Hzt. Quthbuzzaman Sheikh Sufi Muhammad Yousuf Sulthan Shah Qadiri Chishti —the contemporary champion of spiritual renaissance, the supreme leader of Sufis of the time, ‘Muhyiddin’ (rejuvenator of din) and ‘Mujaddid’ (reviver of the tradition) of the period, bearing nūr (the light of Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon Him) and bringing life to the ‘dead souls’.
Miraculous Birth And Adventurous Youth Can Be Immense Life, The Highest Death, And The Supernatural Resurrection!
An unparalleled personality of the Twenty-first century. The image of the Sultanate embracing perfection in the beauty of the Almighty Rabb. The name of the Holy Light, which includes the seven heavens and the earth, ‘Muhammad’ was engraved by the Creator on the forehead where the first sight falls as an example to the world.
With the blessings of the All-Seeing, we can begin our journey into the ocean in search of emeralds, as if light were coming through the darkness, by lining up the secrets to the hidden heart to understand that which is unknown to man, as the Holy Qur’an interacts with the hearts in clear verses.
Born to the Ahmad-Fatima couple was the contemporary hero of Muhammadiya Noor, who distinguished between truth and falsehood (as Badr reminisces), in the lineage of children of Sheikh Muhammad Muhyuddin (ra) at the famous Venniparambu family in Aluva, Ernakulam at Fajr, close to time the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on the 17th of Ramadan, the day of Badr, 1365 AH (March 26, 1945). Sheikh Mohammed Muhyuddin (ra) was one of the four brothers who came to Kerala for the preaching of Islam four centuries ago from the holy land of Medina, which bears the presence of Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Habib and the last Prophet of Allah the Lord of the worlds.
Birth of great souls will be as wonderful as their life!
The baby did not come out even one day after the mother starts having labor pain. At that time a Syed in Kochi who was related to Syed Hydroos Koya of Ponnani, also known as the Mecca of Malabar, and came to their house. He told those present there: “It does not matter what you do to give birth to the child, he will only be born after three days, the child is fasting.”. The fast was to obtain Allah’s assurance that no one who holds my hand with good intentions to become better will be punished by Hell.
A similar incident took place during the birth of Sheikh Ahmad kabeer Rifai (ra), Sultan of the Arifs. Birth in the world of spirits that calls for their place in the presence of God.
He came as a Qutub from his father’s back itself – like the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “I was a Prophet at a stage when Adam (a) was between soul and body”.
He was amazed when he read the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “A believer has no peace without meeting his Lord.” in his childhood, when he was learning knowledge from his father and Sufi saint Ahmad Musliyar (may Allah be pleased with him) of that family where many scholars and auliyas were born. An unquenchable passion to see Allah stirred the young heart. With invincible determination he decided to leave all the comforts of home and go on a journey in search of the Lord.
He realized that Bombay was the center of the Arifs of Allah, the living and the dead and understood that there was a situation where he could reach God. His uncles were there, and he left home in 1958 at the age of 13 with the consent of his father. He boarded the train from Aluva railway station and reached his uncles hotel in Dongri at Bombay. He spent three months with them in search for Allah and was later sent back home.
After seeing his mother and father at home, he went back to Bombay to visit his uncles. When asked upon angrily depending on whom did he come back, he replied, “On Allah.”. Realizing their displeasure at him being there, he left leaving everything in the hands of Allah. At night, a lonely 14-year-old boy on the streets of Mumbai, ruled by the underworld mafia at the time, sat on a ledge in Bildi Bazaar, convinced that the all-seeing Lord would look after him.
Time passed, and when he approached subh, he went to the nearest mosque and prayed Tahajjud and recited the Qur’an. After Subhi, he went to the Dargah of Sheikh Abdurrahman Bawa (ra) in Bhisti Mohalla.
He laid there because his body felt uncomfortable while sitting there. Then he dreamed of a place where the sea and the dargah would come together. When inquired, someone said that there was a similar dargah in Hajilla and went to Hajilla with him. It was the mausoleum of the great Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (ra) which is specially protected by Allah rising from the sea.
Large ships pass by and large waves are pounding around, but the water does not reach the dargah. He recited Haddad Ratib and Yaseen while sitting there according to the Ijazat given by his father Sheikh Ahmad Musliyar (ra). Also Suras of the Qur’an memorized from the homeland were recited over and over again. He told Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he could stay here if he got ten rupees for expenses. The person who was with him was sent back. Later, Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (ra) gave him a new ten rupee note. One could live comfortably for two weeks for ten rupees that time. As promised earlier, he stayed there. When the money ran out, he met a man named Pashabhai from Mangalore. Upon learning that he was proficient in English, he was invited to work as a cashier at an establishment in Bombay Bisti Mohalla. During that time, he saw Pashabhai’s hurriedly going to his house from time to time.
When his wife has severe abdominal pain, she should be rushed to the hospital. His co-worker from Karnataka said that despite performing two surgeries, there was no change. “I can cure the stomach pain for 50 rupees,” he said
At the age of eight, on the way home from the madrassa, a man who was unable to walk due to physical difficulties asked to take him to his father and to bring him some water after making prayers. He instead went to a sidewalk and himself whispered prayers and blew into the water and gave it to the sick man. When he drank it, his illness was cured and he got up and walked. The Karamaths started at a young age. He cured the disease of Pashabhai’s wife by giving her the prayed water.
This incident spread all over Bishti Mohalla. Sheikh Fakhruddin Maulana (ra), a well-known Sufi, arrives there during that period. The Imam of the Bhistimohalla Mosque was the Mureed of that Sheikh. Sufi Fakruddin Maulana (ra) also came to know about this incident. That is how he was associated with that great master. The next 18 years are events reminiscent of the life journeys of Sheikh Jilani (ra). Sheikh Jilani (ra) was also the main guide in that quest to find the Lord. Leaving all things to Allah, he studied under various spiritual masters to attain spiritual enlightenment and knowledge through the virtues of renunciation, determination and extraordinary intellect. Sheikh Sufi Fakhruddin Maulana (may Allah be pleased with him) sworn him into Qadiriyya Thwareeqath at Bisti Mohalla.
The path Allah’s Habib Sayyiduna Muhammad (PBUH) is through Sayyiduna Ali (RA), the gateway to any knowledge. For that, he spent 41 days in Jhulan maidan at Bombay, sitting at night on the ground and giving riyala (spiritual training) to recite dictations. He reached the vast field and chanted prayers alone till Fajr time. On the 41st day, just as Riyala was finishing up, he saw a handsome man on the road with a wide chest! He said salam. He enquired about the ongoings of that place. But the answer was other things. One by one, he described a lot of things that would happen in the future. After the conversation, he was invited to have tea. He replied he does not eat from hotels. Then he was asked upon where he had eaten from in this place and forced him to drink the tea while he was holding in his hand. The man had disappeared when he returned after saying two teas to the tea vendor.