Khustigiri is famous for the Khustigiri Dargah Sharif

It is believed to be a place of learning, getting peace of mind, and becoming free from diseases and mental distress. This sacred place has been established by the great Sufi saint Hazrat Syed Shah Abdullah Kermani in the district of Birbhum of West Bengal about 500 years ago for giving service to the mankind by the order of his spiritual master Hazrat Makhdoom Shah Arzani. The beautiful environment draws the minds of all irrespective of race, caste, creed and religion. The Sufi saint Hazrat Abdullah Kermani (in short Kermani Baba) has established Khankah, Jama Masjid, Madrasah, Langor Khana, Atithi Shala, Nahabat Khana, Library, Charitable dispensary etc. for the service to the mankind. In addition to these, the attractions of this place are the big and beautiful tomb of Saint Kermani, Double Domes, Sacred Ganga Gaure, Khas Mahal, Tombs of 14 Kazis, Hazrat Museum, historical tamarind tree, big Dias, new minar, beautiful garden and the mazars of the descendants of Hazrat Kermani. Several functions and ceremonies are held throughout the year. Many centres under this dargah are being opened in various parts of West Bengal.

Shajarah Sharif

Silsilah

The Blessed Silsilah consists of great Ulama who have impacted the world at their time, and continue to do so today.
1. Sayyidina Mawlana Rasool Allah Habib Allah Muhammad Al Mustafa (SAW)
2. Mawla Ali Al Murtadha (KW)
3. Khawaja E Khwajegan Hasan Al Basri (RA)

4. Abdul Wahid Bin Zaid (QS)
Tabi Tabiin
Teachers: Imam Abu Hanifah (RA), then Khwaja e Khwajegaan Hasan Al Basri (RA)
From: Basra, Iraq
Attained Unity, Basra in 170 AH

Hazrat Imam al-Hassan Basri r.a had numerous followers drawn from diverse backgrounds; the literature of the time describes some of them as being scholars and others who were holy warrirors. They were united by their sanctity and asceticism, as well as by their harmonization of the inner precepts and outer practice of Islam. They despised social injustice, luxury and hypocrisy-the contradiction between inner and outer jihad, thoughts and deeds. One of these holy warriors, Abd al-Wahid bin Zayd r.a became Hazrat Hassan al-Basri's khalifa. He was a student of Imam Abu Hanifa r.a in fiqh, and was taught hadith and tafsir by his murshid as well as taking from him the path of tasawwuf. He used to fast the entire year round, except for the two festivals of Eid.These fasts sometimes used to last for up to three days, after which he would breaking his fast with few morsels of food. His nights were awake in Ibadah. It is said that he passed forty years in such Mujahidahs before becoming the murid of Khwaja Hassan al-Basri r.a. Although Khwaja Abd al-Wahid r.a was one of the great early Sufis, he remains far less famous than the other major figure of Sufism in this era. This might be because he spent most of his time not in the cities and major centers, but in the wilderness of the frontier regions. His travels took him as far as China. Indeed, he has achieved fame as the founder of the first Sufi Khanqah, on the island of Abbadan. This was a former military outpost that he converted into a training station for the mystics of Iraq. Addadan became a major attraction for those wishing to become mujahidin. The post was manned by ghazis who combined military service with religious worship in the form of dhikr. They practiced the constant recitation of Allah, whether in battle or peace-time, movement or rest. In this , Imam Abd al-Wahid pre-empted the Sufi military orders of Futuwwah-themselves the inspiration for medieval ideals of chivalry and nobility in warfare-by several hundred years. In his lectures, Hazrat Abd al-Wahid r.a provided vivid images of the Day of Judgment to his followers; he used to admonish them to prepare for the meeting with their creator. He also informed his disciples that Allah bestows secret knowledge on His righteous friends. Like many of the early Sufis, He admired monks and holy men of other religions for their disdain of the world and the sincerity of their search for Allah; though they differed with them in matters of faith. This was a common understanding of the time, as borne out by the following hadith of Abu Bakr as-Sadiq r.a (as he explained the rules of Jihad to his armies) "and you may come across monks and holy men searching for Allah. Let them alone and do not destroy their sanctuaries". Once, upon his travels, Khwaja Abd al-Wahid arrived at a monastery in China. When he greeted the monk, though, the latter did not reply until he had called repeatedly. The monk than said, "I am not a monk (rahib). A monk is one who fears Allah who is in the heavens. He honors Allah's greatness; he is patient in the face of the calamities He sends, and he is contented with His decree. He praises Him for his forgiveness;he is thankful for his bounties, and he is humble in the presence of His glory. He accepts His power; he fasts during the day; and he performs salah during the night, when the mention of Hell keeps him awake. I, however, am not such a raahib-I am but a wild dog that preys on others. I have imprisoned myself here for fear of devouring other people with my tongue." Khwaja asked, " Oh Monk! What has misled people from their Lord?" He replied," Oh Brother ! After recognizing Allah, it is the love of this world that has led people astray. Love of the world is the root of transgression. An intelligent person is one who expels this love from his heart, repent for his sins and focuses on that which brings him the nearness of Allah." Towards the end of his life, Khwaja Abd al-Wahid became severely paralyzed, such that he was unable to make wuduh. Once finding no-one present to help him, he became extremely restless and makes Duaa to Allah to assist him. Immediately he was cured from his illness. He made his wudhu and performed his salah calmly, only when he had finished did his paralysis return. Hazrat Khwaja Imam Abd al-wahid bin Zayd attained unity in Basra in 170 AH, although some scholars say the year was 177 AH. He left behind three major Khulfa, among whom the most senior was Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail bin Ayaz R.a.


