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

THE SPIRITUAL SOVEREIGN OF MULTAN
Undoubtedly the most striking figure amongst Baha’uddin
Zakariya’s associates was his khalīfa, Jalaluddin Surkhposh Bukhari
(1198–1292), from whom begins the Ucch branch of the fraternity,
called Surkh-Bukhari. Tradition ascribes to this mystic, who, judging
by the nickname Surkhposh, used to dress himself in red clothes, the
conversion of Chinghiz Khan himself to Islam. The legend says that
on the way from Bukhara to India Jalaluddin was taken prisoner by
the Mongols, who threw him into a fire. However, the saint came
out of the flame unharmed, and this miracle made such an impression
upon Chinghiz Khan that he adopted the true faith and gave his
daughter in marriage to Jalaluddin.
Although Baha’uddin Zakariya could rightfully be proud of all his
disciples, he often used to say that he would have exchanged all of
them for Jamaluddin Hansawi, perhaps because he was a talented
poet. To this Shaikh Farid used to reply, using with good effect the
name of his murīd (derived from jamāl, i.e. beauty), that such an
exchange is possible only when one is referring to property (māl), but
not to beauty (jamāl).
Over a period of fifty years Baha’uddin Zakariya was the chief
saint and patron of Multan. The constant raids of Mongols, in
connection with which the local rulers and military leaders often had
recourse to his spiritual intercession, furthered the consolidation of
his fame. Baha’uddin Zakariya died in extraordinarily mysterious
circumstances, narrated by Amir Hasan without any comment:
One day a disciple brought a letter, and gave it to Shaykh
Sadr ad-din (his son and successor), saying: ‘A man gave me
this letter and said, “Take it to Shaykh Baha ad-din
Zakariya”.’ Shaykh Sadr ad-din, when he read the address on
the letter, turned pale. He went and gave that letter to Shaykh
Baha ad-din Zakariya. The Shaykh, on reading the letter,
turned aside and uttered loud cries. That night Shaykh Baha
ad-din Zakariya – may God have mercy upon him – died.
(Amir Hasan 1992: 328)
Nowhere in hagiographic literature, including even Amir Khurd’s
exhaustively detailed work, could I find any hint as to the sender of
the fatal letter or its contents. It runs strangely counter to the artistic
laws of hagiographic genre, where each and every story, anecdote
and parable is meticulously explained in order to edify the reader.
The khānqāh in Multan reached its maximum prosperity under
Ruknuddin Abul Fath (died in 1335), who was called Rukn-i ‘ālam
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