Ḥaḍrat Shaykh Allāh-Bakhsh ʿAbbāsī Ghaffārī Naqshbandī Mujaddidī, popularly known with his title Sohnā Sāeen (1910-1983), was a renowned Sufi master of the Naqshbandi order in Sindh during the 20th century. He established many khānqāhs, madrasahs and Islamic organizations for the revival of moral values and spirituality, with emphasis on the teachings of Naqshbandi masters.
An artificially colored picture of Hazrat Khwājā Sohnā Sāeen
He was born on 10 March 1910 in a village called Khānwāhan, in district Naushehroferoz, Sindh. His father died while he was only five months old, after which, his pious and saintly mother took the responsibility of his upbringing and education.
For spiritual guidance, he first received initiation in Naqshbandi tariqa from Hazrat Khwaja Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi, the great Indian Sufi master who is known for his steadfastness on Sunnah and many other miracles. The shaykh soon passed away, and he then attached himself to one of the shaykhs great deputies, Hazrat Khwaja Abdul Ghaffar Fazali Naqshbandi, who later made him his chief khalīfa and spiritual successor.
After the demise of his shaykh in 1964, he worked day and night for the revival of lost values in the society and reformation of Muslims and spreading the spirituality of the Naqshbandi Sufi path. He established three khānqāhs and many other spiritual centers, many madrasahs, and Islamic organizations which are still working today on his mission.
He passed away on 12 December 1983 (6 Rabīʾ al-Awwal 1404 AH) at the time of Tahajjud prayers (before dawn). He was buried in his last established khānqāh AllāhĀbād, located close to Kandiaro, Sindh.
He left thousands of disciples and about 140 deputies. All his deputies unanimously appointed his son Khwāja Muḥammad Ṭāhir Bakhshī Naqshbandī as his spiritual successor.
His Khulafā
Many of the deputies of his shaykh Ḥaḍrat Pīr Mitthā devoted themselves to Sohnā Sāeen after their shaykh’s demise. Others were appointed as deputies later, and his total deputies exceed 140 in number. Their names are recorded in his biography Seerat Walī Kāmil. Some of these dignitaries are the following:
- Khwājā Muhammad Tāhir Bakhshī Naqshbandī alias Sajjan Sāeen, his only son and successor
- Mawlānā Rafīq Ahmad Shāh Qureshī Fazalī, grandson of Ḥaḍrat Pīr Fazal ʿAlī Quraishī. Miskīnpur Sharīf, district Muzaffargarh, Punjab
- Mawlānā Sayyid Muḥammad Jeeal Shāh Jīlānī, Jacobabad, Sindh
- Mawlānā Muhammad Idrees Dāhirī Naqshbandī, a great Islamic scholar and orator, and author of numerous Islamic books. Moro, Sindh. A video speech
- Mawlānā Riyāsat ʿAlī Bakhshī Tāhirī, Nārowāl, Punjab
- Mawlānā Sayyid Ismāīl Shāh Bakhshī Tāhirī, Rawalpindi
- Mawlānā Rahmatullāh Qureshī, Karachi
- Mawlānā Muhammad Ramzān Lākho, Karachi
- Mawlānā Hājī Abdul Ghafoor Marī Baloch, Karachi
- Mawlānā Hājī Ahmad Hasan Lāshārī, Wārah, Sindh
Following are a few of his deceased khulafā:
- Mawlānā Hājī Khair Muhammad Abbāsī (rahmatullah alaih), Hyderabad, Sindh. Died in 2011
- Mawlānā Dr. Abdul Laṭīf Channā Bakhshī (rahmatullah alaih). Died in 1978
- Mawlānā Ghulām Murtazā Abbāsī (rahmatullah alaih), died in 2013. Allahabad sharif, Kandiaro, Sindh
- Mawlānā Abdur-Rabb Bengali (rahmatullah alaih), died in 2013. Karachi
- Mawlānā Sardār Ahmad Sānī (rahmatullah alaih), died in 2012. Nawābshāh
- Mawlānā Abdur-Rahmān Jat (rahmatullah alaih), died in 2010. Mātlī, district Badīn
- Mawlānā Hājī Muhammad Siddīq Birohī (rahmatullah alaih). UAE
- Mawlānā Abdul Karīm Qureshī (rahmatullah alaih). Unnarpur, Dadu
The next in the Naqshbandī Mujaddidī Tāhirī spiritual golden chain is Shaykh Muhammad Tāhir Abbāsī Bakhshī Naqshbandī.
Related Books
- Seerat-e Waliyy-e Kāmil, volume 1 (Urdu), complete biography written by Maulānā Habīb-ur-Rahmān Gabol Tāhirī Bakhshī. Second edition, 1994. 572 pages. HTML version, PDF with text (7mb), scanned PDF (62 mb), Scribd
- Seerat-e Waliyy-e Kāmil, volume 2 (Urdu), additional biography, letters and other details, written by Maulānā Habīb-ur-Rahmān Gabol Tāhirī Bakhshī. Second edition, 2003. 538 pages. HTML version (partial), scanned PDF (80 mb), Scribd
- Attāhir special edition on Sohnā Sāeen, November 2001, 346 pages. Collection of articles related to Hazrat Sohnā Sāeen quddis sirruhū. scanned PDF (34 mb), Scribd
- Kalām-e Walī, 1997. Sindhi and Saraiki poetry of Hazrat Sohnā Sāeen. 142 pages. Scribd link
- Maktūbāt Bakhshiyā (Urdu and Sindhi), 1980, letters of Hazrat Sohnā Sāeen collected and published by Bedār Morāī. 85 pages. Scanned PDF (9 mb), Scribd link.
- Sawāneh Hayāt Sohnā Sāeen (Sindhi) volume 1, 1985. Biography written by Bedār Morāī. 143 pages. Scanned PDF (19 mb), Scribd link
- Sawāneh Hayāt Sohnā Sāeen (Sindhi) volume 2, 1986. Biography written by Bedār Morāī. 192 pages. Scanned PDF (24 mb), Scribd link