sufi in uttar pradeh

BAREILLY SHAREEF  The beautiful Mazaar Shareef of A'la Hadrat Ash Shah Imam Ahmed Rida Khan Muhaddith Bareilwi (alaihir rahmah) with the Masjid-e-Raza on its left (partly shown) Inside the Mazaar Shareef of A'la Hadrat Ash Shah Imam Ahmed Rida Khan Muhaddith Bareilwi (alaihir rahmah). In the Centre is the Qabar Shareef of the great Imam (alaihir rahmah), on the right hand side is the Qabar Shareef of Huzoor Mufti-e-Azam Hind (alaihir rahmah) and on the left is the Qabar Shareef is Maulana Rehaan Raza (alaihir rahmah). A Collection of important manuscripts and books is in the background as a Library. Marehra has been the heart throb of millions of Sunni Muslims around the world right from the time of Mughal emperor Jehangir. The great seer and the direct descendant of the Holy Prophet, Mir Abdul Jaleel Bilgrami settled in Marehra around eleventh century and his spiritual circle covered the entire region of Braj (from Agra to Bareilly), Rohailkhand (from Bareilly to Kanpur), Awadh (from Kanpur to Kalpi) and Bundel Khand (from Kalpi to Jhansi). His was a dynasty of established scholars, well recognized poets in Braj, Hindustani, Urdu, Persian and Arabic. One of the descendents of Mir Abdul Jaleel Bilgrami was Syed Sahib-e-Alam whom the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib called his Pir-o-Murshid and wrote several letters to him. In these letters, Mirza Ghalib yearned to go to Marehra and enjoy its tasty plums and sweet mangoes. But he could not manage to reach Marehra and fulfill his aspirations. His book “Ood-e-Hindi” is reported to have been compiled in Marehra by the prolific scholar like Syed Sahib-e-Alam. Shah Barkatullah, the great grandson of Mir Abdul Jaleel Bilgrami was a versatile poet in Braj and Persian. His collective works in Braj Bhasha entitled Pem Prakaas have been an inspiration for many scholars, both Hindu and Muslim, to obtain their doctorate on Shah Barkatullah. The Diwan-e-Ishqui is the collective work of Shah Barkatullah alias Ishqui Marehravi in Persian. He was also a great musician with extra ordinary expertise in sitar and Ragas. He was the principal link in the chain of Sufism in India. He ruled the spiritual horizon at a time when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir was ruling the country from Delhi. In the beginning, Shah Barkatullah followed the Chishti order of Sunni Mysticism in India. Later he went to Kalpi where Syed Shah Fadhlullah baptized him in Qadiri order. From then onwards Shah Barkatullah adopted the Qadiri Silsila as his medium of baptism. He was a true secular seer having his disciples both among Hindus and Muslims. His spiritual lineage became known as Barkaati Silsila. Shah Barkatullah’s legacy was carried out by his noble son Shah Aley Muhammad. Since he was the eldest son of Shah Barkatullah, he was known as Sarkar-e-Kalan. Shah Aley Muhammad dedicated himself to meditation and Dhikr. His son, the third Qutub of Marehra, namely Syed Shah Hamza was a remarkable author who wrote many treatises on various Islamic Mystical subjects. His famous works are Kaashiful Astaar and Fassul Kalimaat. Shah Hamza was also a great poet. His Qaseeda (eulogy) in praise of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qaadir, the great seer of Baghdad is well recognized among Sunni circles all over the world. Shah Hamza’s son Syed Shah Aley Ahmad Achchey Miyan possessed a miraculous personality. He cured the ailing masses through his spiritual powers and became so popular that the town of Marehra came to be known as the Marehra of Achchey Miyan. He had special fascination towards the great seer of Baghdad known as Ghaus-e-Azam. He handed over his caliber to his youngest nephew Hazrat Syed Shah Ghulam Muhiyuddin Amir-e-Alam who held a ministerial post in the court of the ruler of Awadh Nawab Amjad Ali Shah.Shah Achchey Miyan declared him his vice-regent in the spiritual field. The eldest brother of Shah Amir-e-Alam namely Syed Shah Aley Rasool Ahmadi was a spiritual doyen of high caliber. He embodied the dynamics of Chishti and Qadri order. His disciples included great personalities of their times like A’lahazrat Imam Ahmad Reza Khan, the Muhaddith of Bareilly who has been revered by the Sunni sect all over the world. He also baptized Syed Hussain Ashraf of Kichhochha in the Sufi order and conferred upon him his Khilafat in Qadri Silsila. Syed Hussain Ashraf was the last Khalifa of Shah Aley Rasool, popularly known as Khatimul Akabir, the last of the greats. He was followed by Hazrat Shah Abul Hussain Ahmad-e-Noori alias Miyan Sahab who was the last Qutub of Marehra dynasty. Thus the Dargah of Shah Barkatullah is a unique monastery where seven saints in the category of Qutub lay under one dome. Hazrat Makdoom Syed Ashraf Jahangir Simnani Kichhochhawi ( RA), Baskhari, Dist. Ambedkar Nagar (Faizabad), UP. Hazrat Sultan Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani [d.807] Rahmathullahi alaih. - Kicchocha Shareef - Dargah Rasulpur, Kicchocha Sahreef, Dist: Faizabad Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf rahmatullahi alayh was born in 708 A.H., in Semnan, Iran. His father Hadrat Sultan Sayyad Ibrahim Noor Bakshi rahmatullahi alayh governed the city for approximately 20 years. As well as being a highly noble and just ruler he was also a great scholar, theologian and Sufi. His mother Bibi Khadija Begum was also from the pedigree of distinguished and notable mystics and saints. She was a very religious and pious lady particularly renowned for her punctuality in tahajjud prayer. EDUCATION Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf rahmatullahi alaih, started their education at the age of 4 years, 4 months and 4 days. Allah, the most Sublime, blessed Sayyad Makhdoom Ashraf rahmatullahi alaih with immense ingenuity, intellect and knowledge. By the age of 7 they had already acquired and memorized the entire Qur'an al-kareem by heart with seven types of qirat, and excelled in the study of Qur'anic exegesis 'tafseer', narration and sciences of hadith, Islamic law 'fiqh' etc. At 14 years they had mastered all the subjects including theology and philosophy, maturing into the most accomplished and proficient scholar. Amongst their notable teachers were His Eminence Mawlana Imad al-Din Tabrezi, Imam Abd'ullah Yafai at Makkah Mukarramah, Baba Mufrah (s/o the great Najm 'al-Din Kubra) at Iskandaria and Mawlana Ahmad Haqqani ridwanallahi ta'ala aly'him ajma'een. Hadrat Makhdoom Ashraf (rahmatullahi alaih), had overwhelmed even the great scholars and theologians from as far as Baghdad with his remarkable talent which was recognized in the historic and famous Persian book Lata'if-e-Ashrafiya, in the following couplet; Deva Sharif

Deva Sharif, the tomb of Syed Waris Ali Shah in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, is quite famous and beloved to people from all religions. 42 Km from Lucknow in Barabanki district. It is the mazar of Haji Waris Ali Shah (a sufi saint) in whose memory an annual fair is organised on the lines of Pushkar (Rajasthan) between the festival of Dusherra and Deepawali (October/ November).

Nearest Big City : Lucknow (approx 42 kms)