The Fragrance of Imam Ali A.S in India— “Bu Ali” Shah Qalandar: The Indian Saint Who is the Scent of Maula Ali

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 3 July 2024 Saints Are the Scents of Imam Ali—The Head of Islamic Sainthood [Wilayat]—Especially in The Indian Subcontinent. Among Those Indian Sufi Mystics, Shaikh Sharafuddin Bu Ali Shah Qalandar Famously Known as “Bu Ali” (The Fragrance of Imam Ali A.S) Was Born In Panipat In 1209 AD (605 AH), The Present-Day Haryana, India, Where His Tomb Is Also Situated And Venerated Today Both Muslims And Non-Muslims Of The Country ------ غلامِ روئے اُو بُودَم، اسیرِ بُوئے اُو بودم غبارِ کوئے اُو بودم، نمی دانم کجا رفتم Ghulam-i-Roo-e Ou Boodam, Aseer-i-Boo-e Ou Boodam Ghubar-i-Koo-e Ou Boodam, Nami Danam Kuja Raftam [Diwan E Hazrat Sharafuddeen Bu Ali Qalandar] Translation: I fell in love with him as a slave of his face, and I find myself captivated by his beautiful fragrance and scent. I became a dust of his street, and I do not know where I am moving. Shaikh Sharafuddin Bu Ali Shah Qalandar RA is indeed the scent and fragrance of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his Wali (substitute) Imam Ali A.S in India. No wonder why the holy Prophet (pbuh) reportedly said: I find a fragrance and the scent of heaven coming from the dust of Hind (India). He also felt a cool breeze coming from Hindustan, as reported in a hadith and encapsulated in an Urdu couplet by Allama Iqbal: Meer-e-Arab (ﷺ) Ko Aayi Thandi Hawa Jahan Se Mera Watan Wohi Hai, Mera Watan Wohi Hai Saints are the scents of Imam Ali A.S—the head of Islamic sainthood [Wilayat]—especially in the Indian subcontinent. Among those Indian Sufi Mystics, Shaikh Sharafuddin Bu Ali Shah Qalandar famously known as “Bu Ali” (the fragrance of Imam Ali A.S) was born in Panipat in 1209 AD (605 AH), the present-day Haryana, India, where his tomb is also situated and venerated today both Muslims and non-Muslims of the country. He was one of the descendants of Imam e Aazam Abu Hanifa Numan Bin Sabit—a spiritual heir, student and disciple of Imam Ja’afar e Sadiq AS, who was a descendant of the holy Prophet (pbuh). It is also said that he was the cousin of Sheikh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hanswi, a direct descendant of Imam Abu Hanifa, and a renowned Persian jurist of Islam who was born at Ghazni, (Khorasan). Bu Ali Shah Qalandar’s father was Syed Muhammad Abul Hassan Fakharuddin also known as “Fakhar e Alam” and was a great scholar and saint of his time, and his mother Bibi Fatima was also a prominent mystic. The reason why he was called “Bu Ali Qalandar” was touching to know. Since childhood, the young Sharfuddin had a deep wish. He prayed for Imam Ali A.S to reincarnate in him i.e. he wanted and strived to embody the life and teachings and persona of Syedna Imam Ali A.S. One day, he met a Saint who told him the truth: ‘Ali is only One. No one can take his place’. So, you can’t get to his position. However, you will be blessed with his fragrance and spiritual scent. Since then, the Qalandar became intoxicated by the fragrance of Imam Ali A.S, and from that day he started calling himself “Bu Ali”. Later on, he came to learn that the Saint he met was none other than Ali A.S himself. This ignited his inner mystical world which was filled with the passion and adoration of Imam Ali A.S, as he enumerates in a Persian couplet: Haidariyyam Qalandaram Mastam, Banda e Murtaza Ali Hastam, Peshwa-e-Tamam Rindaanam, Keh Sag e Koo-e-Sher-i-Yazdanam Translation: I am a Haydari Qalandar [a mystic of Maula Ali]. I live in servitude to Ali Murtaza. I am the Master of all those who are intoxicated with him, and I’m like a dog roaming around the lanes of Allah’s Lion. According to the famous historical Urdu document on the Saints of Indian Subcontinent Tazkira-e-Awliya-e-Hind-o-Paak, once Hazrat Ali (Karramallahu Wajhahu) rescued him out of a river. Since then, he became intoxicated with the spiritual state of Jazb and ecstasy. He began to live in an ecstatic state of absorption (Mast-o-Alast) all the time, and hence he is called “Qalandar e Haydari” (the Mystic of Haydar e Karrar). Once, Hazrat Bu Ali Shah Qalandar was teaching his students in the historical mosque “Masjid Quwatul Islam” as usual. Suddenly a dervish passed by. He stood in front of Bu Ali Shah Qalandar and chanted the Divine Name three times in a loud and clear voice. Bu Ali became silent and started looking at him. Then the dervish addressed him directly and said: Sharafuddin, recall the purpose for which Allah has sent you to this world. Why did you forget that? You should first finish the work you came to complete. Then you can keep teaching. The magic in the words of this dervish captivated Bu Ali Shah Qalandar at that very moment, and he said goodbye to all his students. They kept running after him but he rushed and disappeared. Out of his state of absorption (Jazb-o-Masti), he started traveling and wandering from town to town. If he spent his morning somewhere, his evening would be somewhere else. Most of the times, he was fasting. At the time of breaking the fast, he would eat only a little or leftover. Otherwise he would break his fast with just a glass of water. In this condition, Bu Ali Shah Qalandar went outside India and thus he came across the two great Saints—Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and his Murshid Hazrat Shams Tabrizi, who honoured him with a Jubba (robe) and tied a turban (Dastar) on his head. Hazrat Bu Ali Qalandar was keenly fond of poetry. Often he used to compose and recite poems in Persian. On some occasions, he also recited Fil Badeeh Ash’ar (extempore poems) and surprised the audience. His Persian poetry is still quenching the thirst of spiritual seekers who are greatly benefiting from his writings—collected in Masnavi Bu Ali Qalandar— especially on Divine Love (Ishq-e-Ilahi). Take a glimpse: "Open your eyes and hearts and look carefully at what the Lover (the Divine) has created for you with His Ishq (love) and how He has shown it so clearly. He decorated a tree with His beauty and produced different kinds of fruits. He put a taste in each fruit. A tree is neither aware of its own nature nor its flowers nor its fruits. He has created for you sweet sugar which might not be aware of its sweetness. He put musk in the navel of the deer for your sake, and the deer itself does not know about it. He created amber for you from the sea cow, and fragrance for you with musk. He produced camphor for you from the tree, while the tree itself does not know camphor. But if you know yourself well, everything will be recognized within you”. A collection of his letters to his disciples has appeared in the book form. These letters are a prime text on the topic of “Tawheed” (Oneness of God). In short, but the code is rich in unity and knowledge. His book, Diwan-e- Sharafuddin Bu Ali Qalandar is a great collection of poetry on Divine Love in Persian. His Persian poems include Ghazals, quatrains, and other genres. Tellingly, Bu Ali Shah Qalandar was also a lover of Delhi’s Divine Lover—Aashiq Allah Hazrat Sheikh Shahabuddin, a Mureed and Khalifa of Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki RA. It is also said that he himself was a disciple and caliph of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. Some maintain that he was the Khalifa of Sheikh Najamuddin Qalandar. Hazrat Bu Ali Qalandar passed away on the 13th of Ramadan 724 AH (September 1324). His close disciple and caliph, Hazrat Makhdoom Latifuddin Danishmand, became a Sufi sage of great merit, whose shrine is situated in Morah Talab, Bihar Sharif. ------ A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar, Sufi poet and English-Arabic-Urdu-Hindi writer with a background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India. He is currently serving as Head of International Affairs at Voice for Peace & Justice, Jammu & Kashmir. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/fragrance-imam-ali-india-bu-ali-shah-qalandar-saint-maula/d/132627 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism