There are different forms of media in the physical world for connectivity such as telephone, mobile phone, internet, etc. Likewise, in the spiritual world, the medium to connect with our saints, sacred companions and prophets is through ilm-e-dawat. Ilm-e-dawat is also known as dawat-e-qabur. It means the knowledge of communication with the sacred souls of shrines. Basically, ilm-e-dawat is a unique act of spiritual connection by the permission of perfect spiritual guide (Murshid Kamil). Whereby one connects to saints, sacred companions and prophets by reciting the Quran in a specific pattern. Since such sacred personalities are in fact our real spiritual helpers and sources of benevolence. Through dawat, one can seek their spiritual benevolence, solution of problems or simply express one’s love and regard for them. In this regard Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said in a Hadith:
اِذَا تَحَیَّرْتُم فِی الْاُمُوْرِ فَاسْتَعِنُوْا مِنْ اَھْلِ الْقُبُورِ
Meaning: When you are worried or confused about your (spiritual) affairs, just seek help from the dwellers of the shrines.
Only a Perfect Spiritual Guide Grants Ilm-e-Dawat
As mentioned earlier, to seek help, one can read daawat and spiritually meet the sacred spiritual leaders. For example, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatimah bint Mohammad, Imam Hasan or Husayn, al-Ghawth al-Azam or Sultan Bahoo, etc. However, one must do it by the medium (vaseela) of perfect spiritual guide and only if granted by him. In fact, the perfect spiritual guide has to grant its knowledge and spiritually take the seeker to the sacred courts. Otherwise, the seeker cannot take any of these steps and do it on his own. Even if he does try, he would achieve nothing.
Sultan-ul-Faqr V Sultan Bahoo is the first person in history to reveal ilm-e-dawat in his books. And Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman is the first person to grant ilm-e-dawat upon his disciples so openly. Following are some revelations made by Sultan Bahoo in his different books.
In Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan Sultan Bahoo expressed about Ilm-e-dawat as follows: Man acquires gnosis of Allah (Marifa-e-Elahi) by reciting Quran. However, when a man recites the Quran on the graves of the saints and prophets, he achieves the following:
(They help) solve all his problems. Moreover, he is blessed to meet the sacred souls of saints and prophets, enter their sacred assembly. Also, he shakes hand with them.
Just like Prophet Jesus, he achieves the status of قُمْ بِاِذْنِ اللّٰہ (rise by the command of Allah).
Also, he achieves the ability of spiritual presence and Ism-e-Azam (Allah’s personal and greatest name). Moreover, he gains the continuity and stability in the invocation (dhikr).
Furthermore, he reaches the station of Divine Unification where (they) gift him with Ilham (inspiration).
He gains all sorts of knowledge, for example, knowledge of Allah’s beneficence, knowledge direct from Allah and gnosis of Allah. Not only that but he also attains conventional knowledge or the knowledge otherwise gained through hard work etc.
Furthermore, occupation upon the Solomon Empire. Power over all the spiritual and physical levels and dominance upon the whole world.
Finally, by recitation of Quran on the graves of the sacred saints man gains the status of becoming a scholar. Rather, a practicing scholar and perfect independent Fakir mystic annihilated in Allah (Alim Amil Kamil LaYahtaj Arif Billah Fakir).
However, this is only possible if a perfect spiritual guide permit or command the man to do so. (Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
Simply because as per Sultan Bahoo, Murshid Kamil or a perfect spiritual guide is capable of the following;
The perfect spiritual guide is the greatest rider of graves himself. Hence, proficient in all the spiritual and physical ways and rules his innerself (nafs / an-nafs). This status belongs to only that saint who’s completely purified in his inner being. (Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
Sultan Bahoo says; The person who has achieved the ultimate level of practicing daawat is always protected. In fact, he is guarded within the fort of four armies. Whether the person is able to see them or not, the armies are always attentive towards the person practicing dawat. Those four armies are:
First of all, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), his four sacred companions and other companions.
Then, army of martyrs especially Imam Husayn and Imam Hasan and their army.
Army of angels and attendant spirits.
Lastly, Jinns and other saints who practice daawat.
