Everyone who traverses on the path to God is bestowed with a particular aptitude, God has bestowed upon me that of explaining His secrets”, wrote Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz. A disciple of Hazrat Naseeruddin Chiragh Dilli of Delhi, Khwaja Bandanawaz popularised the Chishti Sufi tradition in the Deccan. His family came from Khurasan in Central Asia, but had lived in Delhi for generations.
Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz was born in Delhi in 1321 and was given the name Syed Muhammad Hussaini. When Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq shifted his capital to Daulatabad in the Deccan, the family migrated to the South, settling in a place called Roza Khuldabad. After the death of his father he returned to Delhi. Having heard of Hazrat Naseeruddin Chiragh Dilli’s piety he became his disciple. Pleased with the disciple’s devotion and sincerity, within six months, Hazrat Naseeruddin, the inheritor of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s spiritual mantle, declared that Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz be his spiritual successor.
The disciple acquired his title of Bandanawaz Gesudaraz after a particular incident.
Once, while carrying the palanquin of his master on his shoulders, his long locks got entangled, but despite the agonising pain, he chose not to wince, continuing the journey till the destination.
On learning of this incident, Hazrat Naseeruddin recited a couplet conferring upon him the title “Gesudaraz” — one with long locks — and “Ban-danawaz” — one who comforts. Before moving to the Deccan, Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz continued his education in Delhi for another two decades.
An erudite and prolific writer, Khwaja Gesudaraz authored countless books on Sufism and various aspects of Islam in Arabic, Persian, Hindawi, Dakhani and Sanskrit, often dictating four or five books at a time. His biographers say he authored around 40 books, though some accounts claim the number to be around a 100.
A true Sufi, Khwaja Gesudaraz taught love, amity, and devotion to the One God. Mystical love formed the core of his teachings. He writes that God creates love because He has to manifest Himself to Himself. It is man’s duty to strive to reach God through the two special avenues of purification of the soul and absolute contemplation, which meant emptying the heart of all else except the love of God.
Firoz Shah, Sultan of the Bahmani Kingdom invited the Sufi to make his home in the capital city of Ahsanabad, now called Gulbarga, in Karnataka. The Khwaja accepted the invitation and the Sultan built a khanqah for him near the fort. Some 20 years later, Khwaja moved to another place nearby, where his dargah stands today.
Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz, the great Sufi scholar, died in 1422 at the age of 103 years. Ahmad Shah Bahmani built a beautiful mausoleum over his grave in Gulbarga. His dargah draws a large number of devotees and continues to spread the message of love, compassion and universal brotherhood.
Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com
