Our Pious Predecessors

Mawlana Abu Majid Muhammad Shahid Attari Madani

Dhū al-Qaʿdah is the eleventh month of the Islamic calendar. Amongst the Companions, righteous saints and Islamic scholars who are commemorated in this month, 95 have been briefly mentioned in the 1438-1443 editions of the Faizan-e-Madinah Monthly Magazine. Let us further discuss 12 more personalities:

An Eminent Companion

1. The Companion, ʿAbdullah b. Sahl b. Zayd al-Anṣ ārī رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, participated in the Battle of Badr. He was also accompanied in the expeditions of Uḥud and Khandaq by his brother, Rāfiʿ b. Sahl رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ. He was ultimately martyred when struck by an arrow fired at him by the Banū ʿUwayf tribe in the Battle of Khandaq (5^th Dhū al-Qaʿdah).^{^[1]}

Respected Saints رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْهِم

2. Sayyid Abū Ṣāliḥ Mūsā III, commonly known as Jangī Dōst رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, was born on the 27^th of Rajab, 400 AH, in Jilan, and passed away on the 11^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah 489 AH. He was the father of the axis of sainthood, his eminence, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir Jīlāni رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه. In 460 AH, he pledged spiritual allegiance to his father and became his successor. Due to the extraordinary lengths he went to when striving in Allah’s way, he became known as Jangī Dōst. He was absorbed in Allah’s dhikr and exerted his efforts to preaching, counselling, spiritual austerities, and spreading the pristine religion of Islam.^{^[2]}

3. Shaykh Fakhr al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ʿIrāqi al-Suharwardī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born circa 610 AH near Kamjan, in Iran’s Hamadan Province. He passed away on the 8^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 686 AH, and is buried in the Salihiya cemetery in Damascus. He was a hafiz of the Quran, an erudite scholar, Sufi poet, a distinguished master of the Suharwardi Way, and a prolific author. He was the successor and son-in-law of Shaykh Bahā al-Dīn Suharwardī Multānī.^{^[3]}

4. ShaykhʿAzīzān ʿAli Rāmītanī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Ramitan, near Bukhara in Uzbekistan, in 591 AH. He passed away on the 28^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 721 AH. His shrine is in Khwarazm. Known for his spiritual gnosis and saintly miracles, his aphorisms are particularly considered a guiding light for travellers on the path of tasawwuf.^{^[4]}

5. The knower of Allah, Sayyid Faḍl Dīn Shāh Gīlānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, was a prominent descendant of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. He was a saint by birth, one whose supplications were accepted, and a figure revered by all. He was the uncle of Pir Mehr ʿAli Shāh’s father. He passed away on the 12^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1311 AH, and his shrine is located in Golra Sharif, Pakistan.^{^[5]}

6. Sayyid Jaʿfar Saqqāf was a shining scion of the famous Saqqāf family of Tarim, Yemen. He came to Bijapur (Karnataka, India) during the reign of Sultan ʿĀdil Shāh (1036-1066 AH) and passed away there on the 20^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1086 AH. A man of knowledge and unwavering adherence to Islamic teachings, he was blessed with many miracles and deeply loved by the people.^{^[6]}

7. Shaykh Muḥammad Yaḥyā Mujaddidī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1032 AH in Sarwala (Attock) and passed away on 8 Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1132 AH. His shrine is in Attock Khurd, near the Sindh River. A seasoned scholar, saint, and author, he was recognised as the saintly axis (quṭb) of his time.^{^[7]}

8. Sayyid Nūr Muḥammad Badāyūnī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was a scholar and spiritual guide, known for his cautiousness in matters of halal and haram. He underwent challenging spiritual austerities and was a saint of many miracles. A murid and spiritual successor of Khwāja Sayf al-Dīn Sirhindī, he passed away on the 11^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1135 AH, and was laid to rest in the garden of Nawāb Mukarram Khān, near the shrine of Khwāja Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyā رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه.^{^[8]}

9. Muḥammad Zubayr Sirhindī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was a scion of the Mujaddidī family. A saint by birth, he gained acclaim as a practicing scholar of Islam. He was wealthy, generous, a recourse for the public, and a saint with miracles. He was born on the 5^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1093 AH, and passed away on 4th Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1152 AH, in Sirhind. He was the spiritual custodian of the Mujaddidī shrine for 38 years.^{^[9]}

Scholars of Islam رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـه السَّلام:

10. The leading scholar, ʿAbdullah Gujarātī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, was born into a scholarly family of Hīna, Jhelum. He passed away on the 3^rd of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1339 AH, and his shrine is in Umar Chak, a province of Gujarat. He was a hafiz of the Quran, a seasoned historian, and a proficient teacher of the Islamic sciences. As a versatile poet, he cast poetry in four languages, viz. Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Punjabi. He was a disciple of Khwāja Shams al-ʿĀrifīn and became one of his spiritual successors. His works Nishān-i Shaykh and Tarīkh-i Dīwān are well-known.^{^[10]}

11. Sayyid Muḥammad Qāsim Khayr al-Dīn Qāsimī Gilanī Dimashqī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in 1299 AH and passed away on the 26^th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1357AH. He was a scholar, spiritual guide, and teacher. For a long period, he taught in Baʿlabakka, and for a short time in Damascus.^{^[11]}

12. The accomplished Sufi and qadi, Ḥafīẓ al-Dīn Rohtakī Jamāʿatī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, was born in 1287 AH, in the Khatībān neighbourhood of Rohtak, Eastern Punjab, India. He passed away on the 12th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1363 AH. He was a prominent figure of the Khatīb and Qazi family, and a disciple and spiritual successor of Amīr-i Millat. He was also deputy head of a movement aimed at countering atheism, extremely tender-hearted and a powerful orator.^{^[12]}