Author‟s Preface

3) : (2 مویقلایحلا ۙ وہالاہلاالہللا

Meaning: Allah! None is worthy of worship but He, the EverLiving, Self-Subsisting and Sustainer (of the entire universe with His strategy). (3:2)

3) : (26 ریدق:یشلکیلعکنا ؕ ریخلاکدیب ؕ :آشتنملذتو:آشتنمزعتو

Meaning: You confer honour on whom You will, and You dishonour whom You will. All good is in Your mighty Hand. Surely, You have absolute authority and control over everything.

(3:26)

Infinite blessings and salutations upon the best among the creations, Prophet Mohammad sall’Allahu alayhi wa’alihi wasallam, the People of the Cloak and the Companions. After the Prophets, the most sacred and exalted are the lovers of the Holy Prophet, among whom Abu Bakr Siddiq, Umar ibn Khattab, Usman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib are the leaders of people of paradise. They gave countless sacrifices in the life of the Prophet, were sincere, loyal and dear to him. History has marked countless occasions that depict their honest and selfless love to the Prophet of Allah. They not only helped to prosper Islam in the life of the Prophet but continued their efforts as the Caliphs of the Muslims after the Prophet passed away. They made tireless efforts to prevail Islam in the entire world and set such examples that elevated the glory of the Muslims. They laid the foundation of a practical democratic Islamic state when there was no concept of democracy and welfare state in the world. They not only laid the foundation of the world‟s biggest Islamic state but also established such a system of justice, parallel of which is not seen even in the present most developed countries of the world.

The Rashidun Caliphs hold the prestigious rank not only because of the aforementioned but most importantly because these exalted personalities gained direct beneficence without any medium from the Mohammadan light attaining eternity in both the worlds. They are the reflection of the four most notable attributes of the Prophet. The sacred self of the Holy Prophet is the ultimate institution while the four Caliphs are like his branches.

علونعثماوعمروبکربواکی مشعلہی ایکنیںکرہیں

میںںوراچانانہیں قفر کچھ ؐنبی، نارایاہیں تبہمرہم

Explanation: The four Caliphs; Abu Bakr, Usman, Ali and Umar are the rays emerging from one source that is (the light of) Prophet Mohammad. The rank of all four friends of the Prophet is the same. They are all reflection of the Holy Prophet. Sultan Bahoo described the outward and inward exalted status of the four Caliphs in the following words:  Abu Bakr Siddiq is an embodiment of sharia, Umar ibn

Khattab is an embodiment of tariqa, Usman ibn Affan is the embodiment of reality (haqiqa), Ali ibn Abi Talib is the embodiment of gnosis (marifa) while the Holy Prophet is the

Divine secret. (Ain-ul-Faqr)  Abu Bakr is air, Umar ibn Khattab is water, Usman ibn Affan is fire, Ali ibn Abi Talib is soil while the Holy Prophet is the soul of man‟s body made of these four elements. (Ain-ul-Faqr)

 Abu Bakr is truthfulness, Umar ibn Khattab is justice,

Usman ibn Affan is modesty, Ali ibn Abi Talib is generosity and kindness while the Holy Prophet is Faqr1 . (Ain-ul-Faqr)

1 The spiritual path that leads a seeker of Allah to His vision, gnosis and union under the guidance of the perfect spiritual guide. The Holy Prophet said, “Faqr is my pride and Faqr is from me.” See chapter one of the book Sufism-The Soul of Islam for further details on Faqr.

The beneficence from all four Caliphs will continue till the doomsday and the seekers of Allah of every era will keep gaining guidance from them. If we confine the contribution of these eminent personalities in the spread of Islam to just their physical lives, it will be the denial of the spiritual excellence they achieved from the company of the Holy Prophet, which is the reason behind their exalted rank in the court of Allah and His Prophet. The beneficence these personalities gained from the sacred company of the Prophet is transferred and will continue to transfer to the seekers of Allah through their medium as per capacity of each seeker. This is the marvel of these sacred personalities and this brilliance is eternal. This fact showcases the excellence of the Prophet who bestowed this beneficence and the exalted rank of these personalities who attained it. All four Caliphs equally had basic attributes of love for the Prophet, perseverance, loyalty, sincerity and sacrifice etc. on the basis of which they got the status of Allah‟s beloveds. It is impossible to grant anyone a rank higher than the other on the basis of these attributes as to have the status of belovedness one must have all of them upto a certain extent. All four having the honour of the chosen Caliphs and having Hadiths in their regard verify that their ranks were not even slightly different as far as these basic attributes are concerned. However, they had some such attributes regarding which they excelled the other like Abu Bakr was the best in truthfulness, Umar was the best in justice and self-accountability, Usman was an epitome of modesty and humility while Ali had the best command in knowledge and Faqr. These are the attributes which were distinct part of their personalities since eternity and they excelled in them through the enlightened company of the Holy Prophet. Hence, they became the light of guidance and the medium to inculcate these attributes in the seekers of Allah of every era. As Sultan Bahoo says:

