Ashraf Jahangir Semnani

Sultan Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani[1] (Urdu: سلطان سید مخدوم اشرف جہانگیر سمنانی; (1285–1386)[2][3][4][5] was an Iranian Sufi saint from Semnan, Iran. He was the founder of the Ashrafi Sufi order. He is India's third most influential Sufi saint after Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer and Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi.[6]

Ashraf Jahangir Semnani
Title
  • Jahangir
  • Ghousul Alam
  • Mehboobe-Yazdani
  • Qudwatul Kubra
  • Sultan
  • Ashraf Jahangir
  • Makhdoom-e-Simnani
Personal
Born
Mir Ahauddin Sayyid Ashraf

1285 CE (709 AH)
Semnan (in modern Iran)
Died1386 CE (28 Muharram 808 AH)
ReligionIslam
Muslim leader
Based inKichaucha, Northern India
Period in officeLate 12th century to 13th century
PredecessorAlaul Haq Pandavi
SuccessorAbdur-Razzaq Nurul-Ain

His father Sultan Ibrahim Noorbaksh was the local ruler of Semnan.[7] Semnani was claimed to be the descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, through his grandson Husayn ibn Ali. His mother Bibi Khadija was said to be a descendant of the Turkic Sufi saint Ahmad Yasawi.[7]

Lineage

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Semnani was said to be a descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah from the lineage of her son, Husayn ibn Ali.[8]

Spiritual Lineage

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Semnani spiritual lineage of the Chishti Order[9][unreliable source?]:

  1. Muhammad
  2. Fatima bint Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib
  3. Hasan al-Basri
  4. Abdul Waahid Bin Zaid
  5. Fudhail Bin Iyadh
  6. Ibrahim Bin Adham
  7. Huzaifah Al-Mar'ashi Basra[10]
  8. Abu Hubayra al-Basri
  9. Khwaja Mumshad Uluw Al Dīnawarī Dinawar[11]
  10. Abu Ishaq Shamī (Chishti name starts)
  11. Abu Aḥmad Abdal Chishti[12]
  12. Abu Muḥammad Chishti[13]
  13. Abu Yusuf Bin Saamaan
  14. Maudood Chishti
  15. Shareef Zandani
  16. Usman Harooni
  17. Muinuddin Chishti
  18. Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki
  19. Fariduddin Ganjshakar
  20. Nizamuddin Auliya
  21. Akhi Siraj
  22. Alaul Haq Pandavi
  23. Ashraf Jahangir Semnani

Early life

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After his father's death, Semnani then aged 17, became the ruler of Semnan. He was said to be inclined towards mysticism. He enjoyed the company of Ruknuddin Ala ul Daula Semnani.[14]

At the age of 23, Semnani abdicated his throne in favor of his brother Sultan Sayyid Muhammad. Thereafter, Semnani migrated to Bengal in order to meet Alaul Haq Pandavi.[15][14]

Travels

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After performing the obligatory pilgrimage to the Islamic Holy sites in Mecca and Medina, Semnani traveled to Gulbarga and Sarandib in South India.[14]

Meeting with other Sufis

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Semnani is said to have met with various known Sufis of his time, that being Syed BadiUddin Zinda Shah Madar, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani, Hafez Shirazi, Bande Nawaz and Sultan Walad (the son of the Sufi poet, Rumi).[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "सैय्यद मखदूम अशरफ: बादश्‍ााहत ठुकराने वाले महान सूफी संत!" (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. ^ Hanif, N. (2000). Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: South Asia. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176250870. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  3. ^ Hayate Makhdoom Syed Ashraf Jahangir Semnani (1975), Second Edition (2017) ISBN 978-93-85295-54-6 Syed Waheed Ashraf (2017), HAYATE MAKHDOOM SYED ASHRAF JAHANGIR SEMNANI (2nd Ed.), MAKTABA JAMIA LIMITED, SHAMSHAD MARKET, ALIGARH-202002, U.P. INDIA, OL 26384309M{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  4. ^ ‘'MUQADDEMA-E- LATĀIF-E-ASHRAFI' Book in PERSIAN, Published by Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
  5. ^ Akhbarul Akhyar' By Abdal Haqq Muhaddith Dehlwi [d.1052H-1642]. A short biography of the prominent sufis of India have been mentioned in this book including that of Ashraf Jahangir Semnani
  6. ^ Life and Times of Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani (RAH) by Dr. Syed Nurusyyidyn Madani Ashraf Ashraf, Syed; Madani, Nurusyyidyn (3 September 2019). Life and Times of Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani (RAH). Amazon. ASIN B07XBYV1V8.
  7. ^ a b Ernst, C.; Lawrence, B. (30 April 2016). Sufi Martyrs of Love: The Chishti Order in South Asia and Beyond. Springer. ISBN 9781137095817. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  8. ^ Aala Hazrat Ashrafi Miyan (2015). Sahaife Ashrafi.
  9. ^ "The Mashaikh of Chisht by Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi | Medina | Abrahamic Religions". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Hadhrat Khuwajah Huzaifah al – Mar'ashi (Ra) Chishtiya Sufi Order". 27 April 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Khwaja Mumshad Uluw Al-Dinawari – Chishtiya Ribbat". Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Khwaja Abu Ahmad Abdal Al-Chishti – Chishtiya Ribbat". Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Khwaja Abu Mohammed Al-Chishti r.a – Chishtiya Ribbat". Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Shaykh Abdul Rahman Chishti. Mir-at ul-Israr - Urdu translation (in Urdu).
  15. ^ Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Lahori. Khazinat-ul-Asfiya (Urdu translation) 4 volumes.

Further reading

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  • Ashraf, Syed Waheed (2010), Lataife Ashrafi & Maktubaate Ashrafi As Sources of Indian Medieval History (Lataife Ashrafi & Maktubvate Ashrafi As Sources of Indian Medieval History ed.), Baroda, Gujarat, India: Makhdoom Syed Ashraf Jahangir Academy, Baroda, OL 25423260M