Khattaknamah Akorkhel Khattak
Sheikh Rahmakar was born on Friday evening, December 25, 1573, in Kandakhel, Kohsar, Nowshera in present-day Pakistan.
He was a descendant of Muhammad in the 25th generation. His grandfather was a revered saint among the Pashtuns named Mast Baba, whose shrine is located seven miles away from his own shrine in Nowshera. Even though his title was “Sheikh Al-Mashaikh, which means “teacher of all teachers,” he is known by the alias “Kaka Sahib.”
He is known to this day as the epitome of Islamic asceticism (in Arabic, “Zuhd”), زہدhe was very conspicuous among clerics during his lifetime because of his regular voluntary fasting. Furthermore, he is known for his ascetic sermons, which included the importance of nightly prayer (“Tahajjud”), as well as character patterns such as decency (“Sharafat”), qualitative modesty (“Faqr”), generosity (“Karam”), and empathy (“Rahm”) toward fellow human beings. His empathy and fame due to his philanthropic projects cleared him the title of “Rahamkar” (in English: “Benefactor”). His philanthropic projects were especially those aimed at improving the quality of living conditions.
He founded several educational institutions where he and his graduate students taught Islamic law (“Fiqh”), history (“Tarikh”) philosophy (“Kalam”) and mysticism (“Tasawuf”).
He enjoyed a high reputation among many contemporary scholars because of his religious activities. One Sufi healer with whom he is said to have had a very close friendship was Sayyid Khwaja Khawand Mahmud, the contemporary head of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, also known as Hazrat Ishaan.
Similar to the patron saint of Kashmiri society in Srinagar named Moinuddin Hadi Naqshband, who is a central primary source of his father Khwaja Khawand Mahmud’s life, Sayyid Kastir Gul’s son Mian Abdul Haleem is also a central reference who narrates his father’s life. The latter emphasized his father’s affiliation with the Suhrawardi Sufi Order, which was founded by Shahabuddin Suhrawardi to which Jalaluddin Surkh Push Bukhari also belonged.
Sayyid Kastir Gul had five children and is considered the patriarch of the Kakakhel tribe known today. The Kakakhel tribe enjoys great prestige in Pakistani politics to this day, whose members are particularly known as high-ranking civil servants, Attorneys, and clerics.
Historically, the Kakakhel tribe played a central role in the defense of the Emirate of Afghanistan against the Sikh from 1751-1837 like in the battle of Nowshera. Due to the legendary friendship of Sayyid Kastir Gul and Sayyid Khwaja Khawand Mahmud, the descendants of both Saints are very close.
Sayyid Kastir Guil died, according to the Islamic lunar calendar, on Friday, June 20, 1653. In Pashtun circles, his effort to perform prayers (“salat”) in his last moments, where he was to depend on the assistance of two of his children, is highlighted to this day.
