List of Sufi saints explained

Sufi saints or Wali (Arabic: ولي, plural ʾawliyāʾ أولياء) played an instrumental role in spreading Islam throughout the world.^[1] In the traditional Islamic view, a saint is portrayed as someone "marked by [special] divine favor ... [and] holiness", and who is specifically "chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to work miracles."^[2]

List

A

• Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili
• Ali Hisam-ad-Din Naqshbandi
• Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan (1934–2017, 12th Sheikh of Silsila Naqshbandia Owaisiah and writer of several books and 03 Tafaseer of the Holy Qur'an)
• Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad (1634–1720, buried in Hadhramaut, author on several books on Dhikr)
• Abdullah Ansari
• Abdullah Shah Ghazi (d. 720, buried in Karachi)
• Abdul Khaliq Ghajadwani (d. 1179, buried in Bukhara, one of the Khwajagan of the Naqshbandi order)
• Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, buried in Baghdad, founder of the Qadiriyya Sufi order)^{[3] [4]}
• Abdul Razzaq Gilani (1134–1207, buried in Baghdad, son of Abdul Qadir Gilani, promoted the Qadiriyya order)
• Abu Ishaq Shami (d. 940, buried on Mount Qasioun, founder of the Chishti Order)
• Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr (967–1049, buried in Miana, Turkmenistan, poet who innovated the use of love poetry to express mystic concepts)
• Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi (1219–1287, buried in Anfoushi, one of the four master saints of Egypt)
• Abul Hasan Hankari (1018–1093, buried in Baghdad, noted scholar and miracle worker)
• Adam Khaki (14th century, buried in Badarpur, Assam, took part in the Conquest of Sylhet and preached at Badarpur)
• Afaq Khoja (1626–1694, buried in Xinjiang, opposed the Chagatai Khanate's attempt to enforce Yassa law on Muslims)
• Ahamed Muhyudheen Noorishah Jeelani (1915–1990, buried in Hyderabad, India, founder of the Nooriya sufi order)
• Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (1856–1921, buried in the Bareilly Sharif Dargah, reformer in British India)
• Ahmad Ghazali (1061 to 1123 or 1126, buried in Qazvin, younger brother of the more famous Al-Ghazali, reasoned that as God is absolute beauty, to adore any object of beauty is to participate in a divine act of love)
• Ahmad al-Tijani (1737–1815, buried in Fez, Morocco), founder of the Tijaniyyah order)
• Ahmadou Bamba (1853–1927, buried next to the Great Mosque of Touba, lead a pacifist struggle against the French colonial empire)
• Ahmad Yasawi (1093–1166, buried in the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, poet, founder of Turkish Sufism)
• Akshamsaddin (1389–1459, buried in Göynük, tutor and advisor to Mehmed the Conqueror)
• Akhundzada Saif-ur-Rahman Mubarak (1925–2010, buried in Lahore, founder of the Saifia Sufi order)
• Al-Busiri (1211–1294, buried in Alexandria, poet, author of the Qasida Burda)
• Wasif Ali Wasif (1929-1993, buried in Lahore, was a teacher, writer, poet, and Sufi saint from Pakistan)
• Habib al-Ajami (d. 738, buried in Basra)
• Abu Bakr al-Aydarus (1447–1508, buried in Aden, the patron saint of Aden, credited with introducing Qadiri Sufism to Ethiopia and coffee to the Arab world)
• Ahmad al-Badawi (1200–1276, buried in Ahmad Al-Badawi Mosque, most popular saint in Egypt)
• Khwaja Ahrar (1404–1490 AD), played a significant role in establishing the Naqshbandi Order
• Al-Ghazali (1058–1111, buried in Tus, Iran, considered a Mujaddid, author of The Revival of the Religious Sciences and The Incoherence of the Philosophers, influenced early modern European criticism of Aristotelian physics)
• Al-Hallaj (858–922, ashes scattered in the Tigris, imprisoned and executed after requesting "O Muslims, save me from God" and declaring "I am the Truth")
• Ali Hujwiri (1009–1072/77, buried in Lahore, Pakistan, author of Kashf ul Mahjoob, spread Sufism throughout the Indian Subcontinent)^[5]
• Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441–1501, buried in Herat, author of Muhakamat al-Lughatayn and founder of Turkic literature)
• Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani (963–1033, illiterate mystic who influenced Avicenna, Rumi, and Jami)
• Al-Qushayri (986–1072, buried in Nishapur, author who distinguished four layers of Quranic interpretation and defended the historical lineage of Sufism)
• Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari (1196–1291, buried near Haridwar, founder of the Sabiriya branch of the Chishti order)^[6]
• Amir Khusrau (1253–1325, buried in the Nizamuddin Dargah, influential musician, considered the "father of Urdu literature")^[7]
• Amir Kulal (1278–1370, buried near Bukhara, taught Timur and Baha' al-Din Naqshband)
• Attar of Nishapur (1145–1221, buried in the Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur, author of The Conference of the Birds and the hagiographic Tazkirat al-Awliya)
• Aurangzeb (1618-1707), buried in Khuldabad, also known as Jinda Pir. Author of Fatwa e Alamgir.
• Azan Faqir (17th century, buried in Sivasagar near the Brahmaputra River, reformer who stabilized Islam in the Assam region)^[8]
• Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (1365-1424, expounded on the works of Ibn Arabi)
• Abu Al Fazal Abdul Wahid Yemeni Tamimi
• Abdul Aziz bin Hars bin Asad Yemeni Tamimi
• Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi
• Abu Bakr Shibli
• Ahmad Zarruq
• Arabati Baba Teḱe
• Ata Hussain Fani Chishti (1816-1893, buried in Gaya (India)) was a Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in South Asia.

