Beauty of Islam

'Verily in their stories are lessons for men of understanding'

Hadhrat Shaykh Baqi Billah
rahmatullah alayhi

The Shaykh was born in Kabul in the year 971 Hijri. It was here that he spent the first years of his life, and where he was raised by his parents and nurtured by his father Qadhi Abd-us-Salam Khalji Samarqandi Qurayshi rahmatullah alayhi, who was himself a pious man of Allah.

From childhood, the Shaykh possessed many saintly characteristics and would spend a great deal of time in solitude. The Shaykh learnt his formal Islamic knowledge from Maulana Muhammad Siddique Halwai who was a famous scholar of the age, and he had barely completed his studies when he set foot on the spiritual path of Allah. This led him to sit in the company of many Shaykhs of the time, and in some cases he even did Tawbah at their hand.

One day, while the Shaykh was studying a book on Tasawwuf, he was suddenly overcome by a spiritual state in which he was given dhikr by Hadhrat Khwajah Baha'ud-deen Naqshband rahmatullah alayhi. After this experience, the Shaykh lost touch with his senses, and it seemed as if he was constantly lost in his own thoughts in the manner of one overwhelmed with extreme worry or depression. The Shaykh's mother was worried about her son's condition and prayed to Allah, saying, "O Allah, I cannot bear to see my son in this condition. Please relieve him of his pain and grant him his goal or else take my life, for I do not have the strength to see my son in this state." In later days, the Shaykh would say, "I am where I am today due to the supplication of my mother."

This restless desire led the Shaykh to visit many Masha'ikh in various places, such as Balkh, Badakhshan, Lahore and Kashmir. But it was finally in the company of Hadhrat Maulana Khwajigi Akangi rahmatullah alayhi that the Shaykh found the freedom of the soul for which he was searching. The Shaykh states: "I saw Hadhrat Maulana Khwajigi Akangi rahmatullah alayhi in a dream, and he addressed me, saying, 'My son, my sight is set in your direction.'" At this, he went to Hadhrat Khwajah Akangi rahmatullah alayhi, and for three days and nights he was granted the sole company of the Shaykh and attained all the inner stages.

Hadhrat Khwajigi Akangi rahmatullah alayhi said to him, "By the grace and blessings of Allah, you now possess all the spiritual blessings and stages that are required. Go from here to India, and through you this Silsilah will be revived in that country." The Shaykh states, "I felt at the time that this task was beyond me and I was incapable of such a big task. I offered this as an excuse to my Shaykh, who then gave me the Hukm of making Istikhara."

The Shaykh relates: "After making Istikhara, I had a dream in which I saw a parrot sitting on the branch of a tree. The thought came to my mind that if this parrot flew down and sat on my hand, it would be a sign for me that my journey to India would be made easier. And that is exactly what happened; the parrot flew over to me and sat on my hand. I put some of my saliva in the beak of the parrot, and in return the parrot put some sugar in my mouth. I related this dream to my Shaykh, who replied, 'The parrot is a bird of India; in India a man from amongst your companions will arise to light the world with his presence, and you too will benefit from him.'" This dream referred to Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayhi.

So on the instruction of his Shaykh, the Shaykh travelled to Lahore and stayed there for one year. The scholars and pious men of Lahore developed great admiration and love for the Shaykh. After staying in Lahore, he left for Delhi and settled at Qila Ferozi, which was to be his home for the rest of his life.

The Shaykh was a very humble, quiet man and was naturally reserved in his manner. It often happened that when a person came to him with a request to enter the Silsilah, the Shaykh would excuse himself from the responsibility. One example of that concerns a person of Khurasan, who used to stay at the blessed shrine of Hadhrat Khwajah Bakhtiyar Kaki rahmatullah alayhi. This person was in search of a true Shaykh and it was for this reason that he stayed at the shrine, hoping that one day he would get some spiritual guidance in this matter. When Hadhrat Khwajah rahmatullah alayhi came to Delhi, this person had a vision in which he saw Bakhtiyar Kaki rahmatullah alayhi saying to him, "A Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Tareeqah has recently arrived in this city; go and sit in his company."

