Miracles of Ghouse E Azam Rehmat'ulla'Aley
The
Walis of Allah, acting on behalf and under the stamp of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) and not proclaiming their existence and
position' until commanded by Allah serve humanity, by their preccipts
and examples and pray incessantly for the general forgiveness of human
sins.
The
idea regarding the existence of such Walis and their approach towards
some form of intercession for humanity is borne out by Verses 20-27 of
Sura Yasin, a perusal of which will show that even among a nation doomed
to destruction for its inequities, there live persons who testify to
the truth of a Prophet appearing among them by their powers of reality,
recognising the will of Allah. The event is begun with the following
words, "And from the remote part of the country there came a man running
who said, O' my people follow this messenger, "The story of the prophet
Loot as given in Sura Hud, gives an indication to the effect that
punishment for the sin of a nation is averted by the presence of an
eminent man of spritually.
The defernment of such punishment is out of deference to a spiritual personality living in its midst. The
punishment of Quraish was deferred till the migration of the Holy
prophet from Mecca. Al-Quran lay? down this principle in so many words
"Nor is Allah going to chastise them while you are among them" (8:33).
The well known hadith ascribing to Allah the Words "One who is hostile
to my Walli receives an announcement of War from Me" presents only the
counterpart of this idea. Because if hostility to a Wali excites the
wrath of Allah it follows that the attention and prayers of the Wali can
induce the mercy of Allah. Of course the Wali spoken of are Walis of
the eminence like that of Hazrat Ghousul Azam Abdul Qadir Mohiyuddin.
Miracles
are abnormal and extra-ordinary acts that can only be performed by the
privileged few like the Prophets and Walis of Allah. Perhaps such acts
may sound illogical to the rationalist. But they do occur and are beyond
ordinary comprehensive. The parting of the Red Sea for the Prophet
Moosa and such like events are examples. Even in the life of ordinary
mortals, miracles occur, by the mercy of Allah, to save them from
catastrophes or accidents.
The
miracles of Hazrat Ghousul Azam recorded are innumerable, when compared
to other Saints. Of these innumerable, miracles, a few are given below.
After
Hazrat Ghousul Azam settled down in Baghdad remarkable stories about
his power circulated in Baghdad. The day to day increase in the
circulation of such stories made a large number of great scholars of the
town to decide to visit him, altogether in other to test his knowledge
by posing one, hundred difficult questions. On their arrival, the Hazrat
foretold them of their purpose and gave each question the correct
answer, even profounding to them explanations beyond the limits of their
comprehension on their own special subjects. This" thought reading was
daily manifested by him. It was not necessary for the visitors who came
with petitions of desires to tell him, for he looked straight at them
and gave them the answers.
On
one occasion; two weary and hungry travellers from Arabia joined his
audience unobtrusively. The Hazrat immediately stopped his discourse
saying "Poor travellers; they have just come a long way and have had
practically nothing to eat." He then described correctly their last meal
to the astonishment of all concerned.
One
of the most remarkable things we hear from this Saint's life is that
even a man's destiny could be deflected from conscious life into the
dream state. A merchant of Baghdad one day approached Sheikh Hammad
Al-Dabbas for his blessings before taking a caravan to Syria. Sheikh
Hammad forbade him to undertake the proposed journey because he foresay
that the merchant was likely to be robbed and murdered by highway men.
The merchant very much depressed, met Hazrat Ghousul Azam on the way and
informed him what the Sheikh had told him. The Hazrat promised the
merchant his personal responsibility for his safe journey and asked the
merchant to proceed. He reached his destination safely with his goods.
On
his journey the merchant forgot to take back his money kept in the
place where he had performed his 'ablution. On going to bed he was
murdered. On waking he saw blood round his neck and also felt the pain
of the blow. However, he realised that what he had seen was a mere
dream, but remembering his lost purse, he went back to the place and
recovered it.
While
he was returning to Baghdad he was confused in his mind to decide
whether seeing Sheikh Hammad first would be proper, as he was the senior
Sheikh or seeing Hazrat Ghous first was appropriate as it was his
predictions had proved true. He suddenly saw Sheikh Hammad. He asked him
instead to first go to Hazrat Ghousul Azam by whose prayers his
predistened murder had been changed into a dream and the loss of
property the purse changed into forgetfulness.
One
of Hazrat's own servants, who visited his master complained that he
had, in a dream slept with man women. Upon this, Hazrat said that it was
the servant's destiny to sleep with all those women but this misdeed
had been transformed into a dream. Before the servant began to describe
the event, Hazrat gave him a list of the names of all the women
including those he knew and those he did not.
Khalifa
AImustanjid Billah once came to Hazrat and presented him some bags of
gold. He refused, the gift but when the Khalifa begged and pleaded for
their acceptance the Hazrat took two bags and pressed them. Blood seemed
to ooze out of them, which was indicative of the fact that the wealth
had been amassed by oppressing people, which was represented by the
blood seen.
On
one occasion a Christian Clergyman came from Yeman and accepted Islam
from him in an assembly where he had delivered a sermon. After his
conversion, he voluntarily stood up and related to the assembly that he
was a man of Yeman and had decided to accept Islam from the hands of the
most eminent Muslim in Yeman. He reported that had seen Prophet Eesa in
a dream who directed him to proceed to Baghdad and accept Islam from
Hazrat Abdul Qadir, who was the most eminent at the time in the whole
world.
Once
three Faqihs, who came to see him offered their prayers under his
Imamath (leadership). They did not like his reading of the Quran and
formed a low opinion of him. They slept that night and went to the
spring for a bath late at night. A Tiger clung to their clothes and
cought hold of them. The Faqihs became afraid of their lives. The Hazrat
at that moment came out of his closet. The Tiger quietened and crawled
(it his feet. Hazrat sternly looked at the Tiger as if to question why
it had interfered with his guests though they had formed low opinion of
himself. The Faqihs came to him and repented for their conduct and
begged his pardon. Hazrat then addressed his guests remarking that while
he had been improving his heart, they had only been improving their
tongue to speak ill of him and slander people.
Sheikh
Shihabuddin Umar Suharwardy in his youth used to read voraciously books
on scholasticism, inspite of the advice of his uncle to the contrary.
Once his uncle took him to Hazrat Ghousul Azam and informed him that the
boy was devoting all his time to scholasticism. Upon this Hazrat asked
Sheikh Shihabuddin what books he had read on the subject. On getting a
reply, he placed his palm on the breast of Sheikh Shihabuddin. No sooner
was the plam removed; he surprisingly forgot all he knew of
scholasticism. But in lieu of it, he felt his mind replaced by the
knowledge of Allah. Sheikh Shihabuddin Umar Suharwardy ultimately became
the Imam of the Suharwardy Order and is the author of the famous book
on Sufism named "Awariful Maarif."
Sheikh
Muzzafar bin Mansur said that in his youth he saw the Hazrat in the
company of a large number of persons. When he sat down with a book on
spiritual philosophy, Hazrat without seeing the book but questioning him
said that the book was not a good one for him and should be discarded.
However, be did not like to discard it owing to his love for the book,
but at the same time he neither desired to incur the displeasure of
Hazrat also by retaining that book. So he decided to keep it somewhere
else and tried to get up to do so. But he could not. He felt as if he
was planted to the ground.
Hazrat
then asked him to show the book to him. It was given. Hazrat passed his
hand over it and said that the book was Ibuzari's "Fazil-ul-Quran" and
then returned it to him. I opened it and saw that it was
"Fazil-ul-Quran'' but without the chapter on spiritual subject and
philosophy "contained therein earlier. Hazrat asked him to repent for
what had passed through his mind He first repented and then got up, but
found that he could not thereafter remember a single portion of that
book.
A
relattion of the Khalifa was once taken to Hazrat. The man was
suffering from dropsy and had an enormously swollen stomach. He sought
relief. Hazrat passed his hands over his stomach, upon which it
contracted to its normal size.
Hazrat
Ghousul Azam had spiritual powers to hasten to the rescue of those who
called him in an hour of emergency or adversity even from afar, such as
the hearing of a thundering shout that rang, to frighten away marauders
who tried to molest and loot owners of a caravan in the desert of
Samarakand, who, in their hour of peril, called and appealed for the aid
of the Hazrat.
Sheikh
Shihabuddin Suharwardy's parents were for long childless, until his
mother approached him and begged of him to pray to that she may be
blessed with a son. Raising His hands in supplication he prayed and said
that Allah the Beneficient would grant her wish. He desired the child
when born to be named Shihabuddin and predicted that the child would
rise up to be a Sheikh of Sheikhs. In the ceurse of time she bore a son
though she was above the normal age of child bearing.
His
powers over the souls of this disciples extended beyond the grave. One
day in Baghdad a man informed him that his deceased father in a dream
had desired him to appeal to him to pray for (he redemption of his dead
father's soul, as he was suffering. Hazrat asked the visitor "Did your
father ever visited my Madrassa?" Yes he answered. Hazrat remained
silent for a while and referred no further on the matter. A few days
latter, the man returned to Hazrat saying that his father appeared to
him in a dream wearing a green robe and had told him that his punishment
has been lifted due to Hazrat Ghousul Azam's prayers.
Abdullah
Zayyat once said that one night Hazrat came out of his closet with a
walking stick in his hand. Abdullah within himself at that moment wished
to see Hazrat performing some miraculous act. No sooner this thought
had occured to him, the Hazrat set up his stick on ground and it became
luminous and began to glow. Soon it became so bright that it illuminated
the entire house. He then took up his stick, and looked at Abdullah and
remarked you desired this sort of act. Abdullah was amazed.
A
mother brought his son to the Sheikh to become a murid (follower) A few
months later she returned and saw him looking under nourished. She
complained that Hazrat was himself partaking the delicious dish of
chicken daily whereas his poor son had been made to keep up on dry
bread. Hazrat on this complaint picked up the bone of a chicken, by this
bone suddenly transformed into a live cock, which crowed as if to
testify that there is no Allah but Allah. Mohammad is His Prophet "and
Sheikh Abdul Qadir is His Wali". Addressing the terrified woman he
commented "when your son is able to do this, then there will be no
reason why he should not eat the same as I do."
He
once asked nearly three hundred residents of a dewelling place to
vacate it immediately. No. sooner these people vacated, (he building
fell to the ground. He had forseen the occurence and warned them in
time.
Sheikh
Alt Arabi of Spain had no children. At the instance of a Mujzub (a mon
of distracted mind owing to' divine attraction) he approached Hazrat
Ghousul Azam for his blessings and prayers for a son. Hazrat said I have
one more son yet unborn in my destiny. I give it to you. Rub your back
against mine and name him when born Mohammed Mohiyuddin. He would rise
up to be a Qutub of his time. The child was eventually born and was
named accordingly. He became a great philosopher and attained high
spiritual advancement. He gained the title of Sheikh Akbar and is
commonly known as Ibn-al-Arabi.
During
a famine in Baghdah, Abdul Abbas Ahmed, the servant of Hazrat
complained to him of the need for funds and of food grains. Hazrat gave
him a reasonable quantity of wheat and asked him to store the grain in a
covered receptacle and never to weigh it, but to take out according to
necessity, by opening out a small portion of the container. He used to
draw grains in this way for an unusually large period. The wife of the
servant of Hazrat at last felt very much curious about it and in order
to satisfy herself opened the mouth of the container. She surprisingly
found almost *he same quantity of grain as was kept in the beginning,
still remaining and unexhausted.
Once
the water in Tigris rose to an extra ordinary high level on account of
an unprecedent flood. The inhabitants of Baghdad became frightened of
the imminent danger. They came to Saiyidina Hazrat Ghousul Azam and
solicited his help. There upon Hazrat went up to the river side and
planting his stick on the river bank said "Remain with in this limit.
The flood then began to recede slowly and came down to the Limit
demarcated by him.
Once
a resident of Baghdad approached Saiyidina Ghousul Azam and stated that
his son has been getting fever for a year and a quarter, and could not
shake it off by any means. Hazrat instructed him to speak into the ears
of his son and say '0 fever leave my son and go to the village of H
Allah.' He acted accordingly, and the fever left his son at once.
It
is related on the authority of Sheikh Adi Bin Musafir that once Hazrat
Ghousul Azam was conversing with some persons assembled to hear his
sermon when it began to rain. Hazrat looked upon the sky and solicited
"I call together men for your (Allah's) sake but you disperse them." As
soon as he had uttered this, the clouds disappeared and rain ceased in
the precints of the Madrassa of Hazrat, though it was raining outside.
Sheikh
Osman Sayrifini and Sheikh Abdul Haq Harimi stated ".We were present
before Saiyidina Hazrat Ghousul Azam in his Madrassa on third Saffar 555
A.H., when Hazrat suddenly got up with his wooden sandles under his
feet and performed ablution. He offered two Rakats of prayers and with a
loud shout, threw one of the sandles into the air. It disappeared from
our sight. With another shout, his Holiness threw the other sandle into
the air, which also disappeared. None present dared questioning him on
the incident.
But
thirty days after this incident a caravan came to Baghdad from Ajam and
said that they had brought some presents for Hazrat. Hazrat permitted
the acceptance of the presents of valuable things but these the same
pair of sandles which were thrown in the air by Hazrat. They related
that on the third of Saffar when they were travelling, suddenly a gang
attacked them and plundered their merchandise and murdered some of them
in the caravan. The gang then entered the jungle to divide the booty.
Then they had halted at the outskirts of the jungle and it struck them
to solicit the help of Hazrat Ghousul Azam. Just at that time they had
heard two loud shouts which reverberated throughout the jungle. They had
mistaken the shouts as the aftermath of a scuffle between the gang that
attacked us and a stronger gang of Arabs. We were terror stricken. Some
members of the gang came to us and said that a calamity had befallen
them and requested us to take back the plundered goods. We went to the
place where the booty was lying divided and saw two of their leaders
lying dead and the two sandles lying close by.
Sheikh
Abdul Hassan commonly known as Ibn Astantana of Baghdad stated "When I
used to live in the Madrassa of Saiyidina Ghousul Azam for the
acquisition of learning, I generally keep awake, at night in order to
serve the Hazrat, if and when required. One night in 553 A.H. Hazrat
came out of his room, presuming he required water for ablution, I took
it to him but his holiness did not take it. Instead, he proceeded
towards the gate of the Madrassa. I quietly followed him. The gate
automatically opened and when he passed on, it closed itself. He then
went towards the gate of the city which also similarly opened and closed
automatically. Shortly after this we reached a town, which I had not
seen before. On reaching the town he went to a house which was similar
to his own Ribat in appearance. There were six persons in the house, who
saluted him. He proceeded further on and I, stood, by a pillar. I heard
the groaning of a person in a low voice. After a few minutes, the
groaning ceased and another person went to the place whence the groaning
came and carried away a dead body on his shoulder. Shortly after this,
another person bare headed and with long whiskers, came there.
The
man sat down in front of Hazrat who made him recite the declaration of
faith used in converting one to Islam. Hazrat then cut off his whiskers,
put a cap on his head and named him Mohammad. He said that he had
appointed him in place of the deceased. The persons residing in the
house accepted the decision submissively. He then left the place and in a
short time came to the gate of Baghdad, which opened and closed
automatically as before. His holiness (hen entered his Madrasa. In the
morning when I resumed taking lesson from Hazrat I prayed him to explain
the incident of the previous night. Whereupon he said that the town I
had seen was Nehawand a distant city in the outskirts of the empire
under the Khalif of Baghdad. The six persons in the Ribat, were Abdul
and Nujaba. The man ^ho died was one of shem. The man with long whiskers
was a Christian of Constantinople who accepted Islam and was appointed
by him to fill the place of the deceased. The man who carried away the
corpse was Hazrat Khizar.
It
seems desire able here to explain that according to the Sufis, there
exists a sort of hierchy of Saints at all times in the world through
whom Allah manifests His mercy to the world of humanity. In the absence
of the Prophet, they are the vice gerents of Allah on earth on the
Prophet's behalf. They are of three different grades, Abdal is a plural
of Badal meaning literally "substitute", so called because should any
one of these saints die, Allah immediately substitutes him by another
(Sihah). They are righteous persons of whom the world is never
destitute. But on more authoratative view is that they are given this
name, because of their ever changing spiritual condition. They are
inaflux; and are not allowed to remain in one state. Being on their way
to Realisation, they are not allowed to settle down at any intermediate
point. As to their exact number and their locations, opinion, is
divided. They seem to be the lowest in rank amongst the spiritual
successors of the Prophet, Ghousul Azam and Qutubs.
According
to the best authorities they are a hirearchy of the saints of a
particular generation and are supposed to be pre-eminently endowed with
sanctity and faculties to even perform miracles. If anybody is a Qutub
or a Ghouse, he is recognised as such only by his agents. Abdals,
themselves reveal their position to a. particular person. The literal
meaning of Qutub is axis or pivot, the point upon which a thing turns,
the chief around whom the state of affairs turns. So a Qutub is he,
whose attention and prayers decide the course of events in a particular
society of people? He may be regarded as a kind of spiritual agent in a
particular community.
The
literal meaning of Ghouse is 'AID' or 'Succour' in the midst of
difficulties. So Ghouse is a kind of intercessor, who intercedes at a
moment when the sins of a nation or humanity are at the point of being
punished. These great men appear to be particularly tender hearted like
the Holy Prophet. Their hearts melt at the woes and sufferings of
humanity and as such become a means to be able to avert Divine
punishment. With the assurance of acceptability of their prayers, their
prayers become a plea for Divine forgiveness and mercy. Hazrat Ghousul
Azam has once said that the Almishty has given him the knowledge of all
his murids up to the end of the world, and His Holiness has proclaimed
that none of his murids would die without repentance, and attain the
seventh degree to alude in paradise. Once he remarked that he would not
have the presence
of
Allah unless He did not accompany him and his murids to enter paradise.
His Holiness was once questioned as to the position of a devotee who
has regard and love for him, but was not actually his murid nor wore
Khirqa from him. He said that such a person was also his murid although
the real process of his becoming a murid was not complete. Even a person
who had love and reverence for him would not be disappointed by the
graciousness of the Almighty.