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

THE SPIRITUAL SOVEREIGN OF MULTAN
in the families of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki and Shaikh Farid.
Suhrawardi mystics, on the contrary, were excellent family men: thus
it is known that Baha’uddin Zakariya spent enormous resources on
the education of his sons, doted upon his elder grandson Ruknuddin,
and thought highly of his daughter-in-law Bibi Pakdaman. Nuruddin
Mubarak Ghaznavi hired teachers not only for his sons, but also for
his daughters, which is something unprecedented in Indian medieval
society.
Even illicit sexual relations occurred among the Suhrawardis:
Jalaluddin Tabrizi lived with a Turkish slave boy whom he had
bought for 1500 dīnārs and was accused (although falsely) of
unseemly relations with a female slave. Once even Qadi Hamiduddin
Nagori fell a prey to amorous passion (judging from Fawā’id al-fu’ād
he was beaten black-and-blue by his rival, although the gender of the
object of passion was not clarified). 8
Differences in the rules of transmission of baraka are also bound
up with different attitudes towards family life. Amongst Chishtis
right up to the fifteenth century khalīfas were appointed by the shaikh
himself (very seldom were they chosen by the fraternity). Amongst
them, as we have seen, there were practically no direct relatives.
Mu‘inuddin Sijzi had sons, but he chose Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
as his spiritual successor. The latter, in his turn, preferred Shaikh
Farid to his own offspring, and Shaikh Farid gave preference to
Nizamuddin Awliya. On the contrary, Shihabuddin Abu Hafs was
succeeded by his own son ‘Imaduddin Muhammad, who placed
himself at the head of his ribāţ (cloister) in Baghdad. Thus, from the
very beginning, the post of sajjādanishīn amongst Suhrawardis became
hereditary, and baraka was transmitted from father to son. Baha’uddin
Zakariya, having seven sons and wanting to ensure a secure future
for them, bequeathed the post of head of the fraternity to the eldest,
and appointed others as khalīfas in various cities of Punjab and Sind.
Generally speaking, the Multani silsila of Suhrawardis and its related
chain of succession Surkh-Bukhari of Ucch (with Miran Shahi,
Makhdumi and Jalali orders as its branches) were always in the hands
of two families – the family of Baha’uddin Zakariya himself and
that of his disciple, Jalaluddin Surkhposh Bukhari.
As already has been mentioned more than once, the Chishtis soon
gave up their proselytizing activity, considering that neither sword nor
sermon, but only personal example of virtue was capable of converting
followers of other religions to Islam. A tolerant and friendly
attitude towards the non-Muslim population became a major policy
orientation of this fraternity. The way to Suhrawardiyya khānqāh
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