Baba Fakruddin

{{Short description|Indian sufi saint}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox religious biography | name = Hazrat Khwaja Syed Shah Baba Fakhruddin al-Hasani al-Hussaini Suhrawardi | native_name = {{lang|ur|{{nq| سید شاه بابا فخرالدین حسنی الحسینی}}}} | image = Mazar_Baba_Fakhruddin_in_Penukonda_Anantapur.jpg | alt = Khwaja Syed Shah Baba Fakhruddin Hassani ul Hussaini, Qalandar Bar haq, | caption = Tomb of Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin | religion = [[Islam]] | denomination = | jurisprudence = | creed = [[Sufi]] | Sufi_order = [[Qalandariyya]] [[Suhrawardiyya]] | flourished = [[Islamic golden age]] | birth_name = Syed Fakhr al-Din | birth_date = 26 June 1169 CE | birth_place = Shahpur, [[Sistan]] | death_date = 5 May 1295 CE (aged {{age|1169|1295}}) <ref name = "Qal">Shahgada Qalandar by Hazrat Baba Yusuf Qattal Hussaini</ref> | death_place = [[Penukonda]], India | resting_place = Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh, India | resting_place_coordinates =  | spouse = | children = | parents = Sultan Syed Hussain, Syeda Bibi Fatima Sagir <ref name="Qal" /> | influences = [[Jamal al-Din Saoji]] | influenced = | initiated = [[Syed Yusuf Qattal Hussaini Suhrawardi]]<ref name="Qal" /> | works =  | profession = }} {{Sufism}}

'''Syed Baba Fakhr al-Din al-Hasani al-Hussaini''' (d. 1295 CE/ 694 AH) <ref name="Qal" /> commonly known as '''Baba Fakhruddin''' was a [[Persians|Persian]] [[Sufi]] of [[Suhrawardiyya]] order from present-day Eastern [[Iran]].

Baba Fakhruddin was a disciple and successor of Pir Nathar Tabl e Aalam Badshah Natahar Vali of [[Tiruchirappalli]]. He was ''Shahanshaah'' (King of Kings) of Sistan and Shahpur of present-day Eastern [[Iran]]<ref name="Qal" /> later abdicated the throne to take the path of Sufism. He was a direct descendant of [[Mohammed]] through Imam Hassan paternally and Imam Hussain maternally.<ref name="Qal" />

He traveled on foot from Sistan to [[Tiruchirappalli]] via Makkah, Madina, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Gujrat states of India where he was initiated into the Qalandariyya Suhrawardiyya order by his [[Murshid]] Tabl e Aalam Nathar Vali at [[Tiruchirappalli]]. He was later accorded spiritual succession by his murshid and was set to find his abode where the ''[[Miswak]]'' spurt leaves. Baba Fakhruddin made Penukonda his home and final resting place.<ref name="Qal" />

== Parentage and ancesotors ==

According to ''Shahgada Qalandar'', a biographical account of the life of Baba Fakhruddin by his nephew and successor Syed Yusuf Qattal Hussaini, Baba Fakhruddin was born in 564 AH to Sultan Syed Hussain, Syeda Bibi Fatima Sagir.<ref name="Qal" /> His ancestors were descendants of Muhammad and were from Makkah and his grand uncle, Sultan Mohammed Hussain, was the Sharief of Makkah. Sultan Abul Khasim, the grandfather of Baba Fakhruddin invaded and conquered Sistan from Akhahir <ref name="Qal" /> on the orders of elder brother Sultan Mohammed Hussain, the Sharief of Makkah. After the conquest and Syed Hussain became the Sultan of Sistan and Shahpur.

Baba Fakhruddin was an expert in Quranic studies and an Islamic jurist, he also was adept in battle skills. He ascended to the throne of Sistan and Shahpur and became ''Shahanshaah'' (King of Kings) of Sistan and Shahpur after his father. He was a great king loved by his subjects until he decided to abdicate the throne and renounced worldly pleasures to seek the path of Sufism.<ref name="Qal" />

== Life as a Qalandar==

Baba Fakhruddin abdicated the throne and became a dervish and traveled to many cities in search of a perfect master and found his guide and master Nathar Vali in [[Tiruchirappalli]]. Nathar Vali himself was a Persian King who too abdicated the throne in search of God.<ref>Saints, Goddesses and Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society, 1700–1900: 43 (Cambridge South Asian Studies, Series Number 43) by Susan Bayly</ref> Baba Fakhruddin served his master for 23 years and became a perfect master himself and was appointed [[Khalifa]] (Spiritual Successor) by his [[Murshid]]. Nathar Vali gave Baba Fakhruddin 300 qalandars from his 900 qalandars and ordered them to accompany Baba Fakhruddin and sent them towards Penukonda, his final abode.<ref name = "abdal"/>

He undertook severe penance, self-mortification practices (''mujāhadah'' ) and became engrossed in prayers for a long stretch of periods without food or water and attained higher spiritual stations, and showed several miracles during his lifetime.<ref name = "abdal">Tariq e Hazrat Syed Sultan Baba Fakhruddin by Hazrat Khwaja Syed Shah Baba Abdal Hussaini Suhrawardi</ref> He remained celibate throughout his life and devoted himself to God. His nephew Yusuf Qattal Hussaini became his [[Khalifa]] - spiritual successor and the custodianship of the shrine continued in his family to date.<ref>పెనుకొండ హజరత్ బాబా ఫక్రోద్దీన్ గారి దివ్య చరిత్ర రచయిత మహమ్మద్ షేఖ్ ఇబ్రహీం సోహ్రవర్దీ పేజీ ౧౧౦</ref>

Baba Fakhruddin lived a life of 126 years (130 Lunar years) and departed this world on Thursday 12 Jumada al-Thani 694 AH/ 5 May 1295 CE, after Zuhr prayers.<ref>పెనుకొండ హజరత్ బాబా ఫక్రోద్దీన్ గారి దివ్య చరిత్ర రచయిత మహమ్మద్ షేఖ్ ఇబ్రహీం సోహ్రవర్దీ పేజీ ౧౧౦</ref>

== Spiritual genealogy ==

Baba Fakhruddin was initiated into [[Qalandariyya]] [[Suhrawardiyya]] order of Sufism and the spiritual genealogy traces back to Imam Ali through several Imams and Qalandars namely [[Pir Nathar Tabl Alam Badshah]], [[Shaikh Ali Zuwalqi of Shewan]], [[Lal Shahbaz Qalandar]], [[Ibrahim Mujarrad Karbalai]], [[Jamal al-Din Saoji]]<ref name = "baz">Saint revered by people of all religions | https://www.dawn.com/news/1066533</ref>

The merging of [[Suhrawardiyya]] branch with [[Qalandariyya]] chain possibly can be attributed to [[Lal Shahbaz Qalandar]] however he was not a disciple of [[Bahauddin Zakariya| Bahauddin Zakariya Multani]] but a good friend, and possibly received ''ijazah''/''khilafat'', whose legendary spiritual friendship is well known in Sindh, Pakistan as Char Yaar <ref name = "baz"/> The attachment was so cordial and spiritual that their friendship became legendary and they were known as Chahar Yar (Four Friends), the other two friends were [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar|Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar]] and [[Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari|Jalaluddin "Surkh-Posh" Bukhari]]

== Urs ==

Annually his death anniversary is commemorated on 12 Jumada al-Thani of the Islamic calendar. The urs ceremonies start with the Qalandariya flag hoisting at the shrine by ''Sajjada Nashein'', the Chief Hereditary custodian of the shrine who is from the family of Baba Yusuf Qattal Hussaini, the nephew, and successor of Baba Fakhruddin, on 6th Jumada al-Thani.

Urs is observed from 6th to 14th Jumada al-Thani at his mausoleum in Penukonda. Several hundred thousand people from different countries, religions, and all walks of life gather to seek blessings.<ref>Penukonda Babayya Swami (Baba Fakruddin) Dargah Urs | Anantapuramu District Website, Govt of AP | https://ananthapuramu.ap.gov.in/festival/penukonda-babayya-swami-baba-fakruddin-dargah-urs/</ref>

== Mausoleum ==

The shrine of Baba Fakhruddin is the chief seat in [[Madras Presidency]] for faqirs. Each year on the 1st day of Jamadi-ul-Akhar, the faqirs of all orders Banava, [[Rifaʽi]], [[Madariyya]], Malang, and Shah Jalal congregate at this place and select their office bearers. The appointed faqir of Shah Banava goes on a two-year pilgrimage to the tombs of the saints in the Presidency.<ref>The Philosophy of Islam By Khaja Khan 1903</ref><ref>Studies In Tasawwuf (1923) by Khan Khan Sahib Khaja | https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.234407 |</ref>

His mausoleum is located in Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh, India, and is accessible by road, and railway the closest airport is the Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore, India

Image:Mazar_Baba_Fakhruddin_in_Penukonda_Anantapur.jpg|Mazar-e-Mubarak Baba Fakhruddin in renovated Mausoleum <ref name="babafakhruddin.com">Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin (RA) Website | http://www.babafakhruddin.com/</ref> Image:Tree Planted by Baba in Dargah Premises.jpg|Tree Planted by Baba in Dargah Premises (Around 750 Yrs old)<ref name = "abdal"/> Image:Chilla Pahad near Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh India.jpg|Chilla Pahad - Small hill where Baba Prayed for years in a cave <ref name = "abdal"/> File:Footview.jpg|Rock bearing foot impression of Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin at Chilla Pahad <ref name="babafakhruddin.com"/> </gallery>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.babafakhruddin.com/ Life Sketch of a Sufi Saint Baba Fakruddin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023222358/http://www.babafakhruddin.com/ |date=2010-10-23 }} {{South Asian Muslim Saints}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fakruddin, Baba}} [[Category:Iranian Sufis]] [[Category:Indian Sufi saints]] [[Category:1169 births]] [[Category:Year of death unknown]]