Usman Harooni ( ur, ) was an early modern
wali
A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...
or
Sufi saint of
Islam in India
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Musli ...
, a successor to
Shareef Zandani
Shareef Zandani (1098–10 November 1215), also known as Nooruddin, was a Sufi saint in India. He was a successor to Maudood Chishti, 13th link in the Sufi silsila of the Chishti Order, and the peer of Usman Harooni.
He was born in a city ca ...
, sixteenth link in the
Silsila of the
Chishti order
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 ...
, and master of
Moinuddin Chishti
Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sijzī (1143–1236 CE), known more commonly as Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī or Moinuddin Chishti, or by the epithet Gharib Nawaz (),Blain Auer, "Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, TH ...
.
Usman Harooni was born in Haroon,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. His year of birth is variously given as 1096, 1116 and 1131 AD (490, 510 and 526
AH). He is also known by the nicknames Abu Noor and Abu Mansur.
Early life
When he was young, he met a mystic named Chirk. This association brought about a significant transformation in his life. As a result, he decided to seek a higher moral and spiritual life.
Harooni later met
Shareef Zandani
Shareef Zandani (1098–10 November 1215), also known as Nooruddin, was a Sufi saint in India. He was a successor to Maudood Chishti, 13th link in the Sufi silsila of the Chishti Order, and the peer of Usman Harooni.
He was born in a city ca ...
, a mystic and saint of the Chishti order, and requested to enroll as his spiritual disciple. Zandani accepted his request by placing a four-edged cap upon his head.
Zandani told him that the four-edged cap implied the following four things:
:First is the renunciation of this world
:Second is the renunciation of the world hereafter
:Third is the renunciation of the desires of the self
:Fourth is the renunciation of everything other than God
Mystic
Harooni spent over thirty years in the company of his spiritual guide. During this period, he engaged in ascetic practices and prayers. As time passed, he gained many spiritual accomplishments. Zandani asked him guide to move on and spread the gospel of truth.
Spiritual lineage
The traditional
silsila (spiritual lineage) of the Chishti order is as follows
*'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib
*
Hasan of Basra
Abu Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as Hasan of Basra (Arabic: الحسن البصري, romanized: ''Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī''; 642 - 15 October 728) for short, or as Hasan al-Basri, was an early Muslim preacher, ascetic ...
, d. 728, an early Persian Muslim theologian
*
'Abdul Wāḥid Bin Zaid Abul Faḍl, d. 793, an early Sufi saint
*
Al-Fudhayl bin 'Iyyadh
*
Ibrahim ibn Adham
Ibrahim ibn Adham also called Ibrahim Balkhi (); c. 718 – c. 782 / AH c. 100 – c. 165 is one of the most prominent of the early ascetic Sufi saints.
The story of his conversion is one of the most celebrated in Sufi legend, as that of a prin ...
, a legendary early Sufi ascetic
*Ḥudhayfah al-Mar'ashī
*Amīnuddīn Abū Ḥubayrah al-Baṣrī
*Mumshād Dīnwarī Al Alawi
*Abu Ishaq Shamī chishti (d. 940, founder of the Chishti order proper)
*Abu Abdaal Chishtī
*Naseruddin Abu Muhammad Chishtī
*
Abu Yusuf Bin Saamaan
Sayyed Nasir-ud-deen Abu Yusuf Chishti ibn Abu Nasr Muhammad Saman was an early day Sufi Saint.Maudood Chishti
Maudood Chishti ( ur, ) (also known as Qutubuddin, Shams Sufiyaan and Chiraag Chishtiyaan) was an early day Sufi Saint, a successor to his father and master Abu Yusuf Bin Saamaan, twelfth link in the Sufi silsilah of Chishti Order, and the Mas ...
, d. 1139
*
Shareef Zandani
Shareef Zandani (1098–10 November 1215), also known as Nooruddin, was a Sufi saint in India. He was a successor to Maudood Chishti, 13th link in the Sufi silsila of the Chishti Order, and the peer of Usman Harooni.
He was born in a city ca ...
