SUFI STORIES #5 THE VISIT BY SHAYKH DAUD AL-FATANI , THE SAINT OF PATTANI (SOUTHERN THAILAND).
Today’s long story began 50 years ago. I have mentioned about the two Pak Engkus who were my first spiritual mentors. The elder Pak Engku Karim was the one who first got messages from beyond for me. Today’s story is about the exploits of his younger brother, Pak Engku Jalil. Pak Engku Karim died a few years ago. Pak Engku Jalil is still alive today. He is now 83 years old.
In 1970, Pak Engku Jalil went for the Hajj in Makkah with his father. He was 33 years old. Although he was married with kids, they did not accompany him. He went by ship, which took two weeks each way (although there were already Hajj flights then, regular Hajj flights from Malaysia started only in 1976). It was usual for the pilgrims to stay there for a few months.
One day (in Makkah), he met a Shaykh who invited him to his house and gave him religious and spiritual lessons. Thereafter he went to the house at the appointed time regularly for his private lessons.
On one occasion, the Shaykh asked him if he missed his family, and whether he would like to visit them. When he replied that definitely he would like to, the Shaykh asked him to close his eyes and the Shaykh recited some supplications. Almost immediately, he found himself standing right in the middle of the living room in his house in Taman Ibukota, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. His wife and children were there right in front of him. He could see but not hear them, but they could not see him at all. He even walked to the back of his house to check his chicken coop! When he was satisfied that the family was safe and well taken care of, he was back with the Shaykh in Makkah in the next blink of the eye.
The next day, he wanted to bring his father (who accompanied him for the Hajj) to meet the Shaykh, but he could not find the Shaykh’s house, even though he had been going there regularly before that. On the following day, when he went to meet the Shaykh alone, he had no problem finding the house. He realized that his father was not meant to meet the Shaykh.
Upon his return to Malaysia, he never had any contact with the Shaykh. That was well before the era of smartphones!
A few years after his return, he chanced upon a book about Shaykh Daud Al-Fatani (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him), a Sufi Saint of Pattani, now a Muslim-majority province in southern Thailand. Pattani was an Islamic state until it was conquered by Siam in 1826.
Inside the book were photographs of the Saint. Only then did he realize that the Shaykh who coached him in Makkah was Shaykh Daud Al-Fatani. But this Waliullah (Saint of Allah) lived from 1763 to 1845 (dates are approximate), yet he was teaching Pak Engku Jalil in person in 1970. You try to figure that out!
Today (2.12.2020) I met Pak Engku Jalil to review and reconfirm the above story. When I showed him the photograph of Shaykh Daud Al-Fatani (see below), he cried loudly. He said he now remembers that when he was a child, the Shaykh had visited him a few times, but he did know who it was then.
Shaykh (or Sheikh) Wan Daud bin Shaykh Wan Abdullah Al Fatani (or Fathani) was a renowned Sufi, scholar, teacher and writer of the 19th century Malay-Muslim world. He was the 31st generation descendant of The Prophet (PBUH). He studied and remained in Makkah for 30 years. He also studied in Malaysia and Indonesia. During his time, he was among the most respected Islamic scholars in this region, and was given the title “Al-Alim Allamah Al-Arif Ar-Rabbani” (loosely translated as The Scholar with Deep Knowledge of The Lord). He was also much respected in Saudi Arabia.
In his old age, he returned to Saudi Arabia, and died there. He was saddened that his homeland Pattani had been conquered by the Siamese.
He wrote many books, mostly in Malay and at least 2 in Arabic, but only one has been translated to English.
Fast forward to 1989. After the episode when Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani and others visited me (in spirit), I had informed both Pak Engku brothers about it. One afternoon not long after that, the three of us (both Pak Engkus and I) were together when Shaykh Daud Al-Fatani visited us (in spirit) and spoke to them (through me). He actually asked Pak Engku Jalil if he still remembered him!
Many readers will be asking how did I know who (spirit) came, and how was I sure that it was not Satan impersonating or claiming to be them. All I can say is when an important visitor came, God gave me certain knowledge of who it was, if it was meant for me to know. Besides, many times these visitors came in the presence of my Shaykhs and my spiritual mentors and teachers who had the ability to differentiate between the good and bad spirits. Many of my spiritual mentors are also exorcists and the devil will not dare fool with them.
However, it is difficult to actually describe these experiences to the fullest. As Imam Ghazali had warned, if one tries to describe these spiritual meetings in detail, “his words inevitably contain what is clearly erroneous”. So I will keep it as simple as possible, enough for the reader to understand what happened. Only those who have experienced similar meetings will fully understand the nature of these encounters.
The second Caliph of Islam, Saidina Umar Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once said that spirits are like the soldiers in an army – they gather according to their ranks. So if you please God, then the spirits of those who had pleased God before you will be happy to associate with you.
I have only met the departed Saints in their spirit form, but Pak Engku Jalil and many others met them in their physical forms. In fact, the highest ranking Saints meet The Prophet (PBUH) himself in his physical form (Yaqazah). While some Muslims deny that this is possible, many scholars say otherwise.
But for those who actually experience it, it does not matter if others say that it is impossible.
For a lengthy discussion on this (in Malay, including local fatwas), you can read here:
I hope somebody will translate it into English. The subject is “Is it possible to meet The Messenger of God (PBUH) after his death? – The meaning of Yaqazah”.
In 2015 Pak Engku Jalil was diagnosed with stage 4 gall-bladder cancer. I sat with the attending surgeon who explained to me that in view of his age, only palliative treatment was recommended. While still in the hospital, Pak Engku Jalil dreamt that he was entering a beautiful garden and wanted to remain there, but somebody told him to go back as his time was not up yet.
After his discharge from hospital, he recited Al-Fatihah incessantly, and asked God for healing. At the same time he tried many remedies that people recommended. He found that one of the herbal remedies seemed to work and he stuck to it. He gradually got better and by 6 months he was cancer-free. He is still cancer free until now.
About 40 years earlier, Pak Engku’s father (Raja Ali, may Allah bless his soul) was critically ill in the ICU of one of the hospitals. He was 70 then. While in that state, he was visited by a spirit who told him that his life would be extended because he had been kind and helpful to people. The very next day, he recovered fully and was discharged.
About 16 years later, he told his family that he would die at 12noon on a certain date. He died exactly on that date and time as he had predicted. He died in 1989 at the age of 86.
I know of many stories of people who were given knowledge of their own deaths.
Salam/Peace to all. See you at my next SUFI STORY.
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