Naqliyat-e-Miyan Abdur Rasheed RZ - Khalifatullah Mehdi (AHS)

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truth is that due to migration or expulsion from their localities and
absence of the necessities of life, the history of the Mahdavi
stalwarts has been very limited. Even the names of thousands and
thousands of eminent Mahdavis have not even been mentioned.
Some names of the companions are just mentioned. Very few
details about the others are found. Despite all efforts and
inquisitiveness, enough details about them could not be found.
The year of the death of Bandagi Miyan Abdur Rashid RZ has
been shown as 979 or 980 A.H. In other words, his martyrdom
came 74 years after Imam Mahdi AS . 12 On the basis of this, some
people cast doubts that Miyan Rashid RZ might have been of very
young age and, hence, he cannot be a sahabi. Against this guess, it
would be more plausible to think that Miyan Rashid RZ was martyred
at the age of ninety or ninety-five. This age is neither astonishing
nor rare. Hence, he could have been 18 or 23 years at the time of the
demise of Imam Mahdi AS . Besides, Bandagi Miyan Syed
Khundmir RZ too was 25 years at the time of the Imam’s death. And
there were other younger sahabis.
After Prophet Muhammad SLM also his companions lived till the
end of the first century. Sahal ibn Sa’ad used to say: “You will find
nobody to report the rivayat of Prophet Muhammad SLM , if I die.” He
died in the year 99 or 91 A.H. 13 He is the last sahabi of Madina.
The last sahabi of Makkah was Hazrat Abul Tufail ‘Amir bin
Wasilah. He died in the year 100 A.H. 14 Besides, just being young
does not preclude anybody from obtaining the bounty of Imam
Mahdi AS . The example of Hazrat Bandagi Miyan Syed Abdul Hai
Roshan Munawwar RZ , son of Bandagi Miyan Syed Mahmood Sanie-Mahdi
RZ , is there. He achieved the honour of initiation (tarbiat) at
the tender age of six months. And he had established his chain
12 Imam Mahdi AS died in 910 A.H. This indicates that the martyrdom of Miyan
Rashid RZ came 69 or 70 years after the Imam AS . How could it be 74 years?
13 Isteab, Tazkirah Sahal ibn Sa’ad.
14 Ibid.
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(silsilah) of muridi directly from Imam Mahdi AS . The silsilah of the
murshidin of this humble faqir is associated with him. There are
other families of murshidin of this silsilah.
Janab Faqir Khub Miyan Sahib of Palanpur has written that
“By the grace of the glad tidings of Imam Mahdi AS , the divine
secrets began to be revealed on him (Miyan Roshan Munawwar RZ )
and he began to be counted among the companions although he was
six months of age at the time of the demise of the Imam AS . 15
This particularity of Munawwar-e-Din RZ is among the
exceptions. To suspect it is tantamount to disbelief not only in
Munawwar-e-Din RZ , but also in the divine ability and power of the
Imam AS . This is against the glory of a mumin (believer). Had he not
achieved the honour of being a sahabi, he would not have
established his silsila-e-bai’et through Imam Mahdi AS . His esteemed
contemporaries would not have allowed it, if, Allah forbid, his
action were wrong.
Apart from this discussion, as long as the correct date of birth
of Bandagi Miyan Abdur Rashid RZ is not available, it is difficult to
determine his age during the life of the Imam AS . But the author of
Tarikh-e-Sulaimani has written that he (Miyan Abdur Rashid RZ )
lived to a taba’yi (natural) age. The rivayat that the author appears
to have considered to be correct and relied on, is: “Miyan Abdur
Rashid RZ has achieved the honour of paying fealty at the hands of
Imam Mahdi AS and the honour of the bounty (faiz) of the company
of Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir RZ .”
The compiler of the book, Sawanih Mahdi-e-Mauood AS too
has written the same thing. And Maulana Faqir Syed Mahmood
Sahib of Akeli too has written the same thing on the margin of the
book Asami Musaddiqin.
15 Siraj-e-Munir, p.89.