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

THE WARRIOR SAINTS
so long. He set off to Baghdad and from there he went to Multan and
Ucch where he took initiation into the Suhrawardiyya order from
Shaikh Ruknuddin Abul Fath. He then visited Delhi where, according
to tradition, he met Nizamuddin Awliya, which is in accordance with
the life histories of both saints. The journey of Shah Jalal back to
Bengal in the first half of the fourteenth century took place quite
peacefully: he finally settled down in Sylhet, by that time subjugated
for the second time by the Governor of Bengal, Shamsuddin Firoz,
and, having built a khānqāh, started leading the secluded life of a
hermit.
The most interesting and authentic information about the saint
comes from Ibn Battuta, who visited East Bengal in 1345. He has, in
particular, written:
I set out from Sudkawan [Chittagong – A. S.] for the
mountains of Kamaru [Kamrup, a region on the border of
East Bengal and Assam – A. S.], a month’s journey from there
... My purpose in travelling to these mountains was to meet
a notable saint who lives there, namely, Shaykh Jalal ad-Din
of Tabriz. At a distance of two days’ journey from his abode
I was met by four of his disciples, who told me that the
Shaykh had said to the darwishes who were with him: ‘The
traveller from the West has come to you; go out to welcome
him’. He had no knowledge whatever about me, but this had
been revealed to him. I went with them to the Shaykh and
arrived at his hermitage, situated outside the cave. There is
no cultivated land there, but the inhabitants of the country,
both Muslim and infidel, come to visit him, bringing gifts
and presents, and the darwishes and travellers live on these
offerings. The Shaykh however limits himself to a single cow,
with whose milk he breaks his fast every ten days. It was by
his labours that the people of these mountains became
converted to Islam, and that was the reason for his settling
amongst them. When I came into his presence he rose to
greet me and embraced me. He asked me about my native
land and my travels, and when I had given him an account
of them he said to me: ‘You are a traveller of the Arabs’.
Those of his disciples who were there, said: ‘And the non-
Arabs too, O our master’. ‘And of the non-Arabs too’ he
repeated, to show him honour. They then took me to the
hermitage and gave me hospitality for three days.
(Ibn Battuta 1929: 268–9)
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