The Mystic Path of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya

Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya (1182-1262) laid the foundation of the Suhrawardi order in Multan, which played a significant role in the socio cultural history of north-western India. His ancestors had migrated from Mecca and settled in Multan. His father Shaikh Wajihuddin was married to the daughter of Maulana Husamuddin Tirmizi, who had migrated to Punjab in the wake of the Mongol invasions. Bahauddin Zakariya was born at Kot Karor, a village near Multan. While still a young boy, he memorized the Quran and learnt to recite it in seven styles of recitation. During a long stay in the famous centres of education – Khurasan, Bukhara, Madina and Palestine- he studied the traditional subjects

Mongol invasions. The emergence and expansion of the Saljuq empire threatened the existence of the Ghaznavids whose sway was reduced to parts of the southern and eastern Afghanistan and Punjab. As the Saljuqs began to lose ground to the Ghuzz Turks, the Ghurid princes (who had been the vassals of the Saljuqs) availed themselves of the opportunity to build their own political power. In this rise of the Ghurids, a notable role was played by Izzuddin Husain, Bahauddin Saj and Alauddin Jahansoz. The city and hinterland of Multan commanded immense strategic and economic importance. The region formed and irregular triangle, being enclosed by the Chenab and Satluj.
The streams of the Ravi and Beas separately traversed through the area before merging with the Chenab and Satluj just above Uch. The land near the confluence of the rivers was regularly flooded during the summer months. The soil was entirely alluvial. Wheat and cotton were the major crops, while the date palm was also cultivated. The rainfall was extremely scanty, the average varying from 4 to 7 inches. From the point of view human settlement, Multan appears to For him, mysticism (tariqat) was more than a method to learn spiritual purity. It meant that every thought and action was related to the larger purpose of returning to the Divine. It also meant that the seekers were responsible for controlling themselves at every moment and every place. The Shaikh's emphasis on the internal and external make-up of the seeker required a strict observance of the Quran, hadis, shariat and mystical practices, besides subordination to political authority and social etiquette. (Rizvi,193).
According to the Shaikh's advice, as recorded in the Majma-ul-Akhbar, a seeker was required to remember God with love and sincerity. The latter achieved this state when, suring prayer and recollection of God was expelled from the heart. His behaviour was guided by only those thoughts and actions which were essential. Only then God gave him the wisdom to undertake good actions. In his advice to a disciple Rehman, the Shaikh required him to engage in recollection of God (zikr) at all times, because by doing so he could reach his ultimate is confirmed by a book in Arabic al-Aurad, the authorship of which has been attributed to the Shaikh. A commentary of this work was prepared by Maulana Ali bin Ahmad Ghurim, who was a disciple of Ruknuddin Abul Fateh, the grandson of the Shaikh. This work elucidates some basic religious doctrines and lays down instructions for the seeker in simple and direct manner. It also comprises prayers and Zikr formulae, which have been compiled in the style of early traditionsits (muhadissin), who provided legal solutions that were applicable to social problems.
Owing to the inspiration and encouragement of the Shaikh, a number of people belonging to his mystical circle devote their energies to literary production. The first person in this category was Fakhruddin Iraqi. He was a nephew of Shaikh Shihabauddin Suhrawardi and had studied Fasus-ul-Hikam under the tutelage of Sadruddin Qunvi, who was a disciple of Ibn-i-Arabi. Iraqi is said to have fallen in love with a certain youth and followed him and a group of dervishes to India. On reaching Multan, he was so impressed by the magnetic personality of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya that he stayed in the city for the next twenty five years and composed laudatory verses (qasidahs) in his praise. According to one account, Iraqi locked himself in a cell (acting on the directions of the Shaikh) for ten days and did not permit anyone to enter. On the eleventh Day, he was overcome by emotion and sang aloud while weeping: The wine wherewith the cup they first filled high Was borrowed from the saqi's languorous eye.
Since such an act of singing was not permitted within the precincts of the Suhrawardi hospice, the inmates lodged a complaint with Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya who, instead of issuing any reprimand, exclaimed that the recitation of poetry was forbidden for the complainants, but not for Iraqi. After a few days, it was learnt that the poems of Iraqi were being sung in the bazaar and taverns to the accompaniment of musical instruments. When the matter was reported to the love revealed through the medium of human beauty. He believed that love was the only thing that existed in the world; the lover, beloved and love are one and, therefore, the question of union and separation was a thousand times better and more beautiful than the union desired by the lover; God was the eternally beautiful beloved, while the lover loved every order and action of the beloved; heart and love were one; love sometimes grew out of the heart like flowers; the whole world was nothing but an echo of lover's eternal song. In view of these ideas, it may be suggested that Iraqi transformed the mystical thoughts of Ibn-i-Arabi into a poetic form. We learn that Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya had married his daughter to Iraqi. However, immediately after the death of the Shaikh (1262) course of his mystical discourses. According to one of these incidents , Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya believed that a disciple must complete his ablutions or prayers before getting up to pay respects to his spiritual mentor. Once the Shaikh reached the bank of a river, where he found that a group of his disciples was engaged in performing the ablutions. As soon as they saw the Shaikh, they left their continued to perform the task till he had completed it and only then rose to pay his respects to his mentor. On observing the difference between the respective conducts of his disciples, the Shaikh declared that only one of them was a mystic (darvesh). This remark shows that in the eyes of the Shaikh the performance of a prescribe ritual was essential as well as meritorious. Even if a person dreamt that he had missed one of his regular prayers, he should feel penitent and take a vow of repentance for and abstinence from sins, because this opportunity could be denied owing to his death which could come any time (Humaira Arif Dasti, 89).
There was a man called Sulaiman who was known among the people of Multan for his devotional exercises. One day, Shaikh Bahauddin Zakarriya went to meet him. Apparently to check what he had heard from others. He asked Sulaiman to stand up and offer prayer of two rakaat. Contrary to the prescribed rule, Sulaiman did not keep the required space between his feet. The Shaikh advised him on the space between the feet, which could be neither more nor less than what was prescribed. However, Sulaiman failed to observe the rule of space between his feet, even though he tried a number of times. Thereupon, the Shaikh asked Sulaiman to leave Multan and to settle n Uch, which the man actually did.
Shaikh BahauddinZakariya walked everyday to the mosque attached to the seminary (madrasah) of Qazi Qutburddin Kashhani, who was known for his erudition and piety. Kashani www.ijohmn.com 105 tradition (hadis) according to which "One's praying behind a pious and lerned man was as if one had prayed behind a Prophet." One morning, the Shaikh arrived when the first rakaat had been completed his prayer before Kashani could turn to the right to say salam, denoting the completion of tashahhud. Kashani asked " Why did you stand up before the salam. The imam may have made a mistake which needed correction by performing the sajdah-i-sahw. Since you stood up before Salam, you may have missed it." The Shaikh replied that if one learnt through inner light that the Imam had not made any mistake by observing the obligatory details of prayer, one was allowed to rise. In response, Kashani observed that the light, which was not in harmony with the shariat, was nothing but darkness. Since the Shaikh was not prepared for this outcome of the encounter, he never came again to the place for prayer. (Humaira Arif Dasti,89).
Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya was strict not only about religious obligations and the manner of their observance, but he also paid equal attention to one's dress and hair. In case, he found anyone in improper dress or wearing his hair in an unacceptable manner, he did not hesitate to issue a sharp reprimand. Once a learned scholar (danishmand) arrived from Bukhara to Multan and came to pay his respects to Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya. The Shaikh was angered on seeing the visitor, as he had curled hair (mujaad) and the end of his turban was hanging loose.
The Shaikh asked the visitor the purpose of arriving with two snakes, i.e., curled hair and loose end of the turban. The visitor was so upset by the remark that he immediately got his head shaved in the very presence of the Shaikh. It appears that people belonging to the mystic circle of the Shaikh had also adopted the same attitude. A group of the Shaikh's companions, while on a visit to the khanqah of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya at Delhi, walked out of meals on seeing a guest supporting curled hair (mujaad). In fact, Suhrawardi accumulation of wealth had generated an acrimonious debate within the larger mystic circle of north -western India. Jalaluddin Tabrazi (a Suhrawardi) and

