كتاب منهج دراسة الأديان بين الشيخ رحمت الله الهندي والقس فندر
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Some say that Muhammad will never be able to intercede. For this they offer convincing proofs from the Qur'an. But Sunni Muslims do not accept these proofs. The Wahhabis recognise them. Other groups of Muslims have related a variety of other explanations on the topic of intercession, which leave the person who is familiar with them in a state of confusion about this topic.
While immersed in such concerns, I comforted myself through excessive worship. In private I wept and prayed for forgiveness. I often visited the grave of Shah Abul Ala, spending half the night there in seclusion. I fervently presented my petitions at the shrine of Bu Ali Qalandar, the dargah of Nizam ud-Din Awliya and the tombs of many other great men. In accordance with Sufi belief I continually sought union with God through the help of wandering Sufi beggars and madmen. At this time, there arose in my heart the idea of forsaking the world. So I left everything and went into the forest. Wearing saffron coloured clothes I wandered alone on foot as afaqir without any baggage from city to city and village to village for some 2000 kos.4 Though the tenets of Islam never create genuine sincerity within man, despite my carnal purposes I still sought only after God. In this state I entered the city of Qaroli. Here there is a hill under which flows a stream called "Chuledar", where I sat to complete the rite of Hizb ul-Bahr. At the time, I had a book which my spiritual guide had given me and which contained Sufi teachings and instructions on the use of Sufi lectionaries. I treasured this book above all others, so much so that while on my travels I slept during the night with it close at hand, and whenever I felt ill at ease, I clasped it to my breast to pacify my heart. This book I never showed to anyone, for my spiritual guide forbade me, saying: "Tell no one its secret. It contains every eternal bliss." (At present this book lies in a corner of my house, unused and uncared for.) So I took the book, sat by the stream and, following the prescribed conditions, I began to complete the rite of Hizb ul-Bahr.
In brief, the prayers are divided into sections. It is recited for twelve days while wearing a seamless garment, performing ablutions, sitting on the edge of a flowing stream while resting on one thigh and reciting it with a loud voice thirty times daily, eating nothing worldly, abstaining from any salty diet. The only thing allowed is bread, made by one's own hand, from barley flour purchased from one's legitimate earnings. The wood also is to be fetched by oneself from the forest. One should go barefooted with no sandals and also fast and bathe in the river before daybreak. One is to touch no one, not even to talk with anyone except at fixed times. The outcome of this is union with God. Covetous of this, this servant endured these troubles. In addition, while in this state, he wrote the name "Allah" on paper 1,250,000 times. Daily he wrote a portion on paper, even cutting every word individually with a scissors, inserting them in balls of flour and feeding them to the fish in the river. The book prescribed this act also. He did this the whole day long. Half the night he slept. The other half he sat mentally writing the word "Allah" upon his heart, observing it with the eye of his mind.
When I finished this labour, no strength remained in my body. I was pale. I could not remain standing against the violence of the wind. The treasurer, Taj Muhammad, and Fazl Rasul Khan, companions of the Raja of Qaroli, helped me considerably and became my disciples. Many other people from this city became disciples. They gave me large sums of money also and began to honour me greatly.
