Pious Predecessors Urs in the Month of Shaban

Remembering our pious elders

Shaʿbān is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. From amongst the Companions, saints, and scholars that passed away in this month, 88 have been mentioned briefly in the Shaʿbān editions of Monthly Magazine Faizan-e-Madīnah from 1438 AH - 1444 AH. A further 12 are mentioned hereupon.

The Companions رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُمْ اجمعین

1.   Abū Mūsā Suhayl b. Bayḍāˈ Fihrī Qurashī was one of the first Companions. He initially migrated to Abyssinia before settling in Madina, and participated in all ghazwāt including the Battle of Badr. He passed away at the age of 40 whilst returning from the Expedition of Tabuk, in Ramadan 9 AH. The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم performed his funeral salah.[1]

2.   Abū Zayd Qays b. Sakan al-Anṣārī hailed from the Banū ʿAdī b. Najjār branch of the Khazraj tribe. Widely known as Abū Zayd, he was one of the Companions honoured with compiling the Quran during the worldly life of the Prophet  الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. He also participated in the Battle of Badr and was martyred on the Day of Jisr Abī ʿUbayd (13^th Shaʿbān). He fathered no children.[2]

Saints of Allah رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ

3.   Sayyid ʿAbd al-Wahhāb Ḥassanī Yanbūʿī hailed from a family descending from the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم (evidenced by his title of sayyid). He was born in Iran’s city of Isfahan, on the 14^th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal 557 AH. He passed away on the 18^th of Shaʿbān 699 AH in the coastal city of Yanbu, around 250km to the west of Madina. He was a scholar, shaykh, and devoted worshipper who engaged significantly in calling to Islam and reformatory works. After the passing of his spiritual guide, he was the custodian of a Qādirī khānqah for 80 years. He was also a renowned saint who displayed saintly miracles and possessed spiritual insight.[3]

4.   Sayyid Bilāwal Shāh Qādirī Lahorī was born in 976 AH in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, and passed away on the 28^th of Shaʿbān 1046 AH. His shrine is in Ghore Shah Sultan Pura Road, Lahore. He was a scholar of Islam, as well as a murīd and spiritual successor of Sayyid Shams al-Dīn Qādirī. Founding an institute of Islamic study is one of his many achievements. He was also a saint reputed for his abundant recitation of the Quran and numerous saintly miracles.[4]

5.   Sayyid Shāh Muṣṭafā Qādirī Bījāpurī was related to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jilānī. He was a leading saint in his time, a guide for all, and a possessor of excellent character. Thousands of people attained recognition of Allah by his teachings. He passed away on the 13^th of Shaʿbān 1054 AH, and is buried in Bijapur, Karnataka, India.[5]

6.   The saintly son of a saintly father, Shaykh Bahrām Chishtī Ṣābrī was born to the family of the grand shaykh, Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Pānipatī. He was a comprehensive scholar of both inner and outer sciences, his prayers were known to be accepted, and he manifested many saintly miracles. Upon the order of his father, he moved from the banks of the Jumna River to Bedoli in eastern Punjab, India, and spent the rest of his life there. He passed away on the 27^th of Shaʿbān 854 AH.[6]

7.   Tāj al-Dīn, Sayyid Muhammad Shāh Jilānī Qādīrī was born in 1252 AH in the Paklara district of Rahim Yar Khan, and passed away on the 28^th of Shaʿbān 1318 AH. His shrine is in the chamber behind the Luni Sharif Dargah (Modhera, Kutch, Gujarat, India). He was an ancestor of the saints of Luni Sharif, a practising scholar, saint, and spiritual successor of Baghdad’s naqīb al-ashraf.[7]

Islamic Scholars رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ

8.   Shaykh al-Islam, Abu Rajāˈ Qutaybah b. SaꜤīd Thaqafī Baghlānī was born in 149 AH. Although he was initially a slave in the Banū Thaqīf tribe, obtaining knowledge of Islam and hadith made him an imam of his time. He studied hadith from the esteemed likes of Imam Mālik, Imam Layth, and Sufyān b. ʿUyayna.

He was a truthful and prolific narrator of hadith. He spread the knowledge of hadith in the sacred regions of Hijaz, Kufa, and Baghdad. Scholars the calibre of Imams Bukhari and Muslim studied this subject under his supervision. Allah blessed him with both internal and external beauty. He passed away on the 2^nd of Shaʿbān 240 AH.[8]

9.   The hadith narrator, Abū Isḥāq Ismāʿīl b. Mūsā Kūfī Fazārī was a resident of Kufa. After acquiring knowledge of hadith from the scholars of Iraq, he travelled to Damascus, Syria. After returning, he settled in Kufa and began teaching hadith. Illustrious scholars such as Imam Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, and Ibn Mājah Qazwīnī learnt from him. He was a reliable narrator who passed away on the 4^th of Shaʿbān 245 AH.[9]

10.   Sayyid Muhammad Charāgh Shāh Bukhārī was born in the Bokan district and division of Gujarat and passed away in Shaʿbān 1304 AH. He was buried at his birthplace. A student of Ṣadr al-Dīn Āzurdah Dihlawī, he was also prominent scholar, and imam of a masjid in Gujarat.[10]

11.   Mufti Ghulām Muhammad Mahesar Qādirī was born to a scholarly household in 1248 AH, in Goth Kamal Dero, district Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. He passed away on the 10^th of Shaʿbān 1358 AH and was buried in his birthplace. He was a distinguished scholar, teacher, mufti, spiritual guide, and owner of a vast library. He was also a murīd, student, and successor of Ghulām Ṣiddīq Shahdād Kotī.[11] (Anwaar-e-Ulama-e-Ahlesunnat Sindh,p.584-588)

12.   Shaykh al-Quran, ʿAbd al-Ghafūr Hazārvī was born on the 9^th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1329 AH in Chhamba Pand, Haripur, Hazara, Pakistan. He passed away on the 7^th of Shaʿbān 1390 AH in Wazirabad, Gujranwala, Punjab.

He was a scholar of the intellectual and transmitted sciences, a graduate of Dar al-Uloom Manzar-i-Islam (in Bareilly), a student and murīd of Pir Mehr ʿAlī  Shāh, and successor of Mufti Ḥāmid Razā  Khān. He was also an erudite scholar, a mesmerising speaker, an accomplished poet, profound thinker, leader of Tahrīk-i-Pakistan and Tahrīk Khatm-i-Nubuwwat, and amongst the notable elders of the Ahl al-Sunnah.[12]