Biography of the Author
سوانح حضرت مصنف قدس سرہ
By Dr. Muhammad Arif al-Din Shah Faruqi.
Lineage (Nasab)
Hazrat Shah Muhammad Rafi' al-Din ibn Muhammad Shams al-Din ibn Muhammad Taj al-Din — may Allah have mercy upon them all — belongs to the noble Faruqi lineage, tracing his ancestry back through thirty-six links to the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyiduna 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be well pleased with him). This illustrious spiritual family settled in Qandahar (present-day Afghanistan) many generations ago.
Birth
He was born on the 19th of Jumada al-Akhira, 1164 AH, in the city of Qandahar. His blessed birth brought joy to his family and to the scholars of the region, who saw in him from his earliest days the signs of an extraordinary destiny.
Early Education
His initial education was at the hands of his blessed father and the local scholars of Qandahar, where he memorised the Quran and acquired the foundational sciences of Islamic knowledge. In the year 1190 AH, he travelled to Aurangabad in the Deccan to pursue higher learning, where he studied under a distinguished circle of scholars.
Teachers
Among his principal teachers at Aurangabad was Maulana Qamar al-Din, who first received him and taught him the higher rational and transmitted sciences. He also studied under Shaykh al-Islam Khan, Maulana Nur al-Bahri, and several other luminaries of the age. He excelled in all the traditional branches of religious scholarship.
Bay'ah and Spiritual Initiation
After completing his formal studies, his heart was drawn toward the spiritual path. He took the bay'ah (pledge of initiation) at the blessed hands of Hazrat Khwaja 'Abd al-Khaliq and progressed rapidly through the stations of the Qadiri order under his guidance. His spiritual master recognised his extraordinary aptitude and trained him with special attention.
Residence in Hyderabad
He spent a long period in Hyderabad (Deccan), from approximately 1192 AH onwards, engaged in teaching, spiritual guidance, and the training of disciples. During this time, many seekers came to him from across the subcontinent and benefited from his instruction.
Pilgrimage and Composition of Thamarat al-Makkiyyah
In the year 1197 AH, he performed the blessed Hajj pilgrimage. He remained in Mecca al-Mukarramah for a period. During this blessed sojourn, on a Friday night of the year 1198 AH, while he was resting at Hijr Isma'il in a state between wakefulness and sleep, he was vouchsafed a blessed vision in which a luminous book was presented to him from the direction of the Ka'ba's noble wall, being carried by the great ones and chosen servants of Allah Most High. He received both the book and the garland (qiladah) with joy. Upon waking, he composed the present treatise and named it 'Thamarat al-Makkiyyah' (The Meccan Fruits) in honour of that blessed experience. The work was originally written in the Persian language.
In the same year (1197 AH), during his journey via Surat, he also dictated another short treatise in Persian, the Risala-e-Suluk Naqshbandiyya, which records the principles of the Naqshbandi way.
Return to Qandahar
After his blessed sojourn in Mecca and Medina, Hazrat Shah Rafi' al-Din returned to Qandahar in the year 1199 AH. There he established a khanqah (spiritual lodge) and devoted himself to the training of disciples, the teaching of the religious sciences, and service to the needy. His door was open to all — the wealthy and the poor alike found equal welcome.
Character and Qualities
He was renowned for his extraordinary humility, his rejection of worldly fame, his constant worship, and his tender concern for those in his care. His daily routine included the late-night prayer (tahajjud), the dawn prayer (fajr), the forenoon prayer (ishraq), and extended periods of muraqabah (contemplative meditation). He spent long hours in the company of his disciples, teaching, guiding, and answering their questions with patience and wisdom.
Death and Burial
After a period of illness, Hazrat Shah Muhammad Rafi' al-Din Faruqi Qandhari passed from this world on Friday, the 16th of Rajab, 1241 AH, at the age of approximately seventy-seven years. He was buried in Qandahar, within a mosque constructed near the city walls. His tomb became a place of visitation for lovers and seekers from far and wide.
Works
1. Thamarat al-Makkiyyah (originally in Persian, subsequently translated into Urdu) — the present work. 2. Risala-e-Suluk Naqshbandiyya (a short treatise on the Naqshbandi path, dictated in Persian in Surat, 1197 AH). 3. Anwar al-Qandahar (a Persian manuscript preserved in the family). Other shorter compositions and letters to his disciples.
His Successors (Khulafa)
He left behind seventeen notable successors (khulafa') who spread the Qadiri way across the subcontinent and beyond. His spiritual descendants continue to guide seekers to this day, and the spiritual genealogy (shajara) of his order is given in the third chapter of this book.