Nizamuddin Auliya
Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya | |
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Fariduddin Ganjshakar | |
Students
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Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Khwaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi (lit. 'Beloved of God') was an Indian
Nizamuddin Auliya, like his predecessors, stressed love as a means of realising God. For him his love of God implied a love of humanity. His vision of the world was marked by a highly evolved sense of religious pluralism and kindness.
Life
Nizamuddin Auliya was born in a
At the age of twenty, Nizāmuddīn went to Ajodhan (the present
Nizāmuddīn lived at various places in Delhi, before finally settling down in Ghiyaspur, a neighbourhood in Delhi undisturbed by the noise and hustle of city life. He built his Khanqah here, a place where people from all walks of life were fed, where he imparted spiritual education to others and he had his own quarters. Before long, the Khanqah became a place thronged with all kinds of people, rich and poor alike.
Many of his disciples achieved spiritual height, including
He died on the morning of 3 April 1325. His shrine, the
Key beliefs
Besides believing in the traditional Sufi ideas of embracing God within this life by destroying the ego and cleansing the soul, and that this is possible through considerable efforts involving Sufi practices, Nizamuddin also expanded and practised the unique features introduced by past saints of the Chisti Sufi order in India. These included:
- Emphasis on renunciation and having complete trust in God.
- The unity of mankind and shunning distinctions based on social and economic status.
- Helping the needy, feeding the hungry and being sympathetic to the oppressed.
- Strong disapproval of mixing with the Sultans, the princes and the nobles.
- Exhortation in making close contact with the poor and the downtrodden
- Adopting an uncompromising attitude towards all forms of political and social oppression.
- Adopting the permissibility of Sema.
- Holding the stance however that Semais only permissible when musical instruments and dancing are not present.
- Holding the orthodox Sunnibelief that musical instruments are prohibited.
Nizamuddin did not much bother about the theoretical aspects of Sufism, believing rather that it were the practical aspects that counted, as it was anyway not possible to describe the diversified mystical experiences called spiritual states or stations which a practicing Sufi encountered. He discouraged the demonstration of Karamat and emphasised that it was obligatory for the Auliya to hide the ability of Keramat from the commoners. He also was quite generous in accepting disciples. Usually whoever came to him saying that he wanted to become a disciple was granted that favour. This resulted in him being always surrounded by people from all strata of society.
Ancestral history
Like many saints before him, Nizamuddin Aulia traced his lineage from the family of Muhammad.[10][11]
Spiritual history
He was merely sixteen or seventeen years old when he first heard the name of
Students
He had more than 600 khalifas (a khalifa is a disciple who is given the authority to take his own disciples and thus propagate the spiritual lineage) who continued his lineage all over the world. Some of his most famous disciples are:
- Moinuddin Chishti, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Nizamuddin Auliya). His shrine is in Chirag Dilli, New Delhi, India.
- sharī'ah allowed me I would have liked him to be buried with me in the same grave."[13] It is said that he also said once that whoever comes to visit his grave must visit the grave of Amīr Khusro first and then his.[14] He died within a few months of his master's death. He was buried at the feet of his master. His shrine is in Nizāmuddīn Dargāh, New Delhi.[12]
- Qazi Qawam-Udeen Siddiqui:[citation needed] He was given the title Zubtadul Awliya and was a disciple of his master[citation needed]. He along with his father-in-law Qazi Sultan Zulqarni build Rohtak fort. His descendants are named Qawami Siddiquis and now number in thousands, all[citation needed] have migrated to Pakistan and can be found in Mirpur AK, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Multan.
- Malda City, Malda, West Bengal.
- Burhanuddin Gharib: He is also amongst the earliest disciples of Nizamuddin Auliya and lived with the master until his death. After the death of Nizamuddin Auliya, he went to the Deccan, and the place where he lived became famous thereby. His shrine is in Khuldabad in Maharashtra.
- Hasan Sijzi: Author the spiritual manual Fawaid ul Fuad, a famous compilation of the discourses of Nizamuddin Awliya[15]
Descendants
Nizamuddin Auliya had one brother named Jamaluddin. He told him, "your descendants will be my descendants".