5. Al Fudayl Ibn Ayaz (QS)
Attained Unity 187 AH

Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail Ibn Ayaz began his career somewhat ignominiously as a highwayman, playing the prosperous trade route between Bavard and Merv. As the chief of a group of bandits, he would wear the woolen garb of a dervish and tie a tasbih around his neck, while dividing the spoils of his gang amongst themselves. He was the epitome of the chivalrous highwayman; women in the caravan he would leave with dignity and belongings intact, he would never steal from one of small means, and he always left the merchants with some portion of their goods. Once a rich caravan was headed for the region, and its leader decided to hide a bad of gold with Fuzail r.a who looked for all the world to be a holy man. "I entrusted you with my money," he told the highwayman,"If we do get robbed, at least I will have something to fall back on." The caravan proceeded and sure enough was waylaid by the robbers. The merchant then returned to the tent of Fuzail r.a, only to see him casually dividing up the spoils ! However, his astonishment redoubled when the highwayman told him to claim his gold, which was where he left it." Ah!" Fuzail's peers," we did not find one gold dhiram in the caravan, and there you go and return ten thousand to him!" "He had a good opinion of me" Fuzail r.a replied," I have always had a good opinion of Allah, that he will cause me to repent my ways one day." And such proved to be the case; for Allah accepts sincere prayers, even the prayers of a sinner. That day came, when, approaching a caravan, he heard a man reciting the following verse from the Holy Quran, "Has the time not come for the healers of those who believe to be humbled in the remembrance of God?" Those words pierced him like an arrow, and he fell to the ground in tears of repentance. Immediately he discarded his evil ways and, by means of absoloution, he sought out every single one of his vicitims, repaying each them what he had taken from them. He then went to the court of the sultan, confessing his crimes and begging that judgement be meted out of him. However , the sultan, seeing upon him the marks of righteousness, refused to punish him. Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail r.a then took his family and departed for the holy lands, working as a water-carrier to earn a living. He settled for a while in Kufah, where he spent time in the company of Imam Abu Hanifa r.a. Hearing the tremendous reputation of Imam al-Hassan Basri, he travelled to Basra hoping to become his murid. However, when he arrived, he found that the Imam ahd already passed away, and he took Baya'h with his Khalifa, Hazrat Khwaja Imam Abd al-Wahid. The gates of oratory were opened to him, and he began to preach in a manner that soon the entire Islamic world knew of him. One of his most famous pupils was Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal. He becale the greates disciple of his murshid, and also acquired Khilafat from Abu Iyadh ibn Mansur, whose silsilah reaches Sayyidina Abu Bakar r.a. Thus, through Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail, the chain of the Chishtiya order arises from both the great Sahaba Imams of Tasawwuf, Prince of faithful Hazrat Imam Ali and Hazrat Abu Bakar r.a Khwaja Fuzail was one of the greatest of the early Sufis, who in that formative period of Islam, were distinguished not specialized action or formal designation, but by the loftiness of their characters and their closeness to Allah. It was about one of Khwaja Fuzail's Khalifa, Hazrat Bashr al-Hafi, that Imam Ahmed Hanbal said, I know fiqh, tafsir, logic, Hadith and linguistics better than he, but he knows my Lord better than I." What was true fo the pupil was even more true for the master. The Sufis were held in awe by all around them by virtue of their tremendous piety, even though their peers were the greatest of Imams of religion. It was said of Imam Abu Hanifah,"how could he possibly have lapsed into error or impiety, with a companion like al-Fuzail to guide and correct him?" Many stories are told of his extreme discipline. He used to perform the continous fast that became a hallmark of the zahidin (ascetics), eating only after several days. He also used to perform up to 500 nawafil salah in a day and night. One of the titles afforded to Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail and his contemporaries was 'al-Bakkaa'in-the Weepers-for they used to spend nights awake weeping out of fear of displeasing Allah. Such was his adherence to the Sunnah that, when he once forgetfully washed his arm twice instead of three times in wuduh, Rasulullah swm himself came to remind him of his lapse. He achieved wide repute also as an authority on hadith, and in the biographical dictionaries he is noted as narrator of the highest reliability and trustworthiness. Once the Caliph Harun al-Rasheed came to him for advice. His words left the emperor beside himself with sorrow. Harun declared,"it is Fuzail (not I) which is a king among men. His boldness is extreme, and the very world is contemptible in his eyes."

