Abul Hassan Ali al-Kharqani Radiyallahu Anhu

He was the Ghawth (Arch-Intercessor) of his time and unique in his station. He was the Qiblah (focus of attention) of his people and an Ocean of Knowledge from which saints still receive waves of light and spiritual knowledge.

He devoided himself of everything except Allah's Oneness, refusing for himself all titles and aspirations. He would not be known as a follower of any science, even a spiritual science, and he said: "I am not a rahib (hermit). I am not a zahid (ascetic). I am not a speaker. I am not a Sufi. O Allah, You are One, and I am one in Your Oneness."

Of knowledge and practice he said:

"Scholars and servants in the lower world are numerous but they don't benefit you unless you are engaged in the satisfaction of Allah's desire, and from morning to night are occupied with the deeds that Allah accepts."

About being a Sufi he said:

"The Sufi is not the one who is always carrying the prayer rug, nor the one who is wearing patched clothes, nor the one who keeps certain customs and appearances; but the Sufi is the one to whom everyone's focus is drawn, although he is hiding himself."

"The Sufi is the one who in the daylight doesn't need the sun and in the night doesn't need the moon. The essence of Sufism is absolute nonexistence that has no need of existence because there is no existence besides Allah's existence."

He was asked about Truthfulness (Sidq). He said, " Truthfulness is to speak your conscience."

Of the heart he said:

"What is the best thing? The heart which is always in Remembrance of God (dhikr Allah)."

"The best of hearts is the heart which contains nothing but the presence of Allah, Almighty and Exalted."

"Today it will have been 40 years that Allah has been looking in my heart and has seen nothing except Himself. I have had nothing in my heart nor my breast except Allah for 40 years; and while my ego is asking for cold water and a drink of milk, I have not allowed it that for 40 years in order to control myself."

"The vision with the eyes of the head doesn't bring happiness, but the vision with the eyes of the heart and the secret that Allah gives to the soul will bring out that happiness."

Of Bayazid he said:

"When Abu Yazid said, 'I want not to want' that is exactly the wanting which is real desire (irada).

He was asked, "Who is the appropriate person to speak about fana' (annihilation) and baqa' (permanence)?" He answered, "That is knowledge for the one who is as if suspended by a silk thread from the heavens to the earth and a great cyclone comes and takes all trees, houses, and mountains and throws them in the ocean until it fills the ocean. If that cyclone is unable to move the one who is hanging by the silk thread, then he is the one who can speak on fana' and baqa'."

One time Sultan Mahmoud al-Ghazi visited Abul Hassan and asked his opinion of Bayazid al-Bistami. He said, "Whoever follows Bayazid is going to be guided. And whoever saw him and felt love towards him in his heart will reach a happy ending." At that Sultan Mahmoud said, "How is that possible, when Abu Jahl saw the Prophet  and he was unable to reach a happy ending but rather ended up in misery?" He answered, "It is because Abu Jahl didn't see the Prophet  but he saw Muhammad bin `Abdullah. And if he saw the Messenger of Allah he would have been taken out of misery into happiness. As Allah said, "You see them looking at you but without clear vision" [7:198]. He continued with the saying already quoted, "The vision with the eyes of the head..."

Other sayings of his:

"Ask for difficulties in order for tears to appear because Allah loves those who cry," referring to the advice of the Prophet  to cry much.

"In whatever way you ask Allah for anything, still the Qur'an is the best way. Don't ask Allah except through the Qur'an."

"The Inheritor of the Prophet  is the one who follows his footsteps and never puts black marks in his Book of Deeds."

Abul-Hasan al-Kharqani died on Tuesday, 10th of Muharram in 425 H. (1033 CE). He was buried in Kharqan, a village of the city of Bistam in Persia. He passed on the Secret of the Golden Chain to Abu `Ali al-Fadl bin Muhammad al-Farmadhi at-Tusi (q).

