but it seems that the local
ulama
became jealous of his popularity, forcing
him to leave Delhi. On his way to Sunargaon in Bengal, he stopped at
Maner. The visit of a religious scholar of the calibre of Abu Tawwama was
indeed a blessing for Sharafuddin Ahmad. He kept company with Abu
Tawwama, accompanied him to Sunargaon and even took to living with his
family in order to receive religious education from him. Soon Sunargaon
became a popular centre of Islamic learning.
After hearing the news of the death of his father, ShaykhYahya, in 1291,
Sharafuddin Ahmad left Sunargaon and returned to Maner to be with his
mother. From there he travelled to Delhi and visited Shaykh Nizamuddin
Awliya. However, he was not initiated by him.Thereafter he went to Panipat
and met Abu Ali Qalandar. But the latter was perpetually in a state of
religious ecstasy, and was therefore unable to become his teacher. It was
then that he came into contact with Shaykh Najibuddin Firdausi. He became
his disciple and was given written authority to enroll his own disciples in
turn. He objected to this, saying that he did not feel adequately qualified.
To this his pir, Sheikh Najibuddin, answered that his decision was based on
divine inspiration, and he commanded Shaykh Sharafuddin Ahmad to return
to Maner.
One of his devotees, Maulana Nizam Madni, a disciple of Nizamuddin
Auliya, built a
khanqah
for him in Maner. Subsequently, Sultan Muhammad
binTughlaq had a great
khanqah
built for the Shaykh and assigned him some
land to provide for its needs. This
khanqah
became a meeting place for the
common man as well as for religious scholars and Sufis.
A great scholar, Sharafuddin Maneri made a profound study of theological
and mystical subjects and was capable of discussing issues pertaining to
either area with equal ease. He wrote a number of books which are today
