The story of Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah al-Andalusi – a section from Ap Biti

Translated by Ismaeel Nakhuda

Translator’s foreword: Hadrat Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalwi dictated the bulk of his autobiography, Ap Biti, at the age of 72 over the course of 18 days at the Gandhi Eye Hospital in Aligarh in July 1970. Some sections were added on later, including the epilogue below which was included at the end of part five in November 1971. This section includes a story about Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah al-Andalusi and is particularly important reading for the ‘ulama and ‘alimat as it deals with an important theme: avoiding pride and arrogance, and focussing on the rectification of one’s self. Aside from Ap Biti, Hadrat Shaykh also narrates this story in Shari‘at wa Tariqat ka Talazum, while Sufi Iqbal, one of his senior khalifahs, includes it in Umm al-Amrad and Akabir ka Suluk wa Ihsan, books that were compiled under the instructions of Hadrat Shaykh. The importance of this section can be understood from Hadrat Shaykh’s foreword to part five of Ap Biti in which he writes, “The last passage in this series is very important  and worthy of diligently being studied and preserved. May Allah Most High, through His grace and kindness, make these passages the means of goodness and barkat for my friends.” When reading Ap Biti, readers should bear in mind that Hadrat Shaykh dictated the contents which were jotted down by his scribes. As a result, the text is in spoken language, a style that the translator has attempted to maintain in the translations of Ap Biti on this website. We pray Allah accepts this humble effort and grants tawfiq for further portions to be translated, amin.^[1]When translating Ap Biti I have been used an early version of the book published during Hadrat Shaykh’s lifetime by Kutub Khana Yahyawi, Saharanpur.

Epilogue – Due to the blessed month drawing close, this treatise was completed at the beginning of Sha‘ban. It is the routine of this sinner, during the blessed month, between Maghrib and ‘Isha, after the guests have finished eating, this is the time to meet friends (khususi mulaqat). In that time, I make special requests to my friends to be diligent in certain actions.

The passage regarding nisbat (which preceded in the pages before) is also something that is read out in short and in detail every Ramadan, in that those who do dhikr (dhakirin) especially come together, specifically those who this sinner has given ijazat [in Tasawwuf]. It is because of this that I specifically warn them not to become arrogant because of their ijazat [in Tasawwuf], rather responsibilities increase further because of this, due to which one should be very concerned.

This year, as this worthless one’s health was very poor, speaking was difficult. At that time, instead of saying something verbally, I had some passages read out from the [writings of the] akabir. An extremely important incident full of lessons has been mentioned at the end of Anfas-i-‘Isa. ^[2]Anfas-i-‘Isa is a book on Tasawwuf from the teachings of Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi (d.1943), compiled by one of his leading khalifahs Hadrat Mawlana Professor Sayyid Muhammad … Continue reading Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘, the former Head Mufti at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband and present Chancellor at Dar al-‘Ulum Karachi, translated and published this incident from [‘Allamah] al-Damiri’s (d.808/1405) Hayat al-Haywan ^[3]The story is also recorded in Shaykh Shihab al-Din Abu al-Fath al-Ibshihi’s (d.850/1448) book Al-Mustatraf fi Kulli Fannim Mustazraf (A Quest for Attainment in Each Fine Art). in Muharram 1340AH (September 1921), which is in even more detail than [the version in] Anfas-i-‘Isa. This worthless one also heard this incident from my father (may Allah enlighten his grave) many times, which was in even more detail than the above two; it is an extremely important lesson, full of advice in that a person, especially one who takes on a religious position which might be academic (‘ilmi), relating to Tasawwuf, or any other religious work, he should take great heed from this story; one should especially save one’s self from vanity (‘ujub), self-conceit and from looking at others with contempt (tahqir). One should keep in mind the advice of Hadrat Shaykh Sa‘di’s (may Allah enlighten his grave) shaykh and guide, Shaykh Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi (may Allah sanctify his secret) which is very concise and important. He says:

My pir, the intelligent enlightened Shihab,

Provided two advices while in water [in a boat],

The first was, do not be self-conceited (khudbin),

The second was, do not consider others apart from you bad.

