Chishti Books

28/04/2016 Chishti books. Sufi Saint of Ajmer

http://www.chishti.ru/chishti_books.htm 1/14

CHISHTI BOOKS

Here you’ll find a number of short reviews of books dealing with Chishti Sufis. Each review starts withthe title of a specific book. At the end of the reviews there is a bibliography.

THE SUFI SAINT OF AJMER

Recently Laxmi Dhaul has joined the Chishtiyya group. She is the author of “The Sufi Saint of Ajmer”(Thea Enterprises; 2001) and some other book dedicated to Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya.

I’ve read the first mentioned book some years ago. It so happened that Ismail returned from the USA.We made an appointment to meet one another halfway between our homes and that happened to bein Amsterdam. We made a walk and had a talk. During our walk we entered one of the excellentbookshops of Amsterdam, called Au Bout du Monde. And there – at the end of the world – Ismail pickedup a book with a very attractive book jacket depicting a photo of visitors to the dargah of KhwajaGharib Nawaz (“Patron of the Poor”), the title by which Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti is known. Thesevisitors carry a beautiful embroidered covering for the shrine of the Sufi saint of Ajmer, which they lateron wish to present. You see the visitors surrounding this covering and holding part of it and thus manyparticipate in this simple devotional ritual.

Laxmi Dhaul’s book is a devotional book and this is enhanced by the many inspiring photographs. WhenI open her book at random you can see on page 82 women silently sitting in meditation, while on thepage next to it attention has been given to love of God or divine love. Dhaul writes: “Divine love isconceived, by the Sufi, as all embracing and the highest stage t be attained. By transgressing variousstages, such as longing, fellowship and love, will the Sufi pass directly into the true knowledge of thedivine mysteries (marifa)”.

The subjects of Laxmi Dhaul’s book are among others the arrival of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz in India, hisearly life, Ajmer and its history, the shrine in Ajmer, ceremonies, rituals and the annual ‘urs, Sufi silsilas,samaa’ and qawwali, principle tenets of Chishti Sufism, all in all filling almost a hundred pages on alarge format. What can be learned from these pages? Perhaps it is best to end with a quote of KhwajaGharib Nawaz (p.59): “The more one learns about the ‘essence of things’ the more one wonders”.

THE MEDITATIONS OF KHAWAJA MUIN UDDIN HASAN CHISHTI

What makes the teachings of the Sufis so inspiring? It is because you realize that they come frompersonal experiences. In “The Meditations…” you’ll read what Khwaja Gharib Nawaz said on differentoccasions. It is a subjective study, based on his published and unpublished books, his discourses andhis letters. Some of these teachings, which have been published by Sharib Press in Southampton, areeasy to understand, some are very deep. The meditations of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz give anauthoritative perspective to his insight into things that really matter.

The translator, Dr. Zahurul Hassan Sharib, has lived and breathed the ambience of the ‘Khwaja ofAjmer’ for many years, overlooking the Sufi’s tomb from his study window.

The book jacket shows an illustration by Jamil. You see Khwaja Usman Haruni who is being followed byKhwaja Gharib Nawaz, who is carrying all the luggage of his murshid on his head.

According to Khwaja Gharib Nawaz these 13 things are necessary for a dervish;

Search for God.Search for a spiritual guide and teacher.Respect.Surrender.Love.Piety.Constancy.Perseverance.To eat less.To sleep less.Seclusion.Prayer.Fast.



As now it is the month of fasting, let us see what Khwaja Gharib Nawaz has said about fasting: “Thereal fast is to have no spiritual and mundane desires, which means and implies to have no desire forparadise, wealth or worldly position and power. To think about other than Allah and to desire paradiseare things which break the fast”.

He also says: “The people who keep the fast abstain from eating and drinking. But it is not the realfast. It is an unreal fast in fact. In such a fast things other than Allah are not renounced. The idea of theself continues to dominate. Such a fast is useful in so far as that a person may realize the pangs ofhunger and thirst of other people and may extend help and sympathy to the sufferers”.

And as this was written in Ramadan, let us abstain from more words.

THE CHISHTIS – A LIVING LIGHT

I often think back of the days in which a Chishti pir told tales about the early Chishtis who settled inIndia. They became so familiar to me, that their teachings became a living light to me. Muneera Haeri isof Scottish origin. This is something of course she could not help. The subject matter of her first bookwas something she was in control of, as she became the author of “The Chishtis – A living Light”. Sherecounts the life and teachings of six early Sufis of the Chishti order by giving each one a separatechapter.

The introduction however starts with the meeting of an American representative of the Chishti order.He is a Hakim - someone with knowledge of traditional medicine - who saw her advanced state ofpregnancy and gave her some advice on childbirth. This first connection with the Chishtis was by meansof healing. Two years later she meets another lover of the Chishtis, a homeopathic physician from Delhiwho had opened a clinic for the poor near the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya.

Later on Muneera Haeri is inspired to write about the healers of the heart like Khwaja Mo’inuddinChishti and the 5 Chishtis succeeding him. By adding a chapter about Soofi Saheb, the living light of theChishtis is carried across space and time to the South Africa of a hundred years ago. The book endswith some short remarks about Sufism today.

It is said that for many decades Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti lived the life of a wandering dervish. Hestayed at lonely places and when people saw him, many considered him to be an insignificant drifter.The final words of the epilogue, however, are:

The lamps you put offBy considering them useless and insignificantThese are the lampsWhich will spread the light.

AMIR KHUSRAW – THE POET OF SULTANS AND SUFIS

Amir Khusraw has been my introduction to the Chishtis of India. It so happened that during my first visitto India I stayed in a house at a walking distance of the tombs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya and hismurid Amir Khusraw. My host took me to their dargahs and explained something of the text sung by theqawwals in Urdu. She also acquainted me with the fact that the two Chishtis had been so close thatthey would have liked to be buried in the same grave if that would be allowed by Islam. As that wasnot the case the habit was first to visit the grave of the disciple and then go to the shrine of hismurshid.

