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TheShattari orShattariyya are members of aSufi order that originated inSafavid Iran in the fifteenth century and developed, completed, and codified in India. Later, secondary branches were taken to theHejaz and toIndonesia. The wordShattar, which means "lightning-quick," "speed," "rapidity,"[1] or "fast-goer"[2] shows a system ofspiritual practices that lead to a state of "completion,"[3] but the name derives from its founder,Abdullah Shattar (d. 1406).
Unlike other Sufis, the Shattariyya do not subscribe to the concept offana (annihilation of the ego). "With the sect of Shattaris, theSalik (seeker, aspirant) descends, of himself, in his knowledge - there is no annihilation of self with them."[4][N 1]
Idries Shah, writing inThe Sufis, states that the Shattari technique or "the Rapidness" originated with theNaqshbandi Sufi Order.[1]
The spiritual lineage of this order is a chain of transmission (silsila) said to pass fromMuhammad throughBayazid Bastami (753-845CE).[5] The Shattari order is thus a branch of the Tayfuri Khanwada.[3] It was reputedly founded bySheikhSirajuddin Abdullah Shattar (d. 1406 CE), great grandson (fifth generation) of SheikhShihabuddin Suhrawardi.[3] (Founder of Suharwardiya Khaanwad). He was seventh lineage disciple to Bayazid Bustami and was honored with Khilafat (Spiritual Deputyhood) from all of the 14 Sufi Tayfuriya orders (Khanwaads or Gharaanaas). Shattar was deputized and given the honorific "Shattar" by his teacher Sheikh Muhammad Taifur in recognition of the austerities he faced in achieving this station (maqām).[2]
Originating inPersia, the order and its teachings were later brought toIndia by Sheikh Abdullah Shattar.[6] According toIdries Shah, Shattar made India his home in the fifteenth century. His procedure was to approach the chief of a Sufi group and say, 'Teach me your method, share it with me. If you will not, I invite you to share mine.'"[1]
One of the order's distinguished masters was the 16th century Sufi,[7] ShahMuhammad Ghawth (d. 1562/3 C.E.) (14th Ramadan 970 hijri). Ghawth developed the Shattariyya more fully into a "distinctive order";[8] and also taught theMughal EmperorHumayun,[6][9] He wrote the bookJawahir-i khams, (The Five Jewels).[10] The influence of the Shattari Order grew strong during Ghawth's leadership and spread through South Asia.[11]
Ghawth later became the tutor of the Mughal emperorAkbar's favorite and legendary musician,Tansen as well. Although Tansen was a Hindu by birth, Shah Ghawth adopted him as an orphan and tutored him in both Sufism and music, appointing him as one of the Khalifa (spiritual deputy) of Mohammad Ghouse.[12] Tansen was buried in Ghawth's tomb complex.[7]
A later successor wasWajihuddin Alvi (d. 1018 AH / 1609 CE), also known by the title 'Haider Ali Saani'. He was born inChampaner, an ancient city of Eastern Gujarat. He later moved toAhmedabad where he received and imparted knowledge in Islamic studies. He became a prominent scholar of his times and a Mufti. Royals of that time came to him for an opinion on complex religious issues. He lived a simple life and always kept a humble profile. He used to share whatever came to him with the poor and the needy. He was buried atWajihuddin's Tomb, built by one of his followers, Syed Murtuza Khan Bukhari, in Khanpur, Ahmedabad. A saint, he wrote many books and founded an educational institution (madrasa).[8]
In the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century C.E. a secondary branch of Shattariyya was formed in Medina by Sibghatallah ibn Ryuhallahal-Hindi al-Barwaji (d.1606 C.E.), a Naqshbandi shaykh. His discipleAbu'l-Mawahib al-Shinnawi (d. 1619)[13] continued the order there. The Shattaris went on to play an important role in Medina through the seventeenth century C.E. underAhmad al-Qushashi, al-Shinnawi's successor, and thenIbrahim al-Kurani (d. 1689 C.E.) who was also initiated into other orders including the Naqshbandiyya,Qadiriyya andChishtiyya. Al-Kurani's discipleAbd al Ra'uf Singkel was authorised by him to introduce the Shattariyya to Indonesia.[14] The Shattariyya became popular in Aceh and Java, particularly in Pamijahan andCirebon (where it became closely associated with the court).[15]
Ibrahim al-Kurani's son, Muhammad Abu'l Tahir al-Kurani (d.1733 C.E.) inherited his father's position as head of the Medina Shattariyya as well as the role of teacher in the Prophet's mosque and Shafi'i mufti in the city. Among his students was the great Indian Naqshbandi reformerShah Waliullah Dihlawi (d.1763 C.E.).[16] Abu'l Tahir initiated Shah Waliullah into the Naqshbandiyya in Medina. He also initiated him into theShadhiliyya, Shattariyya,Suhrawardiyya andKubrawiyya.[17]
The Shattariyya subscribed to six fundamental principles:[18]
(i) One should not believe in self-negation but adhere to self-affirmation.
(ii) Contemplation is a waste of time.
(iii) Self-effacement is a wrong idea: one must say nothing except "I am I." Unity is to understand One, see One, say One and to hear One. A Sufi of this order must say "I am one" and "There is no partner with me."
(iv) There is no need to oppose to the ego (nafs) or ofmujaheda (struggle, participation injihad with oneself).
(v) There is no such state as annihilation (fana) since this would require two personalities, one wishing for annihilation and the other in whom annihilation takes place, which is dualism and not unity.
(vi) One should not abstain from eating certain foods but instead should consider one's ego, its attributes and actions as identical with those of the Universal Ego. The animal soul is not an obstacle for reaching God.
The Shattariyya held to the principle ofwahdat al-wujud (Unity of Existence) expounded byIbn Arabi.Abu'l-Mawahib al-Shinnawi was an outspoken adherent of this doctrine.[19] And Shinnawi's successor,Ahmad al-Qushashi was described by the contemporary Damascene scholar Muhammad Amin al Muhibbi as "The Imam of those who expound the unity of existence".[20]
Some aspects of Shattari teaching sought to utilize parts ofNath Yoga and other forms of yogic mystical practice to give rise to a highly sophisticated, distinct and intense Indian 'mystical'Sufi method, as compared to the more usual and less intense 'jurist' Sufi methods or orders of Iraq, Arabia, Turkey and northern Africa. SheikhBaha' al-Din Shattari (d. 1515 C.E.) incorporated Indian spiritual practices into hisRisala-i Shattariyya (The Shattari Treatise). LaterThe Pool of Nectar (traced byCarl Ernst to the HinduAmrtakunda), was translated into Persian byMuhammad Ghawth. This translation was a systematic account of yogic mantras and visualization practices, assimilated and incorporated into the conceptual structure of Sufi tradition, and included an account of thechakras together with the practices required to activate them, with Sufiwazifas substituted for the traditional yogicmantras.[21]
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