madhu lal husayn

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Khatam Sharif: Madhu Lal Husayn Date: 25th December 2008Compiled By: Afzal Mahmood and Sajid Hussain Page: 1 of12

Khatam Sharif

In honour of the venerable

Madhu Lal Husayn

To drink or not to drink?In a kingdom far away there once lived a noble king, who was loved by all his people.Whenever he travelled through his lands he would be met with such love and affection thatwas never shown to any other. When he spoke, his words changed peoples opinions and

lives, and none spoke about him without first praising him.

However, there was one old witch who despised the king for this very reason and so oneday decided to poison the only river in the kingdom. She discretely went to the river anddropped a talisman into it whilst reciting her magic words.

It was not long before every person in the kingdom had drunk from the river and began toshow signs of the magic working. After a while the king wandered through his lands andwas met with disgust and hatred. If he tried to speak the crowd would leave, nothing hesaid or did had any effect on his people. Soon this strange behaviour spread within hispalace, affecting his family and friends.

The king himself remained unaffected from the magic; this was because his drinking waterwas from a particular spring within his palace, which no other was allowed to use.

Even though he still remained the king and had all he had before, it was not long before hebecame very lonely. He could not take the rejection he was facing from society as nonewould speak, or sit with him, and if they did it was only because they felt obliged to do so.He could not stand the hatred people had for him as their opinion really mattered to him.The rejection he faced was burning him up inside and every moment for him was agony.All he desired was the people to love and praise him once again.

Even when he found out that all this was the witchs doing, and he was the only one in theentire kingdom who was unaffected by her black magic, he still decided to go to the riverand drink from it.


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The king preferred falsehood over truth as he could not bear the idea of being different.

O reader, are you the one who will drink to succumb to societies whims and desires likethe king, or are you one who will remain steadfast upon the Truth regardless of theconsequences?

IntroductionOne God fearing man, not only went against the norm of society to live by one rule, whatis my state with my Lord?He also felt that even for a split second, had he compromisedhis inner state for others opinions and conformed to the flavour of the month, then hewould be a hypocrite. For that moment this faqirwould deem himself as one who had soldhis imanfor the pleasing ofduniya. This great faqirof Allah almighty is, Madhu Lal Husayn (real name is Husayn but because of his love for Madhu Lal, he preferred to be knownas Madhu Lal Husayn).

Madhu Lal Husayn is called Lal because of the red garment he wore. The colour red isnot just seen to depict something precious i.e. a ruby, but in Sufism it is also depictsmature love.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi reported: A man passed by the Prophet (S), sohe asked a man who was sitting near him, "What is your opinion about this man?''

That man replied, "He is one of the noblest men. By Allah he is certainly a properperson for (a girl) being given in marriage if he seeks to marry, and hisrecommendation is fit to be accepted if he recommends."

Messenger of Allah (S) remained silent. Then another man passed. Messenger of

Allah (S) enquired, "What is your opinion about this man?''

He replied: "O Messenger of Allah (S), he is one of the poor Muslims. He is not aproper person (for a girl) to be given in marriage to, and his recommendation wouldnot be accepted if he makes one; if he speaks, he is not to be listened to.''

Messenger of Allah (S) said, "He is better than the former by earthfuls".

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

LifeMadhu Lal Husayn was born in Lahore during the rule of the Mughalemperor, Akbar, inthe year 1538. From his ancestors it was his Grandfather who embraced Islam. His fatherwas called Shaykh Usman , a weaver from the Duda tribe of Rajputs.

Madhu Lal Husayn was extremely knowledgeable and became a scholar at a veryyoung age. Whilst studying to become Hafiz-ul-Quran, he also became a muridof ShaykhBahlul Daryai and took initiation into the Qadriyyah order. Like any other follower oftariqah, he was pious, God fearing and practiced shariah.

Madhu Lal Husayns first teacher, with whom he did hifzof seven parahs of the holy

Quran, was called Hafiz Abu Bakr . It was during this time that Shaykh Bahlul wasordered to go to Lahore and find this young boy called, Husayn, and guide him.


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When Shaykh Bahlul came looking for Madhu Lal Husayn in Lahore, he did not knowof his whereabouts and so after asking the locals he was directed to the mosque where hewas studying. Upon entering the mosque Shaykh Bahlul saw a young boy studying andimmediately felt affection towards him. After treating him with such love and affection heasked Hafiz Abu Bakr the young boys name. He is Husayn and is in the process ofmemorising the eighth parah of the holy Quran. He is a good boy, Allah is bachay ki samaleh,

he replied.

