Quick Facts
Biography
Shah Abdullah alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (1743–1824, Urdu:شاہ غلام علی دہلوی) was a very prominent Sufi Shaykh in Delhi during early 19th century. He was a master of the Naqshbandi tradition and also in other major Sufi orders such as Qadri and Chishti.
Biography
He was born in 1156 AH (1743 C.E) in Patiala, Punjab in current-day India. His father was Shah Abdul-Latif, a scholar and Sufi shaykh belonging to the Qadri tariqah. It is reported in his biographies that his father had a dream before his birth in which he saw Sayyadna Ali 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). Similarly, his mother had a dream in which she saw Muhammad who told her to name the baby Abdullah. Hence his real name is still known to be Abdullah while his alias is Ghulam Ali.
He is reported to have memorized the Quran 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 who was a famous Shaykh of Naqshbandi tariqah in Delhi at that time. After getting trained in the major Sufi orders including Naqshbandi for 15 years, he received complete Khilafat (spiritual Ijazah) from his Shaykh.
He had many Khulafa (deputies) who spread the Naqshbandi Sufi order to a vast number of people in the whole Muslim world at that time. His Khulafa went to Bukhara, Baghdad, Madinah and Turkey. His famous khalifa was Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi who had hundreds of thousands of followers in his lifetime, and many Naqshbandi's today in Turkey and nearby countries follow him.
He is quoted to have said: "My Faid (spirituality) has reached far off countries. Our Halqa is held in Makkah and our Halqa is held in Madinah. Similarly our Halqa is held in Baghdad, Rome (now Turkey and Cyprus) and Maghrib (Parts of Europe and Africa facing Asia). And Bukhara is our parental home."
He died on 22 Safar 1240 AH (15/16 October 1824) and was buried alongside his Shaykh's grave in Khanqah Mazharia in Delhi.
Writings
He wrote multiple books, the most famous of them is Maqamat Mazhari in Persian, which is a complete biography of his shaykh Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan 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
Spiritual Chain of Succession
Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi received Ijazah in multiple tariqahs of Sufism, mainly the Naqshbandi.
Naqshbandi chain
| # | Name | Buried | Birth | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sayyadna Muhammad the last Prophet | Madinah, Saudi Arabia | Mon 12 Rabi al-Awwal (570/571 CE) | 12 Rabi al-Awwal 11 AH (5/6 June 632 CE) |
| 2 | Sayyadna Abu Bakr Siddiq | Madinah, Saudi Arabia | 22 Jumada al-Thani 13 AH (22 August 634 C.E) | |
| 3 | Sayyadna Salman al-Farsi | Mada'in, Iraq | 10 Rajab 33 AH (4/5 February 654 C.E) | |
| 4 | Imām Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, son of son of (2) | Madinah, Saudi Arabia | 23 Shaban 24 AH (22/23 June 645 C.E) | 24 Jumada al-Thani 101/106/107 AH |
| 5 | Imām Jafar Sadiq, son of granddaughter of (2) | Madinah, Saudi Arabia | 8 Ramadan 80 AH (5/6 November 699 C.E) | 15 Rajab 148 AH (6/7 September 765 C.E) |
| 6 | Khwaja Bayazid Bastami | Bistam, Semnan province, Iran | 186 AH (804 C.E) | 15 Shaban 261 AH (24/25 May 875 C.E) |
| 7 | Khwaja Abul-Hassan Kharaqani | Kharaqan, near Bistam, Semnan province, Iran | 352 AH (963 C.E) | 10 Muharram 425 AH (5/6 December 1033 C.E) |
| 8 | Khwaja Abul Qasim Gurgani | Gurgan, Iran | 23 Safar 450 AH (19/20 April 1058 C.E) | |
| 9 | Khwaja Abu Ali Farmadi | Toos, Khurasan, Iran | 434 AH (1042/1043 C.E) | 4 Rabi al-Awwal 477 or 511 AH (10 July 1084 / 6 July 1117) |
| 10 | Khwaja Abu Yaqub Yusuf Hamadānī | Marv, near Mary, Turkmenistan | 440 AH (1048/1049 C.E) | Rajab 535 AH (Feb/Mar 1141 C.E) |
| 11 | Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghujdawani | Ghajdawan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 22 Shaban 435 AH (24/25 March 1044 C.E) | 12 Rabi al-Awwal 575 AH (17/18 August 1179 C.E) |
| 12 | Khwaja Arif Reogari | Reogar, near Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 27 Rajab 551 AH (15 September 1156 C.E) | 1 Shawwal 616 AH (10/11 December 1219 C.E.) |
| 13 | Khwaja Mahmood Anjir-Faghnawi | Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 18 Shawwal 628 AH (18/19 August 1231 C.E) | 17 Rabi al-Awwal 717 AH (29/30 May 1317 C.E) |
| 14 | Khwaja Azizan Ali Ramitani | Khwaarizm, Uzbekistan | 591 AH (1194 C.E) | 27 Ramadan 715 or 721 AH (25/26 December 1315 or 20/21 October 1321) |
| 15 | Khwaja Muhammad Baba Samasi | Samaas, Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 25 Rajab 591 AH (5/6 July 1195 C.E) | 10 Jumada al-Thani 755 AH (2/3 July 1354 C.E) |
