Hadrat Syed Ghulam Haider Shah (R.A) - Sufism Biographies

The teachings of Islam are so simple, straight forward and convincing
that during the life time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)
andhis Caliphs the light of Islam reached as far as Azerbaijan and to
the fareastern parts of Asia, despite the slow means of
communications. The reason of wide acceptance is truthfulness,
simplicity, practicability and universality of Islam. Thepolitical
dominance may help to propagate any ideology and some historian
allegedly attribute the spread of Islam as the foot step of Muslim
forces. This is notcorrect, because one canwitness that the deeper
parts of Africa and far eastern parts of Asia, where Muslim army did
no march and yet Islam spread into these areas.
In South Asia, Islam penetrated because of the glories teachings of
Islam on all aspects of life that provide a comprehensive solution to
a better individual and communal life. The other significant
contributory was the impact and preaching ofMuslim saints and Sufis,
who modeled their lives according to principles of Islam. Their
helping attitude, flawless personality, respect for human beings,
straight forwardness and fair dealings with the local population,
influenced and encouraged as largenumber to embrace Islam. Hazrat Syed
Ghulam Haider Shah (1838-1908), a renowned religious figure and sufi,
contributed a lot to the spread of Islam and to develop a through and
deep belief on its teachings. Al-though century has passed yet his
principles, teachings and attitude towards lifeis providing guidance
to large number of his followers, all over the world. His impressive
religious personality has turned jalalpur Shareef into a symbol of
light and inspiration. He belonged to Chishtiya order of Sufism. Malik
Muhammad Din, a writer, truly claims in hisbook: "Ziker-e-Habib" that
India has been a kingdom of Chishties, from Ras-Kumari to Nanga
Parbat, and Hazrat Syed Ghulam Haider Shah has been a ruler of the
spiritual world and has been ruling the hearts of people.
Hazrat Syed Ghulam Haider Shah was born in a beautiful hilly town,
Jalapur Shareef, situatedon the western bank of River Jehlum, near
Kahwera saltmines in district Jehlum. The grand father (Syed
SakhiShah) and father (Syed Juma Shah) of Syed Ghulam Haider Shah have
been renowned fortheir steadfastness and trustworthiness in the
region.
His mother, from a Syed family of Khewah (Gujrat), had been very
pious, a resolute lady and very considerate towards poor and
needyones. The alms were never turned down to beggars, visiting her
doorstep. Since his childhood Syed Ghulam Haider Shah had decent
habits, clear thinking and complete faith and confidence in the
supremacy and authorityof Allah. He learned Holy Quran from Mian Khan
and his uncle Syed ImamShah. Among other teachers were Mian Mohammad
Kamil and Mufti Ghulam Mohaiuddin, who were distinguished scholars
inthe region at that time.
As he reached his youth, Allah blessed him with strong and healthy
built.He had fair wheatish complexion and attractive black eyes,
fullof confidence and conviction. His father used to impress upon him
to lead a life with chastity. He honoured father's advice and through
out his life, avoided even mnor touch with anyna-mahram lady. He got
married at the age of sixteen. After two years he had to witness the
bereavement of his father, who was at the same time a spiritual tutor
and with whom hewas deeply attached. Before the demise, his father
instructed and advised him, "Lead simple, chaste and respectable life.
Always remember the Supreme Authority, Allah and Sunnah (practice and
preaching of holy prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) should be the
conduct oflife. Be-caring and considerate to relatives and also
towards needy and poor. Be respectful to elders and loving and caring
towards younger.Most visit every day, the shrine of Syed Miran Shakir
fro spiritual guidance and strength".Syed Miran Shakir, whose shrine
is about three miles up-hills from Jallalpur Shareef, is the eldest
sonof well known Syed Shah Muhammad Ghaus, who is buried in Lahore
between Akbari and DilliGate).
The obedient son acted according to the will of his father. He led
simple, contented and devout life according to the guide lines set by
Quraanand Sunnah. He strived to gain know ledge and be beneficial for
people. Because of his generosity he is remembered as Gharib-Nawaz
(generous to poor). Despite his own early moderate economic
conditions, he used to gi8ve alms to any beggar visiting his doorstep
and helped thetravelers and needy ones, irrespective of their religion
or creed.
