Khwaja Abdul Ghaffar Naqshbandi - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Khwaja Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar Naqshbandi , popular with the name Pir Mitha was a prominent Islamic scholar and Naqshbandi shaikh of Sindh, Pakistan. Born in district Multan in present-day Punjab (Pakistan), he migrated to Larkana, Sindh and established a dargah

Dargah

A Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...

named Rahmatpur near Larkana city (now inside the city). He was a khalifa and successor of Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi, the leading Naqshbandi shaikh of the first quarter of 20th century in colonial India. He had more than a hundred Khulafa (Deputies) who spread his message across Pakistan, mostly in rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan. He died on 12 December 1964 (8 Shaban 1484AH). His successor, Hazrat Khwaja Allah Bakhsh

Hazrat Khwaja Allah Bakhsh

Khwaja Allah Bakhsh Ghaffari Naqshbandi also known as Sohna Saeen is noble Naqshbandi saint in Pakistan...

Ghaffari was a prominent reformer and shaikh who established multiple Islamic organizations and religious centers in Pakistan and abroad.

Birth and Education

He was born in a village near Jalalpur Pirwala, a town in Shuja'abad tehsil, district Multan of Punjab

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

, Pakistan. He studied the primary religious education from his father Yar Muhammad who was a renowned Islamic scholar and author. He also studied some books from his elder brother Maulana Muhammad Ashraf, and studied Arabic from Maulana Imam-ud-Din.

Ancestry

Pir Mitha wrote his ancestry up to Channar Pir (a famous sufi saint in Punjab) with his own hands, which is presented here:

Khwaja Muhammad Owais (brother and successor of Channar Pir)
Khwaja Muhammad Zakariya
Khwaja Ghulam Rasool
Khwaja Noor Muhammad
Khwaja Muhammad Ishaq
Khwaja Ahmed Ali
Khwaja Ghulam Hasan
Khwaja Noor Muhammad
Khwaja Muhammad Panah
Khwaja Hafiz Muhammad
Khwaja Ghulam Rasool
Khwaja Hafiz Khan Muhammad
Khwaja Khalil Ahmed
Khwaja Abdur-Rahman
Khwaja Khair Muhammad
Khwaja Yar Muhammad
Khwaja Abdul Ghaffar Fazali, alias Pir Mitha

The ancestry goes as follows after Pir Mitha:

(late) Maulana Khalil-ur-Rahman, the only son of Pir Mitha
(late) Maulana Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
Maulana Abdul Ghaffar, known as Pir Mitha Sani (Pir Mitha the second)

Tariqat

Initially he entered the Qadri tariqah of Sufism and took Ba'yah to Hafiz Fateh Muhammad Qadri of Jalalpur-Pirwala, as he was the shaikh of their family. His first shaikh soon died and he was left wondering to find another shaikh who is worthy of following. He was introduced by his friend to Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Hazrat Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi was a prominent Islamic scholar and the leading Naqshbandi shaikh of colonial India in the early twentieth century...

whose name was quite renowned in the Naqshbandi tariqah at that time. He finally decided to do oath of allegiance with this shaikh and entered the Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...

tariqah.

When he went to the presence of his Shaikh, the shaikh was sitting as if waiting for someone. He took the oath of allegiance with the shaikh and returned to home. Just with this one meeting, his Sultan al-Azkar (the seventh lesson of the Naqshbandi tariqah) started and the Zikr penetrated every part of his body and all his Lata'if

Lataif-e-sitta

Lataif-as-Sitta are psychospiritual "organs" or, sometimes, faculties of sensory and suprasensory perception in Sufi psychology. They are thought to be parts of the self in a similar manner to the way glands and organs are part of the body...

started in Zikr. He described this condition as sleeplessness, feeling hot all the times, and headache. He went again to the shaikh the third day of the meeting and described his condition. The shaikh told him it is nothing but the effects of Ism-e-Zaat (the word 'Allah') and Zikr; if you feel headache, massage your head with butter, and take bath with cold water if you feel hot.

