Hazrat 'Owais was hidden friend of God.

Shaykh Fariduddin 'Attar tells this about this aspect: "In a rarely attested tradition, it is related that on the morrow in paradise, the Master of the Prophets (s.a.w.) will come out from his palace as though he is looking for someone. A voice will ask: "For whom are you looking?" Muhammad (s.a.w.) will answer: "Owais." The voice will call out: "Don't bother. Just as you did not see him in the world below, so you will not see him here." "My God, where is he?' "in an assembly of truth". "Does he see me?" The edict will come down: "Why should anyone who sees Us, see you?" According to shaykh Fariduddin 'Attar the Prophet also said: "The most loving of God's friends are those who are pious in secret." Hazrat 'Owais lived in Yemen. The local people considered him an insignificant man or even a foolish madman, a wild creature. The Prophet knew his true metal however and made this statement about him: "I find the breath of the All-Merciful coming to me from the direction of Yemen". In case you wish to know what this high praise means, read the interpretation of this hadith given by the Sufis. Hazrat 'Owais was a contemporary of the Prophet. He really longed to meet him, but because reasons given below he was unable to travel to the Prophet. The two of them experienced a spiritual contact and the Prophet was able to teach Hazrat 'Owais although many miles of distance separated these two. The Prophet made it clear according to shaykh Fariduddin 'Attar that because of two reasons 'Owais had not hastened to come to him: "First, overwhelming rapture. Second, reverence for my law he has a blind and devout mother whose hands and feet have grown weak. By day, 'Owais works tending camels and spends his

wages to support his mother and himself." He was asked: "Will we see him?" To Abu Bakr, Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: "You will not see him, but 'omar and 'Ali will. He is a hairy man, and there are white marks the size of a dirham on his left side and on the palms of his hands. But he is not leprous. When you find him, give him my regards and tell him to pray for my people". Shaykh Fariduddin 'Attar tells in detail, page after page, how Hazrat 'Omar and Hazrat 'Ali were able to locate Hazrat 'Owais after the death of the Prophet. The Prophet had asked that his mantle should be given to 'Owais of Qaran and this these two companions of the Prophet were able to do. As you may know you can become the disciple of a Sufi pir by means of meeting him and being initiated by him. The second model of initiation is the 'Owaisi initiation. You are given a spiritual relationship with a spiritual guide and teacher who may live in quite another place of the globe or who may live in a different time than your time. You may also have heard of the 'Owaisi tariqa. The people in this tariqa say that the mantle of the Prophet has been passed on from one master to the next one and this for about 14 centuries. The initiation in their tariqa is similar to the first mentioned type of initiation. The founder of our tariqa has an 'Uwaysi relationship with Khwaja Mo'inuddin Chishti although very many centuries separated them. I've visited Nishapur where shaykh Fariduddin 'Attar had a similar relationship with shaykh al-Hallaj. A very famous Sufi whose village Kharaqan I've been so fortunate to visit, is the Iranian Sufi Abu'l Hasan, who was connected by an 'Uwaysi innitiation with Hazrat Bayazid, whose village Bastam is at a close distance, but who died two centuries before the shaykh of Kharaqan. The Chishti pir whom we've met in Ajmer has great love and intimate knowledge of the aforesaid friends of God. He asked me to put the perfume he had presented to me on the graves of these

awliya. Let's continue with Hazrat 'Uways Qarani, the legendary friend of God, so very fit to present a legendary picture of him: Hazrat' Uways Qarani, who was instructed by the Prophet himself, although the two never met physically, was born on Monday 27 Rajab. Some say he was born 5 years later than the Prophet. As soon as he was born he said: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God". This he said, although the mission of Muhammad (s.a.w.) had not yet begun. He later on explained that 600 years before, in the 'alam-e-arwah (world of spirituality) he had heard angels say this. I'l not go into details but because of some reasons Suhayl, the father of 'Uways, was very upset with his son and told his wife, called Na'ima, that the boy should be killed. Na'ima persuaded her husband to desist and after this he died. Na'ima was extremely beautiful and now had lots of suitors, but refused to remarry, and accepted Islam even before the Prophet's mission became public. Thus 'Uways could not leave her, even to go and see Muhammad, and turned to camel-herding in order to support her and avoid people. Fifty years passed, during which 'Uways worked and engaged in devotion. Some have said that 'Uways did not see Muhammad (s.a.w.) for the reason just mentioned, but there were other, more apparent reasons. 'Uways was satisfied with the real familiarity of their spirits in the world of spirituality. Moreover, he considered himself too unworthy to visit the Prophet in person. In his own soiritual progress he could rely upon the power of Muhammad's prophethood, in such a way that distance meant nothing. Thus Muhammad (s.a.w.) would say: "I find the breath of the All-Merciful coming to me from the direction of Yemen". Also, God had hidden 'Uways from the people, so that he was not even seen by his own instructor in this world. It is said that at the Resurrection God will hide 'Uways among 70,000 angels, all of whom will resemble him. I've used an English translation of the "Tazkira-yi-'Uwaysiyya" (Memorial of the 'Uwaysi Sufis) - a legendary East Turkistani account - to present to you the description of the life of Hazrat 'Uways Qarani. It is a very charming description, but it presents in several ways not what took place in the everyday world as we