He says that my enlightened heart Shaykh Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi (may his secret be sanctified) while sat in a boat gave me two pieces of advice: One was that do not be involved in self-conceit, and the second was do not look down on, treat with contempt others. This is very important advice. The story also which is following brims with a lesson about self-conceit and treating others with contempt. One should take a lot of heed from this. Hadrat Thanwi has narrated it in short which begins with the following:

“It is absolutely not appropriate for a person that he shows pride and considers others low, a person’s iman is also not within his choice. All it is that it is the grace (fadl) of Allah Most High that He has given us this treasure. However, He can cancel it when He wishes. As a result, Abu ‘Abdullah was a pious man (buzurg). Through him there were 30 khanqahs inhabited in Baghdad. On one occasion he was going with his group…”

Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ has written this incident with a little bit more detail, he writes:

The following passage is an incident that provides a lesson and has been narrated from ‘Allamah al-Damiri’s (may Allah have mercy on him) Hayat al-Haywan, printed in Egypt.

The second century after Hijrah is at an end. It was not very long since the Sun of Prophethood had set. The traits of trustworthiness, integrity, religiosity and taqwa were still predominant among people. The promising sons of Islam through whose hands the faith is to receive prosperity, some are occupied [in their work] and others are still under spiritual training (tarbiyyat). This is the era of the imams of the faith, each town could be seen flourishing with the ‘ulama of religion, the pious and those with taqwa.

This was especially the case with the city of Islam (Baghdad) which at that time was the capital of the Muslims. Decorated with its outward and inward beauties it was a garden of roses. On the one side, if its charming buildings and streams that flowed between them were enticing, then on the other the gatherings of ‘ulama and the pious, the circles of teaching and learning, and the alluring sound of dhikr and tilawat are sufficient to satiate Allah Most High’s pious slaves. There is a wonderful and rare amalgamation of jurists (faqihs), hadith scholars (muhaddiths), intense worshippers (‘abids) and ascetics (zahids). Among this blessed gathering is a pious man who is famously known as Abu ‘Abdullah al-Andalusi who was the shaykh, guide (murshid), teacher and hadith scholar for the majority of the people of Iraq. The number of his murids had reached up to 12,000. An incident full of lesson is at this point being gifted to the readers.

This pious man, aside from being a zahid, ‘abid and knower (‘arif) of Allah, was also a celebrated imam in hadith and tafsir. It is said that he knew by heart 30,000 hadiths and could read the Qur’an in all of its various recitations. Once he intended to travel and many of his students and murids joined him, among whom were also Hadrat Junayd al-Baghdadi and Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on them).

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates, “Our caravan, through the grace and favour of Allah Most High, travelled from one station to another with great peace, safety, comfort and contentment when we passed by a Christian settlement. The time of prayer had commenced. However, due to the absence of water, we had not yet offered it. On arriving in the village water was sought. We went around the area. During that time, we arrived at some temples and churches in which fire worshippers, Jews and Christian monks and priests had gathered. Some worshipped the sun, some prostrated to fire and some had made the cross the direction of their needs. Seeing this we were left surprised and, astonished at their lack of intelligence and misguidance, moved ahead.

“Finally, having wandered around we reached a well at the edge of the settlement where some young girls were feeding water [to their animals]. By chance, the Shaykh and Murshid Abu ‘Abdullah al-Andalusi’s (may Allah have mercy on him) sight fell on a girl who along with being distinct from her peers in her god given beauty and prettiness was adorned with jewellery and [fine] clothes.

“When the shaykh saw her, his condition began changing for the worse. His face began to transform. In this disturbed condition of his, the shaykh addressed her friends and asked whose daughter she was. The girls said, ‘She is the daughter of the head of this locality.’ The shaykh said, ‘Then, why has her father kept her so disgraced, she fills water from the well herself? Could he not keep a maidservant for her who could serve her?’ The girls replied, ‘Why not? However, her father is an extremely intelligent and understanding man. His purpose is that this girl does not, on account of her father’s wealth and servants, become haughty and ruin her natural manners, so that after marriage when she goes to her husband she shows no deficiency in serving him.’”

