Badīʿ al-Dīn, known as Shāh Madār, and by the title Qutb-ul-Madar 1315–1434), was a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...

Sufi who migrated to India where he founded the

Madariyya The Madariyya is a Sufi order () popular in North India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, the Mewat region, Bihar, Gujarat and West Bengal, as well as in Nepal and Bangladesh. Known for its syncretic aspects and its focus on internal '' dhi ...

Sufi brotherhood. He is held in high esteem as a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

Biography

Badi' al-Din hailed originally from Syria, and was born in Aleppo in 1315 CE. In later centuries, a growing number of legends arose in relation to Badi' al-Din, which resulted in sources continuously backdating his year of birth. These same sources also disagree about Badi' al-Din's descent. Some state that he was a ''

sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

'', that is, a descendant of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

, and trace his descent back to Imam

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

(died 765 CE). Others mention descent from Muhammad's companion (''

sahabi The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

'')

Abu Hurayra Abu Hurayra ( ar, أبو هريرة, translit=Abū Hurayra; –681) was one of the companions of Islamic prophet Muhammad and, according to Sunni Islam, the most prolific narrator of hadith. He was known by the ''kunyah'' Abu Hurayrah "Father ...

, who died CE. The assertion that Badi' al-Din was a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

who had converted to Islam is not corroborated by other sources. His teacher was Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami. After making a

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 ...

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

, he journeyed to India to spread the Islamic faith. He converted many Hindus to Islam in India. Here he founded the

order. His tomb, built by order of Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi (1402–40), is at

Makanpur Makanpur (formerly known as Khairabad) is a town in Kanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Makanpur is a town in the tehsil of Bilhaur. Makanpur is well connected by rail and road. The nearest city to Makanpur is Araul, which ...

References

Sufi saints Islamic philosophers People from Aleppo Syrian Sufi saints Syrian emigrants Burials in India 1315 births 1434 deaths {{India-stub