A brother asked me on Facebook to share this brief history of Shia sect in Kashmir. Sheikh Hamzah ibn Usman Makdoum Raina Al-Hanafi
The spread of Noorbakshi Sect by Sheikh Shams ud din Araqi alarmed the Sunnis. Sheikh Hamza ibn Usman by his influence and teachings exercised a considerable check on Noorbakshi as well as Imamiya, he was born in 900 Hijri in the Chandra Wanshi Rajpout family . He was send to the leading Kubravi Sunni Sheikh of kashmir, Baba Sheikh Ismaeil Zahid Kubravi . Later on he studied with a top Hanafi Scholar of his time Mullha Sheikh Lotfallha Kashmiri and Sheikh Fathallha ibn Ismail Kubravi.
Sheikh build many mosques in kashmir ,he built the Jamia Masjid Tujjar shrief ,renovated the mosque of Shah Hamadan in Beerwah and Zaina kadal. Sheikh Hamza was a force in the land of kashmir. Sheikh Hamza ,a strong supporter of the Sunni sect waged a incessant ideological battle against the Noorbakshia and Shia during Ghazi khan chack . His hostilities against against the Noorbakshis arose the enimity of Gazi chack . It was Sheikh Hamzas missionary zeal that he was able to convert most of the Kashmiri Nobles back to Sunni islam , Malik Iddi Raina son of Malik Musa Raina openly declared himself a Sunni similarly Shams ibn Dowlat chack and his son Zafar ibn Shamas also converted to Sunni Islam it was no other than Sheikh Hamza Makdoumi who revived the conversion of Hindus to islam . Sheikh Hamza and his associates made the teaching of Sahams ud din Araqi ineffective in Kashmir during this period the Hanafite school dominated the social spectrum of Kashmir.
All these activities arose the enmity of Gazi chack ,he wanted to put an end to the life of Sheikh Hamza but the Kashmiri Sunni nobels particularly Sayyids and Raina clan to which Sheikh Hamza belonged came into his way finally he banished the revered Sheikh Hamza Makdoumi from Srinagar to a remote Hindu village of Beeru. At Beeru Sheikh Hamza converted almost all the Non Muslims to Islam .The Sheikh preceptors like Sheikh Fatallha ibn Ismail Kubravi was also against the Noorbakshis. Later Sheikh Hamza came into contact with Sayyid Ahmad Kermani , another inveterate enemy of Noorbakshis and Shias. Sayyid Ahmad Kermani's family had left Kerman when the Safavids
had captured the then Baluch region of Kerman and general massacre of its Sunni inhabitants carried out by the Qazilbash.
Gazi khan Chack executed Two prominent Hanafi Sayyids: Sheikh Sayyid Hamidallha Hussaini. Khwaja Sayyid Hamid Allha was a political leader and one of the associates of Gazi Kahn arch rival Shams Chack , He was killed in a battle faught between Gazi and his rivals at Hanjivira. Sayyid Hamid was killed along with a large number of Sayyids from his clan by the victorious Gazhi cahak.
Another Hanafite scholar, Sayyid Kamal u din Hussaini was poisoned in Phag pargana because of this a number of Sunni Hanafite Nobels like Nusrat Chack Kupwari ,Yousuf Chack Kupwari ,Naji Mallha rebelled against him and asked the help from Mugals who dispatched Qara Bahadur .While the Shafii Sunni Nobels fearing what befall on the Shafiis during Mirza Hyders rule refused to help Mugals and professed their loyality to Gazi chack , The Rabid Bigot Noorbakshi Yakoub Shah also wanted to get rid of Sheikh Hamza but was afraid to carry out his intentions.
The students and associates of Sheikh Hamza were Qazi ul Quzzat Sheikh Dawood khakhi ,Khawaja Hassan Qari ,Sheikh Yakooub Serfi Hamadani ,Khawaja Ishaq Qari ,Mir Hyder Tulmuli,Mulla Ahmad Chagli,Maulana Ahmad Qari,Baba Hyder Reshi,Mir Sheikh Ismail Dimashqi ,Khawja Zain u din Rainawari, Baba Dawoud Reshi ,Mir Nazuk Qadiri, Haji Dawooud Balkhi and Sayyid Ahmad Kermani , Baba Ali ibn Usman Raina . They all contributed a lot in the field of Hanafi fiqa, Sheikh Hamza ,Baba Ali Raina and Sheikh Yakoub Serfi Hamadani vigorously debated with the Noorbakshi Ulama and broke their back in Public Debates .
When the news of discretion and digging up of the graves of two Holy Imams Abu Hanifa and Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Bagdad reached Sheikh Yakoub Serfii ( Sheikh of Hamadaniyya order) he went to as far as Shriaz ,Esfahan ,Kerman calling the Persian Sunnis to throw off the yoke of Safavids.Sheikh Yakoub Serfi satrted sending his students and disiples across the Khorasan to help Shaybanid Uzbeks in contaning Safavids .He send letters to the cheifs of Tribes across Khorasan to back the Shaybanid Uzbeks .When Sultan Bayazid Yildiriem died his son Sultan Salim suceded him and Ottoman Safavid war broke out .Sheikh Yakoub Serfii gaved the call of Jihad in favour of Ottomans and called the belivers to fight the Hertical Pagan Safavid Cult , with the grace of Allha the Safavids were defeated and their face was blackned in the Battle of Chaldoran at the hands of Ottoman Sultan Salim (may mercy be upon him). It was at Verinaag that Khawaja Tahir Rafiq ,Baba Ali Raina Sheikh Yakoub Serfi Farooqi ,Baba Dawood Khaki and others left for India to invite Akbar to invade Kashmir to relieve its people from the oppressive Noorabashi rule of Chacks.
Moreove, during the Chak rule a number of Imami Shia preachers came to Kashmir from the Safavids Iran, Most prominent of them were the Rizivi Sayyids of Qom. During Dowlat Chacks rule Imamiya Shia preecher Mullah Bayzad Ansari from Sebzavar arrived in Srinagar and Sheikh Hamza met him. The Imami Scholar tried all but in vein to convert him into Shia creed from then onward Sheikh Hamzah ibn Usman Raina became debating both Noorbakshis and Imamis but since Imami were not more than a hundred during that time his Prime Object was reconversion of those people who either willingly or by force had become Noorbakshi. Although the Noorbakshi became extinct from the Kashmir during Mugal rule but the Imamiyya Shia Sect still survives .
Sheikh Hamza died at the age of 84 in 984 hijri. The Sheikh was buried in Kho i Marran. Sultan Ali Shah chack participated in his funeral prayers led by Khawaja Tahir Rafiquie, Nawab Inayallha Khan subedar during Mugals build the mausoleum in 1125 Hijri On the orders of emperor Akbar. It became dilapidated and Afghan governor Atta Mohammad Khan repaired it. Sheikh Gulam Moihu din Kashmiri governor during Pagan Sikh rule rebuilt it and is himself buried in the Eastern side of the enclosure.
His short biography on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_Makhdoom
1 Replies
4003 Views
October 07, 2015, 11:45:12 PM