Shaykh Bahlul called the boy and told him to go to the river and bring back some water.

Whilst filling his container with water, Madhu Lal Husayn met with a very handsome oldman with a beautiful white beard, who said, Shaykh Bahlul has asked me to help you

spiritually and to give you knowledge. Give me some of the water so I may pour it for you to drink,

as after this your heart will open to all types of knowledge.

Upon realising that this holy man was Sayyiduna Khidr (as), Madhu Lal Husayn fell inhis feet out of respect and when told to lift his head, he said, I am not deserving of such

great honour.

Sayyiduna Khidr (as) then said, You must go back to your shaykh and give him my salam.

After receiving many blessings, Madhu Lal Husayn returned to Shaykh Bahlul with thewater, with which he made wudu. He then told him not to speak of what happened withanyone.

During Ramadan sharif, Shaykh Bahlul expressed a desire to pray the travih prayersbehind Madhu Lal Husayn . After reading the seven paras, Madhu Lal Husayn completed the travihs. When asked why he had stopped, he replied, O myMaster, this isall I know, this is all I learned.

Shaykh Bahlul then said, Make the niyah and carry on.

From the blessings of his Shaykh and Sayyiduna Khidr (as), Madhu Lal Husayn wasimmediately able to recite the whole Quran sharifafter this.

After this Madhu Lal Husayn was ordered to go to the river and whilst standing in thewater, recite one whole Quran every night; and in the morning sit at the darbarof DataGanj Baksh and finish another one. This was his wazifa,and he continued this practice

for twelve years consecutively. When Shaykh Bahlul left Lahore he advised Madhu LalHusayn to continue visiting this darbar, as Data Ganj Baksh would fill his heart withnurand guidance.

During this part of his life Madhu Lal Husayn became a poet and continued his practicesliving in accordance to shariah,and as a soberfaqir.

Shaykh Abu Hafs al-Haddad said,The most beautiful things for the servant is to always bein need of his Lord, always to be a faqir when it concerns his Lord in every situation .

The difference between a normal person and a faqir is that when a normal person is

wealthy he forgets Allah almighty. As he feels he is self-subsistence and only in the time oftrouble will he remember Him. However, a faqirs relationship with his Lord is of love, he is


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always in need, not of money, orduniya but in need of Allah almighty. Even if he becomesa millionaire he is still a faqiras he cannot do without Him.

Kafis of Madhu Lal HusaynKafi: Path of Love

If love-raptured you were, love youd gainLoves way is the eye of a needle, if a thread you were, passing obtain

Pure on the surface, polluted within, call yourself a Shaykh you fake

Says Husayn if you become detached, a special station youd attain. (A. Ghafar)

Kafi: Separation

Mawlana in Mathnavi sharif begins by expressing pain of separation from the Beloved,and it is this same pain that Madhu Lal Husayn speaks of. He starts this kafias a girllamenting the pain of separation to her mother. He says that this pain is not physical andcannot be remedied with medicine. It is a dardof separation and the longing desire for theBeloved. He says that in this state of love, the person concerned loses taste, and whengiven the sweetest of foods it becomes bitter. Madhu Lal Husayn ends this kafisayingthat if he finds his Beloved then he will be happy, and until that time, he will continue toburn with this love.


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Kafi: Total surrender

O my Lord! I have become Yours

Dont forget me, forin every matter I reject myself

No quality in this worthless one, only your grace can liberate me

Keep me as you please Beloved, I am taking shelter in You

If you look at me with approval, then I will be raised to lofty ranks

Says Husayn, the Lords devotee, Im a dog at your gate

Kafi: Fantasy

One day theyll just be dreams, these streets of the sire

Bees have flown from flowers, taking the leaves and branches

Only the afflicted self knows, they prattle who is ease retire

Only the afflicted know pain, for others it is easy to talk about

Come judge! The hearts not content with what has, and what will happen. (A. Ghafar)

Kafi: Eyes

O my beloveds! We listen to the eyes!

Those people whose vision is pure, cannot be deceivedJust like black silk cannot be dyed white, crows cannot become white

Shah Husayn you will become a true martyr, if you give your life for your beloved


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Kafi: Know yourself

Madhu Lal Husayn writes, O man, know yourself and you will come to know Him.

He says that you spend your time building golden castles and chasing silver, but all ofthese will be put to the ground and perish. So instead occupy yourself with what is worthspending your time on. O person, know yourself.

The angel of death is standing above your head whether you acknowledge it or not, Operson, know yourself.

All you own is this three foot land, do not be so arrogant and foolish. O person, knowyourself.

Wealth, gold, silver all of these treasures are your guests, one day they will leave you. Operson, know yourself.

Madhu Lal Husayn ends this kafiwith, Says the Faqir, Husayn, leave your arrogance at

the door. O person, know yourself.

Faqr Spiritual PovertyWhether we know and accept it or not, everything is from Allah almighty. The ordinarychoose to ignore this and over time begin to believe that they are in control of their ownlives. However, the few who fight the ego and have total reliance in Him, will know faqr.

Whilst in Makkah sharif, Shaykh Banaan al-Misri saw a man place a bag of coins in frontof a boy, who said, I have no need for this, give this to the poor people.

Later that evening Shaykh Banaan al-Misri saw that same boy searching for somethingto eat in a valley and said to him, It would have been good if you had kept something for

yourself, now you could have eaten.

The boy replied, I did not know I wouldlive this long.

These mengive up duniya and all its pleasures to live a life without comfort and ease, as aresult Allah almighty bestows upon them the faqirirobe of honour. This khirqa is of greatvalue to the faqirs and under no circumstances will they give it up. However, when theMaster passes on this robe to his successor it is done not only through spirituality, but also

as a physical item; usually denoted as ajubbahhence the term robe offaqiri.

My poverty is my pride.(Hadith sharif)

Sayyiduna Ibrahim bin Adham left his kingdom and all his wealth in search for spiritualpoverty; he left amiri to find faqiri, and duniya came running to his feet. However, theordinary fear poverty so much that they spend their lifetimes running away from it,only tobe confronted with it at each stage of their lives.

Shaykh Hamdn al-Qassr said that when Iblis gets together with his minions nothing

gives them more pleasure than three things. They rejoice when a mumin kills a mumin,when a person dies in the state ofkufrand also at the heart which is filled with khawf alfaqr, fear of poverty.


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Hadrat Abu Darda said that he would rather fall from a castle than sit in the company ofwealthy people, as he heard Rasulullah (S) say, Beware of the company of the dead.

Shaykh Abu Ali Daqaqq said that it has come in the traditions that anyone who respectsa rich person because of his wealth loses one third of his iman.

It is said that wonderful is the sultan at the door of the faqir, but terrible is the faqirat thedoor of the sultan.

FaqiriAs narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah , a faqiris one whose appearance is such thateveryone looks upon him with pity, as he is shabbily dressed, hair out of place and lookslost; but he is also the one that if he were to take Allah almightys name, then He wouldfulfil his qasam.

In his own hal,a faqirwas once walking through a bazaar in Lahore. Due to the rain andhis slippers, wet mud was being thrown into the air. As he walked past a prostitute some ofthis mud fell on her face, seeing this, her boss came over to the faqirand out of anger hithim. Not giving the incident a second thought the faqircontinued walking.

A little while later he returned down the same street and was stopped by the sameprostitute, Sain tu badwa ditti. You must have cursed my boss because as soon as you left he felldown some stairs and died.

The faqirreplied, Ididntdo anything,I didnt give him any badwa...but I can understand whatmight have happened. He was your friend and he got upset with me because I put mud on your face,

and maybe when he slapped me, my Friend got upset with him.

Hadrat Muaz Al Nasafi said that Allah almighty does not destroy a nation because oftheir actions, but because of the disrespect they begin to show to the Faqirs. Faqiri is adivine sword and when opposed nothing can get in its way.

Faqirs have no desire for this world and its temptations, but they use each situationencountered to further develop their relationship with their Lord, unlike the man of thisworld. For this lover ofduniya only sees his own selfish needs and desires, and believeseach trial and tribulation to be a barrier rather than a way of getting closer to Him.

From travelling on this path a faqirremoves all false faces and hypocrisy, created from theego; and when finally arriving at his Beloveds threshold, the door is answered as there isnothing of the self left to oppose Him, no greed, envy, anger etc. It is for this reason thatShaykh Abul Hasan Muzayyin said that the way to Allah almighty are more than thestars in heaven, and no path or door remains open except for the way of faqiri, as this isthe most beautiful way.

Zindapir once said that one should hide his faqiri like a women hides her private parts.This is because faqiriis a gift, a nimatfrom Allah almighty and it should not be displayedto the world. The faqirs use malamah (to lay blame upon oneself) to achieve this.


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Malamah To lay blameO you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam),Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towardsthe believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and neverafraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows onwhom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.

(Holy Quran 5:54)

The first person to display malamah, a noble quality loved by Allah almighty, wasSayyiduna Adam (as).

