The wrath of Sabir
I often travel to Kaliyar Sharif, near Roorkie, where the dargah of Hazrat Alauddin Ali Ahmad Sabir stands. Popularly known as Sabir sahab, the dargah is a large serene compound that attracts pilgrims throughout the year.
After Sabir sahab’s father died, his mother Jamila Khatun had entrusted him in the care of Baba Farid, the great Chishti Sufi poet of Punjab, who happened to be her brother. Baba Farid put his nephew in charge of the community kitchen at his khanqah, hospice, at Ajodhan. After some years, Alauddin’s mother returned to find him extremely thin and weak. She asked her brother the reason for her son’s poor health.
Baba Farid thought this could not be for the lack of food, since the boy had been deputed to work in the kitchen. The young mystic provided the explanation, “True, I was in charge of distributing the food, but I was not told that I could eat from it.” On hearing this, Baba Farid awarded him the title of Sabir — the patient one.
Barring a few legends and anecdotes, little is recorded of Sabir sahab’s life. Baba Farid sent him to Kaliyar in the year 1253, where he spent all his time in meditation, gaining a reputation for piety and asceticism. Soon a large numbers of devotees began to seek his prayers. This made the local clerics feel threatened and they began to indulge in conspiracies against Sabir sahab.
One Friday, when Sabir sahab went to the local mosque, the conspirators ensured that the mystic did not get a place to stand for prayer. Such was the magnitude of Sabir sahab’s wrath that the mosque collapsed, wiping out everything around it, except a gooler i.e., berry tree. Subsequently, a plague gripped Kaliyar, taking a heavy toll on life and the city soon became deserted. On learning of its devastation, the Naseeruddin Mahmud Shah, the sultan of Delhi, pleaded with Baba Farid for protection from Sabir sahab’s wrath. Sabir sahab’s spiritual mentor advised the emperor to stay miles away from Kaliyar.
Sabir sahab meditated in a standing position under the gooler for 12 years. No one had the courage to approach him or ask him to sit. Baba Farid was worried about his disciple and enquired if anyone could convince Sabir sahab to sit down. Shamsuddin Turk, a mystic from Panipat, volunteered and travelled to Kaliyar. Fearing Sabir sahab’s wrath, Turk stood at a distance and began to recite the Quran. Moved by the recital, Sabir sahab signalled him to sit down, but Shamsuddin replied, “How can I sit while an esteemed master stands ” Sabir sahab then let go of the tree’s bough and finally sat down. The gooler stands in the same to this day, where devotees light candles around it and eat its fruits to invoke the Sufi’s blessings.
After spending over three decades in Kaliyar, Sabir sahab died in the year 1291. The exact location of his grave was unknown for over a hundred years until 16th century, when it was discovered by the Chishti Sufi Abdul Qudoos Gangohi. Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi then built a mausoleum over the grave of the exalted mystic.
Kaliyar is in the present-day district of Hardwar, where the Urs celebrations are held each year in Rabi ul awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar.
Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com