{{Short description|Indian Sufi saint (1817–1905)}} {{distinguish|text=[[Waris Shah]], the Punjabi Sufi poet}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox religious biography | religion = [[Islam]] | honorific_prefix = | name = Sayyid Waris Ali Shah Kazmi Al-Musavi | image = Photograph of Sufi saint, Waris Ali Shah.jpg | caption = | title = Imam-ul-Aulia, Ashraful Alameen, Waris-e-Panjtan, Aalam Panaah Waris | birth_name = Mitthan Miya.<ref>{{Cite news|title=पैदाइशी वली थे हजरत हाजी वारिस अली शाह|url=https://www.jagran.com/uttar-pradesh/barabanki-dewa-mela-hazrat-waris-ali-shah-18572262.html|access-date=2020-09-24|website=Dainik Jagran|language=hi}}</ref> | birth_date = 16 July 1817 AD / 1 Ramzan ul Mubarak, 1232 Hijri | birth_place = [[Dewa, India|Dewa]], [[Barabanki district|Barabanki]], [[India]] | death_date = 7 April 1905 AD /1 safar, 1323 Hijri | death_place = Dewa, Barabanki, India | death_cause = | resting_place = Dewa, Barabanki, India | other_names = | era = Early 19th century | region = India | occupation = | denomination = [[Sunni]] | jurisprudence = [[Hanafi]] | creed = | movement = | main_interests = | notable_ideas = | notable_works = | alma_mater = | Sufi_order = [[Warsi]] [[Organizational founder|Founder]] | awards = | influences = | influenced = | module = | website = | signature = }} '''Sayed Waris Ali Shah''' (1817–1905) was a [[Sufi]] saint from [[Dewa, India|Dewa]], [[Barabanki district|Barabanki]], India, and the founder of the [[Warsi]] Sufi order. He traveled to many places especially Europe and the west and admitted people to his spiritual order. He is claimed to belong to the 26th generation of [[Imam Hussain|Hazrat Imam Hussain]] Via [[Musa al-Kazim]]<ref name=SEL>{{cite book|last=Hasan|first=Masoodul|title=Sufism and English literature : Chaucer to the present age : echoes and images|year=2007|publisher=Adam Publishers & Distributors|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=9788174355232|pages=5, 183|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTn-XgtlLmcC&pg=PA5 }}</ref> His shrine is at [[Dewa, India]].<ref name=DIPL>{{cite book|last=Hadi|first=Nabi|title=Dictionary of Indo-Persian literature|year=1994|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|location=Janpath, New Delhi|isbn=9788170173113|page=554|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qjJmzdJFOHwC&pg=PA554 }}</ref><ref name=ID>{{cite book|last=Prasad|first=Rajendra|title=India divided|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780143414155|page=44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D9FzePpOA60C&pg=PA566 }}</ref>
==Life== In the book "Islamic Review and Muslim India", (Kraus Reprint, 1971) it was mentioned that Waris Ali Shah was alleged to have lived his life as the Christ lived.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6U_AQAAMAAJ&q=life+of+Waris+Ali+Shah|title=Islamic Review and Muslim India|date=1971|publisher=Kraus Reprint|language=en}}</ref>
===Father=== His father's name is Sayed Qurban Ali Shah, whose tomb is in Dewa.<ref>{{cite book|title=All India Reporter, Volume 4, Part 5|year=1917|publisher=D.V. Chitaley|pages=81, 85, 87|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnQwAQAAMAAJ&q=Waris+Ali+Shah}}</ref>
At an early age Shah showed an inclination for a religious life.<ref>{{cite book|title=All India Reporter, Volume 4, Part 5|year=1917|publisher=D.V. Chitaley|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnQwAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Waris+Ali+Shah%22}}</ref>
===Social engagements=== He went to Makkah for pilgrimage many times.<ref name="MDELTC">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuseZxgbn8oC&q=Waris+Ali+Shah&pg=PA11 | title=A medical doctor examines life on three continents : a Pakistani view | publisher=Algora Pub. | last=Ehtisham | first=S. Akhtar | year=2008 | location=New York | page=11 | isbn=9780875866345}}</ref> During his travels in Europe, he visited the [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan of Turkey]]{{clarify|date=November 2014}} and [[Otto von Bismarck]] in Berlin.<ref name=SEL/> He may also traveled to England and had an audience with Queen Victoria.<ref name="MDELTC"/>
He was a friend of [[Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali|Abdul Bari]].<ref name="Qureshi 1999 92, 470, 539">{{cite book|last=Qureshi|first=M. Naeem|title=Pan-Islam in British Indian politics : a study of the Khilafat movement, 1918 – 1924|year=1999|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden [u.a.]|isbn=9789004113718|pages=92, 470, 539|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czKYZPyoyx0C&q=Waris+Ali+Shah&pg=PA92}}</ref>
===Death=== He died on 7 April 1905 (1st [[Safar]] 1323 [[Hijri year|AH]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Sharib|first=Zahurul Hassan|title=The Sufi saints of the Indian subcontinent|year=2006|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|page=290|isbn=9788121510523|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xEPYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Waris+Ali+Shah%22}}</ref>
==Sufi order== {{Sufism}} [[File:Sarkar Waris Pak Dargah,Dewa Shareef,Barabanki,Lucknow India.jpg|thumb|[[Dargah]] of Haji Waris Ali Shah in Dewa Shareef, Barabanki, India.]] Like all other Kazmi Nishapuri Syeds of the area Waris Ali Shah belonged to the Sufi tradition tied to the awadh region which was considered Sufi educational centre of the whole indian subcontinent influenced by Kazmi Nishapuri Syeds who had lineage connection with Waris Ali Shah.