B

• Baba Fakruddin (1169–1295, buried in Penukonda)^[9]
• Baba Kuhi of Shiraz (948-1037)
• Baba Shadi Shaheed (17th century, first Chib Rajput to convert to Islam, married a daughter of Babur)
• Sheikh Bedreddin (1359–1420, buried in Istanbul in 1961, revolted against Mehmed I)
• Baha' al-Din Naqshband (1318–1389, buried in Bukhara, founder of the Naqshbandi order)
• Balım Sultan (d. 1517/1519, buried in Nevşehir Province, co-founder of the Bektashi Order)
• Bahauddin Zakariya (1170–1267, buried in the Shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya, spread the Suhrawardiyya order through South Asia)^[10]
• Bande Nawaz (1321–1422, buried in Gulbarga, spread the Chishti Order to southern India)^[11]
• Khwaja Baqi Billah (1564–1605, buried in Delhi, spread the Naqshbandi order into India)^[12]
• Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (d. 1986, founder of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship in Philadelphia)
• Bayazid Bastami (874/5-848/9, buried in Shrine of Bayazid Bostami, noted for his ideas on spiritual intoxication)
• Bibi Jamal Khatun (d. 1639 or 1647, lived in Sehwan Sharif, sister of Mian Mir)^[13]
• Bodla Bahar (1238-1298, buried in Sehwan Sharif, features in the miracle stories of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar)
• Bu Ali Shah Qalandar (1209–1324, buried in Panipat)^[14]
• Bulleh Shah (1680–1757, buried in Kasur, regarded as "the father of Punjabi enlightenment")

D

• Dara Shikoh (1615–1659, brother of Aurangzeb, author of Majma-ul-Bahrain)
• Daud Bandagi Kirmani (1513–1575, buried in Shergarh, Punjab)^[15]
• Dawūd al-Qayṣarī
• Dawud Tai (d. circa 777-782)
• Dhul-Nun al-Misri

F

• Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi
• Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1188–1280, buried in the Shrine of Baba Farid, Pakpattan, Pakistan and developed Punjabi literature through poetry)^[16]
• Fazl Ahmad Khan (1857–1907), Indian Sufi teacher
• Fuzuli (1494–1556), considered one of the greatest poets of Azerbaijani literature)
• Imam Fassi

G

• Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (1743–1824, buried in Delhi)
• Ghulam Farid (1845–1901), buried in Mithankot, poet
• Ghousi Shah (1893–1954, buried in Hyderabad)
• Gül Baba (d. 1541, buried in Tomb of Gül Baba, esoteric author and patron saint of Budapest)

H

• Hafez (1315-1390, buried in Tomb of Hafez, highly popular antinomian Persian poet whose works are regularly quoted and even used for divination)
• Haji Huud (1025–1141, buried in Patan, Gujarat, helped spread Islam in India)^[17]
• Haji Bayram Veli (1352–1430, buried in Ankara, founder of the Bayramiye order)
• Haji Bektash Veli (1209–1271, buried in the Haji Bektash Veli Complex, revered by both Alevis and Bektashis)
• Hasan al-Basri (642-728, buried in Az Zubayr, highly important figure in the development of Sunni Sufism)
• Hazrat Babajan (d. 1931, buried in Pune, master to Meher Baba)
• Hayreddin Tokadi
• Yusuf Hamdani (1062-1141, buried in Merv)
• Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (1314–1384, buried in Khatlon Region, spread the Kubrawiya order throughout Asia)^[18]
• Usman Harooni
• Ali Hujwiri

I

• Iraqī (1213–1289)^[19]
• Ibrahim Niass
• Ibrahim ibn Adham
• Ibn Arabi
• Ibn Ata Allah
• Imam Ali-ul-Haq (925-971, buried in Sialkot).
• Ibrahim al-Dasuqi (1255–1296, buried in Desouk, founder of the Desouki order)
• İbrahim Hakkı Erzurumi (1703–1780, buried in Tillo, astronomer and encyclopedist, first Muslim author to cover post-Copernican astronomy)
• Ibrahim ibn Faïd (1396-1453)
• Imadaddin Nasimi
• Ismail Haqqi Bursevi (1653-1725, buried in Bursa, author noted for esoteric interpretations of the Quran)
• Ismail Qureshi al Hashmi (1260–1349)

J

• Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari (1192–1291)^[20]
• Jamal-ud-Din Hansvi
• Jabir ibn Hayyan
• Ja'far al-Sadiq
• Jahanara Begum Sahib (1614–1681)^[21]
• Jahaniyan Jahangasht (1308–1384)
• Jamī

O

• Omar Khayyam
• Osman Fazli
• Otman Baba

P

• Pir Baba (1431-1502)^[22]
• Pir Sultan
• Pir Yemeni
• Muhammad Alauddin Siddiqui (1936-2017)^[23]

Q

• Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
• Qutb ad-Dīn Haydar
• Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi
• Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki(1173–1235)

R

• Ahmad Sirhindi (a.k.a. Imam Rabbani; ca. 1564–1624)^[24]
• Rabia Basri
• Rahman Baba
• Ahmed al-Rifa'i
• Rukn-e-Alam (1251–1335)^[25]
• Rumi

T

• • Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin Telli Baba

U

• Üftade
• Uthman Sirâj-ud-Dîn Naqshbandi

W

• • Waris Shah Waris Ali Shah

Y

• Yahya bey Dukagjini
• Yahya Efendi
• Makhdoom Yahya Maneri (1263–1381)^[26]
• Khwaja Yunus Ali
• Yunus Emre
• Youza Asouph

Z

• Zahed Gilani

See also

• Sufism
• Islam in India
• List of Sufis
• Sufism in India

Notes and References

1. Book: Schimmel, Annemarie . Mystical Dimensions of Islam . registration . Annemarie Schimmel . 1975 . University of North Carolina Press . Chapel Hill . 0-8078-1271-4 . 346.
2. Radtke, B., "Saint", in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
3. Biographical encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East by N. Hanif, 2002, p. 123.
4. The Sultan of the saints: mystical life and teaching of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, Muhammad Riyāz Qādrī, 2000, p. 24.
5. Book: Pnina Werbner. Pilgrims of Love: The Anthropology of a Global Sufi Cult. C. Hurst & Co. 2003. 4.
6. Book: Dr. Harbhajan Singh. Sheikh Farid. Hindi Pocket Books. 2002. 11. 81-216-0255-6.
7. Book: E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia . 1998.
8. Book: The Brahmaputra Beckons . 1982. Brahmaputra Beckons Publication Committee . 39 . 2008-09-05.
9. Book: Jagadish Narayan Sarkar. Thoughts on Trends of Cultural Contacts in Medieval India. 41.
10. Book: ZH Sharib. The Sufi saints of the Indian subcontinent. Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd.. 2006 .
11. http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/27/stories/2007112760780600.htm Urs-e-Sharief of Khwaja Bande Nawaz in Gulbarga from tomorrow
12. Web site: Article on KhwajaBaqi Billah. 2009-11-15. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100627105951/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/ikram/part2_13.html. 2010-06-27.
13. Book: Ernst, Carl W. . The Shambhala Guide to Sufism . Carl W. Ernst . 1997 . Shambhala . Boston . 978-1570621802 . 67 . registration .
14. Web site: Dargah of Bu-Ali-Shah-Qalandar. 2009-11-08. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100314230546/http://www.india9.com/i9show/-Haryana/Panipat/Dargah-of-Bu-Ali-Shah-Qalandar-14137.htm. 2010-03-14.
15. Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh’, Vol II and III, by Abdul Qadir bin Mulik Shah Al-Badaoni (Translated into English by R.A. Ranking in 1894).
16. Web site: Baba Fariduddin Mas'ud. Sandeep Singh Bajwa. 2009-11-08. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20091007235829/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/farid.html. 2009-10-07.
17. Haji Huud. Published in Al Ashraf. Oct. 1, 2001. 17–20.
18. Web site: THE SPREAD OF ISLAM IN KASHMIR. G. M. D. Sufi. 2009-11-09. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070419195354/http://www.soqte.org/articles/spreadofislam.html. 2007-04-19.
19. Encyclopedia: FAḴR-al-DĪN EBRĀHĪM. Encyclopedia Iranica. William C. Chittick. 2015-11-17. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031414/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eraqi. 2015-11-17.
20. Web site: Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari. Muhammad Dawood. 2009-11-08. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100315194734/http://www.chowrangi.com/sufism-and-pakistan-2.html. 2010-03-15.
21. Book: Schimmel, Annemarie . My Soul Is a Woman: The Feminine in Islam . Annemarie Schimmel . 1997 . Continuum . New York . 0-8264-1014-6 . 50.
22. Web site: Hazrat Pir Baba (Rahmatullahi Allaih). www.pirbaba.org. 4 May 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171029182534/http://pirbaba.org/. 29 October 2017.
23. Web site: English Biography - Shaykh Muhammad Alaudin Siddiqui. 2021-12-28. www.mailofislam.com.
24. Aziz Ahmad, Studies in Islamic Culture in the Indian Environment, Oxford University Press, 1964, p.189
25. Web site: HISTORY OF MULTAN. 2009-11-08. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20081204114608/http://www.heritage.gov.pk/html_Pages/historic_multan.htm. 2008-12-04.
26. Book: Encyclopaedia of Sufism . 8126113111. Masood Ali Khan, S. Ram.. 2003. Anmol Publications. New Delhi.