O Adam (as)! What have you done? Allah almighty gave you such honour that even the angels

prostrated before you. You were living in peace, enjoying heaven and eternal bliss and yet you gave

all this up for a mere moment of weakness, he said.

Another spoke, Not only have you condemned yourself, you have condemned your children tothis life of difficulty and struggle; and youre supposed to be His deputy!

If you had not fallen so easily to our kings whispers to eat from the forbidden tree, you and your

children could have remained in heaven for eternity; and now from this act you have fallen from

your Lord almightys grace.laughed the third devil.

From that time till the day of judgement, people like this will blame Sayyiduna Adam (as)and not Allah almighty; but what these unfortunate people will fail to see is that this was thepoint of the transgression in the first place. For, if Allah almighty had expelled SayyidunaAdam (as) from heaven without the transgression taking place, then mankind would haveblamed Him for being unfair and unjust.

It was already written in the divine decree that a servant will disobey his Lord, repliedSayyiduna Adam (as), and yes it is true Allah almighty created me to be his deputy on earth, andthis was His will.

It was either I protect myself in others eyes and allow the blame to be placed upon my Lord for

expelling me from heaven unjustly, or, eat from the forbidden tree and complete His decree of

becoming His viceroy on earth.

O foolish ones! It is far more befitting for me to take this blame placed by you, and others like you,

than having such filthy fingers pointed at my Lord!

Malamah is done to destroy the many different faces and idols created in the mind.However, it is a difficult thing to perform as it requires great bravery and courage. A personofmalamah will know that all outward appearances of piety are merely a show from the

ego. Therefore he will not, under any circumstance, find pleasure in any al. He willstruggle against finding satisfaction in doing any good, since he believes that every actionand pious deed which he looks upon with appreciation is worthless. Along with all of thishe also fights any desire to seek approval by others.

One person went to the Shaykh and said, O Shaykh, what can I do...these people will simplynot leave me alone, they come to me day and night asking for this and that. What can I do?


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O my son, that is not a problem, replied the Shaykh, just say to the people, I dont knowanything, I am an idiot, a fool, I am a jack ass, what are you coming to me for?

The man replied, O Shaykh, I cannot do that, this is my reputation. Im a bit of a celebrity in myarea and if I say thatI will lose all my respect.

The Shaykh said, Puttra, I sent you to do work and not to behave like a celebrity.

Once a Qariled the prayer at a mosque, and recited the holy Quran with such eloquenceand with such beauty. After the prayer the Shaykh said, Masha-Allah, very nice, is that how

you read at home?

That you should have one face in front of your Lord and another for people is hypocrisy.These faqirs look at society and consider it filled with hypocrites, and they recognise thishypocrisy to be a disease that is spreading around people, especially the holy ones, andso they become determined to remove this disease by adopting malamah.

To the ordinary these people become fools of God as they incur blame through actionswhich outwardly seem contrary to Shariah; but this is all a cover, as in fact they are hidingthemselves from duniya and pretending to be foolish. This is malamah is to protect theirinnerhal as they know hypocrisy does not leave you no matter how long your beard is, orhow many books you may have read.

Man-made honorary titles such as, Mawlana, Grand Shaykh, Shaykh ul Mashaykh etcmean nothing to these faqirs for they see duniya for what it is worth, and know that if itwould serve their purpose people would call a donkey their saviour. These faqirs detesthypocrisy and therefore recognise it to be a fatal disease of the heart, and so choose notto live out their lives in this manner.

If you cannot be true to yourself then how can you be true to your Lord? If you cannot even

see and know your own hypocrisy, then how can you get closer to Him?

Faqirs understand the danger of faking it with their Lord, so instead they fake it withpeople, and be true to themselves. This however, incurs the wrath of the people as thefaqir becomes a mirror to reflect their states, and people do not like to see their pitifulrealities shown to them.

(Malamah) is to abandon in every situation the desire to smarten up in front ofpeople. To renounce in all ones states and actions the need to please people, and

to be at all times beyond blame in fulfilling ones duties to God.

Shaykh Hamdn al-Qassr


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Malamahof Madhu Lal HusaynUp to the age of 36, Madhu Lal Husayn followed the traditional way of shariah, heprayed, kept his fasts and did all the necessary commandments; however, at this age hebegan to question everything.

He looked at the people and saw hypocrisy, he saw all saying the right things but with nosubstance, they were putting on an act in front of each other. He then looked within himselfand began to raise the kind of questions which we are too afraid to face. After askinghimself what his level of sincerity was with Allah almighty, he began to hide himselfthrough malamah.

