Quick Facts
Biography
Not to be confused with Waris Shah
Waris Ali Shah (Urdu: حاجی وارث علی شاہ, Hindi: हाजी वारिस अली शाह) or Sarkar Waris Pak (Urdu: سرکار وارث پاک, Hindi: सरकार वारिस पाक) (1819-1905) was a Sufi saint from Dewa, Barabanki, India, and was the founder of the Warsi order of Sufism. He travelled widely in the west and admitted people to his spiritual order. His shrine is situated at Dewa, India.
Life
Father
His father's name was Qurban Ali Shah whose tomb too is located in Dewa.
Haji Waris Ali Shah at a very early age showed an extraordinary inclination for a religious life: even in his extreme boyhood, he was regarded as amazingly proficient in his knowledge and practice of religion.
Social engagements
He went to Mecca for pilgrimage many times. During his extensive travels in Europe, he visited the Sultan of Turkey and Bismarck of Berlin. He also travelled to England and had an audience with Queen Victoria.
He was a friend of Abdul Bari.
Death
He died on 30th Muharram 1323 AH (6 April 1905 CE).
Sufi order
Waris Ali Shah belonged to the Qadiriyya and Chishtiyya schools of Sufism. He was initiated in the traditional Chishtiyya Sufi order, but he adopted more liberal view and permitted his followers to remain in their own religion.
When he was a small boy, Waris Ali attached himself to Haji Khadim Ali Shah, a sufi dervish of Golabganj, Lucknow, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, and remained with him until his death in 1832-33 when Waris Ali was 16 years old.
His disciples
He had many prominent followers from several faiths. His numerous disciples, which include both Muslims and Hindus.
- Shaiq Khuda Bakhsh.
- Mushir Husain Kidwai, Gadia.
- Thakur Pancham Singh.
- Zamindar Dt. Mainpuri.
- Raja Udyat Narayan Sing (Suratgunj, Oudh).
- Baboo Moti Misser (Bhagalpu).
- Thakur Grur Mohan Singh, Zamindar (Bhagalpur).
- Hazrat Baba Sufi Syed Diwana Shah Warsi (Jagatdal,West Bengal).
- Sadaf Jabbar Fazihat.
- Shah Abdul Ad Shah.
- Maulana Mohammad Shah.
- Mustaqim Shah.
- Sai Baba of Shirdi
Haji Waris Ali Shah was the Pir of Mushir Husain Kidwai of Gadia, a zamindar, barrister and pan-Islamist politician from Barabanki.
Shaiq Khuda Bakhsh was a follower of Waris Ali Shah. He collected the sayings of his spiritual guide Malfūzāt-i-Hāji Wāris 'Ali Shāh. His book, Tohmat-ul-Asfiya, is the biography of Waris Ali Shah.
Urs
An urs, or death anniversary, locally known as Dewa mela is observed in October–November. It is attended by nearly a million Muslims and Hindus. It is said that this fair was started by Haji Waris Ali Shah in memory of his father, Qurban Ali Shah. Another fair is held beside the tomb of Haji Waris Ali Shah on the first of the Muslim month of Safar every year.