February 15th, 2001

25th February 1234 [ 10th Rabi-ulawwal 633 Al.Hijri] was marked by an event which continues to be celebrated annually although nearly eight hundred years have passed . This was the Wisaal of a great Sufi saint Khwaja Qutubuddeen Bakhtiyaar ‘Kaakee’.

Sufi is pronounced ‘Soofee’ and Wisaal is the word for the passing of Sufi saints. What for ordinary mortals is the final separation called Death or ceasing to be is Wisaal for Sufi saints. Wisaal means meeting, coming together or union. The night when the bride and groom are together for the first time is called Suhaagraat or Shabey Wisaal , the night of union and of fulfillment.

Sufis believe that life or existence upon the earth is a period of separation when they are away from their Beloved, Almighty God. In this period the finite human soul is in exile and separate from the Infinite. Death releases the finite soul from worldly shackles and enables it to annihilate itself in the boundless Infinite. This is a matter of celebration and not of mourning and is called URS which means ‘wedding feast’. The Urs celebrations of a saint last for three days and nights. People come from far and near to join in the festivities.

Tradesmen selling finery such as ‘ Choorees’ or glass bangles and cosmetics like ‘Surmaa’, Antimony, to use as eye-liner set up stalls to sell their goods. There are always many food stalls including those selling ‘kabaabs’ and sweets. The latter are called ‘halwaaee’ from the condiment ‘halwaa’ which is a word of Arabic origin. Some great sweets like ‘jaleybees’ have come from Samarqand and become indigenous over the many centuries of contact between Central Asian Turks and Indians. The Central Asians who made India their home have merged with the locals and are indistinguishable from the natives.

Born at Ush in Jaxartes province Khwaja Qutbuddeen lost his father when he was a year old and grew up with his widowed mother. She had him taught the Holy Quran by a leading scholar.

Khwaja Qutub had a devotional bent from birth and as he grew in age more and more time was taken up by prayers fasting and meditation. His mother arranged a marriage for him. He found that matrimony was a hindrance to the life of piety he wished to follow and he divorced his wife and traveled to Baghdad in his quest. Although Baghdad had some of the most celebrated Sufi masters such as the Suhrawardi saint Abdun Najib and the Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani , Khwaja Qutub was most attracted to Khwaja Muinuddeen Chishti and followed him to India.

It appears that when Sultan Iltutmish moved the capital from Lahore to Delhi around 1221 A. D. Khwaja Qutub was assigned to the city as the Khalifa or deputy of Ghareeb Nawaaz Muinuddeen of Ajmer. The life he led was guided by the principles such as :-

• One should not earn money or borrow it from anyone
• Even if one has to go hungry for seven days no one should be told about the deprivation. If one receives food, raiment or money it should be distributed amongst the needy the very same day and not kept for the morrow.
• Even if one is hurt very badly there should be no cursing of the person responsible and the only response should be to pray for the sinner receiving God’s grace so that he mend his ways.
• If one does good the credit should go to the grace of the pir [preceptor or guru] or divine mercy through the Prophet Muhammad while all evil acts are for one’s own account.
• One should remain quiet and speak only when it becomes imperative. One should spend days in fasting and nights in prayer.

This arduous path enabled the Sufis to attain elevated spiritual states and the techniques helped them to enjoy the mystic trance called Sama’a. This was induced by the recitation of verses over and over again to the accompaniment of choral singing and drumming where crescendos were interspersed with still silences. This experience was so intense that the Khwaja fainted again and again while listening to the song. Each time he was revived he asked for the verse to be recited again. Each recital caused a fresh fainting fit. Finally the Khwaja went into a coma and attained his desire.

At the Urs of Khwaja Qutub the Qawwaals sing outside the walled enclosure of the sanctuary. The passion which caused the Khwaja’s Wisaal could be kindled afresh and then who knows what will happen?
In 1947 riots the sanctuary was attacked by communal Hindus and Sikhs. Gandhiji himself helped the holding of the Urs celebrations. The shrine is a national heritage monument and a world heritage site. We shall return to the gentle Khwaja in future columns.

Image attribution: By Varun Shiv Kapur from Berkeley, United States – Bakhtiyar Kaki’s tomb. Uploaded by Ekabhishek, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7416338