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) says, “The shaykh then sat down with his head lowered and for three full days remained like this in that he would not eat or drink anything and not speak to anyone. However, when the time of prayer would come, he would offer his prayers. A large number of murids and students were with him. Yet, they were in an extremely straitened situation, a solution could not be seen.”

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) says, “On the third day, seeing the situation as such I came forward and said, ‘Oh shaykh, your murids are astonished and worried at your continuous silence, say something, how are you?’ The shaykh turned to the people) and said, ‘My dear ones, how long can I hide my situation from you. The girl that I saw the day before, her love has overcome me so much that she has taken control over all of my limbs and organs. Now, it is not possible for me to leave this land.’

“I [Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him)] said, ‘Oh our leader, you are the shaykh and guide of the people of Iraq. You are renowned for knowledge and erudition, and asceticism and worship. The number of your murids is over 12,000. We ask you through the Qur’an not to disgrace us and all of them.’ The shaykh replied, ‘My dear ones, mine and your lot has been decreed by divine fate. The attire of saintliness (wilayat) has been removed from me and signs of guidance (hidayat) have been taken away from me.’ Saying this he began to cry and said, ‘Oh my people, divine decree and fate has been established. The situation now is beyond me.’”

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) says, “We became extremely astonished by this strange situation and began to cry out of remorse. The shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) was also crying with us until the ground became wet due to the tears that came from this torrent of violent weeping. After this, feeling helpless we returned to our city Baghdad.

“Hearing of our return, the people came out of the city to see the shaykh and when they saw that the shaykh was not with us asked the reason for this. We explained the entire incident to them. On hearing the story there was a hue and cry among the people. A large number of people from the shaykh’s murids at that moment out of sorrow and remorse embarked on the journey to the hereafter, while the rest of the people began imploring in the court of Allah Who is not want of anyone and made du‘a, oh turner of hearts, guide the shaykh and return his status to him once more. After this, all of the khanqahs shut and for one year we remained wallowing in remorse and grief at our separation from the shaykh.

“After one year, when we murids intended to go and check on the shaykh as to where he was and what his condition was, a group of us travelled and on reaching that village asked what the condition of the shaykh was. The people of the village said, ‘He is grazing pigs in the wilderness.’ We said, ‘We seek Allah’s protection, what has happened?’ The villagers said, ‘He proposed to the chief’s daughter. Her father accepted on a condition and he has been assigned the task of grazing pigs.’

“On hearing this we were left dumbfounded and overcome with grief. A torrent of tears began to spontaneously flow from this. With difficulty, all of us gathered ourselves and reached the wilderness where he was grazing pigs. We looked and saw that on the shaykh’s head was a Christian cap and around his waist a Christian belt (zunnar). He was leaning in front of the pigs on the staff which he used to lean on when delivering his sermons and lectures. This was something that rubbed salt into our wounds. On seeing us approaching him, the shaykh lowered his head. We came close and said, ‘Assalamu ‘alaykum.’ In a lowered voice the shaykh said, ‘Wa ‘alaykum al-salam.’”

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) asked, “Oh shaykh, with all of that knowledge, erudition, hadith and tafsir, what is your situation today?” The shaykh replied, “My brothers, I no longer have any choice. My mawla has made me as He wanted. When, after drawing me so close to Him, He wished to throw me so far from His door, who is there to overturn His decree? Oh dear ones, fear the wrath and anger of Allah Who is free from want. Do not be deceived by your knowledge and erudition.”

Then he looked towards the heavens and said, “Oh my mawla, I did not have such a thought about You that You would make me disgraced and abject and throw me away from Your door.” On saying this he began seeking aid from Allah Most High and began to cry.

My father, (i.e. Hadrat Shaykh’s (may Allah have mercy on him) father) would at this point say the following [Urdu] poem on behalf of the shaykh. This poem is most likely an Arabic poem that an Urdu poet has rendered into Urdu:

Oh proud one, what has your not being in any need of anyone (be niyazi) done to me who is poor and weak.

