SHEIKH FARID: SUFI MYSTIC
 

Farid-ud’din mas’ud (1175-1265 AD), better known as sheikh Farid, or Baba Farid, is one of the most revered and distinguished of medieval Sufi Mystics.

For many years his home at Ajodhan, the modern Pak-pattan, was and still remains a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of people of all castes and creeds.

Teeming crowds flocked to it and found spiritual solace in Baba Farid’s company. A calm spiritual atmosphere pervaded his dwelling and men who were secretly tormented by the flames of mundane ambitions, found in his presence "the refreshing breeze of a different world."

He was a living light to which it was good and pleasant to be near. He inspired everyone who came into contact with him. Today, when we think of Baba Farid, a world of historic visions and memories glows into consciousness.

Baba Farid lived at a very significant period of Indo-Muslim history. He saw the collapse of the Ghaznawid power in the Punjab, the march of the Ghurian armies into Aryavarta, the liquidation of Rajkot power in Northern India and the subjugation of Hindustan by the Turks. Later on, he heard the Mongols Knocking at the gates of India and saw the panic and fear which gripped the people at every Mongol incursion.

Streams of central Asian refugees flowed into his neighborhood. The city of Delhi with her newly built minarets, mosques and tanks, rose into prominence in his lifetime. He was in his thirties when Sultan Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Ghuri was assassinated at Damyak and in his nineties when Balban ascended the throne of Delhi. Thus the story of his life is an important aspect of the spiritual history of medieval India during both momentous and significant, but also hectic and restless years of activity.

At a time when the entire country was resounding with the din and clatter of the Ghurian arms, Baba Farid sat cool and collected in his tumbling hut in a far of town of the Punjab, teaching lessons of human love and affection. Today territorial achievements are tales of the past, but the message of Baba Farid still echoes through the corridors of time.

Sufi mysticism is a message of love. It aims at creating harmony in the discordant elements of society. True to these ideals, Baba Farid strove day and night to create that atmosphere of love and goodwill which was, and is even today, the greatest desideratum of human society.

A healthy social order - free from dissensions, conflicts, discriminations, hatred and jealousy - was the thing he longed for. In love, faith, tolerance and sympathy he found the supreme talisman of human happiness.

Higher mysticism, as understood and interpreted by its best exponents, is nothing but service of humanity. Baba Farid’s long life was spent in helping people in distress. Every day hundreds of people brought their worries to him. He heard these problems sympathetically and, in his peculiar way, created in his visitors that unshakable faith in GOD, respect for moral values and that proper attitude of mind which helped them in self- control in the midst of the most severe tribulations and trials of life.

What Professor Mohammad Habib has written about Sheikh Nizam-ud’din Auliya Mehboobi-i-illahi, may with striking aptness be said with regard to Baba Farid:

If ever the overcrowding of visitors prevented him from paying individual attention to everyone, he would cry out:

"Come to me one by one so that I may attend to your problems individually!"

Tales of human sufferings racked his heart and seared his soul. He suffered for others and shared their grief. His kind words of sympathy and advice were like balm to the afflicted who came to him. How correct is Barani’s estimate of the sheikh when he says, "He has taken the inhabitants of this region under his wings".

Sheikh Farid’s God was neither a theological myth nor a logical abstraction of unity, but an all-embracing personality present in his ethical, intellectual and aesthetic experience. This living God furnished the inspiration for creating an ideal realm of values - the kingdom of heaven - in a distressed and struggling world. Living up to the highest ideal of devotion in Islam, he felt as if he was always in God’s presence, and while offering his prayer he seemed to be communicating directly with the infinite and the eternal.

This consciousness of the divine presence around him was the guide and motive of his active waking life and gave it transcendent worth. This belief in God had great value on terms of human life. It made him a citizen of that universal society in which God is the Supreme Intelligence and all human begins his manifestations. Besides, this belief gave to this frail human reed it’s unshakable strength, breadth of vision and independence of spirit.

The inspiring motive of Baba Farid’s devotion and penitence was neither the hope of heaven nor fear of hell. It sprang out of his intense love for his lord. His heart was "LOVE’S FEVEROUS CITADEL" he prayed because he wanted to break all obstructions which stood between him and his BELOVED. Baba Farid’s mystic journey was undertaken with the help of the heart.

Baba Farid’s prayer was not a mechanical or lifeless formality. It was a mature activity of a heart overflowing with cosmic emotion. When he prayed he linked himself with that inexhaustible power that creates and sustains the entire universe.

Baba Farid believed that the existence of God could be felt only through proper cultivation of emotions. Intellect could, at best, give him an abstract concept of God. His emotions gave him the God of his worship - a living reality, surrounding him.

