Life of Allama Syed Ahmed Shah Sirikoti (Rah.)
Dr. Mohammad Saiful Alam
His ancestor Hazrat Syed Ghafoor Shah, Disclosure Kapoor Shah was the first to come to the Sirikot region in the present border area of Pakistan with the invitation of religion and conquered and cultivated it. For this reason, he is called Fatihe Sirikot or the Conqueror of Sirikot. He was the 14th ancestor of Hazrat Syed Ahmed Sirikoti Rahmatullahi Alayhi.
He memorized the Holy Quran at a very young age. Then he acquired extraordinary scholarship in various subtleties of religious education at home and abroad and obtained higher degrees. In 1880, he received the ‘Faazil’ certificate, the customary institutional recognition for excellence.
The ideal of the Holy Prophet was innate in him; it was effortlessly evident in his work. Allama Sirikoti (may Allah have mercy on him) and his brothers engaged in business in faraway South Africa and established themselves. At the same time, he reached the people of Cape Town, Zanzibar and Mombasa in Africa with the religious invitation. At that time, he took various steps to correct the beliefs and practices of ordinary Muslims from the erroneous doctrines of the Shia community and initiated them into the Sunni-Hanafi school of thought. He was a saint by birth. Therefore, all these works were in his natural nature. It is known from the authentic historical books there that he was the first to build a mosque there.
Then he returned to his homeland in 1912 and took the oath of allegiance to the Qadiriyya Tariqa from Hazrat Allama Abdur Rahman Chauhravi (may Allah have mercy on him). Meanwhile, he also opened a shop in the market near the house of his Pir-Murshid and continued to do business. At the same time, he devoted himself to the service of his Pir-Murshids as time and opportunity allowed. He also helped in the construction of a mosque there. His philosophy was to earn the benevolent gaze of the Pir-Murshids through work and effort, but he did not get any work in the court of the Pir. Therefore, without delaying, he decided to collect firewood. He devoted himself to the service of collecting wood from the Sirikot hills, eighteen miles away, and carrying it on his shoulders to the Pir’s house. This scholar-e-Din and businessman, disregarding lineage, social prestige, fame and establishment, dissolved his ego. However, his beloved Pir-Murshid never ordered him to do this work; rather, he immediately forbade him to do it after learning about it. Just a few days later, a boil suddenly appeared on his shoulder. It took nine months to recover. Later, he was forced to give up this work despite his utmost reluctance.
Seeing the indomitable desire and mental anguish of Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (may Allah be pleased with him) for the attainment of spiritual excellence, his Pir Hazrat Allama Abdur Rahman Chauhravi (may Allah be pleased with him) reassured him. Allama Sirikoti (may Allah be pleased with him) himself described it thus, “Once I was thinking about this matter on the verandah in front of the Huzra Sharif of Huzur Qibla Allama Abdur Rahman Chauhravi (may Allah be pleased with him). Suddenly, Huzur opened the door and came towards me, pointed towards the newly built mosque in front and said – “Look! Lime work is being done outside this mosque.” Later it was seen that whenever I looked at something while travelling in Chauhar Sharif; it started greeting me and I started returning the greeting. Later I realized that I was wasting my time by doing this, so I stopped paying attention to it.”
Then, on the instructions of the Pir, he left his homeland again in 1920 for Burma and stayed there for about sixteen years. He took up the responsibility of Imam and Khatib in various mosques there and gave guidance to the common Muslims on the correct outline of Islam. In 1923 or later, he was granted the Caliphate and permission by his Pir. As a result, his personality attracted such a strong attraction that people started getting excited when they came near him. His extraordinary divine power and miraculous powers started to be revealed constantly. Some of the famous miraculous events that took place in Rangoon at that time are given below-
1. Whenever Allama Sirikoti (Rahmatullahi) would bow and prostrate in the mosque, the minaret of the mosque would tilt along with him. Even the trees and bushes around the mosque were seen bowing down in prostration. Seeing this, the famous Ali Abdul Hamid Prakash Sultanul Auliya there once made a fuss and expressed his desire to take the oath of allegiance.
2. He used to recite Takreer every day after Asr prayers in the Bengali mosque. He would cook halwa in a pot that could hold 1 poa (250 grams) of food for the Muslims present there every day and serve it to them with his own hands. It was seen that on some days 40 to 50 people would be present. Everyone would eat the food equally.
3. The muezzin of the said mosque said, Once I cleaned the mosque during Maghrib and went to the adjacent pool, then I saw him performing ablution there. At that time, I went to the second floor of the mosque and saw him reciting the Takreer to the Muslims there.
4. On the 3rd of Sha’ban in 1928, on Wednesday, during Zuhr, the first son of Huzoor Qibla Allama Sirikoti Rahmatullahi Alaihi’s, Allama Syed Muhammad Salih Shah Rahmatullahi Alaihi, breathed his last. After the Asr prayer on that day, Allama Sirikoti Rahmatullahi Alaihi went into the Huzra associated with the Bengali Mosque in Rangoon, Burma and closed the door and remained there for a long time. Meanwhile, he was seen leading the son’s prayer in the funeral ground near his house. In the meantime, he took the necessary steps to print the book ‘Majmu’ah Salawatir (Rasool sallallahu alaihi wasallam)’ as per the instructions of the Pir. In 1933, he created a stir by presenting the printed copy of this wonderful book to the Muslim world for the first time. Apart from that, he provided the necessary funds for the development of the Madrasa “Darul Uloom Islamia Rahmania” founded by him in 1902 at the sole will of the Pir. After the demise of the Pir, he himself managed the said institution for almost forty years and made great progress. In this way, he faithfully fulfilled all the responsibilities assigned by his Pir. In fact, his uniqueness was born from his mother’s womb; in discussing his active life, it can be said that Allah Almighty created him for all these selfless and impossible works.
It is worth noting that all the Ulama-Awliya who had previously vowed to give guidance and guidance on the correct outline of Islam in this subcontinent; it is seen in their biographies that they were limited to speech-writing and the practice of Sufism or Tariqa. At that time, Khankah-Madrasa etc. were established around them; but as long as they were in the world; Until then, it was established as a center of education and initiation. There was no separate permanent madrasa for the Sunni Muslim masses of his time; where the poor and orphans would go to receive true religious education, Muslims would come together to study the books written by their predecessors, and review the lessons. Moreover, in view of the conspiracies of the British rulers and Hindu social leaders, the financial condition of Muslims also continued to deteriorate. In continuation of the foresight shown by Hazrat Allama Abdur Rahman Chauhravi (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) by establishing a separate madrasa to save them from such a difficult situation, in 1954, Allama Sirikoti (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) established “Jamia Ahmadia Sunnia Alia” in Sholashar, Chittagong.
By the “Anjuman-E Rahmania Ahmadia Sunni Trust” Jamia Ahmadia Sunnia Alia and numerous madrasas-mosques, khanqahs-orphanages have been built and well managed. Today, all these institutions are well known as centers of religious and modern knowledge based only on the ideology of Ahle Sunnat wal Jama’at.
Hazrat Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti Rahmatullahi Alaihi was not only a descendant of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); he was also an Ashiq-e-Rasool. Therefore, he was an uncompromising soldier in the face of traitors, heretics and Islam haters. He was a fearless soldier in the anti-British movement. His position was strict against the Hindu-led Congress. Embracing the path and views followed by the Salaf-e-Salihin, he was a pioneer in establishing the Hanafi school of thought and Sunniness in this country. The Sunnah was evident in his every action. This great man, who had reached the age of one hundred, never abandoned obligatory prayer. According to those who saw him from his close proximity, his sleep was also in the Sunnah manner. He would stay awake most of the night. According to him, remaining steadfast on the Sunnah is a real miracle.
In short, Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) was born in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, but his footsteps extended beyond his homeland to distant Africa, Myanmar (Burma), India and Bangladesh. He left his contribution in all these countries. He considered the writings of all the previous Sunni scholars and Shaykhs, including A’la Hazrat Imam Ahmad Riza Khan (may Allah have mercy on him), to be sufficient for the guidance or guidance of the Muslims. But in the light of the various confusions of the doctrines created in the Islamic faith over the ages, in the light of those writings, he realized that a suitable scholar, religion and environment were needed for proper judgment and analysis, and the vacuum of institutions that existed in the Muslim society; to get rid of the comparatively backward Sunni people, Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (may Allah have mercy on him) took constructive action by establishing institutions. At the same time, considering the busyness of the common people, he made religious works and the Qadiriyya Tariqa very easy to follow at their doorsteps. This line of the Qadiriyya Tariqa propagated by him is resplendent in its own glory due to its purity. No one has any disagreement or objection regarding this Tariqa or any Shaykh. Just as there is no separation within the Tariqa, no Shaykh is associated with a wrong group; rather, each one is an Aali-e-Kamil established on the Ahl-e-Sunnah wal Jama’at in his own era. Every action of this Tariqa is confirmed by the Quran and Sunnah. Therefore, this Tariqa is a great challenge for those who reject Sufism and is also an ideal model for the followers of the Tariqa. As a result of the tireless efforts of Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (may Allah have mercy on him), thousands of heretics embraced Islam and millions of Muslims found the right path. Basically, he was trying to achieve the satisfaction of Allah and His Messenger by making the wishes of his pirs and murshids a reality.
Note:
1. According to the list of names of ancestors of Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (may Allah be pleased with him), his name is 38th. There, the name of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is also mentioned first in the sequence. In fact, the name of Hazrat Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) is the first to appear as a descendant of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Accordingly, the name of the father of Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (may Allah be pleased with him) will be 37th.
2. There is disagreement about the year of his birth. Therefore, some people mention only the sixties. According to the description of his close relatives, 1857 is considered authentic.
3. Syed Yusuf Shah Prakash Shahji, Halate Mashwani, (Lahore: Muhammadi Steam Press-1931) p. 117,121; Local Government Act 33 (Barat-15) 1871.
4. It is narrated here according to the Hijri year written in the certificate; the certificate mentions the month of Sha’ban as 1297 AH.
5. Muhammad Abdul Hakim Sharaf Qadiri, Tazkira-e Akabir-e Ahle Sunnat (Pakistan), (Lahore: Farid Book Stall-2000) p. 169.
6. Mosaheb Uddin Bakhtiar, Sirikot to Rangoon, (Chittagong: Chittagong Publications-’05) p. 58.
7. Allama Syed Ahmad Shah Sirikoti (RA)’s Khadim Master Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury narrated this incident.
8. Hafiz Nurul Alam, who came to Chittagong from Rangoon, narrated these incidents.
9. He was the caliph of Allama Abdur Rahman Chauhravi Rahmatullahi Alayhi.
(Dr. Muhammad Masood Ahmad, Iftetaahiyah, (Karachi: Idara-e Masoudiya-2002) p.43).
10. Muhammad Abdul Hakim Sharaf Qadiri, aforementioned, p.169-170; Dr. Taher Hameed Tanuli, Maktubat-e Rahmania,
(Lahore: Institute of Research and Development-06) p.72; Dr. Muhammad Masood Ahmad, Iftetahiyyah, (Karachi: Idara-e Masoudiya-2002) p.43-46.
11. Anjuman-E Rahmania Ahmadia Sunnia, First Annual Report-20 January 1958, p.01-02.
12. The above, p.03.
13. Muhammad Abdul Hakim Sharaf Qadiri, Sharhul Huqooq; Harfe Awal, p.01.