Iqtibas-ul-Anwar

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Introductory notes

Braswi was a Sufi who lived in Delhi and wrote this tazkirah (biographical collection) of the Chishti saints of India. The order was founded in the tenth century in Chisht, a small town near Herat, Afghanistan, by Abū Isḥāq Shāmī (d.940) and introduced into India by Muʿīn al-Dīn Sijzī (d.1230). The Iqtibās-ul Anwār traces the origins of the Chishtis from the prophet Muhammad and briefly describes the early Sufis from Hasani Basri onwards, describing miraculous cures during hard times. The selection includes his account of the prominent Chishti saint ʿAbd al-Quddūs Gangohi (1456–1537), born in Rudawlī in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Though his family claimed descent from Imām Abū Ḥanīfa (d.767), the founder of the Ḥanīfa school of jurisprudence, Gangohi was drawn towards mysticism, and joined the local Chishtī khānqāh (Ṣūfī convent) at Rudawlī, founded by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaq (d.1434). Before the Battle of Pānīpat (1526) – at which the Mughal armies defeated the sultan of Delhi, Ibrāhīm Lodī, and founded the Mughal empire – Gangohi was called to bless the Lodī armies but instead prophesied disaster. On Bābur’s victory, he was captured and taken to Delhi, and eventually allowed to settle at Gangoh, where he died in 1537.

1.

1.Waqti ein faqeer (Muḥammad Akram Brāswi, moallif-e- Iqtibās-ul Anwār) rā dar ayyām-e- wabā-e-tā‘un āzāre ḥādis̱ shudeh bood ke ṣoorat-e-ṣeḥat nami paẕiraft ān rābi‘ā (jadd-e- pidari-e- moallif) nizd-e- chihār pāye man beyāmdah haft bār ḥawāli-e- wai begasht wa be faqeer guft ke man āzār-e- tu bar khud giraftam ḥaq t‘āla tura ṣeḥat dehad. ein faqeer rā ṣeḥat rooy dād wa wai be bistar-e- marz̤ uftād wa ham dr ān marz̤ azin ‘ālam beraft.

2.

1.‘When, during the time of the spread of plague, this destitute, (Muhammad Akram Brāswi, writer of Iqtibāsul Anwār) fell ill and was struck down with a decease that was not getting better, Rābia, (Paternal grandmother of the author) came near my bed, circumambulated around it seven times and said to this destitute, ‘I have taken your illness upon me. God will restore you to health now.’ I was cured and she fell ill and left this world in the same illness.’

3.

18.Dar laṭāif-e- Qudsi mi nawisad ke dar yak sāli barshigāl ghālib shud wa makhraj-e- āb-e-ghadirah-e-buzurg ke qarib-e- sarāi Haz̤rat Quṭubul ‘Alam bood ‘āmilān-e- Lakhnauti bastand ba wāseṭah-e- ānkeh z̤arar z̤ra‘at-e-shān mi rasid, āb-e- ān ghadira wāzhgoonah dar sarāi beyāmad be ḥaddi ke az ghalbah-e- āb ba‘az̤i khānahā-e- sarāi darham uftādand, har chand ke be ‘āmilān-e-Lakhnauti guftah shud ke makhraj-e- āb bekushāeid ānhā nakushādand balki bar‘aks zeyadah maḥkam kardand wa bar sar-e- ān band-e- darāz naṣab kardand tā har ke ein band bikushāyad wairā bar dār nihand. Ein mu‘āmila be semā‘ae Haz̤rat Quṭubul ‘Alam rasid, farmood agar makhraj-e- āb nami kushāyand be ḥaq ta‘āla begoyam tā bārān nayarad, dar ḥāl imsāk-e- bārān shud wa sarāi az maz̤arrat-e- āb khalāṣ yāft tā sāl-e-digar band-e- makhraj-e-āb hamchunān masdood bood wa barshegāl āmad bārān nek nami bārid khalq darmāndeh shud, be khidmat-e- ān ḥaz̤rat āmdand tā du‘aā-e- bārān bekhwāhand, farmood ke makhraj-e- āb bekushāeid lāchār shudeh bekushādand, be mujarrad kushādan-e- wai bārindagi bisyār shud wa chun bārān sāl-e- duwwum ghalbah kard ‘āmilān-e- Lakhnauti bāz khwāstand ke makhraj-e- āb rā masdood kunand, mughlān ke ‘āmilān-e- Gangoh boodand be ānhā guftah faristādand ke shuma dar zamin band mi dehid dar einjā mardāni and ke dar āsmān band mi dehand ba‘ad az ān hargiz makhraj-e- āb masdood nakardand.

4.

It is written in the Laṭāif-i-Qudsi that one year there were heavy rains and the officials at Lakhnauti blocked the outlet of the water pond near the dwelling place of Hazrat Quṭbul ‘Alam because it was harming their agricultural fields. The water of that pond reversed into the houses to the extent that due to excessive water some houses in that vicinity collapsed. No matter how repeatedly the officials at Lakhnauti were told to open the water outlet, they did not do so, instead, on the contrary, they sealed it even more and built a dam over it so that if anyone opens the dam he could be put to the gallows. This matter reached the ears of Hazrat Quṭubul ‘Alam, he said, “If they do not open the water outlet, I will pray to the Almighty to stop the rain”. At once the rain stopped and the area became secure from its damage. The dam over the water outlet remained closed like that till the next year and the rains also remained scarce. As there was not sufficient rain, people were miserable and came to Hazrat to request him to pray for rain. He said, ‘Open the water outlet.” They were helpless and opened the dam. As soon as it was opened, it began to rain heavily. In the second year when again there was excessive rain, the officials of Lakhnauti wanted to seal the water outlet. Mughul officers at Gangoh sent a message to them saying, “you stop (the water) on earth, there are men hare who can stop the water in the skies.” After this, they never blocked the water out-let again.

5.

24.Rozi ḥākim-e- qaṣbah-e-Rudauli barāye mulāqatash (Shaikh Fakhruddin) āmad wa ḥaz̤rat makhdoom qāzi hamrāh-e- wai bood, Shaikh Fakhruddin dar-e- ḥujrah bekushād wa guft ke marā farāgh nist, makhdoom qāzi Safi dar khayāl shud tā maujib-e- be farāghati daryābad, har chand mi pursid Shaikh Fakhruddin zahir nami kard, ākhirul amr chun mazāhim tar shud guft ke ḥarārat-e- tashnagi dar giraftah ast. Makhdoom qāzi Safi farmood ke āb maujood bood wa māh-e- ramz̤an nabood chirā nakhurdeed? Guft azān muddat ke dar Jaunpur bā shumā mi khwāndim ta ein waqt āb nakhurdim aknun gāh gāh ḥarārat-e- tashnagi chunān mi girad ke agar dehan be daryā zanam khushk shawad wa āb dar jahān namānad ummat-e- ḥaz̤rat-e-risālat panāh sallallāhu ‘alaih-e- wasallam halāk shawad.

6.

Account of Shaikh ‘Abdul Quddus Gangohi: One day the ruler of Rudauli came to meet him (Shaikh Fakhruddin) and Hazrat Makhdoom Qāzi was with him. Shaikh Fakhruddin opened the door of his chamber and said “I am not free”. Makhdoom Qāzi thought that he must find out the reason of his engagement. However much he asked, Shaikh Fakhruddin did not tell. Finally when he further insisted, he said, “I am gripped by the fire of thirst.” Makhdoom Qāzi Ṣafi said, “Water was available, it was not the month of Ramazān, why you did not drink?” He said, “From the time that I was studying with you in Jaunpur, till this time, I have not had water. Now, I sometimes, become so overwhelmed with thirst that if I put my lips to the river it shall become dry and there will be no water left in the world and the Ummat of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.,) will be annihilated.”

7.