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.<ref name="SEL"/> As a boy, Shah attached himself to Khadim Ali Shah, a [[Dervish]] of Golaganj, Lucknow, in the state of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]], and remained with the latter until his death in 1832–33 when Shah was 16 years old.<ref>{{cite book|last=S. D.|first=Chaudhri|title=Indian Cases: Containing Full Reports of Decisions of the Privy Council, the High Courts of Allahabad, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Patna, the Chief Courts of Lower Burma and the Punjab, the Courts of the Judicial Commissioners of Central Provinces, Oudh, Sind and Upper Burma, Reported in ... 25 Legal Periodicals ... with a Large Number of Extra Rulings Not Reported Elsewhere, Volume 40|year=1917|publisher=The manager, at the "Law publishing press"|location=Great Britain Privy Council Judicial Committee, India Courts|page=102|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C4YrAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Khadim+Ali%22}}</ref>
== His disciples == He was said to have followers from several faiths, though usually he was not in constant contact with most of them.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.warispak.com/desciples.html|title=Waris ali shah, saint waris ali, hazrat waris ali, desciples sarkar waris, warsi family, generations waris ali shah, urs ceremony, warsi doctrine, waris, warsi, dewa sharif, dewa, dewamela, ehram, desciples, imams, imam ali, imam hussain, generations prophet muhammad|website=www.warispak.com}}</ref> * Bedam Shah Warsi *[[Sultan Abdul Hamid II]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sharib|first=Zahurul Hassan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xEPYAAAAMAAJ&q=disciple+of+Waris+Ali+Shah|title=The Sufi Saints of the Indian Subcontinent|date=2006|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|isbn=9788121510523|language=en}}</ref> *[[Malik Ghulam Muhammad|Ghulam Muhammad (governor general of Pakistan)]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zaman|first=Muhammad Qasim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odA9DwAAQBAJ&q=disciple+of+Waris+Ali+Shah&pg=PA205|title=Islam in Pakistan: A History|date=2018-05-15|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-8974-7|language=en}}</ref>
* Hakeem Safdar Ali Warisi (Mahajan Title given by Haji Saheb) writer of Jalwaye Waris<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanif|first=N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7JInpQL0x8C&q=safdar+ali+warsi&pg=PA74|title=Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East|date=2002|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-266-9|language=en}}</ref> (Migrate from Gadia to Bahraich on Haji Saheb's order. His Grand Son Izhar Warsi is prominent poet of Urdu.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Welcome to Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi : A U.P.Govt. Undertaking|url=http://www.upurduakademi.org/StaticPages/English/award1.aspx|access-date=2021-04-23|website=www.upurduakademi.org}}</ref>) * Thakur Pancham Singh.<ref>{{Cite web|title=इटावा के राजा ठाकुर पंचम सिंह ने दान की थी संपत्ति|url=https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/metro/lucknow/other-news/raja-thakur-pancham-singh-of-etawah-donated-property/articleshow/71675806.cms|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Navbharat Times|language=hi}}</ref> * Zamindar Dt. Mainpuri. * Raja Udyat Narayan Sing (Suratgunj, Oudh).<ref>"Melas & Festivals | District Barabanki, Government of Uttar Pradesh | India". Retrieved 16 September 2021.</ref> * Baboo Moti Misser (Bhagalpur). * Thakur Grur Mohan Singh, Zamindar (Bhagalpur). * Baba Sufi Syed Diwana Shah Warsi <ref>{{Cite web |title=Online collection of Sufi Poetry & Sufi Shayari by famous Poets |url=https://sufinama.org/ |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Sufinama |language=en}}</ref> first khalifa (roohani) and nephew (Jagatdal, West Bengal). * Sadaf Jabbar Fazihat. * Shah Abdul Ad Shah. * Maulana Mohammad Shah. * Mustaqim Shah.<ref name="auto"/> * Faizu Shah * Rahim Shah * Hafiz Pyaari * Shakir Shah * Avghat Shah<ref>Rekhta</ref> * Maroof Shah * NoorKarim Shah * Siddiq Shah (Amethi Sultanpur U.P India * [[Sai Baba of Shirdi]]<ref>Saint Shah Waris Ali & Sai Baba by BK Narayan, 1995 1st edition, ISBN 07-7069-8468-4</ref> * Bangali Shah(Kolkata India) * Sandal Shah (Kolkata India) * Mushir Husain Qidwai of [[Gadia, Barabanki|Gadia]], a zamindar, barrister and pan-Islamist politician from Barabanki.