Wali

This article is about the Islamic conception of saints. For other uses, seeWali (disambiguation).

Awali(Arabic:وَلِيّ,romanized:walī;pluralأَوْلِيَاء,ʾawliyāʾ) is most commonly used byMuslimsto indicate a saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal "friend ofGod".

When the Arabicdefinite articleal(ال) is added, it refers to one of the names ofGod in Islam,Allah –al-Walī(الْوليّ), meaning "the Helper, Friend".

In the traditional Islamic understanding, a saint is portrayed as someone "marked by [special] divine favor... [and] holiness", and who is specifically "chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to workmiracles".The doctrine of saints was articulated byMuslim scholarsvery early on inIslamic history,and particular verses of theQuranand certainhadithwere interpreted by early Muslim thinkers as "documentary evidence"of the existence of saints. Graves of saints around the Muslim world became centers ofpilgrimage– especially after 1200 CE – for masses of Muslims seeking theirbarakah(blessing).

A 1552Persian miniatureof the saintAhmad Ghazali(d. 1123, brother ofal-Ghazali) talking to a disciple.

Since the first Muslimhagiographieswere written during the period when the Islamic mystical trend ofSufismbegan its rapid expansion, many of the figures who later came to be regarded as the major saints in orthodoxSunni Islamwere the early Sufi mystics, likeHasan of Basra(d. 728),Farqad Sabakhi(d. 729),Dawud Tai(d. 777–781),Rabia of Basra(d. 801),Maruf Karkhi(d. 815), andJunayd of Baghdad(d. 910).From the twelfth to the fourteenth century, "the general veneration of saints, among both people and sovereigns, reached its definitive form with the organization ofSufism... into orders or brotherhoods ".In the common expressions of Islamic piety of this period, the saint was understood to be "a contemplative whose state of spiritual perfection... [found] permanent expression in the teaching bequeathed to his disciples".In many prominent Sunnicreedsof the time, such as the famousCreed of Tahawi(c. 900) and theCreed of Nasafi(c. 1000), a belief in the existence and miracles of saints was presented as "a requirement" for being an orthodox Muslim believer.

Aside from the Sufis, the preeminent saints in traditional Islamic piety are theCompanions of the Prophet,theirSuccessors,andthe Successors of the Successors.Additionally, theprophets and messengers in Islamare also believed to be saints by definition, although they are rarely referred to as such, in order to prevent confusion between them and ordinary saints; as the prophets are exalted by Muslims as the greatest of all humanity, it is a general tenet of Sunni belief that a single prophet is greater than all the regular saints put together.In short, it is believed that "every prophet is a saint, but not every saint is a prophet".

In themodern world,traditionalSunniandShiaideas of saints has been challenged byfundamentalistandrevivalistIslamic movementssuch as theSalafi movement,Wahhabism,andIslamic Modernism,all three of which have, to a greater or lesser degree, "formed a front against thevenerationand theory of saints ".As has been noted by scholars, the development of these movements has indirectly led to a trend amongst some mainstream Muslims to resist "acknowledging the existence of Muslim saints altogether or... [to view] their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations".However, despite the presence of these opposing streams of thought, the classical doctrine ofsaint venerationcontinues to thrive in many parts of the Islamic world today, playing a vital role in daily expressions of piety among vast segments of Muslim populations in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey,Senegal,Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Morocco,as well as in countries with substantial Islamic populations like India, China, Russia, and theBalkans.

Names

APersian miniaturedepictingJalal al-Din Rumishowing love for his disciple Hussam al-Din Chelebi (ca. 1594)

Regarding the rendering of the Arabicwalīby the English "saint", prominent scholars such asGibril Haddadhave regarded this as an appropriate translation, with Haddad describing the aversion of some Muslims towards the use of "saint" forwalīas "a specious objection... for [this is] – like 'Religion' (din), 'Believer' (mu'min), 'prayer' (salat), etc. – [a] generic term for holiness and holy persons while there is no confusion, for Muslims, over their specific referents in Islam, namely: the reality ofimanwith Godwariness and those who possess those qualities. "InPersian,which became the second most influential and widely spoken language in the Islamic world afterArabic,the general title for a saint or a spiritual master becamepīr(Persian:پیر,literally "old [person]", "elder").Although the ramifications of this phrase include the connotations of a general "saint,"it is often used to specifically signify a spiritual guide of some type.