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Hazrat Bayazeed Bustami Radiyallahu Anhu

 

Bayazid’s grandfather was a Zoroastrian from Persia. Bayazid made a detailed study of the statutes of Islamic law (shari^`a) and practiced a strict regimen of self-denial (zuhd). All his life he was assiduous in the practice of his religious obligations and in observing voluntary worship.

He urged his students (murids) to put their affairs in the hands of Allah and he encouraged them to accept sincerely the pure doctrine of tawhid (the Oneness of God). This doctrine consisted of five essentials: to keep the obligations according to the Qur’an and Sunnah, to always speak the truth, to keep the heart free from hatred, to avoid forbidden food and to shun innovations (bid^`a).

His Sayings

One of his sayings was, “I have come to know Allah through Allah, and I have come to know what is other than Allah with the light of Allah.” He said, “Allah has granted his servants favors for the purpose of bringing them closer to Him. Instead they are fascinated with the favors and are drifting farther from Him.” And he said, praying to Allah, “O Allah, You have created this creation without their knowledge and You have placed on them a trust without their will. If You don’t help them who will help them?”

Bayazid said the ultimate goal of the Sufi is to experience the vision of Allah in the Hereafter. To that effect he said, “There are special servants of Allah who, if Allah veiled Himself from their sight in Paradise, would implore Him to take them out of Paradise just as the inhabitants of the Fire implore Him to release them from Hell.”

He said about Allah’s love for His servant, “If Allah loves His servant He will grant three attributes that are the proofs of His Love: generosity like the generosity of the ocean, and favor like the favor of the Sun in its giving of light, and modesty like the modesty of the Earth. The true lover never considers any affliction too great and never decreases his worship because of his pure faith.”

A man asked Bayazid, “Show me a deed by which I will approach my Lord.” He said, “Love the friends of Allah in order that they will love you. Love his saints until they love you. Because Allah looks at the hearts of His saints and He will see your name engraved in the heart of His saints and He will forgive you.” For this reason, the Naqshbandi followers have been elevated by their love for their shaikhs. This love lifts them to a station of continuous pleasure and continuous presence in the heart of their beloved.

Many Muslim scholars in his time, and many after his time, said that Bayazid al-Bistami was the first one to spread the Reality of Annihilation (fana’). Even that strictest of scholars, Ibn Taymiyya, who came in the 7th Century A.H., admired Bayazid for this and considered him to be one of his masters. Ibn Taymiyya said about him, “There are two categories of fana‘: one is for the perfect Prophets and saints, and one is for seekers from among the saints and pious people(saliheen). Bayazid al-Bistami is from the first category of those who experience fana’, which means the complete renunciation of anything other than God. He accepts none except God. He worships none except Him, and he asks from none except Him.” He continues, quoting Bayazid saying, “I want not to want except what He wants.”

It was reported about Bayazid that he said, “I divorced the lower world thrice in order that I could not return to it and I moved to my Lord alone, without anyone, and I called on Him alone for help by saying, ‘O Allah, O Allah, no one remains for me except You.’ At that time I came to know the sincerity of my supplication in my heart and the reality of the helplessness of my ego. Immediately the acceptance of that supplication was perceived by my heart. This opened to me a vision that I was no longer in existence and I vanished completely from myself into His self. And He brought up all that I had divorced before in front of me, and dressed me with light and with His attributes.”

Bayazid said, “Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!” And he continued saying, “I set forth on an ocean when the [earlier] prophets were still by the shore.” And he said, “O My Lord, Your obedience to me is greater than my obedience to You.” This means, “O God, You are granting my request and I have yet to obey You.”

He said, “I made four mistakes in my preliminary steps in this way: I thought that I remember Him and I know Him and I love Him and I seek Him, but when I reached Him I saw that His remembering of me preceded my remembrance of Him, and His knowledge about me preceded my knowledge of Him and His love towards me was more ancient than my love towards Him, and He sought me in order that I would begin to seek Him.”

