ʿĀQEL, ḴᵛĀJA (QĀŻĪ) MOḤAMMAD, entitled Korīǰa, mystic of the Panjab (d. 1229/1814). A disciple and vicegerent of Ḵᵛāǰa Nūr Moḥammad from Mihar, he set up Neẓāmī Češtī ḵānaqāhs at Cacran, Kot Mithan, Ahmadpur, Shidani, Yaranwali, Sitpur, and elsewhere (Naǰm-al-dīn Češtī, Manāqeb al-maḥbūbīn, Lahore, 1312/1894, pp. 115-21; Ḵᵛāǰa Gol Moḥammad Aḥmadpūrī, Takmela-ye sīar al-awlīāʾ, Delhi, 1312/1894, p. 150; K. A. Nizami, Tārīḵ-e mašāʾeḵ-e Češt, Delhi, 1953, p. 586). He further influenced mystic and theological instruction through seminaries he founded at Kot Mithan, Shidani, and elsewhere; these provided students with free food, clothing, lodging, and stipends as well as instruction in logic, philosophy, jurisprudence, and theoretical Sufism (Aḥmadpūrī, Takmela, pp. 140, 149).
ʿĀqel learned the exoteric and esoteric sciences from his father, Maḵdūm Moḥammad Šarīf, and the Češtī saints Shah Faḵr-al-dīn and Nūr Moḥammad Mahārānī. He was immensely popular and attracted disciples from the Panjab and beyond, including the Mughal princes Jahān Ḵosrow, Kāʾūs Šokūh, and Bahādor Shah Ẓafar, sons of Akbar II (Aḥmad Aḵtar Mīrzā, Manāqeb-e farīdī, Delhi, 1314/1896-97, p. 36). His teaching emphasized (1) the need to overcome the traditional rivalry between Sufis and jurisprudents; (2) observance of the essentials of Češtī teaching and practice, such as ḏekr-e ǰahr (recitation of God’s names aloud), samāʿ (sessions of listening to music), controlled breathing, and understanding the doctrine of waḥdat al-woǰūd (unity of being); (3) comfortable living for dervishes, instead of severe ascetic practices; (4) annihilation in the Prophet Moḥammad (fanā fi’l-rasūl) as the ultimate station on the spiritual path (idem, pp. 140, 142, 144, 147, 148, 150; Češtī, Manāqeb al-maḥbūbīn, pp. 115-21; Aḥmad Aḵtar Mīrzā, Manāqeb-e farīdī, pp. 54-55). ʿĀqel was succeeded by his son Mīān Aḥmad-ʿAlī as leader of the order.
Bibliography: Given in the text.
(M. L. Siddiqui)
Originally Published: December 15, 1986
Last Updated: August 9, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. II, Fasc. 2, p. 193
