Hazrat Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya Suhrawardi was the leading Sufi saint of his time in North Western India and belonged to well known Suhrawardi silsila originating in Baghdad. He was a contemporary of Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar of Ajodhan and Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi. All three great saints had a close friendship and mutual regard for each other.
Family & Lineage
He was Quraishi, Asadi, and Hashimi[1] and is said to have belonged to the house of Aswad, son of Muttabb, son of Asad.[2] It is also related that he traced his descent from Asad Qurshi, who was one of the forefathers of Hazrat Ali Ra.gif son-in-law of the Holy Prophet Mohammad ﷺ. He also traced his descent from Asad, son of Hashim.[3] Some have thus referred to him as "Quraishi-ul-Asadi."[4]
His grandfather, Shaikh Kamaluddin Ali Shah, migrated from Mecca to Khwarezm and then to Kot Karor near Multan in 200 AH where they settled down permanently.[5] His father, Shaikh Wajihuddin, married Bibi Fatima, the daughter of Maulana Husamuddin Tirmizi who had settled in Kot Karor. Other sources relate that Bibi Fatima was the daughter of Hazrat Shaikh Isa, who was a descendant of Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani and was married to Shaikh Wajihuddin when he travelled to a city called Hama.[6] He lived there for sometime before returning to Kote Karror. According to certain chroniclers, his mother is said to be the sister of the mother of Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar.
Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya was born in the morning on Friday the twenty-seventh of Ramazan in 566 AH in Kot Karor.[7] Others record his year of birth as 587AH/1192AD - the year when Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti arrived in Ajmer.
Early life and education
Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya was born a wali. From his childhood he showed signs of spiritual greatness as if marked out for a great spiritual destiny. It is said that when his father recited the Holy Quran, he would abandon his milk and listen to the recitation of the verses of the Holy Quran very respectfully and attentively. He committed the Holy Quran to memory at the age of seven and also learnt the seven rhythmic methods of reciting it. At the age of twelve he lost his father, Hazrat Khwaja Wajihuddin. After his father's death he went to Khorasan,[8] and there engaged in acquiring the outward knowledge and in attaining the inward graces for a period of seven years. He then went to Bukhara to complete his education. There he was nicknamed "Bahauddin Firishta" (angel) for his gentle nature and obedience. [9]
Having finished with his course, he went to Mecca & Medina for Hajj where he stayed for five years and studied the hadith from a distinguished muhaddith Shaykh Kamaluddin Muhammad Yamani from whom he received a sanad i.e., a formal authorization, to teach hadith.[10] From Medina, he went to Jerusalem, and from there to Baghdad.
Initiation into the Sufi Order
When in Baghdad, he heard a great deal about the name, fame, and spiritual attainments of Hazrat Shaikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi and wanted to be his spiritual disciple. After reaching Baghdad he indeed became his disciple. Sheikh Bahauddin was so receptive to spiritual teachings that it took him a mere 17 days to grasp the entire spiritual course. He had khilafat conferred upon him within such a short period that the other disciples felt jealous, for they had not been able to achieve this even after many years of training under the Sheikh. When the Sheikh learnt of their complaint, he explained that Hazrat Bahauddin was like dry wood that caught fire immediately, whereas they were like wet wood that takes time to catch fire.
Before having khilafat conferred upon him, Hazrat Bahauddin dreamt of a house of light in which the Holy Prophet Mohammed ﷺ was seated with his spiritual guide Hazrat Sheikh Shihabuddin Umar Suhrawardi standing respectfully in his presence. There was a rope upon which several robes were hung. He was summoned by Hazrat Shihabuddin who took him by the hand and presented him to the Holy Prophet ﷺ. The Holy Prophet ﷺ pointed to a certain robe and said: "O, Umar, take this robe and give it to Sheikh Bahauddin to wear. He took the robe from where it was hung and asked Hazrat Bahauddin to wear it, which he did before bowing down and touching the blessed feet of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.
When he awoke, he was summoned by Hazrat Shihabuddin the following morning. When he entered the house, he found it mirrored that which he had seen in his dream the previous night. His spiritual guide and teacher asked him to come close to him took the same robe from the hanger that had been pointed out by the Holy Prophet ﷺ}. Hazrat Shihabuddin adorned Hazrat Bahauddin with the robe upon saying: