Shah Niyaz Ahmad (1742-1834) was a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and author from India.

Life and death

Shah was born on 6th Jumada al-Thani 1155 Hijri (7 August 1742) and died on 6th Jumada al-Thani 1250 Hijri (9 October 1834). His Tomb lies in the city Bareilly Sharif of

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 ...

Parental lineage

He was descendant of 4th

Rashidun Caliph The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the Muslim community and po ...

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

. He was an Alvi Syed from his paternal line and his mother was Rizvi Syed. His great-grandfathers belonged to the royal family of

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. Among his great-grandfathers Shah Ayaat-ul-lah Alvi left the sultanate and settled in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

. His grandson Azmatullah Alvi came to

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

. His son Elahi Shah Muhammad later settled in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. He was the father of Niyaz. He was appointed Chief Justice in

. He earned the title of "Hakim-e-Elahi". Shah Niyaz was born in Sirhind and came to Delhi with his father. His mother's name was Bibi Laado but she was famous by the name of Bibi Gharib Nawaz. She was descendant of

Musa al-Kazim Musa al-Kazim (; 745–799) was a descendant of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and the seventh Twelve Imams, imam in Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shia Islam. Musa is often known by the title al-Kazim (), apparently ...

Education

His primary education started at home under the guidance of his maternal grandfather Sa'id-ud-din. Later he was educated at

Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

Faqriya Delhi. He completed his education including

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

Tafseer Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

at the age of 15. He then became a teacher there. He later became the principal of the madrasa.

Initiation in Sufi Order

Niyaz got his Sufi training from Sayed Fakhar-uddin Muhammad Dehalvi, also known as Fakhr-e-Jahan, in

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

, (Uttar Pradesh, India). Later, Niyaz was inducted in

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

order by Abdullah Shah Baghdadi, who was direct descendant of

Abdul Qadir Jilani Abdul Qadir Gilani (; ; c. 1077/78 – 1166) was a Hanbali scholar, preacher, and Sufi leader who was the eponym of the Qadiriyya, one of the oldest Sufi orders. He was born c. 1077/78 in the town of Na'if, Rezvanshahr in Gilan, Persia, an ...

. Shah Niyaz also received spiritual blessings from other saints of other Sufi orders. He was initiated in Qadiriyya order by Syed Abdullah Baghdadi and Mohi-ud-din Diyasnami, in Chisti-Nizami order by Moulana Fakhar-e-Jahan and Said-ud-din, in Suharwardi order by Fakhar-e-Jahan, and in

Chisti 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 o ...

- Sabri-

Naqshbandi 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 ...

order by Shah Rahmat-ul-lah. The Sufi order he established is known as the ''Niyazi Silsila''.

Marriage and children

He married twice. His first wife, who was daughter of Abdullah Baghdadi, died after some years in marriage. He had two sons, Shah Nizam-ud-din Husain and Shah Nasir-ud-din, from his second wife. He died on 6th Jumada al-Thani 1250 Hijri (9 October 1834) in Bareilly, where his tomb located. His urs (death anniversary) is celebrated annually in a traditional way.

Khalifa (Caliphs)

His eldest son Nizamuddin Hussain was his premier khalifa and successor. Other prominent khulafa included Syed Muhammed Sani of Badakshan, Maulvi Abdul Latif of Samarkand, Maulvi Naimatullah of Kabul, Maulvi Yar Muhammed of Kabul, Mulla Jan Muhammed of Kabul, Maulana Waz Muhammed of Badakshan, Maulvi Muhammed Husain of Mecca, Mirza Asadullah Baig of Bareilly, Mirza Agha Muhammad of Jabalpur, Maulvi Ubiadullah of Mansehra and Shah Miskeen Jaipuri.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah Niyaz Ahmad Sufis Indian poets 1742 births 1834 deaths 18th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian poets 18th-century Indian Muslims 19th-century Indian Muslims Indian male poets Indian Sufi saints Urdu-language poets from India