Dhofar: A Spiritual Wayfarer's Garden

The Tombs in the City

Assad Hariz

It has been quite a few times that I have travelled to Salalah off-work as well as on work and it has alluded me to the spiritual past of this place. The Dhofar region stands at the edge of Oman and is neighboured by the country of Yemen which is known for its religious and spiritual doctrines and the scholars who have travelled across from Yemen to far off lands to propagate Islam to the world are renowned. Most prominently the south Indian states of Kerala and the south east Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia owe their Islamic culture to Yemen and this is seen by the fact that majority of these places have followers of the Shafee Madhab and Tareeqa of the Ba Alawiyya and Shaduliya.

Even today places like Tarim are famous for the spiritual madrassas and Sufi scholars. Salalah has a lot of historical sites that bring the spiritual and magical stories of the past that were Pre-Islamic or biblical as well as the stories of the Sahabas (comrades of the prophet) and other religious scholars who travelled to Dhofar to preach and spread Islam.

The Famous among them are the Tomb of Job ( Nabi Ayoub’s tomb) which is on a mountain top and Nabi Imran’s tomb which lies in the heart of the city. Among the scholars, the Tomb of  Muhammad Bin Ali Al Alawiyya in Mirbat is quite famous for its beautiful white twin domes and Arabic inscriptions. He was a great scholar and teacher of the Alawiyya order. 

One unique Mosque that caught my thought was at the 23rd july street ( The Ba Alawi Maqbara). The Mosque looked old with white domes and was surrounded by a large cemetery. There were three or more walkways to the mosque through the cemetery. As I stayed nearby I went for my prayers to the mosque and found it very prepossessing. The Mosque and the Prayers reminded me of the mosques in my town in kerala. There were loud chants and praises of the prophet Muhammad (SAWS) were sung in between the regular prayers and i felt the connection between this place and south India. The Mosque had a small room (shrine) with a beautiful dome adjacent to the mosque. This Shrine looked more intriguing and fascinating. The building had a white beautiful dome which looked incandescent at night with the dark  night sky in the background. It had a dark green door and was closed most of the time. After prayers I went towards this shrine out of curiosity. As I opened the door I saw the graves of a number of the people shrouded in black and green velvet cloth. There were also graves of small children. There was Bakhour (incense) burnt and had a spiritual aura. I started visiting the place frequently and during the Friday evenings, I could smell the beautiful scent of jasmine in the room.

In my zeal to find out who this saint was I started asking people nearby and also found some details in the shrine itself. I talked with the caretaker of the mosque and found that this was a descendant of the Prophet. This graveyard was known as the Ba’Alawi Maqbara and had the graves of the Ba Alawi family who were descendants of the Prophet through Ali r.a and were sufi saints and their disciples. There still exists this sufi order of Ba Alawiyya in parts of Yemen and Kerala.  Soon I found who this great saint was.

He was Imam of scholars Habeeb Ali Ba Umar, a revered scholar of his time and a great saint. His name was Syed Ali bin Umar bin Ali bin Abdullah Ba Umar and was born in the year of 1619 A.D (1030 hijri). His mother was Sharifa Saliha Alawiya binth Abdullah bin Ibrahim bin Umar Fadak and he had a brother Muhammad and several sisters. His lineage is traced back to Hussain (r.a) the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and son of Ali (r.a).

He began his studies in the Islamic science under his father Syed Umar and after that under the guidance of the great scholar and his sheikh, Habeeb Aqeel Ba Umar (sha’eer Ba Umarain) . he had intended to go to Makka and also visited and met the scholars there and among them was Syed Muhammad bin Abubakr Ashili Almakki.

He was a great teacher and a Daaee (caller to faith) and had travelled extensively to India and the south east Asian countries for missionary works as well as a teacher in the Madrasas there. He also taught at Rabat for a living and travelled to Mecca and met the great scholar Alshilli Almakki there. His knowledge spread through his students to other parts of the world and among them were his sons and followers, Ahmed Mulaqab  Ba Qashkash, Mohammed and Umar.

He was a saint, scholar and a social worker who was known in the Arabian Peninsula for his contribution to the society. Syed Muhammad Abubakr Alshilli talks of him as a noble person who was close to God and followed the path of the haneef. He taught religion, propagated his faith, educated the masses and fought against all types of innovation and called people to the straight path, the path of the guided. He is known to have the face of the full moon enlightened with knowledge. He was a sanctuary for the oppressed, refugees, orphans and the like.

This great saint has left several traces of his works and among them the most notable is the Islamic library that he built. This library contained a lot of Islamic and scientific books as well as references for research. This includes one of his important piece of work which deals with the explanation of the creed of Ahlu Sunna wa Aljamaa under the systems of his sheikh/teacher Sheikh Habib Aqeel bin Umran named “الفيض المقسوم شرح الدرالمنضوم “. It also included a collection of Prose and Poetry.

Sheikh Habeeb Ba Umar was from the lineage of the prophet and he propagated the way of the prophet through his works and knowledge thus giving himself a great status among the people of salalah and other countries that he travelled to. He was a staunch critic of innovations in religion and tread the straight path, the path of the Prophet and his family. He passed away in the year 1685 A.D (1095 hijri).

May he be granted Jannah in the hereafter.

Kissing The Sun

The highest points in the Gulf, the place where the sun meets the earth. This is what Jabel Shams is all about. Jabel Shams translated as the sun mountain due to the fact that Oman sees its dusk and dawn on this peak first is the highest peak in the Middle East standing at 3009 m at its summit. It stood with pride among the Hajar range and looked splendorous.

We started off at dawn from Muscat reaching Nizwa through the beautiful way covering small and large Rocky Mountains and we could see the Hajar range basking in glory. We reached Nizwa and had breakfast and set off for the mountains. The town of Nizwa was a historic one. Elected as the Islamic cultural capital of Oman, it lives the Omani tradition. The Nizwa fort and Souq showed the old architecture and the walled city in it. We moved forward to reach near Bahla to proceed towards the Hamra-Jabel Shams road. Soon we reached Hamra and moved towards Jabel Shams. The track was winding and we could see the mountain range closing towards us. We were surrounded by mountains, blue grey and brown with spots of green Date Palms and farm fields. Soon we reached Nakhur were the ancient ruins of Persians still survived. The road started the ascend. It was picturesque and with the usual Omani shades of brown. This land is amazing and mystical. An aura of mystique surrounds you while you travel to the interiors of Oman and we felt it here as well.

The climb was winding and we could see the below villages getting smaller and smaller. The Date Palms and green fields got tinier as the weather got colder. The air was much crispier. Soon the terrain got grayer and steeper until we saw a mesmerizing view of the below land. It was Hamra I suppose but I could see the white buildings at the horizon and a curtain of haze on it. Soon the tar track ended and the muddy brown tracks appeared. We travelled long along the dusty rugged terrain until we reached the view point. It was breath taking. The massive high peaks formed narrow deep chasms into the ground down below. The place was at around 2400m and it looked boisterous.

The mountain formed gorges and crevasses into the land below. It was as though the piece was cut out of the mountains. We moved ahead towards the village of khitaym to take our trekking pass. The grand canyon of Oman as it is called lay in front of us. This large natural wonder is simply breathtaking. It is said to be the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in the US and is named the Grand Canyon of Oman. It lays at a height of 3009m at the summit( varies from 2980m to 3009m) and the canyon dives in to the deep. The gorge beneath is known as Wadi Ghul. The entire canyon can be circumvented through the trekking pass of W6 which is a balcony walk around the canyon.

The weather was cool at 16c and it helped during the trek. It was a really splendid journey. As we got down to the pass, we could see the majestic cliff in its brown rising up from the gorge beneath. A few date palms and shrubs were seen below. Jabel Shams is famous for its juniper trees. The hills and the mountains that we passed by were spotted with twirling barks of the juniper trees. At one of the valleys nearing the summit, there were numerous of them.  It looked as though an old frail man was looking at us with his hands resting on his chin. I thought of it as a time teller, who stayed there from time immemorial saying stories of the past. Some of the juniper trees were really old. The main flora of this place is its beautiful juniper trees with their dusty green canopy and the wild olives that grew here and there. Apart from these there were the usual thorny shrubs of the semi-arid terrain. The trail that we took was also the same with junipers and the thorny shrubs. As we walked down , we could see the mountain goats at sides chewing shrubs and leaves standing at the edge. I wondered how they could do this with their hoofs. It was fascinating. The goats were beautiful with their silky hairs and wide eyes yet looked sturdy with pride. They were better climbers than us and I wondered at them. Some clung onto the rocks and were walking upwards. Soon we reached the middle of our climb down. The village of sab stood there at the edge.

This view was breathtaking. The ancient village of Sab Bani Khamis and its ruins were found at the edge of this cliff. The mud bricked houses and a store stood there vertical onto the cliff and was a piece of early engineering marvel. The houses are said to have outlets towards to the lower areas and stay there clinging onto the edge. They brown and seen as though inserted into the cliff walls. They are said to be the village of the khamsamsah tribe who have shifted to Hamra and other villages below. Soon we reached the terrace cultivation lands created at the edge of this cliff. It was dry and abandoned but looked splendor. At the end of this pass was the tower overlooking the Grand Canyon. We climbed up and were greeted with a beautiful view. The entire land ahead was visible. We could see the Hamra with haze on it.

We climbed down and proceeded further. The rocks were large and boulder-like. We climbed them with little bit of difficulty since we weren’t prepared much for this trip. We had our water bottles and they were almost empty. As we climbed we could see the edge of the pool. This was one breathtaking view. Soon after the climb, tucked inside the edge of the cliff lie a shallow but large pool. The water dropped down from the rocks above and the pool looked emerald. It was cool, a soothing coolness. This was balcony view. We climbed down and sat beside the pool. It was a nature pool tucked into the edge of the bowl.

After lying down in the pool enjoying the coolness of the water we returned back. We saw slithery salamanders on the way. Grey dull ones slithered along the rocks. The return was tougher since we had no water with us. The temperature dipped to 8c and was really cool. The walk across the edge of the canyon was a tip-toe when seen from far. When we looked back at the route we took, we didn’t seen one. It looked plain edge all the way down the 2400 meters.

Soon we reached the starting point. The mountain stood behind us grand and pride. The shadows went deep down forming brown and grey together. It was majestic and the sun was dipping down behind the mountains. It was as though the sun rested on a throne or a royal chalice. It was indeed the mountain of the sun with the orange and crimson behind the cliff of brown and blue….

We kissed him, we kissed the sun.

In between The Mountains

A Trip to Bilad sayt in The Sultanate Of Oman

The road lay in front of us like a slithering slate-coloured snake. It was a one way road that went straight into the mountains and got lost. We were finding it with every move. The small brown hills at the sides made the road look thinner. The speedometer clocked 100 as we drove past the brown hills. The picture was brown, dark brown hills with greyish barren terrain in between. Very few houses were seen at the sides.

The trip from “Hayy a Thurath” towards” bilad sayt” was long .The distance was less but the one-way road that went winding with elevations across the hills at places meant that we couldn’t keep a constant speed. This road led to the village of Al Hamra. Al Hamra is a picturesque green village that has a history of more than 400 years.

The sky was dark. It was blue with creamy clouds here and there. We saw The Al Hajar ranges in front of us. This great range of mountain lay in front of us in glory. The road is seen narrow and thin and gets lost in this grey boulder of mountains. It had long black cracks on it which were actually deep cliffs and narrow gorges. White spots were seen on top of some of them. Some beautiful villages were studded on them and the houses looked like sugar spread.

The mountain was grey and inclined deeply towards the peak. The range laid there as a boulder.it was a natural border for the place as it cut of the central Oman from the north. As we approached a roundabout we saw a board showing ‘Bilad Sayt’ at 45km towards the right. We now entered the hills. We were surrounded by shades of brown.

The mountains were above us. Now there were layers of hills and mountains playing shades of colour. From brown to grey to blue, the colour differed at different ranges and was a stunning view.it overshadowed each other and came back in waves. Slowly we reached the foot of the range. The road was a winding one. We started uphill. It was a hot day and the temperature was at 38c. The uphill climb was as though we were cutting through a large cake.  We could see the surrounding hills get smaller and smaller. The view was simply breath-taking. The brown hills lay below the large grey mountains and the road that we climbed looked like a slithering black snake at the bottom with crumbs of cars moving. Towards the west lay the large village of Al Hamra. The white houses and the numerous date palms now formed a dense tone. The village laid there like a sheet of velvet spread. Across it, the sun shone. The sky was blue but as though waiting for the sun to splash its setting colours.

The uphill journey continued. It was time for sunset.  With a peaceful flow it started splashing crimson and pink all over the blue sky. Now the sky was crimson with shades of pink and a little bit of blue. The mountain lay below holding on to the sky with a grey and a tinge of violet. It looked bold and felt pride booming from it. The mountain sometimes looked like a curtain, a curtain of dark shade that separated the landscape and at times like a solid bolder standing high.

The village grew even smaller and the houses looked tinier. The mountain turned grey-blue and the sky above had spectacular shades of violet and pink mixed with each other. The sun had set and the last rays had beamed yellow before ending a day. It was peace in physical form.

As we drove again the weather became pleasant. The windows were open and there was a cool breeze blowing serenity. I heard a shout. It echoed throughout and I halted and looked around. The shout repeated several times and it sounded like a bleat. A young boy was seen climbing down the cliff in great pace and skill and he was barefooted. He jumped down the rocks with ease. He wore a dark coloured Dishdasha and in front of him was a flock of sheep. It looked beautiful across the grey rocks. The entire flock was climbing down. Some were walking down briskly while others were clambering down the rocks. The shepherd shouted and the flock moved as instructed. There were brown, black, white and cream coloured ones that were climbing down the grey and brown rocks.
The violet sky at the background made it mystical and tranquil. For a moment I became a Sufi, a Sufi like the shepherd who had no worldly desires in between him and the creator. The Rumi in me was awakened and I was lost in eternal reality. The shepherd was the real Sufi since he was closer to god with this near-heaven abode of life.

Soon we reached a viewpoint. The cliff reached deep at the bottom and like beauty in a bowl the village lay studded in the valley. The mountain shades, cliffs and the weather made it more memorable. It was cold but the gentle breeze that was blowing brought tranquillity across our faces. It was dark now and Al Hamra lit up with the street lights looked magnificent. An ornamental jewellery work lay below us and it was the village at night. We started our descent. With every turn the temperature rose until we were back at the bottom of the range.

We looked back and saw the huge mountains, dark and proud. No one thought there was life on top but life existed only there.

The Felaj

Ancient engineering skills are something that surprises our minds since during that period heavy machinery and other forms of equipment we have today weren’t available. One of such systems that requires mention is the Felaj system of irrigation in Oman. The Felaj system is seen across Oman and some parts of Iran and Iraq and these systems have a history of more than 3000 years. The system known as Felaj (p. Aflaj) was built for extensive irrigation needs of this region since the region is a semi-arid terrain and rainfall is scarce. This system is an engineering marvel of ancient Arabia.

The system is actually a network of channels that pass through an entire village supplying water from a hidden source somewhere at the foot of the mountains.It acts as arteries of water that supplies the entire region. The system has a mother well from which water is channeled into the villages and water can be used from these small networks of the Felaj system. The Felaj are seen all over Oman and have different varieties. In Iran it is called Qanat and is of slightly a different form having a large mother well and a number of vertical shafts. The Omani Felaj system is of ancient origin dating back to as early as 2500 B.C.

This system can provide water across large areas and some of the Felaj extend upto 12 Kms or more. The water supply increases with rain and may be scarce during intense summer but it provides water almost all year round. These Aflaj are found in almost every part of Oman and there are about 3000 of such systems at present.The Aflaj system has been included in the world Heritage sites by UNESCO.

The photos show an old Felaj in the village of Imty which has gone dry. This system consists of a source well hidden from view at the foot of the mountains bordering the village. The water is carried from there through underground channel of the felaj and flows into the village. The felaj consists of small wells in to which the water is fed. These wells are about 10-12 metres in depth and the water flows through it and emerges out from another well from at the other side of the village about 100metres away. The system then runs across other fields and houses in the village. The water flows in the well (gharraq) and reaches another one and flows out through it (fallah). The entire artery is hidden from view and lies beneath the land.

Another interesting fact is the material used in the construction of this sophisticated network of water channels. The felaj is strengthened and cemented with a material known as Surookh, which could be called ancient cement. The material is made from the wood of a tree which is burnt to ashes and used for cementing the Felaj. The material is strong and still remains as it is without much damage.

The engineering and science used in these systems make us think about the expertise that the ancient generations had and this system is a remarkable asset to the Omani History.

 

sources: My travels to the A'Dakhiliyah region

Photos from the Wilayat of Izki

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1207