Hazrat Nizaamuddeen Awliyaa (rahimahullah) was a famous wali and saint of Allah Ta‘ala who passed away in the year 725 AH. He lived in the city of Delhi in India where Allah Ta‘ala had taken such great work of deen from him that generally a large group of people will be unable to accomplish.
Among the special and salient qualities which this great wali of Allah Ta‘ala possessed was the quality of compassion and sympathy for the entire creation. This quality of compassion and sympathy is among the outstanding features and mubaarak sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).
On one occasion, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) addressed the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) saying, “You will never acquire perfect Imaan until you show kindness and mercy to the creation.” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) responded, “O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! We all show kindness when dealing among people.”
Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then said, “I am not referring to you showing special kindness and mercy to your close friends or those whom you dearly love. Rather, I wish that you show the same level of special kindness and mercy to the entire creation which you show to your close friends or those whom you dearly love.” (Majma’uz Zawaa’id #12731)
Below are a few incidents from the life of Hazrat Nizaamuddeen Awliyaa (rahimahullah) which show the deep compassion which he possessed in his heart for the ummah, and the extent to which he went to try and bring comfort to others.
Sympathy and Pain Over the Plight of the Poor
Hazrat Nizaamuddeen Awliyaa (rahimahullah) would often fast, and at the time of sehri, he would eat very little. His special attendant, Abdur Raheem (rahimahullah), would generally bring the food of Hazrat Nizaamuddeen (rahimahullah) to him at the time of sehri.
He mentions, “Most of the time, Hazrat Nizaamuddeen (rahimahullah) would not eat anything at the time of sehri. I once addressed him and said, ‘You do not eat a meal at the time of iftaar. If you do not eat anything at the time of sehri as well, then your body will become even weaker!”
Hazrat Nizaamuddeen (rahimahullah) was affected and said, “How many poor people are lying hungry in the corners of the masjids and roads, passing the night in starvation! When this is the plight of my fellow Muslims, then how can this food go down my throat?”
Assisting a Poor Woman from Ghiyaathpur
Hazrat Nizaamuddeen Awliyaa (rahimahullah) once saw a woman who was drawing water from a well close to the banks of the Jamna river. Seeing this, he asked her, “When the river is here, then why are you drinking well water?”
She replied, “My husband is poor. We struggle to meet our monthly expenses for our home. Drinking the water of the Jamna river causes one to feel more hungry. It is for this reason that we drink well water.”
Hearing of the plight of this woman and her family, Hazrat Nizaamuddeen (rahimahullah) began to weep. In this condition, he returned to the khanqah and said to his attendant, “There is a woman in Ghiyaathpur who does not drink the water of the Jamna river because it increases her hunger! Go and ask her what amount of money they are short of for meeting their expenses every month. Thereafter, give her this amount of money from our khanqah every month, and tell her to drink the water of the Jamnah river.”
Assisting People whose Homes were Burnt
On one occasion, a fire broke out in Ghiyaathpur. Such was the grief and pain in the heart of Hazrat Nizaamuddeen Awliyaa (rahimahullah) for the plight of the people whose homes were burning, that though it was summer and the weather was hot, he remained on the roof of his home, walking back and forth in worry while looking at the fire, and he did not leave the roof until the time when the fire finally subsided.
Thereafter, he called one of his attendants, Iqbaal (rahimahullah), and said to him, “Go and count the number of homes that were affected by the fire. Then, give the people from every affected home two pieces of silver, two rotis, and two flasks of cold water.”
At that time, due to the tragedy that had struck, the people of Ghiyaathpur were undergoing great difficulty and were in a state of worry and desperation. When Hazrat Iqbaal (rahimahullah) took the silver pieces, the rotis and the flasks of cool water and delivered them to each home, the people were overcome by such happiness that they began to weep in joy.
At that time, two pieces of silver had such value that they could be used to build several cottages.