His non-discriminating attitude was according to the teaching of
Islam. As every Muslim in his five prayers repeats nearly twenty
times, every day: (Assalam-o-Alaina wa ala ibad Allah-is-saleheen),
for the salamti (safety and survival) of himself and saleh (good)
human beings, irrespective of their religion or creed.
Syed Ghulam Haider Shah mostly used to spend evenings and occasionally
nights at Hazrat Miran Shakir's shine that used to be deserted at
nights. One night the heard a voice, instructing him to see Syed
Ghulam Shah of a nearby town Haranpur for silsilah-e-bait (spiritual
link). When he met Syed Ghulam Shah Haranpuri, he said," Yourbait is
not easy for me, I will lead you to Khawajah Shamsuddin Sialvi (a
well-known Sufiand religious scholar of his times)".
As both of them reached Sial Shareef, a town in district Jhang, Syed
Ghulam Shah Haranpuri introduced him to Khawajah Shamsuddin Sialvi,
"He is a Syed from Jalalpur and is desirous of bait".Khawajah
Shamsuddin Sialvi, as if waiting for such a pious,devout and capable
figure, welcomed him and entered him to silsilah-e-bait. This bait
resulted in his spiritual growth and uplift. Gharib Nawaz developedtoo
much attachment and attraction for his Murshid (Spiritual
guide)Khawajah shamsuddin Sialvi and used to visit toSial Shareef, he
was awarded Khilafat and permission to accept hait from any follower.
He also studied books of Sufism, e.g., Muraqa Shareef Kashkaol, etc.
from his Murshid.
The virtues, purity and piousness of Syed Ghulam Haider Shah earned
great respect form Khwajah Silavi, who used to instruct a number of
salikeen and mureedain to go and seek bait of Syed GhulamHaider Shah,
Jalalpuri instead of his own. He used in his bait and that of Syed
Jalalpuri's bait.
Gharib-Nawaz Syed Ghulam Haider Shah, used to spend most of his time
remembering Allah, offering prayers, even not missing nowafils
(Non-obligatory worship), acquiring knowledge, study of sufiliterature
and guiding and helping visitors. At the same time he was very
attentive towards the welfare and betterment of his family,followers
and other matters of daily life. He maintained Langar (free meals for
followers, travelers and needy ones). He used to keep himself abreast
of political situation of the country and about the international
affairs. He was very perturbed overthe deteriorating political
conditions of Muslims in general and riots of 1907 in Bengal and
Punjab. In Islam there is no Rehbaniyat (Monkey or Participationboth
in religious as well as in worldly activities. Every worldly deed
becomes a religious activity when it is performed according to guide
lines and teachings of Islam and remembering and fearing Almighty
Allah allthe times.
Gharib-Nawaz Syed Ghulam Haider Shah led simple, clean and graceful
life. He was verygenerous and consistent in his commitments. He used
to preach and practice love for Allah, His Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be
Upon Him), Murshid and mankind and regarded it as a partof faith. He
desired his family and followers to be pious, cooperative, knowledge
and prolific. He hardly used to become angry with any one. He was
always a well wisher and never wished bad for anyone. Almighty Allah,
the Merciful, mostly rewarded whenever he prayed for the betterment of
any one, who visited him and requested for pray. Syed Mehr Ali Shah
Golarvi was peer-bhai (brother in spiritual order) and contemporary of
Syed Ghulam Haider Shah. Both had great respect and regard for each
other and worked jointly for the cause of Islam.
In 1905, Syed Ghulam Haider Shah, handed over Khilafat to his Younger
ason Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah and advised to help and guide people,
continue Langar Shareef and contribute in construction of facilities
for the visitors and followers. On afternoon of 5th July 1908 (5th
Jamadi-us-Sani, 1326 Hijra), following minor temperature he expired.
Malik Muhammad Din had written the biography, "Ziker-e-Habib" of Syed
GhulamHaider Shah. Many scholars and learned people expressed sorrow
and grief by written articles, poems and verses. Dr Allama Muhammad
Iqbal, also wrote quatrain indicating his high stature and date of
expiry in Persian.
It translates as, "Every one who visits the grave of peer Haider Shah,
described it as the glory of Koh-e-Toor (where Allah manifested His
glory to Prophet Moses).
An angel descended, from heaven and kissed hi grave, when asked about
his year to expiry, the angle replied, Maghfoor, (meaning pardoned and
exonerated one; the digit sum of the letters of Maghfoor is 1326, the
year according to the lunar calendar). The follower and devotees from
all around the world will gather to commemorate the 100thanniversary
of Syed Ghulam Haider Shah at Jallalpur Shareef, districtJehlum in
Second week of July.
After Syed Muzaffar Shah, his son, Hazrat Abdul Barkat Syed Muhammad
Fazal Shah, graced dargah Jallalpur Shareef. He was a great spiritual
as well as a religious leader and activity participated in the
movements for independence of Pakistan and Kashmir. The volunteers of
his Jamaat Hizbullah, foughtand struggled to liberateAzad jamun
Kashmir from Indian atrocities.
These days Hazrat Syed Anis Haider, the grand son of Syed Muhammad
Fazal Shah, is the spiritual leader and Sal adah Nasheen of Jallahpur
Shareef. He is highly qualified and has worked abroad for a long tiem.
He worked in UNO as Country Director for Afghan Affair. On account of
commitmentsand responsibilities entrusted upon him after the sad
demise of his father Syed Barket Ahmed (ex Joint Secretary,
Government. of Pakistan and Senator)he resigned from UNO in 2002. The
mile-stones of his mission are Education, Unity among Muslims and
Welfare andDevelopment of the followers, Pakistan and Muslims in
general. He is paying special attention towards grooming and education
of male and female students of Dar-ul-uloom Jamia Haideriah at
Jallalpur Shareef. He strongly desires that the education and
knowledge acquisition of Quran and Sunnah must proceed hand in hand
with scientific and technical education. Out of his busy schedule he
takes out time for spiritual guidance of thefollowers and also for
developmental and social activities.
His brother Hazrat Syed Tanveer Haider is also foreign qualified. He
hadbeen working in the Computer field at GHQ but left job, while
availing an opportunity to stay in Masjid-e-Nabvi,Madina Shareef.
Both brothers have high spiritual standings and are providing
inspiration and guidance to the followers. Both are looking after all
the affairs of Jallalpur Shareef jointly. May Allahbe merciful and
beneficent to them and all Muslims and give us strength to follow the
straight path indicated and followed by His Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be
Upon Him) andHis pious and good people who have been rewarded by Him.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Allah and His Messenger are the lights in the darkness of this world

Matthew Arnold, the English poet, wrote:
"Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
In this poem, Arnold envisioned the world as aplace of darkness,
conflict and confusion, with no light to show theway out. To him the
beauty of the world was just an illusion, a dream; and the reality of
life wasone of struggle and pain.
Indeed, the world seems to become a more dangerous and hopeless every
day. The news is filled with dire stories about war and starvation,
the inexorable destruction ofthe natural environment, pollution of the
oceans, terrorism, and crime. Most recently we have been reading about
the "Arab Spring", in which the people of several nations have risen
up against their dictators. Asinspiring as these events are, in the
midst lie acts of horrific cruelty. In Libya it is rumored that 100
officers who refused to order soldiers to fire on protesters, were
burned alive. La hawla wa la quwwata il-laa billah. How horrendous.
Wouldn't a sane person be afraid of such a world? Wouldn't an
intelligent person be consumed with anxiety, and wouldn't a very
intelligent person be plunged into despair?
The thing about fear, anxiety and despair is that they flourish in
spiritual darkness, just as some species of mushrooms can only grow in
the dark. They might be represented by the image of a monster hiding
in the corner of a dark room.
What do you do when you're afraid there's a monster in the closet, or
creeping quietly toward you? You turn on the light.
The Light is Allah
For us, the light is Allah, and the Quran through which He
communicates with us. Our guiding lightis the natural bond we have
with Allah, and our instinctive yearning to know our Creator. Let's
cherish that bond and strengthen it, and it will fill us with light.
Allah's light is our salvation from fear of theunknown; fear of
failure; fear of loss and pain; fearof poverty, illness and injury;
fear of enemies who want to hurt us; fearof strange things; fear of
death.
"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His
light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lampis within glass,
the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a
blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil
would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah
guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for
thepeople, and Allah is Knowing of all things." - Quran, Surat An-Nur,
24:35
An Illuminating Lamp
And what about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?
Allah says in the Quran, Surat Al-Ahzab, 33:45-46,
"O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good
tidings and a warner, And one who invites to Allah, by His permission,
and an illuminating lamp."
