Khwaja Haji Dost Muhammad Qandhari (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

: ) was an Afghan Sufi master in the

Naqshbandi The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نه‌قشه‌به‌ندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...

tradition in the 19th century (1801–1868).

Biography

Dost Muhammad was born and received his early education in Kandahar in Afghanistan. While still a young man he encountered the great Indian Naqshbandi master Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (1743–1824) in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. He reported that Ghulam Ali's spiritual energy (''fayz'') was so strong that it caused him to become restless and disturbed, to the extent that he was hardly able to move from his place. Returning to India, he continued to be subject to ecstatic states, some of which lasted for several weeks. Ghulam Ali died, however, before Dost Muhammad could become a disciple. So instead he applied to Ghulam Ali's successor Abu Sa'eed Mujaddidi Rampuri. At the time Abu Sa'eed was leaving for the Hajj and sent Dost Muhammad to his son (and successor) Shah Ahmed Sa'eed Dehlvi (1802–1860). Within 14 months of staying with his Shaykh, Haji Dost Muhammad became Ahmed Sa'eed's ''khalifa'' in the Qandahar region of Afghanistan. Following the assassination in 1842 of

Shah Shuja Shāh Shujā' ( fa, شاه شجاع, meaning: ''brave king'') may refer to the following: * Shah Shoja Mozaffari, the 14th-century Muzaffarid ruler of Southern Iran *Shah Shuja (Mughal prince) (1616-1661), the second son of Shah Jahan *Shah Shujah ...

, the ruler of Afghanistan (and client of the British), Dost Muhammad was forced to leave the country. (These same events also forced the departure from Afghanistan of his most celebrated disciple, Sayyid Muhammed Shah

Jan-Fishan Khan Saiyed Muhammed Shah, better known by his title as Jan-Fishan Khan, was a 19th-century Afghan warlord.Obituary of Idries Shah, The Independent (London) of 26 November 1996., pp. 19–26 He participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) ...

Paghmani). Ahmed Sa'eed advised Dost Muhammad to establish himself in a place where "both Pashto and Punjabi are spoken". Following this instruction, Dost Muhammad settled in the village of Musazai Sharif, near to Dera Ismail Khan (now in Pakistan), where he established a teaching centre and is buried.

Death and Successor

Dost Muhammad's successor was Khwaja Muhammad Usman Damani, to whom he gave unrestricted permission to teach "the methods of the Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiya Ma'sumiyya Mazhariyya and the Qadiriyya, Chistiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Kubrawiyya, Shattariyya, Madariyya, Qalandariyya and other Sufi lineages". He also handed over to him all his Islamic centers including Musazai Sharif, his personal library and other assets. Haji Dost Muhammad died on 22

Shawwal Shawwal ( ar, شَوَّال, ') is the tenth month of the lunar based Islamic calendar. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the verb ''shāla'' () which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to another, Fasting during S ...

1284 AH (17 February 1868) and was buried in Mussa Zai Sharif, district

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakista ...

in present-day

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. In ''The Way of the Sufi'', Idries Shah attributes this "sentence of the Khajagan" to Dost Muhammad (who he calls Qandahari): "You hear my words. Hear, too, that there are words other than mine. These are not meant for hearing with the physical ear. Because you see only me, you think there is no Sufism apart from me. You are here to learn, not to collect historical information."

Spiritual chain of succession

Haji Dost Muhammad Qandhari belonged to the Mujaddidi order of

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...

, which is the main branch of

Sufi tariqah. His spiritual lineage goes to

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

, through Shaikh

Ahmad Sirhindi Aḥmad al-Fārūqī as-Sirhindī (1564-1624) was a South Asian Islamic scholar from Punjab, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He has been described by some followers as a Mujaddid, meaning a “reviver", for his work i ...

