Marehra
has been the heart throb of millions of Sunni Muslims around the world right from
the time of Mughal emperor Jehangir. The great seer and the direct descendant
of the Holy Prophet, Mir Abdul Jaleel Bilgrami settled
in Marehra around eleventh century and his spiritual circle covered the entire
region of Braj (from Agra to Bareilly), Rohailkhand (from Bareilly to Kanpur),
Awadh (from Kanpur to Kalpi) and Bundel Khand (from Kalpi to Jhansi). His was
a dynasty of established scholars, well recognized poets in Braj, Hindustani,
Urdu, Persian and Arabic. One
of the descendents of Mir Abdul Jaleel Bilgrami was Syed Sahib-e-Alam whom the
great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib called his Pir-o-Murshid and wrote several letters
to him. In these letters, Mirza Ghalib yearned to go to Marehra and enjoy its
tasty plums and sweet mangoes. But he could not manage to reach Marehra and fulfill
his aspirations. His book Ood-e-Hindi is reported to have been compiled
in Marehra by the prolific scholar like Syed Sahib-e-Alam. Shah Barkatullah, the
great grandson of Mir Abdul Jaleel Bilgrami was a versatile poet in Braj and Persian.
His collective works in Braj Bhasha entitled Pem Prakaas have been an inspiration
for many scholars, both Hindu and Muslim, to obtain their doctorate on Shah Barkatullah.
The Diwan-e-Ishqui is the collective work of Shah Barkatullah alias Ishqui Marehravi
in Persian. He was also a great musician with extra ordinary expertise in sitar
and Ragas. He was the principal link in the chain of Sufism in India. He
ruled the spiritual horizon at a time when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir
was ruling the country from Delhi. In the beginning, Shah Barkatullah followed
the Chishti order of Sunni Mysticism in India. Later he went to Kalpi where Syed
Shah Fadhlullah baptized him in Qadiri order. From then onwards Shah Barkatullah
adopted the Qadiri Silsila as his medium of baptism. He was a true secular seer
having his disciples both among Hindus and Muslims. His spiritual lineage became
known as Barkaati Silsila. Shah Barkatullahs legacy was carried out by his
noble son Shah Aley Muhammad. Since he was the eldest son of Shah Barkatullah,
he was known as Sarkar-e-Kalan. Shah Aley Muhammad dedicated himself to meditation
and Dhikr. His son, the third Qutub of Marehra, namely Syed Shah Hamza was a remarkable
author who wrote many treatises on various Islamic Mystical subjects. His famous
works are Kaashiful Astaar and Fassul Kalimaat. Shah Hamza was also a great poet.
His Qaseeda (eulogy) in praise of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qaadir, the great seer of
Baghdad is well recognized among Sunni circles all over the world. Shah Hamzas
son Syed Shah Aley Ahmad Achchey Miyan possessed a miraculous personality. He
cured the ailing masses through his spiritual powers and became so popular that
the town of Marehra came to be known as the Marehra of Achchey Miyan. He had special
fascination towards the great seer of Baghdad known as Ghaus-e-Azam. He handed
over his caliber to his youngest nephew Hazrat Syed Shah Ghulam Muhiyuddin Amir-e-Alam
who held a ministerial post in the court of the ruler of Awadh Nawab Amjad Ali
Shah.Shah Achchey Miyan declared him his vice-regent in the spiritual field. The
eldest brother of Shah Amir-e-Alam namely Syed Shah Aley Rasool Ahmadi was a spiritual
doyen of high caliber. He embodied the dynamics of Chishti and Qadri order. His
disciples included great personalities of their times like Alahazrat Imam
Ahmad Reza Khan, the Muhaddith of Bareilly who has been revered by the Sunni sect
all over the world. He also baptized Syed Hussain Ashraf of Kichhochha in the
Sufi order and conferred upon him his Khilafat in Qadri Silsila. Syed Hussain
Ashraf was the last Khalifa of Shah Aley Rasool, popularly known as Khatimul Akabir,
the last of the greats. He was followed by Hazrat Shah Abul Hussain Ahmad-e-Noori
alias Miyan Sahab who was the last Qutub of Marehra dynasty. Thus the Dargah of
Shah Barkatullah is a unique monastery where seven saints in the category of Qutub
lay under one dome.
Hazrat Miyan Sahab was the Spiritual Guru of great Sunni
Scholar of Bareilly, Hazrat Shah Mustafa Reza Khan, known as
Mufti-e-Azam-e-Hind. (Click here for more information : http://www.razaacademy.com/spiritual.html
) Hazrat
Noori Miyan was the author of many books on various topics.
His treatise on mysticism entiltled Sirajul Awarif is well recognized
among the elite Sufi circles. He also wrote Al-Noor Wal Baha
which contains the hierarchy of narrators of Hadith right upto
the Holy Prophet. The seat of Hazrat Noori Miyan was inherited
by his cousin Syed Shah Mehdi Hasan Sahab who was very much
revered by the rulers of princely states like the Nizam of Hyderabad,
the Nawab of Farkhabad and the Nawab of Rampur State. Syed Shah
Mehdi Hasan denounced the world and always lost in spiritual
thoughts. People regarded him as a Majzoob, one who absorbs
the light of the Almighty. Syed Shah Mehdi Hasan had no male
issue to inherit his worldly and spiritual property. He declared
his sisters son as his heir apparent. Syed Shah Aley Mustafa
alias Syed Miyan was very much on the footsteps of his uncle
and mentor Shah Mehdi Hasan. He too denounced the worldly comforts
and dedicated himself to the service of Islam. Popularly known
as Syedul Ulema, he proved himself to be a real Dervish. He
was a registered medical practitioner in Unani medicine with
a Diploma in Indigenous Medicine and Surgery from the famous
Tibbia College of Aligarh Muslim University. The Syed Miyan
of Marehra was also an established Aalim and Mufti of his time.
