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Hazrat Qazi Ahmed Bashiruddin Farooqui
رحمة الله عليه

Khalīfah of Bahr-ul-`Ulūm Hz Maulvi Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri رحمة الله عليه. Birthdate: June 27, 1922 (Dhul-Qa’dah 1 1340H) Passed away on: June 20, 2018 (Shawwal 6 1439H)

Hz. Qazi Ahmed Bashirudddin Farooqui was born into a family deeply entrenched into Sufi practices while remaining within the bounds of the teachings of the Qur’an, Hadith and Shari’ah. Seeking to be a murid of a famous Sufi of Hyderabad Deccan at a very early age, Qazi sb developed his spiritual inclination over the decades to become a sufi master and guide in Canada. Qazi Bashiruddin sb was initiated into the Chishtīyah, Qadirīyah, Nashbandīyah and Rifa`īyah silsilah and was well known in Sufi circles of the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East before his move to Canada in 1998. He was greatly admired by the Cypriot Shaykh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani (1922-2014), spiritual leader of the Nashbandīyah silsilah, who invited him to North America and introduced him to sufi circles on this continent. For twenty years (1998-2018) until he passed away into the presence of his Lord, Qazi sb organized at least four major programs each year in and would travel to other cities of USA and Canada – particularly to Chicago – to participate in similar programs. The key events celebrated each year were as follows.

The key events celebrated each year were as follows.

  1. Mīlād-un-Nabīﷺ – celebrating birth of our noble Prophet Muḥammadﷺ. This coincides with 12th day of Rabī` al-Awwal.
  2. Gyārhwīṇ sharīf : in remembrance of Shaykh `Abdul Qādir Jīlānī (d. 11 Rabī` al-Thāni 561 / February 14, 1166). His `urs is celebrated on 11 Rabī` al-Thāni.
  3. `Urs of Hz Khwāja Gharīb Nawāz Moinuddin Hasan Sanjari Chishti Ajmeri Atāya Rasūl Sultānul Hind (d. 6 Rajab 633 / March 16, 1236). His `urs is celebrated in Rajab.
  4. `Urs-e-Khwājagān : commemoration of `urs80 of his dada pīr Hz Khwāja Maḥbūbullāh of Kazipura, Hyderabad (d. 18 Zul-Qa`dah 1313 / May 2, 1896) and Hz Khwāja Banda Nawāz Gīsūdarāz of Gulbarga (d. 25 Zul-Qa`dah, 825 / Nov 10, 1422). Qazi sb celebrated the `urs of these two great personalities together in the third week of Zul-Qa`dah each year.

Qazi sb saw the political upheavals of the twentieth century and was involved with pan-Islamic movements and particularly Motamar-e-Alam-e-Islami. Over the decades, he developed strong friendship and bonds with numerous heads of state, politicians, national and religious leaders to seek peace and harmony in the world. His Namāz-e-Janāzah was offered on Friday, June 22, 2018 at Jamia Riyadhul Jannah in Mississauga after Jum`ah prayers, and he was buried at Meadowvale Cemetery in Brampton near the grave of his dear wife. Qazi sb is no longer in this world, but the traditions and programs he started and supervised for nearly 20 years are still being continued under the patronage of his youngest son Qazi Ali Farooqui in Toronto and by others in different cities of North America. Ali is khalīfa of Hz. Dr. Musa Abdur Rahman Siddiqi (son of Hz. Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi رحمة الله عليه).

Reference:

Excerpts taken from the biography “The Canadian Sufi Saint” written by Kazi Zulqader Siddiqui Sb.