Hazrat Amir Khusraw was probably born in Delhi. According to Sunil Sharma, the author of “AmirKhusraw – The Poet of Sultans and Sufis” he wrote this about it:

Delhi is the twin of pure paradise,A prototype of the heavenly throneOn an earthly scroll.

Hazrat Amir Khusraw (1253-1325) was a courtier, poet, writer, musician and Chishti Sufi. Hazrat AmirKhusraw had an irresistible personality. He became the most beloved disciple of Hazrat NizamuddinAwliya. When the two met the unseen lovers’ hearts became joined. The two strangers came together:

‘Eshq aamad-o shod chu khunam andar rag-o pustTaa kard maraa tahi-o por kard ze dustAjzaa’-ye-wojudam hamagi dust gereftNaamist maraa bar man baqi hama ust.

Love came and spread like blood in my veins and the skin of me,



It filled me with the Friend and completely emptied me.The Friend has taken over all parts of my existence,Only my name remains, as all is He.

He dedicated himself with a sincere devotion to his murshid. One day he placed a poem praising HazratNizamuddin Awliya before his murshid, who then asked: “What do you desire?“ He then asked for thesweetness of language. The command came forth: “Bring that bowl of sugar from under the cot andsprinkle it over your head and eat some of it.” Hazrat Amir Khusraw did so and consequently thesweetness of his words captured the world from east to west. His poetry became so well known thateven the greatest of Sufi poets, Hafez of Shiraz, did not mind to earn some money by copying one ofthe manuscripts of Hazrat Amir Khusraw.

One of his most beautiful poems can be found at he opening of his “Divan”:

The cloud rains and I am separated from the Friend.How can my heart be separated from the Friend on such a day?The cloud, the rain, I - and the Friend taken away.I am alone, crying, the cloud is alone and the Friend is alone.Greenery, newly-sprouted, joyful air, a green garden.The nightingale, disgraced, remains separated from the rosegarden.O, what are You doing to me,With the root of every hairOf Your tresses, bound together?I am enchained by being tied up, and all of a sudden, alone…

This is how it sounds in Persian:

Abr mibaarad-o man mishavam yaar jodaaChun konam del bechonin ruz ze deldaar jodaaAbr-o baran-o man-o yaar setaada budaa’Man jodaa keria konaan, abr jodaa, yaar jodaaSabza naw-khiz-o havaa khorram-o bostaan-e sarsabzBolbol-e-ruye-siyah maanda ze golzaar jodaaAy maraa dar tahe har mui ze zolfat-e bandiChe koni band ze bandam hama yakbaar jodaa.

Hazrat Amir Khusraw was away from Delhi when his murshid passed away. When he returned from thattrip he approached the grave of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya with torn clothes, weeping eyes and bloodracing to his heart. Then he said: “O Muslims! Who am I to grieve for such a king, rather let me grievefor myself for after the ‘King of Shaykhs’ I will not have long to live”. After that he only lived for sixmonths, then passed away. He was buried near the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya, may Godshower their blessings on murshid and murid!

THE PATH OF TASAWWUF

Hazrat Mohammad Khadim Hasan has written a booklet with the above title, which has been translatedfrom Urdu into English. The author starts by dealing with all kinds purity, i.e. of the body, of thoughts, ofthe heart and of the soul. He writes about the refinement of the ego and the purification of the heart.In this respect some practices have been described.

When writing about recollection he sees it as the first step to contemplation. “The first form ofcontemplation, according to him, is imagination, then contemplation takes place in the mind, then in theheart and finally when the soul becomes the abode of contemplation, all veils will be lifted and the Truthwill be revealed’.

In “The Path of Tasawwuf” Hazrat Nawab Sahib describes some essentials of the Sufi way. He ends byquoting Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti: “Not until one obtains Murshid’s instructions will one reach one’sdestination”.

An on-line copy of “The Path of Tasawwuf” can be found at:http://www.muslim-canada.org/Nawab2.htm

CONTEMPLATIVE DISCIPLINES IN SUFISM

Mir Valiuddin is the author of “Contemplative Disciplines in Sufism”. I liked the following detail: You cansee a photo on the dust cover of the book and the text accompanying it says that it “is an extremelyrare photograph of this most shy and unassuming man’.

In the pages of this book an attempt has been made to enunciate the contemplative disciplines inSufism as practised by the great Sufis and eminent Shaykhs. A description in four stages has been

http://www.muslim-canada.org/Nawab2.htm



given:

Purification of the self. This means cleansing the sensual self from its blameable, animal propensitiesand embellishing it with laudable and angelic attributes.Cleansing of the heart. This means the erasing from the heart its love for the ephemeral world and itsworry over grieves and sorrow, and establishing in their place an ardent love for God alone.

Emptying the innermost consciousness from all thoughts that would divert attention from theremembrance of God.

Illumination of the spirit. This means filling the spirit with the effulgence of God and the fervour of Hislove.

The practices of several of the great Sufi orders in regard to the above stages have been mentioned.Mir Valiuddin states that the Chishtis give the advice to practice loud remembrance of God. It increasesthe heat of the heart and in turn generates love for God. According to him it is by love alone that thesalik, the traveller on the Sufi path, attains all the high stages thereof. It is by love alone thatimmutability after perishability, life after life’s loss and eternal existence after extinction are obtained.

THE TALE OF THE FOUR DERVISHES And Other Sufi Tales

When I was in India I’ve seen a curious but very pleasant healing method in action. It consisted of thereading of the “Tale of the Four Dervishes” at the bed of the patient. Scholars deny that Hazrat AmirKhusraw has been the author, but whatever may be the truth, it can be said that these tales are ofexcellent quality.

Amina Shah has retold these tales. This is what she writes in her introduction:

“When the great 13th Century Sufi teacher Nizamuddin Awliya was ill, his disciple Amir Khusraw – theeminent Persian poet – recited to him this Sufi allegory. To mark this event, Nizamuddin on his recovery,placed this benediction upon the book:

‘Who hears this story will, by the divine power, be in health’.

“Mir Amman of Delhi translated the work a century and a half ago into Urdu, and ever since it has beenregarded as a classic of that language, under the title of ‘Bagh o Bahar’ (Garden and Spring), achronogram which, when decoded by the Abjad System, produces the date of its completion: Year 1217of the Hijra Era”.

