In the name of Allah, most Kind most Merciful

Khatam Sharif
In honour of the venerable

Imam e Rabbani
RasulAllah

said, Indeed, Allah will send in this nation at the beginning or the end of the century, every
100 years, someone who will renew and resurrect the din.

Introduction
When Allah Almighty created the bodily form of Rasul Allah
, He did not discard the
excess clay, but He used it to make the forms of select saints from Rasul Allahs
nation.
These saints are high in rank and have a close connection with Rasul Allah
due to them
sharing some of his form. They share that DNA of Rasul Allah
and it is for this reason,
their temperament and thought process is identical to Rasul Allah . All Awliya are extra
ordinary, however, even amongst them, there are those who are, the elite of the elite.
Imam e Rabbani
is amongst this elite group of saints. Through his teachings and life, it is
apparent that he is a true reflection of the Prophet
himself. This is an indication of how
close he was to the Prophet . One of his biographers, Hadrat Badr Uddin
narrates,
You could sense that each and every action of our master, Imam e Rabbani
was based
upon the action of Rasul Allah . It was as if he was in the presence of Rasul Allah
and
was observing him and then doing that action. Even the smallest of gestures he did was
based on the Sunnah.
Imam e Rabbani
was the elite of the Awliya of this Ummah, and what he was granted in
terms of Divine favours, is difficult to put into words. He surpassed many other scholars
and Awliya in acquisition of knowledge and spiritual ranks. He achieved this through strict
adherence of the Sunnah and by upholding the commands of Allah Almighty.
For him there was no separation between Allah Almighty and His Prophet . Following the
Prophet
was in every way following Allah Almighty. There was no duality as far as he was
concerned, unlike others who thought otherwise. A saint was asked what they thought of the
Prophet , to which the reply was, I have no room in my heart for anyone other than Allah.
According to Imam e Rabbani , to love and obey the Prophet
in essence is to love and
obey Allah Almighty. On one occasion, Hadrat Umar
said to Rasul Allah , that he was
dearer to him than his family and wealth. Rasul Allah
corrected him, No, by Him in

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Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have complete faith) till I am dearer to you than your
own self. Hadrat Umar
then confirmed that he was now dearer to him than himself and
so his faith was complete; by loving Rasul Allah
more than himself.
It is only through loving Rasul Allah
a believer can in reality love Allah Almighty
Himself. Many people do not realise that attaining the love of Rasul Allah
is no trivial
matter; it is the highest of ranks. Imam e Rabbani
alludes to how much he strived to
achieve this spiritual rank;
There was a time period in my life when I felt an immense pain which would not go away.
When I reflected upon my life, I prayed to Allah Almighty for what He had granted me.
To any outsider, it would have seemed nothing was missing in my life. I had been granted
lineage of a very noble family, tracing my roots to Hadrat Umar . I had very pious parents
and had received spiritual training from my father, Shaykh Makhdum . I was also a very
knowledgeable scholar and had been granted a profound understanding on matters of fiqh. I
was married and had children. It would seem I had everything.
However, I realised what was missing in my life and I was full of remorse as it was my
greatest regret in life. For what I longed for, more than anything was to be in the presence of
Rasul Allah .
This immense pain I felt was only vanquished when I met my beloved master, Khawaja Baqi
Billah . To be in the company of Khwaja Baqi Billah
was like being in the presence of
Rasul Allah .
This time period in the life of Imam e Rabbani
was similar to the state of Mawlana Jalal
al-Din Rumi , when he uttered, 'I am missing something, I need Shams in my life'.
If the master is just a name and the murid has little or no passion towards him, then very little
progress is made as the relationship of the Sahaba (companions) with Rasul Allah
was
based on love. It was due to this love, that no matter what the situation, the companions
made sacrifices, giving up their homes and families.
There any many who lack passion towards their spiritual masters and are not able to make
sacrifices for their master as logic always intervenes with what do I get out of it?
These thoughts that consume the mind are due to a lack of love as intellect does nothing but
ask questions, whereas love does not ask questions. Those people who do not have love for
their master, are not consistent with their awrads, and therefore cannot progress.
The Awliya deem the lives they have led prior to meeting their masters, worthless. They
count their lives from the day they met their masters, saying, Through life we all have
something we love, but it is only when the beloved is your master, that you are on the path.
This relationship with the master does not apply on rationale because the Sahaba who
accepted Rasul Allah
as their master and gave up everything for him; and did so because
of love.
The masters pray, O my shaykh, you are my passion. You are the purpose of my existence.
If I didnt have you in my life then my life would not be worth living.

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Imam e Rabbani
explained, Love for the master is important as he is the spiritual key in
the process where people can connect to the spirituality of Rasul Allah . The masters do
not make claims that they are like Rasul Allah , but as they take on his mannerisms, they
become the connection for people to become connected to Rasul Allah .
They are the reminder of Rasul Allah
and this was what I felt after meeting and becoming
associated with Khwaja Baqi Billah .
Background
Imam e Rabbanis
full name is Abul Baraqat Badrudin Ahmed Faruqi Sirhindi . He is
the descendent of Hadrat Umar Faruq
about whom Rasul Allah
has said, truth (haqq)
is on the tip of Umars tongue, and on another occasion, the heart of Umar is so strong in
faith that the devil runs away from his shadow.
The lineage then moves through the eldest son of Hadrat Umar , Hadrat Abdullah bin
Umar
who was renowned for his absolute focus on observing the Sunnah. One day he
was travelling on a journey and suddenly stopped to rest with his camel under a tree. After a
short while he mounted his camel and continued with the remainder of his journey.
This confused the people who had accompanied him and he was asked, what is the point of
making the animal rest only for a short while and then carrying on the journey yourself.
Hadrat Abdullah bin Umar
replied, Once I was travelling with Rasul Allah , when he
came to this particular tree, he sat his animal under this tree and then continued with his
journey. I am fulfilling that Sunnah.
Imam e Rabbanis
ancestors migrated from Madinah Sharif to Kabul, and then later some
members of his family moved to Punjab, including Baba Farid Uddin Ganj e Shakar . One
of the ancestors, Imam Rafi Uddin
was a very pious individual who was requested by the
King to move to a place named Sirhind (lions den). The place was a jungle area and was
given this name due to being a dangerous place. Whenever the king would send his
entourage there, they would be looted by bandits, so he had decided the solution was to
build a city in this area and Imam Rafi Uddin
was to supervise this.
Work began in earnest for a city to be built in this jungle; however anything that was
constructed in the day would mysteriously be destroyed in the night. This puzzled Imam Rafi
Uddin
and so he sought advice from his Suhrawardi Shaykh. The master mentioned that
it is likely one of the workers is a wali who has been forced to work there, and he should find
him and the problem will be resolved.
Imam Rafi Uddin
located the wali and explained the purpose behind building a city in the
area. The wali noticed a luminous light glowing from the forehead of Imam Rafi Uddin
and
immediately agreed to willingly work on the project. A city was eventually built in Sirhind and
Imam Rafi Uddin
settled there with his family and had earned the respect of the rulers
and locals alike.
Shaykh Makhdum
The grandfather of Imam e Rabbani
was called Zayn ul Abidin
and his father was
called Shaykh Abdul Ahad . The local people fondly referred to him as Shaykh Makhdum

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meaning master. He had nisbat in the Chistiya and Qadriya silsila but predominantly he
followed the Chistiya. In the Chistiya spiritual lineage, his Grandmaster was Shaykh Abd alQadus
and his direct master was Shaykh Rukn al-Din . He also had nisbat in the
Qadriya silsila from Shaykh Ibrahim Muin al Hasan ul Husayni al Qadri .
At a young age, Shaykh Makhdum
was travelling in a particular area, when a local lady
stopped him and approached him. She mentioned she had noticed he was a pious person
and that would he consider her proposal of marriage to her sister, who was a very pious
lady. Shaykh Makhdum
explained he was a traveller and had very little money, but the
lady still persisted and eventually the blessed marriage took place.
Imam e Rabbani
was the fourth of seven sons of Shaykh Makhdum
and he was
th
named Ahmad. He was born on a Friday, 4 Shawwal 971 AH. His father had a dream prior
to his birth in which the earth was in darkness and wild beast roamed freely. A man on a
throne emerged and the darkness was repelled and the beasts sacrificed before him. A
Quranic ayah was being read aloud; And say, the truth has come, and falsehood has been
removed. Indeed, falsehood is to be removed. A local saint interpreted the dream for
Shaykh to mean that he will have a son who will remove darkness from the world by placing
reforms in place.
As a child, Imam e Rabbani
fell ill and his mother who was a pious lady feared for her
child. Imam e Rabbani
was taken to a local Qadri master who reassured the parents that
the child will not only survive this fever, but foretold that the child was destined to achieve a
great rank.
Shaykh Makhdum
would often tell his son stories about his Shaykh and his
Grandmasters, and so his first school of education was not the madrassa but his home.
Later he studied in Sialkot under Mullah Kamal ud Din Kashmiri
and he received ijazah in
hadith from Mawlana Yaqub Kashmiri .
Imam e Rabbanis
brothers were all pious and spiritual people. In the works of Imam e
Rabbani
there are some letters he has written as advice to two of his younger brothers,
Hadrat Masood
and Hadrat Moudodi
. He was the most prominent amongst his
brothers and very obedient towards his father. This made him the dearest to Shaykh
Makhdum
and so he earned many blessings and gained immense knowledge at his
fathers feet.
In later life, Imam e Rabbani
would often narrate stories his father had told him and
mention stories about Shaykh Jalal , his fathers best friend. He would often be moved to
tears when he related stories, as he was on one occasion when he mentioned the passing
away of Shaykh Jalal , saying Shaykh Jalal
was restless, and people asked him what
was bothering him. He said, the people came into existence to end up in non-existence. We
all desire to live forever but to do what? What have we done so far that we need to live
forever? Nothing! Our existence is to pass into non-existence.
One day Shaykh Makhdum
was sat with Shaykh Jamal , and a solider walked through
the door, dressed in his army uniform. Shaykh Jamal
started asking him about the army
and the King. The questioning angered the soldier who said, I came in here because I saw
lights from your lodge, I came to take some benefit not be quizzed about dunya.

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Shaykh Makhdum
remained silent during the conversation, but felt this soldier was a
spiritual person. When the soldier left, Shaykh Makhdum
followed him and asked him
about who he was. The soldier mentioned he had moved to the local neighbourhood and
was a Qadri Shaykh, his name was Shaykh Kamal
and he was a descendant of Shaykh
Abd al-Qadr Gilani . They both became close friends and Shaykh Kamal
along with his
family would often come to stay in Sirhind.
Shaykh Kamal
in his discourses would explain subtle matters of spirituality that would
leave Shaykh Makhdum
in awe. Matters would unravel themselves and things thought
not possible would become apparent, such was his spirituality. Shaykh Makhdum
would
say if you look with the insight and inner vision in the silsila Qadriyya then there has been no
greater Shaykh after Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Gilani
than Shaykh Kamal . He had a very
unique station and personality.
Imam e Rabbani
met the grandson of Shaykh Kamal
, Shaykh Sikandar
and
benefitted from his company. Imam e Rabbani
had great respect for Shaykh Sikandar
and once remarked, it is possible for you to look at the sun but you cannot look at the face
of Shaykh Sikandar
such was the power and majesty of these people.
Shaykh Sikandar
passed on the cloak of his great ancestor Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Gilani
to Imam e Rabbani , and said, We have a family trust that has been passed from all
our family because Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Gilani
said to our ancestors that I give you this
cloak which is for Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi . We have had it in our possession but we dont
want to give it because this is priceless to us, however we have been told again and again
that it is not for you, and so we must pass this onto you.
Shaykh Makhdum
was a man of great integrity, and lived his life in accordance with the
Sunnah, following the path of Azeema, making no concessions. He would dress and wear
footwear in line with the Sunnah.
Shaykh Makhdum
was an author who wrote many religious texts. He was aware of the
Naqshbandi path but as it was not predominant in India he had never met a Naqshbandi
Shaykh. He mentioned his own attraction to the path in his writings, saying, We have read
the books of the Naqshbandi masters and are aware of their practices and their secrets. We
have always desired to meet one of the Masters, so we can benefit from their anwaar (divine
lights).
Imam e Rabbani
narrated that his father mentioned in his book that on the spiritual path
one must be careful of what one eats. The source of that food must be halal, and the state of
the people who cook that food should be good. This was also the practice of Shah e
Naqshband , he would not touch food that had been prepared in anger as there was no
blessing in such food.
When Shaykh Makhdum
passed away in 1007 Hijri, he was in his eighties and Imam e
Rabbani
was at his fathers deathbed. Shaykh Makhdum
said, The truth is what the
grandmaster has said. Imam e Rabbani
assumed the grandmaster his father was
referring to was Shaykh Ibn Arabi
but his father corrected him, saying, I am referring to
Shaykh Abd al-Qudus , my grandmaster.

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Imam e Rabbani
narrated the advice he was given by his father at this time, Have a
good relationship and have love for the Ahl ul Bayt, it has a great role in a person
safeguarding their faith at the time of their death.
The last words of Shaykh Makhdum
I die in His love.

were, Praise be to Allah, I have lived in His love and

Once Shaykh Makhdum

met a darwish who narrated the following, I once went past an
area and saw a very beautiful lady. Immediately, I felt attracted towards her and at that
moment she veiled herself. I looked at myself and I had adopted her reflection such was the
impact of attachment in that one moment.
Shaykh Makhdum
understood that the darwish was expressing that if the impact of one
moment of attachment was such, what would happen to a murid if he had such attachment
to his master. Although the murid does not commence his journey on the spiritual path
resembling his Shaykh, once his focus moves away from himself and he becomes
completely absorbed in his Shaykh, he begins to embody the characteristics of his master
and resembles him in outer appearance.
His master
The master of Imam e Rabbani
was Muhammad Baqi, who was later known as Khwaja
Baqi Billah . He was born in 1554 in Kabul, Afghanistan and it was more than mere
coincidence that Imam e Rabbani
himself was also born in the same year.
He was from a very pious family, his father was a learned man who passed away early on
and his mother was a very pious lady who would stay with him throughout her life. From a
young age as Khwaja Baqi Billah
had a longing which made him so restless that he would
go away for months and months into forests and jungles. This longing was his attraction
towards Allah Almighty and had such jazbah that he never saw anything else in his life, but
his Lord.
His mother worried about him as he would disappear for long periods of time, she pleaded
with Allah Almighty, O Allah, give him what he is seeking or else take me away. I cannot see
him suffer so much.
Whenever anyone mentioned a holy person, Khwaja Baqi Billah
would go to do ziyara, sit
in their company and benefit from them. He travelled to many countries including India,
Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Whilst he was in Kashmir, he was instructed to
meet a Shaykh in Kashmir. However he could not locate this Shaykh and the only
information he found out was that there was a sitar maker who had the same name. Khwaja
Baqi Billah
visited the sitar maker and realised he was a hidden master and observed him
being totally focused on stringing a musical instrument.
After the sitar maker had finished for the day, Khwaja Baqi Billah
met him with great
respect, and then asked, Master, the job you do requires one hundred percent focus, such
that you cannot even be negligent for a second or else the string would break. I have not
seen you sit and focus on Allah yet I have been told you are the person who has the closest
connection with Him. The Shaykh replied, My son, not for one second is my heart absent

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from Him. Whatever I am doing, I am never forgetful of Him. And this is the state you have to
attain.
Khwaja Baqi Billah
continued with his journey to many countries and although he had met
many holy people, he felt very restless as he had not achieved his goal of finding a master.
He had developed a spiritual connection with the Khwajagan masters, Shah e Naqshband
and Khwaja Ahrar
who would often come to him in visions and give him instructions.
One day, Khwaja Baqi Billah
heard a voice coming from one of the Khwajagan masters,
saying O son our eyes are looking towards you. He understood this meant that the master
was waiting for him, so he made his way to visit Khwaja Imkangi . Within a few days,
Khwaja Imkangi
gave him full permission and authority to give ijaza for tariqat. The
Shaykh sensed the other murids jealousy over the new arrivals rapid progression. He
explained to them, Khwaja Baqi Billah
has come fully ready and without any desires. All I
am doing is polishing him.
Khwaja Imkangi instructed him to go to India where at that particular time period; the
Naqshbandiya path was not popular. Khwaja Baqi Billah
had such humility that he said,
Master, I am a useless person. What good am I here, or in India?
Following this, Khawaja Baqi Billah
had a dream which he later narrated to his master; A
beautiful parrot came and I desired that it would sit on my hand. The parrot flew towards me
and sat on my hand. I put a sugar cube inside its mouth and then in return the parrot put a
sugar cube inside my mouth.
Khwaja Imkangi
stated, This is good news, the parrot is a bird of India, so this means
your mission is in India. Giving the sugar cube to the parrot is a sign that you will train a very
capable and gifted individual. The parrot giving sugar back to you means that this individual
will be of such calibre that you will also benefit through him. Do not delay; pack your bags
and go find that parrot in India, he is waiting for you and requires you to nurture him to
perfection.
Khwaja Baqi Billah
left his homeland and travelled to Lahore, hoping that he would
receive an indication about where he was to go from there. One day he visited an intoxicated
darwish, a majdhub who was known for being harsh towards anyone who visited him.
Khwaja Baqi Billah
began to visit the majdhub daily, and noticed that he would be harsh
to everyone else but was not rude towards him. Eventually, the majdhub gave him an
indication that he needed to travel to Delhi, where there was no Naqshbandi presence at that
time.
Whilst Khwaja Baqi Billah
was in Lahore there was a famine and whenever food was
presented to Khwaja Baqi Billah , he would say I cannot eat when so many people are
hungry, give it to the people who are hungry.
Whilst travelling from Lahore to Delhi, Khwaja Baqi Billah
passed Sirhind. He had spiritual
information that the Qutub of the time was from this area, but despite making enquires he
was not able to locate who it was and so continued on with his journey. Regarding this
incident, Imam Rabbani
commented that on that day his father had gone out of Sirhind,
otherwise it was likely that Shaykh Makhdum
and Khwaja Baqi Billah
would have met.

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Khwaja Baqi Billah

was in his mid-thirties when he came and settled in Delhi and what he
would go on to accomplish in such a short time, is beyond belief. Within three years of
staying in Delhi, he had converted some of the most prominent people in the Mughal Empire
to the Naqshbandi path.
And this was despite having such humility, that if somebody came to him to take bayat, he
would say, Why come to me? The people would say we have heard you are a Shaykh, and
he would reply, I have heard a lot of things but there are many other people, when you find
a Shaykh, tell me and I will come with you.
It was Khwaja Baqi Billahs
practice to hide his inner state, when people visited him and
mentioned they had dreamt about him, he would reply, You must be mistaken, it must have
been someone else; I am a useless person. Another time, a person visited Khwaja Baqi
Billah
travelling from Agra seeking bayat. Khwaja Baqi Billah
said, I am a seeker
myself, do I look like a Shaykh? I am not what you think I am. You think highly of me but I
am nothing. Keep on looking.
One day, a local mithai maker noticed a group of people had come to visit Khawaja Baqi
Billah . It was well known that although Khwaja Baqi Billah
had prominent government
officials as followers, he would not take anything from them and he had no worldly
possessions of his own. The mithai maker quickly made some food and brought it to the
door of Khawaja Baqi Billah . This act pleased Khawaja Baqi Billah
immensely and
gained his pleasure as it may have been a small act but it was done with sincere intention
and thoughtfulness. With this one act of selflessness, the mithai maker was able to assure
his betterment here and hereafter.
This characteristic was evident in the family of Imam e Rabbani , including his ancestor,
Baba Farid
who served his master, Hadrat Qutubdin Bakhtiar Kaki
in Delhi. One day,
Baba Farid
was sent to get some items from the bazaar. Unusually Baba Farid
took a
very long time, so when he eventually returned, his master queried about the delay. He said,
Master, the reason was that when I reached the bazaar, was there, there was an
announcement made, that a wali has come and if you do his ziyarat, see him, you will be
granted Paradise. Everyone ran off to the Shaykh.
Hadrat Qutubdin
asked, Farid do you not want paradise? Why did you not go and do
ziyarat? Baba Farid
said, We have been told by Rasul Allah
that you will be with the
one you love, so we are with you master. Wherever you go, we will be with you, nowhere
else. Indeed, Paradise is the lot of the pious and those that love them will be with them.
Khwaja Baqi Billah
led a very simple life, and lived in very simple surroundings. He would
eat whatever was available and followed the way of Shah e Naqshband
who would not
eat food that was prepared by an angry person. Khwaja Baqi Billah
had settled in Delhi
along with his mother. He was married and was blessed with two sons, Hadrat Abdullah
and Hadrat Ubayd Ullah . His mother used to look after the followers who would come to
visit him. She was a very pious lady and although she was old she would supervise the
kitchen taking immense care in the preparation and serving of food.
One day Khwaja Baqi Billah
said to some of his followers, It is time we gave our dear
mother a rest and gave this duty to supervise the kitchen to somebody else. When his

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mother was told about this, she started crying and said to her son, Why are you punishing
me by taking this blessed activity to serve food away. As long as I am alive, do not stop me.
He would often visit the shrine of the Grand Shaykh of the Chistiyya, Khwaja Qutub al Din
Bakhtiar Kaki
who was the khalifa of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz . One day he was sat at
the shrine seeking blessings from Khwaja Qutub al Din , with the following words, A
darwish has come to your door, please give him some offerings.
Khwaja Qutub al Din
appeared to him in a vision and said, When our master, Khwaja
Gharib Nawaz
stayed with Grandshaykh Khwaja Yusuf Hamadani
he was granted
blessings. I grant you what was granted to my Shaykh from your Shaykh.
On one occasion, the khadims of Khwaja Qutub al Din Bakhtiar Kaki
were aware that
Khwaja Baqi Billah
was coming to the shrine, so they decided to welcome and honour
him with a raised platform. A malang came and began to complain that about why these
arrangements were being made. The khadims explained they were anticipating the arrival of
a pious guest and at that precise moment Khwaja Baqi Billah
arrived.
The malang looked at Khwaja Baqi Billah
and in a patronising tone said, Are you the one
they are doing all this for? Khwaja Baqi Billah
replied, I am not worthy of anything. I
have not told them to do this, it was their own inspiration. The malang began to swear and
curse Khwaja Baqi Billah which angered the followers.
Khwaja Baqi Billah
did not retaliate in any way to the ill-mannered treatment but politely
approached the malang, wiped the sweat from his forehead and offered an apology for the
inconvenience and finally gave him money.
This was the subtle nature of Khwaja Baqi Billah , to do khidmat e halq, service for people.
It was his practice to offer his horse to help the weak or a person carrying a heavy load.
However, if approaching a populated area, he would disguise his good deed by mounting
the horse and saying farewell to the person he had helped. This was to ensure that people
within the vicinity did not become aware of the help he had just given.
He would give tarbiyyah in a very subtle way. One of his murids from China would take six
months to travel to meet him, to take just one lesson, and then return home which would
take him another six months. He would instruct the murids to sit down and focus on the heart
and say the holy name, Allah. He explained, It is the purpose of the other turak to negate,
then affirm; but the purpose is to affirm There is no God but Allah. People today do not
have the capacity to go through such rigid disciplines, so it is necessary to make it simple so
they can progress without hardship.
One day, a senior murid of Khwaja Baqi Billah , Hussam Uddin , reported a sinful
neighbour of his for being a nuisance and so he was arrested by the local authorities. When
Khwaja Baqi Billah
found out, he summoned this murid and said, Why did you report this
man? You must be such a righteous person that you see the sin of others. We have not
reached your stage. We have never noticed any sinful act of his. This incident illustrates
that it was the practice of Khwaja Baqi Billah
to do kasur e deed (looking for faults within
oneself) before pointing the blame at others.