In accordance with the instruction given to him, this person went into the company of the Shaykh and related his vision, to which the Shaykh replied, "You must be mistaken. I am not this worthy, so the Shaykh you have been instructed to meet must be someone else." On hearing this, the person left. On returning to the shrine, the person had another dream, in which Hadhrat Bakhtiyar Kaki rahmatullah alayhi once again spoke to him, saying, "That was indeed the Shaykh that I instructed you to meet." The next day, this person again made his way to the Shaykh and related his dream. The Shaykh again humbly replied, "You are mistaken; go and search for this Shaykh and when you find him, come and tell me so that I too may visit him and obtain some blessings."

A similar experience was that of Hadhrat Khwajah Hisam-ud-deen rahmatullah alayhi who later became a great Khaleefah of the Shaykh. This man also set out in search for the Shaykh and received the same response as the man from Khurasan. In his despair, Hisam-ud-deen walked the streets of Agra and heard someone reciting a couplet of Hadhrat Sa'di rahmatullah alayhi, which made him understand the situation. He immediately went back to Hadhrat Khwajah rahmatullah alayhi and explained his insight into the matter. It was only then that the Shaykh accepted Hadhrat Hisam-ud-deen rahmatullah alayhi.

There was a great amount of Jadhb (spiritual rapture) in the company of the Shaykh. When the Shaykh looked at someone, they would lose themselves. Once a person was coming to meet him, and as the Shaykh was coming out of the Masjid, he looked at this person. The person went straight into a state of Jadhb, lost control of his senses and set out for the desert; and nobody knows what happened to him thereafter. Some people became Majdhoob (in a state of permanent spiritual rapture) and Maghloob (overcome) just by looking at the blessed face of the Shaykh. It has been related that once a speaker was delivering a sermon from the pulpit when his gaze fell upon the Shaykh, and as soon as this happened, he lost sense of his faculties and fell off the pulpit.

It has also been related that one night in Ramadhan, Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayhi sent a person with some Faloodah (a sweet dish) for the Shaykh. The Shaykh came out to receive the Faloodah and asked the courier his name. The man informed the Shaykh of his name, to which the Shaykh replied, "You are a khadim (servant-mureed) of my Ahmad; hence you are mine too." When the man returned, he was overcome with Jadhb and Sakr (intoxication) and went screaming to Hadhrat Mujaddid rahmatullah alayhi. He told him about what happened, and said that wherever he looked, whether it was the earth, the skies, the trees or the stones, all he could see was light.

The Shaykh was a very kind hearted and merciful man. One night, for instance, when the Shaykh had prayed the tahajjud prayer, he returned to his bed and found a cat sleeping there. Since he did not wish to disturb the cat, the Shaykh remained sitting in the cold till morning.

The Shaykh had very little interest in the matters of the Dunya, and in his gatherings he never spoke about worldly matters. If a rich person arrived wanting to offer something to the poor, the Shaykh would not accept it either for himself or for his mureeds. The Shaykh always preferred to live in a state of tawakkul (trust in Allah) and contentment. He would never, for instance, ask for a new set of clothes when his clothes were worn.

Despite being very weak and frail, the Shaykh was always busy in Allah's dhikr and in abundant worship. When he felt weak, he would get up and perform wudhu and then return to Muraqabah. He would often spend the whole night like this. The Shaykh was extremely careful regarding food, taking particular care to make sure that it did not come from the wrong place. He would say, "If the food we eat is from a source that is not good and we do not take due care, a spiritual smoke from the food takes the form of a barrier that prevents fayz from reaching us." All the actions of the Shaykh were characterised by extreme care. There was never any singing or loud worship in the gatherings of the Shaykh, to the extent that once, when a Darwesh said "Allah!" out loud in the gathering, the Shaykh said, "If you wish to attend our gatherings, then please make sure that you abide by the adaab (etiquette) that is required."

The Shaykh used to say, "The Mashaa'ikh of the Silsilah Aaliya Naqshbandia have stated that if a person is keen to tread this path, then after making Tawbah, a person should spend all his time in Allah's dhikr." He also stated, "The dhikr of this Tareeqah develops Jadhb (rapture)." On another occasion he stated, "If a mureed loves a Shaykh of this Sisilah to the extent that they see him when they are not even in his presence, then that is what we call 'Rabta' (connection). And bear in mind that it is essential that you do not do anything that might make the Shaykh dislike you, for this could result in your exclusion from his murads." He also stated, "This Tareeqah is that of Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddique radhiallahu anhu, who had immense love and Ishq for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and this was the means by which he obtained the fayz. It is for this reason that the most important type of nisbat with the Shaykh is that of love."

