Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind

Usman Serajuddin
Usman Serajuddin;
Born	c. 1258
Died	c. 1357; Malda, West Bengal
Major shrine	Pirana Pir Dargah, Malda, West Bengal
Patronage	West Bengal, India
Tradition or genre	Sunni Islam

Usman Serajuddin, known affectionately by followers as Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind , was a 14th-century Bengali Sufi saint of the Chishti mystic tradition, disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.[1] His shrine in Pirana Pir Dargah, English Bazar (Gaur), Malda, West Bengal, India, attracts hundreds of thousands of devotees every year.[2]

Akhi Siraj’s followers and admirers called him Āainae-Hind, translating to "Mirror of India", from Nizāmuddīn Auliyā(1238 – 3 April 1325), a legendary Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in the Indian Subcontinent. As one of the first disciples of Nizāmuddīn Auliyā, he spent long years with him.

His successor Alaul Haq Pandavi is credited with the rise to prominence of the Chishti order in Bengal.

Education

As a young man, Siraj travelled to Delhi and studied under prominent Sufi personalities. He was educated in the Islamic sciences by Sheikh Fakhruddin Zarradi, a great scholar and senior khalifa of Nizamuddin Auliya. He sought the permission of Nizamuddin to educate him and promised to make him an Alim (scholar) within a mere six months.

Akhi Siraj later took lessons from Maulana Ruknuddin, studying Kafiah, Mufassal, Quduri and Majma'a-ul Bahrain. Amir Khurd, a disciple and biographer of Nizamuddin Auliya as well as the author of Siyar-ul-Auliya, also participated in these lessons. He completed his studies in a short period of time and became an accomplished scholar, such was his zeal for learning.

Khilafat

Having finished his course, he was led into the presence of Nizamuddin Auliya who tested his knowledge. Delighted with him, Nizamuddin conferred his khirqa (initiatory cloak) and khilafat (successorship) upon him and gave him the name Aina-i-Hindustan (mirror of India).

Later life

After his khilafat, he remained in Delhi in the company of his spiritual mentor. He would also return to his native Lakhnauti once a year to see his mother. He remained in the company of his teacher for four years and during this period he devoted his time to further study until the demise of Nizamuddin, who ordered him to return to Bengal to preach prior to his death. He was at the bedside of his master when he died in 1325 AD. He stayed in Delhi until 1328–1329 at which point he departed for Lakhnauti after the sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351), ordered the forced migration of residents from Delhi to Daulatabad.

After settling down in Lakhnauti, he established a huge langar (kitchen) where free food was distributed to the poor and destitute. He also brought some valuable books along with him from the library of Nizamuddin and these books formed the nucleus of the first Chishti khanqah in Bengal.

Soon after Akhi Siraj's arrival in Pandua, Alaul Haq Pandavi became his disciple. Various relations of Ala ul-Haq were prominent in the government of sultan Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and prior to living the modest life of a Sufi, he had also been part of the elite. Such was his love and devotion to Akhi Siraj that when they travelled, like Jalaluddin Tabrizi before him, he would carry a cauldron of hot food on his head even though it would burn his hair, so that he could provide his master with warm food on demand.

He lived and worked in Bengal for the rest of his life and he also married. One of his daughters later married his disciple, Ala ul-Haq. Amir Khurd, his fellow student, said that he won great esteem from the people of Bengal and "illumined the whole region with his spiritual radiance."

Demise & Burial Place

In 1357, Akhi Siraj passed away and was buried in a suburb of Lakhnauti called Sadullahpur. It is said that he buried the khirqa (robes) that he had received from Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya in the north-western corner of the Sagar Dighi (reservoir) at Lakhnauti. He was interred near his buried robes according to his wishes, and a mausoleum was erected over his grave. The date of construction of the mausoleum is not known, but two inscriptions attached to its gateways show that they were erected in the 16th century by Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah and Sultan Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah. He was succeeded by his khalifa, Alaul Haq Pandavi.

His Urs is commemorated annually on Eid ul-Fitr (1st and 2nd Shawwaal). His tomb is still visited by many today.

Sources

Siyar-ul-Auliya p. 368-452
Akhbar-ul-Akhyar p. 162-3
Mir'at-ul-Israr p.888-91

References

"Biography of Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind Sufi from Gour Lakhnauti". www.akhisirajuddin.simplesite.com. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
"Gaur". bharatonline.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.