Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Muslim scholar saint and poet who established the ''
Suhrawardiyya
The Suhrawardiyya ( ar, سهروردية, fa, سهروردیه) is a Sufi order founded by Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi (died 1168). Lacking a centralised structure, it eventually divided into various branches. The order was especially prominent in I ...
'' order of
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in medieval
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, later becoming one of the most influential spiritual leaders of his era.
Life
Abu Muhammad Bahauddin Zakariya, later known simply as Bahauddin Zakariya, was born around 1170 CE in ''Kot Kehror'' (now known as
Karor Lal Esan
Karor Lal Esan ( Saraiki, Punjabi, ur, ) is a city of Layyah District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Karor Lal Esan Tehsil and administrative subdivision of the district.
History
Etymology
Its old name ...
), a town near the ancient city of
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
, in the southern part of the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
province of modern
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. His grandfather, Shah Kamal-ud-Din Ali Shah Qureshi, had arrived in Multan from
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
,
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
while en route to the
Khwarezm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...
region of
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
.
Bahauddin Zakariya descended from the lineage of Asad Ibn Hashim, and was hence a
Hashmi Al-Hashimi, also transliterated Al-Hashemi ( ar, الهاشمي), Hashemi, Hashimi or Hashmi ( fa, هاشمی) is an Arabic, Arabian, and Persian surname.Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
ﷺ.
The renowned
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Sufi master Shahab al-Din Abu Hafs Umar Suhrawardi of
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
awarded Zakariya the spiritual title ''Caliph'' in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, and then assigned him back to the Multan region.
For fifteen years, Zakariya travelled to different cities in southern Punjab, where the order was able to attract large numbers of converts from
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
. Zakariya finally settled in Multan in 1222. Under his influence, Multan became known as "''Baghdad of the East,''" and is referred by Zakariya in his Persian poetry:
Zakariya became a vocal critic of Multan's ruler at the time,
Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha
Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha or Kaba-cha ( fa, ناصرالدین قباچه) was the Muslim Turkic Kipchak governor of Multan, appointed by the Ghurid ruler Muhammad Ghori in 1203.
Successors of Ghori
Ghori had no offspring, but he treated thous ...
, and sided with
Iltutmish
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus ...
, the
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
Sultan of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
when he overthrew Qabacha in 1228. Zakariya's support was crucial for Iltutmish's victory, and so he was awarded the title ''Shaikh-ul-Islam'' by Iltutmish to oversee the state's spiritual matters, in gratitude for his support. Zakariya was also granted official state patronage by the Sultan.
During his lifetime, Zakariya befriended
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
Hazrat Sayyid Usman Marwandi, (1177 - 19 February 1274) popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (), was a Sufi saint and poet of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was born in Marwand, Sistan to a family from Baghdad ...
- a widely revered Sufi saint from Sindh's, and founder of the
Qalandariyya
The Qalandariyyah ( ar, قلندرية), Qalandaris, Qalandars or Kalandars are wandering ascetic Sufi dervishes. The term covers a variety of sects, not centrally organized and may not be connected to a specific tariqat. One was founded by Qa ...
order of wandering
dervish
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...
es. As ''Shaikh-ul-Islam,'' Zakariya was able to assuage orthodox Muslims, who were offended by the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's teachings. Zakariya, and Shahbaz Qalandar, together with Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar of the
Chisti
The Chishtī Order ( fa, ''chishtī'') is a tariqa, an order or school within the mystic Sufi tradition of Sunni Islam. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. It began with Abu Ishaq Shami in Chisht, a ...
order, and Zakariya also befriended Syed Jalalauddin Bukhari,which then became apart of the legendary ''Haq Char Yaar'', or "Four friends" group, which is highly revered among South Asian Muslims.
Spiritual philosophy
Zakariya's ''
Tariqat
A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth".
...
'', or Sufi philosophical orientation, was to the renowned
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Sufi master
Shahab al-Din Abu Hafs Umar Suhrawardi
Shahab al-Din Abu Hafs Umar Suhrawardi (c. 1145 – 1234) was a Persian Sufi and nephew of Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi.
He expanded the Sufi order of Suhrawardiyya that had been created by his uncle Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi, and is the person respons ...
of
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. The Suhrawardi order rejected a life of poverty, as espoused by the
Chisti
The Chishtī Order ( fa, ''chishtī'') is a tariqa, an order or school within the mystic Sufi tradition of Sunni Islam. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. It began with Abu Ishaq Shami in Chisht, a ...
order that was more prevalent in the
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
region. Instead, the Suhrawardis believed in ordinary food and clothing, and rejected the Chisti assertion that spirituality lay upon a foundation of poverty. The Suhrawardis also rejected the early Chisti practice of dissociation from the political State.
Zakariya's preachings emphasized the need to conform to usual Islamic practices like fasting ( ''roza'') and alms-giving (''
zakat
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ne ...
''), but also advocated a philosophy of scholarship (''
ilm Ilm or ILM may refer to:
Acronyms
* Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product
* '' I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1
* Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets
* Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion ...
'') combined with spirituality. His emphasis on teaching all humans, regardless of class or ethnicity, set him apart from his contemporary Hindu mystics.
He did not reject the traditional of spiritual music that was heavily emphasized in Chisti worship, but only partook in it on occasion. He rejected the Chisti tradition of bowing in reverence to religious leaders - a practice that may have been borrowed from Hinduism.
Impact
Zakariya's teachings spread widely throughout southern Punjab and
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, and drew large numbers of converts from Hinduism. His successors continued to exert strong influences over southern Punjab for the next several centuries, while his order spread further east into regions of northern India, especially in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
.
Shrine
Baha-ud-Din Zakariya died in 1268 and his mausoleum (''Darbar'') is located in Multan. The mausoleum is a square of , measured internally. Above this is an
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
, about half the height of the square, which is surmounted by a hemispherical
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
. The mausoleum was almost completely ruined during the
Siege of Multan
The siege of Multan began on 19 April 1848 and lasted until 22 January 1849, and saw fighting around Multan (in present-day Pakistan) between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire. It began with a rebellion against a ruler imposed ...
in 1848 by the British, but was soon afterward restored by local Muslims. This section uses content copied verbatim from this source, which is public domain.Mausoleum of Shah Bahauddin Zakariya "Multan City Online", Updated 2005, Retrieved 16 February 2018
Many pilgrims visit his shrine at the time of his
urs
Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc ...
Suhrawardiyya
The Suhrawardiyya ( ar, سهروردية, fa, سهروردیه) is a Sufi order founded by Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi (died 1168). Lacking a centralised structure, it eventually divided into various branches. The order was especially prominent in I ...
Commemorative honors
*
Bahauddin Zakaria Express
''Bahauddin Zakaria Express'' ( Seraiki, ur, ) is a passenger train operated daily bSSR Groupbetween Karachi and Multan. The trip takes approximately 16 hours and 5 minutes to cover a published distance of , traveling along a stretch of the ...
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
is named after him, which runs between
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
and
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
.
*
Bahauddin Zakariya University
Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) ( ur, ) is a public university with its main campus in Multan, Pakistan. Bahauddin Zakariya University was founded in 1975 as Multan University, and is the 2nd largest university in Punjab. It was renamed i ...
located in Multan is named after him which is the largest institution in Southern Punjab.