Nizamuddin Aulia also had one sister named Bibi Ruqayya who is buried next to Bibi Zulekha, the mother of Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia in Adhchini village in Delhi. Nizamuddin Auliya did not marry. He brought his Pir/Shaikh's grandson named Khwaja Muhammad Imam, who was the son of Bibi Fatima (daughter of Baba Farid and Badruddin is'haq) as mentioned in Seyrul Aulia book, Nizami bansari, The life and time of Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia by Khaliq Ahmed Nizami. Still the descendants of Khwaja Muhammad Imam are the caretakers of dargah sharif.[citation needed]
The Chisti Nizami order
Nizamuddin Auliya was the founder of the Chisti Nizami order. He had hundreds of disciples (khalifa) who had Ijaza (khilafat) from him to spread the order. Many of the Sufis of the Chisti Nizami order are recognised as great Sufis; the following is a list of notable Sufis of the Chisti Nizami order, which includes his descendants as well as his disciples and their subsequent disciples:
Branches
The Chisti order branched out with Nizamuddin Auliya to form the Chisti Nizami order. A parallel branch which started with Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari, another disciple of Baba Farid, was the Chisti Sabiri branch. People started adding Nizami gracefully after their name. He spiritually made many great Sufis amongst his students, descendants and the Sufis of the Nizami order.
The branches of the Chisti Nizami order are as follows:
Naseeria
His disciple Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Dehli started the Nizamia Naseeria branch.
Hussainia
The Hussainia branch is named for
Fakhri The "Fakhri" branch is named for Muhib Un Nabi Maulana Fakhr Ud Din Fakhr E Jahan Dehlvi, peer o murshid of Shah Niyaz Be Niyaz.
Niyazia
Serajia
The Nizamia Serajia branch was started by Serajuddin Aqi Seraj. This branch is also known as Chistia Serajia.
Ashrafia
The Chistia Ashrafia branch was started by Ashraf Jahangir Semnani.[18] He established a khanqah, still in existence at Kichaucha sharif, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Faridia
The Chistia Serajia Faridia order was started by Fariduddin Tavaelabukhsh, a descendant of Nizamuddin Auliya and a Sufi of the Serajia branch of the Chisti order. This branch is also known as Nizamia Serajia Faridia.
Ishq-Nuri
The Ishq Nuri order, branch of the main Chishti- Nizami, was founded by Shaikh Khwaja Khalid Mahmood Chishti sahib, in Lahore, Pakistan, in the 1960s. It is the most contemporary expression of this traditional Sufi lineage. It is mostly found in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, although now some followers are also to be found in the West.
Lutfia Silsila Chishtia-Nizamia-Lutfia was continued by Moulana Lutfullah Shah Dankouri. The disciples of this silsila are found in Pakistan, India, England, Canada and USA.
During the short reign of Qutbu'd-Din Mubarak Shah
During the last years of Alauddin Khalji's life, the intrigues of Malik Kafur deprived Khizr Khan of succeeding legitimately to the throne. Malik Kafur had Khizr Khan blinded and Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah (1316–20), another claimant to the throne, narrowly escaped death. When Mubarak Shah ascended the throne he had Khizr Khan and the latter's brothers executed. Shaikh Nizamu'd-Din took no interest in political upheavals but could not escape the brunt of Sultan Mubarak Shah's fury for having made Khizr Khan his disciple. Speaking disparagingly of the Shaikh he began to hatch schemes against him. He prohibited his nobles from visiting Ghiyaspur. Mubarak Shah also constructed a mosque, the Masjid-i Miri, Where all the Sufis and 'ulama' were ordered to perform their prayers. The Shaikh refused to comply with the Sultan's orders, remonstrating that the mosque in his neighborhood had a greater claim on him.