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It is mentioned that physically Khwaja Baqi Billah

was very feeble in appearance;
however he had a very strong spiritual presence. One day, as the imam was giving the
khutbah, he looked at Khwaja Baqi Billah
and fell off the pulpit; another imam had to
complete the khutbah. Another time, as he was passing through a village that was
predominantly occupied with Hindus, the villagers commented, looking at him reminded us
of God. Imam e Rabbani
explained that Khwaja Baqi Billah
was always in the Divine
Presence, and if he looked at someone, he left an impact on people.
A close murid mentions, I was in the chamber of Khwaja Baqi Billah
and noticed his shirt
was open and his turban was undone. I had never seen him like this and asked my master
what was the problem. He said I have been bombarded by Divine Grace, but this is not what
I want, I want Him.
One day Khwaja Baqi Billah
was praying, when a loud echo came from his heart. The
echo shocked the people around him and Khwaja Baqi Billah
quickly went into his
chamber. He later explained to a murid, I was in prayer and my soul wanted to leave the
body and enter the Divine Presence. I went up and up through the heavens and was told it is
not the time so go back; the echo was the pain I was feeling.
Once when Khwaja Baqi Billah
was passing by an orchard, he stopped and offered two
rakats prayers. After he had finished praying, he looked up and saw that there was dust on
his clothes. He said, This place has attachment to us, when I pass away then bury me
here.
Khwaja Baqi Billah
alluded to his death when he spoke about an event that would come
to pass. He did not directly name himself but mentioned a darwish in the Naqshbandi order
will pass away. He passed away at the age of forty, and had in a period of four years firmly
established the Naqshbandi path in India which has continued to grow since that time.

The Reformer
Normally it is very difficult to get reliable information on the life of a Sufi master, however the
life story of Imam e Rabbani
was written by two of his immediate followers during his
lifetime. The works include a description of his daily practice, from getting up at tahajjud,
making wudu, what he prayed during the day and his daily wird throughout the day.
During his fathers life time Imam e Rabbani
had desired to go to Hajj but had delayed
this and stayed in Sirhind, due to condition of his father. After his father had passed away,
Imam e Rabbani
made intention to go Hajj. He left Sirhind and travelled to Delhi, with the
intention to move on to Bombay, where he could then travel via sea to the port in Yemen.
When he arrived in Delhi, he did not know anyone there apart from a friend, Shaykh Hassan
who had studied with him in Kashmir. They had both studied at a madrassa called Mullah
Kamal Uddin Kashmiri, in the Kashmiri muhalla, located in present day Sialkot, Pakistan
where Allama Iqbals
family are also buried.
Shaykh Hassan
had become a murid of Khwaja Baqi Billah
and would often talk about
his master. A desire to meet his friends master grew within Imam e Rabbani
and so one
day at the request of his friend, they set out to meet Khwaja Baqi Billah .
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Like his father, Imam e Rabbani

had also up to this point never had any interaction with
the Naqshbandiya silsila. His main interactions had been with the Chishti, Qadri and
Kubrawiyya orders but he did have love for the Naqshbandiya silsila and was well informed
of their principles and the great masters of that path.
When Imam e Rabbani
met Khawaja Baqi Billah , he was content and thanked Allah
Almighty that he had found his master and understood the concept of being a true murid as
being the one who desires to be like his Shaykh. The prayers of Imam e Rabbani
to thank
Allah Almighty for what he had been granted was to be expected, but it was unusual to hear
Khawaja Baqi Billah
constantly being thankful to Allah Almighty for the arrival of Imam e
Rabbani . The reason for the prayers of Khawaja Baqi Billah
was that he realised he
had found his Indian parrot, the parrot he had dreamt about.
Imam e Rabbani
was the murad, the follower of extraordinary ability that a master prays
for. This was based on the noble Sunnah as Hadrat Umar
was the murad, of Rasul Allah
, and he prayed to Allah Almighty to make Hadrat Umar
Muslim and strengthen Islam
through him. Khawaja Baqi Billah
praised and thanked Allah for sending him such a
calibre murid.
It is a testament to Imam e Rabbanis
high rank that his master, Khwaja Baqi Billah
wrote the following to one of his acquaintances about him;
A person called Shaykh Ahmad from Sirhind has come to us. He is very knowledgeable
person and a strong person in terms of spirituality. He has stayed in the company of this
humble servant. We have seen wondrous things in him. It seems as if he is a lamp from
which the world will be illuminated.
Praise be to God his states are complete and perfect, and based on reality. I have met his
brothers and his children, and they are all pious and learned people. They are all pearls,
they have great potential, and his sons who are infants are secrets of God. They are like that
special tree mentioned in the Quran, shejra tul tayba, the roots are in Earth but the branches
reach out to heaven. They have wonderful hearts. May Allah nurture their potential.
And he has been given authorisation and sent back to his home town, Sirhind; and I have
handed over the whole group of my followers to him.
Imam e Rabbani
was not expecting this turn of events and humbly declined when the
offer of authorization was given. Just like his master, he also practiced kasur e deed, and
said, Master I am a useless person, how can I look after them?
With reservation, Imam e Rabbani
accepted the duty after his master said, You are not
asking for anything, we are giving this to you so accept as it is bad manners to doubt
because then you will doubt the people who are giving you that power.
So in his lifetime, Khawaja Baqi Billah
handed over all his followers to Imam e Rabbani
for supervision. Imam e Rabbani
accepted the duty and returned to Sirhind, to teach
and guide people to tariqah. In all Imam e Rabbani
went to see Khwaja Baqi Billah
three times, staying each time for a period of a few months. Each time the murid would
relate his experiences and the master would give further instructions. On the third visit to
Delhi, the master had already passed away when he arrived. He took charge of the khanqah

