Allah Almighty’s friends (saints of Allah) consider serving their Beloved Allah’s slaves (human beings) as the utmost act of worship. When wounded people, facing hardships and disappointment from everywhere arrive at the shrines of these saints; they forget the worldly worries and it’s disrespectful attitude. And this is all due to the affectionate and praiseworthy morals of these saints of Allah. In fact these shrines of saints are, without any distinction, the places of resort and refuge for all people on this earth of Allah Almighty. (And this is the true nature of shrines and it should be that every man of God consider these as his own home) Wounds are healed and the special drink of love is given, first sip of which cures the diseases.
People who lose their humanity and become polluted by worldly affairs, (when they visit friends of Allah) they become so pure and clean that they become worthy of (spiritual) flights from the earth to the heights of the sky. In other words a man gets his humanity on the position of deputy of Allah. Hence, Sufi’s compare the earth of their Sheikh to the sky. That is why the Mujadid of the time Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlvi RA, when he visited the monastery of his Sheikh Khawaja Mazhar Jaan e Jaana and took the honor of allegiance, on this occasion he said out loud:
Lowering down my (lower) self in front of the beloved, the destination was achieved!
When servitude was accepted, Flight was achieved!
Faiz e Naqshband
Because staying in such sacred places and serving his Sheikh, the servant one day became a Makhdoom. The famous Wali Shaykh abu Syed abu al Khair Mahni quds sira along with a group of his disciples reached Kharqan and spent a few days in Shaykh Abu al Hasan Kharqani’s monastery. It has been narrated by Sheikh Abu al Khair abu Syed Mahni: “Before I reached (the city of) Kharqan, I was an immature brick but in return I was a rare valuable pearl!”. (Tazkara tul Awliya Attar).
The Love of saints for the creation of Allah Almighty
Saints have immense respect and love of Allah swt in their hearts; that’s why they love His creation as well. This love of theirs for His slaves is due to their love for Allah swt. Because of the same love they welcome everyone who visits their shrines. Shaykh Abul Hassan had written on the door of his khaneqah:
“Whoever enters this house, feed him and do not ask about his faith. Because, as he merits a life next to the exalted God, no doubt he deserves a meal on my table”
Tazkarah Shaykh Abu al Hassan Kharqani Page 36 by Nazir Ranjha
The presence of these words at the shrine of the noble Shaykh not only describe his affection and courtesy towards mankind but these pure sentences also educate us about the ideology of the noble sufi Shaykhs. Like a compassionate doctor and an adept herbal physician (hakim) would hate the disease, but not the patient; similarly these noble personalities hate the sins but not the sinners. They hold inside them, the spirit of sympathy and condolence, for the whole of the universe. This is exactly the saying of Shaykh Abu al Hassan Kharqani, he says:
“From Turkestan to Syria if a thorn pricks a finger, that finger is my finger. From Turkestan to Syria, if someone stumbles on a piece of stone,I feel it. And if there is a pain in any heart, that heart is my heart.”
Tazkarah Shaykh Abu al Hassan Kharqani Page 72
One can imagine his compassion with mankind by his saying at another instance, where he said:
“I keep my days and nights occupied with Him; and that has turned my deliberation into the benevolence, then into the light of a candle, then into the blossoming (stage), then into awfulness, then I got to the stage where my deliberation turned into solicitude, and when my attention got bestowed upon the affection of the creation; then I didn’t find anyone more compassionate for the creation than me. At that moment I exclaimed, wishing that death came just to me instead of the creation; and that only I was accounted for the whole of the creation; and that only I was punished for the people who were judged to be punished”. (Tazkarah Shaykh Abu al Hassan Kharqani Page 72)
In short, the mandate of blessed saints is “Blessings and Welfare for everyone”.
Pay regard to the quote of Shaykh Abu al Hassan Kharqani who is famous all over the world, is the owner of respect in the eyes of scholars and saints during all the eras, qutb of the world:
“Every morning scholars seek increase in their knowledge; Pious seek how to increase their piousness. But every morning I ask Allah Almighty what can make fellow beings happy”.