The shaykh called out aloud, “Oh Shibli, look at those aside from you and take heed.”

[Hadrat Shaykh adds] it is mentioned in the hadith that the fortunate is the person who takes a lesson from (the fate of) others.

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him), due to crying in a stuttering voice and very fearful manner, said, “Oh Our Lord, we seek aid from You and seek assistance from You. In everything we rely on You, cast away from us this difficulty as there is no remover aside from You.”

All of the pigs gathered there due to their crying and fearful voices and, like chickens that had been slaughtered, began to wallow, writhe and wail, and they cried out so loudly that the wilderness and mountains began to echo. The plane [where they were] was like the plane of amalgamation (hashr). There the shaykh was bitterly crying out of remorse.

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) asked, “Shaykh, you were a hafiz of the Qur’an and would recite the Qur’an in the seven qira‘at. Do you still remember any of its verses?” The shaykh replied, “Oh dear one, I remember nothing aside from two verses.” Hadrat Shibli asked, “Which are those two verses?” The shaykh said, “One is that ‘and the one whom Allah puts to disgrace, there is none to give him respect. Surely Allah does what He wills.’ (22:18) And the second is ‘and whoever takes infidelity in exchange for faith has certainly missed the straight path.’” (2:108)

Hadrat Shibli asked, “Oh shaykh, you knew by heart 30,000 hadiths with their chain of narrations (isnad), do you now recall any of them?” The shaykh said, “I only remember one hadith, he who changes his religion then kill him.”

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates, “On seeing this situation, with great remorse and helplessness we left the shaykh there and returned and headed for Baghdad. We had only covered three stations (manzils) when on the third day we suddenly saw the shaykh in front of us that he had performed ghusl in the river ahead and was coming out and in a loud voice was reciting repeatedly ‘I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ Only that person could assess our happiness at that moment who knew of our difficulty, remorse and helplessness before then.

“Coming close, the shaykh said, ‘Give me ritually pure clothes.’ Having donned the clothes, the first thing he did was to make intention for prayer. We waited for the shaykh to complete the prayer to hear the story in detail. After a little while, the shaykh finished the prayer and sat facing us. We asked, ‘A thousand and thousand thanks to Allah Who is All Powerful and Knowing Who has brought you to us and after our group’s unity was scattered has corrected the matter. However, do explain how you came after your severe refusal [earlier]?’ The shaykh replied, ‘My friends, when you returned having left me, with great humility I made du‘a to Allah Most High that He rescues me from this difficulty, I am your sinful slave. He Who listens to du‘as (sami‘ al-du‘a) heard my voice at that moment and erased all of my sins.’

“We asked, ‘Was there a reason behind your trial?’ The shaykh replied, ‘Yes, when we reached that village and passed by those temples and churches, seeing those who worship the fire and cross busy in the worship of that aside from Allah, then pride and haughtiness manifested that we are believers, monotheists and how ignorant and stupid are these unfortunate ones that they worship that which has no faculty of sense and intelligence. At that time I heard a unseen voice saying that “this iman and monotheism is not your personal perfection in that all of this is on account of Our tawfiq. Do you think your iman is due to your choice that you consider them to be insignificant? If you want, we can show you now.” At that time I felt as if a bird had left my heart and flown away, which was actually iman.’”

Hadrat Shibli narrates, “After that, our caravan reached Baghdad with great happiness and a feeling of success. All of the murids were joyous at seeing the shaykh and his acceptance of Islam once more. The khanqahs and places of spiritual retreat (hujras) were opened. The ruler of the time came to visit the shaykh and presented some gifts. The shaykh then resumed his old work and began the teaching of hadith and tafsir, lecturing and exhorting, and educating and spiritual training. Allah Most High then returned that knowledge to the shaykh that he had forgotten. Rather, there was now an enhancement in every knowledge and art when compared to before.