(Allah has) equipped these armies with all sorts of weapons be it swords, spears, axes or guns, etc. Upon arousal, their spiritual wrath and outrage can attack the enemy of the one who is practicing dawat. Whereby the enemy gets so wounded that by the command of Allah he dies within a moment. (Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
About this matter Sultan Bahoo warns as follows;
The Fakir who practices dawat should be a well-wisher and show mercy towards others for the sake of Allah. He must not give pain to others because as you sow so shall you reap. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said,
مَنْ حَفَرَ بِئْرًا لِاَ خِیْہِ فَقَدْ وَقَعَ فِیْہ
Meaning: He who digs a pit for his brother, then falls in it himself.
Moreover, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) says,
اَلْحُبُّ لِلّٰہِ وَ الْبُغْضُ لِلّٰہِ
Meaning: Love and hate only for the sake of Allah.
Thus, he who hurts the friend of Allah, surely gets disgraced in both the worlds. Some people choose to recite dawat to dominate the people of the world but they fail to understand the meaning of dawat. In fact, they are like those who charm snakes to imprison it. Whereas their purpose is only to capture the creature by their spells. Certainly, we cannot call such people as saints because they are only wizards who pronounce spells. (Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
In Asrar-e-Qadri Sultan Bahoo stated the power of the perfect reciter of dawat in the following words:
Ilm-e-dawat’s perfect reciter can conquer heavenly, lower spheres, 18,000 types of creations, Jinns and men, angels and attendant spirits, etc. In short, he can control the creatures of the world. Moreover, he can achieve all the levels of Divine attributes and closeness to the Divine Essence. (Asrar-e-Qadri)
There are numerous methods and various offerings of reciting dawat. But to tell the truth, it is very difficult to practice it properly. The disciple is not able to perform dawat without the command of Allah and permission of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). The pseudo and imperfect ones stay greedy in their lust for materialism. However, the one who stays immersed in the observation of the Divine Essence, attains spiritual presence by reciting dawat. One achieves this Divine immersion by perfection in the contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat (the personal name of Allah). Thus, attaining presence in the spiritual gathering of Saints and Prophets at the completion of the dawat. Last but not the least, to achieve this level, one must also be acceptable in the court of Allah. (Asrar-e-Qadri)
Sultan Bahoo continues in Asrar-e-Qadri; “There are four abilities for the sign of dawat. Firstly, the person does not require to build fortification around. He does not need to refrain from eating any sort of meat. He gets the ability to stay engrossed in the Oneness of Divine Light. And lastly, he gets spiritual presence in the Mohammadan Assembly. Here, he gets the correct answers to all his questions”. (Asrar-e-Qadri)
A disciple must recite dawat by the tongue of the soul with attention, contemplation and authority. Then the souls of all the prophets, saints and Muslims encircle him and help him by reciting dawat with him. Such a dawat verifies in one breath and one moment. It’s acceptable even if he asks for power over all the Solomon Empire from East to West. One must recite ilm-e-dawat by the tongue of core (where there is Divine secret) and through contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat. Only then, he becomes the favourite of Allah and his inward converts into Divine Light within a moment. Such a practitioner of dawat is known as the man of Divine Presence. Furthermore, one must also recite ilm-e-dawat by the tongue of Divine light through contemplation of Ism-e-Mohammad. Then indeed the sacred and grand soul of Prophet Mohammad as well as the souls of each and every companion encircle him. They help him and also practice dawat with him by reciting the Quranic verses. Once a disciple practices this sort of dawat, then its effect stays till the Day of Judgment. This is the level about which they say, لِسَانُ الْفُقَرَآئِ سَیْفُ الرَّحْمٰنِ (The tongue of Fuqara is the sword of Allah). Indeed, the tongue becomes Allah’s sword when Prophet Mohammad spiritually allows disciple to swear oath of allegiance upon his hands. And then he transfers his sacred saliva inside his mouth. Also, the keys of all forms of dawat are in custody of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. (Nur-ul-Huda Kalan)
The stages of the spiritual communication (dawat) do not belong to the verbal conversation. Rather relate to meaning: ‘Renounce yourself and find Allah. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) instructed: ‘Kill your nafs by the sword of mystic struggle (Mujahida). But the worldly person has no strength to go near the grave of a spiritual one to fight him. This is the path of spiritualism in which the reality of the soul is dominant on the friends of Allah. Understand perfectly that the mystic struggle of Ism-e-Allah is more dominating than the struggle of the sword.