Aphorisms 1. Imam bin Hanbal heard Khwaja Fuzail say, whoever pursues leadership will be disgraced. Remain insignificant, and do not live as though you are a great man.'
2. He who acquires masifah billah (true knowledge of Allah) without love will be destroyed by pride. He who acquires Khauf (fear of Allah) without love, terror and despondency will stop him attaining closeness to his Lord.
3. More surprising than seeing a person crying in paradise, is the sight of a person laughing on earth.
4. One day Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail was standing at Arafat, witnessing all the thousands of pilgrims weeping and calling upon God for mercy.
5. Subhanallah !" he exclaimed." if all these thousand went to one man and asked him together for a single penny, do you think he would refuse? "No," came the response." Well, it is easier for Almighty Allah to forgive them all, than for that man to give them a penny. Surely he is most bountiful."
Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail ibn Ayaz RA attained unity with Beloved in 187 AH in Makkah whilst listening to the recitation of Surah al-Qariah, he gave a fearful cry and died. Hazrat Abdullah bin Mubarak RA reported that, at the moment of his death, a cry was heard from heaven and silence settled over the earth. He is buried in Janaat al-Maala, near the resting place of Hazrat Khadija al-Kubra RA. The most famous of his Khulfa were Hazrat Bashr Hafi and Hazrat Khwaja Ibrahim bin Adham.


6. Ibrahim Bin Adham Balkhi (QS)
Attained Unity, in Damascus 162AH

Either call me urgently to your door, or ensure that Allah grants my wishes. With hands folded do I stand pleading. Salutations to you, Oh leader of the saints! Khwaja Ibrahim Bin Adham Badshah.
Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham RA was one of the pivotal figures in the early history of the Chishtiya Silsilah, a saint of devotion and great fame. He is the earliest documented of the great Persian Sufis, a prince of Balkh whose renounced his earthy throne for a spiritual kingdom. His epic conversion to the mystic way has been no inaptly compared to the legend of the Buddha. He is described in the Kashf-al-Mahjub as, "unique in this path; the chieftain of his contemporaries, and a disciple of al-Khidr Stories enough are told of this saint to fill several volumes-indeed there are at least six extant biographies of his life-but of all these, the legend of his rebirth as a Sufi is one of the classic tales of Muslim history.
One, night, asleep on his royal couch, he was awakened by the wound of someone walking on his roof. Irritably he demanded to know what the person thought he was doing. He was told, I am a friend. I have lost my camel, and am searching for it. Fool ! he cried, "Do you search for your camel on a roof?" The reply he received filled him with terror and bewilderment. "Oh heedless one!" came the voice, "do you search for God in silken clothes, and upon a golden couch?" Visions followed by day, with visitations at night, increasing his confusion and anguish until he could no longer bear it. He decided to go hunting, in order to banish these tormenting pursuers; but while doing so he was separated from his retinue. Four times he heard a voice crying, "Awake!" but he steadfastly ignored it. At the fourth cry he spied a deer and prepared to give chase. However, the deer turned around and spoke to him," You can not hunt me; I have been sent to hunt you. Was it for this that you were created, and is this what you have been commanded?" At this last revelation Ibrahim r.a gave a great cry and made sincere repentance. The heavens were opened to him; he exchanged his royal garb and princely steed for the poor man's ragged clothes."What a kingdom has come to the son of Adham !" exclaimed the angels," he has cast away the filthy garments of this world and donned the glorious robes of poverty." Hazrat Ibrahim Adham r.a left the lands of men to concentrate on spiritual discipline. He made a cave upon High Mountain his adobe for nine years, dwelling there alone by night. Every Friday he would collect a bundle of firewood to sell in Nishapur. After Jummah, he would buy a loaf of bread and give half to a beggar, using the other half to break his fast in the evening. His fame spread inexorably, and he decided to perform Hajj partly to escape the attention. As he approached the city, he saw the great crowd approaching. "The elders of the city have come to greet Ibrahim bin Adham r.a he was told, for no-one recognized him."What do you want with that heretic?" he cried. Upon saying this, of course, he was set upon and beaten. He settled in Makah, becoming a murid of Hazrat Fuzail bin Ayaz upon receiving divine inspiration. He remained there, working as a humble cleaner of the Kaabah for fifty years, and a circle of disciples formed around him. One man who greatly admired and respected him was none other than Imam Abu Hanifah r.a . The great khwaja Junaid al-Baghdadi said,"Ibrahim is the key to the mystical sciences." He had two major Khulafah: Khwaja Huzaifa al-Maraashi ad Khwaja Shaqiq al-Balkhi. Now when Hazrat Ibrahim r.a had renounced his kingdom, he had left behind a young son. That child, now grown to a pious young man, decided to perform the pilgrimage in the hope of meeting his father. He came upon his father selling bread in the market, and brought his mother to confirm his suspicions. As soon as she saw him, she cried, "this is your father!" pandemonium erupted; all the bystanders and his companions burst into tears. Ibrahim r.a himself in tears, called his son to him. He embraced him, and the boy would not let go. After discovering that he was a pious Muslim and a scholar besides, Hazrat Ibrahim r.a turned his face heavenward and cried," Oh Lord, save me!" Immediately his son fell down dead. He explained that at the moment he embraced his son, he felt love stir in his heart, and had heard Allah tell him, "You claim to love Me, but you love another along with Me." So he had prayed, "Lord of Glory, save me! He will so occupy my heart that I will forget to love You. Either take his life away, or mine."

