Sufis and the Spread of Islam

Tomb of Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya

The spread of Islam in the sub-continent is the story of the untiring efforts of the numerous saints and sufis who dedicated their lives to the cause of service to humanity. By the time the Muslim empire was established at Delhi, the Sufi fraternities had come into being and the sufi influence was far more powerful than in the earlier days under the Arabs in Sind.

The two great fraternities that established themselves very early in Muslim India were the Suhrawardiyah and the Chishtiyah. The Suhrawardiyah order was founded by Shaikh Ab-al-Najib Suhrawardi (1097-1162) and was introduced into Muslim India by Shaikh Baha-ud-din Zakariya (1182-1267-68), of Multan. With Multan as it’s center the silsilah became dominant in the areas which now constitute Pakistan.

 

A view of the mausoleum of Hazrat Ali Hujweri

The Chishtiyah silsilah was introduced in the sub-continent by Hadrat Khawaja Muin-ud-din. He settled at Ajmer. As he established in the Indian sub-continent the first sufi silsilah, he is often referred to as Hind-al-Wali. Khawaja Muin-ud-din Ajmeri’s chief disciple, Khawaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki, who lived at Delhi, was held in high esteem by Iltutmish. Baba Farid who was the disciple of Khawaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki, decided to settle in Punjab. The Chishtiyah order remained the most popular order during the Sultanate period.


Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya

Baba Farid appointed Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325) as his Khalifah. It was Nizamuddin Auliya who trained a band of sufis for the propagation of Islam in Gujarat, the Deccan and Bengal. Earlier, Shaikh Ali Hujweri popularly known as Data Ganj Baksh came from Ghazni to Lahore a few days after the death of Sultan Mahmud. He is mainly responsible for the propagation of Islam in the Punjab.

Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan

The disciple of Shaikh Baha-ud-din Zakariya, Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari, popularly known as Mukhdum Jahanian Jahangasht was one of the most important saints of the Suhrawardiyah order. He played an important part in the propagation of Islam in Sind.

Shah Jalal came from Turkey and was a great Suhrawardi saint of Bengal. He came to the sub-continent in the reign of Iltutmish. Due to his missionary activities, Islam gained a good ground in Sylhet. Shaikh Ala-ul-Haq and his son Nur Qutb Alam established new orders after their names in Bengal, and are responsible for large scale conversions in Sylhet, Bengal.