asked for an explanation, the Shaykh boldly replied that he had written the
letter on divine inspiration.The ruler finally did nothing.
After Iltutmish succeeded in annexing Multan and Sind in 1228, he gave
Shaykh Bahauddin Zakariya the title of
Shaykh ul Islam
. This was an honorary
title conferred on religious dignitaries and carried with it monetary stipends
and lands. The recipients were not obliged to attend the court regularly but
only to offer the rulers occasional advice. Thus the Shaykh acquired additional
income for his
khanqah
. Shaykh Bahauddin had good relations with the Chishti
Sufis like Khawaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki and Baba Farid. He laid great stress
on performing
namaz
and held that all blessings were the result of performing
obligatory prayers. To him, missing an obligatory prayer was akin to spiritual
death.
Dhikr
and supererogatory prayers were assigned a secondary place in his
Sufi discipline. He did not think, unlike the Chishtis, that continuous fasting was
necessary for a Sufi, and advised a regular diet. Sometimes, he indulged himself
in
sama’
like the Chishti Sufis though, in general, the Suhrawardis did not favour
it. Meditation and contemplation meant for him the freeing of the heart from
everything other than the thought of God.
He was the most popular Sufi in and around Multan, and because he did
not stay away from political issues, the rulers and nobles also turned to him
for his blessings and prayers. Due to his fame and influence, he was even able
to successfully negotiate peace with the Mongols, who besieged the Multan
fort in 1247.
One important feature of the Suhrawardi order, which was also upheld
by Bahauddin, was that neither the order nor he were against possessing
wealth earned by lawful means. After his needs and the needs of his family
and the
khanqah
were fulfilled, what was left of the money received by him
as gifts was used for humanitarian purposes for the benefit of the public.
