Hazrat Maroof Karkhi

Random thoughts
Most of you will know that I come from Bhopal State, a beautiful, lush green place with thick forests, lakes, rivers and abundant wildlife. It was a Muslim state where there were no religious factions, unemployment or beggary.
The Muslims in Bhopal were religious but not fanatical and there were many ‘Waliullahs’ whom Allah had blessed with divine powers. One of these was Pir Khalid Mian (Mian was used by old and young alike as a token of love/respect) who was always helping others. He was a great religious scholar and he would give short lectures in the mosque after prayers.
Once, while discussing ‘Waliullahs’ he mentioned Hazrat Maroof Karkhi and said that he had been blessed with divine powers and he advised us to seek his blessings when praying to God. Time passed and I forgot all about it. Meanwhile I had migrated to Karachi, obtained a BSc degree there before travelling to Berlin (Germany), Delft (Holland) and Leuven (Belgium) to obtain Masters and PhD degrees. After obtaining a PhD degree I worked in Amsterdam (Holland) for four years where I learnt about the most advanced technology of uranium enrichment by the centrifuge method.
In December 1975 I decided to return to Pakistan at the personal request of Z A Bhutto. With the help of competent and dedicated colleagues, we managed to turn Pakistan into a nuclear power within seven years.
Recently that old advice received in Bhopal came back to mind. While reading ‘Tazkaratul Aoulia’ by Shaikh Fariduddin Attar, a saintly figure of his time, I came across a passage in which Hazrat Sirri Saqty was quoted as mentioning that Hazrat Karkhi had personally advised him to seek his (Karkhi’s) blessings when praying to Allah, as the Almighty would then accept those prayers.
Attar gave the following description of Hazrat Karkhi: “Karkhi was a highly religious man. His father was a Christian. When he was enrolled in a Christian school, the teacher wanted him to accept and profess the trinity. He refused saying that Allah is one and alone. After he was beaten by his teacher, he fled to Hazrat Ali bin Musa (RA) and converted to Islam at his hands. When he returned home, his parents also converted to Islam”.
Hazrat Muhammad bin Tusi is reported to have narrated that one day he noticed a wound on Hazrat Karkhi’s body which had not been there before. Upon enquiring, Hazrat Karkhi said: ‘Last night when I was praying, I thought of praying in Makkah. After tawaf (circumambulating the Kaabah), I went to the well of Zamzam to drink water when my foot slipped and I fell and hurt myself”.
There are many stories about Hazrat Karkhi. Once he left his prayer mat and Quran behind while performing ablution. When he returned, he saw an old woman walking away with both items. He asked the lady if any of her children were reading the Quran. When the lady replied in the negative, he asked her to give him back the Quran but keep the mat as a gift. The lady became ashamed and returned both to him. One day Hazrat Karkhi, while walking with some colleagues, met a group of people drinking and dancing. His colleagues asked him to pray that Allah may curse them. Instead, he prayed to Allah to bless them with more luxury and entertainment. Hearing this, the mob threw away their drinks and musical instruments and promised to abide by the edicts of Allah. Hazrat Karkhi then turned to his colleagues and said: “If you can cure someone with honey, why kill him with poison.”
One day Hazrat Sirri Saqty saw Hazrat Karkhi plucking dates to sell to provide clothes to an orphan. Hazrat Saqty immediately took the boy to the market and bought him some clothes. One day a guest offered prayer facing the wrong direction (not towards Makkah). When he found out he complained to Hazrat Karkhi for not pointing this out to him. Hazrat Karkhi said that when one is absorbed in thought and meditation, one is not aware of what is going on around him. One day his uncle, who was chief of police of the city, saw Hazrat Karkhi sharing his food with a dog. He reprimanded him and told him that he should be ashamed to be doing so. Hazrat Karkhi smilingly said: “Yes, I am ashamed of the Almighty, that’s why I am sharing my food with a hungry dog”.
One day Hazrat Karkhi was eating something with visible pleasure. When people asked him what was so nice that he was enjoying it so much he said: “I am contented with whatever I get and I eat it with gratitude”. Hazrat Saqty is reported to have said that Hazrat Karkhi had told him that if he needed anything, he should pray to Allah to fulfil this wish for the sake of Hazrat Karkhi. It would then, Inshallah, be fulfilled.
Hazrat Maroof Karkhi advised people to: 1) control their desires and remember Allah. He who remembers Allah, he is dear to Him. And whom Allah endears, all doors of evil and wrongdoing will be closed to him; 2) not to indulge in loose talk, it is a sign of stupidity; 3) to wish for Jannah without doing good deeds and to expect a reward from Allah after indulging in sin is foolishness; 4) Ignore vices and don’t ridicule or overly praise people; and 5) those who forsake worldly luxuries taste the love of Allah and this love is a blessing from Him. He also said that a person who believes in the benevolence of Allah is always safe from the mischief of wrongdoers. Be wary of evil deeds, he advised, as the Almighty is aware of all what you do.
He desired to be buried without a shroud since, he said, he was born naked and wanted to go the same way. When his coffin was taken for burial, many people of different sects wanted the funeral to be done according to their way. His servant said that it had been his wish that whosoever could raise his coffin should be allowed to bury him. Only a few Muslims could do so and they buried him.
One day while passing through a market he heard a water carrier praying to Allah to grant heaven to anyone who bought and drunk his water. Though observing a non-compulsory fast, Hazrat Karkhi bought water and drank it. When asked ‘why?’ he replied that he believed that the prayer of the water carrier was going to be heard. Later someone saw him in a dream and asked how he was. He said that he had been granted Jannah on account of the prayer of the water carrier.
Elsewhere I read that once Ghause Azam Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani was offering fateha at the grave of Hazrat Maroof Karkhi and asked him for his prayers. A voice from the grave was heard saying: “Abdul Qadir! You have been given a very high status by Allah; you please pray for me”.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com