The Shaykh also stated, "Regular Muraqabah is a great wealth, for it makes the hearts fertile." He also mentioned that, "One can never rely on 'kashf qaboor', and in 'kashf sooria' one can easily be mistaken and led astray"; and he stated, "The Awliya'allah are not free from mistakes. If, on a very rare occasion, you should see them make a mistake, then realise that this is a possibility." Another saying of his is that, "Tawakkul is a great thing and is not adopted without reason. A person should never engage in earning a livelihood that has certain aspects to it which could lead to a form of shirk. Not to work for a living is disrespectful; one should always choose a suitable profession."

Innumerable karamaat have been attributed to the Shaykh, but what greater karamat can there be than the fact that the Shaykh preached for only three to four years, and in that time his fayz reached all parts of the globe. Many Masha'ikh actually finished teaching their mureeds altogether, and came to sit in the company of the Shaykh in order to progress in the stages of Sulook.

After the Shaykh reached the age of forty, he used to take a deep breath and say, "He has gone", every time he was informed of someone's death. Once the Shaykh said to his wife, "A significant event will happen when I reach the age of forty"; and one day he stated, "Someone has said that the Qutub of the age has passed away." During the middle of Jumada ath-thani, the Shaykh fell ill; and from that same illness, with the words "Allah! Allah!" on his tongue, the Shaykh passed away on Saturday the 25th of Jumada al-akhir 1012 AH. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. The grave of the Shaykh is located at a place where the Shaykh had once performed wudhu and some dust from the ground had come onto his body. The Shaykh had stated, "The dust of this place will be my companion. This place is close to the point where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam placed his feet."

The shrine of the Shaykh is in an outer district of Delhi towards the Ajmeri Gate, and in accordance with the Shaykh's instruction, there is no dome on the blessed shrine. A high terrace or platform has been built, however, and the karamat of the Shaykh is such that despite the heat, the ground at this point does not feel hot against one's feet. To conclude, how true was the following saying of the Shaykh: "Those people who are always attentive towards Allah do not need to have visions; and the visions of this dunya are of no benefit. The essence of the matter is to follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. No kashf could ever compare to that."


