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A Travelogue of The Hejaz
(1201–03 Hijra/c. 1786-1789A.C.
)by Maulana Rafiuddin Muradabadi
translated into English from the Urdu rendering of the original Persian by Maulana Naseem Ahmad Fareedi
From the Urdu translator’s noteMaulana Rafiuddin Faruqi was a learned gentleman of Muradabad (a town in the present-day northern Indian state of Uttar Pardesh). His grandfather Nawab Azmatullah Khan Faruqi wasthe Governor of Muradabad. In addition to being a prominent personality by way of familylineage, Maulana Rafiuddin was also a man of high stature in his own personal capacity. He wasnot only a 'direct' student
of Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi
, but had also been awarded acertificate of scholarship in
hadith
by Maulana Khairuddin Surti.Like many of his scholarly works, this travelogue is a not only a great piece of literature but also a compendium of historical and geographical knowledge of the period. To the best of myknowledge this work has never been published before [either in the original Persian or intranslation.] I was able to obtain a handwritten manuscript from (the late) Professor KhaleeqAhmad Nizami (a renowned historian at Aligarh Muslim University, India), many pages of which had been damaged by bookworm infestation. After a thorough reading of the pagesavailable with me, the missing text was acquired from a copy available with Raza Library atRampur
.This gentleman of the ruling family of Muradabad traveled to the
Haraman
in a veryemotional, almost transcendental, state. Every passage in the book is replete with sentiment. Hisheart overflows with the love of the Holy Prophet and his writing clearly shows the very profound bond that exists between man and his Creator. The travelogue presents details aboutmany famous scholars of the
Haraman
at the time of his visit. The work is also distinguished byway of the writer having presented all the facts about his travels in simple Persian, without thevery common verbosity of the period.
Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that thislearned personality has laid the foundations of the genre of Hajjhajjtravelogues in India. Nodetailed account of aHajjhajjjourney made prior to Maulana Rafiuddin has passed my eyes.
Slight variance is seen in the title of the travelogue between the copy available with me and thatin Rampur (Raza Library).And now, prior to your reading the account of travels of Maulana Rafiuddin in his ownwords, it would be appropriate if a few lines are presented about our great writer:Shaikh Rafiuddin Faruqi was the son of Shaikh Fariduddin, one of the sons of the Nawab of Muradabad, Azmatullah Khan. Born in 1134 Hijrah (c. 1722 A.C.) at Muradabad, hereceived his early education at his birthplace. After this he left to join the select group of pupilsgranted the honour of presenting themselves before the great teacher Hazrat Shah Waliullah
Muhaddith
(scholar of
hadith
) Dehlavi. Returning to Muradabad, he took up teaching andcontinued to 'provide warmth to intellectual gatherings' for many years. Maulana Rafiuddin had
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more than ten major works to his credit. Of these, one book consisting of
malfuzaat
– acommon genre in classical Eastern scholarship consisting of transcripts of oral scholarlydiscourses in question and answer form generally inscribed by students of great scholars – in thegatherings of Hazrat Shah Abdul Aziz
Muhaddith
Dehlavi is an especially important work.In 1201 Hijrah (c. 1786) he began his trip towards the
Haraman
at what was certainly aripe age of 66 (especially in those days of low life-expectancies) and returned home after a journey that lasted two years, two months and two weeks. He left for his eternal abode on 15
th
Dhul Hijjah 1223 A.H. (c. 1808 A.C.) at the ripe age of 89 and was buried at Muradabad.
English translator’s note:
The English version is not a complete line by line translation. At several places wherethe author goes into details about some of the leading scholars and other personages that hemeets or about themes that do not directly contribute to maintain the interest of the averagemodern reader. These have been placed as footnotes in order to maintain the flow of thenarration, see for instance note 25 on Moulvi Khairuddin Surti.Like most Urdu writings, especially in the pre-modern period, this one also moves from onetense to the other and back to the first wihtin the span of a single paragraph. While somechanges of tense have been made, at most places the original tenses have been retained to provide the true flavour of the author’s style.