AmongstIndian Muslims,the titlepīr baba(पीर बाबा) is commonly used inHindito refer to Sufi masters or similarly honored saints.Additionally, saints are also sometimes referred to in the Persian orUrduvernacular with "Hazrat."InIslamic mysticism,apīr'srole is to guide and instruct his disciples on the mystical path.Hence, the key difference between the use ofwalīandpīris that the former does not imply a saint who is also a spiritual master with disciples, while the latter directly does so through its connotations of "elder".Additionally, other Arabic and Persian words that also often have the same connotations aspīr,and hence are also sometimes translated into English as "saint", includemurshid(Arabic:مرشد,meaning "guide" or "teacher" ),sheikhandsarkar(Persian word meaning "master" ).

In the Turkish Islamic lands, saints have been referred to by many terms, including the Arabicwalī,the Persians̲h̲āhandpīr,and Turkish alternatives likebabain Anatolia,atainCentral Asia(both meaning "father" ), anderenorermis̲h̲(< ermek "to reach, attain" ) oryati̊r( "one who settles down" ) inAnatolia.Their tombs, meanwhile, are "denoted by terms of Arabic or Persian origin alluding to the idea of pilgrimage (mazār,ziyāratgāh), tomb (ḳabr,maḳbar) or domed mausoleum (gunbad,ḳubba). But such tombs are also denoted by terms usually used for dervish convents, or a particular part of it (tekkein theBalkans,langar,'refectory,' andribāṭinCentral Asia), or by a quality of the saint (pīr,'venerable, respectable,' inAzerbaijan). "

History

Further information:Holiest sites in IslamandList of Sufi saints

AMughal miniaturedated from the early 1620s depicting theMughal emperorJahangir(d. 1627) preferring a Sufi saint to his contemporary, theKing of EnglandJames I(d. 1625); the picture is inscribed: "Though outwardly kings stand before him, he fixes his gazes on saints."

According to various traditional Sufi interpretations of theQuran,the concept of sainthood is clearly described.Some modern scholars, however, assert that the Quran does notexplicitlyoutline a doctrine or theory of saints.In the Quran, the adjectivewalīis applied toGod,in the sense of him being the "friend" of all believers (Q2:257). However, particular Quranic verses were interpreted by early Islamic scholars to refer to a special, exalted group of holy people.These included10:62:"Surely God's friends (awliyāa l-lahi): no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow, "and5:54,which refers to God's love for those who love him.Additionally, some scholarsinterpreted4:69,"Whosoever obeys God and the Messenger, they are with those unto whom God hath shown favor: the prophets and theṣidīqīnaand the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they, "to carry a reference to holy people who were not prophets and were ranked below the latter.The wordṣidīqīnain this verse literally connotes "the truthful ones" or "the just ones," and was often interpreted by the early Islamic thinkers in the sense of "saints," with the famous Quran translatorMarmaduke Pickthallrendering it as "saints" in their interpretations of the scripture.Furthermore, the Quran referred to the miracles of saintly people who were not prophets likeKhidr(18:65-82) and thePeople of the Cave(18:7-26), which also led many early scholars to deduce that a group of venerable people must exist who occupy a rank below the prophets but are nevertheless exalted by God.The references in the corpus ofhadith literaturetobona fidesaints like the pre-Islamic Jurayj̲,only lent further credence to this early understanding of saints.

Collected stories about the "lives orvitaeof the saints ", began to be compiled" and transmitted at an early stage "by many regular Muslim scholars, includingIbn Abi al-Dunya(d. 894),who wrote a work entitledKitāb al-Awliyāʾ(Lives of the Saints) in the ninth-century, which constitutes "the earliest [complete] compilation on the theme of God's friends."Prior to Ibn Abi al-Dunya's work, the stories of the saints were transmitted throughoral tradition;but after the composition of his work, many Islamic scholars began writing down the widely circulated accounts,with later scholars like Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī (d. 948) making extensive use of Ibn Abi al-Dunya's work in his ownḤilyat al-awliyāʾ(The Adornment of the Saints).It is, moreover, evident from theKitāb al-Kas̲h̲f wa 'l-bayānof the earlyBaghdadiSufimysticAbu Sa'id al-Kharraz(d. 899) that a cohesive understanding of the Muslim saints was already in existence, with al-Kharraz spending ample space distinguishing between the virtues and miracles (karāmāt) of theprophetsand the saints.The genre ofhagiography(manāḳib) only became more popular with the passage of time, with numerous prominent Islamic thinkers of themedieval perioddevoting large works to collecting stories ofvarioussaints or to focusing upon "the marvelous aspects of the life, the miracles or at least the prodigies of a [specific] Ṣūfī or of a saint believed to have been endowed with miraculous powers."

In the late ninth-century, important thinkers inSunni Islamofficially articulated the previously-oral doctrine of an entire hierarchy of saints, with the first written account of this hierarchy coming from the pen ofal-Hakim al-Tirmidhi(d. 907-912).With thegeneral consensusof Islamic scholars of the period accepting that theulemawere responsible for maintaining the "exoteric" part of Islamic orthodoxy, including the disciplines oflawandjurisprudence,while the Sufis were responsible for articulating the religion's deepest inward truths,later prominent mystics likeIbn Arabi(d. 1240) only further reinforced this idea of a saintly hierarchy, and the notion of "types" of saints became a mainstay of Sunni mystical thought, with such types including theṣiddīqūn( "the truthful ones" ) and theabdāl( "the substitute-saints" ), amongst others.Many of these concepts appear in writing far before al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Arabi; the idea of theabdāl,for example, appears as early as theMusnadofIbn Hanbal(d. 855), where the word signifies a group of major saints "whose number would remain constant, one always being replaced by some other on his death."It is, in fact, reported that Ibn Hanbal explicitly identified his contemporary, the mysticMaruf Karkhi(d. 815-20), as one of theabdal,saying: "He is one of the substitute-saints, and his supplication is answered."

AMughal miniatureofA Discourse between Muslim Sages(ca. 1630), thought to be executed by thecourt painterGovārdhan.

From the twelfth to the fourteenth century, "the general veneration of saints, among both people and sovereigns, reached its definitive form with the organization ofSufism—the mysticism of Islam—into orders or brotherhoods. "In general Islamic piety of the period, the saint was understood to be "a contemplative whose state of spiritual perfection... [found] permanent expression in the teaching bequeathed to his disciples."It was by virtue of his spiritual wisdom that the saint was accorded veneration in medieval Islam, "and it is this which... [effected] his 'canonization,' and not some ecclesiastical institution" as inChristianity.In fact, the latter point represents one of the crucial differences between the Islamic and Christian veneration of saints, for saints are venerated by unanimous consensus or popular acclaim in Islam, in a manner akin to all those Christian saints who began to be venerated prior to the institution ofcanonization.In fact, a belief in the existence of saints became such an important part of medieval Islamthat many of the most importantcreedsarticulated during the time period, like the famousCreed of Tahawi,explicitly declared it a requirement for being an "orthodox" Muslim to believe in the existence and veneration of saints and in the traditional narratives of their lives and miracles.Hence, we find that even medieval critics of the widespread practice ofvenerating the tombs of saints,likeIbn Taymiyyah(d. 1328), never denied the existence of saints as such, with theHanbalijuriststating: "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, by the acceptance of all Muslim scholars. And the Qur'an has pointed to it in different places, and the sayings of the Prophet have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are only people who are innovators and their followers."In the words of one contemporary academic, practically all Muslims of that era believed that "the lives of saints and their miracles were incontestable."

In themodern world,the traditional idea of saints in Islam has been challenged by thepuritanicalandrevivalistIslamic movementsofSalafismandWahhabism,whose influence has "formed a front against the veneration and theory of saints."For the adherents of Wahhabi ideology, for example, the practice of venerating saints appears as an "abomination", for they see in this a form ofidolatry.It is for this reason that theKingdom of Saudi Arabia,which adheres to the Wahhabi creed, "destroyed the tombs of saints wherever... able"duringits expansionin theArabian Peninsulafrom the eighteenth-century onwards.As has been noted by scholars, the development of these movements have indirectly led to a trend amongst some mainstream Muslims to also resist "acknowledging the existence of Muslim saints altogether or... [to view] their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations."At the same time, the movement ofIslamic Modernismhas also opposed the traditional veneration of saints, for many proponents of this ideology regard the practice as "being both un-Islamic and backwards... rather than the integral part of Islam which they were for over a millennium."Despite the presence, however, of these opposing streams of thought, the classical doctrine of saint-veneration continues to thrive in many parts of the Islamic world today, playing a vital part in the daily piety of vast portions of Muslim countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey,Senegal,Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Morocco,as well as in countries with substantive Islamic populations like India, China, Russia, and theBalkans.

Definitions

Detail from an Indianminiaturedepicting theMughalprinceDara Shikoh(d. 1659) seeking the advice of a local saint namedMian Mir(d. 1635), undated but perhaps from the late seventeenth-century

The general definition of the Muslim saint in classical texts is that he represents a "[friend of God] marked by [special] divine favor... [and] holiness", being specifically "chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to workmiracles."Moreover, the saint is also portrayed in traditional hagiographies as one who "in some way... acquires his Friend's, i.e. God's, good qualities, and therefore he possesses particular authority, forces, capacities and abilities."Amongst classical scholars,Qushayri(d. 1073) defined the saint as someone "whose obedience attains permanence without interference of sin; whom God preserves and guards, in permanent fashion, from the failures of sin through the power of acts of obedience."Elsewhere, the same author quoted an older tradition in order to convey his understanding of the purpose of saints, which states: "The saints of God are those who, when they are seen, God is remembered."

Meanwhile,al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi(d. 869), the most significant ninth-century expositor of the doctrine, posited six common attributes of true saints (not necessarily applicable to all, according to the author, but nevertheless indicative of a significant portion of them), which are: (1) when people see him, they are automatically reminded of God; (2) anyone who advances towards him in a hostile way is destroyed; (3) he possesses the gift of clairvoyance (firāsa); (4) he receives divine inspiration (ilhām), to be strictly distinguished from revelation proper (waḥy),with the latter being something only theprophetsreceive; (5) he can work miracles (karāmāt) by the leave ofGod,which may differ from saint to saint, but may include marvels such as walking on water (al-mas̲h̲y ʿalā 'l-māʾ) and shorteningspace and time(ṭayy al-arḍ); and (6) he associates withKhidr.Al-Tirmidhi states, furthermore, that although the saint is not sinless like the prophets, he or she can nevertheless be "preserved from sin" (maḥfūz) by the grace of God.The contemporary scholar of SufismMartin Lingsdescribed the Islamic saints as "the great incarnations of the Islamic ideal.... spiritual giants with which almost every generation was blessed."

Classical testimonies

Main article:Miracles of the Saints (Islam)

The doctrine of saints, and of their miracles, seems to have been taken for granted by many of the major authors of theIslamic Golden Age(ca. 700–1400),as well as by many prominent late-medieval scholars.The phenomena in traditional Islam can be at least partly ascribed to the writings of many of the most prominent Sunni theologians and doctors of the classical and medieval periods,many of whom considered the belief in saints to be "orthodox" doctrine.Examples of classical testimonies include:

• "God has saints (awliyā) whom He has specially distinguished by His friendship and whom He has chosen to be the governors of His kingdom… He has made the saints governors of the universe… Through the blessing of their advent the rain falls from heaven, and through the purity of their lives the plants spring up from the earth, and through their spiritual influence the Muslims gain victories over the truth concealers "(Hujwiri[d. 1072-7];SunniHanafijurist and mystic)
• "The miracles of the saints (awliyā) are a reality. The miracle appears on behalf of the saint by way of contradicting the customary way of things.... And such a thing is reckoned as an evidentiary miracle on behalf of the Messenger to one of whose people this act appears, because it is evident from it that he is a saint, and he could never be a saint unless he were right in his religion; and his religion is the confession of the message of the Messenger "(al-Nasafī[d. 1142],CreedXV;SunniHanafitheologian)
• "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, and acknowledged by all Muslim scholars. The Qur'an has pointed to it in different places, and the Hadith of the Prophet have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are innovators or following innovators" (Ibn Taymiyya[d. 1328],Mukhtasar al-Fatawa al-Masriyya;SunniHanbalitheologian and jurisconsult)

Seeking of blessings

The rationale for veneration of deceased saints by pilgrims in an appeal for blessings (Barakah) even though the saints will not rise from the dead until the Day of Resurrection (Yawm ad-Dīn) may come from the hadith that states "the Prophets are alive in their graves and they pray".(According to the Islamic concept ofPunishment of the Grave—established byhadith—the dead are still conscious and active, with the wicked suffering in their graves as a prelude to hell and the pious at ease.) According to Islamic historian Jonathan A.C. Brown, "saints are thought to be no different" than prophets, "as able in death to answer invocations for assistance" as they were while alive.

Types and hierarchy

A drawing ofThe Two Poet SaintsHafezandSaadi Shirazi(ca. 17th century), thought to be executed by Muhammad Qāsim

