day the Prophet was sitting in the mosque with a few of his companions when a man appeared and questioned him on his din (faith).
The man was wearing pristine white clothes, without any signs of travel on them. He sat down so close to the Prophet that their knees pressed against each other.
With his hands resting on his lap, he asked the Prophet five questions.
They were about Islam (submission to God), iman (faith in God) and ihsan (doing the beautiful), the Day of Judgment and its signs. The companions were surprised but kept silent as the questioning continued.
The Prophet, known for his eloquence and beauty of succinct speech, defined submission as bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger,performing daily prayers, paying zakat (alms tax), fasting during Ramzan and performing the hajj if one can find the means to do so.(These are the five pillars of Islam.)
Faith, he said, was to believe in Allah, His angels, His scriptures, His messengers and the Last Day, and to have faith that no good or evil comes without His providence.
On being asked what ihsan is,the Prophet Muhammad said,‘Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you.’
The stranger asked two more questions on the Day of Judgment and satisfied with the answers, he left. Then the Prophet identified him as Jibraeel to his companion Umar ibn al-Khattab and said that the angel had come ‘to teach unto you your religion’.

We all know that the Muslim creed is based on the principle of Tauheed or One God.
How did this creed reflect in Islamic architecture?
You may have heard of the term sacred geometry: It is related to the oneness of God or tauheed.
In geometry, the point symbolizes the oneness of God by representing the concept that there are no parts other than the whole through the point. Just as the point has no extension in any direction, God is perceived as metaphysically absolute and infinite.
His motion generates space and breathes life into dimensions, reflecting the idea of unity and indivisibility. Therefore, the point serves as a metaphor for God’s singular existence and omnipotence in Islamic thought.
The study of geometry’s laws reveals cosmic relationships and the unity of creation, mirroring the divine mystery.

As was the custom of those days sheikh Najib was buried in his house. It is a simple dargah with one room containing two graves in the centre and two small ones on the sides. It is in a small compound next to a brand new mosque.

The first one is of Bibi Fatima Saheba, daughter of Baba Farid Ganj e Shakkar. The other two are of infant sons of Sheikh Najibuddin Mutawakkil: Sheikh Ahmed and Sheikh Ismail.

Sheikh Najibuddin was a scholar saint of great repute, and once his neighbor, the young Nizam ( Mehboob e Ilahi) asked Sheikh Najibuddin to pray that he could become a Qazi.
Sheikh Najibuddin remained silent. When Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya came a second time with the same request he replied, ‘Why do you want to become a Qazi? You are destined for something else.’
Next to it is an old graveyard and once people wanting to get salvation from the barakat of the saint would have been buried there.

#qabristan #grave #dargah

Did you know that Iblis or Shaitan (Satan) was a jinn and not an angel?

The Quran mentions only jinn, marid, and ifrit, but Islamic literature and folklore differentiates between 10 types of jinn

Who are jinns (jinn saints as many call them or jinn mamu as I was taught to address them) and what is their role in our lives?

How are they different from bhoot-paret?

Why do people, especially women flock to dargahs?

Read about the quest of the women there, in the chapter The Possessed and Dispossessed where I discuss the Jinns in view of Islam and trace how dargahs came to be linked to mental health.

Also, whether Islam itself encourages such practices.

Though, Islam places importance on holistic healing, ‘connecting it [health] to the well-being of the mind (aql), body (jism) and spirit (ruh)’, there is no direct connection between al-Shaitan and mental illness in the Quran, neither is it linked to sin and misguidance.

Yet, one of the major reasons for women flocking to dargahs today are related to mental health.

I found many women on amavas at the popular dargahs of Bijapur, the Jod Gumbaz. It was built in 1687.
I recorded their reasons which i found fascinating.

This lady caught my attention and I framed her in this photograph.