Adh-Dhahabi quoted him in many great matters, among which were “Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!” and “There is nothing in this robe I am wearing except Allah.” Adh-Dhahabi’s teacher Ibn Taymiyya explained, “He didn’t see himself as existing any longer, but only saw the existence of Allah, due to his self-denial.”

Adh-Dhahabi further relates, “He said, O Allah, what is your Fire? It is nothing. Let me be the one person to go into your Fire and everyone else will be saved. And what is your Paradise? It is a toy for children. And who are those unbelievers who you want to torture? They are your servants. Forgive them.”

Ibn Hajar said, in reference to Bayazid’s famous utterances, “Allah knows the secret and Allah knows the heart. Whatever Aba Yazid spoke from the Knowledge of Realities the people of his time did not understand. They condemned him and exiled him seven times from his city. Every time he was exiled, terrible afflictions would strike the city until the people would call him back, pledge allegiance to him, and accept him as a real saint.”

Attar and Arusi relate that Bayazid said, when he was exiled from his city, “O Blessed city, whose refuse is Bayazid!”

One time Bayazid said, “Allah the Most Just called me into His Presence and said to me, ‘O Bayazid how did you arrive in My Presence?’ I replied, ‘Through zuhd, by renouncing the world.’ He said, ‘The value of the lower world is like the wing of a mosquito. What kind of renunciation have you come with?’ I said, ‘O Allah, forgive me.’ Then I said, ‘O Allah, I came to you through tawakkul, by dependence on You.’ Then He said, ‘Did I ever betray the trust which I promised you?’ I said, ‘O Allah forgive me.’ Then I said, ‘O Allah, I came to you through You.’ At that time Allah said, ‘Now We accept you.’”

He said, “I stood with the pious and I didn’t find any progress with them. I stood with the warriors in the cause and I didn’t find a single step of progress with them. I stood with those who pray excessively and those who fast excessively and I didn’t make a footstep of progress. Then I said, ‘O Allah, what is the way to You?’ and Allah said, ‘Leave yourself and come.’”

Ibrahim Khawwas said, “The way that Allah showed to him, with the most delicate word and the simplest explanation, was to ‘leave your self-interest in the two worlds, the dunya and the Hereafter, leave everything other than Me behind.’ That is the best and easiest way to come to Allah Almighty and Exalted, the most perfect and highest state of affirming Oneness, not to accept anything or anyone except Allah the Most High.”

One of the followers of Dhul Nun al-Misri was following Bayazid. Bayazid asked him, “Who do you want?” He replied, “I want Bayazid.” He said, “O my son, Bayazid is wanting Bayazid for forty years and is still not finding him.” That disciple of Dhul Nun then went to him and narrated this incident to him. On hearing it Dhul Nun fainted. He explained later saying, “My master Bayazid has lost himself in Allah’s love. That causes him to try to find himself again.”

They asked him, “Teach us about how you reached true Reality.” He said, “By training myself, by seclusion.” They said, “How?” He said, “I called my self to accept Allah Almighty and Exalted, and it resisted. I took an oath that I would not drink water and I would not taste sleep until I brought my self under my control.”

He also said, “O Allah! it is not strange that I love You because I am a weak servant, but it is strange that You love me when You are the King of Kings.”

He said, “For thirty years, when I wanted to remember Allah and do dhikr I used to wash my tongue and my mouth for His glorification.”

He said, “As long as the servant thinks that there is among the Muslims someone lower than himself, that servant still has pride.”

They asked him, “Describe your day and describe your night.” He said, “I don’t have a day and I don’t have a night, because day and night are for those who have characteristics of creation. I have shed my self the way the snake sheds its skin.”

Of Sufism Bayazid said: “It it to give up rest and to accept suffering.”

Of the obligation to follow a guide, he said: “Who does not have a sheikh, his sheikh is Satan.”

Of seeking God he said, “Hunger is a rain cloud. If a servant becomes hungry, Allah will shower his heart with wisdom.”