It was during this time that Madhu Lal Husayn fell in love with a Brahmin Hindu boycalled Madhu Lal. Around him, others immediately began to make degrading accusations,and because Madhus family was much respected amongst the Muslim community, theypolitely asked, Please dont disgrace us, these people are speaking such dirt about our son.

Whilst all this was happening, Akbar the Mughal ruler began to hear of how a faqirliving inLahore drinks wine whilst dancing with a Hindu boy, and so on. He immediately sent hisguards to go and arrest Madhu Lal Husayn and bring him to court for questioning.Although they tried, they could not arrest Madhu Lal Husayn and so instead theyarrested his followers. After locking them all in a cell the guards said to Madhu Lal Husayn, If you dont give yourself up, we will punish your followers! But if you make it rain we will letthem all go.

Madhu Lal Husayn said, Only after you provide roast for our friends and they eat, will I dodua for rain.

Immediately after his followers had eaten Madhu Lal Husayn prayed and it began torain. Eventually Akbars men arrested Madhu Lal Husayn , but whenever the guard hadhim chained, it would break, and so he said, I am an evil person, and even if I have to strikenails into your feet I will take you to Akbar.

Madhu Lal Husayn returned with the guards voluntarily, saying, Ok, let us see what yourAkbar has to say.

Upon reaching Akbars courtroom Madhu Lal Husayn stood with a wine bottle in hishand and said, Whats the matter, what is it you want.

Youre supposed to be in the Qadri order, what is this shaytani thing youre doing? Akbardemanded.

Madhu Lal Husayn showed him the bottle in his hand, to which Akbar said, This iswater!

When told to look again, he cried, This is sherbet. And when he looked for the third time itwas milk.

Confused, Akbar ordered his guards to take Madhu Lal Husayn to the prison to bequestioned later. As Akbar walked into the harem he was astonished to see Madhu Lal

Husayn standing before him, bewildered and afraid he immediately ordered his release.


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Madhu Lal Husayn was Hafiz ul-Quran, a great scholarand wali, but when he took onthis path of malamah, he was accused of many kinds of things. He was rejected by thepeople and criticised for all his actions, but all this was done deliberately to hide his innerstate.

In Madinah sharif Hajji Yaqub would always see Madhu Lal Husayn during muraqabah

inside the holy mosque. So he travelled to Lahore, Pakistan to meet and benefit from him.In Lahore, Hajji Yaqub was told many stories about Madhu Lal Husayn and noneseemed befitting for a man of Allah. Eventually when he met with him, Hajji Yaqub thought,This cannot be that shaykh, I must be mistaken. and then said to Madhu Lal Husayn ,Shaykh, what is....

Madhu Lal Husayn grabbed hold of his hand, took him to one side and said, Close youreyes.

After closing his eyes he witnessed Madhu Lal Husayn sitting in masjid e nabavisharifjust like he had been seeing him do so as before.

If the beautiful image of the Beloved is in the seekers eyes, then why should he worryabout anything, for not one moment does He leave him.

The people of duniya do not understand this concept as they look at the faqir andimmediately think that he is not following shariah; but what they dont understand is howcan someone who is so meticulous in controlling his ego and trying to please Allahalmighty can ever think of disobeying Him. How can this man have any spirituality if evenfor one moment he is ghaib (absent) from the Divine Presence?

Madhu Lal, beloved and successorGradually Madhu Lal becameMuslim and a sincere devotee ofhis master . Following the deathof his beloved master he becamehis successor and Khalifa, and isnow buried next to him.

It is etiquette for anyone visitingMadhu Lal Husayn to pay

respects to his beloved Madhu Lal first.

Shrine of Madhu Lal Husayn and Shaykh Madhu Lal


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DeathMadhu Lal Husayn lived to be 61 and died of Friday in 1599, and towards the end of hislife, came back to the sober way.

Allama Iqbal explains that Muslims are in difficulty not because they are behind inworldly matters, but in fact it is because they have sold their iman for wealth andgive noimportance to faqiri.

If you want a solution to your problems for here and the hereafter then become faqirs forAllah almighty. For if you were to find this faqiri, none would have the courage to look youin the eye, for you would be an enigma to all.

Whilst taking to his murids Sayyid at-Taifa Junayd al-Baghdadi said, O group of faqirs,you are known as the people of Allah almighty and are given great honour and are respected by

people because of this nisbat; but look at yourself, for how are you with Him when you are alone.

The patient faqirs will be Allahs guests on the day of judgment.(Hadith Sharif)

Al Fatiha

madhu lal husayn

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