Read more about it in a rather long chapter.

https://bit.ly/3Lzjxnl

In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India

#sufism #bijapur #insearchofthedivine #sufi #dargah #jinn #djinn #sufi #dargah

“aye Khaliq har bulandi-o-pasti main tere habeeb ki beti ki kaneez hoon aur Tere habeeb ko apna mehmaan kiya hai. Tu jaanta hai ke main kya hoon. Is liye Tujhe Teri Kibriyaai ka wasta deti hoon ke aaj meri laaj rakh lay ”

Soon the house was filled with fragrance of delicious food.

I heard a lady reciting the story and sat down with and heard it, of course adding my own supplications.

May Allah grant all our legitimate desires. InshaAllah Ameen.

We grew up hearing about Hazrat Ali’s bravery and sagacity and his egalitarian nature. Ya Ali madad a constant refrain in times of need.
But i had not heard the word jawanmardi till i did a instagram live session on Hazrat Ali with Prof Sajjad Rizvi , whose bio reads, Ali da Malang. He explained the concept of futuwwah & how different it is from western notions of chivalry. For that i am indebted to him forever.
Thereafter, i researched and found a book on Fatuwwah and the result are these passages in my book “In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India”.

“In Ali, a man of medium build with piercing eyes, were combined not only mystical knowledge but also chivalry and bravery. The Arabic traditions of futuwwah (chivalry) were very different from its European connotations. After the advent of Islam the word futuwwah meant a code of honourable conduct in the tradition of prophets, saints, and those who are Allah’s beloved.

The noun was fata which meant an ideal, noble, and perfect person, generous to a fault, one ready to give up everything including their life for the sake of their friends, and of course follow the path of Allah. The Prophet was himself a supreme example of futuwwah. The Persian equivalent of this is jawan-mardi (chivalry), and Ali was the epitome of it. Futuwwah is also one of the essential requirements of a Sufi.

there are many hadiths in which the Prophet extolled Ali, and according to Schimmel, ‘[T]hese served the Sufis when they elaborated their own definitions of the various stages and states.’20 Ali’s chivalry and perfect behaviour or adab is seen as a continuous act of devotion in Sufism as it is a constant reminder of the existence of God and being on the right path.”

Prof Rizvi adds”That Javanmardi work is an excellent volume – the important thing is anyone can follow the path of Amir al-muminin to become a javanmard – as Molana says the quest is to become a mard-e Khoda – it would be contrary to divine mercy and to the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt to make that gendered.
لا فتى الا علي ولا سيف الا ذوالفقار”

(image from pinterest of Imam Ali pulling the door of Khaybar fortress.)

gulrīzī-e ashk bū-ye khūn dāsht
īn subha zi khāk-e karbalā būd

The flower-fall of tears
was redolent of blood.
This rosary was made
of Karbala’s dust.

— Bedil

( selection and translation Prashant Keshavmurthy)

#karbala #khaakepak

Uzbekistan has many Sufi saint shrines and I wanted to visit as many as i could.
One of the famous dargahs in Tashkent is called Zangiati and is 15 km outside the city.
Off we went in search of in a hired taxi.
It the shrine of Sheikh Ai-Khoja, who lived in the XIII century, and his wife Ambar Bibi. As he was darkskinned he became known as Zangiati
The Sheikh was a follower of Khwaja Ahmed Yesavi. My friend S Affan Yesvi is from his line.
The original shrine built by Amir Timur has undergone many changes & restorations.
A mosque has been added. As is popular in Uzbekistan, there’s a summer mosque- wooden ceiling and columns open totje elements on one side and a winter mosque made of concrete.
The main shrine has a huge domed hall where visitors sit . Locals come therein huge numbers.
When i went there was a group reciting Fatihas and other ayats.
The grave is behind locked doors so devotees can only sit in that hall.
the last image is from the internet and pre restoration

I am in glazed tiles heaven but the most stunning were in mausoleum of Pahlavon Mahmud, who was a revered 14th-century Iranian Sufi poet, writer and…wrestler! Professional Iranian wrestlers still pray to Pahlavon Mahmud before matches.
Reminded me of our own Mir Panjakash, lying forgotten in a dingy room in Pahari Imli, Old Delhi.
It’s also believed he rescued many of the people brought as slaves to Khiva.
Pahlavon Mahmud’s tomb dates back to the 14th century and was rebuilt into a mausoleum in the 19th century.

