Hazrat Syed Qadir Wali Shah Nagori (R.A)
Hazrat Syed Shahul Hameed Qadiri (R.A) was a Sufi Saint born on an early morning on a blessed Friday, the 10th of Jamadi-ul-Akhir (1522) (Hijri 910) in Manikpur, in the Northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh.
He was the 23rd lineal Descendant of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Sayyedina Shah Ahmed Muhammad Mustafa (S.A.W) and the 13th generation of the renowned Sufi saint, Hazrat Muhiyudin Abdal-Qadir al-Jalani (R.A).
Description
LINEAGE
Hazrat Syed Shahul Hameed Qadiri (R.A) was a Sufi Saint born on an early morning on a blessed Friday, the 10th of Jamadi-ul-Akhir (1522) (Hijri 910) in Manikpur, in the Northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. He was the 23rd lineal Descendant of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Sayyedina Shah Ahmed Muhammad Mustafa (S.A.W) and the 13th generation of the renowned Sufi saint, Hazrat Muhiyudin Abdal-Qadir al-Jalani (R.A). He was the second son of Hazrat Syed Hassan Kuthos Baba Kaadiri (R.A) and Bibi Fathima. Prior to his birth, a messenger of God appeared in his mother’s dream and who predicted that she would be blessed with a son who would be the Savior of people and would devote his life to propagate Islam.
LIFE
As a child, he showed signs of great wisdom, intense piety, and divine communication. By the time he reached eight years old, he learned the Arabic language, its grammar and had already memorized the Holy Quran. After having stayed with his parents for eighteen years, he sought their consent and moved to Gwalior for his Islamic Education. He also searched for a spiritual Master who could educate him in solving the riddle and the secrecy of the world and who could teach him more about the Almighty. There, he met his Pir-o-Murshid, Mohammad Ghaus (R.A) who was also known as Shah-ul-Hameed (R.A). He stayed with his spiritual Master who initiated and inculcated him with Divine knowledge for 10 years. During that period, Qadir Wali (R.A) led a simple and pious life, performing a lot of miracles across various places and countries. He inherited the name of his spiritual master and was subsequently known as Syed Shahul Hameed (R.A). He is commonly known as Qadir Wali (R.A).
Qadir Wali (R.A) was given the name of Nagore Andavar (meaning ‘Lord of Nagore’). He stayed at Nagore for twenty-eight years and his popularity, as a Sufi Saint, grew outside the region of Tanjore, in Tamil Nadu. Qadir Wali (R.A) had numerous followers and with his disciples moved to Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Tamil Nadu. He extensively toured Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and other places of the world performing innumerable miracles. On his way to Makkah (Saudi Arabia), he stayed in a Mosque at Nagore, a town in the State of Tamil Nadu, India. Then he moved to Thanjavur, where the Nayak dynasty was ruling. He was requested by the Minister to cure the king who was suffering from a prolonged illness. The Saint miraculously cured the king and the latter offered him 200 acres of land near the sea by way of contentment.
Qadir Wali (R.A) remained a bachelor throughout his life as he believed that he could not entertain any woman’s love in his heart when it was already full of Divine Love.
TEACHING
Hazrat Syed Shahul Hameed Qadiri said, “No matter to what extent one has mastered Theology and Religion, one still needs a Spiritual Guide (Pir-o-Murshid) in order to achieve Divine Wisdom and Spirituality.”
MIRACLES
Joy Of Parenthood – Qadir Wali (R.A), on his way to Mecca (Saudi Arabia), halted in a Mosque at Nagore, where a rich and respectable man, named Noordin Sahid, approached him for the blessing of a child. On listening to his plight, Qadir Wali (R.A) chewed a few ‘betel’ leaves which he gave to Noordin and directed him to hand them over to his wife, Bibi Zohara, and to instruct her to swallow them. Moreover, he told Noordin not to share their marital bed for a period of forty days. However, he requested Noordin to give him the first-born child, as a gift and Noordin accepted. Nine months later, Zohara gave birth to a son and as promised, Noordin handed the child to Qadir Wali (R.A). The son was named Yusuf. After the birth of Yusuf, Bibi Zohara gave birth to several other children. Yusuf was brought up by Qadir Wali (R.A) as his own child.