Tazkarah Shaykh Abu al Hassan Kharqani Page 78
A glimpse of the monastery system has been presented through biographies and history books. However, it’s not that these are all mere stories from the past! Rather, such shrines and luminary personalities still exist for the contentment and guidance for the slaves of God; and God willingly such sacred individuals will be created by Allah Almighty till this world remains.
I consider myself fortunate to find myself in such a sacred monastery as soon as I arrived at the age of discretion.
This blessing is not due to own power
Only if the Ever-Forgiving Forgives!
Thanks be to Allah Almighty that in the perfumed atmosphere of Allahabad Sharif, the reviver of this century; holder of all the spiritual paths; especially the great commander of the great naqshbandiya path; the keeper of the sacred traditions of the Sufi saints; affectionate towards not only humans but even animals; the one who put ointment on wounded hearts; the compassionate; Hazrat Khawaja Allah Bakhsh lovingly known as Sohna Saeen (May Allah Almighty lighten his sacred grave) – on his monastery, I have observed several times that many people arrived with crying eyes but as soon as they got in the Allah Abad’s atmosphere, they got rid of their grief and worries.
Those who were under tonnes of worries felt lighter. Arrived crying and left with smiles. They were lost before they arrived but with the blessings of your company they were guided to the right path. I am not being rhetorical, rather there are thousands of people still alive who were burning in hatred, so much so that they were fed up with their lives. However, after arriving at the blessed dargah and connecting to the Sheikh, not only did they start enjoying the sweetness of love but also became the source of sharing that affection with the rest of humanity. As to share the blessings, I wish to narrate the blessings of the monastery of the Sheikh and a blink of the benefits received from him by his companions. After listening to or reading these stories, not only Sheikh’s friendliness to humans appears in front of our eyes but following comes to mind as well:
What a sight it was that transformed the dead to the saviors of humankind!
I remember very well, when I was around 12, in those days all relatives used to celebrate Eid together in the city of Khanvahan. On such occasions Sheikh used to send me to Khanvahan with Haji Abdul Khaliq Shah sahib (May Allah’s Blessings be upon him), so that we could meet the relatives and Sheikh’s best wishes could be conveyed to them all.
Giving Gifts to Relatives
Giving gifts is the practice of our beloved Prophet (PBUH).
تہاد وا تحابّوا Give each other gifts, you will love each other – (Hadith)
Especially giving gifts to relatives results in even more rewards and is accepted in the court of Allah Almighty. Whenever I used to visit Khanvahan, he always asked me to take some kind of gift (for the relatives residing there).
Helping out Relatives
According to Hadith, one of the signs of a perfect believer is that he fulfills the needs of the needy with a good heart. He (Sheikh Sohna Saeen ra) was acting on this prophetic tradition as well. Whenever any relative, in some hardship, used to come in your presence and ask for help, in the form of cash or otherwise, he used to fulfil their asks without any hesitation. I firmly remember that one of his relatives once needed the cash to buy some land. He visited Sheikh and even though Sheikh didn’t have the required amount, he advised the visitor to come back in two days and take the money. So he borrowed money from one of his trusted friends and gave it to his (needy) relative.
He gave away his paternal house to relatives
His paternal house was in Khanvahan, it was built either by his father or grandfather. This house was very special for him as he spent a brilliant time with his blessed mother in this house. He started religious preaching from this house; He invited his Sheikh Huzur Pir Mitha Saeen ra in this house who stayed here continuously for a few days. He regularly used to visit this house which was in a very good condition. One of Sheikh’s relatives wished that this house be given to him. I remember very well that he used to ponder upon this for several days; it was also discussed in our home. Eventually, just for the sake of the pleasure of Allah Almighty and following the prophetic tradition, he gave away the house to his relative without any compensation and he never even mentioned later on what was done. Even though many relatives asked Sheikh not to do that and keep the house with him as it was quite valuable.