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

(died 11 AH, buried Madinah SA (570/571 - 632 CE)) # Sayyadna

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Siddiq, (d. 13 AH, buried Madinah, SA) # Sayyadna Salman al-Farsi, (d. 35 AH, buried Madaa'in, SA) # Imam Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (d. 107 AH, buried Madinah, SA) # Imam Jafar Sadiq, (after which moved to Iran; d. 148 AH buried Madinah, SA) # Shaikh

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, (d. 261 AH, buried Bistaam, Iraq (804 - 874 CE)) # Shaikh Abul Hassan Kharqani, (d. 425 AH buried, Kharqaan, Iran) # Shaikh Abul Qasim Gurgani, (d. 450 AH, buried Gurgan, Iran) # Shaikh Abu Ali Farmadi, (after which he moved to Turkmenistan; d. 477 AH, buried Tous, Khorasan, Iran) # Khwaja Abu Yaqub Yusuf Hamadani, (d. 535 AH, buried Maru, Khorosan, Iran) # Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghujdawani, (d. 575 AH, buried Ghajdawan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Khwaja Arif Reogari, (d. 616 AH, buried Reogar, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Khwaja Mahmood Anjir-Faghnawi, (d. 715 AH, buried Waabakni, Mawralnahar) # Shaikh Azizan Ali Ramitani, (d. 715 AH, buried Khwaarizm, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Muhammad Baba Samasi, (d. 755 AH, buried Samaas, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Sayyid Amir Kulal, (d. 772 AH, buried Saukhaar, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband, (d. 791 AH, buried Qasr-e-Aarifan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan (1318–1389 CE)) # Shaikh Ala'uddin Attar Bukhari, (buried Jafaaniyan, Mawranahar, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Yaqub Charkhi, (d. 851 AH, buried Charkh, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Ubaidullah Ahrar, (d. 895 AH, buried Samarkand, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Muhammad Zahid Wakhshi , (d. 936 AH, buried Wakhsh, Malk Hasaar) # Shaikh Durwesh Muhammad, (d. 970 AH, buried Samarkand, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Muhammad Amkanaki, (after which moved to India; d. 1008 AH, buried Akang, Bukhara, Uzbekistan) # Shaikh Muhammad Baqi Billah Berang, (d. 1012 AH, buried Delhi, India) # Shaikh Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi, (d. 1034 AH, buried Sarhand, India (1564–1624 CE)) # Muhammad Masum Sirhindi, (d. 1079 AH, buried Sarhand, India) # Muhammad Saifuddin Faruqi Mujaddidi, (d. 1096 AH, buried Sarhand, India) # Hafiz Muhammad Mohsin (Delhi, India, d. 1147 AH) # Sayyid Nur Muhammad Badayuni, (India, d. 1135 AH) #

Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan Mirzā Mazhar Jān-i Jānān ( ur, ), also known by his laqab Shamsuddīn Habībullāh (1699–1781), was a renowned Hanafi Maturidi Naqshbandī Sufi poet of Delhi, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of Urdu poetry."And Muhammad is His ...

, (Delhi, India, d. 1195 AH) # Abdullah Dahlawi, alias

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Madinah Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, d. 1277 AH) # Khwaja Dost Muhammad Qandhari, Musa Zai Sharif, (Dera Ismail,

, d. 1284 AH)

His Khulafa

:* Khwaja Muhammad Usman Damani, his successor :* Mawlana Rahim Bakhsh Punjabi, who was sent to take charge of Khanqah Mazharia in Delhi :* Mawlana Amanullah Herati (his spiritual legacy is still active in Iran) :* Mawlana Ahmed Deen, teacher of

Sayyad Laal Shah Hamdani Sayyad Laal Shah Hamdani was an Islamic scholar and prominent Sufi shaykh of Naqshbandi tariqah in South Asia (present day Pakistan). Sayyad Laal Shah studied the Islamic sciences from Shaykh Ahmed Deen who was a khalifa of Haji Dost Muhammad Q ...

:* Mawlana Muhammad Adil (he entered the tariqah after a long debate with the shaykh) :* Mawlana Nizamuddin

References

* *

External links

Jalwa Gah-e-Dost (Urdu) 2nd edition (2008) by Khwaja Muhammad Tahir Abbasi

Photograph of the grave (''mazar'') of Dost Muhammad in Musazai Sharif
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dost Muhammad 1800s births 1868 deaths People from Kandahar Naqshbandi order 19th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Afghan Sufis Afghan Sufi saints Sufi teachers Sufism in Pakistan