Shah Abdullah alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (1743–1824,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

:) was a Sufi Shaykh 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 ...

during the early 19th century. He was a master of the

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 ...

tradition His father wanted to make him a disciple of Qādri,.

Biography

He was born in 1156 AH (1743 C.E.) in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, in present-day India. His father was Shah Abdul-Latif, a scholar and Sufi shaykh belonging to the

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 ...

tariqah A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the r ...

. It is reported in his biographies that his father had a dream before his birth in which he saw Sayyadna

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 ...

, who told him to name the baby on his name (''Ali''). After he grew up, he modified his own name to be Ghulam Ali (literally meaning slave of Ali, a common name in Indian Muslims today). He is reported to have memorized the

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 ...

in a single month's duration. In 1170 AH he came to Delhi to take the oath of allegiance to

Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan Mirzā Mazhar Jān-i Jānān (), also known by his laqab Shamsuddīn Habībullāh (13 March 1699 – 6 January 1781), was a renowned Hanafi Maturidi Naqshbandi, Naqshbandī Sufi poet of Delhi, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of Urdu p ...

, who was a famous Shaykh of

tariqah in Delhi at that time. After getting trained in the major Sufi orders including

for 15 years, he received complete Khilafat (spiritual

Ijazah An ''ijazah'' (, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such authority. It is particul ...

) from his Shaykh. He had many Khulafa (deputies) who spread the

Sufi order to a vast number of people in the whole Muslim world at that time. His Khulafa went to

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 ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Madinah Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. His famous khalifa was Mawlana

Khalid al-Baghdadi Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

, who had hundreds of thousands of followers in his lifetime, and many

's today in Turkey and nearby countries follow him. His chief deputy and successor was Hafiz Abu-Saeed-Ahmadi Faruqi Mujaddidi Naqshbandi (

) and his next successor was Hafiz Shah Ahmed Saeed Faruqi Mujaddidi, son of Hafiz Shah Abu Saeed (

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

) He is quoted to have said: "My Faid (spirituality) has reached far off countries. Our Halqa is held in

Makkah Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above sea level. Its metropo ...

and our Halqa is held in

. Similarly our Halqa is held in

, Rome (now Turkey and Cyprus) and Maghrib (Parts of Europe and Africa facing Asia). And

is our parental home." He died on 22

Safar Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...

1240 AH (15/16 October 1824) and was buried alongside his Shaykh's grave in Khanqah Mirja in

Writings

He wrote books, the best known being ''Mazhari'' in Persian, which is a complete biography of his shaykh

Shaheed. His other books are: * Edah-e-Tariqat * Ahwal-e-Buzurgaan * Risalah dar Tariqah Ba'yat wa Azkar * Risalah dar Tariqah Naqshband * Risalah Sitri Chand dar Ahwal-e-Shah-e-Naqshband * Risalah-e-Azkar * Risalah-e-Muraqbat * Risalah dar Aitarazat Shaykh Abdul-Haq bar Hazrat Mujaddid * Risalah Mashgooliyah * Sulook Raqia Naqshbandia * Makateeb Shareefa (collection of his letters) * Kamalat-e-Mazhariya * Malfoozat-e-SharifaGhulam Ali Dehlavi's book in Urdu Malfuzat-e-Sharifa
Archived link, Retrieved 16 August 2018

Naqshbandi chain

Qadri chain

Extracted from Maqamat Mazhari by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi # Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi #

# Muhammad Abid Sanami # Abdul Ahad # Muhammad Said #

Ahmed Sirhindi Ahmad Sirhindi (1564 – 1624/1625) was an Indian Islamic scholar, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order who lived during the era of Mughal Empire. Ahmad Sirhindi opposed heterodox movements within the Mughal court such as Di ...

# Abdul Ahad Faruqi # Shah Kamal Kethali # Shah Fuzail # Gada e Rahman Sani # Shamsuddin Arif # Gada e Rahman Awal # Shamsuddin Sehrai # Aqeel # Abdul Wahhab # Sharfuddin # Abdur Razzaq #

Abdul-Qadir Gilani 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, a ...

Chishti chain

Extracted from Maqamat Mazhari by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi # Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlvi #

# Muhammad Abid Sanami # Abdul Ahad Sirhindi # Muhammad Said #

# Abdul Ahad Faruqi # Ruknuddin #

Abdul Quddus Gangohi Abdul Quddus Gangohi (1456–1537) was an Indian Sufi scholar. Life He was a Sufi poet and Chisti shaykh. He belonged to the Sabiri branch of the Chishti silsila ''Silsila'' () is an Arabic language, Arabic word meaning ''chain'', ...

# Muhammad Arif # Ahmed Abdul Haq # Jalaluddin Panipati # Shamsuddin Turk Panipati #

Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari Khwāja Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sayyid Alauddin Ali Ahmed “Sabir” (1196–1291) also known as Sabir Kaliyari (; ), was an Indian Sunni Muslim preacher and Sufi saint of the 13th century. He was a nephew and successor to Baba Fareed, great grandso ...

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 ...

Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki ''Quṭb al-Aqṭāb'' Khwāja Sayyid Muḥammad Bakhtiyār al-Ḥusaynī, Quṭb al-Dīn Bakhtiyār Kākī (born 1173 – died 1235) was a Sunni Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the disci ...

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

His Khulafa

His Khulafa were numerous and many of them were prominent Shaykhs at their times. Following is a list of his most prominent Khulafa as extracted from various sources. # Mawlana Hafiz Abu-Saeed-Ahmadi Faruqi Mujaddidi Naqshbandi, his successor (

) # Mawlana Hafiz Shah Ahmed Saeed Faruqi Mujaddidi, son of Hafiz Shah Abu Saeed (

) # Shah Rauf Ahmed Raaft Faruqi Mujaddidi Rampuri (

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

) # Mawlana

Khalid al-Baghdadi Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

al-Kurdi al-Rumi (

) # Mawlana Ismaeel Madani (

) # Mawlana Ghulam Mohiuddin Qusoori # Mawlana Bashartullah Behra'ichi # Mawlana Shah Gul Muhammad Ghaznavi (

) # Mawlana Muhammad Sharif (

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 ...

) # Mawlana Pir Muhammad (

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, 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 P ...

) # Mawlana Jan Muhammad (

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

) # Mawlana Muhammad Jan (

, d.1266 AH), whose Khulafa spread up to Turkey # Shah Saad'ullah Naqshbandi (Hyderabad)

References

External links

Maqamat Mazhari (Urdu translation) by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi: Biography of his shaykh Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
* 'Halate Mashayekhe Naqshbandiya Mujaddediya' written by mawlana muhammad hasan naqshbandi mujaddedi.first published march,1982.(1402hz).'Narinda khanka Sharif' {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi 1743 births 1824 deaths People from Patiala Hanafis Maturidis Naqshbandi order Indian Sufi saints Sufi teachers 18th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam