From the Layman’s Desk: Miracles

–Islamic perspective in brief: 1.

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Forewords:

Of course, there is a plethora of literature on the subject written by the

great scholars and stalwarts of Islam, both past and present, as well as

by orientalists. Unfortunately, for those who know only English much of

those great works are not readily available to cherish and savour

except for abridged English versions of Kashful Mahjoob, Tadhkirat al-

awliya, the Ihya, some translations of the discourses of Hazrat Shaykh

Abdul Qadir Jilani ®, and a few others. Therefore, for those who are

well-versed with the subject, I am afraid, they will be disappointed

here. My only reason for foraying into this subject as a layman is that

maybe my two cents will expiate some of my sins and earn me some

reward from Allah who loves his Awliya whom I love for the sake of

Allah.

Miracles are mentioned in all Religions and Cultures:

We do know that a miracle is an extraordinary act created by Allah

outside his usual custom, i.e. beyond the scope of scientific and natural

laws.

Miracles are common to all religion and culture. Old Testament and

Hebrew scriptures contain many accounts of miracles. So does the

Budhist and the Hindu scriptures. They attribute miracles to God,

prophets, saints, sages, and holy men. In non-Islamic religions and

cultures, we hardly find any distinction being made in the categories of

so-called miracles. As far as working miracles by personalities are

concerned, some religions believe that only the dead can work miracles

and not the living ones whereafter they are canonized as saints.

Sometimes the word “Miracle” is used in a metaphorical sense to the

happenings in daily life whence the Hindi expression: “Chamatkaar ko

Namaskaar Karna”. Sometimes, even magic, hypnotism, mesmerism,

charlatanism, clairvoyance, out-of-body experience, and the like are

termed as a “Miracle” by incredulous people. This is one of the reasons

why there is such a proliferation of fake gurus or a ‘Babas’ or ‘Pirs’ in

our society. However, trickery and self-aggrandisement do not

preclude the occurrence of real miracles. Islam too has a fair share of

real miracles, but with a unique difference as we shall see in due

course.

Miracles of the prophets are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and the

ahadeeth (prophetic traditions) and Islamic hagiography which are

generally accepted by the entire Muslim communities. However, as a

minute section frowns upon the very mention of Awliya-Allah and their

miracles, or deny their high-rank and status by imagining that every

believer is of the status of a Friend of God, we shall be restricting

ourselves to the miracles of Awliya-Allah. There is of course the

general closeness of every believer to Allah, which is categorized as

Wilayat-e-Amma. This is because Allah declares in the Holy Qur’an: We

are nearer to him than his own jugular vein” (Surah Qaaf, verse 16). 

So we need to get an idea of what or who is a Friend of God (Wali or

saint).

Briefly, who are Awliya-Allah?

Scholars tells us that an Arabic word has a number of meaning, but for

simplicity, let’s restrict ourselves to the meaning of “Awliya” as the

plural of “Wali” or Friend of God or Saint, and the word Wali being

derived from “Wilaya” which means nearness or closeness (‘Qurb’) or

Sainthood. This word with different forms appear in the Holy Quran

over 200 times in different context and also means “Patronage,

”Protection,” and even “Intimacy”. The Holy Qur’an also categorises

the believers as ‘Muqarrabin’ (i.e. those brought near or favourties of

Allah), Sabireen (Patient Ones), Muttaqoon (God-conscious) Abrar (the

Virtuous), Zuhhad (the Pious ones), Siddiqun (the Truthful ones),

Saalihoon (the Pious Ones), Qanitoon (The Obedient Ones), Mohsinoon

(The Doer of Good),  Zakiroon (Those who remember Allah much),

Muminoon (the Believers),  besides using the word Awliya-Allah.  These

qualities are found in the Awliya-Allah.

Generally, Surah Waqiah of the Holy Qur’an gives the details of the

categories of the believers. The highest position is for those who are

called “the foremost,” “those brought nigh,” and “these will be those

who are nearest to Allah.” In the middle position are those souls who

attend to both the worlds who advance upward to the higher world by

obeisance and devotion, and who sometimes descend to the lower

world for administering their affairs and exercising sway over it. These

are the people of the right-hand who will be given their records in their

right hand. Most of the “foremost” and the “Right-Hand” will be from

the first generation and comparatively fewer will be from the later

generations. In Surah Nisa, verse 69, the categories of Prophets, the

Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous People are mentioned.

A very famous verse of the Holy Qur’an says about them: “Ala, inna

awliya Allah, la khawfun alayhim wala hum yah-zanoon!” , i.e. "Lo!

verily the friends of Allah! No fear comes upon them, nor shall they

grieve." (Quran-10:62)

For an explanation of the above verse, let’s refer to a prophetic

tradition:

It is reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, once said after the salat:

‘O people! Listen to this, understand it, and know it. Allah has servants

who are neither Prophets nor martyrs and whom the Prophets and

martyrs yearn to be like, due to their seat and proximity in relation to

Allah.” One of the Bedouin Arabs who came from among the most

isolated of people twisted his hand at the Prophet and said: ‘O

Messenger of Allah! People from humankind who are neither Prophets

nor martyrs and yet the Prophet's and the martyrs yearn to be like

them due to their seat and proximity in relation to Allah?! Describe

them for us!"’

'The Prophet's face showed delight at the Bedouin's question and he

said: ’ ...

‘They are of the strangers from this and that place. They frequent this

or that tribe without belonging to them. They do not have family

connections among themselves. They love one another for Allah's sake.

They are of pure intent towards one another. On the Day of

Resurrection Allah will place for them pedestals of light upon which He

will make them sit, and He will turn their faces and clothes into light.

On the Day of Resurrection the people will be terrified but not those.

They are Allah's Friends [Awliya'] upon whom fear comes not, nor do

they grieve.’

[Haythami in Majma'al-Zawa'id says: 'Ahmad relates it, and Tabrani

relates something similar, and the men in its chain of transmission has

been declared trustworthy." Also related through several chains by Abu

Dawud, Ahmad, Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunna, al-Hakim in the Mustadrak,

Ibn 'Asakir, Ibn Abi al-Dunya in Kitab al-Ikhwan, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ibn

Abi Hatim, Ibn Mardawayh, and others].

Now, in the well-known prophetic tradition where Allah states through

the mouth of His Messenger (sallal laahu alaihi wasssallam) the above

Quranic verse is further amplified:

"Allah said, 'I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a

pious worshipper (walî) of Mine. And the most beloved things with

which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him

(i.e. made ‘Fard’); and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through

performing nawaafil (i.e. supererogatory prayers and doing extra

deeds besides ‘Fard’) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing

with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his

hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he

asks Me, I will give him; and if he asks for My protection (Refuge), I will

protect him; and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take

the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint

him." (Narrated by Abu Huraira in Bukhari, vol8, hadith 509)

The above Quranic verses and the hadith shareef, surely sums up the

definition not of an ordinary believer but that of a pious person who

never ceases to strive for attaining the nearness (Qurb) of Allah by

carrying out all the compulsory religious obligations, required of a

pious believer, and topping that with additional prayers and good

deeds to such an extent that he comes under the protection of Allah

and attains the position of Wilayat and becomes a Wali. Then Allah

becomes his sense of sight and hearing as well as his limbs, and if the

Wali were to ask, Allah would surely give him, making him free from

fear and grief.

Lest it be misconstrued, let me add that “Becoming free from fear and

grief” for Awliya-Allah simply means that for the pleasure of Allah,

they remain content with whatever state and condition they find

themselves in. Otherwise it is well known that the lives of Friends of

Allah were full of incredible hardship, suffering and pain. Higher the

rank, higher the trial.

The other meaning, as I see it is, Awliya-Allah always spoke fearlessly

in the face of tyrants who oppressed and mistreated their subject. For

example, Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyuddeen Abdul Qadir Jilani ® was one

such Friend of Allah whose admonitions the Caliph or Governors of his

time could not ignore. Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti ® who

settled down in Ajmer, India, against all odds, facing the might of the

Raja, his army and his magicians all by himself with the aid of Allah of

course . The last Khilji king of Delhi threatened to hang Hazrat

Nizamuddin Awliya ® who wouldn’t attend his court, got killed in a

court intrigue just before he could implement his order; or when a king

of the next dynasty wanted the saint out of the Delhi suburbs before

he reached Delhi, the saint uttered: Delhi is still far (Dilli hinoz duur

ast). True enough, the king himself could not reach Delhi as he got

crushed to death when the palace fell upon him. Thus, there are many

such instances when an Awliya-Allah was not seized by the fear of

tyrants but it was the other way about. Nor do they grieve even in

personal tragedies, thus remaining content with the decree of Allah, as

happened in the case of Mansur Hallaj whose mystical utterances of

Ana al-Haqq (I am the Truth) was considered as heresy, leading to his

imprisonment for 11 long years in Baghdad and final torture and

execution in the public by the Abbasid Caliph, Al-Muqtadir.  All the time

during his trial and execution he remained unperturbed. Despite the

fact that stones were thrown by the public at him, and his eyes were

gorged out, his limbs were cut, his nose and ears were sliced off, his

tongue was severed, and finally his head was chopped off, he forgave

everyone who was present at his execution. He remained content with

the decree of Allah!  In passing it may be stated that Hazrat Data Ganj

Baksh has drawn our attention to the fact that if the religion of Mansur

Hallaj were suspect, Hazrat Shibli (a disciple of Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi

®) would not have stated: “Al-Hallaj and I are of one belief.”

In Kashful Mahjoob, Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh ® has beautifully

explained the concept by quoting Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi ® on “fear”

that a saint has no fear since it involves expectation of some future

calamity or loss of a desired object whereas a saint is the Son of his

Time (‘ibni waqtihi’) who has no future to fear nor has any hope of

relieving the misfortune or gaining an object of desire as that involves

the future. Nor does the saint grieve because he is in the radiance of

satisfaction (‘Rida’) and in the garden of concord (‘muwaafaqat’).

According to Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh ®, Fear and Grief, Hope and

Security belong to the interest of lower soul.

Awliya-Allah are known by various names, depending on their rank with

Allah. To add some more: Muhaqqiq (Fully Realised), Aarifeen (sing.Arif

– Intimate or experiential knowers), Qutb (Pole or Axis), Awtaad (Pegs),

Abdaal (Substitutes) and so on.  A great scholar of Islam Imam al-

Qastalani (Reh.) wrote:

"One of the karamat Allahu ta'ala has bestowed upon this umma is that

there are qutbs, awtad, nujaba' and abdal among them.

Anas ibn Malik ® said that the abdal consists of forty persons. The

hadith ash-Sharif quoted in al-Imam at-Tabarani's Awsat declares,

'There will always exist forty persons on the earth each of whom is

blessed like Ibrahim (a.s.). It rains because of their baraka. Allahu

ta'ala appoints another one when one of them dies. ' Ibn 'Adi said,

'Abdal embodies forty persons.'

The hadith ash-Sharif reported by Imam Ahmad declares, "There are

always thirty persons among this umma each of whom is blessed like

Ibrahim (a.s.)."

The hadith ash-Sharif reported by Abu Nuaym (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) in the book Hilya states, 'There exist some good people among my umma in every century. They are five hundred in number. Forty of them are abdal. They exist in every country.'

There are many other hadiths on this subject. The hadith ash-Sharif reported as marfu' again by Abu Nuaym in Hilya declares, 'There always exist forty persons among my umma. Their hearts are like Ibrahim's(a.s.) heart. Allahu ta'ala redeems His human servants from disasters for their sake. They are called abdal. They do not attain to that degree by performing salat, fasting or giving zakat.' Ibn Masud ® asked, 'Ya Rasul-Allah! By what means do they attain that degree?' 'They attain it by being generous and by advising Muslims,' said the Prophet. It was declared in another hadith ash-Sharif, 'The abdal among my umma do not curse anything.

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (Reh.) wrote in his book Ta'reekh al-Baghdad, 'The nuqaba' comprises three hundred persons. The nujaba' comprises seventy; the abdal forty; the akhyar seven and the 'amad represents four persons. There is one ghawth. When human beings need something, the nuqaba' pray first. If it is not granted [by Allahu ta'ala], then the nujaba' pray. And if not granted again the abdal, akhyar and 'amad pray sequentially. If all are not granted, the ghawth, whose prayer will certainly be granted, prays.'

" [Translation of Al-mawahib al-ladunniyya, p. 512.]"

The prophets are infallible (masoom) and form the highest rank. Among the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) coming after the prophets (a.s.) the superior are the Sahabas (the Noble Companions of Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) and the most superior amongst them are the Righteous Caliphs (Khulfa-e-Raashideen) namely, Hazrat Abu Bakr ®, Hazrat Umar ®, Hazrat Uthman ® and Hazrat Ali ®. All the Sahaba, generally, are also Awliya. But all Awliya are not Sahaba. The family of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) and the Ahe-e-Bayt also occupy a special place among the Awliya and deserve a separate topic. Thereafter comes the group of actual Awliya-Allah who founded the various Orders for spread of Islam throughout the world peacefully, headed by Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyuddeen Abdul Qadir Jilani Ghaus-ul-Azam of the Qadiri Order (Silsila).

The fact that there are many unknown saints whom even Hazrat Khizr (a.s.) don’t know, is generally well-known. Also, some have been Awliya-Allah since their birth as in the case of Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyudeen Abdul Qadir Jilani ®.  The Sufi Shaykh, Imam ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad of Arabia, explains that possessor of supreme degree of veracity is called Qutb al-Ghawth. He adds, “As for the Qutb (Pole), the Ghawth, he is one in each time. He is the all-comprehensive Fard, and is known among the People as the viceregent (Khalifa), and the Perfect Man (al-Insan al-Kamil). Pole were of three kinds, the Pole of Sciences, such as the Proof of Islam al-Ghazali, the Pole of Spiritual States, such as Abu Yazid al-Bistami, and the Pole of Spiritual Stations, such as Shaykh ‘Abdal-Qadir.  Imam Abul-‘Abbas al-Mursi is also reported to have said, “Al-Junayd was the Pole of knowledge, Sahl the Pole of Stations, and Abu Yazid the Pole of States.”

In short, superiority of the status of Awliya is not dependant on miracle they work, but are dependant upon their proximity to Allah and His love for them and their desire to be with Allah to the exclusion of all others, with no desire for the Jannah or the Houris or the world or the ability to work miracles, or for any other purpose . Awliya are the inheritors of Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) when he said, the

scholars of the ummah are the inheritors of the prophets. Imam Sayuti said: The Awliya of Allah are those, if you see them, Allah is mentioned, and if they are absent, they are missed and if they come Allah will be mentioned”.

Regarding the statement in the hadith of Abu Huraira ® in Bukhari, vol8, 509, that we mentioned before: ‘I shall declare war on him who shows hostility to Wali of Mine…even the rigorous Ibn Taimiyya has gone to explain the statement to mean that Allah is expressing: "I will seek revenge like an aggressive lion against anyone who comes against My saints."

(TO CONTINUE INSHA ALLLAH)

Miracles –Islamic perspective in brief: Part 2.In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

As we noted in Part 1 of our Article, Allah declares war on the enemy of

His Friend.   Ibn Taimiyya said that Allah is expressing: "I will seek

revenge like an aggressive lion against anyone who comes against My

saints."

There was a disciple of Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi ® who bore him a grudge and therefore left him. One day, however, he returned to the Shaykh with the intention of testing him. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi ®

was aware of the intention. So he asked him, “Do you need a formal answer or a spiritual one?” “Both,” said the disciple. Replying to him, the Shaykh said: If you had tested yourself, you wouldn’t have the need to test me. And the spiritual answer is, I depose you from the Saintship. The disciple’s face turned black immediately and the light of certainty (‘Yaqeen”) also vanished from his heart. The disciple abandoned his foolish self-conceit and implored the Shaykh to forgive him. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi ® told him: Don’t you know that Awliya-Allah possess mysterious powers? You cannot endure their blows.” Saying this, and considering the repentence of the disciple, the Shaykh blew a breath over his face and the disciple was restored to his original self. 

Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti ® narrated that there was a man who hated the Awliya-Allah. After he died, he was placed in a grave where the people tried to turn his face towards the Qibla. To their astonishment, as much as they tried, that man’s face always turned away from the Qibla. A voice from nowhere announced that it would be an exercise in futility trying to turn his face to the Qibla because that man used to turn his face in disgust on seeing the Awliya-Allah. “I will turn away My face from him. He is a condemned soul, and on the Day of the Judgment such people would appear with faces of the donkeys.” That is one of the ways how Allah deals with those who bear grudge against Awliya-Allah.

Of course, there are also instances when Awliya-Allah suffer the ignominy heaped upon them but they bear it without complaint – which goes to show their extreme forbearance, tolerance and patience with the ignorant for the ‘Rida’ of Allah, depending upon their ranks.

Awliya-Allah are the persons of Ahl-e-Tassawwuf: 

Allah has exalted status of knowledge and power of the Awliya. Allah says about them:  “Whosoever mortifify themselves for Our sake, We will assuredly guide them in Our ways." (Qur’an: 29:69).

Shaykh Hakim of Tirmidh in the second chapter of his Adab al-muridin describes such mortification or striving as a kind of door which leads to nearness to Allah. Now attaining this nearness (which is not physical) is itself not easy because it requires the mastery of bringing the carnal

soul (Nafs-e-Ammaara) under control which in itself is ‘Jihaad-e-Akbar’ ( the greater Jihad) as per the famous hadith of Mohammed Mustafa (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) which he (s) stated to his Companions while returning from a battle which he (s) merely termed as “Jihaad-e-Asghar” (i.e. Lesser Jihad).

Observance of outer state by man is "mortification".  "Guidance" consists in Allah's maintenance of man's spiritual feelings of Inner Truth or Inner Reality.  Thus there are two aspects:  The first is the Shariat consisting of the outer state or external ordinances.  The second is what is at the heart of the revelation - which is called Haqiqat.  Shariat cannot be maintained without the Haqiqat and conversely Haqiqat cannot be maintained without the Shariat.  Those who uphold both Shariat and Haqiqat are called people of Tasawwuf or the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat that consists of the four schools of thoughts namely, the Hanafi, the Shafii, the Hanbali, and the Maliki. 

Again, regarding the Quranic verse, ittaqullah wa yu`allimukumullah ("Be aware of Allah, and Allah Himself will teach you" 2:282), Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani ® points out in Discourse 16 of Futuh al-Ghaib: And fear Allah and He will teach you, then He will invest you with the power of controlling the universe with a clear permission which will have no obscurity in it... and He has done this with many of His Prophets and awliya and people especially favored from among the children of Adam. Then there is the hadith shareef: “ man `amila bi ma `alima warrathahullahu `ilma ma lam ya`lam ("Whoso acts upon what he knows, Allah will make him inherit a knowledge that he did not have"). Hazrat Bayazid of Bistam cited this hadith in response to a question: "From where and from whom did you get this knowledge which you claim to have?"

Awliya-Allah are the people of Tasawwuf and are also called the "Sufis".  They fulfill the requirements of the 'Deen' (Religion), which consists of Islam, Imaan and ihsaan,  as aptly explained in the Hadith of Jibreel.  With the evolvement of the language, it is "ihsaan" that came to be known as "Tasawwuf" in later centuries, and the two aspects of Ihsan came to be known as Mushahada and Muraqaba, i.e one where one worships God as if he sees God; and the other where one is unable to worships God in the first way, he at least worships God knowing that God sees him.  Awliya-Allah are the most ardent defenders of  Shariat, and their path from the outer Shariat to the inner Haqiqat is known as "Tariqat".  A qualified seeker can traverse this Islamic spiritual path but under the direction of the qualified guide known as Pir-O-Murshid who is well-versed with the Holy Quran and the prophetic traditions (ahadeeth), and practising the Shariat.     Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh says that Law without Truth is

ostentation, and Truth without Law is hypocrisy.  Truth or Inner Reality means knowledge of Allah and such religious practices which are made perfect by sincerity.  The word "Awliya" represent conformity with the revealed religion and as such to the truth.  There is no heresy as there is no departure from the revealed religion or from the truth.  Even orientalists such as Louis Massignon and others have irrefutably demonstrated that the doctrines and practices of the Sufis, i.e. the Awliya-Allah, are entirely based on and derived from the Holy Qur'an - which is the very base of Islamic orthodoxy. 

It is to be remembered that the word Sufi should be used only of the

Awliya-Allah who have attained the proximity of Allah, though it has

become a fashion nowadays to distinguish a Sunni Muslim by calling

him a Sufi.  Even a great Awliya such as Hazrat Abul Hasan Kharqani

(R) used to say:  "Don't call me Sufi."  Such is the weightage of this

word.  The righteous 'ulema of the traditional four schools of

thought are, more or less, Awliya-Allah or Sufis, and no Awliya-Allah

are found in other sects.     

Modern scholars and pseudo-sufis have based their school of thoughts on the teachings of the sufi stalwarts of Islam, but under their own labels. We need to reject the false Wali and seek the real Wali-Allah.  It is not easy to recognise a Wali-Allah.  But as a general rule one way of recognizing them is to know that “The friends of Allah are those who when they are seen, Allah is remembered” (Majma’uz Zawaid; Vol. 10, Pg. 78, Bazzaar).  Another general way is to rectify our own heart and adopt his company.  If his company generates thoughts and love of Allah in our heart then he is a Wali.  If the heart indulges in worldly

thoughts then he is not a Wali since it is said that the heart is a mirror of another heart.   We must also note the observation of the Shariat in him, remembering that even the Sultan of Awliya, Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani Ghausul Azam, did not give up the Shariat, including the ritual prayers.  Or the instance when Hazrat Bayasid Bistami (R) refused to accept a person as a Wali when he learnt that while entering the Masjid that person had put his left foot forward.  There are many examples of such a nature. 

At the same time, we must not come to a swift conclusion in judging a person who is known as a Wali because we might commit an error of judgment, which reminds me of the anecdote of Hazrat Bayazid Bistami (R) who,  while travelling to another town during the month of Ramadan,  found that almost the entire town had come to receive him, an Awliya-Allah.  Since he did not like it,  he removed a khubooz (bread) from his sleeve and began to munch on it.  Seeing this, all the people lost faith in him and went back home.  To think about it, the Shaykh had done nothing wrong with the Shariah, since eating and drinking on a Ramadan day is allowed on travelling certain distances.  He did that just to be left alone, but see how the people judged him hastily.    Even Ibn Taimiyya who himself belonged to the Qadri Order, considered Bayazid as one of his masters.  About him he said:  "There are two categories of fana': one is for the perfect Prophets and saints, and one is for seekers from among the saints and pious people (saliheen). Bayazid al-Bistami is from the first category of those who experience fana', which means the complete renunciation of anything other than God. He accepts none except God. He worships none except Him, and he asks from none except Him." He continues, quoting Bayazid saying, "I want not to want except what He wants."

Awliya-Allah have influenced other religions too.  Quranic verses and the sayings of Baba Farid (Hazrat Shaykh Fariduddin Masood Ganj-e-Shakhar (R)) are found in the holy book of the Sikh, Adi Granth; while the Rosicrucian sect of Christianity has liberally borrowed from the teaching of Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyuddeen Abdul Qadir Jilani. 

The lives of  Muslim Saints are a source of inspiration to the Muslims all over the world -  even in those pockets where their teachings are being suppressed.  Their unswerving love of Allah, their Tawakkal (piety)and Tauheed (Unity of Allah), courage of conviction, strength of charcter, religious zeal and devotion to earning the pleasure of Allah, sprinkled with countless miracles at their hands, and their

empowerment of Allah on this earth and the hereafter have earned them the title of Friends of Allah.     

To continue....

Miracles –Islamic perspective in brief: Part 3.

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

Tasawwuf is not new to Islam:

We need to explain a few more things before we come to the

"Miracles".  We noted earlier that Deen consists of Islam, Iman and

Ihsan. We further noted that Ihsan is what came to be known later as

Tasawwuf.  In other words, the reality of Tasawwuf existed during the

time of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam). Those who say

that it is borrowed from other discipline simply want to mislead the

Muslims.  In the early period of Islam, the followers of Tasawwuf or

Sufism were known as Muqarrabin (favourites of Allah) Sabirin (patient

ones), Abrar (the virtuous), Zuhhad (the pious), Awliya-Allah (Friends

of Allah), Siddiqun (Truthful) which were all the Quranic terms.

Therefore, absence of the word “Tasawwuf” or “Sufi” does not indicate

that the reality was not there. In fact, the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu

alaihi wassallam) was the first Sufi who used to retire to Ghaare Hira

for Dhikr Allah. During the early years of his ministry forty-five men of

Makkah joined as many others of Madinah the Radiant, took an oath of

fidelity to the doctrines of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) and formed a fraternity, engaging themselves in devotion,

renouncing the active life of the world and engaging themselves in

prayers and meditation. They occupied the verandah of the Masjid and

came to be known as the Ahle Suffa, whence came the word “Sufi”. 

Earliest mention of those words has been made by Hasan Basri ®

(d.110 A.H.) and by Sufyan al-Thawri the Islamic scholar, jurist, Hafiz

who learnt various shades of meaning of 'Riya' (Ostentation) from

a Sufi.   

The Sufis have also adopted themselves to the pattern of Hazrat Abu

Bakr ® in stripping themselves of worldly things; to Hazrat Umar ® in

wearing of the patched robe or Muraqqa and rigorously performing

religious duties; to Hazrat Uthman ® in resigning their affairs to Allah,

sincerity of devotion and sacrificing life and property; to Hazrat Ali ® in

endurance of affliction, and in respect to the truth of outward

expressions and subtleties of inward meanings, severance of all things

from the heart except the remembrance of Allah who keeps his

servants in whatever state He wills, and consideration of Divine

Providence.

Imam Muhammed Mathum al-Faruqi ® has given us details on the

subject in the 59th letter of the second volume of his Maktubat.

According to him, all the paths of tasawwuf come from Rasulullah (sall-

allahu alaihi wasallam). The superiors of tasawwuf have attained the

ma’arif emanating from the blessed heart of Rasulullah (sallal laahu

alaihi wasallam) through their Guides in every century. In fact all the

external and the internal (spiritual) perfections were attained through

the Holy Messenger (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam). The external form

of command and prohibition was transmitted by the learned scholars of

the four schools of thoughts. The hidden knowledge relating to the

heart and soul were conducted by the Sufis. Indeed the terms fana’,

baqa’, jadhba, suluk and sair-i ila’llah, which were used for attainments

on the way of tasawwuf, were first used by the great leaders of

tasawwuf.

Imam-e-Rabbani points out that it  is written in the Sahih of al-Bukhari

that Abu Huraira (radi-Allahu ta’ala ’anh) said:

‘I filled two cups from Rasulullah (sallallahu ’alaihi wasallam). I have

explained the contents of one of them. You would kill me if I disclosed

the other.’

{Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 121: where” two cups” are

sometimes translated as “two kinds” or as G.F. Haddad  recommends:

“Two vessels”. }

Those who don’t believe in Tasawwuf, the above hadith has been the

butt of frequent criticism. But it is there in Sahih Bukhari unless it has

been expunged.   For brevity's sake, I don't intend to go into

background of this hadith shareef.   

It is also written in the Sahih of al-Bukhari that when ’Umar ® died, his

son ’Abdullah ® said that nine-tenths of knowledge had died and,

seeing that the listeners were confused, added that he meant not the

knowledge of fiqh (jurisprudence) but the knowledge of knowing Allah

(Gnosis).

Sufi terminologies such as Tawajjuh (thinking deeply) of Allah Most

High, the dhikrs of nafi (negation) and ithbat (affirmation) and

muraqaba (meditation) existed during the time of the Holy Prophet

(sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) and that of as-Sahabat al-kiram ® .

Although the above terms had not been heard from the Holy Prophet

(sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) but he did have the above states {ahwal

(pl. of hal, spiritual state)}.

According to Shah Waliyulla Dehelvi, the four periods of mysticism

were to the liking of Allah. During the first and the second century of

Islam, the outcome of mysticism and the sum-total of the religion was

Ihsan. The second began with Junaid Baghdadi ® when emphasis was

put on the acquisition of attributes, i.e ‘Ta’alluq Billah’ (attachment

with Allah). The third began with Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fazlullah Ibn abi’l

Khayr of Mayhana and with Abu’l Hasan Kharqani ® when on crossing

the bar of action the mystics acquired the degree of ‘ Jadhb’

(Absorption). The fourth period began with ibn al-Arabi when other

relevant problems of mysticism were discussed (such as “Wahdat al-

Wajud or Unity of Being).

In passing it may be noted that later when Ahmad Sirhind Mujaddid Alf

Sani confronted the Unity of Being with his own, Unity of Witnessing,

(Wahdat al-Shuhud) it was Hazrat Shah Waliullah Dehelvi who brought

about the reconciliation between the two doctrines (Maktoob-i-Madani;

Lamhaat, Lamha 21).   Care must be taken to remember that the

differences, if any, were not theological ones  as between Asharism

and Mutazilaism,  but merely "Irfani" (Gnostic) ones.  Earlier it was

Imam Ghazali (d.1111 c..) who brought about the reconciliation

between the theological Islam and the mystic or sufistic Islam where it

was necessary to get rid of evil dispositions, vile qualities and the

appetites of the flesh. Then it was for the heart to be cleared of all

except Allah - and this could be done by Dhikr-Allah. This could not be

acquired by learning but by inward transformation and actual

experiencing. That was why Imam Ghazali detached himself from

worldly ties and turned wholly to Allah. But that’s another subject. 

That brings us to the importance of loving Awliya-Allah. We have never

seen the Awliya-Allah of the past but we do love them for the sake of

Allah since they are the beloved of Allah.

IMPORTANCE OF LOVING AWLIYA-ALLAH:

We have to remember that Awliya-Allah have strived to help the

Ummah of our beloved Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam).

Everyone Muslim knows that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) has clearly indicated that on the Day of Resurrection,

Hazrat Uwais al-Qarni ® would intercede for as many people of the

Ummah as there were the sheep of Rabia and Muzzer tribe. Before the

Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) assumed the veil from this

material world, he had also asked Hazrat Umar ® and Hazrat Ali ® to

seek him and give him his mantle and also ask him to pray to Allah for

forgiveness of both of them – which they did. Generally, such is the

status of Awliya-Allah.

Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyuddeen Abdul Qadir Jilani Ghousul Azam ® once

said that if Allah grants him a station of honour in His sight, he would

obtain from his Creator a covenant on behalf of his disciples, to be

binding till the Day of Qiyamah, that none of them would die without

being in a state of repentance, and that he would be the Surety for

them in this regard.

Hazrat Bayazid Bistami ® too states that he had made a resolve to

pray for all the creatures. However, then a thought came to him that

the station of intercession belongs to the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu

alaihi wassallam). So he observed his manner. He tells us that then he

heard a voice saying, because of this one observance of good manners,

I have exalted your name so that until the Resurrection, men shall call

you the Sultan of the Gnostics.

Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti ® too prayed for the

salavation of followers till the Day of Qiyamah (Last Day) and obtained

it while he was absorbed in prayers at the Ka’ba shareef in 583 A.H.

Without purifying our heart, it is very difficult to receive “Faiz” from

Awliya-Allah. Once when someone asked Hazrat Bayazid Bistami ® the

reason why the former had not gained spiritually despite remaining in

his company for so long, the Shaykh replied: “It’s because of your

‘Nafs’ (carnal self) which is not under your control. You do not regard

honour the same as disgrace. Consider both of them equal.”

There was a person whose mother had been telling him off and on to

offer supererogatory prayers (‘nawaafil’) and sit in the company of

Bayazid Bistami ®. Like many of us today, he thought that if he has at

all to offer additional prayers or do some extra good deeds, why not do

it on our own and alone! The answer holds good today as it was then.

The Faiz (Divine Effusion) of Allah would come to that person in his

individual capacity which is not much compared to that he would get

by sitting in the company of Awliya-Allah who have the ‘Qurb”

(nearness) of Allah.

Allah has promised us that He will accept the prayers of those whom he

Loves. We know that Messengers of Allah, Prophets, Siddiqeen (the

Truthful), Shohda (Martyrs), Awliya-Allah (Friends of Allah) and the

Saliheen (the Pious and Righteous people) are loved by Allah. “Faiz”

and “Marifa” have been over-flowing from Hazrat Imam Jafar Sadiq to

the great Sufi Masters and Awliya through Hazrat Abu Bakr ® and to

those of other Orders (Silsilas) through Hazrat Ali ®.

A man asked Bayazid, "Show me a deed by which I will approach my

Lord." He said, "Love the friends of Allah in order that they will love

you. Love his saints until they love you. Because Allah looks at the

hearts of His saints and He will see your name engraved in the heart of

His saints and He will forgive you." For this reason, the Naqshbandi

followers have been elevated by their love for their shaikhs. This love

lifts them to a station of continuous pleasure and continuous presence

in the heart of their beloved.

In his first letter, Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawi ® has indicated that “no

one who sits with them (i.e. the Awliya) is wretched,”  as reported in

the Sahih.  He quotes a hadith from Sahih Bukhari regarding the

evidence against turning away from sitting with them: “Shall I tell you

about the three men? One of them took himself to Allah and Allah took

him in. The other was shy, so Allah was shy with him. And the other

turned away, so Allah turned away from him.” Awliya-Allah are the

endless treasure trove, impenetrable fortress, “the universal

interspace” and the overflowing sea.

Therefore, we need to seek the company of such emancipated souls.

No less a person than Hazrat Fariduddin Masood Ganj-e-Shakhar ® who

is known in the sub-continent of India and Pakistan as Baba Farid and

is the third Peer-O-Murshid in line of the Chishtiya Silsila, himself used

to set out to meet saints, i.e. before he met Hazrat Qutub-ud-din

Bhaktiyar Kaki.

“Uth Farida gaun kar duniyaa bekhan jay,

Mat koyee bakshaa milanwajay tuu bhee bakshaa jay”

(Get up O Farid and roam about the world/Maybe in thy wandering ye

may meet some emancipated soul, receive his blessings and achieve

deliverance.)

Hazrat Baba Farid ® has narrated that a there was a sinful young man

who died in Multan. It was revealed in a dream that the young man had

been pardoned by Allah for the reason that one day when Hazrat

Khwaja Baha-ul-aq Zakarriya Multani was taking a walk, the young man

had kissed his hand with utmost respect. It was because of this gesture

that he had been pardoned.

On the subject of Loving of Awliya-Allah, this is especially applicable to

loving the Ahle Bayt or People of the House of Prophet (sallal laahu

alahi wassallam).  According to the prophetic traditions, not loving

Hazrat Ali (R) is a sign of a hypocrite (Munafiq) and offending Hazrat

Fatimah (R) is offending the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) whose dear daughter she is.  The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu

alaihi wassallam) has categorically shown his love for Imam Hasan and

Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with them both).    According to a

Sahih Hadith in Tirmidhi, the Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) has said: "When I am loved, then my family members whom

I love, should also be loved." 

Loving someone means having affinity with that person and having

a strong affection for that person, and accepting the deeds and beliefs

of that person.  This should not be confused with the words: "although

I have not acted like them.." which appears in Sahih Muslim, in a hadith

reported by Anas bin Maalik in addition to the one, that when a person

told the Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) that "I have

made no significant preparation with prayer and fasting and charity,

but I however love Allah and His Messenger,' thereupon the Messenger

of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) said: "you would be along with

the one whom you love."   These words underline that although I do not

possess their strength of belief, their actions, their piety and their

powerful proximity to Allah with their devotions, yet with all my faults

and shortcoming in controlling my 'Nafs' (carnal soul or the lower self)

and striving to do those deeds, I do love them while admitting that I

have not acted like them.  Allah tells us: Whoso obeyeth Allah and the

messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah hath shown favour, of

the prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. The

best of company are they! (Qur'an 4:69).  In fact that this company

begins from the Barzakh itself is also proven from the prophetic

traditions.  This will definitely bring out the paramount importance of

loving those whom Allah has shown His favours though we may not to

anything as far as their rank with Allah goes, or we may not even

belong to their 'Jamaat', yet by loving them we can expect to be in

their august company right after leaving this transitory world.  As Allah

says in the next verse: That is bounty from Allah (Qur'an: 4:70).  What

a bounty it is! As it has been said “Zikr-ul-Anbiah Ibada tun Wa Zikr-ul-

Auliya Kafara tun” i.e. Discussing about the Prophets of Allah is a form

of Ibaadah, and discussing the Awliya is atonement. Mercy of Allah

descends when His Awliya are discussed.

To continue, Insha Allah….

Miracles –Islamic Perspective in brief:Part 4 - Continued.....

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

“His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, ‘Be!’ and

it is.” (Surah Ya Sin, 82)

Allah is the Real Doer, Causator and Creator of Miracles:

Now before we come to “Miracles” it is important to draw the attention of the uninitiated non-muslim readers that while in non-Islamic religions “miracles” are usually directly attributed to the human agency that seems to be the author, this is not so in Islam because human attribution is not allowed.

Imam Tahawi, who was one of the Salafs (not to be confused with modern Salafi sects), says: Nothing happens except what Allah wills. Everything happens according to His degree and will, and His will is accomplished. The only will that people have is what He wills for them. What He wills for them occurs and what He does not will, does not occur. Allah has been always the Creator and the originator and the Lord.

Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Allah is the Creator of all things.” (Sûrah al-Zumar: 62 , and Sûrah al-Ra`d: 16). There are quite a few verses of this kind in the Holy Qur’an that says that it is Allah the Almighty who is the Creator, Real Doer, Author, Originator and Causator. This applies not only to the creation of the universe and creatures and all that is there, but also to day to day activities and occurrences and miracles. Everything takes place in the universe because of the decree of Allah. Therefore, the bottom-line is that while the miracles may be attributed, as the case may be, to prophets and the Awliya-Allah or a pious person, in our hearts we must always know and believe that it is Allah alone who is the Causator, Doer and Creator of Miracles. Therein remains our safety as far as the religion of Islam goes.

Hazrat Bayazid Bistami ® stated that ‘Maarifat’ (Gnosis) consists in

knowing that without Allah’s permission no one has the least control of

his kingdom. It is Allah who creates the ability to act and puts the will

to act in the heart since the human actions are metaphorical and Allah

is the Real Causator. It is only when Allah gives strength that we are

able to carry on the spiritual exercises. Bishr al-Hafi ® whom even

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal used to consult, stated that an individual and

his actions are created by Allah. Allah being the Provider, if He makes a

creature the means of giving you sustenance, consider it that it has

come from Allah and not the creature.

Before we come to the "Miracles" there is one more aspect to be

understood about the miracles.  It is this:

Miracles are downplayed in Islam:

The Holy Qur’an sent down upon the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) is the greatest sign sent down to mankind. Generally, not

much weightage is given to miracles. The Holy Qur’an says: And yet

they say, “Why are signs not sent down upon him from his Lord? Say:

“The signs are indeed with Allah, and I am but a clear warner.” (29:50).

Indeed, Awliya-Allah have also not attached much significance to

miracles and marvels.

When the great saint of Mayhana, Hazrat Abu Sa’id Fazlullah ibn Abi’l Khayr ® (967-1049 c.e.) was told that so- and-so walks on water, he replied that it was easy since frogs and water-fowls do it.  When someone drew his attention that so-and-so flies through the air, he merely replied that so do the birds and insects.   Again, when someone told him that somebody goes from one town to another in a moment, he replied that things such as these are of no great value since even Satan travels from East to the West in a moment. According to him, the true saint eats and sleeps and has social intercourse with the people. He even marries and lives among them. He carries on buying and selling in the market. However, he never forgets Allah even for a single moment. It is true that some of them renounced worldly activities in order to worship Allah unhindered. However, that was nothing new since we have the example of Ashab us-Suffa (People of the Verandah), i.e. the Companions of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) who resided in the verandah of the Masjidun Nabawi and who were extremely poor, and about whom it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an: “Do not drive away those who call unto their Lord, at morn and eve, desiring His face” (6:52).   Despite their privations and sufferings, the Ahle Suffa were great lovers of Allah and His holy Messenger (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam).    It is significant to note that included among these are such famous names as Bilal ibn al-Rabah, Salman al-Farsi, Abu Dharr al-Ghiffari, Abdullah ibn-Masood, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abu Huraira, Muadh b. al-Haris and others (may Allah be pleased with them all), some of whom even attained martyrdom in several battles of nascent Islam.

When Hazrat Bahaudin Naqshbandi was asked about showing miraculous power, he said: “What more miraculous power do you want than that we are still walking on this earth with all these sins upon us and around us.” Hazrat Shihab ad-din Suhrawardi (d.632H/1234 c.e.) mentioned in his Awaarif Al-Ma’arif that “Marvels and Karamaat are of no value in comparision with the heart’s dhikr of Allah”.

Hazrat Bayazid Bistami ® says: I seek His Grace from the Bestower of Graces. I don’t seek miracles. He also said that if you see a person sitting cross-legged in the air, don’t be fooled by his act!  Observe his approach and attitude to the compulsory acts (Faraaiz, Waajibaat) and prohibited acts (Haraam, Makrooh Tahreemi) and detestable acts (Makrooh) and other restrictions and etiquettes of the Shariah. (Risalah Qushayriya)

Further, according to Imam Muhammad Mathum (d.1074H/1668 c.e.) of Sirhind, knowing Allah is more valuable than possessing Kashf and Karamah. The reason is that being a knower of Allah (Aarif Billah) entails the secret knowledge about Allah’s Essence and Attributes; while Karamah or marvels manifest secret knowledge about creatures. Awliya-Allah don’t want marvels because they don’t desire knowledge about the creatures. As Allah loves his Awliya very much, He does not keep them preoccupied with creatures. Those who are addicted to the world cannot recognize and do not like men of Allah who can comprehend and reveal secrets about creatures better than others provided they choose to think about them.

In short, it is important to realize that just as the pre-eminence of prophets depends not on miracles or evidentiary miracles but on their exalted ranks and being preserved from defilement of sin, similarly, working miracles or ‘Karaamaat’ is not an end in itself for a Vali (Saint).  As Dr. Tahir al-Qadri explains, Miracle is not Vilayat (Sainthood), and Vilayat is not miracle. Miracle is just a by-product of being a Vali because for a Vali a miracle is not a product. According to him, there is Ijma (consensus) among the scholars that a Karamat is “Nafs-ki-Talab” while “Allah’s Talab” is Isteqaamat (remaining firm on the right path, or rectitude, steadfastness). Isteqaamat is higher than Karaamat. There have been many Friends of Allah who have had no miracles, and what is more, there are many unknown Awliya-Allah who are unknown to the world. As far as the Vilayat is concerned, all Awliya-Allah are equal, but they differ as far as the status is concerned.

To continue....

 Miracles –Islamic perspective in brief: Part 5 – Continued….

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

Karamaat of Awliya-Allah are true:Believing in miracles of the Messengers of Allah, the prophets, and the

Awliya-Allah is among the fundamentals of the people of Sunnah and

the community. This is evident from the Holy Quran, the Sunnah of the

Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam), reports from the Sahaba,

and the overwhelming majority of the Sunni scholars and the Sufi

Shaykhs.

According to the Islamic scholars, only the people of Bidah

(innovations) and deviation and those of weak faith in Allah’s

attributes and actions deny the miracles of Awliya-Allah. Those who

don’t believe that Allah has given the power of disposition and

effectiveness to His awliya, about such people the scholars of Ahle

Sunnat had anticipated them by way of a Karamat and refuted them

before hand by giving a fit reply. Such scholars included ibn al-Arabi

and his successor Sadrudin Qunawi, Jalaludin Rumi and Ahmad al-

Badawi among many others.

The Holy Qur’an establishes the fact that miracles are also vouchsafed

to people other than the prophets, in which case they are called

Karamaat. Let’s see some of the very well-known Quranic examples of

Karamaat:

Regarding Mary, mother of Jesus:

Whenever Zachariah (Zakaria a.s.) went into the sanctuary where she

was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh

unto thee this (food) ? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth

without stint to whom He will. (Qur’an: 3:37) and

Regarding the People of the Cave and the Dog: Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a

wonder among Our portents ? When the young men fled for refuge to

the Cave and said: Our Lord! Give us mercy from Thy presence, and

shape for us right conduct in our plight. Then We sealed up their

hearing in the Cave for a number of years. And afterward We raised

them up that We might know which of the two parties would best

calculate the time that they had tarried. (18:9-12)

And thou mightest have seen the sun when it rose move away from

their cave to the right, and when it set go past them on the left, and

they were in the cleft thereof. That was (one) of the portents of Allah.

(18:17)

Regarding the one with the knowledge of the scripture: (Asif Barkhiya)One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee

before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his

presence. (Qur’an: 27:40).

Now, Mary (Maryam a.s.) is not an apostle. Owing to her piety and

devotion, Allah raised her in rank as one of the best women.  Her story

in the Holy Quran is one of the best stories ever told. The entire

Chapter is devoted to her - something that is not found even in the

Christian Bible.  In fact she was very young and miraculously pregnant

with child Jesus. When the pangs of parturition drove her to the palm

tree the miraculous child told her: And shake the trunk of the palm-

tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee. (Qur’an:

19:25). He also told her that “Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath

thee.”(19:24) Zakariya a.s. (Zachariah) had taken charge of her.

Whenever Zakariya (a.s.) went into the sanctuary (Hujra) where she

was, he found her with provisions. In fact, in summer he saw her with

the winter fruit, such as culms of corn, and in winter he saw that she

had summer fruit, such as the grapes. When he asked her from where

did she get it, she answered that Allah sends this from Paradise and

that Jibrail (a.s.) (Gabriel) brought it to her.

As for the People of the Cave, they were in the cave for 309 years. The

cave was an open-ended one so that the sunlight could come both at

sunrise and sunset. But Allah commanded the sun to change its path so

that the the men did not feel the heat of the sun. Shaykul Islam Dr.

Tahir al-Qadri explains that if someone says that the course of the sun

was natural, the answer to that would be then there was no need for

Allah to mention it in the Holy Qur’an. This was the sign of Allah

(Ayatillah), just as Mary’s conception as well as the She-camel of Allah

were far from the natural process. According to him, Imam Nasafi is an

authority and he says in Tafseer Nasafi that the sun used to bend one

side. Moreover, there was also a dog outside the cave for all those

years. ‘Lahuti’ nutrition was provided for the Ashab. During their sleep,

they used to change sides every six months. Even the dog

correspondingly changed sides with them, stretching out his paw on

the threshold. Imam Qurtubi in his Tafseer and Imam Razi in Tafseer al-

Kabeer say that the dog did not belong to the ‘Ashab’. It had joined

them on the way. The Ashab were hiding from the tyrant king and were

afraid that the dog would bark and expose their hideout. They threw

stones at it to drive it away. The dog prayed to Allah to give the power

of speech which was granted. The dog asked them why did they hurl

stones at him. They said: “You’ll bark!” The dog informed them that he

was not a barking dog. The dog had “Muhabbat”, “Mutabiyat”, and

“Isteqamat”. There was no change in their condition. So a speaker

asked “How long have you tarried” (18:19). They had tarried in the

Cave for 309 years (18:25).