“It is widely believed that the recitation of the story will restore to health the ailing, and that theallegorical dimensions of the adventures of the Dervishes contained in it are part of a teaching-systemwhich prepares the mind of the Seeker-after-Truth for spiritual enlightenment”.

SUFI MARTYRS OF LOVE: THE CHISHTI ORDER IN SOUTH ASIA AND BEYOND

The Chishti order is the oldest of the major Sufi orders still in existence. Carl W. Ernst and Bruce B.Lawrence in their “Sufi Martyrs of Love” pay attention to the founders of the Chishti order, Chishtipractices and the seminal texts of the Chishtis. Strange to say, but the appendix is one of the highlightsof the book. It contains a partial translation of the ‘Akhbar al-Akhyar’ as written by Shaykh ‘Abdal-HaqqMuhaddith of Delhi, which recounts the life of several great Sufis from the twelfth to the late sixteenthcentury. The Shaykh accents the pivotal role of the Chishtis. It starts with the description of the life andteachings of Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti. The Shaykh relates where Khwaja Sahib came from and that hesettled in Ajmer. The collection of sayings of the Khwaja of Ajmer may or may not be authentic, but ithas had a pervasive tone for the entire Chishti discipline: “Always maintain loyal to the inner travel. Donot cease to search for the ocean of knowledge and love, which is the domain of Allah!”

In other chapters attention has been given to subjects like: what is a Sufi order, major Chishti shrines,and colonial and modern day Chishtis.

As for the political attitude of the Chishtis it is to stay away from rulers:

Be a dervish and sit in solitude;Do not ask for food from anyone.Know that contentment is a kingdom,A mansion full of pearls and jewels.

Do not yourself go near the Sultan;



Know that he Sultan is such a oneThat when you long for the Sultan,There will be fear and danger for you.

The central spiritual practice of the Chishtis is the audition of music in order to evoke the divinepresence. To its adherents, what was distinctive about the Chishti order was its religious practice.Sayyid Ashraf Jahangir Simnani (d. 1425) has given this summary:

“The style of life (of the Chishti masters) is to build a house in a city or town and call the people awayfrom vanity towards God. They always turn away from the world and those who seek it. Their distinctivesign is he practice of spiritual discipline and ascetic striving. They aim at poverty and denial, and theykeep company with the poor and beggars, giving them food. They are masters of listening to music(sama’) and they love the people of music. They celebrate the death anniversaries of their masters, andthey greatly prefer the poor to the rich. They themselves wash the hands of the stranger andthemselves provide fire and food to the poor. They never give the rich man a place higher than the poorman, and their feasts are bountiful. Through their internal concern for the heart, the disciple turns awayfrom the love of the world and they soon make the disciple repent”.

Let us return to the appendix and look at part of the biography of Shaykh Nur Qotb-e ‘Alam. He hassaid: “The Shaykhs of old had set 99 stages for the completion of the spiritual quest. The Shaykhs ofour silsila have fixed on 15 stages, of which this faqir has selected 3:

Taking account before God demands an account from you.Whoever thinks that he has been righteous for even a day has deceived himself.The true worship of the faqir is to repel thoughts of other than God.

Whoever acts according to these three principles – God willing – he will complete the work of thetraveller”.

THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S TUTI-NAMA / TALES OF A PARROT

The Chishti shaykh Ziyauddin Nakhshabi (d. 1350) wrote the “Tales of a Parrot”. The Chishtis have attimes made use of teaching in the shape of tales. The translation from Persian into English byMuhammad A. Simsar has beautifully been published, as 48 full-page miniatures have been added tothe 52 tales. As for the tales the well-known construction of a tale within a tale has been used.Although the stories go back a long time and have an Indian origin, shaykh Nakhshabi has introducedhis own Sufi ideas in them. A parrot is the storyteller. Let us not dwell on the overall structure (somewould however say that the structure is the message) and simply tell one tale out of the tales as toldby the parrot. At a certain moment in one of the tales a bloodletter appears. During Nakhshabi’s timebloodletting was a common healing practice. The usual method was by cupping. After washing anddrying the skin, a heated glass cup with a rounded edge was firmly pressed against the skin. As the airinside the glass cooled a partial vacuum was formed thus drawing the blood to the skin under the cup.Another method was by venesection, which consisted of drawing blood from a vein in the arm. Aphysician performed this method. The cupping was done by a man called a bloodletter, usually a barberwho practised both professions in a public bath. In the near future you’ll read everything you alwayswanted to know about the tale of:

The Bloodletter’s Emulation of the Merchant

It is said that in one of the distant cities of Khwarazm there was a merchant of much wealth andproperty whose name was ‘Abd al-Malik. He was always trying to find ways to make more money, so hefrequented the gatherings of the learned men as well as those of the poor.

One day he thought: “I have been engaged in many kinds of business in different parts of the world,but now I am going to follow the Qur’anic precept”:

He who does a good deed shall be rewarded tenfold.

Having decided upon this, he proceeded to carry out his decision. Whatever wealth he possessed hedistributed for charity. Whatever riches he had he gave as alms to the poor. He did not even hadenough money left for his breakfast.

That night in a dream he saw a monk. He asked him: “Who are you?”

The monk replied, “I am the spirit of your good fortune. Since you have given all your wealth for charityand all your money to the poor, you must not be left to starve. Tomorrow morning I will reappear in thisform before you. At that time you must hit me on the head with a cudgel and I will fall down and turninto gold. Whenever you cut off a part of me that part will grow back again and whatever limb youremove another will immediately grow in its place”.



O, Nakhshabi, relinquish whatever wealth you possess.How long will you charity and benevolence disdain?For the sake of God donate to someone a pure gold coinAnd a thousand will later be your well deserved gain.

The next day when the night-travelling monk – the moon – was entering the temple in the west, andwhen the great, devout wayfarer – the sun – was spreading the carpet of light in the sky, and at themoment when the bloodletter was trimming the beard and the moustache of ‘Abd al-Malik, the monkappeared.