This started his spiritual journey and he had strong conditions of Wajd

WAJD

WAJD is a silent radio station. The station is currently owned by Gillen Broadcasting Corporation.-1963:WPUP is sold to WUWU Radio, Inc...

most of the time. He would sometimes throw away his turban, and keep only basic clothing (Tahband in Punjabi, that covers the body from knees up to navel) to cure body heat. He says I would run here and there in emotional love of shaikh with just basic clothing, and the shaikh would smile and ask me: Molvi sahab! Have you given your clothes to the cleaner?

Khilafat

After awarding with Khilafat, his shaikh sent him to Sindh for preaching. He was already fond of preaching in Sindh, and would often come to Sindh for this purpose. He and his followers established many spiritual centers, last of them was Rahmatpur in Larkana, Sindh, where he migrated and died there.

Spiritual Chain of Succession

Shaikh Abdul Ghaffar belongs to the Mujaddidi order of Sufism, which is the main branch of Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...

Sufi tariqah. His spiritual lineage goes to Prophet Muhammad, through Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi

Ahmad Sirhindi

Imām Rabbānī Shaykh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī was an Indian Islamic scholar from Punjab, a Hanafi jurist, and a prominent member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He is described as Mujaddid Alf Thānī, meaning the "reviver of the second millennium", for his work in rejuvenating Islam and opposing...

, the Mujaddid of eleventh Hijri century. The complete lineage is as under:

The Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

d.11AH, buried Madinah SA (570/571 - 632 CE)
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...

Siddiq, radiya-l-Lahu'anh d.13AH, buried Madinah, SA
Sayyadna Salman al-Farsi, radiya-l-Lahu'anh d.35AH buried Madaa'in, SA
Imam Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr
Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr
Al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was an important jurist in early Islam. He is considered the fourth in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain of Sufi masters. Naqshbandis also consider him to have passed the chain to his grandson Ja'far as-Sadiq...

d.107AH buried Madinah SA.
Imam Jafar Sadiq, alayhi-s-salam (after which moves to Iran) d 148AH buried Madinah SA.
Shaikh Bayazid Bastami
Bayazid Bastami
Bayazid Bastami , also known as Abu Yazid Bistami or Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bustami, was a Persian Sufi born in Bastam, Iran.- Background :...

