Photograph taken by me (HMStork)
Updated 21 Feb 2025
Many are known to visit the shrines of the saints in Islam. As a Sufi myself, I have done so and I have had varying experiences. What I am presenting here is an Analogical Argument based on existing material, my personal experiences and conclusions.
In an article titled: The Deceased and The Grave/Seeking Intercession of The Deceased in my blog,
I have dealt with the misconception based on the general view that existence
comes to an end with death. I have proven this to be a serious error. One needs
to read this article in my blog before reading the current one.
Tahera Aftab, in her book
on Sufi Women of South Asia: Chapter 8 Sufi Shrines: Manifesting the
Deceased Sufi states that Nizamu’ddin Awliya mentioned to his
audience that Ahmad, one of his friends from Badayun, though illiterate, was a highly
devout person with the virtues of an abdāl and often discussed and investigated
religious issues. Sometime after his death, he appeared in a dream of Nizamuddin
Awliya, and as usual, he questioned certain issues regarding religion and
faith. Nizamuddin Awliya wondered why all these queries as he was dead. Ahmad in the dream asked Nizamuddin
Awliya, “Do you deem friends of Allah as dead?”
Nizamu’ddin Awliya’s purpose
of presenting all these stories in the form of dreams, parables and anecdotes
was intended to explain that virtuous and pious people are not dead in the
normal sense.
On another occasion, Nizamuddin
Awliya made mention that when Baba Farid (Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar, the 13
century Sufi Saint from Punjab) was seriously ill towards the end of his life,
he commanded him and a few other fellow disciples to spend the night at a
certain shrine/cave (ḥazīrā) praying for his health. They did so but on
their return found out that their supplications were not answered. At another
gathering on the 23rd of Ramadhan, Nizamuddin Awliya not only repeated the
above story but also added that Baba Farid’s had said that their supplications had no
effect. However, recalling his mother, Nizamuddin Awliya said that several times when she
fell ill, she asked him to visit the shrines of saints and martyrs and pray for
her recovery and on his return, she would say that her health showed signs of
improvement. The moral of these stories is that effectiveness of
supplications is neither caused by the power of the dead saint nor by the
humility of the supplicant; supplications are answered by Allah.
One very significant dream
I had involved Hadrat Syed Zauqi Shah, Hadrat Shahidullah Faridi’s shaykh dated
18 Dec 2022 at 3 am: I was at a place where people gathered. Hadrat Syed Zauqi
Shah (Rahimullah) turned up. He was looking out for me. I saw him as I hid in a
corner. He looked young. Then he spotted me and came towards me. I went forward
to embrace him. I was weeping. I was so pleased. He said that he was looking
for me. I am not quite sure but it appeared that he took hold of his long shawl
across his shoulders and placed it on around my shoulders. I am not sure
whether it was something I desired or that he did it to me. After that he sat
on a bed and I sat beside him. There was another person standing facing us. I
could not make him out. Was it Hadrat Shahidullah Faridi or someone else? He
said something about the on goings above. Hadrat Syed Zauqi said he wanted to
take a rest. I assumed that he traveled from very far away. During this period
of time, I woke up several times and went back to sleep and the dream just
continued until 4.45 am, I usually wake up by then to get ready to pray my
Tahjud and perform Muraqabah. I have also had direct responses to invocations
in times of desperate need. I am unable to present them because they involve
individuals who tried to harm me and who are still alive. Kindly look up my
article on VALIDITY OF DREAMS in my blogspot. I do visit the shrines of
saints but observe ‘adab’ in accordance with the Shari’ah of Islam.
Most Singaporeans are familiar with Habib Noh. He is one of the most
well-known saints of Singapore with a glorious past. In concluding, I would
say that it is Allah who responds to the supplicant and to some extent it
depends on the individual’s state of piety. [Mokhtar
Stork 18 July 2024]