Hadhrat Syed Ali bin Uthman al-Hujweri, popularly known as Data
Ganj Bakhsh (Bestower of Spiritual Treasures) belonged to a place called
Hujwer in the town of Ghazna, Afghanistan. He lived during the 5th century
A.H. (11th century A.D.) and was well versed in all the Islamic sciences
such as Tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur'an, Hadith (Traditions of the Prophet),
Fiqh (Muslim Law) and dogmatic theology (Ilmu Kalam). Al-Hujweri's spiritual
lineage traces back to Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi through the three intermediaries
al-Husri, an-Nasrabi, and Shibli.
In the course of his spiritual journey to God, he journeyed physically
to many countries, often alone and with hardship. These places included
Turkestan, Transoxania, Iran, Iraq, and Syria where he met innumerable
Sufi shaikhs, many of whom he has mentioned in this book. He went to Lahore
in the later part of this life to spread Islam, converting large numbers
of Hindus into Muslims. He passed away in Lahore in 469 A.H. (1077 A.D.)
where his maqam currently stands, visited by people of all walks of life,
from near and far.
Kashful Mahjub, originally in Persian, was written at the request
of a student of Sufism at that time. He had asked the shaikh to compile
a comprehensive study on tasawwuf (Sufism) as a guide for spiritual aspirants.
Although al-Hujweri was a master in the science of Islamic scholasticism
and his judgements based on logic, the conclusions he arrived at were the
result of his deep spiritual experience, where he has shown the absence
of any conflict between true Sufism and Islamic Shariah.
Starting from the life of the Prophet's brimful experience of Divine
nearness, Presence, Union and Communion, this book describes the spiritual
experiences of the Companions of the Prophet, Companions of the Companions
(tabi'in), their Companions (taba-tabi'in), and the Imams (heads) of the
four schools of Islamic law (Ahli Sunnah wal Jama'ah ), showing in truth,
"when Sufism was made to leave Islam," and that it is not the
so called question of "when Sufism 'entered' Islam." This book
also explains the various aspects of Sufism in a thorough yet simple manner.
This Edition of Kashful Mahjub, contains for the first time ever,
an invaluable comprehensive English Commentary by a practising Sufi Shaikh,
further clarifying in today's language and context, the various subtleties
of Sufism in an understandable form rarely found elswhere.
This is a book that must be read not only by those interested in Sufism,
but by all who yearn for tranquility and inner-peace in this present day
of lop-sided, imbalanced and over-materialistic tendencies, where man has
deplorably failed to strike a balance between his physical and spiritual
life. This imbalance is now resulting in untold misery, restlessness, frustration,
worries, woes, conflicts and confrontations which have virtually torn this
world asunder.
The Translator and Commentator of this book, was Hadhrat Maulana
Wahid Bakhsh Rabbani (r.a.), one of the eminent Sufi Saints of this century.
He spent 12 years in the company of his shaikh Hadhrat Maulana Syed Mohammed
Zauqi Shah (r.a.), and was a practising Sufi for over 55 years until his
passing away on the 21st of Zulkaedah 1415 (April 1995). Like his shaikh,
he had written numerous books on Sufism of which "Islamic Sufism",
a comprehensive manual on Sufism in English, was one of his masterpieces.
He also translated many valuable Sufi works from Persian to Urdu including
"Mirratul Asrar", "Maqabis-ul-Majalis", and "Talqin-i-Laduni",
and was a recognised Master of Sufism of his time.