Of his intercession he said, “If Allah will give me permission to intercede for all the people of my time I will not be proud, because I am only interceding for a piece of clay,” and “If Allah gave me permission for intercession, first I would intercede for those who harmed me and those who denied me.”

To a young man who wanted a piece of his old cloak for baraka (blessing), Bayazid said: “Should you take all Bayazid’s skin and wear it as yours, it would avail you nothing unless you followed his example.”

They said to him, “The key for Paradise is ‘La ilaha ill-Allah‘ (witnessing that there is no god except Allah).” He said, “It is true, but a key is for opening a lock; and the key of such witnessing can only operate under the following conditions:

1) a tongue which doesn’t lie nor backbite;
2) a heart without betrayal;
3) a stomach without h aram or doubtful provision;
4) deeds without desire or innovation.”

He said, “The ego or self always looks at the world and the ruh  (spirit) always looks at the next life and ma`rifat (spiritual knowledge) always looks at Allah Almighty and Exalted. He whose self defeats him is from those who are destroyed, and he whose spirit is victorious over his self, he is of the pious, and he whose spiritual knowledge overcomes his self, he is of the God-conscious.”

Ad-Dailami said, “One time I asked `Abdur Rahman bin Yahya about the state of trust in Allah (tawakkul). He said, “If you put your hand in the mouth of a lion, don’t be afraid of other than Allah.” I went in my heart to visit and ask Bayazid about this matter. I knocked and I heard from inside, “Wasn’t what `Abdur Rahman said to you enough? You came only to ask, and not with the intention of visiting me.” I understood and I came again another time one year later, knocking at his door. This time he answered, “Welcome my son, this time you came to me as a visitor and not as a questioner.”

They asked him “When does a man become a man?” He said, “When he knows the mistakes of his self and he busies himself in correcting them.”

He said, “I was twelve years the blacksmith of my self, and five years the polisher of the mirror of my heart, and for one year I was looking in that mirror and I saw on my belly the girdle of unbelief. I tried hard to cut it and I spent twelve years in that effort. Then I looked in that mirror and I saw inside my body that girdle. I spent five years cutting it. Then I spent one year looking at what I had done. And Allah opened for me the vision of all creations. And I saw all of them dead. And I prayed four takbiras of janaza (funeral prayer) over them.”

He said one time: “If the Throne and what is around it and what is in it were placed in the corner of the heart of a Knower, they would be lost completely inside it.”

Of Bayazid’s state, al-`Abbas ibn Hamza related the following: “I prayed behind Bayazid the Dhuhr prayer, and when he raised his hands to say ‘Allahu Akbar’ he was unable to pronounce the words, in fear of Allah’s Holy Name, and his entire body was trembling and the sound of bones breaking came from him; I was seized by fear.”

Munawi relates that one day, Bayazid attended the class of a faqih (jurisprudent) who was explaining the laws of inheritance: “When a man dies and leaves such-and-such, his son will have such-and-such, etc.” Bayazid exclaimed: “O faqih, O faqih! What would you say of a man who died leaving nothing but God?” People began to cry, and Bayazid continued: “The slave possesses nothing; when he dies, he leaves nothing but his own master. He is such as Allah created him in the beginning.” And he recited: “You shall return to us alone, as we created you the first time” [6:94].

Sahl at-Tustari sent a letter to Bayazid which read: “Here is a man who drank a drink which leaves him forever refreshed.” Bayazid replied: “Here is a man who has drunk all existences, but whose mouth is dry and burn with thirst.”

His Death

When Bayazid died, he was over seventy years old. Before he died, someone asked him his age. He said: “I am four years old. For seventy years I was veiled. I got rid of my veils only four years ago.” The 39th Sheikh of the Golden Chain, Sultan al-Awliya Sheikh `Abdullah Daghestani, referred to this saying in his encounter with Khidr  , who told him, as he was pointing to the graves of some great scholars in a Muslim cemetery: “This one is three years old; that one, seven; that one, twelve.”

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Hazrat Jafar as-Sadiq Radiyallahu Anhu

 

The son of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, son of al-Imam Zain al-`Abidin, son of al-Husayn, son of `Ali bin Abi Talib , Ja`far was born on the eighth of Ramadan in the year 83 H. His mother was the daughter of al-Qassim whose great grandfather was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .

He spent his life in worship and acts of piety for the sake of Allah. He rejected all positions of fame in favor of ^{`</sup>uzla or isolation from the lower world. One of his contemporaries, <sup>`}Umar ibn Abi-l-Muqdam, said, “When I look at Ja`far bin Muhammad I see the lineage and the secret of the Prophet Muhammad  united in him.”

He received from the Prophet  two lines of inheritance: the secret of the Prophet  through ‘Ali  and the secret of the Prophet  through Abu Bakr . In him the two lineages met and for that reason he was called “The Inheritor of the Prophetic Station (Maqam an-Nubuwwa) and the Inheritor of the Truthful Station (Maqam as-siddiqiyya).” In him was reflected the light of the knowledge of Truth and Reality. That light shone forth and that knowledge was spread widely through him during his lifetime.

Ja`far narrated from his father, Muhammad al-Baqir, that a man came to his grandfather, Zain al-`Abidin, and said, “Tell me about Abu Bakr!” He said, “You mean as-Siddiq?” The man said, “How do you call him as-Siddiq when he is against you, the Family of the Prophet ?” He replied, “Woe to you. The Prophet  called him as-Siddiq, and Allah accepted his title of as-Siddiq. If you want to come to me, keep the love of Abu Bakr and `Umar in your heart.”

Ja`far said, “The best intercession that I hope for is the intercession of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .” From him is reported also the following invocation: “O Allah, You are my Witness that I love Abu Bakr and I love `Umar and if what I am saying is not true may Allah cut me off from the intercession of Muhammad .”

He took the knowledge of hadith from two sources: from his father through `Ali  and from his maternal grandfather al-Qassim. Then he increased his knowledge of hadith by sitting with `Urwa, `Aata, Nafi` and Zuhri. The two Sufyans, Sufyan ath-Thawri and Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, and al-Qattan all narrated hadith through him, as did many others from later hadith scholars. He was a mufassir al-Qur’an or master in  exegesis, a scholar of jurisprudence, and one of the greatest mujtahids (qualified to give legal decisions) in Madinah.

Ja`far  acquired both the external religious knowledge as well as the internal confirmation of its reality in the heart. The latter was reflected in his many visions and miraculous powers, too numerous to tell.

One time someone complained to al-Mansur, the governor of Madinah, about Ja`far . They brought him before Mansur and asked the man who had complained, “Do you swear that Ja`far did as you say?” He said, “I swear that he did that.” Ja`far said, “Let him swear that I did what he accused me of and let him swear that Allah punish him if he is lying.” The man insisted on his complaint and Ja`far insisted that he take the oath. Finally the man accepted to take the oath. No sooner were the words of the oath out of his mouth than he fell down dead.

Once he heard that al-Hakm bin al-’Abbas al-Kalbi crucified his own uncle Zaid on a date palm. He was so unhappy about this that he raised his hands and said, “O Allah send him one of your dogs to teach him a lesson.” Only a brief time passed before al-Hakm was eaten by a lion in the desert.