As for the one with knowledge of the scripture, it was Asif bin

Barkhiya, a righteous individual who had the knowledge of ‘Ism-e-

Azam’ (Allah’s Greatest Names). When these are invoked in a

supplication for something it is immediately granted . He said that he

would bring the throne of Bilqis (the queen of Sheba) before the glance

of Solomon returned to him. The Afreet Jinn told Solomon to look up

heaven-wards, which he did. As soon as the glance returned to the

normal, i.e. in front of him, he found the throne of Bilqis. What had

happened was, that as soon as Solomon looked upwards to heaven Asif

bin Barkhiya, by invoking the Ism-e-Azam, supplicated to God that He

bring it there. This was done when the throne travelled under the earth

until it sprung up below Solomon’s seat. Allamah Sayyad Mahmood

Alusi states that Shaykh al-Akbar said that Asif bin Barkhiya did

‘Tasarruf’ with the throne of Bilqis. He made the throne disappear from

its location and appear before Sulaiman (a.s.) before anyone could

realize it, except for Him who knows everything. Everything happened

in a moment. Chronologically speaking, Asif bin Barkhiya performed

only one action since the accomplished persons gain a state where

their speech is granted immediate action by the announcement of

“Kun” (Be!) by Allah.

Thus the Holy Qur’an bears testimony to the fact that not only Allah

loves His Awliya, but He also creates whatever they want through them

to honour them. The miracles of the saint too helps the religion of Allah

- as happened with Bilqis who was the sun-worshipper but adopted the

Abrahamaic religion after meeting Solomon.    

Shaykh al-Akbar, Ibn al- ‘Arabi explains the phenomenon of a miracle

as of two types: Apparent (Hissi) and Spiritual (Ma’nawi). The first type

is generally seen by the common people, such as flying through the air,

walking on water, foretelling future events, traversing hundreds of

kilometers in a step and so on. The second type of miracle can only be

seen and perceived by special people it consists in controlling the

carnal desires, adopting virtues through divine guidance, refraining

from corrupt practices, and punctually practicing all the compulsory

acts (Waajibaat).

According to Al-Aqidah al-Wasitiyah of ibn Taimiyya, Allah created

supernatural acts through the Awliya in all aspects of life, revelations

(Mukashafaat), power and impressions. This is known of ancient

nations in Surat al-Kahf (Chapter 18 of the Holy Qur’an) and in other

Quranic chapters, and is known of the early men of this Ummah

amongst the Sahabas (Companions of the Prophet sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam), and the Tabiian (Successors of Sahabas) and also among

the rest of the generations of this Ummah. It will be with them till the

Day of Resurrection.

In Majmu’a Fataawa, Ibn Taimiyaa says: It is said that after the Seal of

Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) revelation does descend but it

is not called so. Rather it is called as what the Prophet (sallal laahu

alaihi wassallam) referred to as the “Light of God”. The believer sees

with the Light of God. When the believer sees through the Light of God

he sees all things – the First and the Last; the Present and the Absent.

How can anything be concealed from God’s light? And, if something

does appear concealed, then it is not the Light of God. Therefore, the

meaning of revelation exists even if it is not called so. Further,

according to him: What is considered as a saint’s miracle, is that

sometimes the saint hears what others do not hear or sees something

that others do not see – not while he is asleep, but in a wakened state

of vision. He even knows things that others cannot know, through

revelation or inspiration – not while he is asleep, but in a wakened

state of vision. He even knows things that others cannot know through

revelation or inspiration.

In a book published by al-Madani Publishing House, namely Mukhtasar

al-Fatawa al-Misriyya, the statements of ibn Taimiyya are: The miracles

of saints are absolutely true and correct, and the Muslim scholars have

acknowledged it. The Qur’an has pointed to them at various places.

The Hadiths of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) too point

them. Whoever denies the miraculous powers of saints are either

people of ‘Bidah’ (innovators) or those who follow the innovators.

Ibn Taimiyya said (Vol.11 p.313): Allah the Almighty unveils to his

saints states that have never been unveiled before and He gives them

support without measure. If that saint begins to speak from the things

of the unseen – past, present or future – that constitutes miraculous

knowledge. Therefore, we have to accept anything that a saint does, as

coming from the unseen, for the people or listeners, of healing or

teaching knowledge. According to ibn Taimiyya, we must thank Allah

for the unveiling of the appearances.

Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyuddeen Abdul Qadir Jilani ® said in Discourse 9 of

his Futuh al-ghayb: To awliya' and abdal (Substitute-saints) are

disclosed such workings of Allah in the course of kashf and mushahada

as overwhelm the reasoning power of man and shatter into pieces all

habits and customs.

Nor is it impossible that some saints of the Prophet's Community, like

the Prophet himself, do know the Unseen except for what Allah hides

from them and reserves to others of His creatures -- such as angels --

or exclusively to Himself, according to His will.

Allamah Nasafi (d.1013 c.e.) has also said that the charismatic miracles

of the Friends of Allah are true – “Karamaat al-Awliya haqqun”.

To continue…

Miracles–Islamic perspective in brief: Part 6

– Continued….

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

“And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw (a handful

of dust in the Battle of Badr), but Allah threw.”(Quran: 8:17)

Mujizah and Karamah are two broad categories of Miracles in Islam:

A miracle is broadly categorized as ‘Mujizah’ and ‘Karamah’, and as

stated before, are actually the actions of Allah. In Islam, the

phenomena that happen beyond the laws of causation are

distinguished by their sources, that is at whose hands they are shown,

as we shall see below:

1. The miracles wrought by Prophets and Messengers of Allah are

called Mujizaat. The literal meaning of Mujizah is something that

“incapacitates”, i.e. it is derived from the word ‘ijaaz’ which means

“inability”

2. The miracles or marvels attributed to Awliya-Allah are called

“Karamah” or “Karamaat” which is a gift of Grace or  a “token of

honour”.   In English language the word is commonly termed as

miracle.  However, some orientalists do make a distinction by terming

Mujizah as “Evidentiary Miracle” and Karamah as “ non-evidentiary

miracle, Marvel, etc”.   Generally, no Wali claims that he can work

miracles and can make on attain whatever one wishes.

3. Those that happen through the disbelievers are called “Sihr” i.e.

magic.

4. Those that happen at the hands of those whose sins are many

(Fasiqs) are called “Istidraj” which proves the person to be an

imposter and are a means to degrade and demote him gradually. The

marvelous acts related to Shaddad, Nimrod and Pharaoh fall under

divine deception. So also the extraordinary acts of Dajjal that are

related from many ahadeeth (prophetic traditions) about the future

events fall under Divine deception.

5. Those that happen in any community from people who are not

Awliya-Allah (Friends of God) is called Firasat (say, Clairvoyance).

However, if it is the effect of the light which Allah sets in the purified

heart of the Awliya-Allah, Firasa is reckoned among the gifts and is

accepted as evidence of holiness. The exalted position of the Awliya’s

“Firasat” is evident from the hadith: “Beware of the vision of the

believer, for he sees with the light of Allah.” The miracles of Hazrat

Abu Sa’id Fazlullah ibn Abi’l Khayr mainly consisted of the powers of

Firasa.

6. ‘Kashf’ or spiritual unveilings are the knowledge disclosed to the

soul of the one who constantly remembers and worships Allah. Kashf

consists, according to al-Sharif al-Jurjani's definition in his Kitab al-

ta`rifat, in "apprehending beyond the veil of ordinary phenomena,

whether by vision or experience, the meanings and realities that

pertain to the unseen. It is a kind of intuitive knowledge or discovery

that exemplifies Awliya-Allah whose ranks are raised by Allah with the

affirmation. The reality of Kashf is established in Sacred Law and it

refers to a hidden knowledge of a tremendous nature - what has also

been called the “Secrets of Allah the Exalted.” Kashf is reliable if it is

in conformity with Islam. The vision seen while one is awake is Kashf

and that seen in a dream is called Ru’ya. The purer and the cleaner the

mirror of the mind is, the more correct and reliable is the Kashf and the

Ru’ya. Prophet’s dream are absolutely reliable, and most dreams of

Awliya too are reliable since their ‘baatins’ (states of inner conditions)

are polished like bright mirrors because of their obedience to prophets.

Allah mentions in the Qur'an thus: "Allah has fulfilled the vision (ru'ya)

for his Messenger in very truth" (48:27). The Prophet said: The vision

or dream (al-ru'ya) is one-fortysixth part of prophecy.

7. The process of receiving the gift (karamah) for the saint is through

ilham (inspiration). In addition to those mentioned above, the others

are mubashshira (glad tidings from Allah), mushahada (mutual vision)

or mukhataba (divine conversation).

Distinction between Mujizah and Karamah: Just a few points:

The holy Qur’an as well as the prophetic traditions are replete with the

examples of Mujizaat worked by the Prophets and Messengers. The

Holy Qur’an ratifies the miracles of Moses and Jesus, including the

Virgin Birth of Jesus, amongst those of other prophets of Bani Isra’il.

Since there are no disagreements regarding the Mujizaat, we won’t

delve into these.

We have mentioned before that the miracles worked by Messengers

and Prophets of Allah are called Mujizaat and those worked by other

than Prophets and Messengers, such as Awliya-Allah, are called

Karamaat. In his celebrated Kashful Mahjoob (Unveiling of the Veiled),

Hazrat Ali bin Uthman al-Hajwiri, who is also known as Data Ganj Baksh

® in the sub-continent of India and Pakistan, has dealt with this

subject at length nearly a thousand years ago. To put it very

succinctly, this is what he says: Mujizaat involve publicity since they

affect others. Karamaat involve secrecy since they are peculiar to the

person by whom they are performed. The doer of Mujizaat is quite sure

that he has worked a miracle while the doer of Karamaat is not sure,

whether he has really worked a miracle.

According to Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh ®, however, the quality of ijaaz

(inimitability) is the same as in the other and not affected. He gives a

classic example: When the infidels were putting Khubaib ® on the

gallows in Makkah, the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam)

who was with his Companions in the Masjid at Madinah Munawwara

told them what was happening to Khubaib ®. Allah also lifted the veil

from the eyes of Khubaib ® so that he saw the Holy Prophet (sallal

laahu alaihi wassallam) and greeted him (s). Allah caused the Holy

Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) to hear that salutation so that

he gave the answer, and He also caused Khubaib ® to hear that

answer. Both were extraordinary acts but one was an example of

Mujiza and the other, that of a Karaamat.

Data Ganj Baksh ® makes another important statement: There is no

difference in absence in time and absence in space. For Khubaib ® the

Karaamat was wrought when he was absent from the Holy Prophet

(sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) in space.  The later days miracles were

performed by those who were absent from the Holy Prophet (sallal

laahu alaihi wassallam) in time.  Data Ganj Baksh ® says that this is a

clear proof that a Karaamat cannot be in contradiction with ‘ijaaz, i.e.

the miracles performed by prophets.  Karamaat are not established

unless and until they testify to the truth of the one performing the

mujizaat. Therefore, Karamaat are not given except to a pious believer

who gives such testimony. The Muslim saints are witnesses to the truth

of the mission of Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) and

therefore, it is impossible that Karamaat may be worked by

unbelievers because as the law of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) is permanent, so must the proof (hujjat) be also

permanent.  All Karamaat of a saint or Wali are the mujizaat of the Holy

Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam).

To continue Insha Allah….

Miracles - Islamic Perspective in Brief - Part 7.

Continued....

Regarding the Awliya-Allah, one of the Islamic doctrines mentioned in

Tahawi’s Aqida is: “We believe in what has appeared regarding their

marvels and such narrations of them as have been authentically

reported from trustworthy persons. In order to deny the Karamaat,

some ignorantly claim that the Sahabas did not work any miracles.

Nothing could be further from the truth as the following examples from

the prophetic traditions will show:

1. 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud ® narrated: "A man from among the humans

went out and was met by a man from among the jinn, who said: "Will

you wrestle with me? If you throw me to the ground, I will teach you a

verse which, if you recite it when you enter your house, no devil will

enter." So, he wrestled with him and threw him to the ground. He said:

"I see that you are very small and your forearms are like the front paws

of a dog. Are all the jinn like this, or only you?" He said: "I am strong

amongst them. Let us wrestle again." So, they wrestled again and the

human threw him to the ground. So, the jinn said: "Recite Ayat al-

Kursi, for no one recites it when he enters his house except that Satan

leaves, passing wind like a donkey."" It was said to Ibn Mas'ud ® :

"Was that man 'Umar ®?" He said: "Who else could it have been, other

than 'Umar?" ['Majma' az-Zawa'id'; 9/71]

2. When the bodies of the martyrs of Uhud were being relocated forty

years after their burial (during the reign of Mu'awiyah), the foot of

Hamzah bin 'Abd al-Mutallib ® was scratched in the process of being

moved, and it started gushing blood. ['al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah'; 4/43]

3. Ibn 'Abbas ® died in at-Ta'if, and a bird, the likes of which had never

been seen before, was seen at his funeral. The bird entered the hole in

the ground where Ibn 'Abbas was to be buried. So, we looked and

waited to see if it would come out, and it didn't. When his body was

finally placed in the ground, we could hear the verse {"O, the one in

rest and satisfaction! Come back to your Lord, Well-pleased and well-

pleasing!"} [al-Fajr; 27-8] being recited from the edge of his grave, but

we were unable to find out who had recited it. (Authentically reported

by al-Hakim in 'al-Mustadrak' 3/543)

4. Khayshamah narrated: "Khalid bin al-Walid ® came to a man

carrying a jug of alcohol, so, he said: "O Allah! Turn it into honey!" So,

it turned into honey."

[Reported by Ibn Hajar in 'al-Isabah fi Ma'rifat as-Sahabah'; p. 414]

5. The Romans imprisoned a son of the Companion, Abu Qurfasah ®.

So, whenever it was time for prayer, Abu Qurfasah would climb the wall

of 'Asqalan (in Syria) and call out: "O, son! It is time to pray!" And, his

son would hear him all the way from the land of the Romans." ['Majma'

az-Zawa'id' (9/396)]

6. When Sa'd and the Muslim army arrived at the Tigris River during

the battle of Qadisiyyah, Salman stopped and said: "A river from the

rivers of Allah. Will it not carry the soldiers of Allah?" So, he took Sa'd

by the hand and stepped onto the water, leading all 30,000 soldiers

across the Tigris River on foot. The Persians saw this and escaped,

saying: ‘The demons have arrived! The demons have arrived!’"

[Reported by at-Tabari in 'at-Tarikh' (3/123), and Ibn Kathir in 'al-

Bidayah wan-Nihayah' (7/64)]

7. During the khilafah of 'Umar ®, the governor of Egypt wrote to him

asking for help as the river Nile had failed to flood. 'Umar ® wrote a

letter in return, addressing the Nile itself. This was then placed in the

Nile, and no sooner this was done, than the Nile's water began to flood.

[Tarikh Ibn Kathir, volumes 1 and 8, chapter on Rivers and chapter on

Khilafah of 'Umar, ®

8. Abu Hurairah narrated: "al-'Ala' al-Hadrami supplicated for rain, and

it then began to rain in the middle of the desert. In another incident,

he supplicated, and we were able to walk over the water in the Arabian

Peninsula (near Bahrain), without even the bottom of our feet getting

wet. When he died, we buried him, and after a while, we opened up his

grave to find that he was not there."

('Majma' az-Zawa'id'; 9/276)

9. During the Caliphate of Hazrat of 'Umar ®, a fire was noticed in the

desert. Hazrat 'Umar ®, asked Tamim al-Dari ® to assist him. They

approached the area of the fire when Tamim al-Dari ® began to gather

the fire with his hands and started shoving the fire into a hole in the

ground. This was a karamah of Tamim al-Dari ®. (Tarikh Ibn Kathir, Vol.

6, chapter on Miracles, and Sirat un-Nabi, Ibn Kathir, chapter on

Mu'jizat)

10. Sa'id bin al-Musayyib, a famous Tabi, narrated: "Zayd bin Kharijah

al-Ansari died during the reign of 'Uthman bin 'Affan. When he was

wrapped in a shroud in preparation of the burial, a gurgling sound was

heard coming from his chest. Then Zayd got up and said: "Ahmad!

Ahmad! He is in the first Book! Abu Bakr has spoken the truth! 'Umar

has spoken the truth! 'Uthman has spoken the truth!" [Authentically

reported in 'al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah'; 6/293]

11. Sa'id then said: "Then, another man died shortly thereafter. When

he was wrapped in a shroud in preparation of the burial, a gurgling

sound was heard coming from his chest. The man then got up and said:

"Zayd bin Kharijah has spoken the truth!”

['Majma' az-Zawa'id'; 8/230]

12. A Sahaba once pitched his tent on a plot of ground without

realizing that he was doing so over a grave. After a while, he realized

that his tent was over a grave for he could hear the recital of the Surah

Mulk. He related the entire episode to the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wasallam), who replied that the recital of Surah Mulk indeed assists

the person within the grave and protects him from pain and

punishment. (Tirmidhi Shareef)

From this episode, we see that the beloved servants of Allah are still

alive within their graves, or else the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wasallam) would have merely disregarded the entire incident. But he

did not do so. Rather, he commented on the excellences of the Sura

Mulk, which means that he also accepted that the beloved servants of

Allah Ta'ala are still alive within their graves.

13. It is recorded that in the period of Hazrat Mu'awiya (R) a canal was

dug between Mecca and Medina. Co-incidentally, the canal passed

through that plot of land where the Shuhada (Martyrs) of Uhud lay

buried. A person while digging accidentally cut the foot of a Shaheed

with a spade. As a result of this, blood began to flow from the blessed

foot. We learn from this incident that aside from their souls, even the

bodies of these great and beloved servants of Allah are alive. (Jazbul

Quloob, Sharahus Sudr)

Imam an-Nawawi was a wali and a great scholar who authored many

works. A karamah of his states that when the lantern extinguished for

want of oil, Allah illuminated his finger for him at night so he could see

and continue writing about the Religion. Imam Nawawi has mentioned

some miraculous incidents of the Sahaba in his Riyadh as-Saliheen

(Meadows of the Righteous):

1. Quraish ordered ‘Uqbah bin Al-Harith, whose father had been killed

by Khubaib ® himself, to execute him. They also appointed someone to

guard his corpse.   Al-Harith’s daughter reported that shortly before

his execution, Khubaib ® was seen eating a bunch of grapes when no

fruit was available in Makkah at that time. [In fact, it was nothing but

sustenance bestowed upon him by Allâh.]

2. ‘Asim ibn Thabit, who had previously slain one of the Chieftans of

Quraysh in the Battle of Badar. When the Quraysh were told that he

had been slain, they sent a few of their men to bring something that

might identify him. To their disappointment, they could not reach his

corpse because a large swarm of hornets had been shielding him

against any malicious mutilation. ‘Asim had already sought his Lord’s

pledge to protect his body from mutilations by the polytheists. He had

also kept aloof from any contact with the enemies of Allâh. On hearing

this piece of news, ‘Umar ® exclaimed, “Allâh verily protects His

believing slave after death just as He does during his lifespan.” ( from

al- Bukhari)

3. Ibn Umar ® said that he never heard from ‘Umar say about anything

that I conceive to be thus and thus, but that it turned out to be in

accordance with what he had conceived.

4. Jabir bin Abdullah ® related that his father called him on the eve of

Uhad and said: ‘I believe I’ll be the first among the Sahaba to be killed,

and after the Holy Prophet (s) you’re the one most dear to me.

Discharge my debts and treat your sisters well. The next morning, he

was among the first to be killed and I buried him along with another in

the same grave. Thereafter, I was not happy that I should leave him

with another in the same grave. So I dug up his body after six months,

and he was in the same condition as he was on the day I had buried

him but for his ear. Then I buried him in a separate grave. (Bukhari)

5. Anas related that Holy Prophet’s (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) two

companions (Usaid ibn Huzair and Abbad ibn Bishar) left the Holy

Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) late one dark night and

perceived as if there were two lights in front of them. And, when they

separated each had one light before him till the time he reached home.

6. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless

him and grant him peace, said, "In the nations before you there were

people who were spoken to (by Allah). If there was to be such a man

among my community, it would be 'Umar." [al-Bukhari. Muslim

transmits it from 'A'isha.]

7. 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr reported that Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn 'Umar ibn

Nufayl had litigation instigated against him by Arwa bint Aws before

Marwan ibn al-Hakam. She claimed that he had taken some of her land.

Sa'id said, "Would I take any of her land after what I heard from the

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?" He

said, "What did you hear from the Messenger of Allah?" He said, "I

heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him

peace, say, 'Anyone who wrongfully takes a hand's width of land will

wear it round his neck down through seven earths.'" Marwan said to

him, "I will not ask you for evidence after this." Sa'id said, "O Allah, if

she is lying, make her lose her eyesight and kill her in her land!" He

said, "She did not die before her eyesight had gone, and while she was

walking in her land, she fell into a pit and died." [Agreed upon] A

variant of Muslim from Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar

has something to the same effect and says that he saw her blind,

groping for the wall, saying, "The invocation of Sa'id has struck me."

She passed by a well in the house regarding which she had litigated

and fell into it and it became her grave.

To continue, Insha Allah…

Miracles –Islamic perspective in brief: Part 8 – Continued….

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

From Shawahid an-Nabuwwa of Noorudin al-Jami (d.1492 c.e.) also, we

learn of the karamaat of Sahaba al-Kiraam and the Tabiian, and a few

of which are mentioned below:

1. Abu Bakr ® the first Caliph of Islam, willed at the time he was about

to leave the world that his children would be looked after by Aisha ®.

He said: My son and two daughters, I entrust them to you.” Now other

than Aisha ® he had only one daughter named Asma. Aisha ® asked: “

I have only one sister, who is the other sister of mine?” He said, “My

wife is pregnant. I think she will have a baby-girl.” Indeed, after his

demise, a baby-girl was born to his wife as he had said. [This is also

reported by ash-Shatibi in 'al-Muwafaqat' (4/85), and Ibn Taymiyyah in

'Majmu' al-Fatawa' (11/318)]

2. When he was about to die, Hazrat Ali ® instructed his son, Husain ®:

“Take my coffin to a place called ‘Arnanin where you will see a

luminous white rock. Dig up a grave and bury me there.” They carried

out the instruction and actually saw what Hazrat Ali ® had told.

3. While travelling with ‘Abdullah ibn Zubair ®, Hazrat Hasan ®

stopped to take rest at a date grove. The date palms having withered,

ibn Zubair ® said: “How nice it would have been if there were dates on

the tree!”  Thereupon, Hazrat Hasan ® supplicated to Allah. Soon a

palm bloomed into clusters of dates. Seeing this, the people around

him said: “This is magic”! Hasan ® said: “No, it is not. Allah the

Exalted created it because of the supplication of the grandson of the

Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam)”.

4. Abdullah ibn Umar ® while travelling once met some wayfarers who

were waiting on the road. He asked them what had held them there. A

traveler replied: “We’ve heard that there is a lion on the way. That’s

why no one can traverse further. Abdullah ibn Umar ()R) went up to the

lion and patting its back, removed it away from the road.

5. According to an account stated by Safina ®, an ex-slave having been

set free by the Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam), he

was travelling by ship when a tempest set in and the ship was

wrecked. He clung to a log and was driven ashore by waves. He now

had to cross a forest on his inland. A lion came out of the forest. He

told the lion that he was a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (sallal

laahu alaihi wassallam). The lion bowed its neck and led him out of the

forest. The lion murmured something at the time of parting. He

understood that the murmuring as bidding a farewell to him.

6. Once Ali ibn Husain (also known as Zain al-Abidin ®) was dining in

the countryside along with the members of his household. A gazelle

approached and stood waiting. He said: “O gazelle! I’m Ali ibn Husain

ibn Ali, and my mother is Fatima the daughter of Rasool (sallal laahu

alaihi wassallam). Come and eat too.” The gazelle did eat after which it

went away. The children begged him to call the gazelle again. He said:

“I shall, only if you will not disturb it.” The children agreed. He called

out the gazelle again. The gazelle came up to them, and ate its fill.

Only when one of the children patted its back, that it shied away from

them.

7. A blind Muslim came to Abdullah ibn Mubarak (d.181H/797 c.e.) and

begged him to pray for his sight. Abdullah prayed long, and soon the

blind man gained his sight. Many people witnessed this incident.

Among those who saw the blind man coming to Abdullah ibn Mubarak

was al-Fudhail bin Iyadh.

8. Hamid at-Tawil narrated: A brick fell when closing the grave of

Thabit al-Banani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala)after his burial. They saw al-

Banani performing ‘salaat’ (the ritual prayer or Namaaz) in the grave.

Thereupon, they went to his house and inquired from his daughter

about her father. She informed them that her father performed salaat

late every night for fifty years and habitually supplicated before dawn:

“O my Allah! If you have granted the performance of salaat in the

grave to anyone besides the prophets, let it fall to my lot too.”

9. Once Ayyub as-Sahtiyani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) had a hard time in

the desert with his friend who was so thirsty that his tongue hung from

his mouth. "Do you have a problem?" he asked. "I am about to die of

thirst," his friend said. "If you will not tell anybody, I may find you

water," he said. His friend swore that he would not. Then, he stamped

his foot on the ground and a spring gushed out. They drank to their fill.

His friend did not explain the event to anybody until Ayyub died.

Let us now turn to Yusuf an-Nabhani (1849-1932 c.e.) who wrote forty-

seven valuable books has also documented the Karamaat of fifty-four

as-Sahaaba, corroborated by eye-witness account, in his book two-

volume Jami’ al-Karamat-al- Awliya [Compendium of Miraculous Gifts of

Friend of Allah]. Some of these Karamaat are in fact well known:

1. During the time of Caliphate of Hazrat ‘Umar ® the Muslim army was

engaging a huge army of the Persians who outnumbered them five to

one. Sariya, the commander of the Muslim army, engaged the Persians

on the plain of Nehavend (A.H.23). Just at the time when the Persian

army was about to encircle the Muslim army, Hazrat Umar ® who was

delivering a ‘Khutba’ (sermon) on the minbar of the Masjid at al-

Madinah, came to know about the condition of the Muslim army. He

cried out: Ya Sariya! To the hill! To the hill! Sariya and his companions

heard the Caliph’s voice and backed off to the hill. Reorganizing

themselves from there, they attacked the enemies on the plain,

completely routing the Persians. (This incident is also reported in

Bayhaqi’s Irshaad at-Taalibin on the authority of ibn Umar ®, and also

by Ibn Katheer in Taareekh). It may be noted that when Sariya had

heard the voice of Umar ® he was at a distance of two months’ journey

from Madinah the Radiant, and Muslim army were in fact outnumber to

the ratio of 1:5.

2. During the time of Hazrat ‘Uthman ® caliphate, Anas ibn Maalik ®

visited him, and seeing him Hazrat Uthman ® remarked “I see there is

a sign of ‘Zina’ (fornication) in your eyes. On his way to the Caliph,

Anas had cast glances on a woman. This fornication of the eye became

apparent to Hazrat ‘Uthman ® and hence constitutes a miracle. (This

incident is also mentioned in Maktubat III, 19th letter, of Muhammad

Mathum al-Farooqi).

Briefly, there are more miraculous incidents involving the Sahaba or

Tabiian and others:

1. Hadith al-Ghaar: Story of three friends who were blocked in a cave

by a huge rock, and how the rock shifted gradually on its own each

time one of them narrated his good deeds, and finally they were freed

when the rock moved completely aside.

2. A tradition related by Abu Huraira ® of infants who were

miraculously endowed with speech (i.e. other than Jesus): A child who

exculpated the monk Jurayj (Gregory) when he was falsely accused by a

harlot; a child who divined the characters of a horseman and a woman.

3. The story of Khalid b. Waleed ® who said “Bismillah” and drank a

deadly poison which did not harm him.

4. Hazrat Umar ® being saved by two lions when a Persian assassin

was about to kill him.

5. The fire refusing to burn Abu Muslim al-Khawlani who was thrown

into a burning fire when he had refused to acknowledge al-Aswad al-

Ansi of Yemen as prophet. After being banished, Abu Muslim came to

Madinah the Radiant and met Hazrat Umar ® who praised Allah for

letting him see the man who had performed the same miracle as

Ibrahim a.s. (recorded by Shaykh Abdullah Ayad al-Qarni).

To Continue, Insha Allah….

Miracles, Islamic Perspective in Brief: Part 9

continued....

In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

Those slain in Allah's Path are alive: In addition to the Karamaat of Awliya-Allah that have been mentioned

in the Holy Qur’an, ‘Mutwatir’ (recurrent) accounts have come down to

us by truthful and reliable narrators of the prophetic traditions, Islamic

literature and eye-witnesses about the bodies of the martyrs who

sacrificed their life in the way of Allah. Their bodies did not decompose

and the colour of the skin did not change. Their bodies still bled and

when positions of their hands went back to their original position if it

were changed. Musk of smell emanated from graves. The bodies were

growing beards too, and were not devoured by animals or birds and

remained in tact despite remaining in the desert and being exposed to

the harsh climatic conditions for years.

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: “And say not of those who are slain in

the way of Allah: ‘They are dead’. Nay, they are living though you

perceive it not.” (2:154)

This is further emphasized to wipe out any doubt about their “living”,

by the fact of their being provided for: “Think not of those slain in

Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance from their

Lord. They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah” (3:169-170).The

martyrs in the cause of Truth are not dead. They are alive in a much

beautiful and joyous life than that on this material earth. The general

idea of decomposition of the dead bodies do not apply to the Martyrs

and other notable exceptions that are above the rank of the Martyrs

generally, namely, the Prophets, the Truthful or the Awliya-Allah whose

isthmus life is stronger than that of the Martyrs. Thus they are also

alive in body and soul. Allah categorically states: “you perceive it not”

(2:154) which means that we are unable to comprehend the life in

Barzakh (lit. “Partition between the material life on earth and the Day

of Resurrection” or the world of grave) where every person has a

special kind of life receiving punishment for sins or enjoying rewards of

good deeds.

In fact we noted before that Allah states Surah Nisa, verse 69 of the

Holy Qur’an that whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be in

the company of those whom Allah has shown favour, namely, prophets,

the truthful, the martyrs and the Saliheen. Remember, this

companionship is not of Paradise alone but rather it begins in the

Barzakh itself. According to ibn Qayyim the companionship is

established in this ‘Dunya’ and is resumed in the Barzakh and in the

Hereafter. Therefore, it is impossible that while the Martyrs remain

alive and receive sustenance from their Lord, the prophets (Ambiya),

who are of the highest rank and much nearer to Allah, should be

deprived of it. Similarly, the rank of Awliya-Allah too is higher than the

general category of the martyrs.  Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (Reh.)

states in his monumental commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, Fath al-Bari:

"When life of the martyrs is proven from the text of the Qur’an, then

this is also proven from a analogical point of view. And the Prophets

are superior then the martyrs" (Fath al-Bari, Volume 006: Page No.

379).  Also, Qadi Shawkawni writes: "In the Qur'an it is mentioned that

martyrs are alive and food is provided for them.  The Prophets and

righteous people are a lot higher in status than them so what will be

their place?  It has been proven through Ahadith that Prophets are

alive in their graves.  Both Imam at-Tirmidhi and Imam al-Bayhaqi have

said that these are authentic Ahadith" (Nayl al-Awtar, Volume 003,

Page No. 82).No doubt, Allah has stated: Every soul must taste of

death (Qu’ran 21:35. But that’s momentarily. After the Holy Prophet

(sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) had assumed the veil of departure from

this material world, Hazrat Abu Bakr ® while kissing his cheek said:

You have tasted the death which God had decreed: a second death will

never overtake you.

Insha Allah, we shall discuss about this when we begin a new subject

sometimes in the future. For the moment, suffice it to say that

Prophetic traditions as well as the annotator of the Tahawi Belief

mentioned that: “Allah orders the earth not to decompose the

Prophets’ bodies and that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) is alive in the grave has been proven beyond doubt by the

Sunni Shaykhs and Righteous Ulema. According to Mulla Ali Qari

(d.1014 c.e.) since the bodies of the prophets have been made

‘Haraam’ to the earth, there is no difference in the conditions

pertaining to life and death of the prophets. He further says that this

means that ‘Salawaat’ (benedictions) are presented to both soul and

body of the the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam). Regarding

“nourishment” he clarifies that it can mean both material and spiritual

one, which cannot be seen or felt by the ordinary senses. .