On the first day of each month, the entire religious community of Delhi, gathered at the palace to offer congratulations prayer to the Sultan. The Shaikh further angered the Sultan by sending a servant as his delegate. The Sultan threatened the Shaikh with serious consequences if he personally failed to pay homage. Refusing to heed the threat, the Shaikh quietly prayed at his mother's tomb and returned to his jama'at-khana. As the last day of the month approached, the capital was filled with anxiety, while the Shaikh himself remained calm. But the first day of the next month did not come for the Sultan. He was assassinated on the first night of Jumada II, 720/8 July 1320 by his favorite and protege, Khusraw Khan Barwar, who was later overthrown by Ghazi Malik who later came to be known as Ghiyasuddin Tughluq.[19]
Urs
The Urs-e-Nizamuddin Aulia is celebrated at the Nizamuddin Dargah on the 17th-18th of Rabi II (Rabi-ul-Aaqir), and that of Amir Khusro on the 18th of Shawwal.[6]
In popular culture
Aulea-E-Islam, a 1979 Indian Muslim social film by A. Shamsheer pays tribute to various Islamic saints including Nizamuddin Auliya, featuring a song "Nizamuddin Aulia" sung by Jani Babu Qawwal and written by Viqar Nagri.[20]
Further reading
- "Nizami Bansari" by Khwaja Hasan Nizami; also available in Urdu & Hindi by his successor Khwaja Hasan Sani Nizami
- The Life and Times of Shaikh Nizam-u'd-din Auliya, by Khaliq Ahmad Nizami; Idarah-i Adabyat-i Delli, 1991.
- Nizam Ad-Din Awliya: Morals for the Heart, by Bruce B. Lawrence; 1991, Paulist Press. ISBN 0-8091-3280-X.
- Khwajah Nizamuddin Auliya, by Abdurrahman Mumin; Qazi Publishers and Distributors, 1998, ISBN 81-85362-59-9.
- Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya, by Khaliq Ahmad Nizami; National Book Trust, 2004, ISBN 81-237-4148-0.
- The Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya, by Laxmi Dhaul; Pallee, Anoop Kamath, Rupa & Co., 2006. ISBN 81-291-0938-7.
- Fawa'id al-Fu'ad : Spiritual and Literary Discourses of Shaikh Nizamuddin Awliya. Originally Compiled by ISBN 81-246-0042-2.
See also
- List of things named after Nizamuddin Auliya
- Bibliography of Nizamuddin Auliya
- Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
- Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
- Ali Hujwiri
- Moinuddin Chishti
- Aaj Rang Hai
- Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind
- Alaul Haq Pandavi
- Ashraf Jahangir Semnani
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References
- ^ Dehlawi, Amir Hasan. Fawa'id al-Fu'ad. Instisharat-i Ruzne. p. 135.
- ^ Bhakti poetry in medieval India By Neeti M. Sadarangani. Pg 60
- ^ Bhakti poetry in medieval India By Neeti M. Sadarangani. Pg 63
- ISBN 0-8078-1271-4.
- ^ Amir Hasan Sijzi, Fawaid-ul-Fuad (Delhi, 1865), pp. 150, 195-97
- ^ a b c d Sudarshana Srinivasan (22 August 2015). "An afternoon with the saints". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-355-1.
- ^ Calcutta, Volume III, Saints of India. (Awliyá-i-Hind), page 365."
- Times of India, 19 April 2007.
- ISBN 978-81-230-2173-7.
- ISBN 978-81-7024-798-2.
- ^ a b "Amir Khosrow - Indian poet". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Cited as a tradition by Omer Tarin in Some Chishti Sufis of the 13-14th c, Historical Studies journal No 12, 2011, p 125
- ^ Omer Tarin aa
- ISBN 080913280X.
- ^ Omer Tarin, "Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Mahbub e Ilahi and the establishment of the Chishti Nizami Sufi Order" in Khilwat magazine of Sufism, pub Ahmadabad, India, 2016. No 109, p:31-36.
- ^ Syed Qayamuddin Nezami, (2004), "Sharfa ki Nagri(Vol. 1)", biography of Sufis of Bihar, "Nezami Academy", Karachi, Pakistan. p. 126
- ISBN 978-93-85295-54-6, Maktaba Jamia Ltd, Shamshad Market, Aligarh 202002, India.
- ^ A history of Sufism: Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi
- ^ "Aulia-e-Islam". Gaana.