Home	*Great Personalities*
DhikrAllah Discourses of the Pious Great Personalities Contact	'Verily in their stories are lessons for men of understanding' Hadhrat Shaykh Baqi Billah rahmatullah alayhi The Shaykh was born in Kabul in the year 971 Hijri. It was here that he spent the first years of his life, and where he was raised by his parents and nurtured by his father Qadhi Abd-us-Salam Khalji Samarqandi Qurayshi rahmatullah alayhi, who was himself a pious man of Allah. From childhood, the Shaykh possessed many saintly characteristics and would spend a great deal of time in solitude. The Shaykh learnt his formal Islamic knowledge from Maulana Muhammad Siddique Halwai who was a famous scholar of the age, and he had barely completed his studies when he set foot on the spiritual path of Allah. This led him to sit in the company of many Shaykhs of the time, and in some cases he even did Tawbah at their hand. One day, while the Shaykh was studying a book on Tasawwuf, he was suddenly overcome by a spiritual state in which he was given dhikr by Hadhrat Khwajah Baha'ud-deen Naqshband rahmatullah alayhi. After this experience, the Shaykh lost touch with his senses, and it seemed as if he was constantly lost in his own thoughts in the manner of one overwhelmed with extreme worry or depression. The Shaykh's mother was worried about her son's condition and prayed to Allah, saying, "O Allah, I cannot bear to see my son in this condition. Please relieve him of his pain and grant him his goal or else take my life, for I do not have the strength to see my son in this state." In later days, the Shaykh would say, "I am where I am today due to the supplication of my mother." This restless desire led the Shaykh to visit many Masha'ikh in various places, such as Balkh, Badakhshan, Lahore and Kashmir. But it was finally in the company of Hadhrat Maulana Khwajigi Akangi rahmatullah alayhi that the Shaykh found the freedom of the soul for which he was searching. The Shaykh states: "I saw Hadhrat Maulana Khwajigi Akangi rahmatullah alayhi in a dream, and he addressed me, saying, 'My son, my sight is set in your direction.'" At this, he went to Hadhrat Khwajah Akangi rahmatullah alayhi, and for three days and nights he was granted the sole company of the Shaykh and attained all the inner stages. Hadhrat Khwajigi Akangi rahmatullah alayhi said to him, "By the grace and blessings of Allah, you now possess all the spiritual blessings and stages that are required. Go from here to India, and through you this Silsilah will be revived in that country." The Shaykh states, "I felt at the time that this task was beyond me and I was incapable of such a big task. I offered this as an excuse to my Shaykh, who then gave me the Hukm of making Istikhara." The Shaykh relates: "After making Istikhara, I had a dream in which I saw a parrot sitting on the branch of a tree. The thought came to my mind that if this parrot flew down and sat on my hand, it would be a sign for me that my journey to India would be made easier. And that is exactly what happened; the parrot flew over to me and sat on my hand. I put some of my saliva in the beak of the parrot, and in return the parrot put some sugar in my mouth. I related this dream to my Shaykh, who replied, 'The parrot is a bird of India; in India a man from amongst your companions will arise to light the world with his presence, and you too will benefit from him.'" This dream referred to Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayhi. So on the instruction of his Shaykh, the Shaykh travelled to Lahore and stayed there for one year. The scholars and pious men of Lahore developed great admiration and love for the Shaykh. After staying in Lahore, he left for Delhi and settled at Qila Ferozi, which was to be his home for the rest of his life. The Shaykh was a very humble, quiet man and was naturally reserved in his manner. It often happened that when a person came to him with a request to enter the Silsilah, the Shaykh would excuse himself from the responsibility. One example of that concerns a person of Khurasan, who used to stay at the blessed shrine of Hadhrat Khwajah Bakhtiyar Kaki rahmatullah alayhi. This person was in search of a true Shaykh and it was for this reason that he stayed at the shrine, hoping that one day he would get some spiritual guidance in this matter. When Hadhrat Khwajah rahmatullah alayhi came to Delhi, this person had a vision in which he saw Bakhtiyar Kaki rahmatullah alayhi saying to him, "A Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Tareeqah has recently arrived in this city; go and sit in his company." In accordance with the instruction given to him, this person went into the company of the Shaykh and related his vision, to which the Shaykh replied, "You must be mistaken. I am not this worthy, so the Shaykh you have been instructed to meet must be someone else." On hearing this, the person left. On returning to the shrine, the person had another dream, in which Hadhrat Bakhtiyar Kaki rahmatullah alayhi once again spoke to him, saying, "That was indeed the Shaykh that I instructed you to meet." The next day, this person again made his way to the Shaykh and related his dream. The Shaykh again humbly replied, "You are mistaken; go and search for this Shaykh and when you find him, come and tell me so that I too may visit him and obtain some blessings." A similar experience was that of Hadhrat Khwajah Hisam-ud-deen rahmatullah alayhi who later became a great Khaleefah of the Shaykh. This man also set out in search for the Shaykh and received the same response as the man from Khurasan. In his despair, Hisam-ud-deen walked the streets of Agra and heard someone reciting a couplet of Hadhrat Sa'di rahmatullah alayhi, which made him understand the situation. He immediately went back to Hadhrat Khwajah rahmatullah alayhi and explained his insight into the matter. It was only then that the Shaykh accepted Hadhrat Hisam-ud-deen rahmatullah alayhi. There was a great amount of Jadhb (spiritual rapture) in the company of the Shaykh. When the Shaykh looked at someone, they would lose themselves. Once a person was coming to meet him, and as the Shaykh was coming out of the Masjid, he looked at this person. The person went straight into a state of Jadhb, lost control of his senses and set out for the desert; and nobody