| 16 | Khwaja Sayyid Amir Kulal | Saukhaar, Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 676 AH (1277/1278 C.E) | Wed 2 Jumada al-Thani 772 AH (21/22 December 1370 C.E) |
| 17 | Khwaja Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband Bukhari | Qasr-e-Aarifan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 4 Muharram 718 AH (8/9 March 1318 C.E) | 3 Rabi al-Awwal 791 AH (2/3 March 1389 C.E) |
| 18 | Khwaja Ala'uddin Attar Bukhari, son-in-law of (17) | Jafaaniyan, Transoxiana (Uzbekistan) | Wed 20 Rajab 804 AH (23 February 1402 C.E) | |
| 19 | Khwaja Yaqub Charkhi | Gulistan, Dushanbe, Tajkistan | 762 AH (1360/1361 C.E) | 5 Safar 851 AH (21/22 April 1447 C.E) |
| 20 | Khwaja Ubaidullah Ahrar | Samarkand, Uzbekistan | Ramadan 806 AH (March/April 1404 C.E) | 29 Rabi al-Awwal 895 AH (19/20 February 1490 C.E) |
| 21 | Khwaja Muhammad Zahid Wakhshi | Wakhsh | 14 Shawwal 852 AH (11/12 December 1448 C.E) | 1 Rabi al-Awwal 936 AH (3/4 November 1529 C.E) |
| 22 | Khwaja Durwesh Muhammad, son of sister of (21) | Asqarar, Uzbekistan | 16 Shawwal 846 AH (17/18 February 1443 C.E) | 19 Muharram 970 AH (18/19 September 1562 C.E) |
| 23 | Khwaja Muhammad Amkanaki, son of (22) | Amkana, Bukhara, Uzbekistan | 918 AH (1512/1513 C.E) | 22 Shaban 1008 AH (8/9 March 1600 C.E) |
| 24 | Khwaja Muhammad Baqi Billah Berang | Delhi, India | 5 Dhu al-Hijjah 971 or 972 AH (14 July 1564 / 3 July 1565) | 25 Jumada al-Thani 1012 AH (29/30 November 1603 C.E) |
| 25 | Shaikh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī, Imām Rabbānī | Sirhind, India | 14 Shawwal 971 AH (25/26 May 1564 C.E) | 28 Safar 1034 AH (9/10 December 1624 C.E) |
| 26 | Imām Khwaja Muhammad Masum Faruqi, 3rd son of (25) | Sirhind, India | 1007 AH (1598/1599 C.E) | 9 Rabi al-Awwal 1099 AH (13/14 January 1688 C.E) |
| 27 | Khwaja Muhammad Saifuddin Faruqi, son of (26) | Sirhind, India | 1049 AH (1639/1640 C.E) | 19 or 26 Jumada al-awwal 1096 AH (April 1685 C.E) |
| 28 | Hafiz Muhammad Mohsin Dehlavi | Delhi, India | ||
| 29 | Sayyid Nur Muhammad Badayuni | Delhi, India | 11 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1135AH (12/13 August 1723 C.E) | |
| 30 | Shaheed Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan, Shams-ud-Dīn Habībullāh | Delhi, India | 11 Ramadan 1111 AH (2/3 March 1700 C.E) | 10 Muharram 1195 AH (Fri 5 January 1781 C.E) |
| 31 | Khwaja Abdullah Dehlavi, alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi | Delhi, India | 1156 AH (1743 C.E) | 22 Safar 1240 AH (15/16 October 1824 C.E) |
Qadri chain
Extracted from Maqamat Mazhari by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
- Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
- Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
- Muhammad Abid Sanami
- Abdul Ahad
- Muhammad Said
- Ahmed Sirhindi
- 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
Chishti chain
Extracted from Maqamat Mazhari by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
- Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlvi
- Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
- Muhammad Abid Sanami
- Abdul Ahad Sirhindi
- Muhammad Said
- Ahmed Sirhindi
- Abdul Ahad Faruqi
- Ruknuddin
- Abdul Quddus Gangohi
- Muhammad Arif
- Ahmed Abdul Haq
- Jalaluddin Panipati
- Shamsuddin Turk
- Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari
- Fariduddin Ganjshakar
- Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki
- Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- Faiz Naqshband (Urdu Translation): Malfuzat of Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi, p.46
- Faiz Naqshband (Urdu Translation): Malfuzat of Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi, p.325
- ^ Maqamat Mazhari (Urdu translation) by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi: Biography of his shaykh Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
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 Faruqi Mujaddidi Naqshbandi, his successor (Delhi)
- Mawlana Hafiz Shah Ahmed Saeed Faruqi Mujaddidi, son of Hafiz Abu Saeed (Medina)
- Shah Rauf Ahmed Raaft Faruqi Mujaddidi Rampuri (Bhopal)
- Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi al-Kurdi al-Rumi (Turkey)
- Mawlana Ismaeel Madani (Medina)
- Mawlana Ghulam Mohiuddin Qusoori (Qusoor)
- Mawlana Bashartullah Behra'ichi
- Mawlana Shah Gul Muhammad Ghaznavi (Bukhara)
- Mawlana Muhammad Sharif (Sirhind)
- Mawlana Pir Muhammad (Kashmir)
- Mawlana Jan Muhammad (Herat)
- Mawlana Muhammad Jan (Makkah, d.1266 AH), whose Khulafa spread up to Turkey