Khaki’s Classical Persian Works Re-released at Koh-e-Maran

SRINAGAR: In a moment of deep spiritual and literary significance, two of Kashmir’s most treasured Sufi texts, Wird-ul-Murideen and Dastur-us-Salikeen, have been republished and formally released at the revered shrine of Dargah-i-Sultania in Koh-e-Maran, Srinagar. The launch coincided with the annual Urs of their author, Allama Sheikh Baba Dawood Khaki, the 16th-century scholar-saint and first spiritual successor of Hazrat Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sheikh Hamzah Makhdoom.

The newly compiled edition, presented in a single, finely printed volume, brings together Khaki’s poetic and expository masterpieces, texts that have shaped Kashmir’s spiritual tradition for centuries. Wird-ul-Murideen is a richly symbolic mystical poem, while Dastur-us-Salikeen serves as a profound guide to the metaphysics and disciplines of the Sufi path.

The release ceremony, held on Tuesday, drew hundreds of devotees, scholars, and admirers of spiritual heritage. Presided over by religious luminaries including Maulana Shaukat Hussain Keng Qadiri, Al-Haj Peerzada Shabir Ahmad Makhdoomi, and Peerzada Mohammad Altaf Masoodi, the event unfolded under the patronage of Ashiq Ahmad, Administrator of the local unit of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Waqf Board.

Prominent attendees included Syed Shakeel Ahmad Qalandar, Mir Syed Abid Yaseen Kamili, Peerzada Asadullah Makhdoomi, Peerzada Abdul Majeed Makhdoomi, Mohammad Ashraf Inayati, Mir Syed Riyaz Ahmad Kamili, Mujtaba Ahmad Gundroo Suharwardhey, Abdul Rashid Makhdoomi Mansoori, and Ajaz Ahmad Baba, among others.

Speaking on the occasion, Alhaj Shabir Ahmad Makhdoomi highlighted Allama Khaki’s towering intellectual and spiritual legacy, rooted in his deep association with Hazrat Sheikh Hamzah Makhdoom. Describing the republished works as “spiritual roadmaps,” Maulana Shaukat Qadiri called Khaki “a luminous theologian, poet, and Sufi master whose influence endures through the ages.”

The scholars collectively praised the painstaking efforts of Mir Syed Khalid Yaseen Kamili, whose dedication made the reissue possible. The original Urdu translation of these works, titled Hirz-ul-Muhibbeen, was done in the 1970s by the late Prof Muhammad Tayyib Siddiqi but had long remained out of print.

“Reclaiming our classical Islamic literature is not merely a scholarly pursuit,” the speakers noted, “it is an act of spiritual preservation—an offering to future generations seeking connection to Kashmir’s mystical past.”

The event not only rekindled interest in Allama Khaki’s oeuvre but also reaffirmed the enduring relevance of Kashmir’s rich Sufi tradition in a rapidly changing world.