Qalandar's in Islam

What is Qalandar?

Qalandar (Persian: قلندر) is a title given to Sufi mystics, especially in South Asia. Some famous Sufis called Qalandar include Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalander and Bu Ali Shah Qalandar.
The Qalandariyah were a sect of roaming Sufi dervishes.

There are 3.1/2 qalandars in Islam, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Bu-Ali Shah Qalandar, Dada Hayat Qalandar and Rabia Basri Qalandar. Though, there are 4 names but woman cannot get a qalandar tittle, so she is considered as a half Qalandar.

Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar

Shahbaz real name is Hazrat Syed Usman, from an early age he worshipped day and night even though he was born in a royal family his linege goes back to syedna Muhammad (peace be upon him).
He reached great Spiritual heights at a young age being famous for flying in the air like a bird, it was when he was flying that he was pulled down to earth by a Wali who was watching below.
When Shahbaz asked why he was pulled down from the sky the saint replied that one should not show his powers openly and that people should have privacy and you should not be watching from the sky.
When Lal Shahbaz and his companions went to pilgramage to Medina. They were returning from the Prophet's Tomb they stopped one night in some place, it was there that Hazrat Farid Shakar went to buy bread for the party.
The bakers wife conceived passion for Hazrat Farid but Hazrat Farid Shakar rejected her advances it was then that the baker's wife began to scream that Hazrat Farid Shakar had tried to outrage her. Hazrat Farid was dragged to the Wazir (Governor) and condemned to instant execution.
Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar heard of it and took steps to rescue his innocent friend. He changed one of two remaining friends of his into a deer so to attract the attention of the people who had gathered to witness the execution. The crowd ran madly after the deer to catch it. While Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar turned his second friend into a lion. The lion advanced towards the executioners they fled seeing the lion.
Then Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar changed himself into a Falcon and flew down to pick up Hazrat Farid Shakar and place him somewhere safe by this karamat (miracle) Shahbaz Qalandar got the name of Shahbaz.
He lived to a great age more then 100 years and is believed to be one of the greatest Qalandars who made famous the name of Qalandar.

Bu Ali Qalandar

Bu Ali's real name was Sharfuddin, His lineage reaches Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa the great sunni scholar. Bu Ali was born in Panipat, India.
He completed his islamic studies at an early age and started to teach in his local school. He was counted among renowned scholars and top-ranking teachers regarded him with respect.
Hazrat Bu-Ali Shah went through a sudden spiritual change in his life and in Jazb (rapture) he threw away all of his books, and then went to look for a spiritual guide he came across Sufi Saint Hazrat Khwaja Qutub-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki (The spiritual teacher of Baba Farid).
Hazrat Bu-Ali requested him for Bay't (to become his spiritual desciple).Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki refused & said that I don't have such power to make you my spiritual desciple, but I can take you to your Murshid (spiritual teacher). After saying that, Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki took his hand & put it to the hand of Hazrat Ali, the 2nd Caliph. Hazrat Ali taught him spiritual lessons, and after finishing, Hazrat Bu-Ali became a Majzoob. And became famous with the title of "Bu-Ali", although earlier he was known as Sharfuddin.
His famous storys goes that he underwent 12 years of chilla ( spiritual retreat) near the river and after 12 years he heard a devine voice saying "O Bu Ali Qalandar get out of the water your chilla has been accepted" to this Bu Ali replied in ectasy " No i will not get out of the water if you insist then get me out of the water with your own hands"
He underwent 36 years of spiritual retreat near the river in every 12 years he heard a devine voice saying "what do you want" in which he replied "i want to be Ali" it was then Hazrat Ali appeared 36 years later to tell Bu Ali that he cant be Ali but instead he can have the fragrance of Ali this is how his name was made famous " Bu Ali Qalandar" meaning the smell of Ali.
He lived in Panipat till death, and served the people. Hundreds drew spiritual or divine benefits from him. Thousands embraced Islam because of him. The Rajputs, who lived around, were the great beneficiaries.
One day a disciple of Shamsuddin Turk went to the city on an errand and saw Bu-Ali Shah riding a Tiger and told the episode to Shamsuddin Turk who said to his disciple: "Go to Bu-Ali Shah and if you see him riding the Tiger, tell him: "The Tiger should live in the jungle." The disciple found Hazrat Bu-Ali Shah and conveyed his teacher's message. Bu ali rose from his place and immediately went to the jungle.
He died on 17, Ramadan 724 Hijri at Karnal.
Few days before death he told to his desciples that after death bury me in "Panipat". Later, he didn't feel well & travelled to Karnal, there he went in the condition of "Jazb" (ecstasy), holding a branch of tree to stand. There he stood like a statue, and in that condition he died.
People in Karnal buried him there. At the same night the Holy Prophet peace be upon him came into the dream of Hazrat Sirajuddin Makki (who was teacher of Hazrat Bu-Ali in Sharia and told him to take the body of Hazrat Bu-Ali to Panipat, and bury him here. In the morning he went to Karnal to do so, but the people there prohibited him. So he made a coffin and placed bricks inside and took it to Panipat, thinking that if Hazrat Bu-Ali was a true Wali then he would come into this coffin by himself.
When he reached near Panipat, he found the ruler of the state coming from ahead. The ruler asked him whos coffin is it? Hazrat Sirajuddin said that it's the coffin of Hazrat Bu-Ali. The ruler desired to see his face and when Hazrat Sirajuddin pulled the sheet from the coffin and saw that Hazrat Bu-Ali Qalandar is lying in the coffin amazad and shocked he took it to Panipat & buried him there.

