Syed Sharfuddin Bulbul Shah (RA)
By: Bashir Ahmad Dar
In 2005 Cultural Renewal of Kashmiri Students and Youth (CROKSY), a project which worked in collaboration with the Department of Education in J&K, organised a seminar on Hazrat Bulbul Shah. Many scholars of repute, including from the highest seat of learning in the state, attended the event. One of the speakers asked me about the organisation and during the conversation he exclaimed that by organising a seminar on a title like that of Bulbul Shah the speakers have landed in an awkward situation as, barring few references, there is hardly any material on the subject.
Interestingly, after some days, I interacted with some labourers engaged for agricultural activities at my fields who belonged to Murshidabad district of Bengal. I desired to gauge the level of knowledge they had of their history. They said that their district was named after some king. About Plassey, where the famous first encounter between the English East India Company and the Nawab of Bengal- Sirajudullah took place, they referred to some folk song which narrated the story of the ruler and how he was deceived by his own officers. One wonders how alien we, including some of our academicians, are to our own history while the commoners in Bengal were at home to speak about the subject.
No doubt the scholar was right in his argument that there is paucity of source material about the medieval history in general and those of Sufis in particular. Nonetheless it depicts our attitude towards our rich cultural ethos. As the chroniclers highlighted the royal events no one bothered to pen down the events connected with the common people including the Rishis and Sufis. Moreover these pious people led an oblivion life and remained aloof from the mundane which probably accounts for not being mentioned by the court chroniclers.
As such very little is known about Abdul Rehman Turkistani. Some refer him as Syed Sharafuddin, while others call him as Bulbul Shah. He is said to been a descendant of Hazrat Musa Kazim (RA), who was the son of Hazrat Imam Jafar Sadiq (RA). He belonged to the Suharwardi Order of the Sufis and was a disciple of shah Ni’matullah Farsi.
Though some claim that he was the disciple of Sheikh Shihabuddin Suharwardy (RA), founder of the Suharwardy Silsilah but considering the fact that the Sufi lived nearly a century prior to syed Sharfuddin, he was not a direct follower of the former. Baba Daud Mishkati in his Asrarul Abrar calling him as Syed Abdul Rehman Bilal Qalander introduces him in a verse ‘as being, in the way of Allah, more illuminating than the moon, as a hawk(shahbaz, literally king of the birds) in spirituality, un-paralled nightingale singing monotheism who was instrumental in turning the garden of faith as green in Kashmir’. It is said that the Muslims had penetrated in Kashmir centuries prior to Bulbul Shah. This is substantiated by the fact that contemporary sources refer to the terms like “melecchas” and “Turuskas”.
Scholars have identified these as Muslim adventurers. But the most prominent among the early Muslim immigrants from Central Asia to valley was Syed Sharafuddin (RA). He is reported to have entered Kashmir in the reign of King Suhadeva (1301-20) from Turkistan, trekking through the difficult and inhospitable mountainous terrain.
Baba Daud Mishkati in his Asrarul Abrar says that he was alone on his visit to Kashmir. However some scholars say that he was accompanied by a group of some followers. Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Wani in his book “Islam in Kashmir” says that considering the fact that he came to “propagate Islam in an alien and non-muslim land, and also bearing in mind that he belonged to the institution of Sufism characterised by pir-muridi relationship, it can be safely inferred that the Suharwardi saint would have been accompanied by a big group of murids(disciples) and khudam (ancillary staff) as was common practice with every religious mission of the time”. Some have mentioned that the people acoompanying him included a reputed scholar, Mulla Ahmad Alama, who is said to been designated as the head of religious affairs in Kashmir after Rinchana’s conversion to Islam.
The scholar is said to have been held in high esteem by the succeeding scholars of the Shahmir dynasty. Besides heading the department of religious affairs, he was engaged in teaching and preaching as well as penning down books. He is credited with two works—Futhawa Shihabya and Shihab I Saqib (after the name Shibuddin, the ruler of Shahmir dynasty). While the former dealt with the Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), the latter was a Sufi work. However nothing is extant of these two works today. The visit of Syed Sharfuddin to Kashmir may have been a part of the itinary of the Sufis, particularly the Medieval mystics to travel to different regions as per the Quranic dictum of “Seeru fil ard” (travel through the earth).
Like his life, very little is known about his missionary activities in Kashmir. But he stands as the first among the Muslim missionaries whose contribution, Khanqah, hospice and the tomb has been preserved. Moreover though he is considered just as a Sufi, but considering the fact that he was accessible to both the courtiers and the commoners, one can easily gauge his outstanding personality.