“The number of his students were 40,000 and it was in this condition that a time passed when we were sat with the shaykh after the Fajr prayer when a person suddenly knocked on the door of the room. I went to the door and saw a person who was covered in black clothes. I asked, ‘Who are you? Where have you come from? What is your purpose?’ The person replied, ‘Tell your shaykh that the girl who you left at such a such village (and she took the name of the village where the shaykh was afflicted in that condition) has come to serve you.’ It is true that when a person becomes dedicated to Allah Most High, then the entire world becomes his and whoever turns away from Allah Most High, then everything turns away from him: When you turned away from him – everything turned away from you.

“I went to the shaykh. Told him what has happened. On hearing this, the shaykh turned yellow and began to shake out of fear. Then he gave her permission to enter. On seeing him, the girl began to cry incessantly. The severe weeping did not allow her to pause and speak. [Addressing the girl] the shaykh said, ‘Why have you come here? And who has brought you here?’ The girl said, ‘Oh my master, when you left our village and I found out, only I know the level at which my uneasiness and anxiety reached. I could not eat, drink or sleep. I remained in this perturbed situation the entire night and lay down in the morning for a short while. At that time I was overcome with some drowsiness in which I saw a person in a dream who said that if you wish to enter among the believing women then leave the worship of idols, follow the shaykh, repent from your religion and enter the shaykh’s religion. I asked (in the dream) what is the shaykh’s religion? He replied that his religion is Islam. I asked what is Islam? He replied that testifying with heart and tongue that there is none worthy of worship aside from Allah Most High and that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the true prophet and messenger. I said that is fine, how can I reach the shaykh? The man said close your eyes for a while and place your hand in my hand. I said fine, stood up and placed my hand in the man’s hand. He held my hand and after walking a little far said now open your eyes. I opened my eyes and found myself at the banks of the Tigris (which runs through Baghdad). I was now surprised and was looking around wide eyed, how did I reach here in a matter of a few minutes. The person then pointed to your room (hujra) saying that is the shaykh’s place, go there and tell the shaykh that your brother Khidr (peace be on him) says salam to you. I then came here according to the man’s instruction and I am now here to serve you. Make me a Muslim.’

“The shaykh made her a Muslim and asked her to reside in a neighbouring room to continue worshipping there. The girl became busy in worship and went ahead of the majority of her contemporaries in terms of asceticism and worship. She fasted during the day and by night would humbly stand in front of Allah Most High. Her body became weak due to effort. Aside from bones and skin, nothing could be seen.

“Finally, she became ill in this and her illness became so prolonged that the image of death began hovering in front of her. Then, in the heart of this wayfarer of the hereafter there was no deep longing aside from cooling her eyes with seeing the shaykh since from the time she took up residence in that room the shaykh had not seen her, nor was she able to see him. From this you can estimate the longing and hope of this guest who was only there for a short time. Finally, she called for the shaykh that visit me just once before death.

“On hearing this, the shaykh went straight away. This girl who was on the verge of death yearned to see the shaykh. However, the eyes that were overflowing with tears would not give her respite to see him. There was a continuation of tears. However, weakness would not permit her to speak. Nevertheless, her tongue was saying without a voice:

It is my last breath, oh oppressor let me fully see,

Then after that, let the weeping perpetually wet my eyes.

“Finally with a faltering tongue and a muffled voice she said this much, Assalamu ‘alaykum. The shaykh (compassionately) said, ‘Do not be fearful. Insha Allah we shall soon meet in Jannat.’ Affected by the shaykh’s words of advice, the girl became quiet. Then this silence became prolonged, this seal of silence shall not be broken until the morning of the Day of Reckoning. She had not been there for long, this wayfarer of the hereafter bid farewell to this abode that shall come to an end (dar-i-fani). The shaykh at that time became teary eyed. However, he also did not live in the world for many days.”

