Muslim Saints of South Asia: The eleventh to ... - blog blog blog

THE SPIRITUAL SOVEREIGN OF MULTAN
Fundamental and significant differences between the two fraternities
are to be found in the field of practice. Since I have already written
enough about what the Chishtis preached and how they conducted
themselves, it would be much easier to describe the practice of the
Suhrawardiyya order by way of contrast.
Thus, the relationship between murshid and murīd was considered
by the Chishtis to be sacred. While preparing for dhikr a Chishti
novice visualized the image of his preceptor, so that he could guide
his meditation and contemplation (mushāhada). Before their shaikh
the Chishtis used to perform sajda, an act of veneration already
discussed in this book, during which the disciple, having prostrated
himself at the preceptor’s feet, touched (‘rubbed’) the ground with his
forehead or kissed it. 3 Suhrawardis were against the performance of
sajda before a shaikh, considering the posture of prostration appropriate
only during prayers. Here they cited the sūra ‘Prostration’
(as-Sajda), where it has been told: ‘Only those believe in our signs
who, when they are reminded through them, fall down prostrate and
glorify by praising their Fosterer and they do not consider themselves
great’ (32: 15). Baha’uddin Zakariya expected an ordinary greeting
as-salām ‘alaikum from his disciples and was in this matter considerably
closer to the requirements of normative Islam.
Veneration of their shaikh among the Chishtis reached such an
intensity that they could interrupt ritual ablution or even prayer (not
the obligatory canonical șalāt, but the voluntary prayer nafīl) in order
to greet their murshid. More conservative Suhrawardis censured
excessive courtesy to one’s pīr to the detriment of prayers. Once
Baha’uddin Zakariya was extremely displeased by the misplaced zeal
of his murīds, who had on seeing him interrupted their wudű¯’, and
complained to him about the only disciple who had completed his
ablution: ‘Among all of you only this is a true dervish, he who first
completed his ablutions and then came to pay his respects to me’
(Amir Hasan 1992: 339). Generally speaking, Baha’uddin Zakariya
attached secondary importance to dhikr and voluntary prayers
(particularly to the nocturnal prayer tahajjud, which is so important
for Chishtis), considering that canonical șalāt was the basis of piety.
According to him, the person who misses even one mandatory rak‘a
imperils his life.
Initiation into Sufi fraternities represented a complicated ceremony
‘ahd (agreement), among the rituals of which the central one was
bai‘a, i.e. taking oath of loyalty to the shaikh. During the ceremony
the neophyte was given admonitions, among which one could also
hear the famous precept to be obedient to the shaikh, like a corpse
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