KHAWAJA MUHAMMAD HAMID Vs. MIAN MAHMUD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal raises questions as to the existence of khankah (a Mohammedan religious institution) at. Taunsa in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in the Punjab, and as to the rights of the sajjadanashin (or superior) of such an institution. The nature and origin of khankahs were described in the judgments of the High Court of Bengal in Piran V/s. Abdool Karim (1891) I.L.R 19 Cal. 203 and Mohiuddin v. Sayiduddin (1893) I.L.R. 20 Cal. 810 and in the judgment of this Board in Vidya Varuthi Thirtha V/s. Balusami Ayyar (1921) L.R. 48 I.A. 302 323 and need not be further elaborated. It is enough to say that a khankah is a monastery or religious institution where dervishes and other seekers after truth congregate for religious instruction and devotional exercises. It has generally been founded by a dervish or a sufi professing esoteric beliefs, whose teachings and personal sanctity have attracted disciples whom he initiates into his doctrines. After his death he is often revered as a saint, and his humble takia (or abode) grows into a khankah and his durgah (or tomb) into a rauzah (or shrine). The khankah is usually under the governance of a sajjadanashin (the one seated on the prayer mat) who not only acts as mutwalli (or manager) of the institution, and of the adjoining mosque, but also is the spiritual preceptor of the adherents. The founder is generally the first sajjadanashin, and after his death the spiritual line (silsiila) is extended by a succession of sajjadanashins, generally members of his family chosen by him or according to directions given by him in his lifetime, or selected by the fakirs and murids, and formally installed; and the income of the institution is usually received and expended by them

(2.) In the present case events followed closely the course above described. Khawaja Muhammad Suleman, who was a disciple of Nur Muhammad Muharvi of Mahar in the State of Bahawalpur (a member of the well-known Chishti family of sufis), came to dwell at Taunsa, a place situated in a sandy desert under the Suleman range and then uninhabited. It is recorded in a book called Manakab-ul- mahbubin (the history of the beloved of God), which was written in or about the year 1860 by one of his disciples and was referred to by both parties in the suit, that Suleman built a house and a dalan (or gallery) for his lodging, a hujra (or room) for his worship, and a dalan for the society of fakirs, and further that he erected a katcha mosque where he said prayers in congregation, and to the east of the mosque a wooden canopy shaded by reeds, under which he held court. Mention is also made of other hujras and a langar (or kitchen) for the use of his adherents, and a well; and it is said that an auditor of accounts and legal adviser and a counsellor were appointed. Suleman was much revered as a religious teacher and made many disciples, including the Nawab of Bahawalpur, who demolished the katcha mosque of earth and built a pacca mosque in its place.

(3.) Suleman died in or about the year 1819; and, his sons having predeceased him, he was succeeded by his grandson (the elder son of his elder son) Khawaja Allah Bakhsh, who on the third day after the death of Suleman was "made to sit on the musalla of Hazrat Suleman" with usual ceremonies, including the tying of the turban, and with the assistance of holy men who had come from Ajmere. Khawaja Suleman was buried in his house at Taunsa, and his tomb became a sacred place of pilgrimage, particularly on the occasion of the urs or celebrations held on the anniversary of his death; and Taunsa became known as Taunsa sharif, or holy Taunsa. In memory of Suleman, the Nawab of Bahawalpur erected a marble shrine over his place of burial and rebuilt the mosque in marble.