Aphorisms
Once a man bought Ibrahim RA a thousand dirhams; but he was told," I do not accept anything from beggars." "But I am wealthy", the man protested. "Do you want more than you have?" asked the saint. "Of course!" replied the man, to which Hazrat Ibrahim RA answered, "Then you are the chief of beggars! Indeed, this is not beggary, but abject destitution."
Hazrat Ibrahim RA let down a bucket into a well; it came up filled with gold. He emptied it and let it down again; this time it returned full of pearls. Once again he emptied it. "Oh Allah." He laughed, "You are offering me a treasury. Give me water, that I might make my wudhu!"
He once said, "To attain the rank of Salihin, first close the door of plenty and open the door of hardship. Second, shut the door of respect and open the door of disgrace. Next, close the door of comfort and open that of hardship. Then, close the door of sleep for that of wakefulness. Lastly, close the door of wealth and open the door of poverty."
People asked him once why their duas were not accepted. He replied, "you know Allah, but you do not worship Him. You eat from His bounties, but you do not give thanks. You make no preparations to attain Janat and avoid Jahanam. You know that death is coming, but you remain unconcerned. You bury your dead, but learn no lesson from it. You know you have defects, but you search for faults in others. How can your duaas be accepted?"
"Take Allah as your companion, and leave mankind behind. Companionship of Allah is sincerity in fulfilling his commands, and sincerity in devotion springs from purity in love; and purity in love springs from hatred of passion and lust."
Ibrahim RA narrates that once he bought a slave. "What is your name?" he asked. "Whatever you command," was the reply. Ibrahim RA then asked, "But what do you desire?" The answer filled him with awe, for the slave asked, "What does a slave know of desire?" "Wretch that you are!" cried Ibrahim RA to himself, "all your life have you called yourself a slave of God. Now learn what it means to be a slave!"
Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham RA attained unity with Beloved in Damascus in 162AH. Some scholars are of the opinion that he was martyred in 165 AH in a naval expedition against Byzantium. On his death, a voice was heard proclaiming, "now has indeed passed away the Imam of the world".

How the Dargah Came to be

It is said that a Muslim saint Saiyad Shah Abdullah Kirmani when young left Kirman in Iran his native country and visited a Muslim saint Shah Arzani, who died at Patna during the reign of Shah Jahan in 1630 AD. Shah Arzani directed him to go to Bengal and gave him a toothpick of chambeli wood. He told him to stay at the place where the toothpick became fresh and green. He arrived in Birbum and stayed at Bargaon, where he performed several miracles (karamat) but the toothpick remained unchanged. He then moved on to Khustigiri. There one morning he found the toothpick to have become fresh and green. He planted it and it soon became a large tree. Shah Abdullah is specially renowned for his power over serpents. His dargah is in the hands of his descendants and is visited by numerous pilgrims.

Medini Mela

Medini mela is organised around the time of Muharram and Shab e Baraat near the mazar of Shah Abdullah Kermani at Khustigiri. Above all urs is observed every year from 11th Falgun to 15th Falgun (24 to 28 February) every year where millions of people turn up.

Prophetic Relics