Sultan Ul-Awliya Khwaja Sufi Muhammad Aslam (Shadpur Sharif)

The light of Shadpur Sharif & Khwaja Sufi Nawabuddin. The great gnostic and knower of Allah, the inheritor of the Light of the Messenger ﷺ, The holder of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, Sultan Ul Awliya, Khwaja Hazrat Sufi Muhammad Aslam.

In the year 1953, at the tender age of just 19 years old, the lights of Wilaya (Sainthood) illuminated the blessed Shaykh as they were given the Fath Al Akbar (The Greatest Spiritual Opening). Regarding this great spiritual opening they recount the following:

“I was in my 19^th year and had returned home for the day. When I entered my room I busied myself in clearing up my things, whilst doing this the room suddenly was consumed by a very bright light. The luminosity of this light was such it enveloped the room with a blanket of white light the likes of which I had never encountered. I was struck with an urge to inquire as to the source of this radiance; upon turning towards my right side I beheld the beauty of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked of me, ‘Would you do the work of the Deen for us?’ To which I dutifuly replied, ‘As you have asked I shall do, inshallah.’

The following night, I was inspired with a dream in which I was blessed with the visitation of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He presented to me some unripe dates which he ﷺ had in his blessed hands and asked of me, ‘Will you eat these?’ I responded, ‘The Master ﷺ has presented a gift to me and refusal is no option.’ I began to eat the dates, they had the most unique taste, and I happily ate all the dates that were presented to me. Upon finishing the dates my chest became illuminated with a very peculiar light, the light I felt penetrated my heart then my whole essence, it brought upon me states that I had never reached before.

The extent of this penetration took me from the state of the Knowledge of Certainty (`ilm al-yaqin), to the Eye of Certainty (`ayn al-yaqin), and then to the Truth of Certainty (haqq al-yaqin). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised me to the highest levels in the Path, placing me in the thresholds of the Rightful Champions of Truth, Maqam al-Siddiqiyya. To me it occurred I had reached the pinnacle and obtained the ultimate goal of those who have trodden the Path leading to Allah the Exalted. The Prophet ﷺ had blessed me in a manner of which a person of my standing is not worthy of.”

“When I awoke from the dream, the eruption that occurred within my soul when the Prophetic rays penetrated my essence remained with me but grew stronger with every passing moment when I was gaining consciousness. I found the Station of Love had occurred within me as the Love for Allah the Exalted and His Beloved ﷺ had taken firm root. The love for any other thing did not remain, all I yearned for was to be with my Lord, Majestic is He, and to bask in the Rays of Mercy from the Presence of the Divine. At that moment I desired nothing more than to be with Him (Luminous is He) and to set my eyes upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

I found that I observed all the obligatory and supererogatory prayers with greater vigilance, I found a profound sense of peace when I prayed the Tahajjud (after-midnight) prayer. It became a daily routine for me to continuously send Salawaat (Salutations) upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The recitation of the Holy Quran al-Karim increased greatly within me as it is the supreme form Remembrance.

Through the blessings of Allah the Exalted, I felt within me a yearning to be close to His (Luminous is He) chosen people, the righteous Saints. I began to attend the Khanqahs (Spiritual Sanctuary) of many pious Saints of the past, feeling a lot of spiritual attraction towards them. I would present my greetings whilst praying at their resting places.

I frequented the Khanqahs of Hazrat Mian Muhammad Baksh (Allah be well pleased with him), a great Sufi Saint and poet, who is known as the ‘Rumi of Kashmir’ and his magnum opus ‘Saif al-Mulook’ is read by every Muslim on the Sub-Continent and also world-wide. Within this great work he documented the knowledge given to him by Allah the Exalted touching upon all aspects of life.

I attended at the Khanqah of Peer e Shah Ghazee (Allah be well pleased with him). He was a great Sufi Saint of the 13^th Century H/19^th Century CE; I had a great fondness of him and felt a strong spiritual connection. In attending his Khanqah, I received many hidden forms of knowledge and states that increased my love for him. I found my own grasp of Sufi poetry increased as he filled my heart with the special knowledge of explaining things to people by use of poetry so they ponder upon and benefit from it.”