 When a seeker enters the Mohammadan Assembly, first of all his being is blessed with four kinds of efficacy through the spiritual sight of four sacred personalities. By the efficacy of spiritual sight of Abu Bakr Siddiq, the seeker is blessed with the attribute of veracity, as a result hypocrisy and lie are removed from his being. By the spiritual sight of Umar ibn Khattab, the seeker adopts the attributes of justice and selfaccountability hence the sensual desires and satanic apprehensions are eliminated from his inward. By the efficacy of spiritual sight of Usman ibn Affan, he becomes modest and obedient and gets rid of immodesty and disobedience. By the spiritual sight of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the seeker is blessed with the Divine knowledge, righteousness and Faqr, as a result he is liberated from ignorance and love of the world. Thereupon the seeker becomes eligible for spiritual persuasion. The Holy Prophet takes oath of allegiance from him personally and grants him the eternal and non-declining rank of the perfect spiritual guide which is the level where there is no

fear or grief. (Kaleed-ul-Tauheed Kalan)

 Who is a true seeker of Allah? The virtuous one who circumambulates the inward (which is the abode of Allah), one who is perfectly sincere like Abu Bakr Siddiq, as just as

Umar ibn Khattab, as modest as Usman ibn Affan, fighter against the self and completely resigned to the will of Allah like Ali ibn Abi Talib. (Ain-ul-Faqr)  Four significant attributes are the unique marvels of four

Companions. Abu Bakr Siddiq has command over sincerity,

Umar ibn Khattab has command over justice and selfaccountability, Usman ibn Affan has generosity and modesty while Ali ibn Abi Talib has Faqr and knowledge. (Asrar-e-Qadri)

دبو نعثما حیاپُر و ؓعمر لعد و قصد صدؓیق

دبورا می ںادمر ہشا فقر ئےگوؐپیغمبر زا ش

Explanation: From the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr Siddiq got the attribute of truthfulness, Umar ibn Khattab got justice, Usman ibn Affan got modesty and Ali ibn Abi Talib got Faqr. (Ain-ul-Faqr) Therefore, without the spiritual sight and beneficence of these four Companions, the seeker of Allah can neither attain presence in the Mohammadan Assembly nor can have the ability to achieve direct beneficence from the Holy Prophet. When a seeker of Allah acquires these attributes by the benevolence and spiritual attention of these kind personalities, only then he is granted Faqr by the Holy Prophet. These personalities are the fount and origin of the morals and attributes that are most liked by Allah Almighty. Due to excellence in these attributes the Holy Prophet has granted them the utmost authority over them i.e. veracity, justice, modesty and knowledge. It is their favour that they grant beneficence to the seeker of Allah and sometimes even the seeker does not know that he is being bestowed. Their spiritual attention eliminates spiritual diseases, evil and wrong from the seeker‟s inward and manifests the strength of pure virtues and morals. If a seeker of Allah has sincerity, it is because of the spiritual favour of Abu Bakr, if he has justice then it is because of the spiritual attention of Umar while the attributes of obedience, modesty and generosity in the seeker of Allah are due to the spiritual attention of Usman. Similarly, if the inward of the seeker of Allah is enlightened with knowledge and Faqr, it is because of Ali‟s beneficence. Although, all this beneficence reaches the seeker of Allah by the medium and spiritual sight of the perfect spiritual guide of the Sarwari Qadri order. He is the bridge between the seeker of Allah and these sacred personalities. The Rashidun Caliphs achieved remarkable accomplishments in their lives that glorified Islam and after their death they have

kept the true spirit of Islam alive in every era through the spiritual attention of their pure souls. Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali‟s Lord is one, Prophet is one, beloved is one and their order is one. They are the exquisite flowers of Prophet‟s garden and rays of the Mohammadan moon. The differences and divisions are created by the ones who do not have spiritual enlightenment otherwise there is no such division at their level of spiritual elevation and Faqr. May Allah grant everyone the insight to understand the righteous religion and walk on the straight path. As far as the people following Faqr are concerned, they understand that without the beneficence and spiritual attention of the four Caliphs they cannot attain anything in this path. Numerous books written on the Rashidun Caliphs do not include Hasan ibn Ali, although he is the fifth Caliph. If the tenure of his caliphate, which is five months and ten days, is excluded then the caliphate era does not reach the full term of thirty years as per the Hadith of Prophet Mohammad, “The era of caliphate will continue for thirty years after me. ”2 This proves that Imam Hasan is definitely the rightful Caliph. May Allah grant us the ability to understand the reality and acknowledge the ranks of the Rashidun Caliphs. (Amin)

Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman

2 Abu Dawud 4646, 4647-Musnad Imam Ahmad ibn Hunbal 22264, 22274- Tirmidhi 2226