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Hamiduddin Nagauri Suwali carried a correspondence on this issue. In the words of Nizami," The replies given by the Suhrawardi saints were more rhetorical than logical and the quick witted questioners refused to be confused by rhetoric and platitudes." In an attempt to explain the limited appeal of the Suhrawardis, it has been argued that they (in contrast to the Chishtis) They could not be situations; they displayed their loyalty and commitment to the mystical Besides being a centre of mystic discipline, his khanqah also served as a centre of education, as the seminary (madrasah) attached to it provided instructions in exegesis (tafsir), Prophetic traditions (hadis) and Muslim Jurisprudence (fiqh). The Khanqah became a meeting ground of mystics, scholars, nobles, merchants, musicians and commoners. The presence of such eminent poets as Fakhruddin Iraqi and Sadruddin Ahmad bin Najmuddin Saiyyid Husaini indicates that the literary atmosphere of the khanqah attracted creative minds from distant lands. (Humaira Arif Dasti,90). As a rule, discussion of theological matters was avoided. Emphasis was laid on the discipline of inner life and emotional integration in the light of religious teachings, rather than intellectual advancement through casuistry.
Humaira Arif Dasti states, "In contrast to the Chishtis who stood for starvation and self-mortification, Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya advocated a normal and balanced life which accorded equal care to the body and spirit. By negating the ascetic and passive tendencies in Islamic mysticisms, he introduced a contrastive model of human development which was designed to resolve political, social and spiritual problems of the society. This dispensation was based on a judicious merger between the Islamic law (shariat) and Islamic spirituality (tariqat).
He believed in the continuity f the religious structure of Islam and maintaining the purity of its outward from. But he did not hesitate to mould the mystical dimension of Islam to suit the dire socio-political needs of the locality. He performed this difficult task by weaving the different threads of spiritual thought into a holistic pattern which, though contrastive in relation to parallet systems, manifested itself in an aesthetic image. It was on account of these factors that the