Our Pious Predecessors
Mawlana Abu Majid Muhammad Shahid Attari Madani
Dhū al-Qaʿdah is the eleventh month of the Islamic calendar. Amongst the Companions, righteous saints and Islamic scholars who are commemorated in this month, 95 have been briefly mentioned in the 1438-1443 editions of the Faizan-e-Madinah Monthly Magazine. Let us further discuss 12 more personalities:
An Eminent Companion
1. The Companion, ʿAbdullah b. Sahl b. Zayd al-Anṣārī رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, participated in the Battle of Badr. He was also accompanied in the expeditions of Uḥud and Khandaq by his brother, Rāfiʿ b. Sahl رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ. He was ultimately martyred when struck by an arrow fired at him by the Banū ʿUwayf tribe in the Battle of Khandaq (5th Dhū al-Qaʿdah).[1]
Respected Saints رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْهِم
2. Sayyid Abū Ṣāliḥ Mūsā III, commonly known as Jangī Dōst رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, was born on the 27th of Rajab, 400 AH, in Jilan, and passed away on the 11th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah 489 AH. He was the father of the axis of sainthood, his eminence, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir Jīlāni رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه. In 460 AH, he pledged spiritual allegiance to his father and became his successor. Due to the extraordinary lengths he went to when striving in Allah’s way, he became known as Jangī Dōst. He was absorbed in Allah’s dhikr and exerted his efforts to preaching, counselling, spiritual austerities, and spreading the pristine religion of Islam.[2]
3. Shaykh Fakhr al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ʿIrāqi al-Suharwardī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born circa 610 AH near Kamjan, in Iran’s Hamadan Province. He passed away on the 8th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 686 AH, and is buried in the Salihiya cemetery in Damascus. He was a hafiz of the Quran, an erudite scholar, Sufi poet, a distinguished master of the Suharwardi Way, and a prolific author. He was the successor and son-in-law of Shaykh Bahā al-Dīn Suharwardī Multānī.[3]
4. ShaykhʿAzīzān ʿAli Rāmītanī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was born in Ramitan, near Bukhara in Uzbekistan, in 591 AH. He passed away on the 28th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 721 AH. His shrine is in Khwarazm. Known for his spiritual gnosis and saintly miracles, his aphorisms are particularly considered a guiding light for travellers on the path of tasawwuf.[4]
5. The knower of Allah, Sayyid Faḍl Dīn Shāh Gīlānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, was a prominent descendant of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. He was a saint by birth, one whose supplications were accepted, and a figure revered by all. He was the uncle of Pir Mehr ʿAli Shāh’s father. He passed away on the 12th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1311 AH, and his shrine is located in Golra Sharif, Pakistan.[5]
6. Sayyid Jaʿfar Saqqāf was a shining scion of the famous Saqqāf family of Tarim, Yemen. He came to Bijapur (Karnataka, India) during the reign of Sultan ʿĀdil Shāh (1036-1066 AH) and passed away there on the 20th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, 1086 AH. A man of knowledge and unwavering adherence to Islamic teachings, he was blessed with many miracles and deeply loved by the people.[6]
7. Shaykh Muḥammad Yaḥyā Mujaddidī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه