The following eulogy was composed by my intellectual mentor, Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Chishtī, on the occasion of the passing of my spiritual mentor, the incomparable Ḥaḍrat Khwājā Khān Muḥammad Ṣāḥib, in 2010. Despite its brevity, it occupies a singular place in my heart due to its connection to two of my most senior and impactful elders. Any shortcomings in the translation are my own, particularly with respect to the rendering of the poetic verses, in which I benefited from the assistance of both a colleague and digital resources.

By Mawlānā Dr. Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Chishtī (al-Nuʿmānī), Karachi

In this era, three khānqāhs (spiritual lodges) of the Naqshbandī Mujaddidī order in Pakistan have remained especially active:

First, the Khānqāh Sirājiyyah (Sirajia) of Kundian Sharīf.

Second, the Khānqāh Zawwārīyyah (founded by Mawlānā Sayyid Zawwār Ḥusayn, may Allah have mercy on him, 1339/1911-1300/1980). For a detailed account of his life, see the Zawwār Ḥusayn special issue of the monthly Taʿmīr Afkār.

Third, the Khānqāh of Tando Sāʾīn Dād (under Mawlānā Ḥakīm Pīr Hāshim Jān, may Allah have mercy on him, 1322-1395 AH). 

Among these, the distinguishing feature of the Zawwārī branch has been its literary and publishing activity, which continues to progress steadily. By contrast, in Tando Sāʾīn Dād, the activities of the Mujaddidī order were not as prominent after the passing of Pīr Hāshim Jān, may Allah have mercy on him. His lodge, too, possessed a collection of manuscripts, though they were not open to the general public, but instead were preserved internally. I was granted the honor of viewing this collection. It included, for example, a ḥamāʾil (portable Qurʾān maunscript) belonging to Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, which Pīr Hāshim Jān had received from his father upon completing his memorization of the Qurʾān.

Mawlānā Pīr Hāshim Jān, may Allah have mercy on him, completed his studies in the rational and transmitted sciences at Ajmer Sharīf under Mawlānā Muʿīn al-Dīn Ajmerī (1881-1943 CE), and studied medicine under his brother Ḥakīm Niẓām al-Dīn (born 1883). His greatest distinction was his being a descendent of the Mujaddid al-Alf al-Thānī, Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī, may Allah have mercy on him. From his father he received khilāfah and authorization in the exalted Naqshbandī Mujaddidī order. On the 22nd of Ramaḍān 1395 AH, he passed away in Quetta due to cardiac arrest and was buried in his ancestral cemetery at Ganjah Sharīf, Tando Sāʾīn Dād. May Allah fill his grave with light. Āmīn.

Within the Naqshbandī order, the khānqāh whose practical system of initiation (bayʿah) and spiritual guidance (irshād) expanded most widely and gained acceptance among both elite and common alike has been the Khānqāh Sirājīyyah of Kundian Sharīf. Its distinguishing features include the following:

First, the sphere of initiation and guidance there has been exceptionally extensive. This owes in part to the long life granted by Allah to its master, and to the fact that during the time of Khwāja Ṣāḥib it became a point of recourse for the people (marjaʿ khalāʾiq).

Second, its library of classical religious works has consistently remained a focus of attention for scholars.

Third, its custodian and successor (sajjādah nashīn), Khwāja Khwājagān Mawlānā Khwāja Khān Muḥammad, may Allah have mercy on him, was a recognized graduate of the celebrated college, Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband, in India.

Fourth, for political leadership, the gaze of the religious parties has been fixed upon the custodian of the Khānqāh Sirājīyyah. Under his leadership, figures from Jamīʿat ʿUlamāʾ al-Islām rose to ministerial office and raised the voice of truth in legislative assemblies. Some of his disciples were honored to serve on the Council of Islamic Ideology (Islāmī Naẓriyātī Council). At every turn, Khwāja Ṣāḥib stood beside them, embodying the Yūsufī prophetic model. Concerning such a path the verse aptly applies:

Within the goblet of the law, within the anvil of love,

The man of caprice knows not how to lose both cup and anvil.

This distinction is one that no other khānqāh of the present age possesses!

Fifth, simplicity and detachment from worldly display have been its defining traits. I did not have the opportunity to benefit directly from this khānqāh, yet I possess two forms of affiliation with it. The first is through discipleship. I studied al-Tawḍīḥ wa-l-Talwīḥ at Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband under Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Khāliq Multānī (1313-1387 AH), founder of Dār al-ʿUlūm Kabīrwālā, may Allah have mercy on him. He was a khalīfah of Mawlānā ʿAbdullāh Ludhyānwī (1903-1956 CE), and a spiritual brother (khwājā tāsh, or pīr bhai) of Khwāja Ṣāḥib, may Allah have mercy on him. Two aspects of his character remain etched in memory.

First, his manner of teaching left a lasting impression. Before the bell rang he would already be pacing outside the classroom. The moment it sounded he would step inside. Throughout the year al-Tawḍīḥ wa-l-Talwīḥ remained upon the desk, yet he recited both text and commentary from memory. He would begin with the phrase, “He is but stating the following…,” (wo nahīn kehtā magar ye) and would conclude precisely with the end of the allotted time. His punctuality and refinement of conduct were exemplary. Yet instruction remained confined to the text itself, without directing students to wider reading, a characteristic that continues to mark the Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum. Reflect, then, O people of insight.

