Monday, June 18, 2012

Shaykh Abul Qasim Gurgani (380-450 AH) Posted on April 15, 2012 by Talib Ghaffari Hazrat Shaykh Abul-Qāsim bin Ali bin Abdullāh Gurgāni (380-450 AH), may Allah sanctify his soul, was a glorious Sufi master and gnostic of the secrets of Almighty. He is one of the grand shaykhs of Naqshbandi Sufi tariqah as well as some other Sufi orders. Shrine of Khwaja Abul Qāsim Gurgāni (rahmatAllah alaih), in Gurgan, Iran Shrine of Khwaja Abul Qāsim Gurgāni (rahmatAllah alaih), in Gurgan, Iran He was born in Gorgan (situated in northern Iran) in 380 AH. He received the spiritual secrets from the master of Sufis Khwaja Abul Hasan Kharaqāni (352-425 AH), and with few intermediaries from Imam Junaid al-Baghdādi (218-298 AH). He was one of the shaykhs of Sayyid Ali Hujweri (Data Ganj Bakhsh) of Lahore, who has mentioned him in his book Kashf al-Mahjūb, the first ever Persian treatise on Sufism. He mentions him as a Qutb, the highest rank among the living saints at any time. He introduces this great master in the following words: In his time he was unique and incomparable. His beginning (Ibtidā) was very excellent and strong, and his journeys were performed with punctilious observance (of the sacred law). At that time the hearts of all initiates (ahl-i dargāh) were turned towards him, and all seekers (tālibān) had a firm belief in him. He possessed a marvellous power of revealing the inward experiences of novices (kashf-i wāqi’a-i murīdīn), and he was learned in various branches of knowledge. At one place in the book, he writes: Now I, who am ‘Ali b. ‘Usmān al-Jullābī, asked the Grand Shaykh, Abu ‘l-Qāsim Gurgānī at Tūs, saying: “What is the least thing necessary for a dervish in order that he may become worthy of poverty?” He replied: “A dervish must not have less than three things: first, he must know how to sew on a patch rightly; second, he must know how to listen rightly; third, he must know how to set hist foot on the ground rightly”. Then he explains the wisdom of these golden words as: Continue reading → 16 1 0 share 17 share Posted in Masha'ikh | Tagged Gurgani, Iran, Naqshbandi | Leave a comment Shah Ahmad Saeed Mujaddidi {Delhi, India}



Hazrat Shāh Ahmad Saeed Mujaddidi Naqshbandi Hanafi (1217-1277 AH) was the spiritual successor to the great Sufi master Hazrat Shāh Abdullāh alias Ghulām Ali Dehlavi (1156-1240 AH), may Allah be pleased with them. He was one of the chief scholars and shaykhs of Delhi in the 13th century after Hijrah (19th century CE), and probably the most prominent shaykh of the Naqshbandi Sufi order during that time. Most, if not all, followers of the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi order today trace their spiritual connection to him, excluding the Khalidiyya branch which is common in Central Asia and Turkey.
He was also a great scholar and a Muhaddis. Many chains of authority (Isnād) in Hadith studies include his name. Not only Ahl-us-Sunnah but the Deobandi scholars also possess such Isnād and consider him with high regards.
Shah Ahmad Saeed witnessed the emergence and spread of the Wahhābi sect in India. Before him, Indian Muslims were united in beliefs and practices and belonged to the Hanafi school of thought, with a Shia minority which was clearly distinguished from the mainstream Islam. However, the teachings of Ismāil Dehlavi introduced a big fitnah in the Indian Muslims who branched out in many different sects and schools, including Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl al-Hadith (or Salafi), Maodūdi, Naturalist and others.
This is not a place to discuss the full history of the Indian Wahhabi movement. But interestingly, many Naqshbandis today affilitate themselves to Deobandi school even with a spiritual connection with the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi tariqah. Deobandi school is a continuation of the ideas of Ismāil Dehlavi. So here I will discuss the reaction of the then Naqshbandi masters specially Shah Ahmad Saeed Mujaddidi to the newly emerged doctrine of Wahhabism, imported from Arabia by Ismāil Dehlavi.
Molvi Ismāil Dehlavi, aka Ismāil Shaheed (1193-1246 AH) was the paternal grandson of Hazrat Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlavi (1114-1176 AH). He wrote a book called Taqwiyat-ul-Iman which was based on the ideas of Ibn Abdul Wahhāb Najdī and was the first book to introduce Wahhabism in India.
Ismāil Dehlavi was joined by some more scholars in this new movement, including his cousin Muhammad Ishāq Dehlavi. But most of his family scholars went against him, and some even wrote refutations of his works. Even his grandfather Shāh Abdul Azīz Muhaddis Dehlavi, who had lost his sight because of old age, when he came to know about this book, he proclaimed: “If I wasn’t disabled by illness, I would have written a refutation to it similar to Tuhfa Isna Ash’ariya”. (Narrated by Ismail’s cousin Maulana Makhsūs-Allah in his book Tahqīq al-Haqīqat).
Maulāna Hāfiz Muhammad Razā Ali Naqshbandi Banārasi, who was a disciple of Shah Ahmad Saeed, writes that Shah sahib had also written a refutation of Taqwiyat-ul-Iman. Although there is no mention of this work anywhere else. He also writes that, once I asked my master and shaykh about Ismail Dehlavi in Madinah. He replied that “I and other scholars of Delhi convinced him at Jame’ Masjid Delhi and he agreed to correct Taqwiyat-ul-Iman“. My shaykh (Shah Ahmad Saeed) said at Tonk that “my master and shaykh (Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali) used to say that all the irreligiousness (Be-Dini), bad faith and corruption in the Muhammadi Deen that occured in India, occured because of this person Molvi Ismail

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