This did not, however, imply that everything was to be distributed every
day and nothing kept for the next. Not surprisingly, he was criticized for his
views on the possession of wealth and property and for his close association
with the rulers. But, to him, this was not un-Islamic, for after all, the
shariah
did not declare property and wealth unlawful in itself. What was
condemnable for him was to neglect the higher spiritual and moral values
for an involvement in worldly affairs. As long as material things could be
kept away from one’s heart, there was no harm in possessing them.Another
important point to be kept in mind was that worldly resources had to be
spent on righteous purposes.
The criticism that Shaykh Bahauddin involved himself in politics, favouring
certain rulers above others, ignores the fact that he had good relations only
with good rulers. Sultan Iltutmish was an honest and capable monarch, so
the Shaykh supported him in his invasion of Sind .When the Mongols raided
the country, he felt it was his duty to extend his full support in the
establishment of the newly formed Delhi Sultanate.
Shaykh Bahauddin disapproved of the Sufis seeking guidance from a
number of different
pirs
and being initiated into a number of orders at the
same time. He wanted a seeker of guidance to surrender to one rather
than many.After he died, his tomb in Multan became a centre of pilgrimage.
He strove hard and, within about half a century, the Suhrawardi order was
firmly established as one of the leading Sufi orders on the subcontinent. His
khalifas
carried on his mission.
Qazi Hamiduddin Nagauri
Qazi Hamiduddin Nagauri was the most learned amongst the
khalifas
of Shaykh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi. His family migrated from Bhukhara to
Delhi at some point before 1200, where his father, Ataullah died. Shaykh
The Suh r awa r d i Or d e r 138
