A Qadari spiritual seat in the temple city

Syed Shafee Ahmed Qadari has taken up the task to spread the divine knowledge

A file photo of Qadari pontiff Syed Shafee Ahmed Qadari showing the tomb of his great grandfather Peer Syed Amanullah Sha Qadari.

The establishment of Qadari seat of Islamic spiritualism in the temple city of Tirupati more than 70 years ago bears testimony to the level of religious tolerance and inter-faith brotherhood those days.

The Dargah of Peer Syed Amanullah Sha Qadari situated opposite Sri Venkateswara Arts College in Tirupati, is visited by hundreds of devotees of all faiths every month. Amanulla Sha, who was born in August 1836 and breathed his last in June 1947, migrated from Chandragiri to establish the Qadari seat here.

The seat is akin to a religious monastery to conduct spiritual sermons to the faithful and guide them towards the path of enlightenment. He was said to be the 25th generation descendant of Syed Abdul Wahab Sha Qadari, the first son of Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani, founder of the main Qadari seat at Baghdad, nearly 1,000 years ago.

Amanullah Sha Qadari nurtured hundreds of disciples across Andhra Pradesh and bordering areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, while passing on the baton to his heirs. His great grandson Syed Shafee Ahmed Qadari has taken up the task to spread the divine knowledge.

“The dargah was built where my great grandfather was laid to rest on the third day of Shaban (eighth month of Arabic calendar), which is observed every year as 'Gandhotsavam' (sandal festival), also called as Urus,” he told The Hindu .

Shafee Qadari personally nurtured 100 disciples and, after thorough scrutiny, granted sainthood to three of them, who have now set up Qadari seats at Pathikonda (Kurnool), Singarayakonda (Prakasam) and Kolar (Karnataka).

Empowering women

Apart from healing practices like meditation, exorcism and providing talisman against black magic, his ashram at Giddangi street doubles up as a social centre for women's empowerment. He has mobilised 140 Muslim women into 14 Mahila ‘samakhyas’ under the name of 'Razia Sultana' to encourage thrift and organise socially relevant programmes.

‘No’ to meat

Shafee Qadari is strictly against beef eating. “I have never consumed beef. Spiritual knowledge seekers should generally avoid taking meat products as it casts a shadow on intuition and learning process,” he pointed out.

His ashram is taking up feeding of the poor on Ramzan, where 750 people will be served biryani sans meat!