This is just a small sample of a breathtaking monument.

Mas’ūd b. ʿAbd Allah Bayḍawi* (Arabic: مسعود بن عبدالله بیضاوی) (d. 769/1368), famous as: Bābā Rūkn al-Dīn Shīrazī (Persian: بابا رکن الدین شیرازی) was a scholar and mystic in eighth/fourteenth century. His exact birth date is not known. He is originally from Beyza in the Fars province, Iran. The author of The history of Isfahan and Rey counted him as a member of Jabiri Ansari family.

The Takht e Faulad is a historical cemetery in Isfahan, Iran. The cemetery is at least 800 years old.

I was in Isfahan for a day and a half.
There was no way I was going to waste a single minute.
I walked 18000+ steps in a day ( I still remember the aching muscles) but it was worth it.

sheikh Zayn ad-Din Kui Arifani, was the son of sheikh Shihab ad-Din as-Sukhravardi who was a head of Baghdad Sufis in the early 13th century.
He established a Suhrawardi khanqah in Tashkent. The Suhrawardi silsilah spread to C.Asia from here.
Amir Timur’s spiritual master Shams ad-Din Kulyal belonged to this silsilah.
The shrine itself is beautiful but what is fascinating is a small sunken domed building behind. This has two room, of which one is underground and was used as a chillahgah for meditation and fasting. This is of a much earlier vintage.
The dome and floor of first room have holes arranged in such a way that the sun rays can reach the underground cellar only at the time of the solstice.
Drawings in the room help us understand that the saint was an astronomer like many of his silsilah and had a profound knowledge of astronomy and studied the sky.

#tashkent #suhrawardi #sufusilsilah #uzbekistan #cemetery #astronomy

Shah Raja Qattal is father of Banda Nawaz Hazrat Gesu daraz.

He is buried in Khuldabad near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. His tomb was made by Tana Shah, his disciple the last Qutb Shahi king of Golcunda.

The enclosure for the grave of Qazi Hamiduddin Nagauri is on the left of the main entrance to the shrine of Qutub Sahab on a raised platform. He belonged to the Suhrawardi order, whereas Qutub Sahib was a Chisti saint but the two had met in Baghdad many years earlier and had become Qutub Sahib’s close friend. It was in his lap that Qutub Sahib breathed his last. Later it was Qazi Hamiduddin Nagauri who passed on the relics of Qutub Sahab to his successor, Baba Farid who was not present at the time of the saint’s demise. There is a separate enclosure to the left of entrance to the shrine.
The qazi’s knowledge of Islam and Islamic jurisprudence was enormous, and he had the honour of teaching Qutub Sahib the Ulum-e Zahiri or external sciences.
His book Lawa’ih (Flashes of light) no longer exists, but was a very important text of its time and was used by Baba Farid while teaching his disciples.

At the entrance of his shrine this quatrain by him is inscribed on the wall. This is also recorded in Fawaid al-Fu’ad:

An aql kuja ki dar kamal-e tu rasad

Van ruh k:uja ki dar jalal-e tu rasad

Giram ki tu parda bar girifti zi jamal

An dida kuja ki dar jamal-e to rasad
Where do i have the aql to grasp your perfection

Where is the spirit ( rooh) in me that might mirror your majesty (Jalal)?

I accept that You unveiled Your Beauty
But I do not possess the eyes that can encompass Your Beauty

( Translation based on a Urdu translation done by Prashant Keshavmurthy on the spot which I had recorded. Mistakes if any are in my understanding )

#sufism

Makanpur Dargah, near Kanpur is the resting place of Shah Madar who came to India from Syria in reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

His miracles and power are legendary. He practised breath control and is said to have lived for 12 years on one breath giving rise to the name Dum Madar.

His gaze was so powerful that it could burn people & he wore a veil.
Shah Madar’s followers were divided into 4 sub orders:
the most popular in the public eye are the deewangan faqirs.
The deewangan madari follow many practices similar to those followed by yogis.