, radiya-l-Lahu canh d 261AH buried Bistaam, Iraq (804 - 874 CE).
Shaikh Abul Hassan Kharqani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 425AH buried Kharqaan, Iran.
Shaikh Abul Qasim Gurgani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d.450AH buried Gurgan, Iran.
Shaikh Abu Ali Farmadi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah (after which moves to Turkmenistan) d 477AH buried Tous, Khorasan, Iran.
Khwaja Abu Yaqub Yusuf Hamadani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 535AH buried Maru, Khorosan, Iran.
Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghujdawani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 575AH buried Ghajdawan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Khwaja Arif Reogari, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 616AH buried Reogar, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Khwaja Mahmood Anjir-Faghnawi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 715AH buried Waabakni, Mawralnahar.
Shaikh Azizan Ali Ramitani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 715AH buried Khwaarizm, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Muhammad Baba Samasi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 755AH buried Samaas, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Sayyid Amir Kulal, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 772AH buried Saukhaar, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband
Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari
Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari was the founder of what would become the Naqshbandi. He was born in Bukhara which is located in Uzbekistan...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 791AH buried Qasr-e-Aarifan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan (1318–1389 CE).
Shaikh Ala'uddin Attar Bukhari, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah buried Jafaaniyan, Mawranahar, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Yaqub Charkhi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 851AH buried Charkh, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Ubaidullah Ahrar, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 895AH buried Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Muhammad Zahid Wakhshi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 936AH buried Wakhsh, Malk Hasaar
Shaikh Durwesh Muhammad, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 970AH buried Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Muhammad Amkanaki, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah (after which moves to India) d 1008AH buried Akang, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Shaikh Muhammad Baqi Billah Berang, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 1012AH buried Delhi, India.
Shaikh Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi
Ahmad Sirhindi
Imām Rabbānī Shaykh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī was an Indian Islamic scholar from Punjab, a Hanafi jurist, and a prominent member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He is described as Mujaddid Alf Thānī, meaning the "reviver of the second millennium", for his work in rejuvenating Islam and opposing...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 1034AH buried Sarhand, India (1564–1624 CE)
Muhammad Masum Sirhindi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 1079AH buried Sarhand, India.
Muhammad Saifuddin Faruqi Mujaddidi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah d 1096AH buried Sarhand, India
Hafiz Muhammad Mohsin, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah
Sayyid Nur Muhammad Badayuni, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, d.1135AH
Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
Mirzā Mazhar Jān-i Jānān , also known by his laqab Shamsuddīn Habībullāh , was a renowned Naqshbandī Sufi poet of Dehli, distinguished as one the "four pillars of Urdu poetry." He was also known to his contemporaries as the sunnītarāsh, "Sunnicizer", for his absolute, unflinching commitment to and...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, d.1195AH
Abdullah Dahlawi, alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
Shah Abdullah alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi was a very prominent Sufi Shaykh in Delhi during early 19th century. He was a master of the Naqshbandi tradition and also in other major Sufi orders such as Qadri and Chishti.-Biography:...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, d.1240AH
Shaikh Abu-Saeed Faruqi Mujaddidi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, buried in Dehli, India, d.1250AH
Shaikh Ahmed Saeed Faruqi Mujaddidi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, buried in Madinah, d.1277AH
Khwaja Dost Muhammad Qandhari, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, Musa Zai Sharif, d.1284AH
Khwaja Muhammad Usman Damani
Khwaja Muhammad Usman Damani
Khwaja Muhammad Usman Damani was a prominent Muslim scholar and Sufi shaykh of Naqshbandi tariqah of 19th century in South Asia .-Biography:...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, Musa Zai Sharif, d.1314AH
Sayyad Laal Shah Hamdani
Sayyad Laal Shah Hamdani
Sayyad Laal Shah Hamdani was a Muslim scholar and prominent Sufi shaykh of Naqshbandi tariqah in South Asia . One of his forefathers Hazrat Shah Bilawal Hamdani migrated from Hamadan to district Chakwal and settled at Danda, which is now called Danda Shah Bilawal after his name.Sayyad Laal Shah...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, Hamdan, Punjab, d.1323AH
Khwaja Muhammad Sirajuddin
Khwaja Sirajuddin Naqshbandi
Khwaja Muhammad Sirajuddin Naqshbandi was a prominent Islamic scholar and Sufi shaikh of Naqshbandi sufi order in South Asia . He was born in 1879/1880 and died in 1915 at Mussa Zai Sharif, Dera Ismail Khan...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, Musa Zai Sharif, d.1333AH
Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi
Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi
Hazrat Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi was a prominent Islamic scholar and the leading Naqshbandi shaikh of colonial India in the early twentieth century...

, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, Miskeenpur, district Muzaffargarh, Punjab, Pakistan, d.1935
Khwaja Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar, alis Pir Mitha, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan, d.1964

Pir Mitha was succeeded as follows:

Shaikh Allah Bakhsh Abbasi, alias Sohna Saeen, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah, d.1983
Shaikh Muhammad Tahir Abbasi, current leader of the tariqah

Beliefs

Shaikh Abdul Ghaffar was a Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...

shaikh, following the Sunni Islam and the Hanafi

Hanafi

The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...

school of law. He used to say that I follow my shaikh in all matters, and I am Hanafi

Hanafi

only because my shaikh is so. He did not follow any of the divisions of Hanafi

Hanafi

school in India, namely Deobandi

Deobandi

Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...

and Barelvi

Barelvi

Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....

. It is reported that he said, we are neither Barelvi nor Deobandi, rather we are Hanafi

Hanafi

and Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi

Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...

. Some of the other khulafa (deputies) of his shaikh turned to Deobandi later and criticized him for not being so, but he sternly claimed that his shaikh was not a Deobandi, and so neither will he be. Though he did not criticize Deobandi scholars in the manner Barelvi

Barelvi

Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....

's do, but in all matters of difference related to Belief and Fiqh, he was against the Deobandi

Deobandi

Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...

ideas. Some of his beliefs pertaining to the contemporary differences in Muslims today are listed below:

That the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

is alive and is enjoying the highest form of life.
That Muhammad possesses the knowledge of the Unseen (Ilm al-Ghaib).en.
He believed in the Ahl al-Bait (family) of Muhammad and has written poetry in their praise as well.
He believed in all the companions of Muhammad including Muaviya, and his poetry contains considerable volume about the praise of Sahaba, including the four caliphs.
He had high respect for Sayyads (also spelt Syeds), the descendants of the forth caliph of Islam Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...

and the daughter of Muhammad Fatima
Fatima
-People:* Fatima , a female given name of Arabic origin* Fatima bint Muhammad, daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad* Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah...

. But he denied the respect for Syeds who do not have Sunni beliefs.
He believed that the greatest person after the prophets is Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...

, and then Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....

.
He believed that the Awliya (saints of Islam) possess eternal life and are alive after their death.
He believed in Tawassul
Tawassul
Tawassul is the Islamic understanding of intercession. It is a religious practice in which a Muslim seeks nearness to Allah. A rough translation would be: "To draw near to what one seeks after and to approach that which one desires." The exact definition and method of tawassul is a matter of...

and Istighasa.
He believed that constructing tombs on the shrines of saints of Islam is legal. He quoted his shaikh in this regard, who liked the tomb on the grave of the Mughal emperor Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...

.
He also considered the practice of covering the graves of saints with embroidered cloth sheets as legal and recommended. He validates this from his shaikh's practice who once helped another person put such a sheet over the grave of a saint while he was visiting it.
He said the Najdi's (Salafi
Salafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...

or Wahhabi) are Be-Adab (without Adab, which translates as mannerless or without etiquette), but not Kaafir (nonbelievers). He refers to his shaikh's words who also called them Be-Adab but not Kaafir.

Preaching

He established many religious centers at various places in Pakistan. He established his first Islamic center in Punjab called Ashiq Abad. After migration to Sindh, he stayed at many places and finally settled in Larkana, where he established a dargah

Dargah

named Rahmatpur shareef, his final resting place.

Khulafa

Pir Mitha is reported to have about 140 Khulafa (deputies). Some of the prominent Khulafa of Pir Mitha are listed below:

(late) Khwaja Allah Bakhsh Abbasi Ghaffari, alias Sohna Saeen who was his chief Khalifa and successor (d.12 December 1983)
Mufti Abdur-Rahman Allahabadi Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, currently residing at dargah Allahabad shareef, near Kandiaro in Sindh
Maulana Ghulam Qadir Memon Ghaffari, currently living at Moro
Moro
- Events :* Moro Crater massacre, an engagement in the Philippine-American War* Battle of the Moro, a World War II battle between mainly Canadian and German forces on the Moro river in Italy in 1943...

in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Maulana Sardar Ahmed Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Bucheki in Punjab
(late) Maulana Haji Muhammad Ibrahim Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Garhi Yasin in district Larkana
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...

, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
(late) Maulana Muhammad Ayub Chandio Ghaffari Bakhshi, Old Dunbala, district Tharparkar
Tharparkar
Tharparkar is one of twenty three districts of Sindh province in Pakistan. Its headquarter is Mithi. It is the only fertile desert in the world. The District derives its names from Thar and Parker...

, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

, (d. 22 April 1982)
(late) Maulana Bakhsh Ali Khoso Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Kandiaro
Kandiaro
Kandiaro is a small town situated on the dung-hill &/or earthen heap or Darro, to safeguard the town from Flood waters of Indus and Nasrat Wah , in the southern province of Sindh, Pakistan...

(d. 6 December 2004)
(late) Maulana Haji Muhammad Bakhshal Ghaffari Bakhshi, Faqirpur shareef, district Dadu
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...