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and appointed people to perform certain duties including the welfare of the family of his
master. He took it upon himself to educate the masters two sons who went on to become
esteemed scholars.
One day after having prayed fajr, an overwhelming feeling came over him that humbled him
and made him feel like the most useless person on Earth. As he humbled himself further
through kasur e deed, Divine robes adorned him, one after another. The more he humbled
further, the more Divine Grace favoured him with majestic robes.
Though Imam e Rabbani
had permissions in seven orders, he gave preference to the
Naqshbandi order, where spiritual progress is dependent on the observance of the Shariah,
He took utmost care in following the Shariah, and advised his companions to strictly follow
the Sunnah and study matters of fiqh with great care.
Even though he was an expert in matters of fiqh he always carried the leading books of fiqh
with him, whether at home or travelling. If the Jurists disagreed about a matter, whether it
was permissible or not, he would avoid such an act; thus completely leaving what is
ambiguous. He would say, Whatever little I have achieved has been through following the
Sunnah, there is no greater excellence than following the Sunnah.
A wali one commented, Sufism was a reality without a name, but now it is a name without a
reality. This was the situation during the lifetime of Imam e Rabbani , where religion had
become corrupted by scholars who had made reforms that were not permitted by Shariah,
just to please the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty. Many forbidden things were justified as it
was the order of the emperor Akbar. Imam e Rabbani
was unafraid of the strength of the
emperor; he refuted such practices and so began to make enemies within the emperors
court.
When Akbars son, Jahangir took over, he continued many of the bad practices, including
the custom that whoever entered the court had to prostate to the emperor. Imam e Rabbani
rejected this practice and corrupt scholars began to give fatwas against him. This was a
very difficult period for the true scholars and many had migrated to Makkah sharif and
Madinah sharif in dismay at the situation in India. However, Imam Rabbani
had been
instructed his role was to be the reformer; he had to remain here.
He was arrested by government officials and taken to the emperors court. The cronies
within the emperors court were aware he would not prostrate to the emperor, so they had a
special door made which was very low in height. Imam e Rabbani
was instructed to enter
through this door, and it was thought as he would have to bow his head a little to enter, that
will be sufficient to accept he has acknowledged prostrating in front of the emperor.
However, Imam e Rabbani
put his foot in first, displaying the sole of his feet to the
emperor. This angered the people in court and they ordered him to prostrate, but he
responded, It is forbidden in Islam, so I will not do it!
Jahanghir called upon Imam e Rabbani
to explain the charges levelled against him. As
Imam e Rabbani
had refused to bow upon the entering the Kings court, Jahanghir out of
spite had him imprisoned even though he was satisfied with Imam e Rabbanis
defence of
the charges.

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Imam e Rabbani
bore the sufferings of imprisonment with patience and dignity; after all
he knew all that had happened was with the will of Allah Almighty and he used his time to
gain further closeness to Him. He continued with his work in prison with the same vigour as
he had done outside. Impressed by his characteristics and teachings, hundreds of nonMuslim convicts embraced Islam and became his murids. Imam e Rabbani
said, Allah
Almighty has sent us here like he sent Prophet Yusuf
and through that many people were
guided.
There were many followers of Imam e Rabbani
who were very high ranking officials in the
government, and they were awaiting the order to rebel against the emperor. However, Imam
e Rabbani
did not agree to any such rebellion, explaining our mission is not to replace the
emperor, it is only to stop those things which are against the noble Shariah.
A year later Jahanghir set Imam e Rabbani
free because Rasul Allah
came to him in a
dream and said, I am angry with you because you have imprisoned one of my beloved
followers. Jahanghir considered Imam e Rabbani
a threat to the state and was unsure to
whom Rasul Allah
was referring to. However, he was quickly told his name and so he
freed Imam e Rabbani . Jahanghir apologised for his actions and honoured him with a
robe, returned his property and offered him a thousand rupees. He gave him the option to
return home or stay with him in the camp.
Surprisingly Imam e Rabbani
decided to stay; this is what he had initially intended; to be
able to influence the King and his officials for the betterment of Islam. He had various
sessions with Jahanghir which seem to have had an impact because he reversed earlier unIslamic laws that had been implemented. He showed more zeal towards Islamic governance,
rebuilt previously destroyed mosques and encouraged Arabic and Islamic teaching.
At one point he became so sincere that Imam e Rabbani
said to him If on the Day of
Judgment Allah Almighty forgives us and grants us paradise, we will not step into paradise
without you. He was touched by this because he expected him to be bitter due to his
actions, however these are the qualities of the holy people; they do not hold grudges or
vendettas because they understand Rasul Allah
saying, I swear by Him in whose hand is
Muhammads
life, the most beloved person to Allah is the one who loves Him and loves
His servants, and guides other people to become Allahs friends.
During these travels Imam e Rabbani
was also accompanied by his two sons, however,
Imam e Rabbani
became more and more withdrawn. They were hurt by their father
withdrawing from everyone but further saddened when their father at that time at the age of
53, foretold them of his death at the age of 63. Imam e Rabbani
was pleased with this
because Rasul Allah
and three of his Caliphs, Hadrat Abu Bakr , Hadrat Umar
and
Hadrat Ali
had shared the same age. He called both his sons; Hadrat Muhammad Said
and Hadrat Muhammad Masum
and said to them, I dont have any interest in worldly
matters anymore; I want to be with my Lord. So I want to prepare for my Akhirah.
After spending three years in the camp of Jahanghir, Imam e Rabbani
returned to Sirhind
Sharif where he reduced his commitments and devoted himself to dhikr and prayer. One
night he had an asthma attack which was far severe than what he normally experienced.
Whilst asleep, Shaykh Abd-al Qadr Gilani
appeared in a dream and advised him to give
commentary on a poem of his, and then Allah Almighty will cure him. However, he had a

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great desire to meet his Lord that he did not wished to be cured. He did though recover and
began to go to the mosque again. One day some of the close companions asked, master,
why have you cut off from us? Imam e Rabbani
explained to them, This is not the time
for me to associate with anything else but Allah; I am in His presence.
Imam e Rabbani
later remarked to one murid, In two months we will not be sleeping in
this apartment.' The murid initially assumed he would move to another apartment in the
complex but later realised this was a reference to his demise.
One of his sons asked him, 'Father why are you becoming so cold to us, why can you not
see our pain, we do not want to see you departed from us.' Imam e Rabbani
replied, The
Lord has greater love for you than me, if I stay alive and give you love and compassion, your
Lord has greater love for you so do not think like that. His compassion and love for you will
increase when I am gone. When I die my compassion and love for you will not be gone, it
will continue and increase when I am gone.
During this time he also said, Any perfection that was capable for a non-Prophet, through
the blessings of Rasul Allah
I have been granted it.
In the last week of his life, he summoned his sons and transmitted spiritual things to their
hearts. Their message was to hold firmly to the way of Rasul Allah , this was his lifetime,
this was his message. He said, follow the sunnah in my burial and bury me in an unknown
area.
A person came and narrated a dream that he had seen a tree, which was lush and full of
fruits, reaching to the skies with thousands of people sat under its shade. Then a storm
came and the tree fell and the people began to cry. The followers took that dream as a sign
that Imam e Rabbanis
death is imminent.
A day before they passed away, they called the people who used to serve them, and said, I
have given you a lot of trouble, please forgive me. It is just one more night of hard work.
The next day, Friday 23rd Safar 1034 AH, aged 63 at 10 am in the morning, he
made wudu and lied down on his right side and peacefully passed from this world to meet
his Lord. His last form of worship was the nafls he had prayed at that time. When people
came to give the ghusl, they saw that his hands were folded in the same manner as in
prayer. Whilst washing his body, they moved the hands to wash underneath and the hands
themselves returned to the same posture. His body was tender and soft, allowing for
the ghusl to be performed with ease.
His eldest son, Hadrat Muhammad Sadiq
had passed away during his lifetime and was
buried near the mosque. His sons decided to bury their father next to their brother.
Rasul Allah
said, ' as you live, you die'. This is a reflection of a life he lived for Allah
Almightys sake by following in full, the example of RasulAllah
and so in death it is also a
reflection of that beautiful life.

Al Fatiha

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Khatam Sharif dedicated to Imam e Rabbani

which Hadrat Sahib
sangis, many people read this for immense blessings.

used to give to

It is a source of great blessing to read the Khatam Sharif of Hadrat Mujaddid Alf Thani
and send him the merit, the Khatam is as follows:
Durud Sharif 100 times
La hawla wala quwata illah billah 500 times
Durud Sharif 100 times
Read Surah Fatiha, send blessings to Rasul Allah , the Khwajagan masters, especially
Imam e Rabbani
and then at the end do the same, and any need you have, you ask for
the sake of Imam e Rabbani .
Al Fatiha

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