Amir Khusroo: A Sufi and His Shagird By Sadia Dehlvi Sep 16, 2011 On the 18th of Shawaal (September

19) falls the 707th Urs, death anniversary of Hazrat Amir Khusrau, one of my favourites in Indian medieval history. Unable to bear the grief following the death of his mentor Hazrat Nizamuddin, Khusrau died exactly six months later, in 1325 AD. The celebrations at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah will commence a few days prior to the event, where haunting compositions of Khusrau will be sung in the evening s enthralling devotees as they have done for centuries. Born in 1253 AD at Patiali, Amir Khusraus father died when he was just eight year s old. The child was sent to Delhi, where he lived with Imadul Mulk, his grandfather. W hile commencing his education, Khusrau received a steady flow of cultural stimul ation in the capital city. Brijbhasha, or Khari Boli, was the dialect spoken during Khusraus childhood. He p icked up Hindi from the local population, and learnt Persian and Turkish at home . Imadul Mulk died when Khusrau was 20 years old; by this time Khusrau had become a poet of repute, the beloved disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, to wh om the court poets of many Delhi sultans remained devoted for life. Knowing Hazrat Nizamuddins affection for Khusrau, other disciples often sought hi s intercession on different matters. When the shaykh (spiritual master) was disp leased with his senior disciple, Khwaja Burhanuddin Gharib, Khusrau secured his pardon. In the same tradition, devotees visiting Hazrat Nizamuddin first visit K husraus dargah and seek his intercession with the great Sufi master. Once Jalauddin Khalji sought an interview with Hazrat Nizamuddin but was politel y refused, for the Sufi stayed away from emperors and politics. The sultan plann ed an unannounced surprise visit to the Sufis khanqah. Khusrau learnt of the sul tans secret plan and informed his mentor. Hazrat Nizamuddin left for Baba Farids dargah at Ajodhan. The sultan took Khusrau to task for divulging royal secrets. Khusrau explained, In disobeying the sultan I stand in danger of losing my life, but in being untrue to my master, I stood in danger of losing my faith. Impressed by Khusraus devotion, the sultan let the incident pass. Once when Khusrau had accompanied Hazrat Nizamuddin on a stroll, they saw a grou p of Brahmins praying. The Sufi master remarked: Har qaum raast rahay deeney va qibla gaahey (Every people have their direction of worship) Amir Khusrau spontaneously completed the verse: Man qabla raast, ber terfe kajkulahey (My qibla is the direction of the slanting cap) (Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya used to wear his cap with a slant)

Har aashiqe yaad agar dar qibla gard butkada Aashaqaane dost raba kufr imaan kar neest. (Lovers of the Beloved take us to Kaba and to the temple of idols Lovers of the Friend are not bothered with infidelity and faith.) Source: The Asian Age, New Delhi URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicPersonalities_1.aspx?ArticleID =5507

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COMMENTS 9/22/2011 3:00:55 AM shahid iqbal Once when Khusrau had accompanied Hazrat Nizamuddin on a stroll, they saw a grou p of Brahmins praying. The Sufi master remarked:

Har qaum raast rahay deeney va qibla gaahey (Every people have their direction of worship) Amir Khusrau spontaneously completed the verse: Man qabla raast, ber terfe kajkulahey (My qibla is the direction of the slanting cap) (Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya used to wear his cap with a slant) Har aashiqe yaad agar dar qibla gard butkada Aashaqaane dost raba kufr imaan kar neest. (Lovers of the Beloved take us to Kaba and to the temple of idols Lovers of the Friend are not bothered with infidelity and faith.)

IF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED INCIDENT WAS THE BELIEF OF THESE TWO (HAZRATH NIZAMUDDIN AND AMIR KHUSRU) THEN THEY ARE SURELY LOST, AND THEY HAD GONE ASTRAY........ISLA M IS NOT WHAT THESE BUNCH OF SUFIS DID OR THEIR FOLLOWERS DO.ISLAM IS THAT WHAT IS TAUGHT AND PREACHED BY THE PROPHET HAZRATH MUHAMMAD(PBUH) AND WRITTEN IN THE QURAN. PLAYING SUFI SONGS AND CHANTING SUFI QAWWALIS,HAVING FAITH IN SUFISM IS NOT ISLA M.IF YOU STILL BELIEVE IN SUFISM,THEN YOU ARE COMPLETELY IN THE WRONG. The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of ALLAH. The first principl e of Islam is known as the Shahaadah(Testimony of Faith), and is as follows: "Th ere is no one worthy of worship except Allah (God) and Muhammad is the Final Ap

