Unique amalgam of Sharia and Sufism
Resh Moel- Baba Hardi Rishi
By: Prof Bashir Ahmad Dar
Popularly known with love, affection and reverence as ‘Resh Moel’, (paternal Rishi) Baba Haider or Hardi Rishi Baba is the towering personality among the Sufis and the most celebrated Rishis of Kashmir. Very little is known about his childhood. It is said that he belonged to a family of blacksmiths. Even as an infant, Hardi Rishi is said to have abstained from taking milk during the ember days (Ramadahan) at the appointed time of the fast.
Right from his childhood, he choose to cling the righteous path. With the love for the Almighty Allah storming his heart, he began to engage himself in prayers and meditation practices as the Rishis followed. He used to engage himself in fasting during the day and during the night he would offer prayers. He would attend the congregational prayers and would hardly miss this Sunnah or the practice of the prophet.
Observing contentment he donned simple clothes and sometimes walked barefooted and used the traditional shoes made of grass known as ‘pulhoor’. Baba Haider Rishi was so particular about taking lawful (halal) food that, in spite of his exalted status among the contemporary Rishis and Sufis, he did not hesitate to cultivate the land himself. Initially, according to Ali Raina, Hardi Rishi received esoteric guidance from both Uwais-i Qarnin and the prophet Khizr (having no formal spiritual teacher). However later on, to believe Ali Raina as per the command of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom enrolled him as his disciple in the Suharwardi order besides granting Khati Irshad along with a cap and a khirqa (the traditional gown).
It is significant to note that as per the contemporaries like Ali Raina, Haider Tulmuli, Ishaqa Qari and Miram Bazaz , Hamza Makhdum is reported to have condescended to come to the Rishi’s house in order to enrol him as a disciple. As Hardi Rishi came to know through secret knowledge about the visit of the most venerated Suharwardi Sufi of Kashmir, he made arrangements for serving feast to the distinguished guest.
Despite the known aversion of Hardi Rishi to causing harm to living creatures, an animal was slaughtered to celebrate the occasion. The Rishi was asked by Hamza Makhdum to partake of the non-vegetarian food, which he tasted, for the only time in his life, in order to conform his behaviour to the Sunnah. But what is of equal importance to remember from our viewpoint is that Hamza Makhdum himself, in deference to the Rishi’s attitude towards living creatures, allowed him to practice vegetarianism thereby dispelling the false notion that the vegetarianism of the Rishis was distasteful to the Suharwardis in view of its local origin.
It appears that Hamza Makhdoom’s main concern was to show that the Rishi did not unswervingly follow a course opposed to the Sunnah. This is why he did not make a fetish of the Sunnah once Hardi willingly shared non-vegetarian food with the Suharwardi saint. Moreover, the purpose of Sheikh Hamza in meeting Haider Rishi testifies the supremacy of Sunna in Sufism besides legitimising the social behaviour of the Rishis, which though in consonance with the local condition, did not tantamount to flagrant violation of the Sunna.
But for this reason, Sultanul Arifeen would not have allowed Haider Rishi to follow the path of the Rishi even after enrolling him in the Suharwardi Silsilah. Moreover, with regard to the abstention from meat, Baba Daud Khaki argues that it did not tantamount to the violation of Sharia, they did not declare taking meat as unlawful, but simply avoided it for good reasons, both in spiritual and psychological terms. The Rishis discarded its use as it tempted to be lustful and turned one stone-hearted. Khaki adds that the more one is in possession of the bounties of Allah, the more accountable does one become to the Creator in the performance of social obligation. Meat to Khaki is essentially a costly food in contrast to the simple vegetarian diet of the deprived.
With the use of costly food one’s responsibility towards human beings are bound to increase. Thus the Rishis gave up meat lest a terrible fate should await them in the Hereafter for their failure to fulfil social obligations. Even a 19th century scholar Shaikh Ahmad Trali, who authored Risala –i Lahmiyya pamphlet on meat eating) puts forth the argument for the Rishis’ abstinence for meat is not their dislike for halal food but their determination to subdue the self (nafs) to seek the countenance of Allah. For the Rishis meat eating was a luxury, and since they abstained from rich food purely for spiritual reasons, they regarded the practice of curbing the ordinary demands of the self as Jihad-i Akbar.
Ali Raina convinces us that the Rishi was a born friend of Allah (Wali madrzad). Not only that. He even dextrously uses the Quranic verses to impress upon his readers the truth of his argument and conviction. Thus he remarks: And if all the trees in the earth were pens, and the sea, with all seas to help it were ink, the words of Hardi Rishi could not be exhausted.
To believe the contemporaries Baba Hardi Rishi had ascended the status of King of saints (Sultan al auliya). Baba Haider Tulmuli, Khwaja Hassan Qari and his brother Ishaq Qari have spoken highly of Hardi Rishi. Haider Tulmuli, though a disciple of Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom, regards Hardi Rishi as Sultan al auliya.
He is said to have been approached by the experienced Sufis for taking lesson from the saint (Hardi Rishi) in suluk. Sufis from ‘Hindustan’ and some more distant lands flocked to Hardi Rishi to be his disciples. Haider Tulmuli mentions the account of four dervishes of Hind who joined the Rishi order on seeing Hardi Rishi.
The contemporary Sufis, particularly the Suharwardis are full of Hardi Rishi’s miraculous exploits. Ali Raina, particularly extols to the skies the spirituality of Hardi Rishi, whose possession of supra-normal powers captivated all other well-known disciples of Hamza Makhdum. So deep was the impact of Hardi Rishi’s personality on the mind of Ali Raina that he is even eager to convince his readers about the authenticity of the miracles attributed to the Rishi to which he says he was himself an eye witness.
Ishaq Qari, in his ‘Chilchiltul Arifeen’ even credits Hardi Rishi with having saved one of his murids from the punishment of the grave for having died a debtor. The Rishi is said to have such miraculous authority to turn a heap of dung into money in order to liquidate the debt which his deceased disciples owed to people. A mere look of Hardi Rishi enabled a number of people to attain the status of Qutb and Gauth. “Although the credibility of the miracles attributed to Hardi Rishi is open to serious questions even from the viewpoint of the Shari ‘a,” Dr.Ishaq, commenting on these miracles, remarks , “it would be nothing short of a blunder to treat these accounts with disdain, considering the relative neutrality of their compilers as adherents of the Suharwardi order.”
At least, these accounts are indicative of the towering personality of Hardi Rishi who was able to captivate even the closest disciples of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom. One is particularly stuck by Baba Daud Khaki’s unbounded praise for Hardi Rishi in his Qasida-i Lamiyya. Once Baba Daud Khaki presented his poetic creation Virdul Murideen (Supplication for disciples), consisting of over 150 verses to his spiritual master. Hamza Makhdoom commenting upon the verses intimated to Khaki that he needed not to go so extensive in describing the virtues of his Murshid. It would have sufficed him (Khaki) by just mentioning that Baba Hardi Rishi was his (Shaikh Hamza’s) disciple. Khaki’s works are conspicuous for his praise in honour of the most Rishis of Kashmir. Khaki was so impressed by the spirituality of Hardi Rishi that he likened him to the prophets.
This explains that in spite of being an illustrious Khalifa of Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom, he took pride in offering allegiance (bait) to Hardi Rishi. Khaki’s own son Shaikh Mohammad Sayeed too became the Khalifa of Hardi Rishi. This points to the fact that the Suharwardi order itself, in due course, was assimilated and absorbed in the Rishi order and this was an attempt to find a unity in the seemingly distinct trends as represented by the Suharwardis and the Rishis. His eulogization is a conscious attempt to portray the Rishis as followers of the Ahl Sunnat wa Jam ‘a.
He praises the Rishis for the Kubrawi practice of reciting Aurad –i-Fathiyya regularly. The Rishis followed the tradition of pas-i anfas the practice of remembering Allah through khilwat dar anjuman and hosh dar dam. According to Khaki the Rishis possessed an unwavering faith in ‘aqaida-i Sunniya’. Furthermore it testifies the abundant love the Rishis had for the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his companions and the Ahl-i bait.
Khaki’s eulogy of the Rishis also dispels the misconceived notion that the Suharwardis were hostile towards the Shias. It is worth noting that it was the influence of the Rishis, particularly of Hardi Rishi that Khaki seems to have been keen to bridge the differences between the Shias and the Sunnis, though from his own standpoint. Khaki has recorded an account saying that once Hardi Rishi saw Caliph Ali (R.A) in a vision.
Answering the Rishi’s queries about the fate of the Shias, Ali (R.A) is said to have expressed his displeasure over their harbouring spite against other companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Hardi Rishi is quoted calling the Shias respectfully as the followers of Hazrat Ali(R.A). It is of significance to note that Khaki’s purpose behind mentioning the dream, which according to him, was to impress upon the Muslims to desist from nursing ill-will against one another.
Perhaps Khaki realised that the Shia-Sunni conflict had undermined the strength of Kashmir society. This is the reason for Khaki to intimate Muslims to be repentant over their past sins.
Baba Hardi Rishi gained popularity for his prayers or invocations bore fruit and thereby people sought his blessings .
Baba Hardi Rishi breathed his last on the first day of Zilqada, 986 Hijra corresponding to 1577 A.D. and was laid to rest in Islamabad (Anantnag) town.
(The author can be emailed at bashirahmaddar2012 @ gmail.com
Kashmir Images is an English language daily newspaper published from Srinagar (J&K), India. The newspaper is one of the largest circulated English dailies of Kashmir and its hard copies reach every nook and corner of Kashmir Valley besides Jammu and Ladakh region.