Author’s Preface:
Given such strong feelings of anxiety and shame, I found no way out but to step awayfrom the familiar world of home and friends around me and unto the vale of trial and tribulationin the way of faith. I thus turned my attention towards the shrine of the "Blesser of the Worlds"
,the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him). No sooner had I made this vow that theinducement of Satan and worldly persuasions stood up to obstruct my way; the immensehardships of the journey
were brought before my eyes. But by Allah's help, it soon came to bethat whenever thoughts of material deprivation arose within me, I would say that it was not becoming for the traveler towards the Abode of the Most Beneficent and the Grave of theBenefactor of the Worlds to only consider the apparent physical circumstances while ignoring the(help) of the One who controlled the circumstances (Allah).Whenever I viewed my frail body, I would strengthen my will by saying, "Nothing toworry about"; I recalled the Our’anic verse:"Whoever leaves his home as a refugee for Allah and His messenger's sake, then hasdeath overtake him, will receive his earnings as Allah's responsibility.''(Al-Qur’an: 4:100)
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Whenever the apprehension of possible difficulties and distress overtook me, I would sayto myself, "Remember, how hard have you striven in the way of evil all your life, how many problems have you endured in efforts to attain the pleasures of the world and have still imbibedonly 'the drink of self–destruction'. I thought further that, perhaps, the braving of hardships of this journey may serve as atonement for sins of a lifetime.
As it appears in a saying of the HolyProphet, "The road to paradise is lined with difficulties while the road to hell is lined with green(and pleasing) gardens.”Allah was kind and with His support I was able to free myself from the clutches of human weakness and indecisiveness as well as procrastination which had continued to grasp me by way of one pretext or the other in order to postpone the journey. Finally, I was able toextricate my hands from those of Satan and my own primitive urges. Now it is my deep desire to capture in writing all the memoirs of my travels and halts, allobservations on land and sea, detailed accounts of sacred places that I was able to visit, and alsorecord my conversations with scholars, men of religion and piety whom I came across during my journey. In addition I also wish to record the strange stories, intellectual conversations on raresubjects, and other interesting and useful information which I gathered either by hearing fromcredible sources or from reading books. In short, I wish to leave for posterity a token to keepalive the memory of this humble servant who is otherwise unworthy of remembrance so thatfriends and relatives alike may be motivated and guided towards the Two Great Shrines.
The Beginning of the Journey and Travel on Land
I left my homeland and birthplace of Muradabad on the morning of Sunday the 18
th
of Muharram, 1201 Hijrah (corresponding to 10
th
November, 1786) with the intention of travelingto the
Haraman
Sharifan
.
For the most part, I was equipped with the provisions of belief, a bubbling confidence, and an overwhelming conviction. I soon reached Sambhal, from where Itraveled through seven halts
to reach the encampment of Patel Sindhia.Departing Patel Sindhia in the morning I traveled a further two halts to reach Dake
onthe 28
th
of Muharram. Here I saw the buildings erected by Surajmal Jat in a state of ruin. I hadcome to this place twice before. I had seen these magnificent pieces of architecture during thereign of Surajmal when the city was in full bloom and (many of) these buildings were being built. But now only the deserted city and ruins of a glorious past remained to inspire awe in"those who are able to see"
. As the Qur’an states in Chapter 28 (Al–Qasas: The Stories):"How many towns have We wiped out (of those) who were reckless in their way of living? Those dwellings of theirs have been inhabited onlyoccasionally since then.”(Al-Qur’an: 28:53)
On Friday, 2
nd
of Safar, 1201 Hijrah I started from Dake towards New City (i.e. Bondi) by way of Bahusawar, reaching it after a journey of six marches. This city was surrounded on allfour sides by mountains which could only be crossed through a few passes. Hill streams ran
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