Shah Saeed Ahmed Raipuri (1926-2012)

Hazrat e Aqdas Shah Saeed Ahmed Raipuri was born in Gumthala in district Karnaal in January 1926 in the home of a great saintly figure Hazrat e Aqdas Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz Raipuri. He was named “Saeed Ahmed” by Hazrat e Aqdas Maulana Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri. When he was only five years of age, his mother passed away.Hazrat e Aqdas used to say to us “What if I lost my mother’s lap, I was instead rewarded by Allah the lap of a khanquah.”

After that his mornings and evenings were spent in the service of Hazrat Maulana Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri. He got a chance to serve Khanquah’s guests and was also educated there. “Initial Quranic education, “according to him “was completed in the hands of a resident tutor of Khanquah whose name was Khuda Bakhsh according to Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir who used to call him Shaikhul Quran.”Then initial texts were taught by his father Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz Raipuri. During this time, he remained under constant supervision of Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri. Not only did he acquire his education at the Khanquah, but during this period he had the chance to serve stalwart ulema like Hazrat Maulana Ilyas Dehlavi, Hazrat Maulana Syed Hussain Ahmed Madni, Hazrat Maulana Syed Attaullah Shah Bukhari, Hazrat Maulana Habibur Rehman Ludhianvi, and Hazrat Maulana Zakaria Kandhalwi and others. While being a student, he participated in the activities of Hizb ul Ansaar, which was established by Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir. Since, he was destined to assume the role of a leader, he was asked by Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir, in the Ramadan of 1947, to also lead his prayer congregation. Then on his orders, to complete his education, he went to Jamia Mazaahir ul Uloom, Seharanpur to Hazrat Maulana Zakariya Kandhalwi.

By the end of 1949, he completed his hadith education. After the completion of Hadith education, when Hazrat Shah Saeed Ahmed Raipuri rejoined his Shaikh, Hazrat Maulana Zakariya also came and asked Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri to allow him to study logic, philosophy etc for a year. He responded by saying, “He has had enough education. We don’t want him to become just a teacher.” And then addressing Hazrat Shah Saeed Ahmed Raipuri, he recited the following couplet: parh parh hoey pathar, likh likh hoey chor/ Jisparhnay say Maula milay wo parhna hai kuch aur. [Enough of this fatigue of this education/The education that leads to one’s Creator is of a different kind]. After completion of his education, Hazrat Shah Saeed Ahmed Raipuri spent time serving his Shaikh and in 1950, Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri made him his (halifa) successor. 

This was not a conventional (khilafat) succession; rather it was a token of trust in his ability to lead in the next generation. In 1951, he came to Pakistan to meet his relatives. He used to narrate this event as: “My country was actually Hindustan. I had to come with Hazrat to serve him. But due to some reasons, Hazrat [Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri] couldn’t come. But when I planned to go back, my father [Shah Abdul Aziz Raipuri] tore off my passport and did not allow me to go back. I was very worried. In a few days, Hazrat Hazrat [Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri] came to Pakistan and I was satisfied and then to fulfill his request, I had to stay here.”