QUESTION OF SUCCESSOR TO THE WARISI SILSILA

QUESTION OF SUCCESSOR TO THEWARISI SILSILA

Unlike other sects, in the Warisi Astana founded by Our Saint has no inherited successors or “sajjada-nashin.” In fact there is no question of inherited successor. Our Saint repeatedly said that there is no necessity to nominate a successor for the demised Saint. Yet attempts were made by certain devotees even before Sarkar Waris’ demise to secure the possession of the Asthane-Sheriff as evidenced by the unique case of Mustaqeem Sahiba. She was a resident of Fatehpur and a respectable devotee of Dev Sheriff Shrine. She ied in De Sheriff but was buried in her ancestral home in Fatepur.

Her relatives residing at Dewa Sheriff where held in high estimation among the Warisi devotees and were casting their eyes to secure the eminent office of caliph but other devotees who were in no way inferior sided the claim of Our Saint as the genuine successor to that dignified office of highest spiritual eminence.

This was brought to the notice of Our Saint and to avoid further split among the devotees and unnecessary bickering ordered Qazi Bakhsh Ali Saheb to write his declaration, “Our stage of journey is love, whoever asserts the claim to succession, it is spurious and false. Amongst us, whoever he may be, whether he may be a cobbler, scavenger, who love us he is our man”. Later after twenty seven years the association of Dargah Sheriff got it registered as public wake.

Thus the Shajra (geneological tables) closes on Sarkar Warisi. He was the last heir to the venerable family of Syeds as after him the Dastar-Bandhi ceremony came to an end. This issue of Shajra of genecology which Sarkar Waris, in a written declaration had dosed was mistaken with the Shajra of khilafat which can never be closed for it if only through the Warsi Pirs that the Warisi cult can be perpetuated and spread. In fact Sarkar Waris himself declared, “One who recognises my Pir, has recognized me.”

Among all tahband mendicants Baba Rahim Shah, an eternal bachelor mendicant was regarded with great respect and honour and everyone was aware of his exalted position. Sarkar Waris empowered Rahim Shah Baba to make disciples’ but he flatly refused saying, “Can a son, in the Hayat-e-Waris

presence of his father usurp his authority? But Sarkar Waris consoled saying, “Make them disciples; your disciples are my disciples.”

The disciples of Sarkar Waris were many but the tahband mendicants were comparatively few and each mendicant of Sarkar Waris was empowered to spread the message of Sarkar Waris and include disciples in the name of Sarkar Waris. But there is no doubt that among all mendicants Baba Rahim Shah Saheb was a highly venerated and a distinguished mendicant.

Hence Our Saint often repeated that the ultimate object of his ways of life was love and who loves him be he a person of the lowest rung, he is to be befriended. Therefore love is sublime. In the terms of mystics it is the highest exaltation of those having an intimate knowledge of God and trusted persons especially those truly popular are of delegatedly Divine Favour. Our Saint has expressed this in other words “Lovers are less and our saintly guides are many”.

Further attainment of love does not depend on instructions and lectures but the latent condition and heart’s occurrences are Divine gifts as Our Saint often said, “Love is not acquired by profession’ and this issue is acknowledge by the mystics as unalloyed munificence.