The Madariya order got royal patronage starting with the Sharqi rulers. The present shrine was built by Sharqi Sultan ad added to later by Mughal & local rulers.

The Madariya order grew very powerful under Mughals.
Both Dara Shukoh &Aurangzeb are said to have visited the dargah as per the dargah records.
The ASI report of 1881 records Aurangzeb ‘s visit

the earliest freedom fighters ag the British EIC known as the Faqir-Sanyasi revolt were the Madariyas deewangan faqirs.
Leader Majnu Shah Malang along with the sanyasis gave the British a tough fight for 15yrs.
Today Majnu Shah Malang’s grave in Makanpur lies neglected.
As sad end of one of our earliest freedom fighters.

The deewangan madariyas are the wandering ascetic who are found in many a dargah.
They followed yogic practises and smeared ash on their bodies and had long matted hair. Now wear flowing robes

The other sub orders are more conservative in their religious practices, following shariah strictly and of them the khademma look after the dargah.

#SufiThursdays #Makanpur #madar #madariya

Ali’s double edged sword called Zulfiqar had mystical significance of zikr (remembrance of God) & fikr (contemplation of God)
Ali possessed esoteric & exoteric knowledge
Major Sufi silsilahs trace lineage to him & he inherited the Prophet’s spiritual knowledge ( seena dar seena)
He was the epitome of chivalry which in Arabic tradition meant a code of honourable conduct in tradition of Prophets & saints .
He was famously called the door to the city of knowledge, while the Prophet ( pbuh) was the city.

Read more of Ali’s jawanmardi and Arabic traditions of futuwwah (chivalry)
in
In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India
https://bit.ly/3Lzjxnl

#insearchofthedivine #sufism #sufi #dargah #spirituality #tasawwuf #ishq #silsilah #islam #khanqah #chillahgah #langar #langarkhana #dua #fana #baqa #wahdat #wujood #sufipoetry #qawwali #sufikalam #Quran #marifat #tariqa #haqeeqat #Ali #HazratAli #ImamAli

11th Rabi us Sani, the Islamic month, marks the gyarvin sharif or the urs of the famous Sufi saint, of Ghaus-ul-Azam – Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, whose shrine is in Baghdad
It has always been an important date in South Asia and was was celebrated here in various ways.
In Delhi, a circular tower which measured 118 feet × 88 feet was built on a 12 feet high plinth. It had arched entrances in the lower portion with four burjis on each of the four sides and one in the centre.

There is no authentic proof of the name of the builder but as per legend, a nawab saheb who had great faith in Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, Ghaus-ul-Azam, built it in 1354 CE.

In Sufi traditions, particularly in India, urs celebrations are held to commemorate the death anniversaries of sufi saints.
Mehndiya’n was for celebrating the urs of Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani. The custom was to make bamboo structures, cover it with bright coloured paper and light lamps on it. This was called menhdi.

This nawab saheb also used to take out a menhdi. When he became rich and in a position to do something for his saint, he got this built in the same shape as the bamboo menhdi. He would illuminate this building and give charity on the day of the ceremony. Nothing else is known about him, though.

This monument became famous as Kushk e Mehndiya’n. It was immortalized by the Daniells (William and Thomas) in watercolour and it is one of the most iconic paintings of medieval India. The Maulana Azad Medical College now stands on this location.

According to Bazm e Aakhir, The month of Rabi-us Sani is called Meeranji. On the eleventh day of this month, the day of the urs of Ghaus-ul-Azam, there is a celebration in the Qila. All kinds of fireworks, some in the shape of animals, are set off in the courtyard of the Diwan-e-Khas. A bamboo frame covered with shimmering red paper, called a mehndi, is placed in the Diwan-e-Khas. It is made for illuminating candles and lamps. The dastarkhwan is spread out and every type of food is laid on it. The Badshah lights the mehndi and consecrates the food in the name of Ghaus-ul-Azam.

When the fireworks display starts, the food is distributed.

In Search of The Divine :Living Histories of Sufism in India

In Search of the Divine:

A hoopoe called hudhud in Arabic and Urdu is called the king of birds in the Holy Quran.
It is a commonly used symbol for conveying kingship, filial piety and loyalty in mediterranean and Middle Eastern Cultures.
In twelfth-century Sufi mystic and poet, Fariduddin Attar’s allegorical Confluence of Birds which describes the journey of the soul from the realm of separation and selfishness to union and joy with God, it is the hoopoe which invites the birds to take this extraordinary journey.
The birds have to leave behind their timidity, their self-conceit, and their lack of trust.
The birds after a long and arduous journey they discover the truth ( God) within themselves, their hearts.
“I have described the way, now you must act.”
It is this arduous path that a Sufi treads to reach the Divine and is described in my book

In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India
https://bit.ly/3Lzjxnl

The Baba whose followers included a maharaja, and in whose urs the first chador is from the Bhonsle family.
I also got a bulawa

Tajuddin Mohammed Badruddin was born in January 21, 1861 in Kamptee near Nagpur. A spiritual child he was initiated into the Sufi path while studying by Hazrat Abdulla Shah.
He was instructed “Eat less, sleep less and speak less. Read Quran”, by Hazrat Abdulla Shah and that led him to isolating himself.
At age 20 ( for some reason) he joined the Nagpur army as a soldier but did not like it & while posted in Sagar started spending a lot of time with another Sufi saint Hazrat Baud Saheb.
He resigned from the army.
After bayat with Hazrat Daud sahib he reached a stage of wajd & started roaming the streets without clothes.
His relatives brought him back to Kamptee & when medicines failed to get him out of the stage of Oneness with God, in 1892 he was admitted into a mental asylum.
Very soon his fame spread as people claimed to see him outside the asylum.

Later Maharaja Bahadur Shrimant Raghoji Rao Bhonsle, the Maharaja of Nagpur became a disciple of Hazrat Tajuddin Baba & appealed to the Governor for his release against a surety of ₹2000 & brought Baba to his ‘Palace’ which then became the ‘centre of Baba’s divine work.’
in 1925 when Baba fell very sick & his devotees wanted to get a last glimse of him the palace was opened to all.
Baba passed away a few days later but remains in the hearts of his devotees.
His dargah in Nagpur is very impressive and a haven for people of all faiths, class and creed.
the area is called Taj Bagh

Today Pir Ghaib is the name of a small, damaged, double-storeyed monument, standing on Delhi’s ridge. . This was once a splendid hunting lodge built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in AD 1354 on the highest point of the Ridge, to the northwest of the city of Firozabad. It covered a large area and included the present Chouburji Mosque and Ashoka’s broken pillar. The remains that stand there today were part of the lodge.

Timur attacked Delhi shortly after the death of Firoz Shah Tughlaq and destroyed this area. His historian Yazdi, as was typical of the flattery of court chroniclers, says that Firoz Shah had named it Jahan Numa because it was written in its destiny that a world conqueror like Timur would bless it with his presence.
Many nobles built their mansions near it once the Sultan started frequenting it.

Sir George Everest used it as a survey station while making his baseline measurements for the Great Trigonometrical Survey, and it was called an observatory. During the Uprising of 1857, it was in the thick of battle as the British were encamped near it.

Initially, the Indian sepoys controlled the Ridge, but they lost it in the battle of Badli ki Sarai in June, giving the British troops a strategic advantage over the walled city during the siege of Delhi. The British troops used Pir Ghaib as an outpost and stationed their heavy battery here.
The change of name from Kushk-e Shikar to Observatory was due to Sir George Everest, but the presentday Pir Ghaib is very interesting. The monument itself is now a double-storeyed building built of rubble masonry and has steep stairs leading right up to its roof.

On the second floor are two rooms. These rooms have arched openings towards the east and mehrabs in the western wall. A few incised plaster medallions containing names of Allah remain over the mehrabs. Perhaps this area was used as a mosque.