ostle (Messenger) of God. In a broader sense, anyone who willingly submits to the will of God is a Muslim. Thus, all the prophets preceding Prophet Muhammad, , are considered Muslims. One cannot judge Islam by looking at those individuals who have a Muslim name, b ut in their actions, they are not living or behaving as Muslims. Muslims are ord inary people like other humans; among them are the good and the bad. They are no t infallible creatures and, therefore, make mistakes. When we mention the characteristics of a Muslim, we do not assume that all Musli ms have these characteristics, but only those who follow -- to the best of their abilities -- the teachings of Islam. We can thus summarize the teachings of Islam about the Muslim character concisel y in the following way: A Muslim is truthful, not dishonestHe is humble, not arrogantHe is moderate, not an extremistHe is honest, not corruptHe is reserved, not garrulousHe is soft-sp oken, not boastfulHe is loving and solicitous to others, not unmindful of themHe is considerate and compassionate, not harshHe is polite and helpful, not insult ing and disrespectful to peopleHe is generous and charitable, not selfish and mi serlyHe is refined and gentle in speech, not prone to swearing or cursingHe is c heerful and generous, not bitter and resentfulHe is grateful for what he has, no t ungratefulHe is cheerful and pleasant, not irritable and gloomyHe is chaste an d pure, not lustfulHe is alert, not absent-mindedHe is dignified and decent, not gracelessHe is sincere and straightforward, not hypocriticalHe is optimistic an d hopeful, not cynical or pessimisticHe is confident and deep in faith, not doub tful and waveringHe is spiritually oriented, not materialisticHe always has fait h in Gods mercy, not losing heart or becoming desperateHe is diligent and vigilan t, not negligent to his dutiesHe is thankful to God and constantly prays to Him, not forgetful of His innumerable blessings The Muslim personality is balanced. He pays due attention to his bodys needs and his outward appearance, without let ting it distract him from nurturing his inner characteristics, as befits man who m God has honored and made His angels prostrate to him, and subjugated for his b enefit all that is in the heaven and earth. The Muslim is also concerned with th at which will form sound intellectual development and ways of thinking, so that he understands the nature and essence of things. He does not forget that man is not only composed of body and mind, but he also possesses a soul and a spirit, a nd feels a longing for higher things that makes him rise above this materialisti c life and ascend the heights of goodness, virtue and light. Therefore, he pays as much attention to his spiritual development as he does to his physical and in tellectual development, in a precisely balanced fashion, which does not concentr ate on one aspect to the disadvantage of others. With his parents, he is an example of sincere filial piety, good treatment, infi nite compassion, politeness and deep gratitude. With his wife, he is an example of good and kind treatment, intelligent handling , deep understanding and proper fulfillment of his responsibilities and duties. With his children, he is a parent who understands his great responsibility towar ds them. Although he floods them with love and compassion, he pays attention to things that may affect their Islamic upbringing. With his relatives, he maintains the ties of kinship and knows his duties toward them. He understands the high status given to relatives in Islam, which makes h im remain in touch with them regardless of the circumstances. With his neighbors, the true Muslim is an example of good treatment and consider

ation of others feelings and sensitivities. He puts up with mistreatment and turn s a blind eye to his neighbors faults while avoiding committing any such errors h imself. He always adopts the Islamic attitude, whereby treating neighbors well w as made a basic principle of Islam. His relationship with his brothers and frien ds is the best and purest of relationships, for it is based on love for the sake of God. This pure, sincere, brotherly love derives its purity from the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah (traditions and approved actions of Prophet Muhammad, ) that became a unique system in the history of human relations. In his social relationships with all people, he is well mannered, civil and nobl e, characterized by the attitudes which Islam encourages. Good behavior which is taught in the Quran and Sunnah, has been made a religious duty in Islam, for wh ich man will be brought to account. This is the clear, beautiful picture of the Muslim whose personality has been fo rmed by Islam and whose heart, mind and soul are filled with its divine light. The development of a society is not measured solely in terms of its scientific a chievements and material inventions. There is another, more important standard b y which a society is measured. That is the prevalence of human values such as lo ve, empathy, altruism, sacrifice, uprightness and purity of thought, behavior an d dealings with others. If individuals are the basis of a society, then rightly guided societies pay att ention to human development and enhance the positive, constructive aspects while seeking to eliminate evil, destructive motives, so that the individual will bec ome a model citizen. It is from groups of such model citizens that clean, civil, strong, healthy, righteous societies are formed.

9/21/2011 5:14:05 AM vivek Just near to Hazrat Nizamuddin and Khusroo, there lived a Shayar or poet call Mi rza Ghalib. I will surely like to have a beautiful article on Mirza Ghalib sooner or later b y either Sadia or Firoz Bakth Ahmed in this website.

9/19/2011 9:19:27 PM prabhat kumar roy VARY GOOD ARTICLE BY SADIA DELHLVI ON GREAT AMIR KHUSRO. MUCH MORE SHOULD BE WRI TTEN & PUBLISHED ON LIBERAL SUFI CULTURE.