His love for God’s creation
While the Sheikh was under treatment at Jamshoro hospital there was a patient in another room, suddenly one night he could hear him crying in pain. After a while from that room came a man, and requested the Sheikh to come and visit the patient and pray for him as he is in great pain and there is no doctor on duty. Having heard this, Sheikh said support me and take me to his room. I wonder how long the poor man has been in pain for, I will go to see him. Even though the Sheikh had just undergone an operation and he was not allowed to walk. However, the Sheikh took the support of two people and got to the patient’s room. At the time, the Sheikh’s condition was such that his feet were dragging along the floor and his body was shaking. He still managed to meet the patient and pray for him and then went back to his room.
Later the same person came back and told the Sheikh that the patient is feeling better.
Upholding of Women’s Rights
Nowadays, immature and uneducated people consider women inferior and treat them like dirt. For example, she is not allowed to sit with her husband or at his place; they hesitate to drink from the same cup as the woman. It is very sad that such prejudice is found in pious people. In contrast our Prophet (PBUH) used to eat together with Hazrat Ayesha RA, and she would be the first to take a bite from a piece of meat, and Prophet(PBUH) would eat the same piece of meat from the same place with utmost love and compassion; as related in the hadith.This tradition of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) has almost been forgotten is what our Sheikh used to act upon and ordered his followers to do the same.
Wonderful were the days when the Sheikh used to narrate such prophetic traditions in detail during the regular gatherings. He used to emphasize on fulfilling the rights of people more so the rights of one’s family. Once, after the zikr gathering, he enquired his deputies and disciples if anyone had a meal together with his wife? Maybe no one replied in affirmation. The Sheikh said that the deputies consider themselves very pious; and consider it against their respect to be frank with their wives as people respect them hugely; kiss their hands and feet; called as scholars; and now if they have a meal together with their wives or if they help her in house chores – it will cause decline in their respect. The Sheikh termed it as pride and ordered all his followers to have a meal together with their wives and they will be asked about it after the morning prayer (fajr) the following day. And then the next day he formally called the attendance and almost all deputies and disciples had acted upon this sunnah. Glory to Allah! (Subhan Allah) what a beautiful way of training! Even mighty scholars are careless of these prophetic traditions; but with what brilliance the Sheikh used to act upon these and encouraged his followers to do the same.
Condescending with neighbours
According to Hadith; when you cook curry, add extra water to make extra gravy so that you can serve it to your neighbours as well. The Sheikh always took a share out for his neighbours, and used to look after his relatives more so if they lived in the neighbourhood, as this increased their rights even more. He took special care in making sure that none of his neighbours ever got upset with him over his attitude.
Compassion and Love for the Orphans
In the shrine of Allahabad Sharif, a daughter of an old sage (deceased), who was both married and a mother, was wed to her cousin. After her husband’s death, her mother did not remarry but dedicated herself to raising her children until all her daughters were married off. This widow did not have any male offspring. Eventually, her brothers married her off with her consent. Her married daughter was deeply saddened and wept at her mother’s wedding, fearing she would now be forgotten. Their father had already passed away. When this news reached the esteemed and revered guide, the spiritual conduit in both worlds, he summoned the girl and sent a message through her family members that she should not worry, considering him as her father and his home as her own. That very day, he provided the orphan girl with ghee, flour, clothes, and perhaps even cash. He always took care of her and provided assistance.
Whenever he learned that a child had lost one of their parents, he would call the child to his home, place a compassionate hand upon their head. (As the noble hadith mentions, placing a compassionate hand on an orphan’s head will lead to forgiveness from Allah equal to the number of hairs covered by the hand) He would then provide them with money, clothing, and food. The wife of Qari Ghulam Hussain was a virtuous, pious woman, strict in observing the Tahajjud prayer. Her passing left her son, Muhammad Hussain—who is now, by the grace of Allah, a scholar and preacher—very young. He called Muhammad Hussain to his home, placed a compassionate hand on his head, and offered prayers for him. When our revered grandfather, Syed Nasiruddin Shah, may Allah have mercy on him, passed away, he showered his granddaughters with great affection and love. He frequently took care of the needs of these girls and all three of Nasir Sahab’s wives, treating and loving them like his own family members.