Dada Hayat Qalandar

The tragedy of the shrine is that it has, for centuries, been a unique institution where Muslims, Hindus, Dalits and others all come to pray together. The very origins of the shrine point out to a history of remarkable harmony between people of different faith traditions in the area. It is said that Dada Hayat, whose real name was Shaikh Abdul Aziz Makki, was actually a companion of the Prophet Muhammed himself and had come to the Baba Budhan hills, then known as Chandradrona Parbat, in the seventh century to spread Islam. He is regarded as the first of the masters of the Qalandar order of the wandering mendicants known as faqirs.
According to popular legends, when Dada Hayat arrived at Chandradona Parbat accompanied by his faqir disciples, he took up residence in a cave on the mountain, which was used by a Brahmin and a Lingayat Jangam to administer justice. On the night when he arrived, a group of pallekars (landlords) drew up to the cave, dragging along with them a captive bound up in chains whom they intended to kill for having intruded into their territory. However, it is said, as soon as Dada Hayat saw them approaching the cave, the chains tied around the captive miraculously fell off and the pallekars, shocked beyond belief, fled from the scene.
Probably, what might actually have happened was that Dada Hayat succeeded in freeing the captive by some means or the other. Whatever be the case, the captive is said to have been so grateful to Dada Hayat and so deeply impressed by his personality that he embraced Islam and joined his community of faqirs. This story points out to the peaceful spread of Islam in the region and the socially emancipatory role that it actually played.
The pallekars, finding Dada Hayat a threat to their power, regrouped their forces, and, under the leadership of Kancherayya, the pallekar of Kalhatti, they marched on the cave. It is said that the pallekars had, once again, to beat a hasty retreat for the faqirs proved to be too strong a match for them. Kancherayya then pleaded for peace and went to meet Dada Hayat in the cave. It is said that as soon as he looked upon Dada Hayat he believed he saw Dattatreya, the last incarnation of Vishnu, in his form. He fell at his form and begged him for his pardon, and promised that henceforth he would not trouble the faqirs. Dada Hayat held him in a tight embrace and prayed for him. After this Kancherayya and his deputy, Biru Dev, became faithful disciples of Dada Hayat and would visit him daily to serve him.
The Brahmin and Lingayat Jangam, who used to hold court in the cave in which Dada Hayat had taken up residence, also visited Dada Hayat, and when they saw him, it struck them, too, that Dattatreya had appeared in his form and they, too, became his disciples.
The fame of Dada Hayat now spread far and wide and many people began flocking to his cave. Some of them were so impressed by his character that they embraced Islam, while many others still retained their old religious traditions but incorporated Dada Hayat into their pantheon of deities as a form of Dattatreya. The popularity of the dargah further increased in the seventeenth century, when the then sajjada nashin, Sayyed Jamaluddin Maghribi brought coffee seeds with him from Yemen and tried to popularise coffee cultivation in the area. The sixth sajjada nashin after him, and a member of his family, Baba Budhan Shah Qadri was actually instrumental in spreading coffee–growing not just in the Chikmagalur area but also in Coorg and the Nilgiris. He dispatched groups of his disciples to these areas to spread Islam and Sufism while, at the same time, popularising the cultivation of coffee. Today, the mainstay of the local economy of Chikmagalur and Coorg is the coffee industry, a living legacy of Baba Budhan.
Since many centuries ago, a three–day urs or festival has been celebrated at the shrine of Dada Hayat every spring, three days after the festival of Holi. This year, too, the urs was held (3–6 March, 1999), amid fears of Hindutva attacks, because of which a heavy police presence was arranged for the first time in the history of the dargah. It is estimated that some 1,500 policemen were at duty at the dargah, while the number of pilgrims was some 10,000, including Muslims, Hindus, Dalits and others.
The urs of Dada Hayat represents a fine blend of Islamic and local influences. People from all communities pray inside the shrine where the seat (takht) of Dada Hayat is located. After they emerge from the cave they break one or more coconuts, a practice that owes its origins to a Hindu raja of the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore who offered a large number of coconuts at the dargah in gratitude for a wish that he believed had been granted by Dada Hayat.
Some pilgrims, both Hindus and Muslims, walk down to Palang Talab, a lake some three kilometres away, where they offer coconuts at the seat of the chieftain who, after having repented for opposing Dada Hayat, became his trusted follower. Interestingly, a Dalit priest officiates at the latter shrine.
A striking feature of the urs is the large participation of wandering faqirs belonging to the Qalandariyya and Rifai Sufi orders. The former wear saffron clothes, while the latter dress in green.
Many of their practices are very similar to those of the sadhus. Thus, like the sadhus, they keep long, matted hair, wear heavy jewellery, observe strict austerities and some, though not all, smoke ganja. They stress that barring belief in the prophethood of Muhammad, there is no difference between them and mystics of other faith traditions. Their understanding of Islam is indeed very liberal and tolerant, and they believe, in accordance with the Quranic injunction that God has sent messengers to all peoples, that it is possible that great religious leaders and mystics of other communities may, too, have been divinely–guided. The faqirs play a key role in the ritual festivities at the dargah. Some of them whip themselves with flails, while others pierce their heads, tongues and throats with spears. This practice is known as zarb or sultani. On the conclusion of the urs, they gather to sing qawwalis to the accompaniment of tambourines and rhythmic clapping. One can discern a strong strain of social protest against poverty, the oppression of the poor and the meaninglessness of ritualistic religion divorced from true spirituality in the songs that they sing.