normally experience it. The real activities of these 'Uwaysis are of course not to be perceived by our external senses. These 'Uwaysis do not need a pir, because they acquire their instructions from the Prophet directly. When you'd experience a ruhani nisbat, a spiritual connection with a Sufi pir you have not met physically, then this is another kind of 'Uwaysi initiation. I've already given the example of the 20th century Sufi Hazrat Sa'inji Gudri Shah Baba who was blessed with a ruhani nisbat with Khwaja Mo'inuddin Chishti. Next to e.g. the Nizami and Sabiri branches of the Chishti tariqa, the Mo'ini Gudri Shahi tariqa thus came into being. Apart from dreams of the Prophet, it is also common to find guidance from him in a waking state. To go to a Sufi dargah of a murshid whom you have not met when alive and try to make yourself his murid by performing yourself several acts belonging to an initiation, is not considered to be proper. Let's return to Hazrat 'Uways Qarani: After 52 years, during which Hazrat 'Uways was absorbed in the contemplation of God's beauty, the Prophet died. According to most of the 'Uwaysis in the abovementioned legendary account, Hazrat 'Uways' mother died on the same day. Hazrat 'Uways learnt of the death of the Prophet from the world of the unseen, and left his camels since his mother also died. He now spent 30 years in devotion on a hill which has a remarkable name, i.e. the "Hill of the Spiritual Poles (Till-iQutbiyya). Every Uwaysi is instructed by the spirit (ruh) or interior (batin) of a prophet or by the spirit or interior of a friend of God (Wali). The 4 letters of the name Uways are A-W-Y-S in the Arab script and they have a deeper significance for every Uwaysi. A: It stands for the name of God's essence, i.e. Allah. An Uwaysi does not neglect God for a single moment and is thus quick to reach his goal. W: It stands for walayat or friendship with God, Who has said according to the "Kashf al-Mahjub: "My friends are under my domes; no one knows them but Me." One of the awliya

explained these divine domes to mean the veils of normalcy by which God hides His friends from His creation, so that if you were to see them you would not recognize them. Y: It stands for yagana (unique). An Uwaysi searches for such a kind of experience wherein duality cannot enter. S: It stands for siyasa or discipline. An Uwaysi is well-disciplined. You may remember being told that Hazrat Uways spent thirty years in devotion on the Hill of the Poles (Till-i-Qutbiyya). Then he spent five years in an area, which now would be near to the city of Baghdad, but which did not exist in his days. Sometimes he would show himself to a few fortunate people there. One day he went to the bank of the Euphrates with another dervish, bathed, worshipped and disappeared for good. After that nobody knew where he was and for this reason people built tombs for him in various places, believing he was buried there. The Uwaysiyya, however, maintain that when he disappeared, he went to Mount Lebanon, where the Poles are buried. A traveller, Ali Harawi, notes tombs of Uways at Damascus, Raqqa (also in Syria), at Alexandria (Egypt) and in Diyarbakr (Turkey). He says that the most reliable account is that Uways is buried at Raqqa. It is said that people still visit this grave today. It is marked by a small mausoleum. Let us continue with the life of Hazrat Uways. Another person now enters this tale, i.e. Abdallah Yamani. The description of his life can be given in a number of pages. A voice tells Abdallah to join Uways, who was soon to die on Mount Lebanon. As you can notice the legendary tale of Hazrat Uways continues in a mix of fact and fiction. Abdallah duly found Hazrat Uways and said that he wanted to be his disciple. Hazrat Uways replied that there was no discipleship in the Uwasi brotherhood, but they could have companionship (musahabat), which was the same thing. So Abdallah was instructed by Hazrat Uways and reached the goal. He spent 25 years in attendance upon Uways.

The information about the Uwaysi brotherhood is given in the Memorial of the Uwaysi Sufis. The author claims that the spirits of the previous leaders of the Uwaisiyya had told their life stories to him. The Uwaysiyya is also a sisterhood because 13 women are also mentioned in this set of legendary accounts. The first woman is called Khadima (Servant). In Central Asia this was believed to be the meaning of the name Mary. She has met Khidr and Abdallah Yamani, the companion of Hazrat Uways. The second woman is called Saliha (Pious) of Baghdad. Her father forced her to marry, but she prayed for deliverance and her husband died. She made a withered tree bear fruit, which is similar to Mary, the mother of Jesus. A third woman is called Funduqa (Hazel-nut) of Baghdad. She was a fine singer. Her father was a rogue with the outlook of a dervish, who forced her to become a prostitute. While Saliha turned a withered tree green and in springtime was seen beneath a willow, Fundaqa died beneath a withered tree. A fourth woman is called Alima (Knowing). She was a singer and was given to a tyranical king. She prayed for deliverance. She grew a miraculous plant which became green evey spring and withered when she died. Let us return however to Hazrat Uways himself and his companion Abdallah. One day Hazrat Uways took him to the Hill of Poles and worshipped on its summit. Then he came down and both of them circled the hill seven times. After this Hazrat Uways took him to the hill called Maskan. Hazrat Uways explained that many prophets had engaged in devotion there, and that now Khidr did so. Hazrat Uways had been assigned to this spot. The various tombs built for him were built in error, but not without reason, since God had created him

in such a way that he would not have one specific identity, and his tomb should be likewise. Now they were to build his real tomb. They had no tools, but a stag came and dropped its antlers in front of them. After Hazrat Uways and Abdallah had used these to build the tomb, Uways put them back on the stags head and it went away. Hazrat Uways told his companion that when he wanted to start bathing his body he should take Uways staff in his hands and say: By the interior of Uways Qarani and at the command of Abdullah Yamani, strike the ground. Then he commanded his soul to God and died. Abdallah followed his instructions and a spring gushed forth. Two angels wrapped Hazrat Uways in a heavenly raiment and 70,000 more came for the funeral service, which was led by Abdallah. Then they buried him. This was 60 years after the death of the Prophet. Abdallah stayed by the grave for three days and then Hazrat Uways told him to go home, which he did. Thus ends the legendary account of Hazrat Uways. His body is dead, but his spirit lives on. There is more...