Q.Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follows : Declining a Royal Gift This excerpt from a Sufi text describes the proceedings at Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya's hospice in 1313 : I (the author, Amir Hasan Sijzi) has the good fortune of kissing his (Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya's) feet... At this time a local ruler had sent him the deed of ownership to two gardens and much land, along with the provisions and tools for their maintenance. The ruler had also made it clear that he was relinquishing all his rights to both the gardens and land. The master...had not accepted that gift. Instead, he had lamented : "What have I to do with gardens and fields and lands ?... None of .... our spiritual masters had engaged in such activity." Then he told an appropriate story : ".... Sultan Ghiyasuddhin, who at that time was still known as Ulugh Khan, came to visit Shaikh Fariduddin (and) offered some money and ownership deeds for four villages to the Shaikh, the money being for the benefit of the dervishes (Sufis), and the land of his use. Smiling, Shaikh al Islam (Fariduddin) said : Give me the money. I will dispense it to the dervishes. But as for those land deeds, keep them. There are many who long for them. Give them away to such persons." (32.1) Mention the offering by the local ruler to Sufi saint.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya refused a gift of gardens and land from a local ruler, following the example of his own spiritual master Shaikh Fariduddin, who accepted only money for the dervishes but not land.
The passage comes from a Sufi text written by Amir Hasan Sijzi, a devoted disciple of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya. It describes an event in 1313 at the saint’s hospice in Delhi. A local ruler had sent the Shaikh the deed of ownership to two gardens and a large amount of land, along with provisions and tools to maintain them. The ruler made it clear that he was giving up all his rights to these properties — it was a complete and generous gift.
(32.1) The offering by the local ruler to the Sufi saint was the deed of ownership to two gardens and much land, along with the provisions and tools needed for their maintenance.
Now, how did Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya respond? He did not accept the gift. Instead, he lamented, saying: “What have I to do with gardens and fields and lands?” He pointed out that none of his spiritual masters had ever engaged in such activity — meaning, they never accumulated landed property. To explain his refusal, he told a story about his own master, Shaikh Fariduddin.
(32.2) The Sufi saint’s reaction was that he refused the gift and expressed sorrow that such an offering had been made, as it went against the traditions of his spiritual lineage.
Why did the saint accept money but not land? This is the deeper point. When Sultan Ghiyasuddin (then called Ulugh Khan) had offered Shaikh Fariduddin both money and the ownership deeds of four villages, the older saint smiled and took only the money, saying he would distribute it to the dervishes (the Sufi disciples and poor). But he told the Sultan to keep the land deeds and give them to those who longed for them. …
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