________________ 424 Homage to Vaisali Muhammad Ghaus bin Hassan Shuttari, a contemporary of Akbar and Jahangir, who was born in 962 A. H., has devoted much of bis valuable book. Gulzar-i-Abrar, completed between 1014 A. H. and 1022 A. H.. to the saints of the Shuttari Order, including those mentioned above. The spiritual inspiration of the saints of Basarh and Sarap flowed through that of Jaunpur and Gwalior to Gujarat and the Deccan. Thus the Sufis of the Shuttari Order occupied an important place in the bistory of religion and learning, and the light of spiritual knowledge that was lit in Mandu and North Bihar illumined the distant corners not only of India but also outside regions. Before taking up in detail the career of the Sufi saint of Basarh (sometimes also called Banja-Basarh, Bania being a nearby village), it seems necessary to say something about two rare and relevant MSS. dis. covered in Bihar, one of them being Aurad-i-Imamuddin Rajgiril, and the other Manahi j-us-Shuttar2 by Shaikh Qazin of Basarh. The author of the first manuscript (which is a compendium of the principles and practices of what is called Madbhab-i-Shuttar) and also the compiler of the Malfuzat-i-Diwan Ruknuddin Shuttari, was a well-known saint of Rajgir, named Hazrat Abdul Hasib alias Imamuddin, whose blessings were sought, shortly before his death, by Farrukhseyar while that Mughal prince was on his way from Bihar to Agra to contest for the imperial thrope with his uncle Jahandar Shah. This MS. deals with the technicalities of Shuttari Sufism elaborately. These are based largely on the extremely rare and valuable work, Manahi j-us-Shuttar by Shaikh Qazin, the saint of Bania-Basarh, edited and named Maadan-ul-Asrar by his learned son-in-law and disciple, Makhdum Shaikh Ali Manjhan Rajgiri, 4 1. Also named Muqtabas-ul-Anwar. Copy consulted is good but is old and undated; contains 244 fol. each of 15 lines; the author died in 1130 A. H. or 1717 A. D. 2. Two MSS. : one very damaged; and the other with 68 fol. each of 23 lines and divided into 61 Fasls, was written by Muhammad Nadir on 17 Ziqad 1121 A. H. 3. Khazinat-ul-Ansab which contains a copy of the farman granted by emperor Farrukhseyar. 4. A Hasani Syed who lies buried at Mariamtola in Bihar-Sharif near the Rauza of Hazrat Badr Alam Zahidi. He married Bibi Khonja Daulat, the daughter of Shaikh Qazin. He also wrote Mazhar-ul-Asrar which was a translation of Fawaid-usShuttar.
