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Apart
from these two great sufis he also benefacted from many other
"Musha'ikhs"(Sufis) of that certain age. For many days
he spent his time with "Abdals" (a categary of saints)
in the island of 'Abbadan' (Persian Gulf). He also had the opportunity
to acompany" Khidr". (a Prophet or saint immortalized
by the fountain of life). He performed the "Hajj"(pilgrimage)
on a number of occasions. And in 628/1231 he performed his last
"Hajj", while in Mecca (the holy place of Muslims, situated
in Saudi Arabia, where they perform Hajj) he met the great Egyptian
poet and Sufi " Shaykh Abu Hafs Umar bin ali known as Ibn
al-Farid.D.632/1235. On that occasion the two sons of Ibn al-Farid
"Shaykh Kamal al-Din Muhammad & Shaykh Abd al-Rehman",
with the permission of their father, took "Bay'a" (oath
of allegiance) and wore "Khirqa" (patched frock, sign
of a dervish) from Shaykh al-Shayyukh.
After
the sad demise of his uncle in 563/1165, he became his successor
in his uncle's "khanaqah"(Sufi center). He established
three more "Ribats"(religous hostel) (1)Ribat-e-Nasri,
(2)Ribat-e-Bistami, (3) Ribat-e-Mamoonia, for the students.
His
Bounty spread all over the world, due to his wide spread popularity,
people across the globe came to benefit from his kind-self. A
good story is told of the practical wisdom which lay underneath
his spirituality light, a Sufi wrote to him, "I gave up working,
I find my self inclined to a life of idleness, where as if I work
I am overcome with pride: which had I better do? "He replied
briefly and to the point " work and ask God's forgiveness
for your pride". He spent most of his life in Baghdad were
he enjoyed the favour of then caliph al-nasir: He was appointed
"Shayakh al-Shayyukh" (master of masters) by the caliph.
There he received visitors & letters from all parts of the
Muslim world.
On
many occasions he became the ambassador of peace between Muslim
emperors. He was respected evenly throughout the Muslim world
by each and everyone. Ibn-e-Khalikan [608-681H.D.] (The Historian
of the time of Shaykh Suharawardi) wrote "In his last age
no body was able to compete with him". Every day millions
presented "Nazranas" (a gift by the wealthy people to
their spiritual master) which was distributed among the poor and
needy in the evening. He led an absolutely simple life, although
millions came into his hand. Even when he died, there were no
sufficient funds for his funeral.
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