(d. 20 December 1982)
(late) Maulana Bashir Ahmed Soomro Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Faqirpur shareef, district Dadu
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...

(d.24 August 1999)
(late) Maulana Khan Muhammad Panhwar Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Nasirabad, district Larkana
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...

(d.1991)
(late) Maulana Haji Khair Muhammad Kalhoro Ghaffari Bakhshi, Kandiaro (d. 23 December 1983)
(late) Maulana Muhammad Daud Shar-Baloch Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, district Khairpur Mirs (d.14 December 1999)
(late) Maulana Ashiq Muhammad Siyal Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Tando Allahyar
Tando Allahyar
Tando Allahyar is a town in Sindh, Pakistan. It is the capital of Tando Allahyar District.- History :...

(d.1986)
(late) Maulana Haji Abdus-Salam Chandio Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, district Dadu
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...
(late) Maulana Abdur-Rahman Langri Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Faqirpur district Dadu
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...

(d. 5 November 1989)
(late) Maulana Abdul Kareem Mangi Ghaffari Bakhshi, Larkana
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
(late) Maulana Haji Atta Muhammad Rajpar Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Mehrabpur
Mehrabpur
Mehrabpur is a city in the Naushahro Feroze District of Sindh in Pakistan.The city is administratively subdivided into 2 Union Concil....

(d. 15 October 1999)
(late) Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Bhatti Ghaffari Bakhshi, Gharibabad Larkana
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
(late) Maulana Fazal Ahmed Birohi Ghaffari Bakhshi, Faqirpur district Dadu
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...
(late) Maulana Mufti Kareem Bakhsh Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Malir Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

(d. 16 March 1995)
(late) Maulana Gul Hasan Jokhio Ghaffari Bakhshi, Kathor Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
(late) Maulana Haji Muhammad Ali Bozdar Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Tando Allahyar
Tando Allahyar
Tando Allahyar is a town in Sindh, Pakistan. It is the capital of Tando Allahyar District.- History :...

(d. 17 July 1996)
(late) Maulana Nisar Ahmed Khoso Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Faqirpur district Dadu
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...
(late) Maulana Syed Nasiruddin Shah Ghaffari Bakhshi, Tando Allahyar
Tando Allahyar
Tando Allahyar is a town in Sindh, Pakistan. It is the capital of Tando Allahyar District.- History :...

(d. 11 August 1983)
(late) Maulana Nooruddin Shar-Baloch Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, district Khairpur Mirs
(late) Maulana Hafiz Noor Muhammad Rajpar Ghaffari Bakhshi Tahiri, Kot Lalu

Mufti Allah Dino Jamalani near Badah Taluka Dokri larakana.

His Poetry

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar was a renowned Sufi poet, with large amounts of poetry in mainly Seraiki

Saraiki language

Saraiki , transliterated as Sirāikī and sometimes spelled Seraiki and Saraiki, is a standardized written language of Pakistan belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages. It is a language spoken in the heart of Pakistan...

and Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

languages. Some of his poetry is in Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

and Arabic as well. Most of his poetry contains Naat

Naat

A Na`at is a poetry that specifically praises the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Many of the famous scholars in the earlier days of Islam wrote Naat. People who recite Naat are known as Naat-Khua'an or Sana'a-Khua'an.-History:...

(praise of Prophet Muhammad) and Manqabat

Manqabat

A Manqabat is a Sufi devotional poem, in praise of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law of Muhammad, or of any Sufi saint.In Qawwali, manqabats are sung to music. The most well known of the qawwali manqabats is "Man Kunto Maula", written by Amir Khusrau in praise of Ali...

(praise of saints, specially his shaykh Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Hazrat Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi was a prominent Islamic scholar and the leading Naqshbandi shaikh of colonial India in the early twentieth century...

).

Some samples of his poetry:

نبی سائیں دے قدماں توں جند جان گھولاں

ایں سوہݨے محمد توں ہر آن گھولاں

Translated as: I shall sacrifice my life on the foots of dear Prophet, I shall do it every moment for beautiful Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

.

