Bahauddin Zakariya | |
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| Title | Hadrat,Sheikh (Ghous-ul-Aalamin) |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1161 or 1182 |
| Died | 21 December 1262 |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni, specifically theSuhrawardiyya Sufi order |
| Muslim leader | |
| Based in | Multan,Punjab |
| Period in office | 12th/13th century |
| Predecessor | Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi |
| Successor | Various, includingLal Shahbaz Qalander, Fakhr ud din Iraqi |
Bahauddin Zakariya[a] (c.1170 – 1262), also known asBaha-ul-Haq, was aSunni[1] Muslim scholar, saint and poet who established theSuhrawardiyya order ofBaghdad in medievalSouth Asia, later becoming one of the most influential spiritual leaders of his era.[2]
Zakariya was born in 1161 or 1182. His family was ofHashimid lineage, and thus traced their descent back toAsad ibn Hashim, one of the ancestors of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. Baha al-Din's family was originally from theKhwarazm region inCentral Asia, but had settled inKut Karur in thePunjab region, near the city ofMultan. His father was Wajih al-Din Muhammad, while his mother was the daughter of Husam al-Din Tirmidhi.[3]
For fifteen years, Zakariya travelled to different cities in southern Punjab, where the order was able to attract large numbers of converts fromHinduism.[4] Zakariya finally settled in Multan in 1222. Under his influence, Multan became known as "Baghdad of the East," and is referred by Zakariya in his Persian poetry:
Multan ma ba jannat a'la barabara
Ahista pa ba-nah ke malik sajda mi kunad.
Multan of ours is equal to high Paradise
Tread slowly, the angels are in prostration here.
Zakariya became a vocal critic of Multan's ruler at the time,Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha, and sided withIltutmish, theMamluk Sultan ofDelhi when he overthrew Qabacha in 1228.[4] Zakariya's support was crucial for Iltutmish's victory,[5] and so he was awarded the titleShaikh-ul-Islam by Iltutmish to oversee the state's spiritual matters, in gratitude for his support. Zakariya was also granted official state patronage by the Sultan.[4]
During his lifetime, Zakariya befriendedLal Shahbaz Qalandar - a widely revered Sufi saint from Sindh, and founder of theQalandariyya order of wanderingdervishes. AsShaikh-ul-Islam, Zakariya was able to assuage orthodox Muslims, who were offended by the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's teachings.[6] Zakariya, Shahbaz Qalandar,Baba Farid andSyed Jalalauddin Bukhari, together became the legendaryHaq Char Yaar, or "Four friends" group, which is highly revered among South Asian Muslims.[7]
Zakariya'sTariqat, or Sufi philosophical orientation, was to the renownedPersian Sufi masterShahab al-Din Abu Hafs Umar Suhrawardi ofBaghdad.[4] The Suhrawardi order rejected a life of poverty, as espoused by theChisti order that was more prevalent in theLahore region.[8] Instead, the Suhrawardis believed in ordinary food and clothing, and rejected the Chisti assertion that spirituality lay upon a foundation of poverty.[8] The Suhrawardis also rejected the early Chisti practice of dissociation from the political State.[9]
Zakariya's preachings emphasized the need to conform to usual Islamic practices like fasting (roza) and alms-giving (zakat), but also advocated a philosophy of scholarship (ilm) combined with spirituality.[8] His emphasis on teaching all humans, regardless of class or ethnicity, set him apart from his contemporary Hindu mystics.[10]
He did not reject the traditional of spiritual music that was heavily emphasized in Chisti worship, but only partook in it on occasion.[8] He rejected the Chisti tradition of bowing in reverence to religious leaders - a practice that may have been borrowed from Hinduism.[9]
Zakariya's teachings spread widely throughout southern Punjab andSindh, and drew large numbers of converts from Hinduism.[4] His successors continued to exert strong influences over southern Punjab for the next several centuries, while his order spread further east into regions of northern India, especially inGujarat andBengal.[9]
30°12′02″N71°28′35″E / 30.20056°N 71.47639°E /30.20056; 71.47639Baha-ud-Din Zakariya died in 1268 and his mausoleum (Darbar) is located in Multan. The mausoleum is a square of 51 ft 9 in (15.77 m), measured internally. Above this is anoctagon, about half the height of the square, which is surmounted by a hemisphericaldome. The mausoleum was almost completely ruined during theSiege of Multan in 1848 by the British, but was soon afterward restored by local Muslims.[11][12]
Many pilgrims visit his shrine at the time of hisurs from different parts of Pakistan and beyond.[13][14]
( اوراد شيخ الشيوخ : الاوراد : اوراد سهروردي)
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