Hamza Makhdoom, popularly known as Makhdoom Sahib (c. 1494 – c. 1576), was a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

mystic living in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. He is sometimes referred to as Mehboob-ul-Alam (literally, "beloved of the world") and Sultan-ul-Aarifeen (literally, "king among those who know God").

Early life

Hamza Makhdoom was born in the village of Tujjar near Sopore in

Baramulla district Baramulla district or Varmul (in Kashmiri) is one of the 20 districts in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Baramulla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covered an area of in 2001, but it ...

. His father was called Baba Usman and came from a

Chandravanshi The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities (''S ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

family. According to tradition, teenage Hamza Makhdoom studied in the Shamsi Chak monastery for a year, and later studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

, tradition,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. S ...

, logics, ethics and mysticism in a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated ...

founded by Ismail Kubrawi.

Teachings

A prolific scholar and spiritual preacher, Hamza Makhdoom adhered to the tradition of Jalaluddin Bukhari. He directed his teachings specifically to the followers of Islam, and under his influence a part of Kashmir's population trully followed the

Hanafi jurisprudence The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named af ...

. He was staunch follower of Shariah and Sunnah.

Death

He died at an age of 82 in year 1576 (984 AH) in

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its na ...

. Nearly fourteen years after his death, king

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

built a shrine there which was reconstructed during the Afghan rule by Atta Mohammad Khan around 1821 AD. The shrine, located on the southern slope of Hari Parbat Hill and popularly called Makhdoom Sahib and Hazrat Sultan, is an important

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

centre in Kashmir. Atta Mohammad Khan Barakzai in his honour issued the coins bearing the names of Nur-ud-Din-Rishi and Hamza Makhdoom.

References

{{Reflist 1494 births 1576 deaths Sufism in Asia Sufi mystics Kashmiri people Kashmir

Early life

Teachings

Death

See also

References