Muntakhab al-tawarikh 106: XXIV. Shaikh Abu Ishaq of Lahor.
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 106
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XXIV. Shaikh Abu Ishaq of Lahor.
106.1
He was one of the spiritual successors of Miyan Shaikh Da'ud, (may God sanctify his tomb!) In his activity (in traversing the path of righteousness) he surpassed all his contemporaries, and he was one of the most wonderful works of God (be He praised!) In his love for his spiritual guide he was beside himself, and attained to such an intimate relationship with his holy personality that one might say that the two persons were one clear truth expressed in two well turned phrases. Neither the dust of dependent existence nor the soil of potential existence besmirched the skirt of his robe, and at the mere sight of him thoughts of God (may He be honoured and glorified!) cast their rays on each black and thoughtless heart, and the pain of searching after God infected all who saw him. He called no one to his presence with the exception of two or three friends who had been intimate associates of the holy Miyan (may God sanctify his soul and who had their dwelling in Lahor; nor was he solicitous to receive disciples. He always lived in privacy in a dark cell, which was situated in a garden, and at times, when an intense longing for the holy Miyan overcame him he would go on foot in one day from Lahor to Shirgarh, a distance of over forty kuruh, and after merely kissing the Miyan's threshold he would return, without breaking his journey, unable to endure the effulgence of the Miyan's luminous presence.
106.2
In the year already mentioned I was honoured by being enabled to pay my respects to that venerable and most worthy man, and was his guest for a day and a night. On the next day, I set out alone, save for one attendant on foot, when the disturbances were at their height, for Shirgarh. I was stopped by Jats and highwaymen, who surrounded me on every side, and they were astonished (at my rashness) and asked me whither I was going, alone in this perilous desert. So soon as I said that I had just taken my leave of Miyan Shaikh Abu Ishaq with a view of paying my respects to my reverend spiritual guide, the Miyan (may God have mercy on them both!) they, immediately they heard the auspicious names of those two holy men, submitted themselves to me, and brought me milk and curds and such like refreshments, and set me on my way, and warned me to be cautious and wary, urging me to make frequent mention of the name of the holy Miyan in my religious exercises, as he had endeared himself to all the people of that country, both gentle and simple. Thus, at last, I returned in safety to the place whither I was bound, as has been already stated.
106.3
In the year in which the holy Miyan removed the pavilion (of his existence) from this transitory world and pitched it in the kingdom of eternity, and very shortly after his death, there was a plague in the Panjab, and all his associates, his family, and his most noted spiritual successors and representatives, who numbered fifty or sixty souls, perfect and perfected, among whom was “the interpreter of secrets,” Miyan ‘Abdu-’l Wahhab, also known as Miyan Babu, with one accord, as though by appointment, successively and each in his due turn, joined the holy Miyan (in the next world) in the space of three or four months, as it pleased God (This was the case of those intimately connected with him), but what shall I say of his sincere pupils, disciples, and attendants at large? Miyan Shaikh Abu Ishaq, too, owing to the greater intimacy of his connection with the Miyah, sped from the desert of separation to the true Ka'bah of union and propinquity. “Some of them have fulfilled their vow and others of them await its fulfilment.” Ah, Khaja, it may be “That thou preparest a cup for them.” He who afterwards continued the exalted line of the Qadiriyyah order was Shaikh ‘Abdu-’llah, the most orthodox and noble son of the holy Miyah, who, since the latter removed the baggage (of his existence) to the garden of Rizwan, remains at present the compendium of all the perfections and the successor to all the exalted qualities of Miyah Shaikh Abu-’l-Ma'ali.
106.4
The peace of God, so long as nights succeed one another, Be on the pure Shaikh, Abu-’l-Ma'ali. It is to be hoped that this garden of good fortune will aye remain fruitful—through the prophet and his honoured family.