The History of Syed Usman Shah Marwandi aka Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalander

Urdu: حضرت سید عثمان شاہ مروندی ، لال شھباز قلندر

Silsila: Qalanderia Suharwardia

Date of Wisaal: 1274 A.D.

Date of Urs: 18 Sha'aban (Islamic Date)

Address:
Sehwen Shareef, Sindh, Pakistan

Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) (Sindhi: لال شھباز قلندر), a Sayed Sufi saint, philosopher, poet, and qalandar. Born Syed Hussain Shah, he belonged to the Suhrawardiyya order of Sufis. He preached religious tolerance among Muslims and Hindus. Thousands of pilgrims visit his shrine every year, especially at the occasion of his Urs.

Life

Shahbaz Qalandar (Syed Usman Marwandi) was born in Maiwand, Afghanistan to a dervish, Syed Ibrahim Kabiruddin whose ancestors migrated from Baghdad and settled down in Mashhad, a center of learning and civilization, before migrating again to Marwand.

A contemporary of Baha-ud-din Zakariya, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari Surkh-posh of Uchch, Shams Tabrizi, Mehre Ali Shah Mast and Rumi, he travelled around the Muslim world settled in Sehwan (Sindh, Pakistan) and was buried there.

His dedication to the knowledge of various religious disciplines enabled him to eventually become a profound scholar. During his lifetime, he witnessed the Ghaznavid and Ghurids rules in South Asia.[5] He became fluent in many languages including Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Sindhi and Sanskrit. His mysticism attracted people from all religions. He was called Lal (red) after his usual red attire, Shahbaz due to his noble and divine spirit, and Qalandar for his Sufi affilitation. Hindus regarded him as the incarnation of Bhrithari. Lal Shahbaz lived a celibate life.

Evidence shows that Shahbaz Qalander was in Sindh before 1196, when he met Pir Haji Ismail Panhwar of Paat; it is believed he entered Sehwan in 1251. Shahbaz Qalander established his Khanqah in Sehwan and started teaching in Fuqhai Islam Madarrsah; during this period he wrote his treatises Mizna-e-Sart, Kism-e-Doyum, Aqd and Zubdah.

In poetry and prose

A qawwal sung by Abida Parveen and many others, “Lal Meri Pat Rakhiyo …” is in honour of Shahbaz Qalandar, as is one sung in various versions by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Sabri Brothers, “Mast Qalandar”.

This famous mystic often quoted the teachings of Maulana Jalal ad-Din Rumi. A book detailing his life is called “Solomon’s Ring” by Gul Hasan.

Legends and Stories

On his way from Baluchistan to Sindh, he also stayed in present day Karachi’s Manghopir area for muraqba (meditation), and it is said that Manghopir’s natural warm fountain is a miracle of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. That warm fountain started to flow from beneath the hill, on which Lal Shahbaz sat for muraqba (meditation). After passing hundreds of years, that warm fountain is still flowing continuously and is said to have miraculous healing power especially for asthma patients.

In Multan, Lal Shahbaz met Bahauddin Zachariah Multani of the Suhurwardiya order, Baba Farid Ganjshakar of

Chishtiya order, and Makhdoom Jahanian Surkh Bukhari. The attachment was so cordial and spiritual that their friendship became legendary. They were known as Chahar Yar (Persian = four friends). According to some historians, the four friends visited various parts of Sindh and Punjab, in present day Pakistan.

Many saints of Sindh, including Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Makhdoom Bilawal and Sachal Sarmast, were devout followers of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.

It is also believed that he turned into a falcon to pick up his friend Fariduddin Ganjshakar from the gallows. The legend goes that the incumbent fakirs in Sehwan sent him a bowl of milk filled to the brim, indicating that there was no room for anything more. But surprisingly, he returned the bowl with a beautiful flower floating on the top. This legend spread far and wide by the time of his death in 1274, after living a good span of 97 years.

Khalifa

 

Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Q) bestowed khilafat to Hazrat Shaikh Ali Zowalqi Par Parwaz (Q) and he after him the mantel of Khilafat went in the hands of another Qalandar who abdicated throne in the path of Haq Hazrat Syed -o-Saddat Pir Nathar Tabl-e-Aalam Dhul Samadar (Q) of Trichy  and he spread the silsila in India.

Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Q) is the jadd (founder) of Jalali silsila of Fuqra and the chief presidency [Sadar Chowk] of this silsila in India is Penukonda in the aastana of Qutubul Awliya Hazrat Khwaja Baba Fakhruddin Mujarrad Qalandar-e-Barhaq (Q)

Shrine

The shrine around his tomb, built in 1356, gives a dazzling look with its Sindhi kashi tiles, mirror work and one gold-plated door – donated by the late Shah of Iran, and installed by the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.  The inner sanctum is about 100 yards square with the silver canopied grave in the middle. On one side of the marble floor is a row of about 12-inch-high (300 mm) folding wooden stands on which are set copies of Quran for devotees to read. On the other side, beside a bundle of burning agarbattis (joss sticks), are rows of diyas (small oil lamps) lighted by devotees.

