ALI IBN ABI TALIB

The Holy Prophet transferred Divine Trust of Faqr to Ali ibn Abi Talib so that through him it passed on to Umma. Hence, Ali is the Baab-e-Faqr i.e. ‘door to Faqr’. That is why, the Holy Prophet said the following about him:

For whom I am the master, Ali is his master. (Tirmidhi 3713)

Sultan-ul-Arifeen (Sultan of Mystics) Sultan Bahoo rehmat-ul-Allah alayh says;

Ali ibn Abi Talib got Faqr from the Holy Prophet. (Ain-ul-Faqr)

Although Hazrat Fatimah attained the trust of Faqr from Prophet Mohammad and she holds the status of first Sultan-ul-Faqr. Still the Sarwari Qadri order progressed forward through Ali Ibn Abi Talib. This is because, being woman Hazrat Fatimah cannot lead the Sarwari Qadri order. As according to Sharia, one cannot take oath of allegiance on the hands of a woman.

Another aspect is that the seeker of Allah must pass through the stage of annihilation in Murshid before the stage of annihilation in Allah and His Prophet. In order to pass through that stage, one must have immense love for his Murshid. And to attain love of Murshid, it is necessary to see him. However, due to limitations of Sharia, disciples cannot gaze upon a woman. Without love for the sacred self of Murshid a disciple cannot move forward in the journey of Divine love. Hence, Holy Prophet granted the Imamate of Sarwari Qadri order to Ali ibn Abi Talib and not Fatimah.

Fatimah Bint Mohammad

Fatimah bint Mohammad got the treasure of Faqr from Prophet Mohammad and holds the status of first Sultan-ul-Faqr. She held the status of first Sultan-ul-Faqr because Allah created her sacred soul directly from Nur-e-Mohammadi Sall’Allahu Alayhi Wa’alihi Wasallam. That is why Faqr i.e. Divine Union, Vision of Allah and presence in the Assembly of Mohammad are granted through her mediation. Despite being a woman, she traveled the most difficult stages of Faqr with great courage and firmness. Thus, her devotion and extreme Divine love elevated her to ultimate level of Oneness with Allah. Also, she attained the status of supreme lady of all Muslim women. It is promise of Holy Prophet that Allah always grants the prayer asked through her mediation. Such is the status of belovedness of Fatimah bint Mohammad in the court of Allah.

HASAN OF BASRA

Hazrat Ali karam Allah wajhul kareem passed on Trust of Faqr to Hasan of Basra who is the second Sultan-ul-Faqr. The Sufi books Siyar-ul-Auliya and Siyar-ul-Aqtab state about the oath of allegiance and spiritual succession of Hasan of Basra:

Hasan of Basra took oath of allegiance at the hands of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali granted him special cloak and turban which Holy Prophet had granted him, thus appointed him his superior spiritual successor. Also, he passed on complete knowledge of Divine secrets to Hasan hence transferred the Trust of Faqr to him. Furthermore, Ali taught him the real method of invocation of Islamic creed (Kalma Tayyab) as Prophet Mohammad had taught him. That is, through negation of everything other than Allah (nafi) and verification by heart of His Essence (Asbat). Afterwards, Hasan introduced this method in the world of Islam.

Thus, Hasan of Basra established a grand system of spiritual orders which spread through his two successors.

Five orders namely Zaidiyyah, Ayyazia, Adhmia, Hibiria and Chishtia started from Shaikh Abdul Waahid bin Zaid. While nine orders namely Ajmia, Taifuria, Karkhia, Saqtia, Junaydia, Gazronia, Tusia, Soharwardia and Firdausia originated from Shaikh Habib al-Ajmi.

TITLES OF SARWARI QADRI ORDER IN DIFFERENT ERAS

Hasan of Basra passed on the Trust of Faqr to Shaikh Habib al-Ajmi. Hence, he was the next spiritual leader of this order. For the first time this order got a title i.e. Ajmia after the name of Shaikh Habib al-Ajmi. When he transferred Divine Trust to Shaikh Maroof Karkhi, this order got the title of Karkhia. Similarly, on reaching Hazrat Sirri Saqti its title became Saqtia. Then, Shaikh Junayd of Baghdad gave it properly organized shape by the title Junaydia. Well-known Saint of Sub-continent Hazrat Ali bin Usman al-Hajveri commonly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh also belonged to Junaydia order. Afterwards, its title remained Junaydia for almost two centuries till it reached Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. Even the spiritual guide of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Shaikh Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi belonged to Junaydia order.

AL-GHAWTH AL-AZAM SHAIKH ABDUL QADIR JILANI

Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (Ghaus ul Azam) is most eminent personality of Sarwari Qadri order after Ali ibn Abi Talib. He is the third Sultan-ul-Faqr. Shah Waliullah Dehlawi describes his grandeur in his work Hama’at, as:

After Ali ibn Abi Talib starts a series of Sufis and Saints. Most powerful and superior to all of them is Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. He travelled mystic path with utmost excellence through actual Awaisi way. That is why he is believed to be as powerful in his grave as he was when alive.

When he held the throne of Divine guidance and persuasion in 521 Hijri, Muslims had not only declined politically and religiously all over the world, but their spiritual orders had weakened as well. Hence, he enlivened true Mohammadan religion through his sermons, books and spiritual training. That is why, his title is Mohiyyuddin meaning ‘the reviver of religion’. Moreover, all previous spiritual orders collected in his sacred self and he reorganized them. Thus, four spiritual orders originated from him; Qadri, Soharwardi, Chishti and Naqshbandi. Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani leads Qadri order himself. While, he appointed Shaikh Shahabuddin Soharwardi, Moinuddin Chishti and Bahauddin Naqshband as leaders of Soharwardi, Chishti and Naqshbandi orders respectively. All three got beneficence from Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. Hence, Qadri order is superior to all other orders just as he is superior to all other Saints.

Shaikh Abdul Qadir passed on Trust of Faqr to his son Abdul Razzaq Jilani who is fourth Sultan-ul-Faqr.

SULTAN-UL-ARIFEEN SULTAN BAHOO

Sultan Bahoo reorganized Qadri order and named it as Sarwari Qadri order. He undoubtedly holds most superior status in this order after Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani and is fifth Sultan-ul-Faqr. Sarwari Qadri order reached Sultan Bahoo through Shaikh Abdul Rehman Jilani who belonged to progeny of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. Sultan Bahoo mentioned Shaikh Abdul Qadir in all his books and considers him his spiritual guide. He entitled this order as Sarwari Qadri to highlight its relationship with the Holy Prophet and Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. Basically, Sarwari means ‘leader’ and it refers to Prophet Mohammad, hence shows association with him. Whereas, Qadri means ‘all-powerful’ and it shows association with Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani.

Sultan Bahoo significantly spread Sarwari Qadri order in Indo-Pak and gave it many new dimensions according to requirements of age. Furthermore, he provided complete knowledge about this mystic way through his books. Moreover, he separated Sarwari Qadri order from other offshoot of Qadri order i.e. Zahidi Qadri. It was great landmark which distinguished Sarwari Qadri order purely as order of spirituality and mysticism. Whereas, in Zahidi Qadri order emphasis is mostly on physical devotions. Sultan Bahoo explicitly declares only the Sarwari Qadri order the proper and real Qadri order.