Love for the saints

Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib (may his secret be sanctified) says: “For the lovers of this group, the glad tidings of 'A person is with whom he loves' are sufficient, and for those who sit with this group, the good news of 'They are a people whose companion is never wretched' to the end.” (Maktub 78, Volume Two)

That is, for those who love the dervishes, the glad tidings of “A person is with whom he loves” (a person will be with the one he loves) are sufficient, and for the companions of this group the good news of “They are a people whose companion is never wretched” (they are a people whose companion is not unfortunate) is ample. (Further on he says:)

“When, by the favour of Allah, Glorified is He, this love becomes dominant in such a way that it leaves nothing other than itself in the heart, and the other attachments (the heart's

ties) depart from the heart entirely, and the necessary consequences of love become manifest, namely obedience to the beloved, remaining steadfast in what he desires, and being adorned with the character and qualities of the one sought, then at that time annihilation in the beloved is attained, resembling annihilation in the shaykh (fana fi'l-shaykh), which is the first step on this path. This annihilation in the shaykh in turn becomes the means to annihilation in Allah (fana fi'llah), upon which subsistence through Allah (baqa billah) is built, and that is what constitutes sainthood (wilayat).”

Concerning love for the dervishes (fuqara) and the noble saints, he writes in Maktub 235, Volume One:

“Knowing this love to be the capital of the felicities of this world and the Hereafter, one should ask Allah the Exalted for firmness and steadfastness in it. Carrying out the commands of the Shari'ah is the result of this very love, and attaining inner composure (jam'iyyat-e-batin) is the fruit of this very affection. If worlds upon worlds (that is, a great many) of darknesses and turbidities were cast into one's inner being while this love remained intact, one should not grieve but should remain hopeful; and if mountains upon mountains (a great many) of lights and spiritual states (ahwal) were poured into one's inner being while this love were diminished by even a hair's breadth, one should regard it as nothing but ruin and count it as a divine drawing-on to destruction (istidraj).”

The final words are these: “And if mountains upon mountains of lights and states were poured into one's inner being and a hair's breadth of this love were taken away, it should be regarded as nothing but ruin and counted as istidraj.”

What a place for taking heed! Those in whose hearts the monsoon of lights and states is raining, Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib is warning them that if there is any deficiency in their love for the saints, these lights and states are not a sign of acceptance but are istidraj. What then is to be said of those who have neither lights nor states, but only a few forty-day retreats (chilla), which, instead of bringing radiance to the face, increase its darkness, and a few marks of prostration whose pride has given them

the feeling that “you too are not inferior in rank to any saint”; those for whom the shrines of the noble saints are heaps of earth, and presence there interferes with the oneness (tawhid) of the Holy Lord; those for whom the people who visit the elders' shrines are grave-worshippers.

If only they had ever asked for the ability to walk the path of truth; if only they had ever studied, with an eye of fairness, the records of the greatness of the noble saints, they would not have placed these holy souls in the station of idols and been so deprived of everlasting felicities. In the very court where these prostrations are being made day and night for the sake of success, these same prostrations, by not following in the footsteps of those holy and pure servants, will become the cause of failure.

The Ka'ba Comes to Visit the Noble Saints

In Hazarat al-Quds, Hazrat Maulana Badruddin Sirhindi relates that it was his practice after the Fajr prayer to sit facing the congregation and, after the supplication, to become occupied in meditation. Once, on the morning of the Day of Arafah, after the closing salutation of the Fajr prayer, he remained seated facing the Qibla until the sun had risen high. Then he raised his head from meditation and said (to his intimates who were privy to his secrets): “Today a longing arose in me to visit the Ka'ba, and a yearning for the Sacred Sanctuary; and I saw that suddenly the Ka'ba itself came to circumambulate me and began to go around me. It is a wonder that the people of unveiling remained unaware of this event; otherwise they themselves would have gone around me and circumambulated me.” (Hazarat al-Quds, p. 116)

The Importance of the Company of the Saints

How important a thing the company of the noble saints is, you will be able to gauge from this incident

which Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib (may his secret be sanctified) recorded in Maktub 70, Volume Three. He says that Hazrat Khwaja Ubaydullah Ahrar (may his secret be sanctified) said: “Among a group of dervishes a discussion was taking place on this question: concerning that hour of Friday about which it has come in the noble hadith that whatever permissible thing is asked for in that hour, the Holy Lord grants it, if that hour should be granted to one, what should one ask of Allah Most High? All the dervishes who were there said something or other according to their own understanding and taste. When my turn came, I said: one should ask for the company of the people of inner composure (arbab-e-jam'iyyat), for within it all felicities are obtained.” In Mabda' wa Ma'ad, setting out the ranks of the heart, he says: “The gnostic ('arif) who is most complete in gnosis (ma'rifat) and most perfect in witnessing (shuhud), when he reaches that station whose existence is rare and whose rank is noble, becomes a heart for all the worlds and all the manifestations. This is the gnostic who is realised in the Muhammadan sainthood and honoured with the Mustafawi calls.”

The Breadth of Vision of the Noble Saints

At dawn on the morning after Shab-e-Bara'at, it was unveiled to him that Shaykh Tahir Lahori, who was one of his special disciples (murid), had been removed from the register of the righteous and placed in the register of the wretched. Hazrat Mujaddid turned in attention to the Divine court and strove to avert this matter. It became known that in the Preserved Tablet (Lawh-e-Mahfuz) this matter had been fixed as an irrevocable decree (qaza-e-mubram). He was perplexed. Meanwhile he recalled this saying of Ghawth al-Thaqalayn Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may his secret be sanctified): “In the irrevocable decree no one but me has the power of disposal (tasarruf).” So he made entreaty, humble supplication and intimate prayer in the Divine court: “O Allah, since You have granted one chosen servant that blessing of the power

of disposal, then honour this faqir too with that blessing; it is not beyond Your generosity.” This prayer of his was accepted, and it became known to him that one kind of decree in the Preserved Tablet is irrevocable, yet with Allah it is conditional upon some intercession or other matter, and in this irrevocable decree the power of disposal is granted to the most elect of the elders; whereas that which is irrevocable with Allah admits no change or alteration of any kind: “The word is not changed with Me.” (from Hazarat al-Quds, translated)

This incident bears great testimony that the gaze of the noble saints, too, can see the Preserved Tablet; rather, the saint comes to know some of those matters that are established in Divine knowledge. It also became known that, because of the noble saints, wretchedness is changed into felicity.

Warding Off Punishment

Because of the righteous and pious servants of Allah Most High, punishment is averted. If the incidents on this subject were collected in detail, the discussion would become long; here I present just two incidents to the readers.

One night Hazrat Mujaddid himself, together with his companions of lofty rank and his disciples of high station, went to visit the radiant shrine of Hazrat Imam Rafi'uddin. The Imam Sahib was among his great ancestors and was one of the deputies (khulafa) of Hazrat Sayyid Jalaluddin Makhdum Jahangir. He remained near the Imam Sahib's grave for a long time and stayed in meditation. After returning from that shrine he said to his companions privy to his secrets: “When I stood facing the Imam Sahib's shrine, I turned in attention to the Divine court, majestic is His greatness, and submitted: 'Have mercy on the people of these shrines

and remove punishment from these graves.' The command came: 'Because of your request, punishment has been lifted from the people of this graveyard for one week.' I submitted: 'O Allah, there is no limit to Your mercy; increase their forgiveness.' Then the command came: 'At your request We have now removed punishment from these graves for one month.' Then I entreated more and more, and the answer came: 'Since you have repeatedly requested in Our court the lifting of punishment from this group, We have therefore forgiven them.'”

One day he went to visit the grave of his father, Khwaja Abdul Ahad. There the thought came to him that it has come in a Prophetic hadith (blessings and peace upon its source) that when a scholar passes by a graveyard, punishment is lifted from the people of the graveyard for forty days. At that very moment it was inspired to him: “Because of your coming, We have lifted punishment from the people of this graveyard until the Day of Resurrection.” (Hazarat al-Quds, p. 101)

How great a warding off of calamity it is for punishment to be removed from the people of the grave! But why would those minds accept this, for whom the noble prophets, indeed even the Master of the Prophets (upon them be blessings and peace), are not averters of calamity, and for whom reciting Durud-e-Taj is wrong because in it the Prophet ﷺ is called “the averter of calamity and pestilence”?

If you wish to see an exhaustive discussion of this subject, look at the blessed treatise Al-Amn wa al-'Ula by the Reviver of the Religion and the Community, our master Imam Ahmad Raza (may his secret be sanctified); you will see oceans of truth surging. If the seal of wretchedness has not been set, then, Allah willing, the heart will be illumined with the light of guidance; and if the quality of certainty is there, perfect certainty will be attained.

Seeking Help from the Elders

This is a very important issue. There was a time when it was everyone's practice, without disagreement, to seek and ask help from the noble saints, to seek their spiritual resolve (himmat) and attention (tawajjuh), and to have one's difficulties resolved; it is something on which the people of truth have always agreed. But for some time now a few hot-headed people have stirred up a storm of shirk and bid'ah, and even this well-known, widely recognised and accepted matter could not remain safe from its blast. How excellent and how firm is what the Imam of the Ahl-e-Sunnat (may his secret be sanctified) says:

Rulers and physicians may give justice and medicine, yet these [saints] give nothing?

O rejected one, which verse or report is it that means this?

On this matter, these few sentences of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani are quite enough to illumine one's faith:

“From the dervishes who have a firm footing in the Shari'ah and are well acquainted with the realm of reality, one should seek spiritual resolve (himmat) and look for help, so that the favour of Allah, Glorified is He, appearing through their window, may draw one wholly towards His holy presence, Exalted is He, and no room for any opposition [to the Shari'ah] remains in him. As long as the way of opposing the Shari'ah is open by even a hair's breadth, it is a place of danger; all the paths of opposition must be closed.

It is impossible, O Sa'di, that the path of purity

can be travelled except in the footsteps of Mustafa.”

That is, from those dervishes who have a firm footing in the Shari'ah and are well acquainted with the realm of reality, one should seek spiritual resolve (help), so that the favour of Allah, Glorified is He, appearing through the window of these dervishes, may draw one towards the court of Allah Most High, and no room for any opposition remains in him. As long as the way of opposing the Shari'ah remains open by even a hair's breadth, it is a place of danger; all the paths of opposition must be closed. O Sa'di! Without Mustafa ﷺ it is impossible to traverse the path of purity. (Maktub

78, Volume One) The words of Hazrat Mujaddid on the permissibility of seeking spiritual resolve and help from the noble saints are so explicit that they need no explanation. Not only that: the Hazrat's words also draw attention to this, that if a person wishes to be enriched with the blessing of following and imitating the Master of the Universe ﷺ and of obedience to the Shari'ah, he should make the noble saints his means (wasila) and turn in entreaty to their spiritual reality. The favour of Allah is obtained only through their lofty spiritual attentions; if one is to reach Allah in the right way, it will be through their favour alone.

The Sacred Relics of the Noble Saints

One day in Ajmer Sharif he went to visit the most holy shrine of the Pole of Poles (Qutb al-Aqtab), Hazrat Mu'inuddin Chishti (may his secret be sanctified), and remained for a long time in meditation in the presence of that full moon of the saints. When he came out, he said to those close to him: “Hazrat Khwaja (may his secret be sanctified) showed great kindness and generosity, hosted me with his special blessings, and also disclosed hidden meanings and secrets. Then he forbade the efforts that people were making on my behalf to secure my release from accompanying the army, and commanded that the matter be left to the good pleasure of Allah Most High.”

In the meantime it happened that the sheet covering Hazrat Khwaja's (may his secret be sanctified) shrine, which is laid fresh every year, while the old sheet is sent to some great elder and presented to the reigning king, and the kings keep it in a chest like a ruby with reverence and veneration — was presented as a gift to Hazrat Mujaddid, and the custodians of the shrine (mujawir) said, “Who could be more deserving of this sacred relic than you?” He accepted it with full reverence and veneration and said: “Let this blessed cloth of Hazrat Khwaja be preserved for my shroud, for at this time, instead of a garment, Hazrat Khwaja has bestowed this very sheet

upon me.” (Hazarat al-Quds, p. 114) This incident is a powerful proof regarding the respect, reverence, honour and veneration of sacred relics. That which ignorant people nowadays consider it tawhid to call forbidden and impermissible, Hazrat Mujaddid is emphatically instructing about it that it be preserved for his shroud.

Whether you stick the verdict of “forbidden” on such practices of today's Sunnis or fire the cannon of shirk at them, just try passing some verdict on elders like Hazrat Mujaddid, and you will find that from these ignorances nothing is gained except disgrace and humiliation in this world and the nullification of deeds (habt-e-a'mal, the ruining of one's deeds) in the Hereafter. From this it is also known that the custom of laying sheets over shrines is very old. Had there been even the slightest objectionable thing in it, a man so outspoken in truth as Hazrat Mujaddid would never have remained silent about this act.

Bear in mind that all the incidents mentioned above are proof that the Hazrat used to go to visit graves. This is a very clear and evident matter, which is why we have not set up a separate heading for it. How strange it is that something which is a Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and is established by numerous hadiths, even acting upon it is now called grave-worship! No one has plundered faith in the name of tawhid the way those who feed on the leftovers of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (the Wahhabis and Deobandis) have plundered it. If today the garden of Islam is being harmed more than by anything else, it is by the poisonous wind of this very Wahhabi sect.