Writing about the noble example and generous qualities of our spiritual guide, the pole of his time, Hazrat Sohna Sain, may Allah have mercy on him, fills my heart with longing and tears, mourning that we have strayed from his blessed model, which was in perfect accord with the Prophet Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, exemplary way. O Lord of the Worlds, grant us and our descendants, scholars, students, and the devout, the complete grace to follow in your footsteps. Amen.
He used to care for a weak creation like the ant
Maulana Muhammad Hassan Otho narrates that once Hazrat Sohna Saeen (RA) arrived in Nawabshah for the treatment of their family. They stayed for approximately 10 days. Daily after Asar, Hazrat Sahib would go for a walk from Qazi Ahmed Bend, on Government College Road, in front of the Government College would sit down on the footpath for a short while. When Hazrat Sahib would get up to return, he would say to this humble person (me), check that there aren’t any ants on the cloth. I would check for ants, if there would be any, I would shake them off and then we would return. If after travelling some distance, any ant would be seen, they would return to leave the ant in the same place.
From this we can ascertain the Sheikh’s relationship and love for the creation of Allah. This blessed action of his reminds (us) of Hazrat Sheikh Abu Al Hassan Kharqani (RA)‘s incident. They say that once Sheikh Abu Al Hassan Kharqani (RA) bought home wheat from a village. When he took the bundle off his head, put it on the floor and opened it, he saw an ant inside. After seeing this he got extremely worried. He tied the bundle and placed it back on his head and returned to the same village where he had bought the wheat from. Upon reaching the village, he opened the bundle and left it there. When the ant left the bundle on its own will, he tied the bundle and brought the wheat back home.
The love of non-Muslims towards Sohna Saeen
Sohna saeen was born in village named Khanuwahan. Those met Huzoor Sohna Saeen R.A. used to get impressed by his pious, down to earth, loving, shariah abiding personality. This is known that on way to Mosque from his house, he used to wrap a handkerchief around his head (which we saw his whole life later on), kept sight down, and walked such gently just like an Angel in the ecstasy of the love of God enlightening the hearts of the passersby. Not only Muslims, but non-Muslims also fell in love with such characteristics. Many Muslims followers came to see Sohna Saeen when decided to migrate from Khanuwahan village to Deenpur, requesting Sohna Saeen to not leave them alone, that was about the love of Muslim followers. However followers of the Hindu religion came to see Sohna Saeen wearing handkerchiefs (which is considered humble in cultural means) and requested him forgiveness and asked if they have committed a wrongdoing which is influencing you to migrate from here. They asked on the name of God to stay there and not make them orphan (because Hindu followers also believed Sohna Saeen as a sign of blessing for them). Sohna Saeen mentioned Hindu followers the reasons of his migration, but even then they insisted and wept endlessly. This is also historically known that on the day Sohna Saeen was migrating, the inhabitants of Khanwuahan village mourned to such extent that someone had died in their village.
From few of these incidents, once can easily conclude that life of Sohna Saeen was spent in the love of Allah, following of the true leader sarkar-e-madina Muhammad S.A.W, blessings on all the creatures of god and love with the entire humanity. For us who believe in seeing-is-believing approach, the only one prospect of life of Sohna Saeen seen outwardly visible was – was his extreme desire of the love of Allah and his Prophet Muhammad S.A.W, but the reality was he himself was beloved of Allah and Prophet Muhammad S.A.W, just as the famous Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai says in this context
Tell the lover, the one you fell in love with
Transforms in a way, that the lover becomes beloved
In the quotes above, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai R.A. unveiled a mystical secret. He explains that the real lover is the one – who one day becomes beloved himself. This is exactly like the lover follows his love, meaning the lover of Allah (Prophet Muhammad S.A.W) and follows same style and beliefs so one day the lover will transform into the beloved. The second quote from the above poetry mentions transformation of a kind which means that the lover will only be able to become beloved only after surrendering himself and transforming into the one he loves.
Friends this transformation is the characteristic of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. As Allah says in Al Quran, “Say! That if you love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you”. So friends, if you are honest in your pursuance my (Allah’s) love, then there is a sole way to gain my love is to follow Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. This is an age of egotistical and fraudsters attitudes, humans have lost the essence of humanity, even animals do not attack other animals of the same breed, but sadly humans have today become human hunters, just like a poet said
The humans have erased the ethics,
Now everything seems tasteless.
