The Life of the Grand Sheikh
The Grand Sheikhs was born on Wednesday 4th April 1934 (19th Dhul-Hijjah 1352 AH in Jhelum, Pakistan. His fathers name wasMian Karam Dad (ra) and had a milk business. He was well known for his truthfulness and honesty. The Grand Sheikh often said, “I am proud of the fact that my father had a milk business and all our family was brought up on an honest (halal) living.”
Sufi Asif Sb has heard the Grand Sheikh say, “That Allah has blessed and protected me from major sins and Allahumdullilah I have never hurt anybody’s feelings.”
At the age of 18, the Grand Sheikh was awaken on a cold winters night by a very bright light; they saw Rasullulah (the messenger of Allah) standing in their room. The messenger of Allah said to them “Muhammad Aslam will you do our work?” The sheikh replied, “O Messenger of Allah, how can I refuse if you ask me to?” Rasullulah had in their parna (scarf) some dry fruits and asked the Grand Sheikh to eat them. They said “The fruits tasted sour, but I swallowed them all in one go.” The vision then disappeared and the Grand Sheikhs whole body was covered in sweat.
This incident had a life changing effect on the Grand Sheikh as the love of the world finished from their heart and they began to recite Darood Shareef excessively, especially Dalielal Kheraat, also they began to recite Qaddriyya Silsala waziefs, because the they came from a very religious family In the Qaddriyya path self-annihilation is very important for advancement in spirituality; hence Grand Sheikh limited his sleep to just 1 hour every night and would prayer on a prayer mat made of stones.
After the blessed ziarat of Rasullulah (saw), the Grand Sheikh continued to visit Kharri Darbar and meditate (marakaba). Through the guidance of Pir Shah Gazi (ra) and Hazrat Mian Muhammad Baksh (ra) they received many waziefs. This continued for several years until one day Pir Shah Gazi (ra) said to the The Grand Sheikh, “You must now find yourself a physical Sheikh and your faiz is across the river.” The Grand Sheikh from this point onwards would pray to Allah for help in finding a spiritual guide who would bring him closer to his lord.
The Grand Sheikh had a friend called Muhammad Raza Sb who was bayah in Mohree Shareef. On one occasion he invited the Grand Sheikh to accompany him to a mehfil there. When they arrived at Mohree Shareef all the students were in adab (respect) waiting for their Sheikh. First of all, Hazrat Sahibzada Khwaja Masoom Sb (ra) walked into the gathering with the recitation of the Kalima Shareef. The Grand Sheikh said to himself “Subhanallah, this man has karam,” and was impressed with the recitation of the Kalima Shareef. However because the Grand Sheikh had a connection with Rasullulah (saw) and had received faiz from Kharri Darbar they were not totally satisfied.
Then moments later the Kalima Shareef started again and this time it was more electrifying and powerful than before. The Grand Sheikh became intrigued as to who was coming. The Grand Sheikh saw that it was the blessed face of Hazrat Khwaja Sufi Nawabuddin Sb (Qibla Alam) (ra). When their eyes met, the Grand Sheikh was captivated by their beauty and the noor (light) which was emitting from their face. Qibla Alam’s whole persona had struck a chord with the Grand Sheikhs heart.
Qibla Alam (ra) was famous for their noor-e-baseerat, when they entered the gathering and sat down they began to speak. They said, “My friends there is an individual amongst today who has a connection with Rasullulah (saw), therefore he is an Awaisi.” Then they began to relate the blessed vision that the Grand Sheikh saw of Rasullulah (saw) and added “A person who has a connection with Rasullulah (saw) even they must do bayah.” Further Qibla Alam said, “My friend my eyes see the ‘lo mahfooz’ (the tablet of fate) and you think that I can’t read your heart”. At this point the Grand Sheikhs heart became satisfied that they had found a true friend of Allah and stood up and did bayah. After bayah, Qibla Alam (ra) gave them a small wazifah to recite:
100 times Darood Shareef
300 times Ya Hayyo Ya Qayoom
100 times Darood Shareef
On the way back home from Mohree Shareef the Grand Sheikh thought to himself. “I am used to reciting long waziefs of the Qaddriyya Silsala, what will this small waziefah do for me?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Grand Sheikh had an uncle called Ahmed Deen, who was an old man. Their uncle was envious of the karam that Allah had bestowed upon the Grand Sheikh through the nigah-e-karam of Qibla Alam (ra), at such a young age. When they would meet, the Grand Sheikh would talk about the faiz of Mohree Shareef, and their uncle would talk about their own spiritual master. When their uncle would hear about the karam in Mohree Shareef he would remain quiet and then say “I will take you to my sheikh and we challenge there.” One day, when the Great Sheikh was returning from Mohree Shareef on a bicycle. As he passed by the train station at khariyya, he was stopped by his uncle Ahmed Deen. His uncle was with a group of sangees and said to the Great Sheikh “it’s good you are here, I can finally get my sheikh to challenge you.” At this moment Ahmed Deen’s sheikh was making wudu (ablution). When they finished their ablution, they said “Ahmed deen is this the same Sufi Muhammad Aslam that you have been talking about,” and Ahmed Deen replied “yes, O’Sheikh, this is him.” The Sheikh then said “But Ahmed Deen you said he is connected in Mohree Shareef, I am seeing that he is connected somewhere as well, and his work will go very far.” Finally they took hold of the Grand Sheikhs hand, smiled and said, “He is also a great man,” and made a supplication for them.
Ahmed Deens sheikh made three very important points; firstly he spoke of the Grand Sheikhs connection with Rasullullah (saw), which few people had knowledge of. Secondly he predicted the work that the Grand Sheikh would do in Europe, and thirdly both of the above are works of great men.
The Great Sheikh was walking through Jhelum, when they passed a group of men near some bushes smoking pung (drugs) and dressed as Durvishes. The great Sheikh thought in his heart “all these men are false, they claim to be lovers of Rasullullah (saw) and commit acts against shariah.” Instantly, a man sat behind this group of men stood up and said, “no, no, no my friend, we are not all the same, and indeed those who follow shariah are great.” The Great Sheikh was amazed at how quickly this man had caught his thought and replied, “What is this then?” and pointed towards those men smoking pung. The man repeated again “no my friend we are not all the same,” and then the Great Sheikh replied “pray for me.” The man replied, “No my friend you pray for me, as we are Majzoob and you are a Salik, the Salik is greater in the court of Allah the Almighty.”
As a result of this incident, the great Sheikh taught his students, “if somebody put a picture of a sheikh on the wall, and said this is a man of Allah, and you don’t agree, do not think bad of them, give salaam and walk away, as this man could indeed be a friend of Allah the Almighty.
Qibla Alam (ra) advised the Great Sheikh never to do two things “you must never drive and you must not work in a shop.” Alhamdullillah, the Great Sheikh all of their life acted upon the words of Qibla Alam (ra).
The Great Sheikh one day went to Mohree Shareef, to meet Qibla Alam (ra) and to seek some advice. They said “Hazoor, my father is asking me to take over the running of his shop and my younger brother Akram Darr is calling me to England, Hazoor what shall I do? Before the Great Sheikh had chance to complete his sentence Qibla Alam said “Yes go to England.”
On the way back from Mohree Shareef, the Great Sheikh fell asleep on the bus and saw a dream, that their passport is being made, the money for their ticket is being collected and a high ranking officer is signing a statement for them, saying they are reliable and trustworthy.
In the 1960s to come to England people required a certified statement from a high ranking army official to say that you had no previous convictions and that you were reliable and trustworthy. When the Great Sheikh went to get their statement certified, the officer looked at the Great Sheikh and asked “Maulana Sb what are you going to do in England?” and the Great Sheikh replied “I will propagate the zikr of Allah.”
In 1963 the Great Sheikh came to England in London, Walthamstow. They worked in a factory where tools were manufactured and also later on in a wood factory. They kept a mehfil-e-zikr every Sunday in a flat in high street. The Great Sheikh spent approximately 5-6 years in Walthamstow.
This was an n historical event, as this was the first ever mehfil-e-zikr recorded in the history of the United Kingdom.
After several years the Great Sheikh returned to Pakistan to meet his family and Qibla Alam (ra). When the Great Sheikh entered the mehfil in Mohree Shareef, Qibla Alam (ra) stood up as soon as they saw their beloved student. Qibla Alam (ra) was full of joy and said “what is a qutub? Isn’t Sufi Muhammad Aslam Sb a qutub? As he has lived in England and has remained steadfast on his religion, people have looked at him and have adopted Sunnah and shariah.”
Qibla Alam (ra) described the Great Sheikh as a qutub (permanent pole of truth), and indeed they were, as from the moment they set foot in this country to their last breath, they never changed the ways of Qibla Alam (ra).
Once the Great Sheikh recited a poem by Sultan Bahoo (ra), the meaning of the poem was that some are awake, but their hearts are dead (i.e. ignorant of the remembrance of Allah), but some people, even if they are sleeping, there hearts are alive (i.e. in the remembrance of Allah). Present in the gathering was a doctor, he asked one of the friends to explain the meaning of the poem to him. The doctor then asked the Great Sheikh, “O’Sheikh I can understand this being the spiritual state of Sultan Bahoo (ra) and other saints of the past, but does this spirituality exist in this day and age.” The Great sheikh smiled and replied “A Sufi only preaches what he practices” and the doctor replied “but how do I witness this spirituality.” The Great Sheikh replied “when you touch a kettle it will tell you if it is hot or cold, Alhamdullillah, you can touch my heart and witness for yourself.” The doctor placed his right hand on the great Sheikhs heart and said “Alhamdullillah I can feel the zikr of Allah.” Even when he took his hand off, he said “I can still feel the zikr of Allah in my finger tips.”
Then the Great Sheikh left the gathering for the airport. In the airport they were having tea in the cafeteria and the doctor approached the Great Sheikh again and asked “would you mind if I touched your heart again,” and the Great Sheikh replied “of course.” So he did and again the doctor had the same experience. The Great Sheikh said to the Doctor “my heart is always engaged in the remembrance of Allah.”
In the early 1980s an historical event occurred as the Great Sheikh led the first ever Holy March to commemorate the birth of Rasullullah (saw), this took place in Bradford. From this moment every almost every city of England would see a Holy March in the month of Rabi-al-awal. Also, it is a fact that in all of these cities, the Great Sheikh was the first to lead these Holy Marches. Alhamdullillah, the Great Sheikh raised the name of Allah in nearly every city of the United Kingdom.
The Great Sheikh established mehfil-e-zikrs of the distinguished Naqshabandia Aslamiyya Order in nearly every city of the United Kingdom. Alhamdullillah the Great Sheikh often said “Bradford is my heart and my largest following is there.”
In 1998 the Great Sheikh led his last ever Holy March through the streets of Blackburn. This was the largest ever Holy March recorded in the United Kingdom. Authorities’ estimated approximately 10,000 followers attended that day.
The legacy of the Great Sheikh has been past on, into the heart of Hazrat Khwaja Sufi Muhammad Aslam Sb, who is their rightly guided Caliph and successor.