, d. 1215 CE, 612 AH
*Usman Harooni
*saifan maiook chisti d.1100
*hazi roomi d.1100
Disciples
Harooni had many disciples, including:
*Sultan Ul Hind Ata E Rasool Syed Khwaja Ghareb Nawaz Moinuddin Hassan Chisti
*Makhdoom Khwaja Syed Jalaluddin Abdal Chishti, (Hajipur, Bihar)
*Sheikh Najmuddin Safri
*Sheikh Muhammad Turk ayman
*khwaja saipan mulk chisti
*Khawaja Usman Ali Shah Chisti (Kolar Shareef)
Travels
Harooni traveled widely to preach. He visited many countries and cities, including
Bukhara,
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. I ...
,
Falooja,
Damascus,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
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 city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
and
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
. He performed the
Hajj.
In almost all cities, he visited
Sufis
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
and
dervish
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...
es accomplished him. On the way to Oosh, he met Sheikh Bahauddin of Oosh. When he reached
Badakshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
, he met one of the attendants of Junayd of Baghdad.
During his travels, he was accompanied by *
Moinuddin Chishti
Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sijzī (1143–1236 CE), known more commonly as Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī or Moinuddin Chishti, or by the epithet Gharib Nawaz (),Blain Auer, "Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, TH ...
, who carried his
tiffin
Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or, in s ...
basket.
Harooni visited India during the rule of Sultan Iltamish; before returning to Arabia for Hajj. In
Belchi
Belchhi is a historically important village in Bihar state, India.
Indira Gandhi visit
In 1977, Indira Gandhi was out of power. It was then that she visited Belchhi to meet with surviving victims of atrocities perpetrated there against untouc ...
, near
Biharsharif
Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from ''viha ...
, India, he stayed and prayed.
Death
Usman E Harooni Rahimullah died on 5 Shawwal, 617 AH (1220 AD) at
Makkah
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 city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
. 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 ...
take place every year in
Belchi
Belchhi is a historically important village in Bihar state, India.
Indira Gandhi visit
In 1977, Indira Gandhi was out of power. It was then that she visited Belchhi to meet with surviving victims of atrocities perpetrated there against untouc ...
,
Bihar Sharif
Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...
Nalanda, Bihar, on 15 & 16 of Shawwal. His blessings are invoked by people belonging to every strata of society and every school of thought. His actual tomb was in
Makkah
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 city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
, until it was destroyed in the early years of the 21st century. The shrine in Belchi is Usmani Chillah (a chillah is a non-burial memorial shrine). This shrine is regarded as a symbol of Usman's spiritual strength and of the source of his blessings.
Chillah
As known, a muridah waliyah of Usman Harooni took promise from him that after her death her tomb will be beneath in his feet, but eventually Usman Harooni died in Mecca, Arabia. To fulfill his promise, Usman Harooni once again existed in Belchi and ordered the muridah to built his shrine and after her death, she'll be buried beneath the shrine of Usman Harooni in Belchi. Beside his Chillah was built the tomb of the Waliya. For the past 650 years, an annual Urs has taken place every year.
The first Urs ceremony was commemorated (originated) by Makhdoom
Fariduddin Tavaela Bukhsh (First Sajjada Nasheen). His shrine is in Chandpura,
Bihar Sharif
Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...
. He was the son of Ibrahim (Nephew of
Nizamuddin Auliya
Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi () was an Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the India ...
) & Fariduddin Tavaela Bukhsh founded the
Chishti
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 ...
Nizami order in Bihar, he was the nephew & disciple of
Noor Qutbe Alam Pandavi. He was the disciple of
Alaul Haq Pandavi (also the Peer of Makhdoom
Ashraf Jahangir Simnani). He was the disciple of
Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind & he was the disciple of
Nizamuddin Auliya
Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi () was an Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the India ...
(Mehboob E Illahi).
The esteemed details of the chillah & life of Usman Harooni are noted in the book "Moin ul Qul" by the late 19th century Sufi leader Gudri Shah Baba, of Ajmer.
Message and teachings
According to Usman Harooni, a great man is one who is endowed with virtues such as contentment, sincerity, self-abnegation, self-sacrifice and above all, spirit of renunciation. He said that the ego was an enemy, as it did not allow rational thought, wise actions and a happy life. He emphasized that unless a man loves human beings, it is impossible for him to love God.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usman Harooni
Indian Sufi saints
Chishtis
1220 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Asaar Maner book by Syed Shah Muradullah Firdausi Maneri