This room is said to have been the chillahgah or spiritual retreat of a saint who disappeared mysteriously. This cenotaph was made in his memory and locals gather on Thursday to offer flowers and burn incense sticks. When I went here, I saw oil stains of the lamps. The cenotaph is 6.8 feet x 3 feet and 1.7 feet high, and to the left of this grave are mehrabs of a mosque

The eve of the 27th Rajab, called Shab-eMiraj, is considered very auspicious. Throughout the world, Muslims commemorate this night with special prayers and zikr (remembrance of Allah, by chanting His names).
On the night of the 27th Rajab (621 CE), Prophet Muhammad undertook two journeys. The first – Isra – refers to him being taken by the Archangel Jibraeel from the Masjid-eHaram (Sacred Mosque) in Mecca, on a winged mule known as buraq, to the furthest mosque in Jerusalem.In the mosque that is now identified as Masjid-eAqsa,the Prophet found himself in the company of all the prophets and messengers from the time of Aadam, and he led the prayers. This was the physical journey.
The second was mirajor the spiritual journey undertaken by him to the heavens. As he crossed each of the eight heavens, he met the various other prophets. Jibraeel accompanied him on this trip till they reached the Lote Tree (sidrat-ulmuntaha), which marks the end of the seventh heaven. As soon as they got there,Jibraeel excused himself for being unable to accompany him any further, explaining to the Prophet that his wings would be singed if he did. The Prophet thus had to cross the last heaven alone.
At the end of the eighth, he found himself in divine presence. This symbolizes the state of pure consciousness of the divine, which the Prophet was able to ascend to after overcoming physical barriers. Even Jibraeel had a veil between him and the divine, but not so with the Prophet.

A very beautiful incident that I read while writing In Search of The Divine is the Khirqa e faqr:
Excerpt from it
“Fazle Haq’s masnavi, which has been cited in Hassan Abbas’s book the Prophet’s Heir, offers the following nugget from Islamic lore: The day after the miraj (night of ascension to heaven), the Prophet had a conversation with four close companions. He told them:

‘On the night of miraj I have received the khirqa-e faqr [roughly translated as “cloak of transcendent spiritual knowledge”] from God and I wish to give it to one of you. However, first I must know – how will you do justice to this gift?’ […]
The four men before him answered one by one, each convinced they were the right choice – the first one promising to spread justice, the second promising to proselytize Islam everywhere, the third promising to give a lot of charity. When the time came for Hazrat Ali’s response to be heard, he said simply, ‘I will conceal peoples’ flaws.’ And the Prophet replied, ‘You, Ali, are the one who deserves to have this.’

This episode is mentioned by many writers including Seyyid Hossein Nasr as it emphasizes Hazrat Ali’s ‘spiritual superiority and excellence in knowledge and wisdom.’

The inscription

Dargah of Hazrat Shah Turkman Shamsul Arifeen Bayabani, famous as Shah Turkman

When one comes to Turkman Darwaza, there’s a small dargah adjacent to the Chandni Mahal Police Chowki. It is known as the dargah of Shah Turkman Bayabani, and people flock to it thinking it is the shrine of the famous thirteenth century saint.
Bashiruddin Ahmad Dehlvi writes that in 1919, there were some unknown graves near the Turkman Darwaza and the Police Chowki. After 1947, many changes took place in the walled city and this was one of them.
The actual shrine of Hazrat Shamsul Arifeen Bayabani, famous as Shah Turkman, is behind the Turkman Darwaza, in an area called Mohalla Qabristan. The saint is also known as Dada Pir.
Shah Turkman was one of the saints who accompanied the army of Sultan Qutbuddin Aibak. His name was Shams-ul Arifeen, and he became famous as Bayabani since he had given up material comforts and lived in seclusion in the forests, away from the cities, though his devotees always surrounded him. He was seventy-eight years old when Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki became popular in Delhi.
He died on 19 February 1240, during the reign of Muizuddin Bahram Shah, Sultan Raziya’s successor. It is he who got the mazaar built.
The River Yamuna flowed near the area where he is buried. Though it has been renovated with green tiles, his grave is a simple one under the open sky.

from: “Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi” by Rana Safvi.