Saints were envisaged to be of different "types" in classical Islamic tradition.Aside from their earthly differences as regard their temporal duty (i.e.jurist,hadithscholar,judge,traditionist,historian,ascetic,poet), saints were also distinguished cosmologically as regards their celestial function or standing.In Islam, however, the saints are represented in traditional texts as serving separate celestial functions, in a manner similar to theangels,and this is closely linked to the idea of a celestial hierarchy in which the various types of saints play different roles.A fundamental distinction was described in the ninth century by al-Tirmidhi in hisSīrat al-awliyāʾ(Lives of the Saints), who distinguished between two principal varieties of saints: thewalī ḥaḳḳ Allāhon the one hand and thewalī Allāhon the other.According to the author, "the [spiritual] ascent of thewalī ḥaḳḳ Allāhmust stop at the end of thecreatedcosmos... he can attain God's proximity, but not God Himself; he is only admitted to God's proximity (muḳarrab). It is thewalī Allāhwho reaches God. Ascent beyond God's throne means to traverse consciously the realms of light of theDivine Names.... When thewalī Allāhhas traversed all the realms of the Divine Names, i.e. has come to know God in His names as completely as possible, he is then extinguished in God's essence. His soul, his ego, is eliminated and... when he acts, it is God Who acts through him. And so the state of extinction means at the same time the highest degree of activity in this world. "

Although the doctrine of the hierarchy of saints is already found in written sources as early as the eighth-century,it was al-Tirmidhi who gave it its first systematic articulation. According to the author, forty major saints, whom he refers to by the various names ofṣiddīḳīn,abdāl,umanāʾ,andnuṣaḥāʾ,were appointed after the death ofMuhammadto perpetuate the knowledge of the divine mysteries vouchsafed to them by the prophet.These forty saints, al-Tirmidhi stated, would be replaced in each generation after their earthly death; and, according to him, "the fact that they exist is a guarantee for the continuing existence of the world."Among these forty, al-Tirmidhi specified that seven of them were especially blessed.Despite their exalted nature, however, al-Tirmidhi emphasized that these forty saints occupied a rank below the prophets.Later important works which detailed the hierarchy of saints were composed by the mystic ʿAmmār al-Bidlīsī (d. between 1194 and 1207), the spiritual teacher ofNajmuddin Kubra(d. 1220), and byRuzbihan Baqli(d. 1209), who evidently knew of "a highly developed hierarchy of God's friends."The differences in terminology between the various celestial hierarchies presented by these authors were reconciled by later scholars through their belief that the earlier mystics had highlighted particular parts and different aspects of a single, cohesive hierarchy of saints.

Sufism

The goal of the Sufi path is to achieveunification of the self with God(fanāʾ). The concept is often described in Sufi allegories as the self mirroring the light of God. Accordingly, the soul is tainted and in need of purification. In the purified state of the Sufi saint, the Sufi's spotless mind realizes that it has no real existence in itself; his existence is only God's light and he is only the mirror.

In certain esoteric teachings of Islam, there is said to be a cosmic spiritual hierarchywhose ranks includewalis(saints, friends of God),abdals(changed ones), headed by aghawth(helper) orqutb(pole, axis). The details vary according to the source.

One source is the 12th Century PersianAli Hujwiri.In his divine court, there are three hundredakhyār( "excellent ones" ), fortyabdāl( "substitutes" ), sevenabrār( "piously devoted ones" ), fourawtād( "pillars" ), threenuqabā( "leaders" ) and one qutb.

All these saints know one another and cannot act without mutual consent. It is the task of the Awtad to go round the whole world every night, and if there should be any place on which their eyes have not fallen, next day some flaw will appear in that place, and they must then inform the Qutb in order that he may direct his attention to the weak spot and that by his blessings the imperfection may be remedied.

Another is fromIbn Arabi,who lived in Moorish Spain. It has a more exclusive structure. There are eightnujabā( "nobles" ), twelvenuqabā,sevenabdāl,fourawtād,twoa'immah( "guides" ), and the qutb.

According to the 20th-century SufiInayat Khan,there are seven degrees in the hierarchy. In ascending order, they arepir,buzurg,wali,ghaus,qutb,nabiandrasulHe does not say how the levels are populated. Pirs and buzurgs assist the spiritual progress of those who approach them. Walis may take responsibility for protecting a community and generally work in secret. Qutbs are similarly responsible for large regions. Nabis are charged with bringing a reforming message to nations or faiths, and hence have a public role. Rasuls likewise have a mission of transformation of the world at large.

Regional veneration

The amount of veneration a specific saint received varied from region to region in Islamic civilization, often on the basis of the saint's own history in that region.While the veneration of saints played a crucial role in the daily piety ofSunniMuslimsall over the Islamic world for more than a thousand years (ca. 800–1800), exactlywhichsaints were most widely venerated in any given cultural climate depended on the hagiographic traditions of that particular area.Thus, whileMoinuddin Chishti(d. 1236), for example, was honored throughout the Sunni world in the medieval period, hiscultuswas especially prominent in theIndian subcontinent,as that is where he was believed to have preached, performed the majority of his miracles, and ultimately settled at the end of his life.

