THE SUFI KING
On arriving in Ajmer the Khwaja and his disciples sat down to rest in the shade of a large tree. This weary group of mystics had barely sat down when some camel-keepers arrived and said in a harsh tone: “Move out from here. This is the sitting place for the king’s camels.”
The Khwaja politely replied that the camels could sit somewhere else as there was a lot of free space available. But the camel-keepers were adamant in their claim and started behaving aggressively. Left with no other option, the Khwaja said in a calm tone: “Relax! We are moving out. Now your camels would be seated here.”
Then the Khwaja with his group of disciples went towards Anasagar Lake and rested on a nearby mountain.
When they had departed, the camel-keepers made the king’s camels sit there in the shade of the tree. But the next morning when they returned to raise the camels, they were unable to do so. They tried their best but in vain. It seemed as if the earth had caught hold of the camels and would not let them go. And the camel-keepers became deeply worried. Tired of all their efforts they now decided to approach their king, Raja Prithviraj Chauhan.
When the king heard their story, he was left dumbstruck. He was very proud of his bravery but felt helpless before the spiritual powers of the mighty Khwaja. So he commanded his camel-keepers, saying, “Go and apologize to that faqir whose curse has made the camels unable to stand on their feet.”
Hearing their king’s command, the camel-keepers approached the Khwaja and humbly apologized to him. The kind-hearted Khwaja forgave them and said: “Go! Your camels have stood up by the grace of Allah.”
When the camel-keepers approached the shadowy tree, they were very much surprised to see all the camels standing on their feet.
The Khwaja and his disciples bathed and performed ablution on the ghat of Anasagar. But, since there were temples built near the ghat, the Hindu priests were very much annoyed by the presence of the Muslim faqirs.
One day, some of the disciples of the Khwaja went to the ghat to bath. But they were stopped by the Brahmins who behaved aggressively and prevented them from bathing. The helpless disciples approached their Master and narrated to him all that had happened. The Khwaja, disappointed with the behavior of the Brahmins, ordered one of his disciples: “Go and fetch me a bowl of water from the lake.”
The disciple acted accordingly, but as he filled the bowl the whole of Anasagar became dry. The wonder-struck disciple hurried back to his Master and gave him the bowl of precious water.
Now, the Hindu priests and Brahmins were in great shock to find the lake dry. On the other hand, the news of Anasagar becoming dry caused a great commotion in the city of Ajmer. The talk of the town was how the leader of the Muslim faqirs got the water to disappear from the lake after his disciples were stopped from using the ghat.
In a short time, the inhabitants became desperate for water as they largely depended on the Anasagar Lake for bathing, washing clothes, etc.
With no other option left, a large population approached the Khwaja and begged forgiveness on behalf of the aggressive Brahmins. The kind-hearted Khwaja felt pity on them and ordered one of his disciples to pour the bowl of water into the dry lake by taking the name of Allah. And when the disciple did as commanded, the Anasagar Lake once again became full of water by the grace of Allah the Almighty. And witnessing this miracle many Hindus accepted Islam and became Muslims.
SHAADI DEV ACCEPTS ISLAM
The chief of the temples-association of Ajmer was Shaadi Dev who used to live in the Jaadu Shaadi Temple. He was a very learned person and very popular among the masses.
When the priests of the temples saw that the visitors to the temples were decreasing day by day, they approached their chief and instigated him against the Khwaja.
With the intention to harm him, Shaadi Dev along with his followers approached the Khwaja. But when they came nearer, the holy Khwaja just lifted his head and looked into their eyes. Only a single look and all the evil-doers started shaking with fear. Shaadi Dev immediately fell at the feet of the holy Khwaja and begged for forgiveness. The Khwaja gently lifted him up and invited him to accept Islam, to which Shaadi Dev willingly obliged.
On becoming a Muslim, Shaadi Dev was given the name of ‘Saad’. And along with him many of his companions also accepted Islam. This incident also caused turbulence in Ajmer and the king was also taken aback.
JOGI JAIPAL ACCEPTS ISLAM
The propagation of Islam had made Raja Prithviraj worrisome. To confront the Khwaja, he decided to consult his family Guru, Jogi Jaipal, who was considered to be the greatest magician of Hindostan.
Jogi Jaipal used to live in a forest near Ajmer. The king summoned him and narrated to him the miracles of the Khwaja and the subsequent effects on the socio-religious condition of Ajmer. The proud magician thought of the miracles of the Khwaja as just simple tricks and assured the king that he would be successful in driving out the faqir from his kingdom.
Now, Jogi Jaipal mounted on the deer’s skin and flew along with his disciples towards Anasagar Lake near to which the Khwaja was camping with his disciples.
Holding snakes in their hands and shouting ferociously they landed near the lake. Seeing the devil’s gang thus creating ruckus the Khwaja’s disciples became terribly afraid. And the holy Khwaja immediately drew a large circle with his hand and commanded his disciples to stay within it in order to remain safe.
The magician and his disciples threw the snakes towards the Khwaja and his group. The snakes flew rapidly towards their target but on reaching the boundary of the circle they burnt to ashes. This enraged the magician and he started throwing fire-balls towards the Khwaja. But this move also backfired. On touching the boundary of the circle the fire-balls returned and started burning the disciples of Jogi Jaipal.
When his magic tricks rendered unsuccessful, Jogi Jaipal decided to attack from above. So he flew towards the sky in order to carry out his plan.