Wa ān Hazrat (Shaikh Abdul Quddus Gangohi) …agarche dar ẓāhir be qaid-e manākeḥat dar āmdah bood ammā dar bāṭin hamisheh az hameh darideh wa burideh mi guẕrānid wa tark-e- dunyā chunān dāsht ke az mulk-e-āba wa ajdād niz dast kutāh kardeh bood be faqr-o- fāqah dar shaghl mashghul wa mustaghraq mi mānd wa Shaikh Hameeduddin walad-e-bozurg-e- ān Haz̤rat dar ān ayyām bachcheh bood wa qut ba‘ad az du seh fāqah mi yāft, chun gurusnagi ghalbah mi kard az mādar ṭalab-e- ṭa‘am namood, mādar mi guft ke az pidar ṭalab kun, wai pish-e- ān Hazrat mi āmad wa mi guft ke gurusnagi zor āwardeh ast ṭāqat-e- taḥammul nist, har chand ke wai faryād-e- gurusnagi mi kard ān Haz̤rat aṣlan tawajjuh nami namood, chun faryādash az ḥad mi guẕasht mi guft ke ay farzand inshāallāh ta‘āla dar behisht ṭa‘ām-e- laṭeef-o-khush khwāhim khurd. wai māyus shudah bar mādar-e- khud mi guft ke pidaram khurdan-e- ṭa‘ām rā ḥawāleh mi sāzad behisht kujāst wa kay dar ānjā khwāham raft? mādar az kamāl-e- shafqat-e- farzandi mi grist wa mi guft ke imruz be ḥukm-e- azali naṣib chunin ast tā fardā che pish āyad.

8.

Although Shaikh ‘Abdul Quddus Gangohi was apparently married but inwardly, he always lived alone and in solitude. He has eschewed the world to the extent as to give up his ancestral property and spent his days in destitution and starvation. Shaikh Hameeduddin, his eldest son was still a child at that time and used to get food after starving for two or three days. When overwhelmed by hunger, he used to ask for food from his mother, she used to say, ‘Ask from your father.’ He used to go before Hazrat and said, ‘I am very hungry and cannot bear it.’ No matter how much he complained of hunger, that pious man paid no attention. When his complaints crossed the limit, he said ‘O son, by God’s will, we shall eat fine and delicious food in heaven.” Disappointed, he used to tell his mother, “My father makes excuses for food. Where is heaven and when will be go there?” Mother wept out of love for her son and used to say, “By the Divine will our fate is such today, let us see what happens tomorrow.”

This text is an English-language translation of the original version:
Original

This is a selection from the original text

Keywords

child, food, hunger, plague, rain

Source text

Title: Iqtibas-ul-Anwar

Author: Mohd Akram Braswi

Editor(s): Md. Ehteshamuddin, Azarmi Dukht Safavi

Original compiled 1729

Original date(s) covered: 1537

Provenance/location: Original compiled 1729 Original date(s) covered: 1537

Digital edition

Original author(s): Mohd Akram Braswi

Original editor(s): Md. Ehteshamuddin Institute of Persian Research, Aligarh Muslim University , Azarmi Dukht Safavi Institute of Persian Research, Aligarh Muslim University

Language: English

Responsibility:

Texts collected by: Ayesha Mukherjee, Amlan Das Gupta, Azarmi Dukht Safavi

Texts transcribed by: Muhammad Irshad Alam, Bonisha Bhattacharya, Arshdeep Singh Brar, Muhammad Ehteshamuddin, Kahkashan Khalil, Sarbajit Mitra

Texts encoded by: Bonisha Bhattacharya, Shreya Bose, Lucy Corley, Kinshuk Das, Bedbyas Datta, Arshdeep Singh Brar, Sarbajit Mitra, Josh Monk, Reesoom Pal

Encoding checking by: Hannah Petrie, Gary Stringer, Charlotte Tupman

Genre: India > biographies

For more information about the project, contact Dr Ayesha Mukherjee at the University of Exeter.

Acknowledgements