زلیخا ہک حسن یوسف تے تھئی شیدا تے مستانہ

پر ایں یوسف عرب والے تے جڰ سارا ہے دیوانہ

Translated as: Zulaikha was fond of the beauty of Yusuf (Joseph) only, but the whole world is fond of the beauty of the Yusuf of Arab (meaning Prophet Muhammad).

Samples from his Persian poetry:

نامش نامی فضل علی از فیض جهاں نازیده

فهم فهیم سلیم مسلم تابندہ فهمیده

رشکِ قمر شد نور رخش خورشید خجل گردیده

در خوبی محبوبی ہم نادیدہ هیچ شنیده

Death

Pir Mitha died on 8th of Shaban

Sha'aban

Sha'aban is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar.This is the month of ‘separation’, so called because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water...

1384AH, which is 12 December 1964, at about 11:30pm. It was the night between Saturday and Sunday. Since Islamic date starts after sunset on the day before, the day is quoted to be Sunday, although 11:30pm is the time on Saturday 12 December. He was buried beside the Masjid at Rahmatpur shareef, Larkana, Pakistan, where his shrine is still often visited by people. His birthdate is not known, but it is said that he was 84 at the time of death, making his birth in around 1880.

His Janazah prayer was offered by thousands of people, let by his son Khwaja Khalil-ur-Rahman.

He left behind one brother Maulana Abdul-Sattar (who was also a khalifa of his shaikh Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Hazrat Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi was a prominent Islamic scholar and the leading Naqshbandi shaikh of colonial India in the early twentieth century...

), one son Khwaja Khalil-ur-Rahman, and two daughters. His grandson sahibzada Maulana Muhammad Deedah-Dil is an Islamic scholar and preacher, and is a khalifa (deputy) of Khwaja Muhammad Tahir Bakhshi

Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Tahir

Khwaja Muhammad Tahir Bakhshi Naqshbandi , also known as Sajjan Saeen , is a prominent Naqshbandi Sufi shaykh in Pakistan. He was born on January 6, 1962 at dargah Rahmatpur Sharif, district Larkana, Pakistan. He is successor to Khwaja Allah Bakhsh, also known as Sohna Saeen, whose lineage goes to...

. He lives in dargah Gharibabad in Larkana, Pakistan, where he arranges an Islamic gathering on the 13th of every Hijri

Islamic calendar

The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...

month.

Rahmatpur, his spiritual center, was taken over by his son Khwaja Khalil-ur-Rahman who took charge of all the matters of the village and shrine. He died soon afterwards, and currently his grandson Pir Mitha Sani is in charge there.

His Successor

He had about 140 Khulafa (deputies), and was succeeded by his chief khalifa Khwaja Allah Bakhsh Ghaffari Naqshbandi who later became a prominent reformer of Islam and Naqshbandi tariqah. He was appointed as successor by Pir Mitha himself. During his lifetime, Pir Mitha once gathered all his available deputies, and told them that Sohna Saeen will be his successor, and ordered them to follow him after his death.

Hazrat Khwaja Allah Bakhsh

Hazrat Khwaja Allah Bakhsh

Khwaja Allah Bakhsh Ghaffari Naqshbandi also known as Sohna Saeen is noble Naqshbandi saint in Pakistan...

Ghaffari Naqshbandi became his murid after the death of his first shaikh Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Hazrat Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi was a prominent Islamic scholar and the leading Naqshbandi shaikh of colonial India in the early twentieth century...

. He was born in 1910 in Sindh, and died in 1983 at dargah Allahabad shareef near Kandiaro in Sindh. He was a prominent Islamic preacher and renowned Naqshbandi shaikh of the 20th century in Pakistan. He established many religious schools (madrasah) and centers throughout Pakistan, and sent his Khulafa to far off places for preaching Islam and teaching the Naqshbandi tariqah. He was succeeded by his only son Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Tahir

Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Tahir

Bakhshi who is a leading Naqshbandi shaykh of Pakistan today.

External links

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