| Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi | |
| Birth Place: | Patiala, Sikh Confederacy |
| Birth Date: | 1743[1] |
| Death Place: | Dehli, Mughal Empire |
| Religion: | Islam |
| Denomination: | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence: | Hanafi |
| Creed: | Maturidi |
| Sufi Order: | Naqshbandi |
| Influences: | Abul-Hassan Kharaqani Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari Ahmad Sirhindi Abu Hanifa al-Maturidi Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan |
| Influenced: | Abu Saeed Ahmadi Khalid al-Baghdadi Muhammad Tahir Bakhshi |
Shah Abdullah alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (1743–1824, Urdu:) was a Sufi Shaykh in Delhi during the early 19th century. He was a master of the Naqshbandi tradition His father wanted to make him a disciple of Qādri,.[1]
He was born in 1156 AH (1743 C.E.) in Patiala, Punjab, in present-day India.[1] 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).
He is reported to have memorized the Quran in a single month's duration.[1] 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.[1]
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. His chief deputy and successor was Hafiz Abu-Saeed-Ahmadi Faruqi Mujaddidi Naqshbandi (Delhi) and his next successor was Hafiz Shah Ahmed Saeed Faruqi Mujaddidi, son of Hafiz Shah Abu Saeed (Medina) [1]
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."[1]
He died on 22 Safar 1240 AH (15/16 October 1824) and was buried alongside his Shaykh's grave in Khanqah Mirja in Delhi.[1]
He wrote books, the best known being Mazhari in Persian, which is a complete biography of his shaykh Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan Shaheed.[1]
His other books are:
See main article: Naqshbandi-Haqqani Golden Chain and Naqshbandi Tahiri Golden Chain.
| Name[3] [4] | Buried | Birth | Death | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, Tajikistan | 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 | Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi | 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) |
Extracted from Maqamat Mazhari by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi[4]
Extracted from Maqamat Mazhari by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
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.