TRANSLATIONS OF LECTURES BY
Hazrat Maulana Shafee Okarvi
[May Allaah be Pleased with him]
At Ajmer Shareef
At that time the Tanwara Family were prominent in Delhi, whilst the Chohaan Clan controlled Ajmer, in Gujarat the Baderia Clan were prominent and the ruling king at Lahore was Khusrau Malak, the last of the stars of the Ghaznavi Dynasty.
The situation in India was such that many of the prominent kings, families and clans were becoming political rebels in their quest for power. The King of Delhi sent his nephew Pirthivi Raaj known as Rai Pathoraa to rule over Ajmer, since he had no children of his own. At that time, in Hindustaan, this area was the center of misbelief (kufr) and idol-worship. There were many temples in Ajmer, one of them being exclusively used by the King his wives and the ruling class. The poor were not allowed in this temple. The king, for the upkeep of this temple, donated the revenue of many villages. It is recorded that so many lamps burnt in that temple that daily large quantities of oil was utilized. Many were employed for is upkeep. So, Khawaajah Saahib came to settle in the hub of misbelief (kufr) and idol-worship. Khawaajah Saahib was about 52 years old [587 AH / 1191 AD] on arrival at Ajmer.
The Kings Elephants
Those who have been to Ajmer know that there is a Masjid called Auliyaa Masjid. This is where Khawaajah Saahib initially came and rested. This was the place where the king’s elephants used to rest. The elephants had been taken out to graze by the attendants or mahouts and when they returned they found Khawaajah Saahib and his followers resting at that spot. They asked Khawaajah Saahib to leave and he said that there was plenty of ground for them to sit and for the elephants to rest. They still insisted that he should leave and Khawaajah Saahib said, ‘Well! The elephants should sit.’
He moved away from there and they seated the elephants on that spot. The following day when the attendants tried to get the elephants to stand, they remained seated and could not get up. This was because Khawaajah Saahib had said that the elephants should remain seated on their spot. Despite much prompting the elephants refused to stand. The entire city was abuzz that this Faqeer had cast a spell on the elephants. A crowd gathered to see who was this Faqeer. The king got wind of what had occurred and he dispatched some of his men to ask Khawaajah Saahib to withdraw whatever spell he had cast or else the elephants would die of hunger. They came to Khawaajah Saahib and pleaded with him to withdraw whatever spell he had cast. Khawaajah Saahib replied, ‘I have not cast any spell, the attendants troubled me so I commanded the elephants to remain seated.’ They pleaded to Khawaajah Saahib saying that he could remain on the land and he asked them to go for the elephants would now get up. The elephants did indeed stand up and the people were amazed and the entire city spoke of what had transpired...to be continued In Shaa Allaah.
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