The Messenger too is a source of light. He is an illuminating lamp,
which is what you hold up so you can see the way ahead. His Sunnah
gives us a brilliant path to walk. It shows us the waypast all the
evils that lurk in the darkness, including the evils of racism,
nationalism, anger, selfishness, dishonesty, hypocrisy, and greed.
I'm not saying that all we must do is read the Quranand pray, and
those dire problems that I mentioned earlier will evaporate. Not at
all.
But the solutions to thoseproblems lie within the Quran if we look.
The Quran is the light that shows us the way out outof the gloom that
we have created for ourselves, and example of the Messenger (peace be
upon him) is a beaconthat lights the way forward.
Light in Our Hearts
The verse I quoted above,from Surat an-Nur, mentions the example or
similitude of Allah's light. The Sahabi (companion of the Prophet)
Ubayy ibnKa`b said, 'The similitude of His light [takes place in] the
Muslim's heart.' [Ibn Kathir, 3:464] Faith, dhikr, love of Allah and
compassion toward all creatures, cause that light to grow in our
hearts, until it spreads and appears on our faces, our hands, in our
eyes, on our tongues, and even in our homes. As Allah says, "Or is one
who was dead, and whom We gave life and made for him a light by which
to walk among people, like one who is ina darkness from which he
cannot emerge?" [6:122]
Other people can sense this light, and some will be guided by it,
while others reject it. Those who reject it might even be angered by
it, becauseit represents a refutation of a lifestyle based on narrow
material concerns.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When the Messenger
of Allah got up to pray at night, he would say:
( O Allah, to You be praise,You are the Sustainer of heaven and earth
and whoever is in them. To You be praise, You are the Light of the
heavens and the earth and whoever is in them. )
When life starts to feel like a burden, and your vision contracts so
that all you see is darkness, don't give up. Don't despair. Remember
that there is a light to show you the way. The light is Allah. His
light is expressed through the Quran and through His Messenger. Turn
to it, and it will grow in your heart and bring you peace. It will
give you strength and joy, and willtransform you and all those around
you.

Everything is possible for those who believe

Nourish your dreams. To achieve anything requires faith in Allah,
belief in yourself, imagination, vision, persistence, hard work, and
sometimes blood and tears.
The will of Allah and the power of your heart and mind make an
unbeatable combination.Everything is possible for those who believe –
anything you can envision, and many things you can't.
I'm thinking of a ragtag group of desert Arabs, who, in the course of
a single generation, transformed the world forever. I am speaking of
course of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions.
What they did was impossible – there's no other word forit. But
through the powerof Allah, and the tremendous determination of one
man, and the faith of those who followed him, the impossible became
possible. Because of theirfaith and sacrifices, you and I can utter
the words, " Laa ilaha-il-Allah " and put them into practice in our
lives.
Your dreams don't have to be that grand. Whether you dream of building
a new masjid for your community, writing a novel, competing in sports,
becoming a doctor, doing charity work overseas, memorizing theQuran,
or any other goodand meaningful goal – it can be achieved by the will
of Allah. But you can't just sit back and wait for it to happen. Feed
your dream as you would feed a newly planted seed. Care for it, devote
time to it, don't give up, and watch it grow before your eyes.

Your “Stuff” is Not a Part of You

You are not defined by the stuff you own. Your "stuff" is not a part
of you. Your "stuff" will break, disappear, or be left behind one day.
In fact what truly defines our character is how we react to loss. If
we were stripped of all the possessions we love, whowould we be in
that moment? Would we still be grateful to Allah, patient, trusting?
Hopefully it never comes to that. But seriously, those times of
greatest sadness and joy are when our thoughts must turn to Allah, The
Eternal, The Merciful, The Wise.
Allah says, "Never will youattain the good until you spend from that
which you love. And whatever you spend – indeed, Allahis Knowing of
it." [Quran 3: 92]
Think about that. Allah is telling us to give away the things that we
love the most! SubhanAllah! Why does Allah ask this ofus? Is it to
liberate us from slavery to material possessions? To f0cus ourminds on
Allah and the aakhirah (hereafter)? To prevent the evil that results
from the love of money? To benefit the poor?
Yes, for all of those reasons. Excessive attachment to any material
thing is misguidance. The love of possessions is a spiritual trap.