‘Abd al-Malik arose and hit him on the head several times with a cane. The monk immediately fell downand turned into gold. ‘Abd al-Malik gave a few silver coins to the bloodletter and warned him not todivulge the secret.

The bloodletter surmised that if anyone struck a monk on the head, that monk would turn into gold. Hewent home and made preparations for a feast inviting several monks to be his guests. After the dinnerwas over, he fetched a heavy stick and hit the monks on their heads with such force that their scalpswere cut and blood began to flow like a stream. When the monks started to scream and wail with pain,a large crowd gathered. They bound the bloodletter securely and took him along with the monks to themagistrate of the city.

The magistrate asked: “Why did you beat up those poor people and crack their heads open?”

The bloodletter replied: “I was in the house of ‘Abd al-Malik when a monk came to see him. He beat himon the head several times with a cane and the monk immediately turned into gold. I thought thatanyone who hit a monk on the head could cause him to turn into gold. With this temptation I invited themonks to be my guests and struck a few blows on their heads. Not only their condition failed to change,but the whole affair ended in a great fiasco”.

The magistrate summoned ‘Abd al-Malik and asked him: “what is this bloodletter claiming?”

‘Abd al-Malik answered: “This man lives on my street. For several days his senses have been affectedand his mind has become deranged. He wanders around all day like a madman and talks nonsense.Otherwise why would a sane person act in such a manner or an intelligent man utter such words? Heneeds care, proper treatment, medicine and potions. He must be taken to a doctor. He must be sent toa capable physician. It is a pity that such a bloodletter should be wasted and it is regretful that his skillshould be lost”.

The words of ‘Abd al-Malik met with the approval of the magistrate. He made excuses to the monks andordered that the bloodletter be released.

O Nakhshabi, conduct your true self with integrity.When will you ever forsake thought of worldly possession!Fools will imitate unsuitable actions of others.To maintain self-esteem, you should always use discretion.

ETERNAL GARDEN:MYSTICISM, HISTORY AND POLITICS AT A SOUTH ASIAN SUFI CENTER

“Khuldabad… the name conjures up a sunny day in early November, one of those days when everythingseems to be in perfect order…” - thus Annemarie Schimmel starts the introduction to the book of CarlErnst about the Chishtis in the South of India. She continues: “In the early afternoon the qawwals hadarrived, and we were transported into the world of mystical delight, carried back through the centuriesto the days when the music-loving Burhanuddin Gharib lived here and expressed his love of God inmystical dance”. Carl Ernst has produced a historical and a somewhat dry, scholarly study aboutDeccani Sufism. His empathy for shaykh Burhanuddin Gharib is however also rather clear, for as StAugustine has held: “Res tantum cognoscitur quantum diligitur”, which means as we all know “One canonly understand something to the extent that one loves it”.

Here is a teaching of shaykh Burhanuddin Gharib about the music of the Sufis, which he liked so verymuch. He discerns four types:

Lawful samaa’, in which the listener is totally longing for God and is not at all longing for the created.Permitted samaa’, in which the listener is mostly longing for God and only a little for the created.Disapproved samaa’, in which there is much longing for the created and a little for God.Forbidden samaa’, in which there is no longing for God and all is for the created.

“But the listener should know the difference between doing the lawful, the forbidden, the permittedand the disapproved. And this is a secret between God and the listener”.



So although cast in a legal form, the shaykh’s analysis of the listener’s motivation puts the burden ofresponsibility on the individual’s conscience, for - as Carl Ernst states - “the object of one’s love is by itsnature secret from the law”.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAIKH FARID-UD-DIN GANJ-I-SHAKAR

A man from Lahore came to shaykh Hasan Muhammad Chishti and said: “In this time there is no oneworthy of listening to Sufi music”. He replied: “If that was the case, the world would be destroyed”. Theman said: In past days there were men like shaykh Baba Farid, shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya and shaykhNasiruddin. Now there is no one like them”. The Chishti shaykh replied: “In their time men said the verysame thing”. This anecdote doesn’t come from “The Life and Times…” as written by Khaliq AhmadNizami. Everything else you wanted to know about Baba Farid and were afraid to ask, has beenmentioned in the scholarly and inspiring study of Khaliq Ahmad Nizami.

A qawwal once sang some poetry when visiting Nizamuddin Awliya at a time when Nizamuddin Awliyahad not yet been initiated into the Sufi path and had not yet found a shaykh. The singer first describedthe inner qualities of shaykh Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan. His words had no effect at all on the younglistener, but when he paid attention in his songs to Baba Farid, Nizamuddin Awliya, felt a great loveentering his heart although he had never met Baba Farid. This psychological accident has beendescribed by a poet in the following couplet:Hadies-e hosn-e u naagaah firo khaandand dar gushamDar aamad ‘eshq o yakbare be-bord ‘aql az man o husham.

Suddenly the description of his beautycame to the ears of mine,Love entered and at oncetook away the reason and understanding of mine.

The words of the qawwal in some way or other evoked the loving presence of Baba Farid. The followinganecdote however, makes it clear that Baba Farid was no soft fool:A poorly dressed dervish came to Baba Farid who gave him something and permitted him to depart. Thedervish remained standing and asked the shaykh to give him the comb, which he had taken out from itscover and placed on the prayer-carpet. As the comb was not worth anything and had been long usedby the shaykh, he did not reply to the request. The dervish began to shout loudly: “If the shaykh givesme this comb, he will receive plenty of blessings.” “Be off”, Baba Farid replied, “and do not disturb meany more. I throw you and your blessings into the river.”

Baba Farid liked the ‘needle’ (unity) and disliked the ‘pair of scissors’ (bringing about separation. Headvised his disciples to recite this couplet in their intimate conversations with God:

Az hazrat-e-to se chiz mikhahamVaqt-e khosh o aab-e dida o raahat-e del

From Your presence I ask for three things:A happy time, tears and repose of the heart.

Baba Farid was a friend of God and it is only natural that we wish to be a friend of a friend of God.

THE PLANIVERSE

“The year is 1981, and in the computer lab of a large university a group of graduate students and theirprofessor are hard at work on the departmental mainframe, graphically modeling an imaginary two-dimensional world. The project is going well, extraordinarily well, when one student suddenly noticesthat the world they are building on-screen is… inhabited!”

