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Shāh Nimatullāh or Shāh Ni'matullāh Wali, ( fa, شاه نعمت‌الله ولی ''Shāh Ne'matullāh-i Valī''), also spelled as ''Ne'matollah'' and ''Ni'matallah'' was the spiritual leader or Qutb of the Ni'matullah Order in Iran from the 14th and 15th centuries. He is revered by
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
as a saint and by the
Ni'matullāhī The Ni'matullāhī or Ne'matollāhī ( fa, نعمت‌اللهی) (also spelled as "Nimatollahi", "Nematollahi" or "Ni'matallahi) is a Sufi order (or ''tariqa'') originating in Iran. The order originates within Sunni Islam, but would later be a ...
tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...
, who consider him their founder.


Biography

Born in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(or around Kerman, Iran according to some historians), Ni’mattullah traced his own descent from the seventh Imam
Musa al-Kadhim Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
, in both a poetic work as well as an epistle reproduced by his biographers ‘ Abd al-Razzāq Kirmānī and ‘ Abd al-‘Azīz Wā’iẓ. Ni'matullah travelled widely through the
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
world, learning the philosophies of many masters, but not finding a personal teacher he could dedicate himself to. Ni'matullah studied the writings of the great
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
philosopher and mystic
Ibn ʿArabī Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...
. Ni'matullah met Abdollah Yafe'i
Suhrawardiyya The Suhrawardiyya ( ar, سهروردية, fa, سهروردیه) is a Sufi order founded by Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi (died 1168). Lacking a centralised structure, it eventually divided into various branches. The order was especially prominent in I ...
in
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
and subsequently became his disciple. He studied intensely with his teacher for seven years. Spiritually transformed, he was sent out for a second round of travels; this time as a realized teacher. Ni'matullah temporarily resided near
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, along the great Central Asian
Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
. It was here that he met the conqueror
Tamerlane Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, but in order to avoid conflict, Ni'matullah soon left and eventually settled in the Baloch region of
Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
. His shrine is in nearby
Mahan Mahan or Mahaan may refer to: * Mahan (name) * Mahan confederacy, chiefdoms in ancient Korea * Mahan, Iran, a city in Kerman Province * Mahan District, an administrative subdivision of Kerman Province * Mahan Rural District, an administrative subdi ...
. By the time Ni'matullah died, his fame had spread throughout
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, (Though his presence is not much noted in India) and it is said he initiated hundreds of thousands of followers in the path now known by his name. Ni'matullah's son
Shah Khalilullah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
was the next ''qutb'' (master) of the Nimatullahi order. On the invitation of Sultan
Ahmed Shah Al Wali Bahamani Ahmed Shah Al Wali Bahamani was the ruler of the Bahmani Sultanate from 1 October 1422 to 17 April 1436, and was a great patron of arts and culture.
Of
Bidar Sultanate Bidar sultanate was one of the Deccan sultanates of late medieval southern India. The sultanate emerged under the rule of Qasim Barid I in 1492 and leadership passed to his sons. Starting from the 1580s, a wave of successions occurred in th ...
Deccan to Shah Nimatullah Wali, he replied "I am 104 yrs old, I can not come, I am sending my son Shah Khalilullah " to Deccan (around 1430 C.E). The ''silsilah'' (spiritual lineage) of the Nimatulli then moved to Ashtoor outside
Bidar Bidar (/ biːd̪ər/) is a city in the north-eastern part of Karnataka state in India. It is the headquarters of Bidar district, which borders Maharashtra and Telangana. It is a rapidly urbanising city in the wider ''Bidar Metropolitan area ...
in the Deccan. Before Shah his brother Shah Nurullah came to Bidar and was later married to the Sultan's daughter. The place where the Sultan received Shah is now Khalilabad outside Bidar. The Sultan saw Shah in his dream and wished that the saint come to Bidar. This dream according to many history books was realized, as when he received Shah he told his counsels, "If this is the same person I saw in my dream he should be carrying an octagon -shaped head cap”, and hence he was satisfied when Shah Khalilullah presented him with the cap. Today, even the Tomb of Shah is octagonal.


Poetry

Shah N'imatullah Wali left a
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
diwan. A famous ode attributed to Shah Nimatullah Wali, with the rhyme ''Mey Beenum'', has been published by
Shah Ismail Dehlvi Shah Ismail Dehlvi (26 April, 1779 – 6 May, 1831) was an Indian Islamic scholar and Salafi-oriented Sufi reformer. He was an active member in the jihad proclaimed by Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareilly with the support of Pashtun tribes against ...
in his book ''
Al-Arba'in fi Ahwal-al-Mahdiyin ''Al-Arba'in fi Ahwal-al-Mahdiyin'' ('Forty adithconcerning the Mahdis') is a book by Shah Ismail Dehlawi (1779 – 1831) containing forty traditions (Ahadith) pertaining to the appearance of the ''Imam'' Mahdi. Shah Ismail Dehlawi was the son of ...
'' (1851)https://archive.org/stream/ArbaeenFiAhwaalUlMahdiyyeein/Arbaeen%20fi%20Ahwaal%20ul%20Mahdiyyeein#page/n47/mode/2up''Arbaeen-fi-Ahwaal-al-Mahdiyyeen'' (1851)


Shrine

Shah Nimatullah Wali's shrine is in
Mahan, Iran Mahan ( fa, ماهان, also Romanized as Māhān or Mâhân; also known as Māhūn) is a city and capital of Mahan District, in Kerman County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,787, in 4,138 families. Mahan is we ...
.


Tomb

Shah Khalilullah's tomb is located outside Bidar fort and known as "chokundi". Today it is under the authority of the Archaeological Survey of India. Shah Khalilullah was succeeded by numerous other qutbs (masters) including Shah Mir Mahmud Deccani, Shams al Din Deccani and Reza Ali Shah Deccani. The silsilah moved back to Iran after the Sufi master Reza Ali Shah Deccani's ordered his disciple Ali Shah Deccani in the year 1194 AH, nearing the end of Karim Khan Zand's dynasty to depart to Iran with his family and entered Shiraz. Not long after the establishment of the Safawid state, the Ni’matullahi order publicly declared itself Shia. His tomb is located in Kerman, Iran. It is a beautiful work of art, Natural plant colors decorate the walls of his private chamber, the place where he would stay and fast for 40 days and nights. It is also the place from which he would get inspiration to write his predictions.


Notes


Bibliography

* * ''Masters of the Path: A History of the Masters of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order'' by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, New York and London, 2nd Edition, 1993, and * ''Kings of Love - The History and Poetry of the Ni'matullahi Sufi Order'' by
Nasrollah Pourjavady Nasrollah Pourjavady is an Iranian philosopher, Sufi scholar and a professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran in Tehran, Iran. He is the founder and former head of the Iran University Press and a permanent member of the Academy of Persia ...
and
Peter Lamborn Wilson Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 23, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wils ...
, Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, Tehran, 1978, and {{DEFAULTSORT:Nimatullah 1330 births 1431 deaths Hashemite people Iranian centenarians Iranian poets Iranian Sufis Men centenarians Nimatullahi order Persian-language poets Sufi poets Founders of Sufi orders 15th-century Iranian people 14th-century Iranian people