The Martyrs of Uhud:

The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) said: “When your

brethren were martyred at Uhud, Allah placed their souls inside green

birds which drink from the rivers of Paradise, eat of its fruits and seek

shelter in gold-lamps that are suspended in the shade of the ‘Arsh’

(Throne). When they saw how beautiful their food, drink and the abode

was, they pleaded, ‘Who will tell our brothers about us, that we are

alive in Paradise and being amply provided for, so that they will not

turn away from Jihad or abandon the battlefields. Allah ta’la said: ‘I

shall tell them!’ The verse was then sent down:  “Think not of those

slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance

from their Lord. They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah” (3:169-

170)In his series (Story of the End) Dr. Tariq Suwaidan mentioned that

Sheikh Muhammad As-Sawwaf, one of the scholars who were chosen to

rebury the martyrs of Uhud after the flood that uncovered the bodies,

told him that their bodies did not change, decompose, or rot even after

1400 years from their death. Sheikh Muhammad As-Sawwaf said that:

“Among the bodies was that of Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him).

He was big and his nose and ears were cut. His abdomen was ripped

apart and he put his hand on it. When we took his hand up, blood flew

down as if he died one hour ago.

The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] supervised the martyrs’ burial and said:

"I bear witness that anyone who is wounded in the way of Allâh, Allâh

will resurrect him with his wound bleeding a liquid which is blood-like

in colour but musk-like in scent." [Ibn Hisham 2/98]

Similar instance had also occurred as we noted before that when the

bodies of the martyrs of Uhud were being relocated forty years after

their burial, the foot of Hamzah bin 'Abd al-Mutalli b ® was scratched

in the process of being moved, and it started gushing blood. ['al-

Bidayah wan-Nihayah'; 4/43]

The above incident is also evident from a hadith shareef in Sahih

Muslim where it was mentioned that Muslim historians had reported,

when Mu’awiyah ruled, he was planning for a water channel to be built

in Madinah. In order for this development to be achieved, the channel

had to be routed through the middle of the Madinah cemetery.

Therefore, he ordered the remains of the dead in the graves to be

transferred to another place. In the midst of the dismantling and

relocation process, the people found that the corpses were still in their

original states. When one of the shovels they used accidentally hit and

slashed the leg of Hamzah bin Abdul Mutalib, blood was seen flowing

from the cut. Whereas, that occurrence had already surpassed the

Battle of Uhud by 50 years.

At the same time, in Sahih Al-Bukhari, it was mentioned that ‘Amr bin

Jamuh and Abdullah bin ‘Amir, both from the Ansar, had been buried in

one grave during the Battle of Uhud, and when once the area was hit

by a big flood due to very heavy rains, their grave was washed away by

the current. The people of Madinah were forced to take the grave apart

in order to relocate it to a safer place and the moment their grave was

taken apart, the people discovered that the conditions of their corpses

did not change at all, as though they had only died the day before. In

actual fact, when they were digging up the grave for the relocation, it

had already been 46 years since the corpses were buried in the grave,

ie. since the Battle of Uhud.

It so happened that one of them was found placing his hand over the

wound of which he had died but he was buried in the same position.

When the grave had given way, people noticed that his body was still

in the same position with the hand over the wound. When some of

them tried to reposition the hand, the hand came back to the original

position over the wound.

Jabir bin Abdullah ® whose father had attained martyrdom in the

Battle of Uhud, wanted to dig out the remains of his father Abdillah for

relocation to another place. He also noticed that the body of his

martyred father was in the state as if it had been buried days before.

'Umar bin Abdul Khattab:

In an article submitted by one “Mujahid” to a website, we are informed

that “In one genuine incident, from the people of Madinah it was

related that during the rule of Khalifah Al-Walid bin Abdul Malik, one

shocking incident occurred unexpectedly when one of the walls

retaining the grave of Rasulullah SAW caved in. A lot of people were

shocked in this incident when they saw a pair of legs popping out from

one of the areas in the burial site. They were worried if they were the

legs of Rasulullah SAW. Sa’id bin Al-Musaiyib immediately came

forward and narrated a hadith which mentioned that the bodies of the

Prophets were not let by Allah SWT to remain in the grave for more

than 40 days since the day of the burial, they were raised by Allah SWT

thereafter. Then, Salim bin Abdillah bin Umar bin Khattab arrived and

informed the crowd that the legs belonged to his grandfather, Umar

bin Al-Khattab RA.”

Amazing incident about Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah and Hazifa Yamani (R):

Thirty kilometers east of Baghdad there is the Salman Park where

there are the tombs of Hazrat Abdullah bin Jabir, Hazifa Yamani, and

Salman Farsi, may Allah be pleased with them all. Actually the bodies

of the first two companions of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) have been relocated during the reign of Shah Faisal 1

(1885-1933) of Iraq. Iraq was carved out in 1920 by the British from the

Ottomon Empire in 1920 after Turkey’s defeat in World War 1.

The article about the relocation I had read many years ago and I came

across the same article on websites, which I reproduce below. This too

goes to show without a shadow of doubt again that by Allah’s grace,

the bodies of martyrs remain intact even centuries after their burial.

“In 1932 A.D. (1351 A.H.) the then ruling King of Iraq Shah Faisal I,

dreamt that he was being addressed by Hudhaifa al-Yamani, who

said :- "O king ! Remove Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari and me from the

bank of river Tigris and bury us at some safe place because my grave is

already water-logged, while Jabir's grave is slowly getting water-

logged." This dream was repeated again the next night but King Faisal

I, did not pay attention to it on account of his pre-occupation with state

affairs. On the third night Hazrat Hudhaifa was seen in the dream by

the grand Mufti of Iraq. Hazrat Hudhaifa said to the grand Mufti :- 'I

have been directing the king since two nights to transfer our Bodies

but he has not paid any heed. Tell him emphatically to arrange for the

transfer of our graves!'

"So after discussing this matter, the King, his Prime Minister and the

Grand Mufti decided to carry out this work. It was decided that the

Grand Mufti should issue a fatwa(religious ruling) on this matter and

the Prime Minister will issue the fatwa to the press, so that the public

may know about this great event. It was declared that on 10th Zilhajj

after noon prayers the graves shall be opened and the holy bodies

shall be transferred to another place.

"As it was Hajj season, pilgrims had gathered in Mecca. They requested

King Faisal to postpone the event for a few days so that they all could

attend the event after performing the Hajj. Hence, the King postponed

this event to 20th Zilhajj.

"After noon prayers, on 20th Zilhajj 1351 A.H. a large number of

Muslims and non-Muslims gathered in Baghdad, and the city was

heavily crowded. First when the grave of Hazrat Hudhaifa was opened

water was fond inside. The body was lifted with a crane in such a way

that it safely came on a stretcher. Then the stretcher was lifted by the

King, the Grand Mufti, the Prime Minister and Prince Farooq of Egypt

and brought to a glass coffin box made especially to keep the holy

bodies. The body of Hazrat Jabir was also transferred to the glass box

in the same scrupulous manner.

"The most marvelous spectacle was now seen by the huge crowd that

had gathered to witness this great event. Both the holy bodies of these

true companions of the Holy Prophet (SAWW) were fresh and intact

while their open eyes issued forth such divine light that the spectator's

eyes were dazzled. Furthermore, their coffin, clothes, kaffan were also

intact and at first glance, it appeared as if these heroes of Islam were

alive. The two bodies were then taken away and buried afresh near the

grave of another great hero of Islam, Salman-e-Farsi, in Salman Park

which is 30 miles from Baghdad. This miracle amazed the scientists,

philosophers and doctors. They were all bewildered and spellbound to

witness this great miracle.

"A German physiologist who had been showing a lot of interest in this

was so impressed by the conditions of the bodies, which were buried

for more than a thousand years, that he immediately came to the

Grand Mufti, held up his hands and said, "What more evidence can

there be in support of Islam. I embrace Islam so teach me about it!"

Thus before thousands of people this German doctor became a Muslim.

His example was followed by many Christians and Jews and for a long

time it continued in Baghdad and a large number of people became

Muslims as a result of this miracle.

"Some of the material above was published in a Pakistani newspaper,

"Daily Jung" on 7th June 1970.”

To continue …Insha Allah.

Miracles,Islamic Perspective in Brief: Part 10.

Continued:

In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful. If Allah does not give Noor to someone, he cannot become enlightened

(“Munawwar”)Qur’an, Surah Noor, v.40

Let us refer to some more miracles: Tayy al-Musaafa:

Shaykh Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dehelwi states in Madarijun Nabuwat:

“Allah the Exalted has given the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) the strength and power to go anywhere he likes; he can go

with his own body or only in soul, on the earth, in the sky, in the grave,

while maintaining connection with his own shrine.”

In Tafseer Roohul-Bayaan, it is mentioned that Imam Ghazali said: The

Holy Prophet (s) and his Companions’ souls have been the right to

travel the world and many Awliya-Allah have seen the Prophet (sallal

laahu alaihi wassallam). Hence, the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi

wassallam) is conscious of the believers and observes them by Divine

leave.

In the physical world, some pious believers who include the Awliya-

Allah are able to traverse great distances in moments. This is called

Tayy al-Musaafa. But as we are not discussing prophets and angels

miracles about the speed and so we won’t cite those examples,

including the incident of Night of Isra and Ascension.

In the book, Wahhabiyya, it is written: “Traversing long distance in a

moment is a Karama bestowed upon Awliya. It is ‘Wajib’ to believe in

this.”

Therefore, prophets and Awliya, as well as angels are able to traverse

great distances within short time. Spiritual power being unconstrained

by space and time such occurrences also occur with the permission of

Allah in the cases of prophets and Awliya and pious people who have

assumed a veil of departure from this material world.

Sahl bin Abdullah, a great and venerable Sufi, was

known for his self-mortification and ascetic training. He has been

quoted as saying that he heard from a saint (Wali) called Abdallah bin

Salih that every ‘Kaamil’ (complete) saint gather in Makkah every

Thursday evening, i.e. the night of Jumma’ and it was for that and the

reason that countless blessings and mercies descend on the city when

angels perform the ‘Tawaaf’ (circumambulation) of the Baitullah day

and night, and since he has seen wonders there that he had stayed

awhile longer than his practice. Among the wonders he haad seen was

regarding one called Maalik bin Qasim Jili whom he asked why did his

hand smell of cooked meat when he replied that he had in fact not

eaten for the entire week but that he had just fed his mother way back

home and buried back to catch the Fajr prayer with the gathering. He

had in fact travelled 900 ‘Farsakh’ or 2700 miles between his home and

Makkah in a short span of time. After relating this wonder, Abdullah

bin Salih asked Hazrat Sahl bin Abdullah whether he believes him.

When the latter replied in the affirmative, the former exclaimed:

“Praise be to Allah! I have found one Mumin person.

From the above incident it is evident that even in the physical world of

ours it is possible for a Friend of Allah or a pious believer to travel long

distances in a short period of time or within moments.

In fact there are numerous accounts given in the Rowdh and other

Islamic literature where not only the time for travel is reduced to

moments but the ground beneath the feet itself is not felt or if felt, it

is as if walking on the “rolling waves”; or the shoes being dry despite

walking on the rain-soaked muddy mire (e.g. as stated by Hazrat Data

Ganj Baksh about his Shaykh.) In Kashful Mahjub, he mentions the

narration of Abu Warraq’s regarding his journey along with his Shaykh

al-Hakim (Muhammad bin Ali Tirmidhi) from Tirmidh to the Desert of

Bani Isra’il and back within a short time so that the disciple could not

restrain himself from asking his Master: O Shaykh, O Shaykh, how did

we reach the Desert of Bani Isra’il from Tirmidh in such a short time?”

The answer that he got was: It is your business to arrive (‘rasidan’) and

not to ask questions (‘pursidan’).

We are informed by the author of Kashful Mahjub, Hazrat Ali bin

Uthman al-Hajweri (Data Ganj Baksh ®) that once he went to pay his

respects to Baab ‘Umar and his old wife Fatima so that the Shaykh who

was one of the Awtaad (high-ranking saints or officers of the Divine

Court who have the power to loose and bind) might look on him with

kindness. For this he had to travel from Uzkand to a remote village

Ashlaatak in Farghana. He was surprised to learn that the Shaykh had

been continually seeing him from the day of his initiation to the path.

The Shaykh also informed him that travelling distance (Tayy al-

musaafa or sipardan-e-musaafat) is child’s play. He bade his wife to

bring them something to eat, when she brought some fruits which

could not have been procured during that season and in that village.

The Shaykh advised him to pay visits by means of thought.

Ibn Hajar Haytami (Reh.) wrote in his Fatwa:  “The number of those

who have said that if a Wali goes to a very distant place in the west (in

a short time) after having performed the evening salaat, and if the sun

has not set there yet, he does not need to perform the evening salaat

for the second time at that place, are many.”

Imam ar-Rabbani mentions in his Letters that some awliya were seen

far from the place where they lived, and that it was the appearance of

their soul in bodily forms.

Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyudden Abdul Qadir Jilani Ghousul Azam ® too had

spiritual powers to go to the far-flung places instantly to the rescue of

the ones in distress who appealed for his aid. In fact, even his maternal

grandfather, Abdullah as-Sawma’i, was known for numerous miracles

and people used to ask for his spiritual intervention in times of distress

as stated in the introduction of Jila’ al-Khatir (Purification of the Mind)

which contains edited discourses of Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani ®.

Once a caravan of group of merchants of Jilaan while heading for

Samarkand was accosted by bandits. The merchants who were unable

to defend themselves invoked the intercession of the saint. Suddenly,

they saw ‘Abdullah as-Sawma’i in their midst. He was reciting the

formula. The bandits took to their heels and the saint disappeared as

suddenly as he had appeared among them. When the merchants

related the story to the people of Jilaan, they told them that the saint

in fact had never left Jilaan during the time of their journey.

In his book, Lawaaqi-ul Anwaar Fi Tabqaatil Akhyaar (The Infused

Lights of the Biographies of the Righteous), Shaykh Abdul Wahab

Sha’rani (reh.) records an incident to show that Awliya can appear at

far off places from their actual location. A disciple of Sayyidi

Muhammad Ghamri ® was once passing through the bazaar when the

foot of the animal on which he rode, slipped. In extreme panic he

screamed: “Ya Sayyedi Muhammad, Ya Ghamri!” As if by co-incidence,

Ibne Omar Saeed the ruler, who had been made a prisoner by Sultan

Chiq’miq was also passing through the bazaar at the same time. He too

heard the screams. He inquired of the disciple as to who was Sayyidi

Muhammed ®. When he was informed about him he also screamed: “Ya

Sayyedi Muhammad, Ya Ghamri!” No sooner he had proclaimed the

name, than the great Wali and spiritual master appeared and drove

away his captors, freeing the captured ruler. The Shaykh then

departed, blessing the ruler.

Hazrat Habib al-Ajmi, the disciple of Hasan Basri ® was another Awliya-

Allah who was known for Tayy al-Musaafa. Many times during the Haj

season he was seen at Basra (Iraq) on the 8th day of the lunar month

of Dhu’l Hijja, and on the next day on the 9th he was spotted at the

plains of Arafat near Makkah. This is mentioned in Jami’s Shawahid an-

Nabuwa that documents the miracles of Sahaba and Tabiian. The

distance between Basra and Makkah by flight is at least 1,238

kilometres or over 769 miles. Imagine then, that those were the days

of caravan and how many months it used to take to cover that distance

on land! Dhows were the other mode of transport. 

There is another classic case of Tayy al-Musafaa and this relates to

Khwaja Abdul Wahid bin Zaid Abul Fadhal (d.793 c.e.) a student of

Imam Abu Hanifa and disciple of Hazrat Hasan Basri and Master of

Hazrat Fudhail bin Ayadh.   Abdul Wahid Bin Zaid relates:  I purchased

a slave on the condition that he serves me. Once, when it became dark

I looked for him in the house, but could not find him.  Early in the

morning he came and presented me with a dirham. I asked, “Where did

you get it from?” He replied, “I receive a dirham daily and will only

give it to you on the condition that you do not ask for me at night.” He

would disappear every night and return in the morning with a dirham. 