The communicator of dawat neither progresses nor execute by reciting it just once. Unless, he recites it in such a way that at the time of beginning he thinks, he is facing Allah. Then he makes Prophet Mohammad his mediator and intercessor. Considers Mohi-ud-Din Abdul Qadir Jilani as the possessor of the Divine Trust. Then, closes his eyes to meditate, makes himself a judge and think! what could be better than Allah which he can win by reciting dawat? If he is certain that the entire creation is inferior to the Creator. Also, nothing is better than Him, then Allah will be kind and beneficent to him. Consequently, Allah will turn both the realms at his disposal and enslave them for him. (Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
Elaboration of Ilm-e-Dawat by Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen
In Shams ul Fuqara, Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman states about ilm-e-dawat. In this book, he makes it clear that dawat-e-qabur and kashf al-qabur are entirely different. The difference he has given are as follows:
Dawat-e-Qabur means the knowledge of seeking help from shrines. It is a religious and spiritual act, in which one recites verses of the Quran in certain order. He can do so at the shrine of some Mystic, Saint or a Fakir. Also, reciting this dawat is a way of communication with the souls of Fakirs or Saints. Through this act, the soul of the dweller of the shrine comes and help the reciter.
Kashf al-Qabur means the revelation from the graves. In this process the states of the dwellers of the graves are known by reciting the Quran. Moreover, it is recited on the graves of the common Muslims. Consequently, the reciter comes to know the condition in which they are living in the Burzakh (intermediate state).
Ilm-e-dawat has a great importance in the path of Faqr. The perfect spiritual guide grants it when a seeker reaches the Divine court of Allah by the contemplation of Ism-e-Allah. But the seeker must recite it solely with the desire of Divine vision and the presence in the Mohammadan Assembly. (Shams ul Fuqara)
Hence, whenever a person recites dawat, he should do so only to get presence in the Mohammadan Assembly. The perfect practitioners of dawat never recite it to gain worldly benefits or wealth. Whoever recites dawat for worldly objectives is not aware of the real way and purpose of reciting dawat. In fact, he is (spiritually) indigent and at the level of evil and deceit. Additionally, a perfect and accomplished spiritual guide reveals dawat only upon the pure seekers. The seekers who are sincere to gain Allah’s vision and consent instead of a polluted intent.
Who is Eligible to Recite Dawat?
When a perfect seeker recites dawat, Allah blesses him with the Divine treasures. In contrast, when an imperfect person recites dawat, it inflicts pain upon him like a bare sword. Granting the knowledge of dawat (i.e. making a seeker capable to recite dawat) is not an easy task. The true practitioners of dawat are only the strong and highly courageous perfect Mystics. Also, the vigilant and aware Saints of Allah whom He blessed with Divine proximity. The people who are inwardly like the blind folded cattle are not eligible to recite dawat. (Ameer-ul-Kaunain)
Before Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman, people were not aware of the concept of ilm-e-dawat. Due to his miraculous favour, and elevated spiritual knowledge, he is able to grant ilm-e-dawat to pure and truthful disciples. Consequently, the seeker connects to the most beloved Saints of Allah. One can identify Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen’s spiritual status and belovedness among the Saints by the fact that previously dawat was granted only to male disciples. And they could only practice it at the shrine of a Saint.
However, Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen made dawat permissible to both male as well as female disciples. Moreover, he also removed the restriction for a seeker to practice dawat only within a shrine. Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen is dearest to Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, the beloved of Sultan Bahoo and the identity of Sultan-ul-Faqr VI. Hence, they always accept his requests. So, now Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen’s beneficence allowed all female disciples to practice dawat within their houses.
It is our claim that in this era, one cannot find the like of our spiritual guide, Sultan ul Ashiqeen. Such are his elevated spiritual powers and supreme levels of closeness to Allah. He has spread the beneficence of Faqr to all disciples without any discrimination of caste, creed, color, gender, sect, etc. Certainly, his doors are open for all those who seek Allah and His Prophet with sincerity.