The Muslim Halwai are a Muslim community found in various parts of India and Pakistan, mainly in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. They have their ancestral backgrounds from Halwai tribes.

Halva Halva (also halvah, halwa, halua, and other spellings; ) is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Central Asia, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad va ...

means ''sweets'' in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and ''Halvai'' or ''Halwai'' are sweet makers They are also known as Mohammadi Halwai, Adnani.. The Halwai are a Sunni Muslim community. Due to the widespread influence of Sufism and Sufi saints across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, many Halwai communities converted to Islam through prominent figures such as

Moinuddin Chishti Mu'in al-Din Hasan Chishti Sijzi (; February 1143 – March 1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (), was a Persians, Persian Islamic scholar and Sufism, mystic from Sistan, who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontin ...

Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar ( – 16 Oct 1265), commonly known as Bābā Farīd or Sheikh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed, Fareed ud-Deen, Masood, etc.), was a 13th-century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet and preacher. Revered by M ...

Nizamuddin Auliya Khawaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin (), Sultan-ul-Mashaikh () and Mahbub-e-Ilahi (), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, a ...

, Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, and Bahauddin Naqshbandi, becoming their ''murids'' (disciples). To express their spiritual connection, they adopted these Sufi saints' names as surnames, such as

Chishti The Chishti order () is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city ...

Qadri Qaderi (also transcribed variously as Qadri, Qadiri, Qadry, Kadri, or Quadri) is an Arabic/Islamic surname. It is associated with the Sufi saint Abdul Qadir Gilani or the Qadiriyya order founded by him. People with the name include: Qaderi * Hab ...

, Nizami, Misbahi, Razavi, Faridi, and Siddiqui (the latter due to the

Naqshbandi order Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

). It's crucial to understand that this adoption of surnames signifies discipleship, not direct lineage. In Uttar Pradesh, particularly in cities like Badaun, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Rampur, Shahjahanpur, Kannauj, and Kasganj, Muslim Halwais adopted surnames derived from their ''pirs'' (spiritual guides) and Sufis. Therefore, individuals with surnames like Farooqui, Siddiqui, Chishti, Faridi, Alvi, or Zaidi are not necessarily direct descendants of these historical figures but rather demonstrate their affiliation with their respective Sufi orders. Furthermore, some of these Muslim communities, upon achieving economic prosperity, sought to elevate their social standing, sometimes leading to the perception that they belonged to higher social ranks or even claimed Syed lineage. However, Islamic tradition recognizes lineage through direct descent, not through spiritual affiliations. While some individuals attribute themselves to the Qadri or Barkaati orders, this does not automatically make them descendants of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani of Baghdad or Shah Barkatullah of Marehra Sharif, Uttar Pradesh. It simply indicates their connection to those particular Sufi traditions. They are a landless community, involved in the selling of sweetmeats, tobacco, and as well as the occupation of dyeing clothes. Members of the community members have taken up jobs in government and private service. They are largely an urban community, living in their residential quarters. Almost all older cities in North India and Pakistan have a Halwai Mohalla The Muslim Halwai have their own registered committee with name of All India Muslim Halwai biradari committee to deal with matters relating to the community. Haji Mahmood Ahmad is a founder and President of all India Muslim halwai biradari committee.

References

{{Indian Muslim Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Pakistan