Baba Farid’s mystic songs were, perhaps, intended to break the strain of his emotions, to quicken his emotional response, and to attune his heart to the infinite and the eternal. Sometimes he would himself recite couplets and supply fuel to his burning emotions. One day he recited some couplet and found such emotional pleasure that he went on reciting it throughout the day, late into the night and into the small hours of the morning. And every time that he recited it, it’s effect on his emotions was reflected in the rapidly changing expressions of his face. Sometimes he would close himself in his small room, walk up and down, bow his head in sijjdah and recite spiritual verses.

The chishti mystics believed that spiritual progress was incompatible with the possession of power and property. All these thing distracted emotions and stunted the growth of the spiritual personality. Baba Farid always kept away from politics and advised his disciples to live a simple life. He used to say,

"If you long for meeting the king give up hope of gnosis".

Baba Farid’s position in the history of the chishti silsilah is unique. A disciple of a great saint, he was the teacher of a still greater saint. His association with Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar Kaki on one hand and Sheikh Nizam-ud’din Auliya on the other, gives him a pre-eminent place in the history of the Silsilah.

If khawaja Muin-ud’din Chishti introduced the Silsilah in India and Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar kaki popularized it in Delhi and her neighborhood, it was through the efforts of Baba Farid that the organization struck roots into the soil and spread far and wide. His piety, devotion and spiritual excellence attracted seekers after truth from distant parts of India as well as from lands beyond. Very rightly does Isami call him "the ruler of the realm of spiritual discipline (Shah-I-Mulk-I-Suluk)".

Baba Farid was the second of three sons of Jamal-ud’din and Qarsum Bibi. Baba Farid’s first teacher, whose influence was most lasting on him, was his mother. It was she, Qursum Bibi, who kindled that spark of Divine love in him which later dominated his entire being, and moulded his thought and action.

Baba Farid’s mother was a lady of fervent piety. She kept awake through the night engaged in her prayers. Numerous anecdotes relating to her piety and devotion are found in mystic work. One night thieves entered her house but were so moved by a hallow of piety and saintliness which radiated from her face, that they repented of their sins and vowed to lead an honest life thereafter.

Under the care of so pious and saintly a mother, Farid developed from his very childhood a spirit of intense devotion to God. When still in his adolescent years he became known in kathwal for his deeply mystic bent of mind.

After finishing his early education in khatwal. Baba Farid proceeded to Multan. He was then only 18 years of age. He joined the madrasah in the mosque of Multan Minhajuddin Trimidhi, near the Sarai-Halwai. Here he committed to memory the entire text of the HOLY QURAN and began to recite it daily.

One day Baba Farid was reading Nafa -a book on Muslim Law. Khawaja qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar kaki had come to Multan from Aush and was staying in the same mosque. Baba Farid’s insight discerned in the visitor, a spiritual teacher of infinite capabilities. Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar busied himself in prayer soon after his arrival and Baba Farid sat down near him with the book in his hand, eagerly waiting for the moment when the Sheikh would finish his prayers.

After his prayers, Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar turned towards him and asked sympathetically:

"Maulana! What book is this?" Farid replied, "It is nafa" Blessing Farid, Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar spoke the words, "May the Nafa hold benefit for you in it’s study". Taking the opportuntity, Farid submitted, "There is a benefit for me in your mercy and blessing", and then placed his head at the feet of the Khawaja whilst reciting the following verses:

Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar then left for Delhi, with Baba Farid accompanying him and being admitted into his discipleship. Many eminent persons were present at the time of Baba Farid’s Bay’t (INITIATION).

However, on Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar’s instruction, Baba Farid returned to Multan to complete his education. He then went to Qandhar for higher studies and stayed there for five years.

Khawaja Qutb ud’din Bakhtiyar Kaki at whose feet Baba Farid decided to lay his head, was infact an outstanding mystic of his age. Baba Farid continued to live with Khawaja Qutb ud’din Bakhtiyar and under his inspired guidance traversed the difficult stages of the mystic path. The Khawaja assigned him a small room in his Khanqah, where young Farid busied himself in devotion and prayers.

On one occasion, Great Master Khawaja Muin-ud’din chishti happened to visit Delhi. When he saw Baba Farid he remarked: "Baba Bakhtiyar! You have caught a noble falcon which will not build his nest except on the holy tree of Heaven. Farid is a lamp that will illuminate the silsilan of the durweshes".