The greatest contribution of Bulbul Shah was the conversion of the Buddhist king Rinchana to Islam. His conversion to Islam is of immense significance in the history of Kashmir. Many scholars have pointed out that Rinchana was not satisfied with his ancestrtal religion i.e. Buddhism. Most likely he would hold discussions with the scholars of other religions. It is said that like other Buddhists of the medival period he was fond of taking part in religious discussions. Many chroniclers including the anonymous author of Bharistan-i-Shahi, Hasan bin Ali in Tarikh-i-Kashmir and Haidar Malik Chadura informs us that even as a king he is reputed to have spent sleepless nights in the pursuit for truth.
It was his spiritual yearnings which prompted him to hold a religious discussion with Devaswami, a Brahman priest, who lived in the city of Srinagar. However this pursuer of the true religion seems to have got disgusted with the spiritual pretensions and the caste-conciousness of the Brahman priest, Rinchana did not accept Saivism. The Sanskrit chronicler of 15th century (more than hundred years after Rinchana’s conversion) says that Brahman Devasami did not consider it proper to convert a Buddhist into Hinduism. However his version seems far from the truth as the conversions from Buddhism and vice-versa were common in ancient and medieval times.
Moreover, could a priest muster such courage to refuse the admission of a king into his religious fold? Rather it would have been welcomed by the Brahman priest as it would have extended his influence over the court. It seems certain that Rinchana did not accept the religion in view of the abuses which had crept into Saivism on account of the corrupt practices of the priests. He was destined to meet Syed Sharduddin who elucidated to the inquisitive searcher after the truth the simplicity of his religion –Islam. Rinchana seems to have impressed by the personality of the Sufi, who embodied both human and divine love.
Some Persian chroniclers say that while the Buddhist and Hindu preists did not satisfy the spiritual thirst of the king, he finally decided to accept the religion of the first person whome he would see the following morning. And on seeing Bulbul Shah engaged in offering prayers near his palce the same morning, Rinchana after entering into a discussion with the Sufi became a Muslim. The patent fact about Rinchana’s conversion, though described in supernatural terms by the chroniclers, nonetheless bears an elaborate testimony to the immense role of the first Sufi (belonging to Suharwardi Order) during the foundational period of Islam in Kashmir. Thus Rinchana was converted to Islam under the influence of Bulbul Shah. He was given the name of Sadruddin. This event of accepting Islam by the king at the hands of this great Sufi is testified unanimously by the Persian sources.
Not only this- the subsequent facts of conversion also testify the spiritual association of the neo-convert with the Sufi. By assigning the name of Sadruddin (the leader of the religion) to Rinchana, the Sufi desired to make him conscious abut his obligations as the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. Rinchana established a khanqah, called the Bulbul Langar (later on the word got distorted to Lankar)-the first of its kind in Srinagar must have contributed to the transmission of Islamic culture.
The king endowed the revenue of some villages in Pargana Nagam for the maintenance of the hospice, and the income was utilised for the comfort of the travellers and the poor. Even the locality around the hospice began to be called after its name and is till date called by the said name- Bulbul Langar. Khawja A’zam Dedmari informs us that the hospice was functioning normally up to the end of the Sultanate period. A mosque was also got constructed by the Sultan at the said place, called Rinchanpora(Bulbul Langar) where he offered congregational prayers at the oppointed hours. Dr.Ishaq Khan in his “Kashmir’s Tranisition to Islam-The role of Muslim Rishis” says that the relationship of Rinchana with Sharfuddin is said to have been so intimate that the Ladakhi tradition preserved in the ‘song of Bodro Masjid’ refers to the Sufi as a friend of the Buddhist prince. The merchants and other visitors from Ladakh to the Khanqah of Shafuddin must have preserved the memory of the close relationship between the Sultan and the Sufi.
The conversion of Rinchana is of immense significance in the history of Kashmir. Not only was the king converted, but as per the medieval practices a considerable number of the Buddhist followers of Rinchana must have embraced Islam. An instance in this regard is the immediate conversion of Rawanchandra, prime minister and brother-in-law of Rinchana (brother of Koti Rani).
Syed Sharfuddin Bulbul shah left for heavenly abode on 7th Raj, 727 Hijra corresponding to 1327 A.D. He was laid to rest at Bulbul Langar near the tomb of Sadruddin Rinchan who had died nearly four years ago prior to his spiritual guide. Some years ago his shrine was renovated and an anniversary (Urs) is celebrated every year on 7th Rajab.
To conclude we may quote the saysing of Hazrat Bulbul Shah as recorded by Baba Daud Mishkati and other chroniclers. The Sufi says that unless the one who treads the path of Allah has a pure heart, safe tongue and guidance of a tutor (Murshid), he may not be able to travel an inch to reach his destination.
Bashirahmaddar2012@gmail.com)
