Waris Ali Shah (1817–1905) was a

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, ...

saint from Dewa,

Barabanki Barabanki is a city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. The city is about 30 km east of Lucknow, the state capital. It has a population of 146,831 with a dens ...

, India, and the founder of the

Warsi Warsi or Warisi () is a surname found among South Asian Muslims. Numerous disciples of Waris Ali Shah both Muslims and Hindus, add ''Warisi'' or ''Warsi'' to their names. It may refer to: * Waris Ali Shah - Founder of Warsi Sufi order * Anil S ...

Sufi order. He traveled to many places specially Europe and the west and admitted people to his spiritual order. He belongs to the 26th generation of Hazrat Imam Hussain A.S His shrine is at

Dewa, India Dewa Sharif or Dewa is a town and a nagar panchayat in Barabanki district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is famous for the shrine of Haji Waris Ali Shah. This town is also known by the name of Dewa Sharif in respect for the shrine. It ...

Life

In the book "Islamic Review and Muslim India", (Kraus Reprint, 1971) it was mentioned that Waris Ali Shah had lived his life as the Christ lived.

Father

His father was Qurban Ali Shah, whose tomb is in Dewa. At an early age Shah showed an inclination for a religious life.

Social engagements

He went to Mecca for pilgrimage many times. During his travels in Europe, he visited the

Sultan of Turkey Sultan of Turkey may refer to: * List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from ...

and

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

in Berlin. He also traveled to England and had an audience with Queen Victoria. He was a friend of Abdul Bari.

Death

He died on 5 April 1905 (29

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...

1323 AH).

Sufi order

Waris Ali Shah belonged to the

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...

order of Sufism. He had a liberal view and permitted his followers to follow Sufism and names may not be changed in case of one has accepted Islam. As a boy, Shah attached himself to Khadim Ali Shah, a

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...

of Golaganj, Lucknow, in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

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 ...

, and remained with the latter until his death in 1832–33 when Shah was 16 years old.

His disciples

He had followers from several faiths. *Bedam Shah Warsi (Khusron) * Ghulam Muhammad (governor general of Pakistan) * Sultan Abdul Majed * Hakeem Safdar Ali Warisi (Mahajan Title given by Haji Saheb) writer of Jalwaye Waris (Migrate from Gadia to Bahraich on Haji Saheb's order. His Grand Son Izhar Warsi is prominent poet of Urdu.) * Thakur Pancham Singh. * Zamindar Dt. Mainpuri. * Raja Udyat Narayan Sing (Suratgunj, Oudh). * Baboo Moti Misser (Bhagalpur). * Thakur Grur Mohan Singh, Zamindar (Bhagalpur). * Baba Sufi Syed Diwana Shah Warsi first khalifa (roohani) and nephew (Jagatdal, West Bengal). * Sadaf Jabbar Fazihat. * Shah Abdul Ad Shah. * Maulana Mohammad Shah. * Mustaqim Shah. * Faizu Shah * Rahim Shah * Hafiz Pyaari * Shakir Shah * Avghat Shah * Maroof Shah * Noorkarim Shah * Siddiq Shah (Amethi Sultanpur U.P India *

Sai Baba of Shirdi Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

* Bangali Shah(Kolkata India) * Sandal Shah (Kolkata India) * Mushir Husain Qidwai of Gadia, a zamindar, barrister and pan-Islamist politician from Barabanki. *Badnam Shah *

Khuda Bakhsh Sheikh Khuda Bakhsh (or Bux) Sheikh ( ur, , hi, ख़ुदा बख़्श शेख़) was an Urdu writer and poet from the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, India. He published poetry in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. He followed a Sufi master ...

was a follower of Waris Ali Shah. He collected the sayings of his spiritual guide ''Malfūzāt-i-Hāji Wāris 'Ali Shāh''. His book, ''Tohmat-ul-Asfiya'', is the biography of Waris Ali Shah. *Haseen Shah warsi *Bekarar Shah Warsi *Warsi Ghulam Mohammad Mallah

Death anniversary

Shah's father's death anniversary, locally known as Dewa Mela, is observed in October–November and is attended by nearly a million Muslims and Hindus. Shah reportedly started this event in memory of his own father, Qurban Ali Shah. Another annual fair is held in Shah's tomb on 1

Safar Ṣafar ( ar, صَفَر) also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ''ṣafar'' means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when muslims flee the oppr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waris Ali, Shah

External links

Official website
Indian Sufi saints Sufi religious leaders 1817 births 1905 deaths Indian religious leaders Scholars from Lucknow Indian Sufis People from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh 19th-century Islamic religious leaders 20th-century Islamic religious leaders 19th-century Indian Muslims 20th-century Indian Muslims 19th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam