Urs of Pious Predecessors in Rabi al Akhir

Our Pious Predecessors

Mawlana Abu Majid Muhammad Shahid Attari Madani

Rabi al-Akhir is the fourth Islamic month. In the Monthly Magazine of Rabi al-Akhir issues between 1439 AH - 1443 AH, we have paid homage to 68 saints and scholars who passed away in this month. In this issue, we remember 13 more righteous souls:

Saints رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ :

1.   Sayyid Abū Ḥasan Mūsā Jūn al-Ḥasanī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born on 14^th Ramadan, 153 AH in Madina. He was a disciple and spiritual caliph of his father, Sayyid ʿAbd Allah al-Maḥaḍ رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه . He passed away in 214 AH in Suwayq, a place near Madina. He was a righteous and pious scholar of hadith. He was also an excellent poet and writer.^[1]

2.   Sayyidunā Shaykh Sayyid Abū al-Faḍl Qādirī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Kashmir in Rajab 698 AH. After learning the fundamentals of Islamic knowledge, he took the spiritual pledge at the hands of Sayyid Shams al-Dīn Sahrāʾī Qādirī. After completing the spiritual journey, he was authorised to guide and mentor spiritual aspirants. He was engaged in spreading Islam his entire life. He passed away on the 16^th of Rabi al-Akhir 794 AH. His shrine is next to a Masjid in Kashmir.^[2]

3.   A scion of the sayyids of Bukhāra, Sayyidunā Makhdūm Sayyid Ahmad Bukhārī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was a godly scholar and eminent saint whose disciples included ulema and the public. He passed away on the 5^th of Rabi al-Akhir 820 AH. His shrine is in Baijapur, Karnataka, Hind.^[3]

4.   Sayyidunā Mawlānā Dildār Baig Attocki رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was known for his devotion and worship. He was authorised as a spiritual guide by a master of the Nasqshbandi Way, Sayyidunā Ji Baba Abū Ismāʿīl Yaḥyā Attocki. He passed away on 3^rd Rabi al-Akhir, 1111 AH. His shrine is in Attock.^[4]

5.   Sayyidunā Miyaan Muhammad Ḥayāt Qādirī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Katbar (Lehri Province, Sibi District, Balochistan). He passed away on 23^rd Rabi al-Akhir, 1255 AH. He was buried next to his father, Miyaan Muhammad Kāmil Qādirī. A seasoned scholar of Islam, he was known for his patience and care for the Ummah. He was also the custodian of Khanqah Qādirīyyah.^[5]

6.   Sayyidunā Makhdūm Sayyid Shāh Niyāz Ashraf Kichauchwi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was the custodian of Kichaucha Sharif Sarkaar e Khurd. He passed away on 2^nd Rabi al-Akhir, 1278 AH. As per his will, he was laid to rest next to Sayyidunā Shāh Rāju رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه . His grandson, Makhdūm Sayyid Shāh Abū Muhammad Ashraf Husayn Kichauchwi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه ^[6], was his spiritual heir.

7.   Sayyidunā Faqīr Ḥāfiz Muhammad Akmal Shāh Wārithī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1288 AH in Jhelum, Punjab. Born to a scholarly family, his father served as a judge (Qāḍī). He passed away on 27^th Rabi al-Thaani. He had memorised the Quran and trained as a well-versed scholar of Islam. He was a contemporary of Pir Fazal Shāh Jalalpuri and a disciple of Hazrat Wārith Pāk. His shrine is in Chapar Sharif (near Gujar Khan, Punjab).^[7]

Noble Scholars رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ الـسَّـلَام :

8.   Sayyidunā Shaykh Muhammad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Bakarī al-Shāfiʿī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born on 2^nd Safar, 807 AH in Dahroot. He passed away on 15^th Rabi al-Akhir, 891AH. He was an authority on Islamic jurisprudence, a skilled legal theoretician, a formable littérateur, and an encyclopaedia of hadith. He was acclaimed for his major contributions to the fields of Shāfiʿī jurisprudence and hadith. Most notably, he was a beacon of guidance for his community.^[8]

9.   Sayyidunā Shaykh Ibrāhīm b. Ḥasan al-Kūrānī al-Kurdī was born in 1025 AH. He was a Shāfiʿī jurist, a scholar of hadith, and a master of the Naqshbandi Way. Although he authored over 80 books, the most famous is his index (thabat) entitled, al-Amam lī Īqāẓ al-Himam—a collection of his authorisations (ijāzāt) and unbroken chains for the major hadith collections and other works. He migrated from Iraq and settled in Madina. According to one opinion, he passed away in Madina on 18^th Rabi al-Akhir, 1101 AH/ 29^th of January 1690.^[9]

10.   Sayyidunā Mawlana Muhammad Aẓīm Ghakharwi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه lived in the city of Ghakhar, Punjab (Gujranwala District). He studied at Dar ul Uloom Numania in Lahore and was a great orator. He was the spiritual heir of Ameer e Milat and guided the Muslims of Hyderabad and many other cities of Hind. He was also an author of many books. He passed away on 1^st Rabi al-Akhir, 1341AH and his shrine is in Ghakhar.^[10]

11.   Sayyidunā Shaykh Sayyid Thawbān b. Muhammad Khaṭīb al-Kaylānī al-Dimashqī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was from the sayyid family of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jilānī. He was born in 1270 AH and passed away on 2^nd Rabi al-Akhir, 1303 AH whilst chanting the supreme name, “Allah, Allah.” He was buried in the Dahdah cemetery of Damascus. He was a teacher of jurisprudence and Arabic at the Grand Omayyad Mosque, the Friday preacher of Sanjaqdar Mosque, and the imam of Jami’ Fathi Mosque.^[11]

12.   Sayyidunā Khawaja Muhib ul-Nabi ʿAbd al-Ghanī Sialkoti رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Bareela (Gujrat District) in the year 1278 AH. He passed away on 16^th Rabi al-Akhir, 1327 AH in Sialkot. His shrine is in Chondah Bajwa Sialkot District near Gaitti Shah Masjid. He was a scholar, the author of 50 books, including Kutub al-Asrār, the Friday preacher of of Jami’ Masjid Ghala Mandi, and the spiritual vicegerent of Khawaja Shams al-ʿĀrifīn. As a brave soul, he strove to encourage good and forbid evil without trepidation and is hailed as a reviver of the Chishti Way.^[12]

13.   Sayyidunā Ḥāfiẓ Mahr Muhammad Ichrawi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1314 AH in Chowkhandi (Chakwal District). He passed away on 2^nd Rabi al-Akhir, 1374 AH in Lahore. He was buried in the Ichra cemetery. An authority of the rational sciences, he was the teacher of many scholars, including the famous and erudite scholar, ʿAtā Muhammad Bandayālwī.^[13]