Pratap Singh, the Hindu Maratha ruler of Thanjavur, longed for a son and he sought the blessings of Qadir Wali (R.A). Consequently, he was blessed with a son.
Ship Rescue – Once, while Qadir Wali (R.A) was sitting on the shore of Nagore, he envisioned a Portuguese ship in distress. In fact, the ship was gradually sinking due to a hole in the hull of the ship. He threw a mirror, also called a “Mubarak Mirror”, into the sea which eventually blocked the hole of the ship. Thus, the ship and its crew were rescued. The crew, in the guise of gratitude, built a “Chiari” on the shore of Nagore, in order to commemorate this event.
Uncovering Of Black Magic – When Qadir Wali (R.A) visited Thanjavur, the King Achuthuppa Nayak was suffering from a severe and prolonged illness. The minister of the King begged the Saint to visit the palace to cure the King. The Saint was very much moved by the invitation and went to the palace. He remarked that the cause of the King’s suffering was due to black magic. He also found a dove whose body was pricked with needles and was in a very critical condition, thereby causing the king to suffer. He asked his son to bring the dove and once he started removing the pins one-by-one from the body of the dove, the king gradually recovered. The queen, impressed by the miraculous cure of her husband, implored the Saint to bless them with children. The Saint accordingly blessed them with a fruitful progeny.
LEGACY
Qadir Wali (R.A) veiled himself from this material world at the age of 68 on Friday the 10th of November 1590 (Hijri 978). His Dargah was built on part of the land donated by King Nayak and is known as ‘Nagore Dargah’. It is believed that Qadir Wali (R.A) predicted that location before his death.
His Miracles continued even after his wafaat. He came to Nagore on a Thursday. As such, every Thursday thousands of people attend the worship at the Dargah and make their offerings.
Following the miraculous cure of King Nayak from the spell of black magic, the practice of setting pigeons free in the premises of the Dargah is still continued by worshippers in the Dargah.
As per tradition, many childless couples worship the Nagore Dargah of Qadir Wali (R.A) with the hope of becoming parents.
The Dargah in Singapore and the Dargah in Penang, Malaysia were built in honor of Qadir Wali (R.A) and have been declared a National Monument. These two Dargahs along with the Masjid Jamae-e-Chulia in Singapore (1827) and the Keramat Data Koya in Penang are inspired by the architectural style of the Nagore Dargah.
In Mauritius, the Mosque of St-Georges Street, Port-Louis has been named ‘Qadir Wali Mosque’ in homage to the Sufi Saint.
Pratap Singh, the ruler of Thanjavur, built the tallest of the five minarets of Nagore Dargah as a sign of recognition and honor. The height of the minaret is 131 ft. Tulsi Maharaj, the son of Pratap Singh, donated 4,000 acres of agricultural land to 115 villages for the maintenance of the Nagore Dargah. In Nagore, the Urs is celebrated in commemoration of the “wafaat” of Qadir Wali (R.A). It is a fourteen-day annual event known as ‘Kanduri festival’. The sandal paste is carried on a chariot pulled across the streets of Nagore by pilgrims and devotees and is received by the Saint’s descendants on the 9th day of Jamadi-ul-Akhir.
The Dargah was built on a part of the land donated by King Nayak. There are five minarets with different heights, erected during the 195th day of Qadir Wali’s (R.A) “wafaat”. The Dargah has a gold-plated dome located on the West face outside the main entrance over the tomb of Qadir Wali (R.A). The central part of the Dargah is the tomb of Qadir Wali (R.A) which is approached through seven thresholds. Four of those doorways were made of silver and the remaining three were made of gold. The shrine is more than 500 years old. His urs is held on the 13th of the Jumada Al-Tsani.