One day my neighbours approached me and shrieked, “O Abdul Wahid

sell your slave. He is a grave digger!” This news depressed me. After

this I decided to keep a vigilant eye on him. That night after Isha Salah,

the slave stood up to leave, he pointed to the door and it opened. He

made his way to the second door and did the same and then the same

again to the door from which I was watching him. He left the house so I

followed him till he reached a stretch of barren land.  He took off his

clothes and put on a cloth sack and prayed till Fajr. He then lifted his

hand towards the heaven and said, “Oh my Master, give me my small

masters pay”. A dirham then fell from the sky. I was mystified and

amazed at this. I stood up and performed two rakats and sought

forgiveness from Allah, from the evil thought that had crossed my

mind. I promised myself that on returning, I would free him.  As I made

by way back I looked for him but could not find him. He was no where

to be seen. All of a sudden a knight on an armoured horse appeared.

He asked, “Oh Abdul Wahid what are you doing here?” I related the

incident to him. He then inquired, “Do you know the distance from here

to your city?” Oblivious to where I was, I replied in the negative. He

informed me that I was approximately two years travelling distance

from home. He then said, “Do not move from here till your slave

returns tonight”.  When it became dark my slave came. He came with a

tray full of food and greeted me with joy and said, “Eat my master, you

should not have followed me here”. I ate while he prayed till Fajr. Once

he had finished he held my hand and walked a few steps. Instantly we

were back to my house. He said, “Oh master now that we are back, did

you not make the intention to free me?” I replied affirmatively. He

added, ”Free me and take the money you paid for me and you will be

rewarded”. He then picked up a stone and gave it to me. I looked at it.

Astonishingly it had turned into gold.  He had come to realize that his

slave was not a grave-digger but a 'Noor' digger.

 Those who refuse to understand the powers that Allah bestows upon

his pious believers and Awliya (not to speak of the high-ranking

prophets and messengers a.s.) come out with a convenient answer that

there is a Jinn (genie) behind miracles. While it is true that according

to Mishkaat the Iblis on hearing the call for prayers runs thirty-six

miles away from that place and comes back in an instant after the

completion of the call, it is misleading to attribute the Karamaat of

Awliya to the deeds of deceiving Jinns. This assertion about the Jinn

being behind the miracles is far-fetched and not true. 

Tayy al-masaafa is one of the powers, among others, bestowed on the

Friends of Allah by the Creator Himself and so it cannot be the

handiwork of a Jinn as the deniers of Karamaat would have us believe.

We have noted in the last post how Asif bin Barkhiya was not of the

Jinn but a human being, “one who had the knowledge of the Book,”

and yet he was instrumental in bringing the throne of the Queen of

Sheba (Bilqis) before Sulaiman (a.s.) in twinkling of an eye, and thus

leaving the wonders of the Jinns far behind. This is also called “Tayy al-

Ardh” (Folding up of earth) that is, instead of taking a step forward

towards the object, the earth turns towards the traveler rapidly no

matter how far the distance. Islamic scholars have defined this as “The

ceasing and termination of the matter in the initial location, and its

reappearance and creation in its final location.” Otherwise too, the

physical world may be restricted but the spiritual world is free from the

restriction of time and place. In short, Awliya-Allah of high ranks are

able to travel great distances in a short time. The term they use is

“Tayy al-Makaan”.

Ibn Taimiyya says: “Sometimes the Jinn will take the form of those

admired and stand at ‘Arafat and who believe well of him will think

that he actually stood in ‘Arafat. Many others have also been actually

carried by the devils to ‘Arafat and other sacred places.”  He further

says: 

“Satan is able to make such misdeeds appealing to them by convincing

them that they are among the Karamaat of the righteous…”  (Al-

Furqaan Bayna Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan)

Now, at the outset the question arises why would the Satan do that by

making people think that they have sighted an “admired one?”

Wouldn’t that, on the contrary, strengthen the belief in miracles? 

Anyway, it is significant to remember that a perfect Wali is an inheritor

of the Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam), his status

being proportional to the degree of Allah’s love for him. Hence the

Karamaat of the perfect Wali can never be in contradiction of the

Islamic letter and spirit – this too we have noted before. Suggesting

that a Jinn may take the form of a Wali is mischievous and misleading.

According to Sayyidi Abdulhakim Arwasi (Reh.), the Shafi’i scholar,

Allamah al-Jaili, wrote in his commentary to Sahih al-Bukhari: “The

Devil cannot appear in the shapes of perfect Walis who are Rasool-

Allah (s) inheritors, just as it cannot take Rasool-Allah’s (s) shape.”

Once it is accepted that a Jinn cannot impersonate a perfect Wali, the

theory of Jinn impersonating Awliya-Allah for misleading people falls

flat  to the ground.

Sayyidi Abdulhakim Arwasi (reh.) also informs us that according to

jurisprudence and principles thereof, the ‘ulema and Awliya among the

community of the Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) are

the inheritors of his every “Haal” save those which are among his

“Khasais” (i.e. peculiar or special to him).

To continue…Insha Allah!

Miracles - Islamic Perspective in Brief- Part 11.

 Continued...

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

SOME MORE MIRACLES:

One day, while Imam 'Ali Rida ® [He was the eight of the twelve Imams

and passed away in Tus, that is, Mashhad, in 203 A.H. (818 A.D.).] was

sitting by a wall, a bird came flying and stood singing in front of him.

"Do you understand what the bird is saying?" asked Hadrat Imam to

the person sitting by him. "No," the person answered, "Allah, His Rasul

and His Rasul's grandson know." Hazrat Imam said, "It complains that a

snake has climbed close to its nest to eat its chicks. It wants us to

rescue them from her enemy. You follow the bird and kill the snake."

The person followed the bird and saw the snake as he was told.

One day, while Imam 'Ali Rida ® [He was the eight of the twelve Imams

and passed away in Tus, that is, Mashhad, in 203 A.H. (818 A.D.).] was

sitting by a wall, a bird came flying and stood singing in front of him.

"Do you understand what the bird is saying?" asked Hadrat Imam to

the person sitting by him. "No," the person answered, "Allah, His Rasul

and His Rasul's grandson know." Hazrat Imam said, "It complains that a

snake has climbed close to its nest to eat its chicks. It wants us to

rescue them from her enemy. You follow the bird and kill the snake."

The person followed the bird and saw the snake as he was told.

The miracles of Hazrat Shaykh Muhiyuddeen Abdul Qadir Jilani are too

many to recount here. We shall just mention a few, insha Allah. One of

the major wonders was the role that Allah assigned Ghous-e-Paak for

promoting Islam. In 1117 c.e., on a Friday, while on his way to

Baghdad, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani ® was saluted by a frail and sick

man in the customary Islamic greeting. As the Shaykh replied to the

greeting, the frail man asked him to help him sit up. No sooner than

the Shaykh helped him, that man started to grow tall in stature and

informed him that he was the religion of his grandfather, adding that

as a result of his help he stands revived. Later, at the Masjid where the

Shaykh had gone to offer the Jummah Prayers, a man approached him

and gave him a pair of shoes and addressed him as “Muhiyuddeen”,

i.e. “Reviver of Religion”. Indeed, these incidents proved ominous and

Islam received a great impetus owing to the guiding efforts of Hazrat

Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani ® .

Other well-known miracles include (1) Transforming the entire gang of

thieves and robbers to the right path by virtue of his being truthful

which placed him in the rank of ‘Siddiqeen’ at the age of 18 years; (2)

Transforming a thief, who had come to rob his house, into an ‘Abdaal’

or a high-ranking saint; (3) Rescuing the 16-year old beautiful daughter

of Shaykh Abu Sa’id Abdulla from the clutches of a mischievous Jinn by

summoning the king of Jinns; (4) Rescuing the sinking ship from the

sea by placing his hand inside his cloak at the time when he himself

was delivering lessons in his convent in Baghdad; (5) His cloak that

protected against illness (cloak was given to Shaykh Ali bin Haiti’s

disciple who never fell sick thereafter; (6) Seeing the Holy Prophet

(sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) with his physical eyes at the time

Shaykh Ali bin Haiti fell asleep in his Majlis and was seeing the Holy

Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) in his dream; Tearing and killing

of the Shaykh Ahmad Jaam’s lion by an old and lean stray dog that

used to sit outside the home of Ghaus-e-Paak and the saint’s

consequent submission before Ghous-e-Paak; On requests of the

citizens of Baghdad, putting his staff in River Tigress (ad-Dijla) to keep

it from flooding Baghdad; commanding the rain to stop as people had

started leaving the Majlis; being clairvoyant and knowing the

conditions of heart of others, etc. Many, many other miracles have

been recorded by the biographers the readers are urged to refer them

for details. There are a host of books in Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, English

and other languages.

Hazrat Abu Sa’id Fazlullah ibn Abi’l Khayr ® , the “Shahbaz-e-tariqa’”

was known chiefly for “Extraordinary power of reading men’s secret

thoughts.” To cite just a few miracles among the many:

1. According to one of his disciples, Abdul Samad, when the Shaykh

went to Sarakhs for spiritual guidance from his own Shaykh Abul Fadl,

he usually flew through the air but this phenomenon was witnessed by

persons of mystical insight.

2. While passing by a number of children standing together in the

street of the Christians in Tus, the Shaykh is said to have pointed out

to one of the boys saying, “If you wish to look at the Prime Minister of

the world, there he is!” He was referring to the future, and the

celebrated Persian poet and Vizier of the Seljuq empire, Nizam ul-Mulk

(1018-1092 c.e.) who became the Chief Administrator of the entire

Khorasan province in 1058 c.e..

3. In Tus, while preaching to crowded gatherings, he moved them to

tears. On one such occasion, an infant fell from the gallery that was

occupied by women. Abu Sa’id said: “Save it” when a hand appeared

and caught the infant in the air, placing it unhurt on the floor.

4. Once at Nishapur at his instance a feast was being prepared when

large bundles of aloes-wood were burnt in the oven so that the entire

neighbourhood could enjoy the perfume. A great numbers of candles

were lighted though it was daytime. A powerful police inspector of

rationalistic views who detested the Sufis came into the Khanqah

(monastery) and said that burning the whole lot of aloes-wood and

lighting candles during the day was against the law. They Shaykh told

him that he did not know that. He told him to blow out the candles.

Though the inspector huffed and puffed at the candles, the flame flared

over is face, his hair as well as his clothes. Most of his body got burnt.

“When someone tries to blow out the candle that has been lighted by

God, his moustache gets burnt,” said the Saint. The inspector thence

onwards revised his opinions of the Sufiya.

5. Once two friends, a weaver and a tailor, wanted to test the Shaykh if

he could identify their professions. According to them, the Shaykh was

an imposter. Disguising themselves, they went to the Shaykh who at

once recognized them and their profession. They soon repented and

fell at his feet.

6. In Nishapur there was an ascetic woman, named Ishi, who had not

gone out of her home in forty years and people used to come to her for

seeking her blessings. She used to give eye-salves to the people. When

Hazrat Abu Sa’id came to Nishapur, reports of his miracles reached her

ears. So she sent her nurse to gather reports about his preachings.

However, the nurse could remember nothing of the speech of the

Shaykh but merely recited some verses of revelry hearing which Ishi

told her to wash her mouth for she could not bring herself to believe

that ascetics and divines could speak such words. That night onwards

she began to have nightmares and her eyes began to ache and even

her own eye-salves were of little avail. No physician could cure her and

her pain went on increasing. One night she dreamed that if she wanted

a cure she must win the favour of the Shaykh of Mayhana. The next

day, she gave a thousand Dinars to her nurse and bade her to present

them to the Shaykh after his sermon. After the sermon it was

customary with the Shaykh to have some bread and use a toothpick

thereafter. So when the nurse had heard the sermon, she presented

the purse to the Shaykh. When she was about to depart he called her

addressing her as a nurse. He told her to take that toothpick of his to

her lady who must stir some water with it and then wash her eyes with

that water in order to cure her outward eye. He also bade her tell her

that she must remove all doubts and suspicions about the Sufis so that

her inner eyes may be cured too. Ishi did accordingly and was cured. In

short, she gave up her house, and brought all her dresses, ornaments

and jewellery to the Shaykh who accepted her as a disciple on her

repentence. She was conducted to the mother of his eldest son for

donning of a khirqa and after serving the women of this fraternity she

became a leader of the Sufis in her own right.

7. Now Hazrat Abu Sa’id was known for holding feast for the dervishes

and for Sama'.  This invited the jealousy of his opponents who spared

no efforts to complaint to higher authorities.  However, their efforts

always proved futile.  Often the feast and Sama' would even make

some travelling sufis come to erroneous judgments.  Once, an arrogant

ascetic who knew nothing about the Shaykh’s forty years of initial

austerities and strivings challenged him to a forty days’ fast for he

assumed that the Shaykh had always lived like that. He wanted to

shame the Shaykh by his challenge and at the same time rise in esteem

of others. The challenge was accepted with “May it be blessed”. While

the ascetic used to break the fast as per the practice by eating a little

amount of food, the Shaykh did nothing of the kind but yet seemed to

growing stronger and fatter and ruddier. All the time the dervishes

feasted under their gaze and indulged in Sama. The ascetic went on

becoming paler, thinner and weaker, with the rich feast of the

dervishes working more on him. As time went on, he could scarcely

perform his obligatory prayers. He realized his folly and made

repentence. After the forty days had passed, the Shaykh told him that

he had complied with his request but he should now comply with his:

namely, that while they fasted they had been going to the privy, and

now they should sit and never go to the privy. Though the ascetic had

doubts about this feat, the Shaykh proved him wrong and the ascetic

became his disciple.

There are many more astounding miracles of Hazrat Abi’l Khayr , such

as his meeting with Khidr (a.s.), reading thoughts and even

anticipating events, but he never encouraged the writing of such

anecdotes but told his disciples to be such a man that anecdotes be

told of them. He placed the hidden and unrecognized saints above the

saints manifest and known. According to him, when people come to

him renouncing wickedness, vowing penance, sacrificing wealth, and

filled with burning love from the end of the world seeking God, what

miracle could be greater than this! He said: “Whosoever belongs

entirely to Karim (Giver), all his acts are gifts” (miracles).

8. Next, it is written in Farid ad-din al-Attar's (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala)

Persian Tadhkirat al-awliya that Ahmad ibn Hanbal attended the

lectures of many mashayikhs, for example, Dhu'n-Nun al-Misri's and

Bishr al-Hafi's (150-277). A crippled woman sent her son to Imam

Ahmad and asked him to pray for her. The Imam performed an ablution

(wudu) and salat and prayed. The son found his mother welcoming him

at the gate when he returned home. She recovered her health through

the blessing of Imam Ahmad's prayer.

9. Talking about Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, it is mentioned in the

Kashful Mahjub that when the Mutazilites were in power at Baghdad

they wanted him to say that the Qur’an was “created”. Though he was

an old man by then, they put him in the rack and gave him thousand

lashes to make him say that. But he would not. During the punishment,

his ‘izaar’ became loose. Since his own hands were fettered he could

not tie the ‘izaar’. At that time another hand appeared and tied it.

Seeing this evidence they let him go.  Despite this, he said that he

would not claim redress from them on the Day of Resurrection for

“mere blows” since they had flogged him for Allah’s sake, thinking he

was wrong. Such was his magnanimity!