Hadrat Shibli (may Allah have mercy on him) says, “After a few days, the shaykh left this temporary world. Some days after that I saw the shaykh in a dream that he is settled in a spacious garden of Jannat and he has wed 70 hurs of Jannat, the first of whom was that girl and now they are forever pleased and happy in the innumerable favours of Jannat. It is Allah’s bounty that He gives to whomsoever He wills, and Allah is the Lord of the great bounty.” (4:62)

Hadrat Thanawi then mentions after this in Anfas-i-‘Isa:

“When this is the situation, then who can say that our condition that is correct at this moment, it is according to our actual choice in the future. Aside from this, one should also understand this that if a person is very handsome, yet were to rub soot on one’s face then their natural beauty shall not be removed in reality. Likewise, if a person is ugly but were to rub powder (makeup), then will they become beautiful? Some people’s iman is just like this, like powder. Some people’s kufr is just like this, soot. If it were to be removed then the original colour will return, and its removal is not in their actual power, it is in the will of Allah Most High, so how can it be befitting for a person to be proud over their condition and consider others disgraced?”

[Hadrat Shaykh continues] I also heard this story from my father (may Allah enlighten his grave). In that [version] there is a poem that has been mentioned above. He used to say that Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah used to recite this poem a lot. It is most likely that this is an Arabic poem that someone had translated into Urdu. Along with this, at the beginning of this story my father would mention that there was a pious man of that time who, overcome in a spiritual state (ghalba-i-hal) said, “My foot is on the neck of every wali.” When this Andalusian pious man heard this, he said, “Except for me.” That pious man, no idea which spiritual condition he was in at the time, when he heard this rejection said, “He on whose neck is not my foot, then on his neck is the foot of a swine.” However, I cannot find this version anywhere at this moment. Hearing this, Mawlana al-Haj Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali [Nadwi] said that he has seen this story as you narrated from your father in a book, but does not remember the reference at this moment.

There is here an important issue that should be noted that there is a story of this type regarding Piran-i-Pir [Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani] (may Allah enlighten his grave) which Hadrat Thanawi (may his secret be sanctified) has narrated in Imdad al-Mushtaq from Hadrat Haji [Imdadullah] Sahib (may his secret be sanctified). He said:

One day, two men were discussing among themselves. One said that Hadrat Shaykh Mu‘in al-Din Chishti (may Allah have mercy on him) is greater than Hadrat Shah ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani. The other would give Shah ‘Abdul Qadir superiority over shaykh. I said, “We shouldn’t give superiority of one buzurg over another, even though Allah Most High has said, We have given superiority to some of them over others, from which it can be understood that there is in reality superiority. However, we do not have the eye of insight. Because of this it is not appropriate for us that we, simply through opinion, be so bold [to say such things]. However, there is no harm in considering one’s guide superior to all of his contemporaries on account of love, because it is clear that love for one’s father is greater than one’s uncle and a person is excused in that.” The Qadri presented proof, “When Hadrat Shah ‘Abdul Qadir said, ‘My foot is on the necks of all walis of Allah,’ then Hadrat Mu‘in al-Din said, ‘Rather on my eye,’ this establishes the superiority of Hadrat Shah ‘Abdul Qadir.” I said, “From this, the superiority of Hadrat Mu‘in al-Din over Hadrat Shah ‘Abdul Qadir can be established, not the opposite because it is understood that Hadrat Shah ‘Abdul Qadir was at that time on the level of uluhiyyat in other words he was rising and Hadrat Shaykh was on the level of ‘abdiyyat in other words he was descending, and it is accepted that descending is superior to ascending.” (Imdad al-Mushtaq)

This story of Shaykh al-Andalusi is from the end of the second century [Hijri] and Hadrat Shah ‘Abdul Qadir’s (may Allah have mercy on him) death took place in 561AH, in other words it is from the sixth century. The reason why I have drawn attention to this is so that this story does not become mixed with another. The issue that should be kept in mind in relation to the Shaykh al-Andalusi story is that I have in some place in Ap Biti mentioned my father’s (may his grave be enlightened) advice, “One should be immensely fearful of these people of Allah (Allah-walo), their wrong also becomes right (unki ulti bhi sidi howjati heh).” I have also narrated the explanation of its meaning from Hadrat Raipuri (may his grave be enlightened).

It is because of this, the sentences from the akabir that have been mentioned above, “My foot is on the neck of every wali,” or sentences by other elders of this type such as the various sayings of Hadrat Shah Waliullah (may Allah sanctify his secret), some of which I have included in the introduction of Awjaz [al-Masalik] which have been narrated from his book Tafhimat [al-Ilahiyyah], “And from the favours of Allah on me, and there is no pride, is that He has made me spokesperson of this age and its sage, and the leader of this group and its head, so He spoke through my tongue and breathed into myself, and if I were to speak of dhikr of the Sufis (qawm) and the spiritual exercises (ashgal), then I speak of their comprehensiveness…” words such as these are found in the writings of Hadrat Shah [Waliullah] Sahib, Hadrat Piran-i-Pir [Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani] and other akabir – those who do not have understanding should not feel annoyed. These types of things are at times given to the akabir by way of honour and prestige for a period of time.

As a result, it is mentioned in Arwah-i-Thalatha through the narration of Hadrat Nanautwi (may Allah have mercy on him) that there was a buzurg Khwaja Ahmad Jam who was famed for being someone whose prayers would be answered (mustajab al-da‘wat). A woman came to him with her blind son and said, “Wipe your hands over his face and make his eyes better.” At that time, he was overcome with a feeling of servitude (shan-i-‘abdiyyat) and so, with extreme humility, he said I am not worthy of this. She insisted. However, he again answered the same. In short, this exchange took place three or four times. When he saw she was not accepting [what he was saying], he stood up and walked away saying, “This was the work of Hadrat ‘Isa (peace be on him), he would cure the blind and lepers. I am not worthy of this.” He walked just a little bit, when he was inspired, “Who are you, who is ‘Isa and who is Musa? Return, and wipe your hand over his face. It is not you who is able to cure, nor ‘Isa. Ma mi kunyam (it is we who do).” On hearing this, he returned saying ma mi kunyam, ma mi kunyam, wiped his hand over his face and his eyes became better. On narrating this story, Hadrat Nanautwi (may his secret be sanctified) said that the foolish think he himself is saying ma mi kunyam (it is we who do). However, this is not his speech, rather it is the speech of Allah Most High. When a person hears a singer recite an excellent poem, then he recites it himself repeatedly and takes pleasure from it. Likewise, he takes pleasure from this inspiration and repeats the word of Allah Most High ma mi kunyam. Hadrat Thanwi (may his secret be sanctified) comments on this story:

“His saying ‘it is the speech of Allah Most High…’, I say: this is the best allegorical explanation (ta’wil) of Mansur Hallaj (who said ana al-haqq – I am the truth) and this lowly one also heard this story from Hadrat Mawlana [Ya‘qub Nanautwi] (may Allah have mercy on him). The only difference is that I do not remember the name of that pious man and when he answered the woman the first time, I remember him speaking with passion, ‘Am I ‘Isa that I cure the blind?’ And instead of ma mi kunyam (it is we who do), he said ma kunyam.”

The purpose of all of this writing is that a person should always remain busy in worrying about himself, he should not be concerned with criticising (tanqid) and finding faults in others, especially of the akabir who are reliable and worthy of being followed ‘ulama; one should not become obsessed with their speech and actions. There is no following anyone in matters contrary to Shari‘ah. However, you are not responsible for their words and actions. For many years, there is a frivolous question that I am often asked via letters that why such a person has given such a person permission (ijazat) to take bay‘at. In the main, I answer these useless questions saying: when Munkir and Nakir asks you this in the grave, then you may frankly (be-takalluf) say I do not know.

The condition in the hereafter is very severe; vanity (‘ujub), considering others low and with contempt, and finding fault in them (tanqis) is a very dangerous matter as can be understood from the above story about pigs. May Allah protect. There is a great need to safeguard one’s self from this. May Allah Most High protect me and my friends from this. And my tawfiq is only with Allah.

Muhammad Zakariyya (may he be forgiven)

3 Shawwal 1391AH (November 1971)