So begins A.K. Dewdney’s tale of discovery and communication with the two-dimensional civilization ofArde. Since its original publication in 1984 The Planiverse has developed a kind of cult readership,following in the footsteps of Edward Abbot’s nineteenth-century classic Flatland. As a kind of mentalpuzzle or brainteaser, it challenges and delights, inviting readers to imagine just how a two-dimensional world might actually work. But the book is also a Sufi fable, written by a member of theChishti order, serving as a cautionary tale about the difficulties of communication from one totally alienworld to another, and suggesting that it is not only Yendred and his fellow 2-D Ardeans who cannotimagine dimensions beyond those they see.

THE BOOK OF SUFI HEALING



Several years ago we’ve visited a Sufi place in Budapest, Hungary. While we were sitting near theshrine of shaykh Gul Baba - a very pleasant and peaceful place surrounded by a well-kept rose garden– suddenly some members of a Sufi order entered and took out their musical instruments and startedto sing the beautiful “Elahis” of Yunus Emre. They explained later on to us that they visited thechildren’s hospital in Budapest in order to bring about healing by means of a musical therapy developedby their shaykh.

Audition to music also takes a very important place among the Chishtis. The music is a means toconcentrate on the divine Beloved. A side-effect may be healing. The Chishtis also pay attention toother kinds of healing. Prayers, special zikrs, the reading of “The Tale of the Four Dervishes” and so onare among the Chishti methods of healing. When a Chishti shaykh is being approached for help hisvisitors also may ask him questions about health issues as the Sufis work with the whole person.

Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti is the American author of “The Book of Sufi Healing”. He has spentsome time in Afghanistan in the company of local Sufis and healers before meeting his murshid in Ajmer,India. He writes that central to the doctrine of Sufi healing are the connections between health, theheart, wholeness and holiness. The Sufis have a holistic view in this respect and they work with thephysical as well as the subtle aspects of a person. Among the many topics treated are dietaryrecommendations of the Prophet, food and health, the preparation of herbal formulas, healing withessential oils, illnesses that may arise at the various stages of the soul’s evolution, fasting, prayers andtalismans.

I remember sitting in the company of a Chishti pir in Ajmer, when an English artist entered. ThisEnglishman told from the start that he was not interested in Sufism. He however was received withEastern hospitality and left a few days later. He was given a talisman and to my surprise he was quitewilling to accept it. It was tied around the upper part of his arm and he received he instruction never totake it off. He then went to the North of India to make a trek through the mountains. In the midst ofnature he took a bath in a natural pond and removed his talisman, which he carefully deposited on aflat rock. After taking his bath to his dismay he found out that the talisman had disappeared. He thentravelled all the way back to the Chishti pir in Ajmer and when they met he asked to be initiated into hisSufi order.

THE CULTURE OF THE SUFIS

“God is beautiful and he loves beauty!” Beauty is certainly one of the aspects of “The Culture of theSufis”. You only have to turn to the chapter as written by Dr. Zahurul Hassan Sharib dealing with thepoetry of the Sufis. Abu Sa’id Abi’l-Khair wrote this quatrain about outer and inner beauty:

God, in Whose hand is the whole universe wide,Has given you two good things side by side;One is beauty of character to be friendly with others,And the second is beauty of the face, so that others in friendship with you abide.

The book contains 15 chapters dealing with subjects like the origin of Sufism, initiation in the Sufi order,rituals and practices, the moral and ethical culture of the Sufis, their states and stations as well as theirdoctrines, women and Sufism, supernatural powers and the recollection of death. The Chishti point ofview dominates, although there is also attention to the testament of Muhyiddin ibn al-‘Arabi and theone of the “Rose of Baghdad”, shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani.

The value of the book have been enhanced by the extensive bibliography and the select discography,while the 9 illustrations make “The Culture of the Sufis” a beautiful book. Love for the divine beauty canmake you dance as Khwaja ‘Uthman Haruni tells us:

I do not know why, at last, to have a longing look, I dance!But I feel proud of the fondness that before the Friend, I dance!

You strike the musical instruments and lo! Every time, I dance!In whatever way You cause me to dance, I abide o Friend, I dance!

Come, o Beloved! See the solemn spectacle that in the crowd of the intrepid and daring,With a hundred probabilities of ignominy and disgrace, in the heart of the market, I dance!

Blessed is the state of drunkenness that I trample underfoot a hundred pieties!How fine and excellent the abstinence that with the robe and the turban, I dance!

I am ‘Uthman Haruni and a friend of shaykh Mansur,The people rebuke and ridicule me and on the gallows, I dance!



THE COUPLETS OF BABA FARID

Maqbool Elahi has given the complete set of couplets of Baba Farid as written in the Punjabi languagetogether with their English translations. These poems form part of the Holy Granth of the Sikhs. Hereare some examples:

Life is wife and Death her husband.Husband takes his wife awayAfter ‘yes’ to his proposal.How can she hold back the day?

And:

It is a mystery deep and bafflingWorldly life - a hidden fire!Allah hath done me a favourElse I too would’ve burnt entire.

Passing by a field of water-melons, Baba Farid picked up the skin of a water-melon and wascontemplating on the beauty of its colour, design and texture when the owner of the field started givinghim a beating, taking him for a thief:

Farid! The door of dervishesis so hard to enterFain would I have walked it pastWith worldly massesBut for a bundle of pretenceWhere o where to dump it.

And:

Dervishes I have tested wellAnd found their faith skin deepI haven’t met a single oneWho knows the ways so steep.

Punjabi - the language of the land of the five (panj) streams (ab)) lends itself so sweetly to mysticalthoughts, so here in English is a fifth and final poem:

Says Farid! My playmates!When God will send His callThis swan will humbly walk to HimAnd in the dust will fall.

PEARLS OF THE PARROT OF INDIA – THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM KHAMSA OF AMIR KHUSRAW OF DELHI

What the sun of Tabriz was to the Mawlana of Rum, that or more could be found in the relationshipbetween shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya and his favourite disciple Amir Khusraw. Whatever the truth may bethe poetry of ‘Parrot of India’ – the nickname of Amir Khusraw - has left a lasting impression on theChishti order.