Urs

His annual Urs (death anniversary celebration) is held on the 18 Sha’aban – the eighth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. Thousands of devotees flock to the tomb while every Thursday their 

number stands multiplied especially at the time of his ‘Urs’ being a carnival as well a religious festival and celebrated every year. Sehwan springs to life and becomes the focal point of more than half a million pilgrims from all over Pakistan. On each morning of the three day feast, the narrow lanes of Sewhan are packed to capacity as thousands and thousands of pilgrims, fakirs and devotees make their way to the shrine to commune with the saint, offer their tributes and make a wish. Most of the people present garlands and a green chadar (a cloth used to cover a tomb) with Qur’anic inscriptions in silver or gold threads. Humming of verses, singing and dancing in praise of the saint continues till late at night. A devotional dance known as ‘dhamal’, being a frenzied and ecstatic swirl of the head and body, is a special ritual that is performed at the rhythmic beat of the [dhol] (a big barrel-shaped drum), some of them being of giant size and placed in the courtyard of the shrine. Bells, gongs, cymbals and horns make a thunderous din, and the dervishes, clad in long robes, beads, bracelets and colored head-bands whirl faster and faster in a hypnotic trance, until with a final deafening scream they run wildly through the doors of the shrine to the courtyard beyond

The History of Hazrat Syed Muhammad Azeem Barkhiya aka Abdal-e-Haq Qalander Baba Aulia

                                                    

Urdu: حضرت سید محمد عظیم برخیا ، ابدالِ حق قلندر بابا اولیاء

Silsila: Azeemia

Date of Wisaal: January 27, 1979

Date of Urs: January 27

Address:
Shadman Town, North Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan

Description:
Abdal-e-Haq, Husn-e-Ukhra, Syed Muhammad Azeem Barkhiya commonly renowned as Qalander Ba Ba Auliya, (Birth: 1898 in the town of Khorja, District Buland Shehr, Uttar Pardesh, India - Wisaal: January 27, 1979, Karachi) was the founder of the Sufi Order of Azeemia. His mother was adopted by Baba Tajuddin and hence Qalandar Baba always referred him as his Nana (maternal grandfather).
During his stay in Aligarh an inclination towards spirituality developed in him and he start spending most of his time in the company of a local Sufi Kabli Baba. He used to go there early in the morning and would come back late in the evening.
After completing the 12th grade education at Aligarh, Baba Tajuddin summoned him to Nagpur, India where he spent nine years under the vigilant guidance of his Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur until he physical demise in 1929. During his stay in Nagpur, his mother died, leaving four daughters and two sons. Qalandar Baba Auliya was the eldest son and most of his siblings were very young at the time. It was becoming difficult for him to serve as the surrogate parent for his siblings. Realizing that Baba Tajuddin arranged his marriage with one of his disciples' daughter in Delhi. Qalandar Baba moved his family to Delhi and worked there as a journalist until the partition of India in 1947.
After the partition, he migrated to Pakistan along with his family, and stayed in Karachi's Lyari subdivision. At the time, Karachi was not a fully developed city and finding a job was hard. He believed in hard work and was not ashamed of odd jobs to support his family. Later on, He chose journalism as a career and was appointed the sub-editor of the Daily Urdu Dawn.
In 1956, a famous dervish of Suhurwardiya Sufi Order, Hazrat Abul-Fayz Qalandar Ali Suhurwardi, came to Karachi. Qalandar Baba Auliya met and asked to be initiated in his Order. The visiting Shaykh told him at arrive at his hotel room at three in the morning. It was during winter; nevertheless, Qalandar Baba Auliya went at 2 A.M. to the hotel where Hazrat Abul-Fayz was staying and sat at the doorsteps. At 3 A.M sharp, Shaykh Abul-Fayz opened the door of his room and summoned him inside. Qalandar Baba Auliya sat before Hazrat Abul-Fayz, and Hazrat Abul-Fayz blew three times on the forehead of Qalandar Baba Auliya. On first blow, the Alam-e-Arwah (Cosmic World) was revealed to Qalandar Baba Auliya; on the second blow, the Alam-e-Malkut (Angelic realm); on the third one, the Arsh-e-Mu'alla (The Divine Throne).
Hazrat Abul-Fayz Qalandar Ali Suhurwardi completed his teachings of Qutub-e-Irshad to Qalandar Baba Auliya, in three weeks. After that, he spiritually(oweysia) received divine knowledge from many saints including Shaikh Najamuddin Kubra.
When Qalandar Baba Auliya was working as a journalist in the local magazine in Karachi, it was his routine that he would go to the residence of his beloved disciple Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi where he conducted Sohbet(satsung).People from all walks of life would come to discuss various topics.
One week before of his death, he told to his disciples and friends that, "I'm a guest here for a maximum of one week". He appointed Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi as the head of the Sufi Order of Azeemia. He died on January 27, 1979. His tomb is in the Shadman Town subdivision of Karachi.
The essence of the teachings of Qalandar Baba Auliya is that man has not been created solely to earn a livelihood. The first and foremost purpose of his creation is that he should recognise his own Self and have an intimate relationship with his Creator.
His famous quote: 'One can not find Truth in the outward (zahir), it can only be realized by turning to inward(batin). Your inner is the doorway the Cosmos that is why Man is called microcosm (al-alam sughra).'