Khawaja Muin-ud’din Chishti then asked his disciple to bestow spiritual gifts and blessing on Baba Farid, but Khawaja Qutb-ud’din Bakhtiyar apologized that in the presence of his master he could not have the courage to bestow anything on him. Thereupon, both the saints blessed Baba Farid together! It was a unique honour in the history of the history of the Chishti Silsilah. No saint before him, or even after, was thus blessed by the Master and the Master of his Master. This episode is described by Siyar-ul ‘Auliya:

Baba Farid settled in Hansi after hid blessed time at the feet of Khawaja Bakhtiyar. Hansi was a cantonment and Farid thought that he would pass his days there undisturbed. But, an interesting event brought him into he limelight.

Maulana Nur Turk, an eminent mystic and an excellent speaker, reached Hansi. Baba Farid went to hear his sermon. His clothes were in shreds and there was nothing in his outward appearance to suggest that he was a deeply religious man. Besides, Farid was not personally known to the eminent visitor. But, as soon as he stepped into the mosque, Maulana Nur Turk exclaimed:

"O Mussalmans! The appraiser of the true speech (sarraf-I-sukhan) has arrived".

All anxious eyes turned towards Baba Farid. Nur Turk then showered lavish encomiums on him. This address made Baba Farid famous in Hansi and visitors began to throng round him in large numbers. It was during his stay at Hansi that sheikh Jamal-ud’din joined Baba Farid’s discipline. He was a favorite disciple of the sheikh, and it was out of love for him that Baba Farid stayed in Hansi for twelve years. It is difficult, however, to determine with precision the duration of Baba Farid’s stay in Hansi. Probably he stayed there for nineteen or twenty years and left it some years after the death of Khawaja Bakhtiyar.

Though his Pir Khawaja Bakhtiyar had appointed him as his successor, Baba Farid remained in search of a place where he could carry on his devotions undisturbed. When Maulana Nur Turk’s praise made him famous in Hansi, he moved back to Khatwal. As the stream of visitors increased in Khatwal, he shifited to A‘jodhan, where it is thought he lived to the last moment of his life.

Whilst A‘jodhan - modern Pak’pattan - was an ancient and important town, It was surrounded by desert land, infested with snakes and wild animals. Furthermore, the spot selected by the Sheikh for his stay was inhabited by backward tribes. The inhabitants of this place professed degrading deliefs. They were illiterate, bad-tempered and superstitious.

No place could be more suitable for a saint wishing to pass his years of self-discipline in a lonely corner. For sometime, Baba Farid lived undistured. But soon, this uzlat (isolation) was changed into subhat (company). He threw open the gates of his house to everyone who wished to see him.

Baba Farid fame now began to spread far and wide. It crossed the borders of India and attracted people from distant lands. But his life in A‘jodhan was a hard one. He had to bear a number of troubles at the hands of his fellow citizens and even the local officers. The Qasi of A‘jodhan became jealous of Baba fraid and at his instigation, officers began to harass his family. True to the traditions of his elder saints Farid bore all these troubles with remarkable patience. It was not his principle to enter into disputes or controversies with any human beings.

When the sheikh’s forbearance foiled the Qasi’s attempts at provocation, the Qasi approached the scholars of Multan for a legal verdict (fatwah) against him. When the Ulama asked the name of the person against whom the Qasi was requesting a fatwah he exclaimed; "you have referred to a saint against whom no mujtahid can dare raise a finger!"

The Qasi returned to A‘jodhan disappointed and snubbed. The rebuff aggravated his bitterness, and futher attempts were made to kill Baba Farid, and harass his children. The eldest son of the Sheikh one day told his father in a very desperate and melancholy mood: "The only advantage that we receive from your spiritual greatness is the constant persecution to which we are subjected". However, Baba Farid remained untouched and unperturbed. Soon afterwards the Sheikh’s enemies scattered and those who remained developed faith in him.

The Sheikh’s life was therefore, a hard one. He never enjoyed wordly affluence, but rather lived a life of poverty. In his last years he was in extremely strained circumstances. There was little material wealth and his family was a big one. These difficulties, however, could not disturb the inner peace of his mind. In the spiritual realm, he remained a king - a shehanshah! He instilled this poise in his companions, and made them men of similar stature.

Few saints in the long and chequred history of Indo-Muslim mysticism have subjected their self to such rigorous spiritual discipline as Baba Farid. His life of 93 years is one long illustration of way in which the finite struggles to shatter all trammels of finitude and merges itself in the Infinite. The summum bonum of his life is neatly epitomized in the verse which he very often recited:

This dedication opened his soul to what carlyle calls "the Divine Significance of life". He threw himself in line with the Divine purpose and allowed the spirit of the Highest and the Best to have complete dominion over him.

                                                                                                                                                                    - Kadeem

• Kadeem