Ami Khusraw was well acquainted with the works of many famous poets. In a passage of the preface tothe “Ghurrat al-Kamaal” (The Prime of Perfection) he remarks according to John Seyller, the author ofthe “Pearls…”: “I examined most of the forms of poetry that could be produced through imagination andstudied constantly the works of the great masters. From these I culled what was sweet and thusacquired a real taste for the pleasures of poetry. My eyes and intellect brightened when I saw thewritings of Anwari and Sana’i, and whenever I beheld a poem bright as gold-water I chased it like arunning stream. Every diwan I came across, I not only studied but imitated in my compositions”.

Later on his choice of a model to emulate could not have been better, for Nizami’s “Khamsa” (Quintet) iswidely regarded as the apogee of Persian literature. Amir Khusraw’s own “Quintet” has been discussedby John Seyyller. Next to that attention has been given to the life of Amir Khusraw, the context ofMughal painting, and the painting cycles in Islamic manuscript illustration. There is a commentary on theminiatures incorporated in the “Khamsa” of Amir Khusraw. The many full-colour Persian miniatures makethis a book worthwhile to be mentioned in this series of Chishti books.

NIZAM AD-DIN AWLIYA – MORALS FOR THE HEART



Amir Hasan Sijzi has had an excellent idea. He has recorded the conversations of shaykh NizamuddinAwliya. The resulting book is a fundamental plank in the Sufism of the Chishtis. The translation fromPersian gives a clear picture of what is taking place in a Chishti circle. The shaykh is talking and getsinspired to change the subject, he recites some poetry, then he tells a tale, and – when a visitor enters– again the atmosphere changes and that what is taking place is adapted to the people present.

One day shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya told this story: “In Lahore there was a scholar renowned for hiseloquence. One day he came to the qazi of Lahore and said: ‘I desire to go on pilgrimage to the Ka’ba.Give me permission that I may go’. The qazi replied: ‘Why do you want to go? At present yourdiscourses and counsels are benefiting many people’.

The scholar refrained from going. After another year had lapsed, he again approached the qazi andagain sought permission to go to Mecca. Again the qazi ordered him to stay, and again he convincedthat scholar to remain in Lahore.

The third year came and the scholar approached the Qazi once more: ‘I am overcome with desire tovisit the Ka’ba. Please give me permission that I may go’. ‘O master,’ replied the qazi, ‘if you areovercome with the desire to visit the Ka’ba, what need do you have to ask permission of me or to seekmy consultation? You should simply go’.

Then upon the blessed lips of the master came these words: ‘In love there is no need of consultation’.”

THE SHRINE AND CULT OF MU’IN AL-DIN CHISHTI OF AJMER

P.M. Currie makes it clear that several teachings and events attributed to Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti areprobably incorrectly attributed. The scholars studying classical Chishti Sufism have a different point ofview than the ordinary people who visit the shrine of the Khwaja of Ajmer in all their devotion. Thereare also Sufis like Hazrat Khadim Hasan, whose “Mo’in ul-Arwah” has been read by me, and who statesthat some of the teachings attributed to Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti are authentic while others are lateradditions. I also like the attitude of Peter Lamborn Wilson when he mentions the “Diwan” attributed toKhwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti. He writes (I’m quoting him by heart) that if these poems are wronglyattributed to Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti, then at least it can be said that they have been written bysomeone with quite some spiritual development.

Currie deals with the quest for the historical Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti, the legendary one, the historyof his shrine, the visit to Ajmer, the Khuddam, i.e. the descendants of those who arrived together withKhwaja Sahib in Ajmer, the head of the Chishti order, and the administration of the dargah.As for legends, they at times have their own place in Sufism. Shaykh Dho’l-Nun of Egypt once explainedhow he returned to God (tawba). He was in the desert and there he saw that a lame bird was gettingits sustenance in a miraculous way. A golden plate descended from heaven and on it was the daily foodfor the bird. This strange event has been explained by shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi in a symbolic way. Herelated it to an experience of the soul.

It is said about Fariduddin ‘Attar that he one day paid little attention to a dervish who visited his store.The dervish then asked him: “How will you die?” Fariduddin ‘Attar answered him in a careless way thathe would die just like the dervish. The dervish then dropped dead at that very moment and this made abig impression on Fariduddin ‘Attar. It doesn’t matter much if this event actually took place, as it is ateaching story among the Sufis explaining something of the station of tawba, the return to God.

It is of course only proper to find out the truth regarding the authenticity of the teachings of KhwajaSahib. The Sufis however have an extra tool, i.e., their intuitive unveiling (kashf), which is not for sale inuniversities for orientalists. Currie at times also makes serious mistakes as an orientalist out of acertain carelessness. It is clear that he has remained an outsider. The door to Khwaja Mo’inuddinChishti has remained closed to him.

NOTES FROM A DISTANT FLUTE – SUFI LITERATURE IN PRE-MUGHAL INDIA

Bruce B. Lawrence in his “Notes…” not only pays attention to “the spiritual kings of India” - the ChishtiSufis - but also discusses some shaykhs of the Suhrawardi, Firdawsi, and Maghrebi Sufi orders.Lawrence presents several poems in the original Persian language. What you see below is mytranscription and my translation of at first a poem of Mas’ud-e-Bakk:

Gar az khodiye khwish berun aa’i toDar pardaye tawhid darun aa’i toVar az ravesh-e chun o cheraa bargozariAz khod shode bi cheraa o chun aa’i to

If outside your own self you would go,



Into the veil of unity you would go.And if you would go beyond the why and when,Leaving yourself, into the without why and when you would go.

Amir Hasan writes about shaykh Qotboddin Bakhtiyar Kaki’s ecstasy when he heard the two final linesof a poem of shaykh Ahmad-e-Jam:

Jaan bar in yek bayt daade-ast aan bozorgAari in kawhar ze kaani digar-astKoshtegaan-e khanjar-e taslim raaHar zamaan az ghayb jaani-ye digar-ast.

On this verse that great being gave up his soulThis jewel truly came from a special mine:Those slain by the sword of submissionGet all the time another life from the unseen.

Shaykh Hamidoddin Nagawri writes this:

Kaarist waraai ‘elm raw aanraa baashDar bande gohar mabaash raw kaan raa baashDel hast maqaame gaah begozaar o biaaJaan manzele aakherast raw jaan raa baash.

There is a work beyond knowledge, realise that, go!Do not work to get jewels, be the mine, go!The heart is a temporary abode, leave it and come!The soul is the final abode, realise that, go!

THE SUFI SAINTS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

"The Sufi Saints of the Indian Subcontinent" deals with the life and teachings of 126 important Sufisfrom India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They come from the Chishti, Qadiri, Suhrawardi, Naqshbandi andother Sufi orders.

In case you like to expand your knowledge of Sufism why not read something, which describes thosewho were the living embodiment of Sufism? Dr. Sharib (1914-1996), who was the head of the GudriShahi order of the Sufis, has been able to present the view of an insider to the Sufis of the IndianSubcontinent.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAIKH NIZAM’U’D-DIN AULIYA

Some of the Sufis are a lover of God, but Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya was a beloved of God. His concernfor the weak and the destitute endeared him to the people who found spiritual solace in his company.He found it difficult to eat, because some people in Delhi had gone to sleep without their meals.Inspired by the tradition of the Prophet he was called Mahbub-e-Elahi, the beloved of God:

All God’s creatures are His family.And he is the most beloved of GodWho does most good to His creatures.

The shaykh was a teacher par excellence. He did not believe in spinning fine ideas, but expressed in hislife the accumulated wisdom of the Sufi path. His life and the teachings have been described in aninspiring way by Khaliq Ahmad Nizami. After depicting his early life, the meeting with shaykh Baba Faridhas been described. The shaykh welcomed him thus:

The fire of your separation has burnt many hearts.The storm of desire to meet you has ravaged many lives.

The old shaykh noticed the nervousness of the potential disciple and said: “Every newcomer isnervous”. After having been accepted as a murid the way of purification had to be travelled before theway of illumination could be entered. Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya in due course even became the head ofthe Chishti order.



Why are we still talking about him? It is because he demonstrated in his life two types of devotion toGod, i.e. intransitive and transitive devotion. In the first type of devotion the benefit, which accrues isconfined to the devotee alone. It consists of prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, recitation of the zikr, etc. Thetransitive type of devotion brings advantage and comfort to others. It is performed by spending moneyon others, showing affection to the people, etc. The reward of transitive devotion is limitless.

The following quatrain is by Nizamuddin Awliya himself:

Ayam be sar-e-kuye to puyan puyanRukhsar be ab-e-dide shuyan shuyanBichare rah-e wasl-e to juyan juyanJan mideham o nam-e to guyan guyan

I came to the end of Your street, running, running.Tears came down my cheek, washing, washing.Union with You, I am helplessly seeking, seeking.My soul I surrender while Your name I am reciting, reciting.

THE LIFE AND TIME OF SHAIKH NASIRUDDIN CHIRAGH

Khaliq Ahmad Nizami has written three separate studies about Hazrat Baba Farid, his successor HazratNizamuddin Awliya and his successor shaykh Nasiruddin, the ‘lamp of Delhi’.

Each Chishti shaykh adapted the outward shape of his teachings to the people, the time and thecircumstances. Shaykh Nasiruddin told his disciples clearly and firmly that the entire structure of spiritualdiscipline was based on the proper training of the heart. The qibla (focus-point) of the heart is God. Theheart is the amir (ruler) of the body. When it turns away from its focus-point, the body also moves awayfrom its focus-point. The anwar (divine lights) first descend on the soul and then they are transmitted tothe body, which is subordinate to the heart. When the heart is moved, the body is also moved. Hal(spiritual state) is the result of the purity of action. Hal is transitory and is not permanent. If it becomesso it becomes a maqam (station).

Shaykh Nasiruddin was so courageous not to appoint anyone as the head of the Chishti order. Whenhe received a list of possible candidates he remarked that these people were unable to carry their ownburden, let alone the burden of others.

When becoming the head of the Chishtiyya order himself, Khwaja Nasiruddin had received severalarticles of mystic regalia from his shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya. The ‘lamp of Delhi’ had instructed hisdisciples to bury him with those objects. “Accordingly, the khirqah (patched frock) was placed on hisbreast, the staff (‘asaa) was laid by his side, the rosary (tasbih) was wound around his forefinger, thewooden bowl (“the use of the wooden bowl was considered effective in reducing diet”) was placedunder his head and the wooden sandals of his master were put by his side”.

With his passing away the light of Delhi was extinguished. When such a thing happens, however, anew candle always gets lit.

THE BIG FIVE OF INDIA IN SUFISM

Several years ago I’ve met Mirza Wahiduddin Begg, the author of “The Big Five…” in the company of ourmurshid in Ajmer. These big five consists of the 5 Chishti shaykhs who came after Khwaja Mo’inuddinChishti. The successor of the Khwaja of Ajmer was Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki of Delhi. The nextin the line was Khwaja Baba Farid of Pak Pattan, who was succeeded by Khwaja Nizamuddin Awliya,while Khwaja ‘Ali Ahmad Sabir was a caliph of Khwaja Baba Farid. Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh of Delhisucceeded Khwaja Nizamuddin Awliya.

The book with its many typically Indian illustrations ends with the mentioning of some provincial Chishticentres established in other parts of India. Mirza Wahiduddin Begg also makes clear that what comesup, also must come down. Hereditary succession, instead of the appointing of a true spiritual successor,was the main cause for the decline of the Chishti order. But what comes down may also come up, asthe spirit blows where it wills

THE CHISHTI SUFI SAINTS OF INDIA

This booklet of Yogindar Sikand deals with some of the major Chishti Sufis of India. From the thirteenthcentury onwards, numerous Sufi orders established themselves in India. Today, several thousands ofSufi shrines or dargahs, big and small, are scattered all over South Asia, attracting vast numbers of



devotees, including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others. Although the Chishti Sufis are Muslims theirmessage of simplicity and universal love had an appeal that transcended barriers of religion andcommunity. They consistently refused to establish any links with the political elite and by leading a lifeof voluntary poverty they readily identified themselves with the poor. All major Chishti centres maintainfree community kitchens or ‘langars’ that attract large number of poor people, travellers and wanderingfaqirs.