<ref name="Qureshi 1999 92, 470, 539"/> *Badnam Shah * [[Khuda Bakhsh Sheikh]] was a follower of Waris Ali Shah. He collected the sayings of his spiritual guide ''Malfūzāt-i-Hāji Wāris 'Ali Shāh''.<ref name=DIPL/> His book, ''Tohmat-ul-Asfiya'', is the biography of Waris Ali Shah.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://barabanki.nic.in/person.htm |title=Personalities: Literary |work=The Official Website of Barabanki *Master Mahmood Alam At post Badgavan |publisher=MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; GOVERNMENT OF INDIA; BARABANKI-225001 |access-date=20 July 2010}}</ref> *Haseen Shah warsi *Qazi Bakhshish Ali Ansari<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liebeskind |first=Claudia |date=2018 |title=Sufism, Sufi Leadership and 'Modernisation' in South Asia since c. 1800 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33698/1/11010461.pdf |access-date=August 20, 2024 |website=eprints.soas.ac.uk}}</ref> ([[Yusufpur]]) *Bekarar Shah Warsi<ref>{{Cite web|title=जिसने देखा हो गया सैदा तेरा वारिस पिया..|url=https://www.jagran.com/bihar/bhojpur-worship-on-majar-18260046.html|access-date=2021-04-22|website=Dainik Jagran|language=hi}}</ref> *Warsi Ghulam Mohammad Mallah{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} Najmuddin Siddiqui his followers. *Nizam Shah Warsi.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} *Nafisullah Shah Warsi.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} *Nizamuddin Shah Warsi.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[File:Dewa Sharif.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Haji Waris Ali Shah in Dewa, barabanki Lucknow (India)]]
==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.<ref name="MDELTC"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Kochhar|first=S. K.|title=Teaching of history|year=1984|publisher=Sterling|isbn=9788120700253|page=292|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFbmQ562hBUC&q=Waris+Ali+Shah&pg=PA292|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Kapoor|editor-first=Subodh|title=The Indian encyclopaedia : biographical, historical, religious, administrative, ethnological, commercial and scientific|year=2002|publisher=Cosmo Publications|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788177552577|page=1925|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxIpYtnyzu4C&q=Waris+Ali+Shah&pg=PA1925|edition=1st}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mushirul|title=From pluralism to separatism : qasbas in colonial Awadh|year=2004|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press|location=New Delhi [u.a.]|isbn=9780195666083|page=129|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djluAAAAMAAJ&q=Waris+Ali+Shah|edition=1st. publ.}}</ref>
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]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Varma|first=Uma|title=Uttar Pradesh State Gazetteer: Social services, culture, places of interest Gazetteer of India Volume 5 of Uttar Pradesh State Gazetteer, Uttar Pradesh (India). Dept. of District Gazetteers|year=1994|publisher=Government of Uttar Pradesh, Department of District Gazetteers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ixFuAAAAMAAJ&q=Waris+Ali+Shah}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-10-15|title=This year, UP's Dewa mela to focus on 'One District, One Product'|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/this-year-up-s-dewa-mela-to-focus-on-one-district-one-product/story-lbDPyDYwZIyIy6a8FHVtzI.html|access-date=2020-09-24|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref>
== See also == *[[Islam in India]] *[[Sufism in India]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
== External links == * [http://www.warispak.com Official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waris Ali, Shah}} [[Category:1817 births]] [[Category:1905 deaths]] [[Category:People from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh]] [[Category:Scholars from Lucknow]] [[Category:Indian Sufi saints]] [[Category:Indian Sufi religious leaders]] [[Category:19th-century Islamic religious leaders]] [[Category:20th-century Islamic religious leaders]] [[Category:19th-century Indian Muslims]] [[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]] [[Category:19th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]]