Allah ko dhoondo Allah ke pyaron main.
Allah samaya hai in ishq ke maro main
(Search for God among God’s loved ones
For God is to be found among those smitten by love).

The dargah of Baba Budhan has, since its very inception, been looked after by Muslim custodians or sajjada nashins. From the sixteenth century onwards, the custodianship of the shrine has been hereditary, starting with one Sayyed Shah Jamaluddin Maghribi, a native of Yemen, who settled down there. Maghribi is credited with the introduction of the cultivation of coffee in the region, which is today the mainstay of the local economy. He brought along some coffee seeds from Yemen, and first planted them at Takht Bagh, near Attigunde, some three kilometres from the dargah of Baba Budhan. From there he despatched groups of his disciples to various places to spread Islam and teach the converts the art of growing coffee. Abdul Wasi Asri writes in his Qalandar Bar Haq that Maghribi sent a group under Miskin Shah to Hosalhallipet, another under Badla Shah to Vastara and yet another under Chungi Shah to Belur for the purpose. Other groups were also despatched to Coorg and the Nilgiris.
Maghribi died on 22 Shaban, 1125 A.H.. Before his death, he appointed his nephew, Sayyed Musa Hussain Shah Qadri, as the custodian of the shrine. The custodianship of the dargah has, till today, been vested in this family. The late Pir Sayyed Muhammad Shah Qadri, who died in October 1999, was fifteenth in line from Sayyed Musa. It is striking to note that despite the custodianship of the shrine having always been in Muslim hands, many local Hindu rulers have, over the centuries, patronised it and there is no record of their having ever objected to Muslims' controlling it. Thus, during the time of the second sajjada nashin, Sayyed Jamal Shah Qadri, Channamaji, the Hindu queen of Nagar, contributed liberally for the repair of the dargah's alsah khana, the storage house for the protection of the faqirs resident there. Likewise, Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar III of Mysore, too, was a great patron of the dargah, and would regularly visit the shrine to seek spiritual instruction from the then sajjada nashin, Pir Sayyed Murtaza Shah Qadri. In fact, in the Hindu kingdom of Mysore, the sajjada of the Baba Budhan dargah was the only Muslim Sufi to be exempted from personal appearance in the civil courts of the state.
In other words, as can clearly be seen from this historical evidence, the claim that the dargah is actually a temple and thus should be handed over to the Hindutva groups is completely hollow.
Similarly, the argument that the so-called Dattatreya Jayanti celebrations are part of the traditonal rituals associated with the shrine is also false. There is no record of any such puja having been conducted at the shrine, even so late as in the 1980s. It was only in the wake of the agitation for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in the early 1990's that local Hindutva activists, including some top BJP leaders, began insisting that Hindu puja be conducted at the shrine. The matter was taken to the Karnataka High Court, which ruled that only those rituals be allowed at the shrine as were followed in the period before 1975. These essentially consisted of offering fatiha— reciting the opening verse of the Quran— inside the cave and the breaking of coconuts in its courtyard. Very clearly, then, the Brahminical puja conducted at the dargah by the VHP in December, including homa and worship of images of Ganesh and Dattatreya, are in gross violation of the court orders. Hence, in no way can it be said that the Dattatreya Jayanti, itself a post-1975 invention, is a traditonal ritual that can be allowed.
But with the administration allowing the VHP to have its way and large sections of the press implicitly supporting its claims, the Hindutva agenda for capturing the shrine rolls on ahead unhindered.

Rabia Basri Qalandar.

Rabia Al Adawiya was born in Basra, Iraq, She came from a poor family and was the fourth daughter thus she was named ''Rabia'' meaning the Fourth.
A famous story from her birth was that there was no Oil lamp to light the house so her father who truly trusted (Tawakkul) in Allah to the extent that he vowed that he would not beg from anyone and would only ask from Allah was sent by Rabia's mother to ask for a lamp, He went outside and pretended to go to the neighbours house but returned empty handed. Being saddened that he could not even provide for his new born, Rabia's father became thoughful and sad.
At night he was blessed to see the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a dream who told him that his daughter is the friend of Allah (Wali Allah) and will she will guide many people to Islam. The Prophet then instructed him to go the Amir of Basra and convey to him this message that every night you recite Salutions (Darood Shareef) upon me 100 times at night and 400 times on the Thursday night, However as you have not recited last Thursday you shall have to compensate by giving 400 dinars to the bearer.
After seeing the dream Rabia's Father was delighted and emotional he hurried to the Amir of Basra and conveyed the message from the Prophet the Amir was delighted to know that he was in the sight of the Prophet and gave 1000 Dinars to the poor and paid Rabia's Father 400 dinars and instructed him to come again if he needed help as he was the beloved of Allah.
Due to a famine in Basra which made Rabia a orphan she was kidnapped while in a Caravan and sold in the market as a slave she used to do all chores and keep fasts in the day and at night remember Allah and pray, Then one night her master was awokened to see light above Rabia's head he become shocked that he was keeping a saint as a slave and called her in the morning and set her free and seeked forgiveness.
From then on Rabia went to solitude and seclusions and prayed in the wildernesses and deserts, She approached Allah by herself without a teacher or guide and sacrificed her whole being in love and awe. She kept little possessions and had a Brick as a pillow, A broken jug to do ablutions, and a mat to pray on.
She was the first to introduce that Allah should be worshipped out of love and not fear, She had many diciples and followers and had many proposals for marraige that she rejected even a proposal from the Amir of Basra himself She rejected due to that she had no time and no ''Other'' in her heart except Allah.
Her most Famous poem is given below:
"O Allah! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell,and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise.But if I worship You for Your Own sake,grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.''
Rabia always stressed on repentance and how it is a mercy from god, As only the one who god gives a chance can repent.
Her Miracles:
One day Hazrat Hasan Basri saw Hazrat Rabia near a lake. He threw his prayer rug on top of the water and said: "Rabia come! Let us pray two raka'ts here." She replied: "Hasan, why you are showing off your spiritual power?, She threw her prayer rug into the air and flew up onto it and said "Come up here, Hasan, where people can see us." Then she said: "Hasan, what you did fishes can do, and what I did flies can do. But the real Power is outside these Miracles One must apply oneself to Allah alone.
Once Hazrat Rabia was on her way to Makka, and when half-way there she saw the Kaa'ba coming to meet her and she said "It is the Lord of the house whom I need, what have I to do with the house? I need to meet with Allah who says, Who so approaches me by a span's length i will approach him by the length of a cubit. The Kaa'ba which i see has no power over me what joy does the beauty of the Kaa'ba bring to me?"
At the same time the great Sufi Saint Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham arrived at the Kaa'ba, He spent fourteen years making his way to the Kaa'ba because in every place of prayer he had performed two raka'ts of prayer
Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham seeing that the Kaaba was not there said: " What has happened it maybe that some injury has overtaken my eyes.?" An unseen voice said to him: "No harm has befallen your eyes, but the Kaa'ba has gone to meet a woman, who is approaching this place." Ibrahim Adham said: " Who is this woman?" He being suprised saw Rabia coming and the Kaa'ba was back in its own place, when Ibrahim saw that, he said: "O Rabia, what is this disturbance and trouble which you have brought into the world?"
She replied: "I have not brought disturbance into the world, it is you who have disturbed the world, because you delayed fourteen years in arriving at the Kaa'ba." He remarked "Yes I have spent fourteen years in crossing the desert because i was in prayer." Rabia said: "You traversed it in ritual prayer (Salat) but with personal supplication (you did not think about anyone else)." Then, having performed the pilgrimage, she returned to Basra and occupied herself with spiritual exercises.
May Allah bless Rabia Qalandar and make her a intercessor for us. Ameen.....