The historian Ziauddin Barani, in his book Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, has described the changes that came about in the life of the subcontinent under the influence of Shaykh Nizamuddin Auliya. Attracted by him, people joined the path of virtue from sin in droves. Bribery, corruption, theft, and robbery ceased. The darkness disappeared in the twinkling light of the virtuous.
Ziauddin Barani wrote, “The court of Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Sheikh Khaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya was open to all. People from all corners of the kingdom came to his court, became his disciples and received the khirqa. There was no difference between the rich and the poor, the honorable and the dishonorable, the king and the beggar, the learned and the ignorant, the townsman and the villager, the ghazi and the zahid, the master and the servant. Everyone came to him to repent and attain a virtuous life. Since most of these people felt proud of considering themselves as the disciples of the Sheikh, they voluntarily refrained from many misdeeds. If someone slipped after coming to the Sheikh’s court, he would come again and repent anew. In fact, as a result of being a disciple of the Sheikh, most people, out of shame, tried to refrain from doing evil, both openly and secretly. As a result, even ordinary people showed interest in religion.
There was a significant increase in the attraction towards prayer among various groups of people: husbands and wives, young and old, the simple and the wise, slaves and servants, and boys and young men. Most of them became devout in offering the ‘Ishraq’ and ‘Chasht’ prayers as well. Compassionate and kind-hearted individuals constructed squares along the road from the city to Giyaspur and covered them with roofs to provide places for prayer. They also arranged for water pots, cups, and mats. Each square had an attendant to provide water for ablution to those who were going to the Shaykh’s court. Presumably, these squares would have been crowded with many worshippers.
Just as there was a strong attraction to nafl prayers among the Muslims, so too the habit of speaking ill was eradicated from among them. Most people’s conversations revolved around the raka’ats and timings of nafl prayers like Ishraq, Chaashta, Awwabin, and Tahajjud. They would seek each other’s help regarding how many raka’ats to offer after which prayer, which surahs to recite in each raka’at, and what supplications to make after completing the prayer. When new visitors came to the Shaykh’s court, they would try to learn from the old murids about how many raka’ats to pray at night in the court, which surahs to recite in each raka’at, and how many times to send blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Their questions were about how many times Shaykh Farid and Shaykh Bakhtiyar used to send blessings and how many times they used to recite the complete azifa. They showed interest in prayers, fasting, and voluntary worship. They expressed curiosity about the rules of eating less. During that time, the interest of most people in memorizing the Quran increased. New murids were always eager to gain knowledge. The new murids always tried to be in the company of the old murids. The old ones also engaged in various forms of worship, solitude, reading books on ma’rifah, and discussing the stories of saints and prophets. They had no other work besides these. They did not take any worldly matters or worldly news into their mouths. They considered looking at the world, discussing it, and associating with worldly people as all kinds of sinful acts.
The disciples of the Shaykh were so dedicated to their religious duties that even the Sultan’s courtiers, including many amirs, salāhdaars, novice salāhdaars, soldiers, and servants who had become disciples of the Shaykh, performed the optional prayers of chašt and ‘ishrāq, and observed the fasts of ‘āyān ibn and āgūrā. Whenever there was an opportunity, a gathering of the pious would be held after twenty days or a month, and a gathering of Sufi ascetics for remembrance would be held. In these gatherings, there would be a new world of weeping and emotion. Many of the Shaykh’s disciples attended the mosque and performed the Taraweeh prayers, completing the Qur’an in their own homes. Those among them who had the means stayed awake at night during the month of Ramadan, on Fridays, and on other special occasions, and their eyelids would not close until dawn. There were many elders who spent two-thirds or three-fourths of the night awake in worship throughout the year, and many ascetics would perform the Fajr prayer after performing ablution before going to bed. I know many who, due to the Shaykh’s affectionate gaze, had acquired divine sight and miraculous powers. Due to the Shaykh’s blessed existence, his virtuous influence, and his good prayers, most of the Muslims in this area had become accustomed to worship, spiritual knowledge, solitary life, and religious duties, and had become completely devoted to fulfilling his virtuous wishes. The Sultan Alauddin himself, along with his family, had become a follower of Shaykh Nizam.
As a result, a desire to do good deeds was awakened in the minds of people of all classes, both special and ordinary. In the last few years of the Alai rule, people did not even mention the names of corruption, evil deeds, homosexuality, adultery, etc. For most people, all these kinds of heinous sins were considered equivalent to kufr. Muslims were ashamed to even mention usury and hoarding. Even the merchants were deterred from all kinds of deceit, short weighing, adulteration, counterfeiting, and defrauding the ignorant out of fear and shame. Most of the scholars, sharifs, and elders associated with the Shaykh’s court were busy reading books on spiritual knowledge and gaining knowledge about its various methods.
At the Shaykh’s instruction, everyone purchased books like ‘Quutul Qulub,’ ‘Ahya ul Uloom’ (whose translation is also available), ‘Awarif,’ ‘Kashful Mahjub,’ ‘Sharhe Taarruf,’ ‘Resala Kushairi,’ ‘Mersadul Ebad,’ ‘Maktabate Ain Kujat Qazi Hamiduddin Naguri’s Lawayeh and Lawameh,’ and Amir Hasan’s ‘Fawaidul Fuad.’ People would inquire about books of ma’rifah from booksellers in various ways. No one would accept a turban without a miswak (toothbrush) and a comb. Due to the high demand for the lota (metal pot) and leather water skin used by Sufi ascetics, their prices increased.
It can be roughly stated that, in these latter times, Allah created Shaykh Nizam with the same honor as Shaykh Junayd and Shaykh Bayazid. The extent of divine love that He bestowed upon him is unimaginable to ordinary people. It seems as if He has stamped upon him all the necessary qualities of a true spiritual guide and the means of guidance –
“This great abomination is a collection of things
came to an end in Nizam Uddin.”
On the fifth day of the month of Muharram, the day on which the Urs of Shaykhul Islam Shaykh Farid Uddin (RA) was held, such a large number of people from the city and various parts of Hindustan gathered at the Shaykh’s court for a gathering of Zikr that no one could remember anything else like it afterwards. Indeed, the time of Shaykh Nizamuddin was a strange and wonderful time.
During the Alai dynasty, Shaykh Alauddin, the grandson of Sheikh Fariduddin, was enthroned as his successor in Ayodhya. Allah Almighty had created Shaykh Alauddin, the grandson of Sheikh Fariduddin, as a pious and devout person. These venerable individuals and their descendants spent their entire day and night in the worship of Allah alone. They could not be without prayer and remembrance of Allah even for a moment. The love of Allah had taken such a hold on the hearts of these noble souls that they constantly yearned for it. As it is mentioned in the tafsir, there are many angels among the pure angels who were created solely for the worship of Allah and have been engaged in this task since the day of their creation. It seems that Shaykh Alauddin was created for this very purpose.
I heard a story about a peer told by the Imam during Friday prayers (14th June) at the mosque in my area. A murid (disciple) went to his peer and asked permission to narrate a dream he had the previous night. The peer allowed him to speak without fear. The murid said, “Huzoor, last night I dreamt that honey was coming out of your finger.” The Huzoor was pleased and said, “Honey will indeed come out of the fingers of Allah’s saints.” The murid said, “On the other hand, I also saw that excrement was coming out of my hand.” The peer said, “Nothing but excrement comes out of the fingers of a sinner. What you have seen is all correct.” The murid then sought permission to narrate the next part of the dream. The peer gave him permission. The murid said, “I saw that I was sucking your finger, and you were sucking my finger.”
I wasn’t surprised to hear his story. Nowadays, in every mosque in the country, such baseless tales about the Pir-Muridi system are being narrated. Even more, such fabricated stories about the Pir-Muridi system are being concocted. Due to the propaganda of people with different beliefs in this country, the mainstream Islamic culture of Pir-Muridi, Sufism, Urs, Shabe Barat, etc., has been distorted. Not only in pre-Friday prayer speeches but also through the internet, they are spreading venom against the celebration of significant days like Eid-e-Miladunnabi, Urs, Ashura, Shabe Barat. They have instilled negative perceptions about Pirs in the minds of ordinary Muslims. They have raised the cry of shirk against the mazars. On the other hand, the true Pirs and Mashayekhs rarely use the internet. As a result, people are unaware. Moreover, some Pirs are engaging in hypocrisy in the name of their tariqas. The opponents have flooded the online world with videos of their misdeeds. The younger generation is becoming isolated from the mainstream and joining the ranks of anti-Sufis. They consider fanaticism to be pure Islam. They neither know nor are taught the true nature of the Pir-Muridi system.
In this situation, to save Sufism and the Pir-Muridi system, we need another Nizamuddin Auliya right now.
