Dargah Khwaja Gharib Nawaz and Golden Temple
By Dr.
Ghulam Zarqani
Translated
by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
Main
Points
The
surrounds of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz need to be properly managed because they are
not as picturesque as those around the Golden Temple.
The
administrators and custodians of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz's shrine can foster a
calm, reverent, and spiritual environment from which a methodical movement of
reformation can be launched in the framework of the current era if they choose
to do so.
.....
Let's
begin by introducing the narrator of the incident. Before the Isha prayer,
maybe eleven or twelve years ago, a man entered our institution and said that
it was his birthday and that he wanted to offer some money to aid in the
construction of the mosque. I indicated the donation jar with my finger. He
placed some cash inside before turning to face the other way. I asked him to
pray and leave because the congregation for the Isha prayer
would soon stand up. He made it clear that he did not know how to pray because
he was an Ismaili and not a Muslim. I gave it some
thinking before I went up to him and introduced myself. Since he had already
arrived at the mosque, I also told him to mimic the Isha prayer
behind us. He stood behind the prayer line-ups to my satisfaction.
I had
assumed that he would have returned following the congregation of the prayer.
But as I turned around at that point, I was even more shocked to see him
waiting for me in a mosque corner. After I had finished Sunnah, Witr,
and Nawafil prayers, he approached and remarked, “I
felt a joy in Sajdah, which I cannot describe.” I responded
by saying, “Guess how much serenity, pleasure, and satisfaction will be
achieved in prostration after becoming a Muslim if you have really achieved so
much pleasure in prostration before entering the circle of Islam.”
He was
unable to answer at the moment, but two or three days later he returned and
told me he wished to embrace Islam. I immediately taught him the kalima,
and he entered into the fold of Islam. He currently performs five-time prayers
daily and actively contributes to the upkeep of the Islamic faith.
By the
way, this fellow informed me yesterday that one of his close Ismaili friends
just returned from a trip to India. Along with his elderly mother and other
family members, his Ismaili friend also travelled to
various towns and stopped at the Golden Temple in Punjab. In his own words, he
describes what transpired to him subsequently as follows:
“We were
all surprised at how well-maintained and clean the place was when we all
arrived near the Golden Temple as scheduled. Street traffic was likewise moving
smoothly, and people were walking respectably. The volunteers who had been
waiting there promptly rushed forward to provide aid as soon as we arrived at
the Golden Temple grounds and asked to be given the opportunity to serve. Then
they carefully removed my elderly mother from the vehicle. Before entering the
temple, a colleague fixed the wheelchair, took off her shoes, and put on her
socks. They kept us close. When we reached a hall, they pointed to some Sikh
trinkets placed on the table in front and said, "Whatever you choose; you
can take it from us free so that it will remain a memento of your journey.”
However, nowhere did they even let me touch the wheelchair.
“I
gratefully took one thing with me. When I got back, I questioned why there
weren't any beggars like there were at other pilgrimage sites, dargahs,
and tourist attractions in India”. He responded that it is forbidden for
beggars to approach four or five streets near the Golden Temple.”
According
to the narrator, those people went straight from Punjab to Ajmer Sharif to pay
a visit to Sultan-ul-Hind Khawaja Gharib Nawaz. He further
says:
We were
shocked to see how unclean the surroundings of the dargah were
and how many beggars were standing along the roadside. The car door soon became
difficult to open as our car approached Buland Darwaza.
The beggars were jostling for position as they brought the bowl to our mouths.
Anyway, I finally succeeded in removing the wheelchair after much effort,
placed the mother inside, and then exited.
Despite
the fact that I went a long time without seeing any volunteers, a few
well-dressed people did offer to help with the pilgrimage. I took one of them
along. When he wanted to tell me something or take me somewhere, I was shocked
to see beggars approaching. As we neared the gate of the holy shrine, we saw
some people seeking donations to help pay for the Langar and Fatiha recitations.
Once
inside the shrine, we came across another gentleman who begged me to put
something in the bowl while wearing a corner of the sheet on his head. When we
got back from our visit, the well-dressed person we had met also turned to me
in order to seek the offering.”
The
narrator then addressed me and stated, "Dr. Sahib, our Ismaili friends
are shocked. They are asking me why Khawaja Gharib Nawaz,
who is credited with spreading Islam over the Indian subcontinent, is not
receiving justice for the world-famous Dargah that
bears his name. How important are the ideals of purity, preservation, and
service to humanity in a religion that is built on illusion? One should have
been captivated by the spirituality and light of Islam after arriving at the
threshold of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz. But isn't it shocking that
instead of this circumstance, we feel like we are always being grabbed and
scratched? Were they the teachings and messages of Khwaja Gharib
Nawaz (may Allah be pleased with him)?”
I'm at a
loss for words now that these perceptions are being shared with us by a
non-Muslim, yet they are true. I am confident that if the administrators and
custodians of Khawaj Gharib Nawaz's shrine can foster a
calm, reverent, and spiritual environment from which a methodical worldwide
movement of preaching, guiding, and reformation can be launched in the
framework of the current era if they choose to do so. If it does, it won't come
as a surprise.
.........
Read it in Urdu: Dargah Khwaja Gharib Nawaz and Golden Temple درگاہ خواجہ غریب نواز اور
گولڈن ٹیمپل
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