Urs of Pious Predecessors in the Month of Rajab

Our Pious Predecessors

Rajab is the 7^th month of the Islamic calendar. From the noble Companions, ulema, and saints who passed away in this month, 80 have been mentioned in the Rajab 1438 AH to 1443 AH editions of the Monthly Magazine Faizan-e-Madina. 13 more are being mentioned here:

A Noble Companion and Eminent Follower رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُمَا:

1.   Sayyidunā Abū ʿUmar Muʿāwiya b. Muʿāwiya al-Muzanī رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ is a Companion who would recite Surah al-Ikhlāṣ abundantly throughout the night and day. He passed away in Madina when the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم left for the Battle of Tabuk in Rajab 9 AH. In Tabuk, Sayyidunā Jibril عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام gave news of his passing and asked for his funeral prayer to be offered. Thus, the earth was folded and his body was brought before the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم who led the funeral prayer. Two rows of angels joined the prayer, with each row containing 1,000 angels, and according to another narration, there were 60,000 angels in each row.^[1]

2.   The Follower, Sayyidunā Aṣḥama b. Abjar al-Najāshī رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ was the ruler of Abyssinia. When the Companions migrated to Abyssinia, he supported them in every way possible and accepted Islam. He  passed away in Rajab 9 AH. The noble Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم led his funeral prayer and referred to him as a “righteous man.” Sayyidatunā ʿĀʾisha رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا states, “After the passing of Najāshī, it was well-known among us that light was always seen on his grave.”^[2]

The noble Awliya رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ السَّلَام:

3.   The saintly pole and gnostic, Khawaja Sayyid Nāṣir al-Din Abū Yūsūf al-Ḥusaynī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 362 AH, in Chisht, and he passed away there on 3^rd Rajab, 459 AH, at the age of 97. He was a sayyid through his mother and father (Najib al-Tarafayn), a hafiz of the Quran, a carer of the poor, and a man of outstanding miracles.^[3]

4.   Ganj Nabat, Sayyidunā Shaykh ʿUmar ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Lāhorī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Lahore, in 701 AH. He was an erudite scholar, a skilled jurisconsult, an expert grammarian, a Sufi master, high-ranking saint, and an impeccable preacher. He passed away in Rajab 800 AH, in Pandwa, West Bengal, India, where his grave is located. His khanqah was a centre of knowledge and gnosis from which ulema and the wider public reaped benefit.^[4]

5.   The spiritual guide and Sufi master, Sayyid Shah Muʿīn al-Din Gīlānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was the son of the renowned saint Sayyidunā Jamāl al-Baḥr Gīlānī Warangalī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه. He was a devout worshipper, an ascetic, and a man of lofty character. He passed away on 22^nd Rajab 999 AH. His mausoleum can be found in Deccan, India.^[5]

6.   Sayyid Mulūk Shah Dihlawī Qādirī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born to a Sayyid family in Delhi (India) and passed away in Bahawalpur on 17^th Rajab, 1174 AH, and his grave can be found in the famous graveyard of Bahawalpur Cantonment known as Mulūk Shah. He was a seasoned scholar of Islam, a foremost spiritual guide, and famous for his supplications being accepted.^[6]

7.   The gnostic, Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad ʿAlī Dhabyān al-Jīlāni al-Dimashqī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was a famous scholar and the qadi of his time. He possessed a powerful manner of speaking, was brave and generous, and loved by the common and elite. As an accomplished spiritual guide renowned for his miracles, he is from the celebrated saints of his time. He passed away on 10^th Rajab, 1288 AH and was buried in Damascus.^[7]

8.   Sayyidunā Miya Fayz Bakhsh Chishtī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1240 AH, in Salara (near Chiniot, Punjab), and passed away on 24^th Rajab, 1339 AH. His grave is located in his place of birth. He was a hafiz of the Quran, a scholar, a disciple and spiritual deputy of Pir Siyal Khawaja Shams al-‘Arifeen, a bearer of inner and outer blessings, and an ocean of inner gnosis and outer knowledge.^[8]

9.   Pir Sayyid Fazl Shah Gīlānī Uwaysī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1283 AH to the Darapuri branch (Darapur, Jhelum) of the Sayyid Bahawal Sher Qalandar family, and passed away on 20^th Rajab 1352 AH, in Parth (Sialkot). His mausoleum is located in his ancestral graveyard of Malhu Sanghoi (Jhelum). He was a devout worshipper, ascetic, and lived a humble life.^[9]

The scholars of Islam السَّلَام رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ:

10.   The grand shaykh, Mawlana Muhammad Ghawth Chisht  رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1229 AH (near Hasan Abdal, Attock District) and passed away on 25 Rajab 1302 AH. He was a diligent teacher of Dars-e-Nizami who trained many ulema. Allah bestowed him with immense knowledge and gnosis.^[10]

11.   The scholar of the Potohar Plateau, Mawlānā Mufti Bāgh ʿAlī Chishtī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1309 AH to an Alawi family in Patiyali (Gujar Khan sub-division, Rawalpindi District) and passed away there on 15 Rajab, 1397 AH. His son is the renowned Punjabi poet, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Abdāl. Mufti Bāgh ʿAlī was an  accomplished scholar and teacher of Dars-e-Nizami. He took the spiritual pledge at the hands of the peerless gnostic and saint, Sayyidunā Pīr Mehr ʿAlī Shah.^[11]

12.   The teacher of his age, Mawlānā Sayyid ʿAyn al-Quḍāt Ḥusaynī Hyderabādī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1274 AH to a scholarly family of Hyderabad Deccan, and passed away in 1343 AH, in Lucknow (U.P.), India. He رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was laid to rest in Madrassah Aaliyah Furqaniyah. He was from the senior students of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Farangī Maḥallī. An erudite scholar, he had mastered the rational and transmitted sciences and propelled Madrassah Furqaniyah to new heights in the sciences of Tajwid and Quran recitation. He was an observant disciple of the Naqshbandi Way and an embodiment of asceticism and piety. Annually, during the mawlid, he would organise a large feast.^[12]

13.   The hadith master of Rajasthan, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Naqshbandī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Dinbai, Deembah, Rajasthan (India), and passed away on 24 Rajab, 1402 AH. He was a graduate of Dar al-Uloom Mazhar-e-Islam Bareilly and a student of Muhaddith-e-Azam Mufti Sardar Ahmad Qādirī. He served as teacher and Shaykh al-Hadith at Dar al-‘Uloom Faiz Akbari Looni Sharif.^[13]