Hazrat Haji Imdad ullah Muhajir Makki Rh (1817–1899 A.D.) was a Sufi and a reformer of the Chishti Sabiri order in north India.
Hazrat Haji Imdad ullah Muhajir Makki Rh (1817–1899 A.D./
1232–1317 A.H.), was a prominent Sufi of the Sabiri branch of the Chishti order in India.
He was born at his maternal home in the small
town (qasbah) of Nanauta (in Saharanpur district of modern Uttar Pradesh). Although he was a hafiz
(memorizer) of the Qur’an and had studied Persian, Arabic grammar, Syntax, and Jurisprudence,
Imdadullah was not taught according to the standards of the time and was not regarded as an ‘alim.
At the age of 16, he went to Delhi with Maulana Mamluk-ul-‘Ali (d. 1851, a leading Islamic
scholar and Head of the Oriental Section of the
Delhi College) for studies. Although his formal
education was left incomplete, in Delhi, he met
scholars influenced by the revivalist thoughts of
Shah Waliullah Rh (d. 1762). Imdadullah’s interest in
mysticism drew him to Shaikh Naṣirud-din (a
khalifah of Shah Muhammad ‘Afaq and
a participant in the Mujahidin movement) and
received the khilafat (investiture of succession) in the Naqshbandi order. On his return from
Delhi, Imdadullah joined Mianji Nur Muḥammad
(d. 1844) in Jhunjhana (a small town in
Muzaffarnagar district of modern Uttar Pradesh).
The latter initiated Imdadullah into the Chishti Sabiri order, and after completing his training,
Imdadullah moved to his hometown,
Thanabhawan (in Muzaffarnagar district of modern Uttar Pradesh), where he became Nur
Muḥammad’s premier successor. In 1845,
Imdadullah performed his first ḥajj during which
he met some renowned scholars such as Shah
Muḥammad Isḥaq (d. 1846, grandson of Shah
‘Abdul ‘Aziz) and others. On his return he settled
in Thanabhawan at the Pir Muḥammad Wali mosque and began training disciples.
The events of the 1857 uprising proved to be
a turning point in his life. According to his Urdu
biographers, Imdadullah declared jihad against
British rule in India, following the execution of
one ‘Abdul Raḥim, a known resident of
Thanabhawan, for being in league with the mutineers. He also succeeded in establishing
a parallel government for some time at Shamli (a
qaṣbah in Muzaffarnagar district) but
was eventually defeated and forced to go into
hiding. Following the failure of the uprising,
Imdadullah decided to migrate to the Hijaz in
1860, where he permanently settled. In Mecca,
he had to face severe problems owing to his poverty, but gradually his influence as a Ṣufi Shaikh
began to spread and attracted students from Egypt and Turkey as well. He became particularly
famous for his lectures on the Maṣnavi of
Maulana Rumi, which he considered to be
a revelation from God through Ilham (intuition).
While in Mecca, Imdadullah remained aware and
concerned about the condition of Muslims in
India. The numerous collections of his letters
point to his increasing involvement in the social,
educational, spiritual, and even personal situations of his disciples. Many of his followers
were instrumental in establishing educational
seminaries such as Dar-ul-‘ulum (Deoband),
Mazahir-ul-‘ulūm (Saharanpur), and Nadwat-ul-
‘ulama’ (Lucknow) along with several smaller
madrasahs which ran in other qaṣbahs.
Work
In his absence from the subcontinent, his contacts
with ‘ulama’ and disciples were maintained
through his letters and writings [1–3]. These writings give a blueprint of the program that he
envisioned for their spiritual training. The central
themes of his writings are individual and communal reform (islaḥ), purification of baṭin (soul/heart),
ma‘rifat (gnosis), and ‘ishq-e-ilahi (Divine Love).
Zikr(remembrance of God) played a key role in the
devotional rituals of Imdadullah. His major writings in the order of chronology are as follows:
1.Risala Dard Nama-e-Ghamnak, an Urdu
maṣnavi of about 350 verses, composed
around 1833–1835, while he was in Delhi. It
deals with cosmic emotion (ishq-e-ḥaqiqi)
and brings out the melancholy of a person
desiring union with his beloved.
2. Ghiza-e-Ruh, another Urdu maṣnavi written
in 1847 comprising 830 verses. The maṣnavi which is written on the same meter as
Maulana Rumi’s Maṣnavi serves the purpose
of spiritual training of novices and teaches
tauhid, ishq-e-ilahi, adab, and ways to succeed spiritually in this life.
3.Maṣnavi jihad-e-akbar was written in 1851
and contains 650 verses. The central theme is
the struggle against lower self (nafs) and
a reform of heart and soul (baṭin).
4.Tuḥfat-ul-ushaq, another maṣnavi written in
1864 dealing with the same theme of cosmic
emotion 5.Zia’-ul-qulub, a devotional manual written in
Persian containing the core teachings of Ḥaji
Imdadullah. He considered it his most important work and was greatly interested in its
printing and translation. The manual was
written in Mecca in 1865 and was printed
from Meerut in 1867. It was translated into
Arabic and its Urdu translation also appeared
during Imdādullāh’s lifetime. The Urdu translation was printed in 1910 and reprinted in
1927 from Delhi. Zia’-ul-qulub lays out
methods of training, scripts for proper recitation, and directions for the apt performance of
actions that utterly transform the person who
undergoes their rigor.
6.Irshad-e-murshid, written in 1876 to serve as
an abstract of Zia’-ul-qulub for the beginners
on the path of suluk
7.Risala dar bayan waḥdat-ul-wujud, a detailed
letter written in 1881 to Maulana ‘Abdul ‘Aziz
Chishti of Amroha to explain the philosophy
of waḥdat-ul-wujud (Unity of Being).
8.Faisla Haft masla, written as an explanation
on seven controversial issues such as sama‘,
‘urs (remembrance of death anniversaries),
visiting of graves, etc. Imdadullah advised
his disciples not to transgress moderation in
all these issues.
9.Gulzar-e-ma‘rifat, an undated collection of
ghazals (short poems) written in praise of
the Prophet.
10.Nala-e-Imdad Gharib, a small collection of
munajat (prayers in verse).
11.Hāshiya Maṣnavi Maulana Rumi, a brief
explanation of Rumi’s Maṣnavi. Imdadullah
took keen interest in the printing of this work
and two drafters (parts) were printed during
his lifetime.
Disciples and Khalifa's
Ḥaji Imdadullah Rh successfully enrolled a large
number of ‘ulama’ in his mystic fold. A large
number of ‘ulama’ who were among the benefactors of Dar-ul-‘ulum such as Maulana Muḥammad Qasim (d. 1880), Rashid Ahmad
Gangohi (d. 1905), Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi (d. 1943),
Zulfiqar ‘Ali (d. 1904), Maulana Rafī‘-ud-din (d.
1890), Maulana Ya‘qub Nanautawi (d. 1884), and
Maulana ‘Abid Husain (d. 1912) were counted
among the important disciples of Ḥaji Imdadullah.
His khalifahs in India and at Mecca can broadly be
classified into three groups: firstly, those who did
bai‘at (oath of initiation) and were personally
trained by him such as Rashid Aḥmad Gangohi,
Maulana Muḥammad Qasim, Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi, Maulana Muḥammad Husain Allahabadi, Abdul Sami Bedil Rampuri etc. Secondly, those who were already associated
to some other Ṣufi order and later were enrolled
in Chishti-Sabiri order by Ḥaji Imdadullah, such
as Pir Meher ‘Ali Shah (d. 1937), Maulana Anwarullah Hyderabadi (d. 1917), Maulana Shah
Sulaiman of Phulwara, etc. They received training
from Haji Imdadullah or his elder khalifahs.
Thirdly, there were those who were trained by
Ḥaji Imdadullah’s khalifahs and were bestowed
khilafat by him either on recommendation or
because of their own merit, such as Maulana Khalil-ur-Raḥman Saharanpuri and Maulana Maḥmud Ḥasan Deobandi (d. 1920).
Ḥaji Imdadullah died in Mecca in 1899 and
was buried in the historic graveyard Jannat-ul-Mu‘alla. By the time Imdadullah died, he had
managed to create a strong legacy which earned
him the title of Shaikh-ul-‘Arab wal ‘Ajam
(Shaikh of the Arabs and non-Arabs).
References
1.The letter collections of Ḥaj Imdadullah include,
Maktubat-e-Hidayat (ed: Naseem Ahmad Alavi),
1978. Jhunjhana; Maktubat-e-Imdadiya (ed: Zuhurul-Hasan). Thanabhawan, n.d.; Nawadir-i-Imdadiya
(ed: Nisar Ahmad Faruqi). Delhi, 1996; Marqumat-Imdadiya (ed: Nisar Ahmad Faruqi). Delhi, 1979;
Tabarrukat (ed: Nurul Hasan Rashid). Kandhla, 1976.
2.The malfuzat of Ḥaji Imdadullah have been collected
by Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi and published in Imdad-ul
Mushtaq (ed: Nisar Ahmad Faruqi). Delhi,1981;
Shama’im-e-Imddiya. Multan, 1405 AH; Kamalat-Imdadiya. Kanpur, 1321 AH; M‘arif-e-Imdadiya (ed:
Sufi Muhammad Iqbal Quraishi). Delhi, 1992;
Karamat-e-Imdadiya. Kanpur, 1321 AH.
3.Hajji Imdadullah (n.d.) Kulliyat-e-Imdadiya (ed:
Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali). Deoband.
4.Imdadullah’s (1896) Hashiya Masnavi Maulana Rami
is rare and was published from Kanpur.
5. Ahmad Basir (2005) Tazkirah Haji Imdadullah
Muhajir Makki. Delhi; Anwar Anwar-ul-Hasan
(2001) Hayat-e-Imdad. Mumbai; Fuyuz-ur-Rahman
Hafiz Qari (1984) Hazrat Haji Imdadullah muhajir
makki aur unke khulafa. Karachi; Husaini Saiyid
Nafis-al (1980) Ahwal-o-asar Shaikh-ul-‘Arab-o-
‘Ajam Hazrat Haji Imdadullah sahib muhajir makki.
Lahore; Idem (2003) Saiyid Ahmad Shahad se Hazrat
Haji Imdadullah muhajir makki ke rahani rishtey.
Lahore; Sabri Maulana Imdad (n.d.) Haji Imdadullah
aur unke khulafa. Delhi; Zaidi Nazr (n.d.) Haji
Imdadullah muhajir makki, sirat aur sawaneh. Lahore.
6.Ernst C, Lawrence B (2002) Sufi Martyrs of love: the
Chishti order in South Asia and beyond. New York;
Scott Kugle’s article, (2003) The heart of ritual is the
body: an anatomy of an Islamic devotional manual of
the nineteenth century. J Ritual Stud 17, 1 is a detailed
study of Imdadullah’s spiritual practices as described
in Zia’-ul-qulub.
7.Rizvi Tahzibul Hasnain (1984) Life and works of Haji
Imdadullah Muhajir-e-Makki. PhD thesis, Calcutta
University; Nizami MA (2011) Reform and renewal
in South Asian Islam: the Chishti-Sabris in 18th–19th
c. north India. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
8.Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Risala Dard Nama-e-Ghamnak
in Kulliyat-e-Imdādiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar
Ali). Deoband.
9. Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Ghiza-e-ruh in Kulliyat-imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali). Deoband
10. Hajji Imdadullah (n.d.) Masnavi Jihad-i-akbar in
Kulliyat-e-Imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali)Deoband.
10.Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Masnavi Jihad-e-akbar in
Kulliyat-e-Imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali).
Deoband.
11.Hajji Imdadullah (n.d.) Tuhfat-ul-ushaq in Kulliyat-imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali). Deoband.
12.Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Zia ul-qulub in Kulliyat-imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali). Deoband.
13. Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Irshad-e-Murshid in Kulliyat-imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali). Deoband.
14.Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Risala dar bayan wahdat ul
wujud in Kulliyat-e-Imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin
Mukhtar Ali). Deoband.
15. Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Faisla haft masla in Kulliyat-imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali. Deoband.
16.Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Gulzar-e-marifat in Kulliyat-imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali). Deoband.
17. Haji Imdadullah (n.d.) Nala-e-Imdad Gharib in
Kulliyat-e-Imdadiya (ed: Waqar Ali bin Mukhtar Ali).
Deoband.
18.Fuyuz-ur-Rahman Hafiz Qari (1984) Hazrat Haji
Imdadullah muhajir makki aur unke khulafa. Karachi.
19.For instance, Ashiq Ilahi Meeruthi (2002) Tazkirat-urrashid, vol 1. Deoband.