HYDERABAD: Sufism in India and in Hyderabad has been a single sacred thread connecting people from different castes and religions. Sufism spread in India during the medieval era, Sufi saints and their lineages continue to symbolise harmony and peace and be beacon of well-being for their followers. One such Sufi saint, the most popular in the Deccan, was Muhammad bin Yusuf Al-Hussaini. Better known as Banda Nawaz Gesu Daraz, he was a disciple of Hazrat Nasiruddin Chirag Dehlvi, who in turn was a student of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. He passed on the 15th day of Zul Qa’dah but his Urs (death anniversary) is observed for three days: 15th, 16th and 17th days of Zul-Qa`dah of the Muslim calendar.
“Khaja Bandanawaz is a direct descendant of prophet Muhammad via his great-grandson Zaid bin Imam Zainul Abidin. His parents named him Syed Muhammad Hussaini while he received various titles from other notable saints of that era such as Bandanawaz, Ishqbaz, Shahbaz, Sadaruddin, Jafar-e-suwwam and Gesudaraz. There is an interesting incident behind this last title. Khwaja sahib’s ancestors originally hailed from Khanwada-e-khurasani, an eminent family who lived in modern-day Iran. The male members of this family used to have ‘gesu’ or ‘long hair’.
His master and predecessor Khwaja Nasiruddin was tortured many times by the then Sultan, Ghayasuddin Tughlaq. Due to physical torture and old age, Khwaja Nasir used a palanquin to travel from one place to another. One day Khwaja sahib, along with other disciples, lifted the palanquin bearing Hazrat Nasiruddin. Khwaja sahib’s long hair got stuck into the foot of the palanquin (palki) and pained him severely but he did not disentangle them, out of love and respect for his master. When Hazrat Nasiruddin learned of the episode, he was overjoyed and recited the Persian couplet:‘Har ke murid Syed gesu daraaz shud Vallah khilaf-e-nest ki Uoo ishq baaz shud.’
(Syed Gesu Daraaz has pledged his obedience; there is nothing wrong in it because he has deeply fallen in love.)He thus gained the title “Gesu-Daraaz” (one with long hair). The palanquin is kept as a display in the western niche of Roza-e-Khurd, Dargah Gulbarga,” said Mubbashir Ali Khan, a descendant of the saint from the maternal side.
The saint’s dargah is visited by Hindus and Muslims alike and is the most important pilgrimage centre for Muslims of the Deccan region. “Exactly a month before the annual Urs, ‘jhela’ ceremony is observed, which marks the completion of Khwaja Bandanawaz’s tomb. A ‘jhela’ or a wreath is placed over the finial of the grand dome of the dargah. The most exclusive thing about this ceremony is that the wreath is carried by a Muslim devotee and to guide and lead the entourage while climbing the dome of dargah sharif, a Hindu devotee carries a torch or mashaal,” Mubbashir added.
“The saint came to the Deccan on the eve of Taimur’s invasion in Delhi and was responsible for spreading the Chishti Sufi message,” writes Rana Safvi in her book In Search of the Divine. “Ahmad, brother of the Bahmani Sultan Tajuddin Firoz, became his disciple and built a khanqah for him. Ahmad continued to be devoted to the saint, and after he passed away built a massive dome on his dargah. It is said to be the largest ever dome to shelter a shrine. The dargah complex itself is massive, dominated as it is by the white-domed structure, yet it is also beautiful and serene,” she adds.
Sibghat Khan from The Deccan Archive tells us another interesting thing about the saint: When Aurangzeb walked into the dargah of Banda Nawaz he cried out: “Neest Kaaba Dar Dakkhan, Juz Dargah-e-Gesu Daraz, Badshah e Deeno Duniya, Ta Abad Bandanawaz”, which means, “There’s no Kaaba in the Deccan but the dargah of Bandanawaz, The Badshah of Religion and the World till eternity is Banda Nawaz”