When the Khwaja caught sight of him, he ordered his wooden-slippers to go and bring down the arrogant magician. On hearing the Khwaja’s command the wooden-slippers flew miraculously through the air and started banging themselves on the Jogi’s head. This terrified the magician very much as he was unable to defend himself from the slippers and ultimately he was forced to descend to the ground.
At last, the pride of the magician was shattered and he realized that his magical tricks were useless before the spiritual powers of a faqir. He became ashamed of himself and threw himself at the feet of the holy Khwaja, begging for forgiveness. The kind-hearted Khwaja forgave him; and Jogi Jaipal willingly accepted Islam and joined the Khwaja’s group of disciples. He was given the name of ‘Abdullah’. Following their Master, the disciples of Jogi Jaipal also accepted Islam. And the people witnessing the whole episode also became Muslims.
After becoming a Muslim, Jogi Jaipal requested the Khwaja to show him his spiritual status so that he could be fully satisfied. The Khwaja smiled and told him to close his eyes. As the Jogi closed his eyes, the mysteries began to unfold in front of him. He was transferred to a spiritual world where his soul traveled through different worlds and even reached the seventh heaven. But there the soul of the holy Khwaja caught hold of him and took him back as that was the limit set for his spiritual journey.
On opening his eyes Jogi Jaipal fell at the feet of the holy Khwaja in reverence. But the Khwaja gently lifted him up and made him sit among his disciples.
Under the guidance of the holy Khwaja, Jogi Jaipal attained great spiritual heights and eventually became a saint. Then he told the Khwaja of his desire to stay alive till Doomsday. The Khwaja smiled and then prayed to Allah for his long life.
It is said that Abdullah (Jogi Jaipal) is still alive today and he shows the way to the lost travellers. The people of Ajmer and its neighborhood fondly call him by the name of ‘Abdullah Bayabani’.
PROPAGATION OF ISLAM GATHERS PACE
The incident of Jogi Jaipal accepting Islam caused a great turbulence in the city of Ajmer. Its inhabitants became fond of the holy Khwaja and respected him greatly.
One day, the new muslims Shaadi Dev and Jogi Jaipal approached the Khwaja and requested him to reside among the masses so that the propagation of Islam could gather pace. The Khwaja accepted their request and left Anasagar for the place where his Dargah is situated today. This place was the property of Shaadi Dev which he gifted to the Khwaja.
Jogi Jaipal accepting Islam and the Khwaja moving to the city-centre infuriated the king furthermore and his hatred for the Khwaja knew no bound. But he felt helpless before the spiritual powers of the mighty Khwaja.
On the other hand, the Khwaja continued his propagation of Islam. The Almighty had bestowed him with such a personality that whosoever came to meet him couldn’t leave without being impressed with him. His behaviour, his patience, his art of speaking, his way of conduct, all attracted the people towards him. In a short period of time, there was a good number of Muslims in Ajmer who were able to come out from the darkness of idolatry to the light of Islam by the grace of the Almighty.
INVITING PRITHVIRAJ TO ACCEPT ISLAM
After Shaadi Dev and Jogi Jaipal had accepted Islam, the Khwaja sent a message to Raja Prithviraj that read: “Accept Islam and you will remain in advantage. You will not lose your kingship in this world and after death also you will remain in peace. On the other hand, if you disagree then remember you will have to face great trouble both in this world and in the Hereafter. And then you will be helpless.”
Prithviraj Chauhan was very proud and arrogant and this message had no effect on him. But still he thought of testing the Khwaja, and so he sent a man to him to become his fake disciple.
When the man approached the Khwaja and requested him to take him as his disciple, the Khwaja just refused to entertain him. When he inquired about the cause, the holy Khwaja said: “There are three reasons because of which I can’t take you as my disciple. Firstly, your heart is filled with hatred and deceit. Secondly, you are a polytheist to such an extent that you will bow before everyone else except the Almighty. Thirdly, I have seen in the ‘Preserved Scriptrum’ that you will depart from this world in disbelief.”
Hearing this the man was shell-shocked, and then he returned to the king and narrated to him the whole conversation. Prithviraj was also very much surprised to hear all this but still his ego prevented him to convert.
The mind-games between the Raja and the Khwaja continued. But the king didn’t have the courage to physically harm the Sufi, especially after the defeat of his family guru and great magician, Jogi Jaipal. So, instead of the Khwaja, the king started torturing the new converts to Islam.
One day, an attendant in the king’s court who had recently embraced Islam was brutally tortured. This helpless man approached the Khwaja and narrated his plight pleading with him for help. The Khwaja was deeply moved by his plight and immediately sent a letter to the king requesting him not to torture this new Muslim. But the wicked and arrogant king paid no heed to the Khwaja’s request and instead sent a letter to the Khwaja that read: “Being the lord and king of this land, I order you to leave Ajmer along with your disciples within a week’s time. If you don’t comply, then be ready to be physically pushed out by my army.”
When the Khwaja got to know of the king’s order, he became infuriated and said in a fit of rage: “I have handed Prithviraj alive to the Muslim army.”
On hearing these words from the mouth of the holy Khwaja, the disciples were stunned but kept quiet because they knew that their Master never told lies. And they eagerly waited for his prophecy to come true.
(excerpt from ‘The Sufi King of Hindostan’)
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