I have at times given away things that were precious to me, thinking
they would mean as much to the other personas they do to me. Sometimes
they do, and sometimes they don't, and yes it hurts my feelings when
the other person doesn't value my gift; but eventually I get over it,
because the pointis the act of giving. And maybe – Insha-Allah – I'll
have something to show Allah on Yawm Al-Qiyamah (the Day of
Resurrection), maybe I'll be able to say, "O Allah, I gave away these
things that I loved," and maybe that will earn me some forgiveness,
Allah knows.
There is a powerful spiritual lesson in taking an object that you
love, and giving it away. I remember a middle-agedbrother named
AbdulKareem (Damis-Salaam, for those of you who know him). He worked
hard, supported a family, and got by on a tight budget. One time hegot
a nice brown leather coat, the long kind that comes down to the knees.
It looked good on him. Then a younger brother, a teenager with poor
manners, said, "Man, that's a cool coat. Can I have it?" Without a
word, AbdulKareem took off the coat and gave it to the teenager.
There's such a strength of character, such freedom from attachment, in
being able to do that. That was 27 years ago and I imagine that
AbdulKareem (who is an old man now) has forgotten all about it.
ButAllah sees and remembers.
This deep generosity wasone of the qualities of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). It's said that he never refused anyone who asked
him for anything, if it was his to give.
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: "Allah's Messenger (peacebe upon him) was the
most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in
generosity in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used
to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur'an. Allah's
Messenger was themost generous person, even more generous than the
strong uncontrollable wind." [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1,Book 1, Number
5]
Aside from being generous, the Messenger of Allah (sws) had no
attachment to "stuff". The extreme simplicity of his lifestyle was
astounding. He never ate lavish food (not even softbread), never ate
on a dining cloth, and never filled his belly even with barley bread.
His household often went many days with no cooking fire in the oven,
living on dates and water, and occasionally aglass of milk donated by
the neighbors. His mattress was a piece of tanned skin filled with
rough palm fibers.
Once Umar Ibn al-Khattab(radhi allahu anhu) entered upon the Messenger
of Allah (sws) when he was lying on a mat of palm fibers that had left
marks on his side. Umar (ra) said: "O Messenger of Allah, why do you
not get something more comfortable than this?" He (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) said: "What do I have to do with this world? My
relationship with this world is like that of a traveler on a
hotsummer's day, who seeks shade under a tree for anhour, then moves
on." [Musnad Ahmad and al-Hakim. Saheeh al-Jamee (5545)]
So you see, he lived like this not out of necessity, but out of
choice. Money often came into his household (especially later in his
life when Islam has spread to all of Arabia) but he would give it all
to the poor, retaining nothing.
Excessive possessions are anchors that drag us down. The hunger for
material goods is a kind of sickness. It causes us more stress than
happiness, and in the end we gain nothing genuine.
I once got angry with my daughter when she was no more than four years
old, because she pulled the soft cover off my headphones and tore it.
Ichastised her roughly (verbally only) and she cried. I immediately
felt deeply guilty and I hugged her and told her it was okay. I still
regret that moment and I wish I could take it back. It would have been
enoughfor me to tell her once, kindly, that she should not do that
again. Instead I made my beautiful child cry because of a
meaninglesspossession. I don't ever want to do that again. One moment
of happiness with my child is more precious to me than a thousand
stupid headphones.
I want to divorce myself as much as possible from the desire for
needless possessions.
When I was a bicycle messenger in San Francisco many years ago, I had
a colleague, Jennie, who could pack all her possessions in a pair of
bicycle saddlebags. Anything that wouldn't fit in the bags, she'd give
away. She had a small flat in theMission district, and when later she
was moving to a little place up on 2nd Avenue, she called me and a few
friends over to help. It turned out she called us not to help her
pack, but so she could give away tous whatever possessions she had
accumulated thatwouldn't fit in her saddlebags. I had another
messenger friend, Ben, who lived in a small travel van. He wasa
kayaker and sailor. When not working, Ben spent much of his time on
the sea or the bay. Interestingly, Jennie and Ben were both
non-Muslims, yet they lived more simply than any Muslim I have known.
I can't live that simply, or I'm not willing to, but I do envy those
who can. They have discovered something deep and trueabout the nature
of the world. Life is not about stuff that costs too much, takes up
space, wears out, breaks, and contributes nothing to the world.
Rather, life is about experiences, family, learning, worshiping, and
leaving a legacy of compassion and love. All those things last beyond
our lifetimes,and beyond the veil of this life.
May Allah help us to live simply, and to be generous, and to value
'ibadah, family and love more than "stuff".

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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