Imam at-Tabari narrates that Wahb said, “I heard Layth ibn Sa`d say, I went on pilgrimage in the year 113 H., and after I prayed the afternoon obligatory prayer (salat al-`Asr) I was reading some verses of the Holy Qur’an and I saw someone sitting beside me invoking Allah saying ‘Ya Allah, Ya Allah…’ repeatedly until he lost his breath. He then continued by saying ‘Ya Hayy, Ya Hayy…’ until his breath was again lost. He then raised his hands and said, ‘O Allah, I have the desire to eat grapes, O Allah give me some. And my robe (jubba) is becoming so old and tattered, please O Allah grant me a new one.’ Laith bin Sa`d said that ‘He had hardly finished his words before a basket of grapes appeared in front of him, and at that time there were no grapes in season. Beside the basket of grapes there appeared two cloaks more beautiful than I had ever seen before.’ I said, ‘O my partner let me share with you.’ He said, ‘How are you a partner?’ I replied, ‘You were praying and I was saying Amin.’ Then Imam Ja`far said, ‘Then come and eat with me,’ and he gave me one of the two cloaks. Then he walked off until he met a man who said, ‘O son of the Prophet , cover me because I have nothing but these tattered garments to cover me.’ He immediately gave him the cloak that he had just received. I asked that man, ‘Who is that?’ He replied, ‘That is the great Imam, Ja`far as-Sadiq.’ I ran after him to find him but he had disappeared.”

This is only a sample of the many anecdotes and stories of the miraculous powers (karamat) of Ja`far as-Sadiq .

From his knowledge he used to say to Sufyan ath-Thawri, “If Allah bestows on you a favor, and you wish to keep that favor, then you must praise and thank Him excessively, because He said, “If you are thankful Allah will increase for you”[14:7]. He also said, “If the door of provision is closed for you, then make a great deal of istighfar (begging forgiveness), because Allah said, “Seek forgiveness of your Lord, certainly Your Lord is oft-Forgiving” [11:52]. And he said to Sufyan, “If you are upset by the tyranny of a Sultan or other oppression that you witness, say “There is no change and no power except with Allah,” (la hawla wa la quwwata illa-billah) because it is the key to Relief and one of the Treasures of Paradise.”

From His Sayings

“The Nun [letter “n”] at the beginning of Surat 68 represents the light of Pre-eternity, out of which Allah created all creations, and which is Muhammad . That is why He said in the same surat [verse 4]: ‘Truly Thou art of a sublime nature’ – that is: you were privileged with that light from pre-eternity.”

“Allah Almighty and Exalted told the lower world, “Serve the one who serves Me and tire the one who serves you.”

“Prayer is the pillar of every pious person; Pilgrimage is the Jihad of every weak one; the Zakat of the body is fasting; and the one who asks for Allah’s grants without performing good deeds is like one trying to shoot an arrow without a bow.”

“Open the door of provision by giving donation; fence in your money with the payment of zakat; the best is he who wastes not; planning is the foundation of your life, and to act prudently is the basis of intellect.”

“Whoever makes his parents sad has denied their rights on him.”

“The jurists are the trustees of the Prophet … If you find the jurists sticking to the company of the Sultans, say to them, ‘This is forbidden,’ as the jurist cannot express his honest opinion under the pressure of the Sultan’s proximity.”

“No food is better than God-fear and there is nothing better than silence; no enemy is more powerful than ignorance; no illness is greater than lying.”

“If you see something you don’t like in your brother try to find from one to seventy excuses for him. If you can’t find an excuse, say, ‘There might be an excuse but I don’t know it.’”

“If you hear a word from a Muslim which is offensive, try to find a good meaning for it. If you don’t find a good meaning for it, say to yourself, ‘I do not understand what he said,’ in order to keep harmony between Muslims.”

His Passing

Jafar as-Sadiq ق passed away in 148 AH/765 CE. He was buried in Jannat al-Baqi, in the same graveyard as that of his father, Muhammad al-Baqir ق, his grandfather, Zain al-Abidin ق, and the uncle of his grandfather, Hasan ibn Ali . He passed the secret of the Golden Chain to his successor, Grandshaykh Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami, more commonly known as Bayazid al-Bistami.

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Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr Radiyallahu Anhu

Shaykh Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  descended from Abu Bakr as-Siddiq on his father’s side and from Ali ibn Abi Talib  on his mother’s side. He was born on a Thursday, in the holy month of Ramadan.

It is narrated that he said, “My grandfather, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, was alone with the Prophet in the Cave of Thawr during migration from Makkah to Madinah, and the Prophet said to him: ‘You have been with me all your life and you have carried all sorts of difficulties. And now I want to make a supplication to invoke God’s favor on you.’ Abu Bakr  then said, ‘O Prophet of God, you are the secret of my soul and the secret of my heart. You know better what I need.’”

