I am remembering – a living legend of the spiritual world. Due to whose sacrifice, greatness and contribution, countless people of the world have found the direction of truth – Siratul Mustaqim. Numerous lovers of God and lovers of the Prophet have been able to achieve the pleasure of Allah and His beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) through Tazkiatun Nafs, that is, self-purification. The name of this great and famous Sufi has been written in golden letters on the pages of history. The name of this great Aliqul Shiromani is – Hazratullah Shahsufi Syed Fateh Ali Owaisi Burdhmani (R.A.). This great ascetic was simultaneously a Quranic exegete, a Shaykh al-Hadith, a jurist of fiqh, an Islamic jurist, a theologian, a spiritualist, a religious philosopher, a linguist, a missionary, a poet-literate, a logician, a rhetorician, a politician, a physician, a psychologist, a philanthropist, and an embodiment of humanity. He was a man of many talents.
The vocabulary, linguistic skills, grammatical skills, sweetness of language, and rhythmic word choice of this great writer were of a uniquely high level. Every word choice, word style, word formation, and word arrangement were very aesthetic. He was an incomparable great poet among the Persian poets of the Asian continent. This popular great poet is a highly respected figure among the followers of Sufism. In terms of spreading self-purifying knowledge, he was a unique and memorable personality among the Pir-Auliyas of India. This great man of his time was born in 1825 AD in the village of Mallik Sobhan in Amirabad Union of Lohagara Thana of Chittagong district of Bangladesh. His father, Syed Maulana Shaheed Wares Ali (RA), was a religious teacher, missionary, and religious warrior. Syed Wares Ali (RA) was martyred in the Battle of Panjtar, the initial stage of the Balakot War in 1831. Both his parents became residents of Paradise at the age of 6/7. After studying in several educational institutions in India, he completed his higher education from the ‘Kolkata Aliya Madrasa’ and completed his education in higher Quran-Hadith and Aqeed-Fiqh. He taught part-time at (1) Satkania Madrasa, Chittagong, and (2) Alia Madrasa, Kolkata.
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He worked as: (1) at a research center in Gora Bazar, Dumdum, Kolkata, (2) Superintendent of the Political Pension Office, (3) Chief Registrar of the Registration Department of the Civil Court, Kolkata, (4) Private Secretary to Nawab Wazed Ali Shah of Metiaburuj. The breadth of his knowledge was sky-high. He was quite proficient in Arabic, Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali. Allah gave him countless types of divine knowledge. This knowledge is called Ilm-e-Ladunni, Ilm-e-A’ta’i or Ilm-e-Marfati or Ilm-e-Wilayati in Arabic. This knowledge is very rare. Allah gives this knowledge to those whom He loves very much. This distinguished educationist spent some time in service life. Later, due to spiritual realization, he devoted himself to the pursuit of Sufism. Even though he worked, he used to spend his heart’s joyful realization on the work of another world.
This world is the spiritual world. He used to keep his mind and soul engaged in the pursuit of Sufism. After accepting the discipleship of his pir and murshid – Shaykhul Hadith, Hazrat Sufi Nur Mohammad Nizampuri (RA), he used to keep himself immersed in the remembrance of Allah Pak. When he gradually surrendered himself to the pursuit of Sufism, he was forced to quit his job. He left his job and devoted himself to the worship of Allah and the Messenger. Despite being a family man, he spent most of his time in the worship of Allah. He attained the caliphate of the Tariqa through hard work. It is narrated from Maulana Ghulam Salmani Abbasi (RA), a professor of Calcutta Aliya Madrasa, that one day Sufi Fateh Ali (RA) was narrating a hadith in front of a gathering in Hazran. Maulana Chhayadat Hossain, a teacher at the then Calcutta Aliya Madrasa, objected that the narrated Hadith was not authentic. In this situation, Sufi Fateh Ali (R.A.) suddenly became unconscious and said to Maulana Ghulam Salmani (R.A.), Father! You pour water on Maulana’s head. After pouring the water, Maulana Sahib regained consciousness. Maulana Sahib immediately said, the Hadith is authentic! When Maulana Sahib left, Salmani Sahib asked about it, Sufi Fateh Ali (R.A.) said, I have cast the Faiz of Istigraha (extent, inclusion, immersion, permanence) on him because he complained about the authenticity of the Hadith and made him visit the shrine of Hazrat Nabi Karim (PBUH). The Prophet Karim (PBUH) said, O Chhayadat! This is my Hadith. Maulana Ruhul Amin Basirhati heard from his teacher Maulana Sufi Abdush Shafi Sahib that, “Sufi Fateh Ali (RA) used to take his disciples to visit the Prophet (PBUH), so he went to his residence several times to become a disciple, but luckily he did not meet him.” For this reason, the Sufis bestowed upon him the title of ‘Rasul Noma’. The revelation of the Aali-Allahs is true, if it is in accordance with the Quran and Hadith. For this reason, Allah Almighty revealed Surah Inshirah. A disciple came to Sufi Fateh Ali (RA) and said, “Despite my hard work, my heart is not being satisfied!” He replied, “Do you eat the feast of usurers?” The disciple replied, “Yes – my son-in-law is an usurer.” Sufi Sahib (R.A.) said that is why your heart is not beating. Then Sufi Sahib said to his disciple, look at this bed.
