the Suhrawardi tradition of keeping in touch with temporal rulers and the
order’s approval of the acceptance of lavish gifts.
Shihabuddin Suhrawardi wrote a number of books of which
‘Awariful
Ma’arif
(‘The Benefits of Knowledge’) is the most important. It continued
the tradition of the earlier Sufi manuals of al Sarraj and Kalabadhi but it
rearranged the earlier material and supplemented it with new information.
The text went on to become the most closely studied piece of literature of
the Sufis, with both Suhrawardis and the Chishtis using it as a practical
guide. Besides chapters dealing with specific topics, such as the definition
of the Sufi, derivation of the term, the concept of
tauhid
, (Monotheism) the
mystic way, prayer,
dhikr
, (remembrance of God) meditation,
sama’
, (musical
assembly) etc., it also talks about the role of the
shaykh
and his relationship
with his disciples. For the first time it describes the Sufi hospice, (
khanqah)
,
and discusses various issues concerned with running it.
After his death, he was succeeded in Baghdad by his son, ‘Imaduddin
Muhammad Suhrawardi (d. 1257) who acted as the custodian of the
ribat
.
Other disciples were ordered by the Shaykh to return to their homelands
and establish new centres there.
Shaykh Bahauddin Zakariya
Shaykh Bahauddin (1182-1262), whose forefathers probably came to
India with the armies of Muhammad bin Qasim and settled in Sind, was
born at Kot Karor near Multan. His father died when he was twelve. At
first he studied in the village and later decided to go in search of knowledge
to Khurasan. He spent seven years in Bhukhara, and then traveled to Makkah
and Madinah . In Madinah he stayed for five years and studied the
hadith
with a distinguished
muhaddith
Shaykh Kamaluddin MuhammadYamani from
