The Walis of Allah, acting on behalf and under the stamp of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and not proclaiming their existence and position' until commanded by Allah serve humanity, by their preccipts and examples and pray incessantly for the general forgiveness of human sins.
The idea regarding the existence of such Walis and their approach towards some form of intercession for humanity is borne out by Verses 20-27 of Sura Yasin, a perusal of which will show that even among a nation doomed to destruction for its inequities, there live persons who testify to the truth of a Prophet appearing among them by their powers of reality, recognising the will of Allah. The event is begun with the following words, "And from the remote part of the country there came a man running who said, O' my people follow this messenger, "The story of the prophet Loot as given in Sura Hud, gives an indication to the effect that punishment for the sin of a nation is averted by the presence of an eminent man of spritually.
The defernment of such punishment is out of deference to a spiritual personality living in its midst.
The punishment of Quraish was deferred till the migration of the Holy prophet from Mecca. Al-Quran lay? down this principle in so many words "Nor is Allah going to chastise them while you are among them" (8:33). The well known hadith ascribing to Allah the Words "One who is hostile to my Walli receives an announcement of War from Me" presents only the counterpart of this idea. Because if hostility to a Wali excites the wrath of Allah it follows that the attention and prayers of the Wali can induce the mercy of Allah. Of course the Wali spoken of are Walis of the eminence like that of Hazrat Ghousul Azam Abdul Qadir Mohiyuddin.
Miracles are abnormal and extra-ordinary acts that can only be performed by the privileged few like the Prophets and Walis of Allah. Perhaps such acts may sound illogical to the rationalist. But they do occur and are beyond ordinary comprehensive. The parting of the Red Sea for the Prophet Moosa and such like events are examples. Even in the life of ordinary mortals, miracles occur, by the mercy of Allah, to save them from catastrophes or accidents.
The miracles of Hazrat Ghousul Azam recorded are innumerable, when compared to other Saints. Of these innumerable, miracles, a few are given below.
After Hazrat Ghousul Azam settled down in Baghdad remarkable stories about his power circulated in Baghdad. The day to day increase in the circulation of such stories made a large number of great scholars of the town to decide to visit him, altogether in other to test his knowledge by posing one, hundred difficult questions. On their arrival, the Hazrat foretold them of their purpose and gave each question the correct answer, even profounding to them explanations beyond the limits of their comprehension on their own special subjects. This" thought reading was daily manifested by him. It was not necessary for the visitors who came with petitions of desires to tell him, for he looked straight at them and gave them the answers.
On one occasion; two weary and hungry travellers from Arabia joined his audience unobtrusively. The Hazrat immediately stopped his discourse saying "Poor travellers; they have just come a long way and have had practically nothing to eat." He then described correctly their last meal to the astonishment of all concerned.
One of the most remarkable things we hear from this Saint's life is that even a man's destiny could be deflected from conscious life into the dream state. A merchant of Baghdad one day approached Sheikh Hammad Al-Dabbas for his blessings before taking a caravan to Syria. Sheikh Hammad forbade him to undertake the proposed journey because he foresay that the merchant was likely to be robbed and murdered by highway men. The merchant very much depressed, met Hazrat Ghousul Azam on the way and informed
him what the Sheikh had told him. The Hazrat promised the merchant his personal responsibility for his safe journey and asked the merchant to proceed. He reached his destination safely with his goods.
On his journey the merchant forgot to take back his money kept in the place where he had performed his 'ablution. On going to bed he was murdered. On waking he saw blood round his neck and also felt the pain of the blow. However, he realised that what he had seen was a mere dream, but remembering his lost purse, he went back to the place and recovered it.
While he was returning to Baghdad he was confused in his mind to decide whether seeing Sheikh Hammad first would be proper, as he was the senior Sheikh or seeing Hazrat Ghous first was appropriate as it was his predictions had proved true. He suddenly saw Sheikh Hammad. He asked him instead to first go to Hazrat Ghousul Azam by whose prayers his predistened murder had been changed into a dream and the loss of property the purse changed into forgetfulness.
One of Hazrat's own servants, who visited his master complained that he had, in a dream slept with man women. Upon this, Hazrat said that it was the servant's destiny to sleep with all those women but this misdeed had been transformed into a dream. Before the servant began to describe the event, Hazrat gave him a list of the names of all the women including those he knew and those he did not.
Khalifa AImustanjid Billah once came to Hazrat and presented him some bags of gold. He refused, the gift but when the Khalifa begged and pleaded for their acceptance the Hazrat took two bags and pressed them. Blood seemed to ooze out of them, which was indicative of the fact that the wealth had been amassed by oppressing people, which was represented by the blood seen.
On one occasion a Christian Clergyman came from Yeman and accepted Islam from him in an assembly where he had delivered a sermon. After his conversion, he voluntarily stood up and related to the assembly that he was a man of Yeman and had decided to accept Islam from the hands of the most eminent Muslim in Yeman. He reported that had seen Prophet Eesa in a dream who directed him to proceed to Baghdad and accept Islam from Hazrat Abdul Qadir, who was the most eminent at the time in the whole world.