The man saw that the bed was shaking due to Sufi Sahib’s tawajjuh! Then Sufi Sahib said, “Your heart is so polluted due to haram food that your heart is not beating.” Sufi Fateh Ali (R.A.) used to give the message of guidance to the people every afternoon at the intersection of five streets in Dharmatala, Kolkata, and would speak in a melodious voice. For this reason, the British government ordered him to be shot dead with 18 rounds. Even though the police were firing, not a single bullet hit him. In the wake of this incident, the British soldiers accepted Islam at his blessed hands. Although he was not directly involved in politics, he was indirectly active in politics to protect religion. He was one of the main architects of the Sepoy Mutiny.
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He was the leader of the delegation sent by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah to the Round Table Conference in London. To solve various problems of the subcontinent, great scholars like Sir Surendranath Banerjee, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda used to discuss and take decisions with Syed Fateh Ali (R.A.). His miracles, character, eloquence, poetry recitation, speeches, teaching methods, human service and public service works were remarkable. He would not go to anyone’s house without an invitation. He did not accept invitations very often, but would accept invitations on special occasions. He enriched Persian literature by writing the incomparable epic ‘Diwan-e-Waisi’ on the Persian language. He was the first Persian epic poet of the Asian continent.
The book contains 179 ghazals and 23 poems. The book of poetry has been included in the curriculum of various universities in Bangladesh, including Dhaka University and Islamic University Kushtia. Excerpts of Owaisi’s poetry in Diwan-
The polytheist loves Muhammad, the mother of the Diwan, and the mother of Khurshid, and the mother of Suzan.
The one who hides his words, the mother of Suzan, and the one who weaves his letters, the mother of Suzan.
The favorite foods of this great saint of Allah were milk, mango, raisins, gourd, greens, jaggery, and betel. After each prayer, he would regularly recite specific supplications, prayers, tajbeeh, muraqaba and mushaheda. Sometimes, after the prayer, he would make his disciples perform muraqaba. Especially after Maghrib. He would pray Tahajjud every day. His tongue would often remain restless in the worship of Allah and the supplications of the Holy Prophet.
Exemplary character traits – using miswak, avoiding loud laughter, living a luxurious life, wearing a shawl on Eid, wearing a round cap with four corners, wearing shoes with a nagra pattern, using perfume and khushab, counting the number of tasbeehs of one hundred grains, reciting a copy of the Quran written by one’s own hand, wearing ordinary clothes, using antimony in the eyes, visiting shrines, greeting everyone, young and old, comforting and caring for the sick, attending the funeral of the deceased with joy, seeking forgiveness for the deceased, offering devotion to the love of Allah and the Messenger by shedding tears, speaking slowly and gently, feeding the dogs and cats of the house and neighborhood, wearing a small piece of paper and a thin sheet during the bitter winter and staying immersed in Muraqaba all night, feeding the birds, Like the daily prayers, he performed Salatul Tahajjud, Ishraq and Chasht, gave great importance to fasting during Ramadan, fasting on Shab-e-Barat and Ashura, celebrated Milad Mahfil in a grand manner on Ashura-Shab-e-Barat-Shab-e-Miraj-Akheri Chahar Shomba-Fateha-e-Dawaz Daham-Fateha-e-Yaz Daham, often remained silently absorbed in the meditation of Allah, and performed excessive Muraqaba and Musaheda. He was very compassionate and kind towards people.
He could not restrain himself when he saw the suffering of people. He would donate and help them as much as he could. He was quite kind towards his disciples. He would cry profusely when he saw the suffering of his disciples. He would constantly pray to Allah for the overall well-being of his disciples. He used to give alms to the distressed, the indebted, the helpless, the poor, the poor, the needy, the needy. He did not discriminate on the basis of sectarianism in providing financial assistance. He used to keep track of his neighbors in the neighborhood. He would only accept food as a gift, but he would distribute it among the poor.
He did not accept cash and gifts. Just as insects desperately rush towards the flame of light, so seekers of truth from Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, United Pradesh, Punjab, Bhopal and even from faraway Balkh, Badakhshan, Khorasan and Medina Sharif would gather and fall at his holy feet and take oath of allegiance with his blessed hands, hoping to get the Siratul Mustaqim. His numerous followers are scattered in many countries of the world. He gave each of his disciples and caliphs the full education and initiation of love for God, love for the Prophet and the spiritual world, fully establishing them with the status of Kamel Pir and sending them to their respective countries to spread religion. Although they are past for us, the great works of their golden age are present and exemplary for us. He attained his freedom on Sunday, December 6, 1886, at four o’clock in the afternoon. He was laid to rest at Delhiwala Graveyard No. 2, 24/1, Munshipara Lane, Lalbagan Mohalla, Maniktala, Kolkata, on the night of Wednesday, December 9, 1886. The Governor General of India, the British Queen, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, the Principal of Deoband Madrasa, the heads of all educational institutions in the country, government officials, etc. expressed their condolences.
Each sentence is like a puzzle piece fitting perfectly into a larger picture of understanding.
This writing has a deep, soothing quality to it — like the feeling of watching a sunset and finding peace in the quiet.