Turkman Darwaza

Sultan Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah Khilji built this dargah in 1317 for Sheikh Shahabuddin, also known as Aashiq Allah. His dargah is in Mehrauli.
Locally, many know him as the ‘Nazariya Peer’, or the saint who removes the evil eye, a constant source of grief.

This dargah is half a kilometre from the Shahi Eidgaah towards the Sanjay Van and the road leading down to it is downhill, unpaved and uneven, so caution should be exercised if one is driving to it. The best way to reach there is on foot.

The dargah is at the foot of a bastion in the Lal Kot wall. The top of the bastion contains some graves said to be of 12th century warriors and is called Ganj e Shahidan. One can’t judge its antiquity for its been completely redone with tiles.

For 30 years he fasted every alternate day ( Dawoodi fast) .
He left this world in 1344 CE ( some sources say 1340)
When the sovereign Nasiruddin Nasir Khan Faruqi established the city of Burhanpur on the banks of river Tapti, in 1399 named after the saint. The saint had rested for a night on his way to Deogir.
Sheikh Burhanuddin followed in the footsteps of his great Chishti preceptor. He was delighted in samá (recitations). So much so that he introducing ecstatic dance in samá with his fellow disciples, which later on became popular
as ‘Burhanis after his name.
His dargah is one of the largest in Khuldabad, dist Aurangabad.
There’s a huge courtyard with white, yellow and green painted arches and walls. A lofty naqqarkhana is also there.
The shrine is beyond that overlooking the mountains.
The first Nizam of Hyderabad and his son are also buried in his dargah compound

In #Mehrauli is the chillahgah of Baba Farid near the #dargah of 14th century Sufi saint #AshiqAllah.
This adjoins an old wall on the western side and bastion of Lal Kot and the area is hilly.

The word ‘chillah’ is derived from the Persian term ‘chehel’ for the number forty. It is a meditation technique where one goes without food for forty days and nights, a period spent only in spiritual penance and meditation.
Once When Khwaja Mu’in-u’d-din Hasan Sijzi visited Dehli, Qutub Sahib presented his disciples to him and everyone received his blessings according to his merit. Later Sultan-ul- Arifin asked : “Baba Qutb-u’d-din ! Is there any other disciple of yours?
Qutb-u’d-din replied, “There is one Mas’ud by name who is sitting in Chillah.
Sultan ul Arifin got up and said ; “Come along and let us see him.’
Both the saints went to his cell and opened the door. Baba Farid was so weak that he could not get up to pay his respects to the saints.
Helplessly and with tears in his eyes he placed his head on the ground When Sultan ul Arifin saw this he said : Qutb-u’d-din ! How long will you burn this poor fellow in the fire of penitence?
Khwaja Garib Nawaz Sultan ul Arifin said for Baba Farid “‘Baba Bakhtiyar ! You have caught a noble falcon which will not build his nest except on the
holy tree of Heaven. Farid is a lamp that will illuminate the Silsilah of the derweshes.”

The is a low vaulted cell – 5ft 8 inches in height and 16ft by 7ft 6 inches. There is a simple niche on the western wall.
Today people come here with mustard oil and offer it for lighting lamps.
It’s now kept locked with an iron grill but earlier when it was open I have sat inside and felt a deep sense of calm

#sufism #delhi

The tomb of Haji Rozbih, one of the first Sufi saints to enter Delhi, is near the Fateh Burj of the Qila Rai Pithaura. It is a simple, open-air, whitewashed and plastered grave. It is believed that Haji Rozbih lived in a cave near the ditch of the fort and thanks to his teachings and persuasive gentleness, he was responsible for many conversions to Islam. Next to his grave is the grave of Bibi, believed to be a female relative of Prithviraj Chauhan who became a disciple of Haji Rozbih.

However, as per new research by Prof Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot, Prithviraj Chauhan never visited Delhi. So no one knows the identity of Bela.

On my initial visits in 2013-15 I had met Rahmat Miyan, the khadim, the caretaker of the dargah who spent all his time safeguarding this area, and even slept there, be it summer or winter.

Today I couldn’t see him.and hope he’s fine.
And it was fun to expire again with Asif