The charisma of Khwaja Ubaidullah Ahrar, though it is not surprising for saints and Sufi mystics to possess supernatural powers, Khwaja Ahrar was gifted with such talents from the Almighty. There are a series of instances described in history books that reveal that he wasn’t an ordinary man, he could foresee and sense things, had the ability to give warnings and admonitions. Many times, he saved his followers from natural disasters, because of his power to predict things; he would always interfere with the rulers in the matters concerning security and economy. His awe and accurateness of prophecies compelled rulers of those times to have him on their side during difficult times.
Khwaja Ahrar gave an account of his powers in Rashahat Ain Al Hayat
“When I was young, while accompanying Mawlana Sa’dad-Din Kashghari in Herat, we once came across a place where a wrestling match was going on. So both of us decided to test our spiritual authority by assisting the wrestlers, the one we supported was declared the winner. Then we changed the supporting team by exerting our power and the wrestlers who lost came out victorious.”
The Saints came back to the wrestling field after a few days, there stood a wrestler tall and resilient his opponent was a very lean guy. Mawlana and Khwaja Ahrar decided to put forth their spiritual power on the lean fellow to help him win the match. The spectators were amazed at how a skinny wrestler beat his opponent with such a mystic force and won the round. No one knew it was because of the spiritual influence of Mawlana Sa’dad and Khwaja Ahrar.
Khwaja Ahrar used to say, “The effectiveness of bad natures or intentions is as definite as pure hearts.” It solely depends on a person what he strives for; if someone puts in all the energy for good deeds the result will be miraculously good. As for evil natured people, they spend their efforts and energy for the wrong and hence the result is destruction.
Efforts to Streamline the Laws
Khwaja Ahrar was revealed upon in the dream that Shariah would likely to get strengthened with his support. That was the reason Khwaja Ahar made concentrated efforts to streamline the laws pertaining to the economy and social conditions of his people. His sole purpose was to make Islamic law prevalent as he knew that God wanted to achieve that purpose through him.
Once Khwaja Ahrar went to meet a ruler, Mirza Abdullah who was taking charge of Samarkand, his captain came to exchange greetings with Khwaja, he told him that he came this far to meet the Sultan. The captain got rude with Khwaja and said that the ruler isn’t free to meet everyone and why would a saint come to meet him this far? Khwaja Ahrar got enraged by such remarks and told him that he had God’s commandment to meet rulers and it was obviously wasn’t for his own business or interest. The captain got pissed and went away. Khwaja wrote his name on the wall with ink and asked his companions to go. After a week that captain died, Mirza Abdullah was killed by Mirza Abu Sa’id as he became the new ruler of Tashkent.
Khwaja Ahrar knew that Mirza Au Sa’id would become the ruler of Tashkent; he predicted it way before he seized power. The Sultan dreamed that Khwaja Ahrar was reciting Surah Fatiha and he retained the memory of Khwaja. After waking up he explained the features of Khwaja and he was told that there was a dervish in Tashkent similar to the one he dreamed about. The Sultan got so anxious to meet Khwaja Ahrar that he went on his horse to find and meet him, when he saw him he started crying and said, “This is the same man I saw in my dream”. He expressed great reverence for Khwaja by falling in his feet; Khwaja Ahrar, however, made a genial relationship with him that lasted for a long time.
The course of Action During War
Mirza Abu Sa’id took guidance from Khwaja Ahrar on all important matters and gave much value to his opinion and suggestions. Khwaja Ahrar would tell him about the course of action during war with his enemies and all his predictions would always come true.
During the attack in which Mirza Abdullah died, Khwaja Ahrar wasn’t even present in Tashkent, he said, “I saw a white bird falling, they came and killed it. I knew that moment, it signified Mirza Abdullah and that he no longer exists in this world.”
During the sieges on Samarkand, Khwaja Ahrar intervened; he would advise the fighting parties not to harm people and property. Whatever he predicted during those conquests also turned out to be true. His supernatural authority was respected and acclaimed by all Sultans and that was the reason he successfully exerted his influence on them and compelled them into passing laws that proved really helpful for the population at large.
Khwaja Ahrar opined, “If I had assumed the role of Sheikh, none of the contemporary religious leaders would have found followers but that wasn’t the purpose or intention. Our concern was to save Muslims from the effects of oppression.”
Earned Support and Loyalty
That was the only reason he made contact with rulers who earned their support and loyalty. He was looking at the bigger picture; he wanted to improve the socio-economic conditions of the Muslims of those times. He wanted the obsolete practices and legal frameworks modified so that people would spend lives in harmony and peace. He knew that the salvation lies in Islamic law and it wasn’t an easy task to implement that as rulers loved to exploit their power and used it for their vested interests.
Khwaja Ahrar through his wisdom and charisma showed the rulers the right path. They held him in such high esteem that many of them would ask his permission on important matters. He never used his political contacts for personal benefit and assuming power or wealth, he utilized them for elating the social and economic state of Muslims.
