Khawaja Hassan Qari and his younger brother Khawaja Ishaq Qari are two flowers from the same spiritual garden. They belonged to a respectable and educated family of Mohallah Baldimar at Maharaj Gary in Srinagar. Hassan Qari was dealing with the cloth business and earned his livelihood through the same business. His younger brother Ishaq Qari relates in the Chilla Challat- Al- Ariffin that once his brother- Hassan Qari collapsed due to some unknown reason. He became unconscious. The parents were worried about that sudden incident.
They began to pray for his recovery. In a state of dejection state, his father took him to the Masjid for making a supplication to Allah. There he saw a person offering prayers. He was told by somebody to relate his matter to that person. He proceeded to him and narrated all the incidents to him, requesting a special prayer. They got fascinated by his spiritual highness and all the family members took allegiance to Bayat on his hand in the Suharwardi Order. He guided them with sincerity. Khawaja Hassan Qari left the world’s possessions and began to follow the guidelines of his Murshid with firm dedication. Later his Murshid entrusted him to Baba Hyder Tulmuli, who guided him. He spent a complete year in the company of Baba Hyder Tulmuli.
He achieved excellence in gaining religious education, particularly In the art of recitation of the Holy Quran. He had gained command over the seven different dialects of the Holy Quran. He imparted free education to a large number of people for the sake of Almighty Allah and used to teach them the art of recitation. Sheikh Ul Islam Hazrat Baba Dawood Khaki, Qutbul Aqtab Mir Syed Baba Haider Tulmuli highly praised Hassan Qari He spent the later years of his life under the command of his Murshid, settled at village Shaiva in the Pargana –area of Zaingir, where, besides his spiritual engagements, he guided the people in the Sufi path. Khawaja Hasan Qari authored a treatise, which is titled as Rahat-Al –Talibin. In this particular write-up, he highlighted the spiritual highness of his Murshid -Sheikh Hamza Mukhdoom. He also highlighted the mystical facts and principles of Tasaswuf. His writings were praised by Baba Hyder Tulmuli. He remarked, “Rahat-Al –Taliban” is a fine exploration of the different ways and practices followed by the seekers on the Sufi path.” As the part of spiritual training, both Hassan and Ishaq Qari selected Hardushiva Shaiva Zainigir Sopore as the place of meditation to acquire spiritual elevation. Later Ishaq Qari went back to his native place but Hassan Qari stayed there till his last breath which occurred on 27 th Safarul-Muzafer 999 Hijiri (1590 AD) and was buried in the same place.
Like his elder brother, Khawaja Mohammad Ishaq Qari RA was also an illuminated character. He studied Tafseer, Hadith, and Fiqh from Baba Dawood Khaki and Baba Ali Raina. Before he joined the Suharwardiya Order, he used to serve Sheikh Ahmad Qalandar- a well-known Sufi of that time. Ishaq Qari himself mentioned in his book Chill-Chillat-Ul- Arifeen” that in his childhood, his memory power was weak. He often forgot the lesson that he received from his teachers. To find a permanent solution to that odd situation, his mother took him to Sheikh Hamza Mukhdoom for making special prayers for his favor. The Sheikh offered him the bowl with water from which he had washed his hands after having his dinner. Khawaja Ishaq drank that water. The next morning, he took the Holy Quran as usual and began to recite it. As he was reciting the lines, he memorized each line by Heart that too in seven dialects. All the contemporary scholars, Qari including his brother Hassan Qari got surprised by the excellence that he achieved in the recitation of the Quran. One day, Sheikh Hamza Mukhdoom came to know that he came under the influence of the Qalander who has engaged him in intoxication (Bang) He punished the intoxicant Qalander and rescued Kahawaja Ishaq from indulging in anti-Sharia practices. Later, he dedicated himself to the service of Hazrat Makhdoom Sahib and remained under his auspicious guidance. Ishaq Qari devoted his entire life to the cause of Islam.
He along with his brother guided people on the path of morality and devotion. He was endowed with great skills in the recitation of the Holy Quran. During the reign of Yaqub Shah Chak, a deep political uncertainty emerged here, Ishaq Qari left for Sialkot and made his way to Lahore. From there, he started his journey to Makkah, performed Hajj then went to Madina. He was welcomed by the caretakers of Masjid Nabvi. One of the attendants had already shared his dream in which he was directed that a saint from Kashmir would arrive in that holy land and he should be given due care and attention. As he reached there, one of the pilgrims offered him a bunch of grapes. He stayed there for one and a half years and finally left for the heavenly abode. He was buried in the Mazar Al- Baqi- the sacred grave of Madina. He often advised his disciples, “Don’t sit in the company of bad people, sitting with them even for a moment will disfigure your personality. Chilla Chillat-Ul-Arifeen authored by M.Ishaq Qari RA deals with the life and miracles of Sheikh Hamza Mukdoom, his teachings, and principles of life. Let me mention here that M. Ishaq Qari and M. Ishaq Qari Narvari are two different personalities. Both were associated with Sohawardiya Silsila but the former was connected with this lineage through the spiritual family of Mukdoom Sahab RA and later one was connected through Mir Syed Ahmad Kirmani RA.
Haroon Rashid Bhat is a teacher and columnist. He can be mailed at minamharoon123@gmail.com