Listen also to one more incident, concerning the shirt of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) himself, which his special deputy, Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Hashim Sahib (may Allah have mercy on him), related in Barakat-e-Ahmadiya. From it readers will understand well what importance, in the eyes of Hazrat Mujaddid

(may his secret be sanctified), was held by clothes that have touched the bodies of the noble saints. From this it can be well understood that when such is the state of the blessings of the noble saints, what must be the rank of the sacred relics of the noble prophets (upon them be blessings and peace)! He says:

An elder named Maulana Muhammad Amin was one of the disciples of Khwaja Diwana Surati (may Allah have mercy on him). He fell victim to a severe illness, and a long time passed. He had the dervishes pray for him and also took treatment from physicians, but nothing was of any use. When the call of the greatness and loftiness of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) reached his ears, he sent a petition with complete humility to the court of the Hazrat (may his secret be sanctified), in which he asked for such spiritual attention as would bring healing, and also that some sacred relic be granted to him.

The Hazrat (may his secret be sanctified) felt great compassion, and sent a gracious letter together with a blessed shirt. This letter contains some pieces of advice, and about the shirt he says: “Do not worry about outward weakness; there is strong hope that it will be changed into health and well-being. You had asked for the garment of the dervishes; it is being sent. Wear it and wait for its results and fruits, for it is greatly blessed.

Whoever takes it as a tale, for him it is a tale; and whoever has seen it as ready coin, he alone is truly a man.” When Hazrat Maulana put on this noble shirt, he was freed from that long illness. He came and became a disciple of the Hazrat. The original words are these:

“Further, let him not be anxious on account of outward weakness; Allah Most High willing, it will be changed into health and well-being. My mind is at ease on this account. The garment of the dervishes that you had requested, a shirt, has been sent. Wear it and await its results and fruits, for it is abundant in blessing.

Whoever reads it as a tale, for him it is a tale;

and whoever sees it as ready coin, he is truly a man.

And peace be upon whoever follows guidance and holds fast to following Mustafa, upon him and his family be the most perfect blessings.” And he put on that shirt, was freed from that illness of many years, and came and became one of the disciples. (Barakat-e-Ahmadiya, pp. 272–273)

The Greatness of and Love for the Noble Sayyids

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says: “The Sayyids, abundant in blessings, by virtue of being a part of the Master of religion and the world (upon him and his family be blessings and salutations), are too exalted for their merits and praise to be expressed by a deficient tongue; yet, regarding it as a means of his own felicity, he ventures in this matter; rather, he praises himself through this connection and expresses love for them, which he has been commanded to do. O Allah, make us among those who love them, by the sanctity of the Master of the Messengers, upon him, his family and them be blessings and peace.”

The Sayyids, abundant in blessings, by virtue of being a part (a lineal connection) of the Master of religion and the world ﷺ, are too exalted for this faqir to describe their excellence and praise them with a deficient tongue; yet, knowing it to be a means of his own felicity, he ventures in this matter; rather, through this means he praises himself and expresses friendship for them, which he has been commanded to do. O Allah! By virtue of the Master of the world (may Allah Most High send blessings and peace upon him and his family), make us among those who love the noble Sayyids. (Maktub 56)

Concerning love he says: “Through this love which has arisen for the relatives of the Prophet (upon him be blessings, peace and salutations), he has grasped the cord of hope completely. May Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, grant steadfastness in love for them, by the sanctity of the Master of mankind, upon him and his family be blessings and peace.” (Maktub 55, Volume One)

“Because of the love which has arisen for the relatives (the Sayyids) of the Prophet ﷺ, he has taken the cord of hope fully into his hand. May Allah the Exalted grant steadfastness in love for these noble ones, by virtue of the Master of mankind, upon him and his family be blessings and peace.”

What the love and greatness of the Sayyids meant in the eyes of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) can be well gauged from this. In Maktub 55, Volume One, he says:

“The example of the Household of the Messenger is like that of the Ark of Noah: whoever boarded it was saved, and whoever stayed behind from it perished. One of the gnostics said that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah Most High send blessings and peace upon him, his family and his Companions) made his Companions like the stars, and it is by the stars that people find their way, and likened his Household to the Ark of Noah, as an indication that whoever boards the ark must necessarily pay heed to the stars in order to be safe from destruction, and without paying heed to the stars salvation is absolutely impossible.”

And the state of the Household of the Messenger (peace be upon him) is like the ark of Hazrat Noah: whoever boarded it was saved, and whoever stayed away from it perished. One of the gnostics said that the Messenger (upon him, his family and his Companions be blessings and peace) in his saying made the noble Companions stars, and it is by the stars that people find their way; and he likened his Household to the Ark of Noah (peace be upon him), to indicate that for one who boards the ark, paying heed to the stars is necessary so that he remains safe from destruction; without paying heed to the stars, salvation is impossible for him.