To spread and to be benefited with the teachings of Hazoor Qalander Baba Auliya, following three books have been inherited by Silsila-e-Azeemia:
1) Loh-o-Qalum (Pen and the Scripturum): A treasure of divine knowledge of mysteries and secrets of nature.
2) Rubaiyat-e-Qalander Baba Auliya: A valued collection of enlightening mystic verses.
3) Tazkira-e-Tajuddin Baba (R.A): An authentic work of metaphysical sciences and scientific interpretations of divinations and wonder-workings performed by spiritual people.
Additionally, Qalander Baba Auliya left countless maps and diagrams of the visible and invisible realms. He also started the publication of the monthly magazine called Roohani Digest. He also formed a Trust called The Azeemia Trust. The Trust acquired land and constructed a mausoleum over his eternal place of resting in Shadman Town, North Karachi.
Qalander Baba Auliya died on 27th January 1979 in Karachi. Every year on this date his Urs is celebrated which is attended by thousands of people from all over the country and abroad. During Urs many seminars and workshops are held. There are organized sessions of meditation under the instruction of the present Master of Silsila Azeemia; Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi. Qalander Baba Auliya left a widow, two sons and two daughters.

Mangopir Karachi (Manghopir shrine)

                            

                            

A Karachi-area shrine that boasts sulphur springs that reportedly have curative powers and a lagoon housing sacred crocodiles draws thousands of visitors daily.

The shrine memorialises Sakhi Sultan Manghopir, whose parents came to the subcontinent in the 13th century. Legend has it that Manghopir found salvation here, becoming a dervish of Sufi saint Baba Farid Ganj Shakar 600-700 years ago.

Manghopir’s shrine consists of a small room where his tomb is covered with an embroidered silk fabric. Outside, musicians sing Manghopir’s praises and the keepers of the shrine bless those who go inside.

Close to the shrine is a lagoon for crocodiles. The king crocodile is named More Sahib and presides over more than 100 other crocodiles, said animal keeper Khaleefa Sajjad Hussain.

Near the shrine staircase are some ancient Jokhio tribe graves, similar to the Chawkhandi Tombs in Karachi.

Also near the crocodile lagoon is a warm-water sulphur spring, where visitors bathe in the water, hoping to overcome skin diseases.

“This is where the impossible is possible,” one believer said.

Legend of Manghopir’s crocodiles

Several legends describe Manghopir and his crocodiles.

According to one, Baba Farid was travelling in a convoy to present-day Saudi Arabia for the Hajj when notorious bandit Mangho Wasa tried to rob the travellers. Baba Farid so charmed Mangho Wasa that the bandit converted to Islam and gave up crime. Mangho Wasa then began practicing Sufism under the guidance of Baba Farid, who later gave him the title of pir (Sufi master), making him Manghopir.

Baba Farid once conducted a chilla – a 40-day religious vigil – under a tree 2km from what was to become Manghopir’s shrine.

“Before leaving, he promised Manghopir a gift that would keep his name legendary forever,” said Chand Sabri, one of the saint’s followers. “He drew lice from his hair and told Manghopir to put them into water. Manghopir dropped the lice into the lagoon, and each louse became a crocodile – a sacred crocodile.”

Asif Chughtai, a government employee of the Religious Endowment Department, gave another version, saying Manghopir suffered from lice. When they irritated him, he stamped his feet. Two sulphur springs formed on the spot, and the lice that fell in became crocodiles.

Devotees’ attention

Ali Muhammad Shah, who looks after the shrine and has spent almost his whole life there, said visitors from Pakistan and abroad visit the shrine to pay their respects and feed the crocodiles.

“It does not matter what faith they belong to and what they follow,” Shah said. “People come to pay their respects.”

Manghopir spent his days in prayer and sought spiritual enlightenment, Shah said. His presence in the area is still a powerful draw.

“It’s a commitment we make, and then we come here to offer Fateha (a prayer from the first chapter of the Koran) and to feed the crocodiles,” said visitor Dilawar Khan of Hyderabad.

“People make a pledge at the shrine,” another shrine attendant said. “If their wish is granted, the crocodiles will accept the meat. If the mannat is rejected, the crocodiles won’t eat. If a believer’s wish is fulfilled and he fails to present sacrificial meat to the crocodiles, then the crocodiles will visit him in his dreams to remind him about the mannat.”

The crocodiles are harmless, said Hussain.

“These crocodiles make weekly treks up the marble staircase to Manghopir’s shrine,” he said. “They are his attendants.”