10. Abu’l Abbas Muhammed al-Qassab ® (1126-1196 c.e.) the son of a

meat-vendor, was one of those uneducated persons whom Allah by His

bounties raised to such a status that he was able to answer any

question that related to the principles of religion, including ‘Tauhid’

(Unification). His association with the leading Shaykhs of Transoxania

benefitted him a lot. He was known for his ascetic practices, and lofty

spiritual gifts and rose to great eminence in his time. He was also

known for his abundant miracles one of which is given below: One day

a boy with a heavily-laden camel was navigating the bazaar of Amul

which used to be always filled with slime. The camel slipped and broke

its leg. People who gathered there thought of unburdening the beast

and the boy began to implore Allah’s help. Abu’l Abbas happened to

pass by at that time. The people apprised him of the incident. He

picked up the rein of the camel and prayed to Allah that the camel may

become fit, adding “if You will not do so, then why have You let the

heart of Qassab (i.e. a butcher) be melted by the tears of a lad?” No

sooner had he finished his prayers than the camel immediately got up

and moved on its way in a perfectly healthy condition. It may be noted

that the Shaykh of Mayhana, Abu Sa’id, looked to Abu’l Abbas al-

Qassab for spiritual guidance after the death of his own Shaykh, Abu’l

Fadl.

11.  According to Imam Metawalli ash-Sha'rawi's (1911-1998) "The

Light of Ahl al-Bayt: My Spiritual Experiences Unveiled,"  Nafisa at-

Tahira (145-208 Hijri) who was a descendent of the Holy Prophet (sallal

laahu alaihi wassallam) has many miracles both while she was alive

and after she passed away from this world.  (In fact, Imam ibn Hajar al-

Asqalani too wrote about her miracles.) One of her miracles includes

making the River Nile to overflow at a time (201H/816 c.e.) when the

river had failed to flood as was its custom thus making it a bleak

season for the crops.  When the people went to Nafisa at-Tahira (R)

and asked her to pray so that Allah may cause the Nile to over-flow its

bank, she gave them the veil that used to cover her face, telling them

to throw it into the Nile which "will flood by Allah's grace."  They

followed her instructions, and by the grace of Allah the River Nile

began to overflow its banks.   Owing to one of her other miracles, the

entire non-Muslim tribe in her neighbourbood entered Islam.  This was

when the water of her wudhu cured the Christian girl who was

paralyzed from the waist downwards.  Her miracles continued even

after her death. 

Citing miracles of Awliya-Allah can take up volumes. Also, even the

miracles of the Awliya-Allah such as Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan

Chisti (Ata-e-Rasool), Hazrat Khwaja Kutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki

(Qutubul Aqtaab), Hazrat Khwaja Fareedudin Masood (Ganj-e-Shakar)

Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Awliya (Mehboob-e-Ilahi)  (May Allah be

pleased with them all) of the Chishtiya Silsila, Hazrat Bu Ali Shah

Qalandar,  Lal Shah Baaz Qalandar, and others  in the sub-continent of

India and Pakistan too are very well known and therefore they are not

being repeated here.

I take this opportunity of only mentioning the

names  of the Walis in my hometown of Mumbai and around such as

Hazrat Haji Abdul Rehman “Dulha” Malang Shah Baba whose origin is

lost in antiquity but probably the Sufi saint had arrived about 700-800

years ago;  Hazrat Makhdoom Shah Baba (1372-1431 c.e.)  Hazrat

Bahauddin Shah Asfraini (over 300 years old Dargah) , Hazrat “Pedro”

Shah Baba, Hazrat Bismillah Baba, Hazrat Shaykh Hasan Shah Ghazali,

Hazrat Shaykh Momin Shah Ghazali, Hazrat Haji Ali Baba Bokhari, 

Hazrat Abdul Rehman Shah Baba, Hazrat Shakrullah Baba, Hazrat

Ghaiban Shah Baba, Hazrat Chand Shah Wali, Hazrat Gulab Shah Baba,

Hazrat Noor Ali Shah Baba, Hazrat Ishaq Shah Baba and many others,

where supplications are accepted by Allah and His 'Faid' (favours and

bounties)  is received.

To continue, Insha Allah.

From the Layman's Desk-7: Miracles -Islamic Perspective in Brief- 

Concluding Part-12. 

Miracles after Death:

Short relevant observations were already made before to show the

Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) as well as all other

Prophets (a.s.) are alive in the Barzakh. I say “short” because this is a

huge topic by itself and cannot be cited in details in our subject.

However, that can be recapitulated in fine words of the great Mufassir

of Quran and commentator of Sahih Muslim Imam al-Qurtubi (rah) who

writes:

Translation: Death is not something which brings a total end to

something, it is rather transferring from one station to another, the

proof of this is that martyrs remain alive after getting killed or dying

and they also get happy. “This is the quality of the people who are

alive in this world,” so when martyrs are alive then “PROPHETS ARE

MORE DESERVING OF LIFE THAN THEM” and it has come in Sahih hadith

that Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the

Prophets, and on the night of Miraaj the Prophet (Peace be upon him)

gathered with all Prophets in Masjid ul Aqsa and the Prophet (Peace be

upon him) also “SAW MUSA (A.S) PRAYING INSIDE HIS GRAVE” plus the

Prophet has also provided the information that “ANYONE WHO SENDS

SALUTATION UPON HIM, THEN HE REPLIES BACK”.Other than this, other

ahadith also establish “TO CERTAINTY” that the meaning of death

given to Prophets is that “THEY DISAPPEAR FROM OUR EYESIGHTS BUT

IN REALITY THEY ARE ALIVE AND PRESENT” and their condition is like

that of Angels, because Angels are also alive and “PRESENT” and

nobody from human beings is able to see them, “EXCEPT FOR THE

AWLIYA WHO THROUGH THEIR KARAMAH CAN EXPERIENCE THEM” [al-

Mafhim lima Ashkala min Talkhis Kitab Sahih Muslim Volume 006, Page

No. 233-4].

Let’s straightway then, come to the Karamaat-e-Awliya after the veil of

departure from this world.

There is no disagreement with the fact that the believers souls in

Paradise are capable of instantaneous connection with their graves,

and the souls may meet and communicate with other souls of the dead

and those sleeping.  It is commonly held by Sunni scholars and even

Ibn Qayyim, (1292-1350 c.e.),    ibn Abid-Dunya, Ibn Abdul Barr and

ash-Shanqeeti that the dead in their graves have the faculty of hearing

a visitor's greetings, his speech, his supplications, et al.  The dead

even know about the work of living amongst his relatives and

brothers.   The power of the souls corresponds with their  own strength

and weaknesses, as pertaining to closeness with Allah.  The Holy

Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) said ‘when you go to the graves

of the dead, say ‘Assalamu alaikum ya ahlal quboor’ – meaning ‘peace

be upon you O’ people of graves’.  Greetings are given to those who

faculties are intact.  In short, there is an overwhelming evidence on

this subject in favour, but we need to get on with ours at the moment. 

Those who attribute the working of miracles to the Jinn, should note

that no doubt the Jinn manage to do great work. But they are not so

perfect and strong as the souls and the angels. The soul being ethereal

(Jism-i- Latifa) is not bound by space and time and comprehends events

unperceived by sense organs. The souls are by their graves and are

attached to their bodies in an unknown way. They are permitted to

effect and dispose their bodies and also be present in their graves.

According to Khwaja Muhammad Hasan Jan Sahib in Tarikh an-Najaat

(1976), Mufassareen (exegetes) such as al-Baidawi, has stated in his

Tafseer regarding the fifth verse of Surah Naziaat: “(I take an oath) on

Those who do hard work” that the souls being immaterial, do the hard

work along with the angels by permission of Allah. This is also

mentioned in its commentary by Shaykhzada in Tafseer-i-‘Azizi, as well

as in Tafseer Ruh al-Bayaan, and in Tafseer-i-Hussaini.

In the prophetic tradition, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib ® after his martyrdom,

was seen among the angels and they were giving the glad tidings of

the coming rains to the people of Beesha. According to another hadith,

Ja’far ® came to the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam)along

with an angel and he had two wings which were blood-stained, and

they were going to the valley of Beesha in Yemen. Then there is a long

hadith that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) informed

Asma’ bint ‘Umais how her husband, Ja’far, came to him (s) with Jibrail

and Mikail (a.s.) and explained how he attained martyrdom; that he

had two wings, and that Ja’far ® told him that he flies in and out of

Paradise whenever he wished and he also eats the fruits of Paradise,

and so on. Therefore, according to Imam Sayuti, the souls are

permitted to attach to and dispose their bodies while they are at

‘Illiyin’ (the Seventh Heaven in which there are believers' souls). These

ahadith also reveal that Allah Subhana Ta'la permits his martyrs and

pious souls to do the useful deeds for people.

Shah Wali-Allah ad-Dahlawi (rahmat allahi 'alaih), one of the great

'Ulama of India, wrote in his work Hujjatullahi 'l-baligha (vol. 1, p. 35),

"When a human being passes away, no relation is left between his soul

and the world of matter. The souls return to their origin, become like

Angels, and, like them, give inspiration and help to men. They help in

the dissemination and strengthening of Allahu Ta'ala's religion. They

rush to help those who work for this path. It has been witnessed that

they come to help in groups." ‘Abd al-Hakim Arwaasi, a great Islamic

scholar and a Wali,  (R) points out that a Muslim who attaches his heart

to a perfect (Kaamil) Wali will attain Allah’s “Faid” through the blessed

heart of that Wali. Since the souls are not bound by time and place, the

‘kamaalaat’ (perfections) of the Wali do not depart from him even after

his death. It makes no difference whether the Wali is alive or dead. The

‘tasarruf’ (disposal or personal initiative) of their souls is by Allah’s

‘tasarruf’ on them. Since the Awliya-Allah are able to perform miracles

during their life, they able to do so even after leaving this material

world.

Imam Abdullah an-Nasafi has written in Umdat al-Aqai’id that the soul

does not change whether in sleep or in death. That is, in sleep as well

as in death a Muslim remains a Muslim, a Prophet remains a Prophet.

While commenting on the above, ‘Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulsi (Reh.) states

in his Al-Hadiqa, that likewise an Awliya is an Awliya whether in sleep

or in death, and they possess ‘karamaat’ after they die too.

‘Ali Ajhuri, an eminent Maaliki scholar of Egypt, said:  “A living Wali is

like a sword in its scabbard. After his death, his influence becomes

stronger in the manner of a sword that is out of its scabbard.”

The above statement is also quoted in Noor al-Hidaaya by Abu’Ali Sanji.

Therefore, the Mu’jizaat (miracles peculiar to prophets) and Karamah

of Awliya do not cease after death.

According to Muhammad Thana’ullah al-Uthmani ad-Dehlvi, the author

of Irshaad al-Talibeen, emanation of a ‘Faid’ (benefits) from Awliya

does not end but even increases when they die, though for a deficient

person to receive such ‘Faid’ sufficiently may be seldom possible.

Muhammad Haadimi (Reh) of Konya (d.1176H/1762 c.e.) who quoted

‘Ali Ajhuri and Abu ‘Ai Sanji in his book Bariqa, maintains the

continuance of Mu’jiza and Karamah after death, and that hundred

thousands of these have been reported in many valuable books, and

that it is permissib le to pray to Allah Subhana Ta’la through Prophets

and the Awliya.

According to Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti ® (530-627

Hijri/1135-1232 c.e.) the world-renowned Awliya of Ajmer in India, the

miraculous performances of Awliya remain active and so also his

benevolence to devotees after death in the same manner as they were

during his lifetime. This is evident from the valuable sayings quoted in

Khwaja-e-Aazam, a short biography by Sabri Ajmeri. In fact, in Spiritual

Sovereign of India (by Syed altaf Hussein Chishti) it is mentioned that

one of the British Viceroys of undivided India, Lord Curzon, has

declared in his Memoirs: “There is a grave in India – which rules.”

Perhaps he was bewildered by the throngs of hundreds of thousands

devotees to Khwaja’s shrine each year and the miraculous power that

Allah bestowed upon the spiritual sovereign of India even after his

assuming the veil of departure from the material world.

Imam Ghazali (reh) says in Ihya…the spiritual knowledge of the

believer is everlasting as the soul of the believer has got no death. By

“believers” he means those having great spiritual knowledge and not

just the ranks of Muslims with outward faith.

'Allama Shams ad-din ibn an-Nuaym (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih), a Hanafi

scholar, wrote in Kitab ar-Ruh, 'Souls may be in a different state other

than when they are in their bodies. The souls of awliya' are at Rafiq al-

ala and also have a relation with their dead bodies. If a person visits

such a wali's grave and greets him, his soul at Rafiq al-ala anwers that

person.' This is also noted in al-Imam as-Suyuti's Kitab al-Munjali. All

these proofs show that awliya' have powerful tasarruf (disposal) and

influence after their death in a way which we may not know.

Sayyid Ahmad al-Hamawi al-Misri [d.1686 c.e. ], a Hanafi alim and the

annotator of the book Ashbah, noted in his book Nafakhat al-qurb wal-

ittisal bi-ithbati 't-tasarrufi li awliya'i'llahi ta'ala wal-karamati ba'd al-

intiqal that the ruhaniyya (spirituality) of awliya' was more powerful

than their jismaniyya (physical existence), and they therefore could be

seen in different places at the same moment. He quoted the following

hadith ash-Sharif as a document for his words: 'There are people who

will enter Paradise through every gate. Each gate will call them to

itself,' upon which Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (radi-Allahu 'anh) asked, 'Will

there be anyone to enter through all of the eight gates, oh Rasulullah?'

and Rasulullah (sallal lahu alaihi wasallam) answered, “ I hope you will

be one of them.” One can appear in different places at the same

moment when his soul acquires the power of having connection with

his original position in 'alam al-amr. Since the soul's interest in the

world decreases when a man dies, his soul becomes more powerful. It

becomes easier for him to appear in different places at the same

moment.  Jalal ad-din as-Suyuti, a Shafi'i scholar, says in his book At-

Tabaqat al-Kubra, 'The twenty-second kind of karamat is that awliya'

can appear in forms of different persons.   "Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jandee

(reh. death 1365 c.e.) a Maliki scholar and author of the book

Mukhtasar, wrote, 'The ability to appear in various forms is given by

Allahu ta'ala to a wali when he becomes perfect. This is not impossible,

because the images that are seen in different shapes are non-material;

the body is not seen. Souls are not material and do not occupy a place

in space.'A tradition reported in Musnad of al-Bazzaaz with a fair

(‘Hasan’) chain on the authority of Anas ® which is also cited by

Sakhawi says that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wassallam) said:

“Allah has servants who know (the truth of  about people) through

reading the signs (tawassum). The above hadith has been reported by

others too.

Accordingly to Shaykh ‘Ali Mahfooz (d.1361/1942), a scholar of Al-Azhar

University, stated in his Al-Ibda’ that irrespective of the fact that the

Awliya are dead or alive, Allah the Exalted blesses the ones whom He

will, and through their ‘karamaat’ He cures the ill, rescues those who

about to be drowned, helps those who are against the enemy and

makes lost things found. He considers this not only logical but also

supported by the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

Imam Ghazali (reh) that a person who was made an intermediary and

gave 'faid' could be made an intermediary and he could give 'faid'

after his death, too.   One of the superior great shaikhs said that he

had seen four great Awliya who were active after death as well as

when they were alive:  two of these were Hazrat Maruf-i Karkhi and

Hazrat Abd-ul-Qadir Jilani ®.

I will have to conclude the topic at this stage since it will otherwise be

stepping into the realm of Soul, Visiting the Graves, Wasila, istaghasa

and intercession all of which are interlinked  and true, and which are

huge topics by themselves.  However, do take care not to fall a victim

to those who belittle the Awliya-Allah and their miracles or those who

say that no miracles were vouchsafed  to the Sahaba and early

Muslims, and those who belittle the miracles by explaining them as a

natural causations.     

Allah and His Rasool know best.

O Allah pray on our Master Muhammad a prayer by means of which we

will be saved from every awe-inspiring harmful thing, 

and that will take care of all of our needs,

and purify us by means of it from all of our ugly qualities and

characteristics

and raise us and purify us by means of it from all of our ugly qualities

and characteristics

and raise us up by means of it in Your Presence to the highest of

degrees,

and cause us to reach by means of it the extremes of all goodness in

our life and after our death

and this prayer be upon his family and his companions

and may he be given safety and much salaam.

CONCLUDED:

NASIR