knows what happened to him thereafter. Some people became Majdhoob (in a state of permanent spiritual rapture) and Maghloob (overcome) just by looking at the blessed face of the Shaykh. It has been related that once a speaker was delivering a sermon from the pulpit when his gaze fell upon the Shaykh, and as soon as this happened, he lost sense of his faculties and fell off the pulpit. It has also been related that one night in Ramadhan, Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayhi sent a person with some Faloodah (a sweet dish) for the Shaykh. The Shaykh came out to receive the Faloodah and asked the courier his name. The man informed the Shaykh of his name, to which the Shaykh replied, "You are a khadim (servant-mureed) of my Ahmad; hence you are mine too." When the man returned, he was overcome with Jadhb and Sakr (intoxication) and went screaming to Hadhrat Mujaddid rahmatullah alayhi. He told him about what happened, and said that wherever he looked, whether it was the earth, the skies, the trees or the stones, all he could see was light. The Shaykh was a very kind hearted and merciful man. One night, for instance, when the Shaykh had prayed the tahajjud prayer, he returned to his bed and found a cat sleeping there. Since he did not wish to disturb the cat, the Shaykh remained sitting in the cold till morning. The Shaykh had very little interest in the matters of the Dunya, and in his gatherings he never spoke about worldly matters. If a rich person arrived wanting to offer something to the poor, the Shaykh would not accept it either for himself or for his mureeds. The Shaykh always preferred to live in a state of tawakkul (trust in Allah) and contentment. He would never, for instance, ask for a new set of clothes when his clothes were worn. Despite being very weak and frail, the Shaykh was always busy in Allah's dhikr and in abundant worship. When he felt weak, he would get up and perform wudhu and then return to Muraqabah. He would often spend the whole night like this. The Shaykh was extremely careful regarding food, taking particular care to make sure that it did not come from the wrong place. He would say, "If the food we eat is from a source that is not good and we do not take due care, a spiritual smoke from the food takes the form of a barrier that prevents fayz from reaching us." All the actions of the Shaykh were characterised by extreme care. There was never any singing or loud worship in the gatherings of the Shaykh, to the extent that once, when a Darwesh said "Allah!" out loud in the gathering, the Shaykh said, "If you wish to attend our gatherings, then please make sure that you abide by the adaab (etiquette) that is required." The Shaykh used to say, "The Mashaa'ikh of the Silsilah Aaliya Naqshbandia have stated that if a person is keen to tread this path, then after making Tawbah, a person should spend all his time in Allah's dhikr." He also stated, "The dhikr of this Tareeqah develops Jadhb (rapture)." On another occasion he stated, "If a mureed loves a Shaykh of this Sisilah to the extent that they see him when they are not even in his presence, then that is what we call 'Rabta' (connection). And bear in mind that it is essential that you do not do anything that might make the Shaykh dislike you, for this could result in your exclusion from his murads." He also stated, "This Tareeqah is that of Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddique radhiallahu anhu, who had immense love and Ishq for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and this was the means by which he obtained the fayz. It is for this reason that the most important type of nisbat with the Shaykh is that of love." The Shaykh also stated, "Regular Muraqabah is a great wealth, for it makes the hearts fertile." He also mentioned that, "One can never rely on 'kashf qaboor', and in 'kashf sooria' one can easily be mistaken and led astray"; and he stated, "The Awliya'allah are not free from mistakes. If, on a very rare occasion, you should see them make a mistake, then realise that this is a possibility." Another saying of his is that, "Tawakkul is a great thing and is not adopted without reason. A person should never engage in earning a livelihood that has certain aspects to it which could lead to a form of shirk. Not to work for a living is disrespectful; one should always choose a suitable profession." Innumerable karamaat have been attributed to the Shaykh, but what greater karamat can there be than the fact that the Shaykh preached for only three to four years, and in that time his fayz reached all parts of the globe. Many Masha'ikh actually finished teaching their mureeds altogether, and came to sit in the company of the Shaykh in order to progress in the stages of Sulook. After the Shaykh reached the age of forty, he used to take a deep breath and say, "He has gone", every time he was informed of someone's death. Once the Shaykh said to his wife, "A significant event will happen when I reach the age of forty"; and one day he stated, "Someone has said that the Qutub of the age has passed away." During the middle of Jumada ath-thani, the Shaykh fell ill; and from that same illness, with the words "Allah! Allah!" on his tongue, the Shaykh passed away on Saturday the 25th of Jumada al-akhir 1012 AH. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. The grave of the Shaykh is located at a place where the Shaykh had once performed wudhu and some dust from the ground had come onto his body. The Shaykh had stated, "The dust of this place will be my companion. This place is close to the point where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam placed his feet." The shrine of the Shaykh is in an outer district of Delhi towards the Ajmeri Gate, and in accordance with the Shaykh's instruction, there is no dome on the blessed shrine. A high terrace or platform has been built, however, and the karamat of the Shaykh is such that despite the heat, the ground at this point does not feel hot against one's feet. To conclude, how true was the following saying of the Shaykh: "Those people who are always attentive towards Allah do not need to have visions; and the visions of this dunya are of no benefit. The essence of the matter is to follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. No kashf could ever compare to that."