Pir-o-Murshid Mohammed Ali Khan (1881–1958) was the leader of the
International Sufi Movement from 1948 until his death. He was a second cousin of
Inayat Khan
Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan ( ur, ) (5 July 1882 – 5 February 1927) was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. At the urging of his ...
, the grandson of Inayat's grandfather and therefore according to Indian custom considered a brother.
[List of Names and Titles in Sufipedia https://sufipedia.org/en/personenregister/the-family/]
Ali Khan was born in
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
on 7 July 1881 and died on 29 September 1958 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. He is buried at the
Oud Eik en Duinen
Oud Eik en Duinen is a cemetery in The Hague, the Netherlands, formerly called Eik en Duinen and also nicknamed "the Dutch Père-Lachaise". The cemetery is built around a chapel constructed around 1247 by William II of Holland in honor of his fa ...
cemetery in The Hague. On his tombstone his name is written as Pir-o-Murshid Mohammad Ali Khan.
Ali Khan apart from Indian classical music, received training in European music, and played the trumpet trombone and bagpipes. As a young man, he was also keenly interested in
physical culture
Physical culture, also known as Body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US.
Origins
The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...
and wrestling, which, in the words of the biography of Inayat Khan, "prepared him to become an iron wall to stand in support of Inayat against many opposing influences."
In the West, Ali Khan continued his musical career, receiving training in operatic singing from Mme.
Emma Nevada, who recognized great potential in his tenor voice, and even appearing on the stage of
La Scala.
Ali Khan was believed by some to possess a natural gift of healing, a gift which they say was developed immeasurably through his deep devotion. There are many stories of friends and mureeds receiving help from his touch, his glance, or by prayers and absent healing, but in reply to their thanks he would humbly point to heaven and say, 'Not I. God.'
References
Sources
*''Healing'' by Murshid Ali Khan. "The Sufi" A Quarterly Journal of Mysticism, Vol. II, No. 2. April 1936 pp. 51–58
*''Inayat Khan'' by Ronald A. L. Mumtaz Armstrong. Geneva, The Sufi Publishing Association, 1927
*''Hejirat day'' by Pir-o-Murshid Md Ali Khan. Geneva, "Sufi Record" volume X, September 1960
*''The Sufi Message and The Sufi Movement'' by Inayat Khan. 1964 Barrie and Rockliff. London pp. 10
*''Hazrat Inayat Khan a Brief Sketch of His Life and Teaching'' L. Hayat Bouman. The Hague, East-West Publications Fonds, 1982
* Musharaff Moulamia Khan. ''Pages in the life of a Sufi'', Den Haag - East West Publications, 1982. 155pp.. . Third Edition
1881 births
1958 deaths
Indian Sufis
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