Once three Faqihs, who came to see him offered their prayers under his Imamath (leadership). They did not like his reading of the Quran and formed a low opinion of him. They slept that night and went to the spring for a bath late at night. A Tiger clung to their clothes and cought hold of them. The Faqihs became afraid of their lives. The Hazrat at that moment came out of his closet. The Tiger quietened and crawled (it his feet. Hazrat sternly looked at the Tiger as if to question why it had interfered with his guests though they had formed low opinion of himself. The Faqihs came to him and repented for their conduct and begged his pardon. Hazrat then addressed his guests remarking that while he had been improving his heart, they had only been improving their tongue to speak ill of him and slander people.
Sheikh Shihabuddin Umar Suharwardy in his youth used to read voraciously books on scholasticism, inspite of the advice of his uncle to the contrary. Once his uncle took him to Hazrat Ghousul Azam and informed him that the boy was devoting all his time to scholasticism. Upon this Hazrat asked Sheikh Shihabuddin what books he had read on the subject. On getting a reply, he placed his palm on the breast of Sheikh Shihabuddin. No sooner was the plam removed; he surprisingly forgot all he knew of scholasticism. But in lieu of it, he felt his mind replaced by the knowledge of Allah. Sheikh Shihabuddin Umar Suharwardy ultimately became the Imam of the Suharwardy Order and is the author of the famous book on Sufism named "Awariful Maarif."
Sheikh Muzzafar bin Mansur said that in his youth he saw the Hazrat in the company of a large number of persons. When he sat down with a book on spiritual philosophy, Hazrat without seeing the book but questioning him said that the book was not a good one for him and should be discarded. However, be did not like to discard it owing to his love for the book, but at the same time he neither desired to incur the displeasure of Hazrat also by retaining that book. So he decided to keep it somewhere else and tried to get up to do so. But he could not. He felt as if he was planted to the ground.
Hazrat then asked him to show the book to him. It was given. Hazrat passed his hand over it and said that the book was Ibuzari's "Fazil-ul-Quran" and then returned it to him. I opened it and saw that it was "Fazil-ul-Quran'' but without the chapter on spiritual subject and philosophy "contained therein earlier. Hazrat asked him to repent for what had passed through his mind He first repented and then got up, but found that he could not thereafter remember a single portion of that book.
A relattion of the Khalifa was once taken to Hazrat. The man was suffering from dropsy and had an enormously swollen stomach. He sought relief. Hazrat passed his hands over his stomach, upon which it contracted to its normal size.
Hazrat Ghousul Azam had spiritual powers to hasten to the rescue of those who called him in an hour of emergency or adversity even from afar, such as the hearing of a thundering shout that rang, to frighten away marauders who tried to molest and loot owners of a caravan in the desert of Samarakand, who, in their hour of peril, called and appealed for the aid of the Hazrat.
Sheikh Shihabuddin Suharwardy's parents were for long childless, until his mother approached him and begged of him to pray to that she may be blessed with a son. Raising His hands in supplication he prayed and said that Allah the Beneficient would grant her wish. He desired the child when born to be named Shihabuddin and predicted that the child would rise up to be a Sheikh of Sheikhs. In the ceurse of time she bore a son though she was above the normal age of child bearing.
His powers over the souls of this disciples extended beyond the grave. One day in Baghdad a man informed him that his deceased father in a dream had desired him to appeal to him to pray for (he redemption of his dead father's soul, as he was suffering. Hazrat asked the visitor "Did your father ever visited my Madrassa?" Yes he answered. Hazrat remained silent for a while and referred no further on the matter. A few days latter, the man returned to Hazrat saying that his father appeared to him in a dream wearing a green robe and had told him that his punishment has been lifted due to Hazrat Ghousul Azam's prayers.
Abdullah Zayyat once said that one night Hazrat came out of his closet with a walking stick in his hand. Abdullah within himself at that moment wished to see Hazrat performing some miraculous act. No sooner this thought had occured to him, the Hazrat set up his stick on ground and it became luminous and began to glow. Soon it became so bright that it illuminated the entire house. He then took up his stick, and looked at Abdullah and remarked you desired this sort of act. Abdullah was amazed.
A mother brought his son to the Sheikh to become a murid (follower) A few months later she returned and saw him looking under nourished. She complained that Hazrat was himself partaking the delicious dish of chicken daily whereas his poor son had been made to keep up on dry bread. Hazrat on this complaint picked up the bone of a chicken, by this bone suddenly transformed into a live cock, which crowed as if to testify that there is no Allah but Allah. Mohammad is His Prophet "and Sheikh Abdul Qadir is His Wali". Addressing the terrified woman he commented "when your son is able to do this, then there will be no reason why he should not eat the same as I do."
He once asked nearly three hundred residents of a dewelling place to vacate it immediately. No. sooner these people vacated, (he building fell to the ground. He had forseen the occurence and warned them in time.
Sheikh Alt Arabi of Spain had no children. At the instance of a Mujzub (a mon of distracted mind owing to' divine attraction) he approached Hazrat Ghousul Azam for his blessings and prayers for a son. Hazrat said I have one more son yet unborn in my destiny. I give it to you. Rub your back against mine and name him when born Mohammed Mohiyuddin. He would rise up to be a Qutub of his time. The child was eventually born and was named accordingly. He became a great philosopher and attained high spiritual advancement. He gained the title of Sheikh Akbar and is commonly known as Ibn-al-Arabi.