Greed has shattered humanity into pieces,
Become the expression of brotherhood, the language of love.
Wish that humans begin to understand the high status of humanity and stop injustice on each other. Protect other people’s rights along with their own rights. Create unity amongst other humans beyond the difference of their tribe, nation, cast, sect and religion.
The presence of true friends of Allah in these severe environment is the symbol of human welfare and is a savior and reason from God’s punishment in this world. One doesn’t become a true human by only being self-sustaining himself, but it also require the following of the god as well as the guidelines of the prophet Muhammad S.A.W, and most importantly love of the every person – without any discrimination and difference whatsoever. Indeed, these were all the characteristics present in my Shaikh Mehboob Sohna Saeen R.A.
Even though it is difficult to find words to explain and thank Allah for his blessing by giving us such a pious lineage, as we don’t have a degree to return the gratitude he gave us.
For thousands of years, the narcissus weeps over its lack of light,
Allama Iqbal
With great difficulty does a discerning eye come to exist in the garden.
As unique humans on which the humanity delights, lovers who become the reason for the existence of this world, those who are spiritually transformed in the love of Allah whose lives are a bright guidance, those whose willingness and patience are the pride of the religion of Islam, whose sacrifices are even shed light by Al Quran, those who created a life for themselves, which is of life of forever glory, which is immortality until the day of judgment.
Marna aghi jee miaa, see mare thia na maat
Materialistically hidden from our sight, far from us in this finite world, woefully parting from us, is now enjoying the gloriously gathering with the great creator of all. But even today, the river of the bliss flows uninterruptedly at the Darbar of my Shaikh Sohna Saeen. Today, the spirit and livelihood is not only present at his spiritual center at Allahabad Shareef, Sindh, but its affection and fondness is increasing with every passing day. People hungry for divine love visit his spiritual center from all across the world and return after being enlightened. There is an increasing trend of visitors at the spiritual center of my Shaikh every passing day and they belong to different nations, different countries, and different religions and from a variety of different walks of life.
Few advices concerning this book
On the insistence of my friends, a few advices are presented for the honourable guests who visit the place of my sheikh and for the students of the path, with the hope that they will read it themselves, read it to their family and children and advise them to read these too.
But for this they need to make a friendly environment at home, and take special care in the upbringing and education of their children, especially their daughters. These should be read before or after, in friendly gatherings, zikr gatherings and other gatherings of fuqaras.
Those who are stepping into the path of spirituality (sulook) should definitely benefit from and listen to this, it should be borne in mind that besides duties, obligations and offering of prayers, one should take complete care of the rights of people, and there should not be any mistakes in the performance of it. This will only become easy, when like your Saints you will love Allah’s creation without any differences.
This hadith should always be kept in mind that (please insert Arabic).Allah’s creation includes people from different religions. The way you love your own family, the same way Allah loves his creation (kunba), good and bad all are His. By adopting this kind of thought and behaviour you will be able to easily practice beautiful manners (husn-e-salook).
In the end it is important to explain, that this has been a small attempt to present this set of advices, which have been chosen from valuable and authentic books from various Saints.
We are hopeful that if we understand these blessed teachings of our Saints and if we act upon these, there will definitely be a day when we will be blessed with the sight of our friend (Real Friend Allah swt) and our heart will become the observant place of the friend.
We pray to Allah (swt) that with the blessings of our Saints, especially His beloved Prophet (pbuh), may He accept this small effort, forgive the mistakes, and with His blessings give benefit to the creation.
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ
“My Lord, bestow me guidance so that I thank you for the favour which You bestowed upon me and my parents, and so that I may perform the good deeds which please You, and by Your mercy include me among Your bondmen who are worthy of Your proximity.”
وصلی اللہ تعالیٰ علیٰ حبیبہٖ سیدنا ومولٰنا محمد واٰلہٖ وصحبہٖ وبارک وسلم
Muhammad Tahir Abbasi Bakhshi Naqshbandi
Astaana Aaliya Allahabad Shareef
28th Shawwal ul Mukarram 1428 AH
10th November 2007