Muhammad Ghawth (Ghouse,Shattari Ghaus or GwathIdries Shah, The Sufis Octagon Press 1989 pp 335, 367Idries Shah, Tales of the Dervishes Octagon Press 1993 pp 111-112) Gwaliyari (1500–1562) was a 16th-century Sufi master of the Qadri Shattari order and Sufi saint, a musician, See google book search. and the author of Jawahir-i Khams (Arabic: al-Jawahir al-Khams, The Five Jewels). Ghawth's life, miracles, and mystical ascension are examined in Scott Kugle's article "Heaven's Witness".
Biography
Muhammad Ghawth was born in Gwalior, India in 1500; the name Gwaliyari means "of Gwalior". One of his ancestors was Fariduddin Attar of Nishapur. In the preface of al-Jawahir al-Khams, he states that he wrote the book when he was 25 years old. In 1549 he travelled to Gujarat, when he was 50 years old. He stayed in Ahmedabad for ten years where he founded Ek Toda Mosque and preached.
Ghawth translated the Amrtakunda from Sanskrit to Persian as the Bahr al-Hayat (The Ocean of Life), introducing to Sufism a set of yoga practices. According to the scholar Carl W. Ernst, in this "translation", Ghawth intentionally reframed these practices with great subtlety to identify "points of contact between the terminologies of Yoga and Sufism".
Ghawth died in Gwalior in 1562. See google book search. His followers believed that he ascended to heaven and from there was able to direct help down to them; and further, that he was the "axial saint, the pivot of the universe".
Among Ghawth's disciples was Fazl Allah Shattari (also known as Shah Fazl Shattari), Reproduced from Sufi 29 (Spring 1996), pp 9-13. who wrote a biography See Open library details. or monograph See google book search. in praise of his teacher. Ghawth also taught the Mughal Emperor Humayun, whose court musician Tansen was likewise familiar with Sufism. Other important disciples included Badusha, Abdul Qadir, and Shahul Hamid Meeran Sahib Ganjasavoy Ganja Bakhsh Ganja Makhfi of Nagore, Tamil Nadu, along with Wajihuddin Haidar Ali Sani Hussaini Alvi Gujarati.
Tomb at Gwalior
His tomb at Gwalior is famous for its stone lattice (jali) work; the entire structure is enclosed on all sides by carved stone latticework.Jaalis Lattice Screens of India, Asavari Mohdiwale, Smita Agrawal, JETIR May 2021, Volume 8, Issue 5 The tomb was built in Ghawth's honour by Akbar and is regarded as a fine example of Mughal architecture. Tansen, Akbar's court musician, is buried in the same tomb complex. The tomb remains a popular pilgrimage and tourist site.
Sufi Saeed Ali Shah was a former caretaker of the shrine.
Works
Jawahir-i-Khamsa (The Five Jewels) which was later translated to Arabic, al-Jawahir al-Khams, by the Mecca-based Shattari teacher Sibghat Allah (d. 1606 CE). In this book Gaus also mentioned the special creatures known as "Muakkil" which come under the control of Sufis by special Islamic chant.The term "Muakkil" is used for an angel in the Islamic Occult World, called "عملیاتی دنیا" in Urdu. Bahr al-Hayat (The Ocean of Life), his translation and extension of Hawd al-Hayat (The Pool of Life), an Arabic translation of a lost Sanskrit text on yoga, the Amrtakunda.
References
External links Silsila e Shuttariya Silsila Shuttariya, Qadriya
Further reading Shāh Muhammad G̲h̲aus̲ Gavāliyārī by Muḥammad Masʻūd Aḥmad Manaqib-e-Ghausiya by Shah Fazlullah Shatari