Prolusion

There lies a place of historical importance in the centre of the Ramban market unnoticed by many common eyes. “Baithak Gah Shah Fareed-Ud-Din Bagdadi”, an important historical and spiritual place where the famous Sufi saint Sayeed Mohammad Farid-ud-Din Qadri, popularly known as Shah Sahib has spend a brief time of his life preaching the doctrines of Sufism and faith in Ramban. It is a small Ziyarat (shrine of the saint) a few stairs up from the main Ramban market Bowely Bazar.

Shah Mohammed Farid-ud-Din Baghdadi

Known as Fareed-ud-Din and by the honorary title Shah Sahib, he is the torch bearer of harmony between different religious, social and cultural identities. The Sufi saint of Kishtwar Hazrat Shah Farid-ud-Din Baghdadi, who is venerated equally both by Muslims and Hindus has imparted a deep spiritual connection among the folks.
Birth
Different dates for the birth of the legend are suggested. More relevantly he was born in 1589 AD and was the son of Syed Mustafa who was a descendant of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani from Baghdad.

Journey

It is said that he had a dream in which he was told to make his journey to a place called Kishtwar and conduct his preaching there. After completing his studies he undertook his journey and left for Hejaz and offered the Hajj at Mecca. On the way he met Sheikh Jalal Ud-din Al-Maghribi in Mecca and Sheikh Mohi Ud-din Qadri in Egypt. From there he reached Sindh and continued his journey to Agra, close to Shah Jehan’s reign. Shah Jahan honoured him and treated him as a royal guest at Agra and Delhi before he started for his onward journey. Emperor deputed Hafiz Abdul Qasim to accompany Shah Sahib from Delhi to facilitate his journey. And finally Hafiz Abdul Qasim along with Shah Sahib made Kishtwar their permanent home. The divine powers and spiritual knowledge of Shah Farid-ud-Din attracted everyone coming into his contact. It is said that when he reached the banks of river Chenab at Bhandarkot along with his disciples, guards of Raja Jai Singh closed the bridges at Kuriya and Bhandarkot, refusing entry to them. Then Shah Sahib made him and his entourage cross the river on a sheet of cloth by means of his miraculous powers. From Delhi, he reached Kishtwar via Deeng-batal and Bhandarkot. On the way he also stayed at the home of Shah Noor Ali, the lambardar of village Nagori of Doda town
Finally he reached Kishtwar along with his followers Dervish Muhammad, Shah Abdal, Syed Baha Uddin Sa’ani, Yar Muhammad and two sons, and introduced Sufism in the region around 1664 AD. On arriving at Kishtwar, he took up his abode along with his four companions in the house near the Lakshmi Narain temple, which is now the site of his Ziarat or tomb and a famous place of pilgrimage.

His offspring

He had three sons, Shah Asrar-ud-Din, Shah Akhyar-ud-Din and Shah Anwar-ud-Din. Syed Anwar Uddin died at an age of two and a half years; Syed Akhyar Uddin and Syed Asrar Uddin were saints bestowed with great spiritual and healing powers.
Syed Asrar Uddin, was born with saintly powers. But due to some reasons Shah Sahib did not like him. One day he gave his son Syed Asrar Uddin a bowl of water and asked him to drink which he declined. At this Shah Sahib said, “This is your father’s order.” Asrar Uddin held the cup to his lips, covered his head with a cloth and drank it. And he died there only. He was eighteen at that time.
Later he sent his other son, Akhyar- ud-Din to Gurdaspur, where he was admitted as a follower by Syed Badar-Uddin Sa’mani. After the death of Shah Sahib he went to Kashmir and stayed at the Shrine of Sultan-Ul-Arifeen Sheikh Hamza for seven years and died there.
Death
Like the birth of Shah Sahib there are various assumptions for the year of his death. More probably he left this mortal world around 1690 A.D. in Kishtwar. His tomb stands in the centre of Kishtwar town, along with his infant son Syed Anwar Uddin, buried by his side. Syed Asrar Uddin’s tomb is on the other side of the town facing Chowgan.
His Urs (death anniversary) is celebrated annually by local people between 19 and 20 June. On that day the shrine management of the Sufi Saint displays the personal belongings of Shah Farid-Ud- Din Bagdadi including the sword, clothes and stick used by Shah Sahib during his life.

Historical importance

In the year 1664 AD, at the age of seventy five, Farid Uddin with his followers reached Kishtwar. In the year 1674 Raja Jai Singh ascended the throne of Kishtwar. Shah Sahib offered Islam to Raja Jai Singh but failed to impress him, and then he built a monastery and devoted his time in the service of people and propagation of the Faith. Raja Jai Singh is said to have embraced Islam after seeing miracles performed by the saint and received the name Bakitiyar Khan. He also established liberal policies towards the Muslims in Kishtwar.
After the death of Raja Jai Singh his son, Kirat Singh, succeeded to the throne of Kishtwar. It is believed that he too was highly impressed with the character and pious life of Farid Uddin and embraced Islam and assumed the name of ‘Sa’adat-yar Khan. After that a large number of his subjects followed their King and turned to Islam. He had a house built for him near his palace. His famous poetry is inscribed in the shrine.
It is said that Hazrat Farid Uddin exhibited numerous miracles. Once it is said that the Raja approached him with the request to stop the earthquake. He prayed and the earthquake subsided. Once a blind man came and prayed for eyesight. He said, “It is nice to pray both for eye-sight and subjugation,” and touched his face with his hand. The man not only received the eyesight but the insight also. His son, Hazrat Shah Asrar-ud-Din Baghdadi, too had divine powers, who is said to have miraculously revived the life of his Hindu friend who was declared dead.

Legends of Ramban

While talking to a scholar Sh. Ali Hassan Sahab in Ramban we came to know about the visit of the famous Fareed-ud-Din in Ramban district. In 1664 he reached Kishtwar and from there on the request of one of his followers he came to Ramban once. He has one murid (follower) named Jalaludin. He originally belonged to Kashmir- Watilingund Qazigund. In winters he used to come to Ramban with his family and livestock. He had a son called Mohamed Shafi. Once Jalaludin had a dispute with the locals and when he was away with his cattle some miscreants beheaded his wife and son and threw him in Chenab. Jalaludin anyhow recovered the head of his son and tied it along his neck and walked for seven days towards Kishtwar. Then he pleaded to Hazrat Farid Uddin to come to his place. On his request he came to Ramban with him and did chilla here (a Sufi practice of penance and solitude that involves sitting in a circle for 40 days and nights without food, mostly in Indian and Persian traditions). The head of the son of Jalaludin is said to be buried in the grave in the ziyarat.
It is said that here lived a lamberdar. His name was Ram. He used to provide shelter and pasture land for the cattle of Jallaudin in winters. When Shah Sahib reached Ramban he ordered Jalaluddin “jao Ram ko ban kay lao” (go and get Ram tied up in a rope). It is also one of the assumptions behind the history of the emergence of the name “Ramban”. When Ram was presented in front Shah Sahib, he repented for the inauspicious incident and promised that now onwards both Hindu and Muslim community will live peacefully in the region.

Conclusion

Sufism has deeply impacted the formation of the present day state of Ramban. People here respect the beliefs of all the communities and live cordially in all spheres of social life. As Ramban is prone to natural disasters like landslides, sinking of land and frequent accidents on NH44, people of all communities join hands together to overcome all the challenging situations. And the exemplary life of Legends like Hazrat Farid Uddin had set a model to achieve social harmony in all the sectors of society. Jai Ramban!

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