Sanjar reportedly offered the province of Sistan (in southern Persia) to
defray the expenses of his
khanqah,
but he refused the offer, saying: “My face
may turn black like the canopy of Sanjar, / If except poverty I desire anything
from Sanjar’s country.”
Despite his critical view of rulers, he believed that a people deserved
whatever rulers they had, for it was the outcome of their own character and
the way they led their lives. He used to say: “As you are, so shall be your
rulers.” He constantly advised the people to reform their own thinking and
conduct, so that their rulers might also be virtuous.
16
The Qadri order in India
The Qadri order was introduced into the Indian subcontinent in the 15
th
century. Its first centre was established in the Deccan. Later on and
independently of it, another centre came to be established in Uch in Punjab.
The story goes that ShihabuddinAhmad I (1422-1436), a Bahamani ruler
of Gulbarga, impressed with the spiritual fame and miraculous powers of
the descendants of Shaykh Abdul Qadr Jilani, sent his envoy to Kirman
where Shah Nematullah Wali, a
khalifah
of the Shaykh, resided and the
Sultan was initiated, from a distance, as his disciple. Later, the Sultan
requested his mentor to send his son, Khalilullah to his court to act as his
spiritual guide. The Shaykh did not want to part with his only son, so he
sent instead his grandson, Mir Nurullah, the son of Khalilullah. The Sultan
received him with great reverence and built a town in his honour, naming
it Ni’amatabad. When Shaykh Nematullah died in 1431, Shah Khalilullah
joined his son in the Deccan, bringing his other sons as well. The presence
16
Fath al Rabbani, p. 51
Th e Qa d r i Or d e r 124