He obtained his post graduation degree in Islamic Studies from
Ajmer and Lahore. His Fatwas were produced in the High Court
of Bombay to settle the property disputes or Talaq issues. He
was the community Qazi of the Bakr Qassab Jamat in Mumbai
and was their Imam as well.
The
Syed Miyan was the Founder-President of the All India
Sunni Jamiatul Ulema which enjoyed a principal position among
the organizations for the religious, cultural and political
welfare of Indian Muslims. He was the Sajjadah-Nasheen and Mutawalli
of Dargah Shah Barkatullah in Marehra. He toured almost every
part of the country and communicated to the masses the message
of oneness and brotherhood. He authored three books namely,
Muqaddas Khatoon, Nai Roshni and Faiz-e-tambih. The Syed Miyan
was a versatile Urdu poet of high standard. He belonged to the
famous lineage of Dagh Dehlavi through his poet uncle and the
most favourite disciple of Dagh, named Hazrat Ahsan Marehravi.
Syed Shah Aley Mustafa left his legacy to be handled by his
only son Syed Shah Aley Rasool Hasnain Nazmi. A popular poet,
an all-round prolific writer, an experienced journalist, Nazmi
graduated from the National Islamic University of Delhi, the
Jamia Millia Islamia with English literature and Islamic Studies
as his main subjects of studies. He joined civil service as
Assistant Journalist in the Press Information Bureau of Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. He served
the nation in various high grade capacities in different departments
of the Union Government including All India Radio and Directorate
General of Field Publicity. While serving in Shillong as Additional
Director General, he opted for voluntary retirement in August
2002, five years before the date of superannuation. As an author
Nazmi has got a remarkable record. He penned over 36 books in
English, Urdu and Hindi covering different branches of Islamic
Studies. Nazmi earned a name in writing poems in praise of the
Holy Prophet and other great seers. He has published several
compilations of his poems. The most remarkable contribution
of Nazmis pen is the Hindi translation of the Holy Quran.
He has also written an encyclopedic dictionary of the Glorious Quran covering
first 2 ½ chapters of the Holy Book. This commentary in English entitled
Nazm-e-Ilahi has been included in the curriculum of several Madarsa in UK and
Malavi. He has also written a handbook for the field workers of Sunni Dawat-e-Islami
Nazmi entitled Islam the Religion Ultimate. Besides, his books Destination
Paradise, Gateway to Heaven, The Great Beyond The
Way to Be are in regular circulation among Sunni circles. His Urdu book
Kya Aap Jante Hain is a wonderful book on Islamic knowledge and is
included in the syllabus of many Islamic Madarsas all over India. The Hindi translation
of the book is also available in the market. Nazmi, like his father, is the Sajjadah-Nasheen
and Mutawalli of the Dargah Shah Barkatullah in Marehra. Nazmi is a multi-lingual
man with a close access to Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, English, Gujarati, Sanskrit
and Marathi languages. Nazmi has appointed his eldest son Syed Shah Sibtain Haider
as his vice-regent and heir apparent to inherit the twin Gaddi of Nooriya and
Amiriya order. Sibtain Miyan has graduated from the Arabic University Al-Jamiatul
Ashrafia of Mubarakpur. He is an orator par excellence and is very popular among
the Sunni youths. Like his grand father Syed Miyan, Sibtain Haider also tours
various parts of the country enlightening the masses with the message of love
and spiritual bliss. Sibtain Miyan believes in revolutionizing the thought process
of the Sunni youths and make them responsible citizens of the Islamic cosmos.
He lays stress on education especially technical education so that Muslim youth
may compete others in almost all socio-political and cultural spheres. He has
founded Jamia Aley Rasool (proposed multi-purpose seminary) in his native town
Marehra with the sole objective of cultivating a crop of useful and competent
Islamic scholars who could lead the community towards brighter horizons. Syed
Sibtain Haider can be termed as the Lighthouse of Marehra, the ancient seat of
seers and sires. The
small town of Marehra boasts itself of being the homeland of worlds great
mathematician Dr. Sir Ziyauddin Zuberi upon whom the Crown conferred the knighthood
for his extra-ordinary genius in the field of mathematics. Dr. Sir Ziyauddin was
a member of the academic council of Aligarh Muslim University.
Marehra
is a city and a municipal board in Etah district in the Indian
state of Uttar Pradesh near Aligarh. As of 2001 India censusGRIndia,
Marehra had a population of 17,772. Males constitute 53% of
the population and females 47%. Marehra has an average literacy
rate of 40%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male
literacy is 49%, and female literacy is 30%. In Marehra, 18%
of the population is under 6 years of age.
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