Shawahid Al-Vilayat - Khalifatullah Mehdi

At Bidar and Gulbarga 69Hazrat Imam ASgave the glad tidings in favour of BandagiMakhdoom RAthat his zath smelt like that of Hazrat ProphetMuhammad SLM .Hazrat Imam AShas said, “Allah Most High had made SyedMuhammad Gesudaraz RA the murshid of his time. Allah Most Highwill ask those people of his time who did not learn the knowledgeof the Divine Secrets of God from him, “You had a murshid likeSyed Muhammad in your time. Why did you not seek the reality ofthe religion from him?”Somebody asked the Imam AS , “Miranji! Hazrat Muhiyuddin IbnArabi RA has said, ‘Haq [God] is perceived and Khalq [Created] isimagined.’ Hazrat Gesudaraz RAhas in reply said, ‘Haq [God] isimagined and Khalq [Creation] is perceived. If Hazrat Ibn Arabi RAwere in our times and had met me I would have converted him toIslam afresh by making him recite the Kalima [IslamicTestification].’ How is this?” In reply the Imam ASsaid, “In thismatter, Hazrat Gesudaraz RA was like a suckling baby before HazratIbn Arabi RA .”In short, Hazrat Imam ASstarted his journey from Gulbarga toBijapur under the command of Allah Most High. There, he campedat the mausoleum of the perfect saint Shah Hamza RA . That place iswell known till this day. In those days, the fort was inhabited.Later, the foundation for the outer fort was laid. From here theImam AS reached Raibagh and camped at the Jama’ Masjid. Then heproceeded towards the Dabhol port. There are many incidentsduring the journey. But this faqir aims at brevity. Verily, there isevidence of the Truth of the Imam AS . Then O people of Equity,what more evidence do you need to repose faith in the Imam AS ?Allah says, “Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?”112. Journey to MakkahThis is about Imam Mahdi AS ’s departure for Makkah for Hajpilgrimage, first claim to Mahdiship, return to Ahmadabad andincidents during the voyage.It is narrated that when Hazrat Imam Syed Muhammad JaunpuriMahdi al-Mau'ood AS arrived at the Dabhol port, he saw that peoplewere rushing to board the ship. He recited two couplets. Theirpurport is: “Where are you, O the people who are going for Haj?Your beloved [ma’shooq] is here, come here, come here. Come ifyou are desirous of God. But if you are not desirous of God, do notcome, do not come.” Elsewhere, the last line reads, “Those who donot desire! Do not come. Do not come!” Then the Imam AS boardedthe ship. Allah says in Quran, “…And take a provision (with you)for the journey, but best of provisions is right conduct…” 1 TheImam ASand his companions started their journey with theprovision of taqwaa and tawakkul [Piety and Trust in Allah].The most correct narrative says: When Hazrat Mahdi al-Mau'ood ASKhalifatullah embarked, there were 360 men with him. They werethe servants of Allah from various cities and from various tribes.The common people among them were superior saints of God.They had abandoned the world. They had sacrificed the love of theeffects and belongings of the world over their love for God. Theyhad trusted in Allah in all matters and circumstances. They hadassigned all their works to God. Their breasts were full of themanifest ulum [knowledge] and were illuminated with theimmanent ulum. May Allah be pleased with them all!When the Imam AS had sailed for some days [their number is knownto Allah alone], all of a sudden a storm hit from morning toevening threatening the ship. The companions told the Imam AS ,“Your servants are going to Ka’batullah [the Shrine at Makkah]1Quran, S. 55: 16 AYA.1Quran, S. 2: 197 AYA. Here ‘the right conduct’ stands for the Arabic wordtaqwaa, which, according to Arabic English Dictionary, means godliness,devoutness, piety.