Second, his prayers and spiritual vigils were both prolonged. Friday was for him a day of festivity. On that day he would leave the madrasah gate in full Multānī attire precisely as the adhān rose from the masjid, and would not return until three in the afternoon. Upon completing one prayer, his heart was already yearning for the next. He was fond of good food and dress, remarkably mild in temper, and ultimately met his Lord in a state of spiritual contemplation (murāqabah). May Allah have mercy upon him.

My second affiliation with the Khānqāh Sirājiyyah c0mes from observing my own students who have been attached to it. In them I have witnessed religiosity, piety, purity, sincerity, devotion to Allah, and steadfast adherence to their spiritual disciplines. These are the two connections that this humble servant possesses with that khānqāh.

Truthfulness and Fearless Speech

Allah has placed within His friends a spiritual force before which falsehood, however formidable, proves cowardly. When the people of Allah witness deviation from truth, they proclaim the truth openly and without fear. Khwāja Ṣāḥib, may Allah have mercy on him, was endowed with such courage. Muḥammad Ashfāq Allāh Wāḥid Mujaddidī writes that in 1993, during the premiership of Nawaz Sharif, certain ministers of the ruling party were making disparaging remarks about the ʿulamāʾ, particularly those of Deoband. A press conference was organized at the Avari Hotel in Lahore by the World Council for the Protection of the Finality of Prophethood. Mawlānā Allāh Wasāyā and Qārī Naẓīr Aḥmad of Jamīʿat ʿUlamāʾ al-Islām were present. A statement was read on behalf of Khwāja Ṣāḥib, may Allah have mercy on him. When a journalist pressed for the names of generals allegedly sympathetic to the Qādiyānīs, Mawlānā Allāh Wasāyā looked anxiously toward Khwāja Ṣāḥib, who smiled and said, “Speak at my indication, I assume full responsibility”. Later, when asked who was orchestrating the ministers’ campaign against the ʿulamāʾ, Khwāja Ṣāḥib replied, “In my personal view, the Prime Minister himself is directing these statements”. When the journalist sought confirmation for publication, he responded, “Write exactly that. I accept full responsibility”. The journalists remarked in unison, “Ḥaḍrat Wālā (the master) is fearless”.

Iqbal spoke truly:

The code of the valiant is truthfulness and boldness;

The lions of God do not practice the cunning of foxes.

Etiquette and Reverence

Advancement in knowledge and spiritual gnosis requires refined conduct (adab) and reverence (iḥtirām), and certainly Khwājā Ṣāḥib was endowed with the most refined conduct and reverence. Khwāja Ṣāḥib, may Allah have mercy on him, was the embodiment of adab. Naẓīr Rānjhā relates: 

“During the 1973 Finality of Prophethood movement, at a gathering in the Jāmiʿah Masjid, Kichrī Bāzār in Faisalabad, ʿAllāmah Sayyid Yūsuf Banūrī attended from Karachi. He was staying at the residence of Muftī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, may Allah have mercy on him. Ḥaḍrat Khwāja Khān Muḥammad visited him to pay his respects to his teacher. Ḥaḍrat Banūrī rose to greet him, but Khwāja Ṣāḥib sat before him upon his knees. Imām al-Ḥadīth Ḥaḍrat Banūrī said to him: “You musn’t do this”. But Khwājā Ṣāḥib persisted and remained seated on his knees. When the conversation and gathering came to an end, Ḥaḍrat Banūrī stood up to depart. Khwāja Ṣāḥib grabbed Ḥaḍrat Banūrī’s shoes and placed them before him. They accompanied one another outside, and at parting, Ḥaḍrat Banūrī requested his prayers.” (Tārīkh wa Tadhkirah, 441)

Such comportment was no accident, for he had sat in the company of elders who themselves embodied humility. His own master, Abū al-Saʿd Aḥmad Khān (d. 1941), showed extraordinary reverence for books. He could not tolerate even slight disrespect toward them. Naẓīr Rānjhā writes that on one occasion a scholar, wishing to remove dust from a volume, shut it forcefully. Ḥaḍrat (Aḥmad Khān Ṣāḥib), who was seated in the veranda, rose at once and hurried inside, asking whether the book had indeed been closed so harshly. When told that it was done merely to shake off dust, he replied, “An insult to my book pains me more than abuse directed at my wife or daughter. If you wished to remove dust, you should have done so gently with a cloth.” Taking his own Arab cloth (rumāl), he carefully wiped the book and said, “Your thud struck my heart”. (Tārīkh wa Tadhkirah, 495)

Silence, O heart; it is not fitting to shout in a crowded gathering.

Courtesy is the first principle among the principles of love.

At the passing of Khwāja Ṣāḥib every eye is tearful and every heart grieved. May Allah elevate his rank and grant beautiful patience to those he leaves behind.

Count me among the elect of the tavern;

For ages cup and decanter shall weep for me.

And indeed,

The nightingale carries the rose within its beak;

Where lies the resting place of the martyr of grace?