Bismillahir
Rahmanir Raheem
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Hazrat
Shah Kalimullah Jehanabaad (rahmatullahi alaihi) occupies
a very prominent place in the history of Islam and the
Chishtia silsila. The golden era of the Chishtia silsila
ended with the passing of Khwaja Nasirudeen Chiragh
Dehlawi (rahmatullahi alaihi); for though his successors
such as Hazrat Kamaludeen (rahmatullahi alaihi) carried
on his work ably, the saints of the silsila became outnumbered
by numerous false sufis who claimed the rank of sainthood
to try and emulate the great power, reverence and influence
that the Chishtia order held. Thus despite the utmost
attempts of the true mashaaikh, the lofty principles
and noble aims of the Chishtia silsila became drowned
in a sea of false mystics searching only to increase
their own prestige, and their popularity dwindled. It
was Shah Kalimullah Jehanabaad (rahmatullahi alaihi)
who was responsible for revitalising and restoring the
silsila to its former glory. He recreated the infrastructure
of the organisation, and reasserted its primary aims
as they had been in the time of Khwaja Moinudeen Chishti
(rahmatullahi alaihi) and his great successors, which
were the propagation of Islam and Sufism.
Shah
Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi) was born on the 24th
Jamaad-us-Saani 1060 AH to a noble and well-renowned
family of artisans, mathematicians and engineers. His
lineage is directly linked to H Abu Bakr Siddiq (rahmatullahi
alaihi). His father had been specifically invited to
Delhi by the Emperor Shah Jehan to oversee the construction
of the Taj Mahal. Hazrat Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi
alaihi) once remarked that "my family's task was
to build palaces and edifices; my responsibility is
to build a nation, and the hearts of a people."
He studied religious knowledge under such great ulema
as Shaikh Burhani and Shaikh Abu Waida al-Hindi, the
uncle of Hazrat Shah Waliullah (rahmatullahi alaihi
ajma'een). Along with his families knowledge of mathematics,
engineering, astronomy, philosophy and poetry, he was
thus afforded an education of unparalleled breadth and
depth.
The
story of his attraction to Sufism is an interesting
one. After becoming a learned alim he fell head over
heels in love with a very beautiful girl. So enraptured
was he by her that he passed his days in a madness of
unrequited love, and wandered eventually into the company
of a great majzoob. The majzoob made dua for him to
Allah, and the very next day Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi
alaihi) found his love returned by the girl. However,
at that very moment, Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi)
realised how limited his love for this mortal being
was, and how much greater and deeper his love for the
inner, eternal beauty of the majzoob was. Immediately
he returned to the majzoob and begged to study under
him. But the saint, realising that Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi
alaihi) was already burning up with Allah's love, replied
that all he had was fire; rather Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi
alaihi) should go to Shaykh Yahya Madini (rahmatullahi
alaihi), for he was a sea of knowledge who would be
able to cool his fire and guide him along the path.
So inspired was Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi)
by this statement that he immediately left for Madinatul
Munawwarah. Coming into the company of Shaykh Yahya
Madini (rahmatullahi alaihi), he realised that there
was another, deeper aspect of Islam that even he, a
learned professor of deen, knew nothing of. Accepted
as a mureed, he underwent strict trials and mujahedas
for six years before being given the Khalifa-e-azam
of Shaykh Yahya Madini (rahmatullahi alaihi). Then he
was ordered to return to India and given the heavy task
of restoring the Chishtia silsila in India to its former
greatness.
Arriving
in Delhi, he founded not only a famous Darul Uloom,
but also a great Khanqah near the Jaami Mosque which
his family had built. This khanqah was to become the
nerve centre of a revitalised Chistiyya silsila as it
once again blossomed and sent its seedlings out over
India. His aim in life was to propagate the deen of
Islam, and his university served this end very well.
Not only did people receive outward knowledge of deen
and sciences such as mathematics and astronomy, but
also the inward knowledge of sufism. From here missionaries
were sent out across the whole of India, such as for
example his khalifa Khwaja Nizamudeen Aurungabaadi (rahmatullahi
alaihi).
Hazrat
Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi) lived a life of
complete tawakkul or reliance in Allah. His manner and
teachings, both outward and inward, were exactly in
accordance with the sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(sallallahu alaihi wasallam). He renewed the original
principles of Khwaja Moinudeen Chishti (rahmatullahi
alaihi) of never accepting gifts or having anything
to do with the rulers of the time, a practice that had
slipped into disuse after Khwaja Nasirudeen Chiragh
(rahmatullahi alaihi). Such was the power of his holy
presence that even the King of Delhi used to be awestruck
by him, and never spoke in his company without permission.
From his khanqah in Delhi, Shah Kalimullah (rahmatullahi
alaihi) would organise the Chishtia silsila across India
via a great network of missionaries and khulafa. In
this way the great internal cohesion that was the hallmark
of the Golden Era of the Chishtis was re-established.
He was so adamant about the pre-eminence of propagating
Islam that he ordered every mureed of his to make it
their aim in life to spread the religion. He wished
to ensure that all men and women entered and progressed
in Islam through love, rather than by any compulsion.
Shah
Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi) wrote many books in
his time as well which have been received by international
acclaim. Among these were a tafseer or commentary on
the Holy Quran and books of hadith. His most famous
work, Kashkhol e Kaleemi, is regarded by the mashaaikh
of past and present as the foremost work on the training
of a spiritual disciple. Ruqqa, another book of his,
prepares a beginner to enter the path to Allah. Shah
Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi) saw no difference between
men and women on the spiritual path, training and urging
both genders equally to propagate Islam amongst others
of their sex. He stressed that women are the mothers
of the nation, and that they were the first and most
important teachers of their children.
Shah
Kalimullah (rahmatullahi alaihi) passed away at the
age of 79 after a lifetime spent in the propagation
of Islam. He left behind twenty khulafa, all of whom
became great walis of their times. Because of his great
services to Islam and sufism he has rightly been called
the Reviver of Islam in India. So influential were his
teachings and methods of propagation that they have
been copied and referred to by all the shaikhs from
his time onwards. Khwaja Habib Ali Shah used to keep
copies of Kashkhol-e-Kaleemi with him all the time,
and used the great wali's methods in his own great Khanqah
in Hyderabad. May Allah give us the ability to follow
the practice of this great shaikh and servant of Islam
with our actions, thoughts and hearts.
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