The Prophet  raised his hands and said, “O God, as long as my Divine Law proceeds to Judgment Day may God grant that among your descendants are those who carry it and those who inherit its inner secrets, and grant that among your descendants are those who are on the Straight Path and those who guide to it.”

The first answer to that supplication and the first one to receive that blessing was Sayyidina Qasim . In his time he was known in Madina as Abu Muhammad. People came to listen to his guidance, his lectures (suhba) and his disclosures of the hidden meanings of the Quran. Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  was one of the seven most famous jurists in Madinah, being the most knowledgeable among them. It was through these seven great Imams that the Traditions, early jurisprudence, and Quranic commentaries were disseminated to the people.

He met some of the Successors of the Companions, including Salim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar .

He was a pious imam and was very knowledgeable in the narration of the Traditions. Abu Zannad said, “I never saw anyone better than him in following the Sunnah of the Prophet . In our time no one is considered perfect until he is perfect in following the Sunnah of the Prophet , and Qasim is one of the perfected men.”

Abdur-Rahman ibn Abi Zannad said that his father said, “I did not see anyone who knew the Sunnah better than al-Qasim.”

Abu Nuaym said of him in his book Hilyat al-Awliya: “He was able to extract the deepest juristic rulings and he was supreme in manners and ethics.”

Imam Malik narrated that Umar ibn Abd ul-Aziz , considered the fifth rightly-guided caliph, said, “If it were in my hands, I would have made al-Qasim the caliph in my time.”

Sufyan said, “Some people came to al-Qasim with charity which he distributed. After he distributed it, he went to pray. While he was praying, the people began to speak negatively about him. His son said to them, ‘You are speaking behind the back of a man who distributed your charity and did not take one dirham from it for himself.’ Quickly his father scolded him saying, ‘Do not speak, but keep quiet.’” He wanted to teach his son not to defend him, as his only desire was to please God. He had no concern for the opinion of people.

Yahya ibn Sayyid said, “We never found, in our time in Madinah, anyone better than al-Qasim.” Ayyub as-Saqityani  said, “I have not seen anyone better than Imam Qasim. He left 100,000 dinars behind for the poor when he passed away, and it was all from his lawful earnings.”

One of His Miracles

Grandshaykh Sharafuddin and his successor, Grandshaykh Abd Allah ad-Daghestani (the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth shaykhs in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain, respectively) narrated the following story:

The year in which Abu Muhammad Qasim  was to leave this world, on the third of Ramadan he went on pilgrimage. When he arrived to al-Qudayd, where pilgrims usually stop, God opened to his vision to behold the angels descending from heaven and ascending in countless numbers. They would come down, visit the place, and then go back up. As he saw these angels carrying the blessings that God was sending down with them, it was as if that light and concentrated power was being poured into his heart directly, filling it with sincerity and God-consciousness.

As soon as this vision occurred, he fell asleep. In a dream he saw Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  coming to him. He said, “O my grandfather, who are these heavenly beings that are descending and ascending and who have filled my heart with God-consciousness?”

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  answered, “Those angels you see ascending and descending, God has assigned for your grave. They are constantly visiting it. They are obtaining blessings from where your body is going to be buried in the earth. To reverence you, God ordered them to come down and to ask blessings for you. O my grandson, don’t be heedless about your death; it is coming soon and you are going to be raised to the Divine Presence and leave this world.”

Qasim  immediately opened his eyes and saw his grandfather in front of him. He said, “I just saw you in the dream.” Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  replied, “Yes, I was ordered to meet you.” “That means I am going to leave this world,” answered Qasim . “Yes, you are going to leave the world and accompany us to the hereafter,” said our master Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .

“What kind of deed do you advise me to do in the last moments I am on earth?” asked Qasim  of his grandfather. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  answered, “O my son, keep your tongue moistened with dhikrullah and keep your heart ready and present with dhikrullah. That is the best you can ever achieve in this world.”

Then Abu Bakr  disappeared and Qasim  began dhikr on his tongue and in his heart. He continued to Makkah and witnessed the standing at Mount Arafat (which occurs each year on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah). In that year many saints, both men and women, were spiritually present at Arafat, and Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as-Siddiq met with them.

As they were standing, they all heard the Plain of Arafat and its mountain crying mournfully. They asked Mount Arafat, “Why are you crying this way?” and Mount Arafat replied, “I and all the angels are crying, because today this earth is going to lose one of its pillars.”

They asked, “Who is that pillar that the earth is about to lose?” Mount Arafat replied, “Abu Muhammad Qasim is going to leave this world, and the world will no longer be honored with his steps, and I will no longer see him on my plain, where all pilgrims come, and I will miss him. That is why I am crying in this way. Not only from myself, but his grandfather Muhammad, and his grandfather Abu Bakr, and his grandfather Ali, and the whole world is crying. They say the death of a scholar is the death of the world.”

At that moment the Prophet  and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq  were spiritually present on Arafat, where they were crying. Prophet  said, “With the death of Qasim great corruption will appear on earth, for he was one of the pillars able to prevent it.”

Previously, that mournful crying of Mount Arafat only occurred when the Prophet  passed away from this world, then when Abu Bakr  passed, then when Salman  passed, and when Qasim passed. One of the saints, Rabia al-Adawiyya, met Qasim  in the spiritual assembly of saints and he said, “Every dry thing and living thing, I heard them crying. Why, Oh Rabia, did this happen? I never experienced such crying in my life. Do you know its cause?” She replied, “O Abu Muhammad, I also was not able to discern the nature of that crying, so you must ask your grandfather, Abu Bakr.”

Abu Bakr  appeared spiritually to them, saying, “That crying from every point on this earth is because you are leaving this worldly life, as I informed you on your pilgrimage.” Then Qasim  raised his hands and prayed to God, “Since I am passing away from this life now, forgive whoever stood with me on Mount Arafat.” Then they heard a voice saying, “For your sake, God has forgiven whoever stood with you on Mount Arafat on this Hajj.” At that moment God revealed to Qasim’s heart unlimited Gnostic knowledge.

Then he departed from Mount Arafat and said, “O Mount Arafat, don’t forget me on Judgment Day. All saints and all prophets stood here and so I ask you not to forget me on Judgment Day.” That huge mountain replied, “O Qasim,” in a loud voice which everyone could hear, “Don’t forget me on the Judgment Day. Don’t forget me. Let me be part of the intercession of the Prophet.”

At that moment Qasim  left Mount Arafat and arrived at Makkah al-Mukarrama, at the Ka‘aba. There he heard crying coming from God’s House that kept increasing as he approached, and everyone heard it. That was the voice of the Ka‘aba, crying for the passing of Qasim  from this world. And it was coming like a flood, a flood of tears pouring forth from the Ka‘aba, flooding the entire area with water.

God’s House said, “O Qasim! I am going to miss you and I am not going to see you again in this world.” Then the Ka‘aba made 500 circumambulations around Qasim  out of respect for him. Whenever a saint visits the Ka‘aba it responds to that saint’s greetings saying, “Wa `alayka as-salam ya wali-Allah,” “and upon you be peace, O friend of God.”

Then Qasim  said farewell to the Hajar al-Aswad (Black Stone), then to Jannat al-Mualla, the cemetery in which Khadijat al-Kubra , first wife of the Prophet , is buried, and then to all of Makkah. He then left and went to al-Qudayd, a place between Makkah and Madinah, on the 9th of Muharram, where he passed on to the next life. The year was 108 (or 109) AH/726 CE, and he was seventy years old. He passed the secret of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain to his successor, his grandson, Imam Jafar as-Sadiq .

Content Credit: naqshbandi.org