The booklet of Yogindar Sikand provides a general overview of the history and teachings of nineprincipal Chishti shaykhs. At a time when the politics of religious hatred are playing such havoc themessage of love and service of the Chishti Sufis continues to have an abiding relevance.

A HISTORY OF SUFISM IN INDIA – VOL 1+2

Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi of course pays lots of attention to the Chishtis in the about a thousand pagesof his “A History of Sufism in India”. The first volume outlines the history of Sufism before it was firmlyestablished in India and then continues to discuss the principal trends in Sufi development in thatcountry from the thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century. It also deals with the interactionof the medieval Hindu traditions and Sufism. The second volume starts with a brief discussion of themystical philosophy of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi, which played a pivotal role in the development of Sufithought and practices in India. The two volumes deal with all the major Sufi orders in India and alsowith some of the smaller ones. So this book offers lots of reading stuff for the hungry.

KHAWAJA GHARIB NAWAZ

A text in Arabic together with its English translation is prominently displayed on the book jacket of thisstudy, which has been written by Dr. Zahurul Hassan Sharib. It tells this about Khwaja Mo’inuddinChishti:

He was a beloved of God.He died in the love of God.

Besides the story of the life of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, as Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti is popularly known,the book contains short notes about his contemporaries and disciples in the field of Sufism. Next to thatattention has been paid to his teachings and sayings. Let us take one about the service of God:

“Khwaja Gharib Nawaz says that once Hazrat Malik Dinar was asked about the service of God. Hereplied that if the one who takes to the service of the Friend ultimately gets united with the Friend”.

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF AMIR KHUSRU.

I once was taken to the bookshop of Mir Sahib in Karachi. It was an extremely small bookshop of aboutone meter large, one meter wide and one meter deep, but with a good collection of books and ofcourse Mir Sahib himself, who was an very enthusiastic lover of books. After showing my pile of books,which I wanted to buy he advised me to add one more book to this pile. It was the above-mentionedtitle as written by Dr. Mohammad Wahid Mirza. He saw my hesitation and then added that the price ofthe book was only ten rupees. To me it is incredible that I still kept on hesitating, as now it is a book Ilike very much. He then put the book on top of the pile, charged ten rupees and thus provided me withlots of reading pleasure after returning back home:

Baaz aai o beneshin saa’ati aakhar che kam khwahad shodanGar shaad gardaani dami yaaraan gham farsuda raa.

O Love! Return and sit by meAwhile, - why, where’s the harm?If for one moment some sad heartBy your bright presence may warm?

A dervish is a friend of God and a friend of a friend is a friend, so why not be a friend of a dervish?

---

Bibliography



Begg, W.D.; The Big Five in Indian Sufism; n.d.

Chishti, Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin: The Book of Sufi Healing; inner Traditions International; 1985.

Currie, P.M.: The Shrine and Cult of Mu’in al-din Chishti of Ajmer; Oxford University Press; 1989.

Dewdney, A.K.: The Planiverse – Computer Contact with a two-dimensional world; Copernicus Books;2001.

Dhaul, Laxmi: The Sufi Saint of Ajmer; Thea Enterprises; 2001.

Elahi, Maqbool: The Couplets of Baba Farid; Majlis Shah Hussain; 1967.

Ernst, Carl W.: Eternal Garden – Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center; StateUniversity of New York Press; 1992.

Ernst, Carl W. and Bruce B. Lawrence: Sufi Martyrs of Love - The Chishti order in South Asia andBeyond; Palgrave Macmillan; 2002.

Haeri, Muneera: The Chishtis – A Living Light; Oxford University Press; 2001.

Lawrence, Bruce B.: Notes from a Distant Flute – Sufi Literature in Pre-Mughal India; Imperial IranianAcademy; 1978.

Mirza, Dr. Mohammad Wahid: The Life and Works of Amir Khusraw; Panjab University Press; 1962.

Nizami, Khaliq Ahmad: The Life and Times of Shaikh Farid-ud-din Ganj-iShakar; Idarah-i Adabiyat-Delli;1998.

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-: The Life and Times of Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-iDehli; Idarah-i Adabiyat-Delli; 1991.

Rizvi, Saiyid Athar Abbas: A History of Sufism in India; Munshiram Manoharlal; 2 vol.; 1978-1983.

Seyller, John: Pearls of he Parrot of India – The Walters Art Museum Khamsa of Amir Khusraw of Delhi;The Walters Art Museum; 2001.

Shah, Amina: The Tale of the Four Dervishes And Other Sufi Tales; Harper & Row; 1981.

Sharib, Zahurul Hassan: The Meditations of Khawaja Muin Uddin Hasan Chishti; Sharib Press; 1994.

-: The Culture of the Sufis; Sharib Press; 1999.

-: Khawaja Gharib Nawaz; Sh. Muhammad Ashraf; 1975.

-: The Sufi Saints of The Indian Subcontinent; Munishiram Manoharlal; 2006.

Shahi, Hazrat Mohammed Khadim Hasan Shah Zuberi Moini Gudri (Nawab Gudri Shah Baba): The Path ofTasawwuf; East-West Publications Fonds B.V.; 1978.

Sharma, Sunil: Amir Khusraw – The Poet of Sultans and Sufis; Oneworld; 2005.

Sijzi, Amir Hasan: Nizam Ad-Din Awliya – Morals for the Heart; Paulist Press; 1992.

Sikand, Yogindar: The Chishti Sufi Saints of India; Private Circulation; 2001.

Simsar, Muhammed A.: The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Tuti Nama / Tales of a Parrot; The ClevelandMuseum of Art; 1978.

Valiuddin, Mir Dr.: Contemplative Disciplines in Sufism; East-West Publications Fonds B.V.; 1980.

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