North Africa

The veneration of saints has played "an essential role in the religious, and social life of theMaghrebfor more or less a millennium ";in other words, since Islam first reached the lands of North Africa in the eighth century.The first written references to ascetic Muslim saints in Africa, "popularly admired and with followings,"appear in tenth-century hagiographies.As has been noted by scholars, however, "the phenomenon may well be older,"for many of the stories of the Islamic saints were passed down orally before finally being put to writing.One of the most widely venerated saints in early North African Islamic history was Abū Yaʿzā (or Yaʿazzā, d. 1177), an illiterateSunniMalikimiracle workerwhose reputation for sanctity was admired even in his own life.Another immensely popular saint of the time-period was Ibn Ḥirzihim (d. 1163), who also gained renown for his personal devoutness and his ability to work miracles.It wasAbu Madyan(d. 1197), however, who eventually became one of theAwliya Allahof the entireMaghreb.A "spiritual disciple of these two preceding saints,"Abū Madyan, a prominent Sunni Maliki scholar, was the first figure in Maghrebi Sufism "to exercise an influence beyond his own region."Abū Madyan travelled to the East, where he is said to have met prominent mystics like the renownedHanbalijuristAbdul-Qadir Gilani(d. 1166).Upon returning to the Maghreb, Abū Madyan stopped atBéjaïaand "formed a circle of disciples."Abū Madyan eventually died inTlemcen,while making his way to theAlmohadcourtofMarrakesh;he was later venerated as a primeAwliya Allahof Tlemcen by popular acclaim.

One of Abū Madyan's most notable disciples wasʿAbd al-Salām Ibn Mas̲h̲īs̲h̲(d. 1127),a "saint... [who] had a posthumous fame through his being recognised as a master and a 'pole' by"Abu 'l-Ḥasan al-S̲h̲ād̲h̲ilī(d. 1258).It was this last figure who becamethepreeminent saint in Maghrebi piety, due to his being the founder of one of the most famous Sunni Sufi orders of North Africa: theShadhiliyyatariqa.Adhering to theMalikimaddhabin itsjurisprudence,the Shadhili order produced numerous widely honored Sunni saints in the intervening years, includingFāsī Aḥmad al-Zarrūq(d. 1494),who was educated inEgyptbut taught inLibyaandMorocco,andAbū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Jazūlī(d. 1465), "who returned to Morocco after a long trip to the East and then began a life as a hermit,"and who achieved widespread renown for the miracles he is said to have wrought by the leave of God.Eventually, the latter was buried inMarrakesh,where he ended up becoming of the city's seven most famousAwliya Allahfor the Sunnis of the area.Some of the most popular and influential Maghrebi saints and mystics of the following centuries wereMuḥammad b. Nāṣir(d. 1674),Aḥmad al-Tij̲ānī(d. 1815),Abū Ḥāmid al-ʿArabī al-Darqāwī(d. 1823), andAḥmad b. ʿAlāwī(d. 1934),with the latter three originating Sufi orders of their own.Famous adherents of the Shadhili order amongst modern Islamic scholars includeAbdallah Bin Bayyah(b. 1935),Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki(d. 2004),Hamza Yusuf(b. 1958), andMuhammad al-Yaqoubi(b. 1963).

The veneration of saints in Maghrebi Sunni Islam has been studied by scholars with regard to the various "types" of saints venerated by Sunnis in those areas.These include:

• (1) the "pure, ascetic hermit,"who is honored for having refused all ostentation, and is commemorated not on account of his written works but by virtue of the reputation he is believed to have had for personal sanctity, miracles, and "inward wisdom or gnosis";
• (2) "the ecstatic and eccentric saint" (mad̲j̲d̲h̲ūb),who is believed to have maintained orthodoxy in his fulfillment of the pillars of the faith, but who is famous for having taught in an unusually direct style or for having divulged the highest truths before the majority in a manner akin toHallaj(d. 922).Famous and widely venerated saints of this "type" include Ibn al-Marʾa (d. 1214), ʿAlī al-Ṣanhāj̲ī (ca. 16th-century), ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mad̲j̲d̲h̲ūb (literally "ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the Ecstatic", d. 1569);
• (3) the "warrior saint" (pl.murābiṭūn) or martyr;
• (4) female saints, who may belong to one of the aforementioned three categories or some other.It has been remarked that "Maghrebi sainthood is by no means confined to men, and... some of the tombs of female saints are very frequently visited."
• (5) "Jewish saints", that is to say, venerable Jewish personages whose tombs are frequented by Sunni Muslims in the area for the seeking of blessings

Regarding the veneration of saints amongst Sunni Muslims in the Maghreb in the present day, scholars have noted the presence of many "thousands of minor, local saints whose tombs remain visible in villages or the quarters of towns."Although many of these saints lack precise historiographies or hagiographies, "their presence and their social efficacity... [are] immense"in shaping the spiritual life of Muslims in the region. For the vast majority of Muslims in the Maghreb even today, the saints remain "very much alive at their tomb, to the point that the person's name most often serves to denote the place."While this classical type of Sunni veneration represents the most widespread stance in the area, the modern influence ofSalafismandWahhabismhave challenged the traditional practice in some quarters.

Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Azerbaijan

Scholars have noted the tremendously "important role"the veneration of saints has historically played in Islamic life all these areas, especially amongst Sunnis who frequent the many thousands of tombs scattered throughout the region for blessings in performing the act ofziyāra.According to scholars, "between the Turks of the Balkans and Anatolia, and those in Central Asia, despite the distance separating them, the concept of the saint and the organisation of pilgrimages displays no fundamental differences."The veneration of saints really spread in the Turkish lands from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries,and played a crucial role in medieval Turkic Sunni piety not only in cosmopolitan cities but also "in rural areas and amongst nomads of the whole Turkish world."One of the reasons proposed by scholars for the popularity of saints in pre-modern Turkey is that Islam was majorly spread by the early Sunni Sufis in the Turkish lands, rather than by purely exoteric teachers.Most of the saints venerated in Turkey belonged to theHanafischool of Sunni jurisprudence.

As scholars have noted, saints venerated in traditional Turkish Sunni Islam may be classified into three principal categories:

• (1) Theg̲h̲āzīsor early Muslims saints who preached the faith in the region and were often martyred for their religion. Some of the most famous and widely venerated saints of this category include theprophetMuhammad's companionAbū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī(d. 674), who was killed beneath the walls ofConstantinopleand was honored as a martyr shortly thereafter,and Sayyid Baṭṭāl G̲h̲āzī (d. ninth-century), who fought the Christians inAnatoliaduring theUmayyadperiod.
• (2) Sufi saints, who were most often Sunni mystics who belonged to theHanafischool of Sunni jurisprudence and were attached to one of the orthodox Sufi orders like theNaqshbandior theMevlevi.
• (3) The "greats figures of Islam", both pre-Islamic and those who came afterMuhammad,as well as certain sainted rulers.

Reverence of Awliya Allah

Reverence for Awliya Allah have been an important part of bothSunniandShiaIslamic tradition that particularly important classical saints have served as the heavenly advocates for specific Muslim empires, nations, cities, towns, and villages.With regard to the sheer omnipresence of this belief, the late Martin Lings wrote: "There is scarcely a region in the empire of Islam which has not a Sufi for its Patron Saint."As the veneration accorded saints often develops purely organically in Islamic climates, theAwliya Allahare often recognized through popular acclaim rather than through official declaration.Traditionally, it has been understood that theWali'Allahof a particular place prays for that place's well-being and for the health and happiness of all who live therein.Here is a partial list of MuslimAwliya Allah:

The shrine ofNiẓām al-Dīn Awliyā(d. 1325) inDelhi,India, where he is honored as anAwliya Allahof the city; the shrine is the most popular site of Muslim pilgrimage in theIndian subcontinent

The shrine ofAḥmad Yesewī(d. 1166) inTurkistan, Kazakhstan,where he is honored as anAwliya Allahof the country; the shrine was commissioned byTimurin 1389

Country	Awliya Allah	Life dates	Notes	Location
Afghanistan	Ali ibn Abi Talib	d. 661	Cousin and son in law ofMuhammadand 4thRashidun Caliph.Believed to be buried inMazar SharifinNaqshbandi sunni belief.	Mazar Sharif,Balkh Province
	Mir Maudood Chishti	d. 1139	ChishtiSunnimystic,Mirof the descendants of the family of the12th Imam,descending fromImam Hasan al Askari	ChishtinHeratProvince.
	Sanā'ī	d. 1131/1141	Sunnimystic,Sufi poet
Algeria	Abū Madyan	d. 1197–98	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofTlemcen;in the words of one scholar,"the city has grown and developed under the beneficent aegis of the great saint, and the town of al-ʿUbbād has grown up round his tomb"
	ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-T̲h̲aʿālibī	d. c. 1200	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofAlgiers
Bangladesh	Shah Jalal	d. 1347	Sufisaint and mystic of theSuhrawardiyyaorder, born in modern-day Turkey he travelled to the Indian subcontinent and settled in the North-East Bengal and Assam spreading Islam across the area and became the main guide to the new Muslim population of Eastern Bengal.
	Khan Jahan Ali	d. 1459	Born in modernUzbekistan,he travelled to southern Bengal to spread Islam; he built themosque city of Bagerhatand cleared the Sunderbans for human settlement. He developed southern Bengal by linking Bagerghat to the trade city of Chittagong andSonargaonand introduced Islamic education there.
	Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind	d. 14 century	Sufi saint (born in Gaur, West Bengal) of theChishtiorder, he spread Islam across Northern Bengal and Western Bihar, he was also the administrator of Northern Bengal under the SultanShamsuddin Ilyas Shahdeveloping the area. His dargah in Malda is one of the largest in South Asia and gathers thousands a year.
Egypt	Abu'l-Ḥasan al-S̲h̲ād̲h̲ilī	d. 1258	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence and founder of theShadiliyyatariqa	Many parts ofUpper Egypt,but particularly among the ʿAbābda tribe
	Abū l-Ḥajjāj of Luxor	d. 1244	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofLuxor
	ʿAbd al-Raḥīm of Qena	d. 1196	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence, and famous defender of orthodoxy in the area	City ofQena
Ethiopia	Abādir ʿUmar al-Riḍā	d. c. 1300	Sunnimystic ofShafi'ijurisprudence	City ofHarar;according to one scholar,"Harar later came to be known asMadīnat al-Awliyāʾ('the city of saints') for the shrines of hundreds of saints in and around Harar "
Somalia	Abū Barakāt Yūsuf Al-Kawnayn Al-Barbari	d. c. 1200	Sunnisaint and scholar ofShafi'ijurisprudence. He is considered the forefather of theWalashma Dynasty.	Travelled a lot fromHarar,Zeila,Baghdad,Dhogorand evenMaldives,where he spread Islam.
	Ash-Shaykh Diyā Ud-Dīn Ishāq Ibn Ahmad Ar-Ridhāwi Al-Maytī	d. c. 1300	Sunnischolar and traveler ofHusaynidlineage. He is the eponymous ancestor of theisaaqclan-family.	Travelled fromHijāz,toYaman,Bilād Al-Habashaand finally the city ofMaydh.
India	Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyā	d. 1325	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence	City ofDelhi
	S̲h̲āh al-Ḥamīd ʿAbd al-Ḳādir	ob. 1600	Sunnimystic ofShafi'ijurisprudence	Town ofNagore
	Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sijzī		Mystic of Chishti order	City ofSrinagar
	Mu'in al-Din Hadi Naqshband Mirza		Mystic of Naqshbandi order and son in law ofEmperor Jahangir;Buried alongside 3 generations of his successors in theZiyarat Naqshband Memorial Complex	City ofAjmer
	Bābā Nūr al-Dīn Ris̲h̲ī	d. 1377	Sunniasceticand mystic	Town ofBijbehara
Iran	Daniel	d. 600 BCE	Hebrewprophetwho is venerated in Islamic tradition	City ofShush,where the most popular shrine devoted to him is located
Iraq	Husayn ibn Ali	d. 680	grandson ofMuhammadandThird imamforShiaMuslims	AllIraqfor both Shia and Sunni Muslims, but especially the city ofKarbala
	ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī	d. 1166	Sunnimystic andjuristofHanbalijurisprudence and founder of theQadiriyyatariqa	AllIraqin classical Sunni piety, but especially the city ofBaghdad
Kazakhstan	Aḥmad Yesewī	d. 1166	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence and founder of the Yesewīyyatariqa	All ofKazakhstan;additionally, venerated as theWaliof all the modern nation states comprising the pre-modernTurkestan
Morocco	Abū S̲h̲uʿayb Ayyūb b. Saʿīd al-Ṣinhāj̲ī(in the vernacular "Mūlāy Būs̲h̲ʿīb" )	d. c. 1100	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofAzemmour
	Ḥmād u-Mūsā	d. 1563	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence and theShadiliyyatariqa	Region ofSous
	Aḥmad b. Jaʿfar al-Ḵh̲azrajī Abu 'l-ʿAbbās al-Sabtī	d. 1205	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofMarrakesh
	Sidi Belliūt	d. c. 1500 [?]	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofCasablanca
	Ibn ʿĀs̲h̲ir	d. 1362–63	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofSalé
	Abū Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ|d. 1500 [?]	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofSafi
	Mūlāy ʿAlī Bū G̲h̲ālem	d. 1200 [?]	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	Town ofAlcazarquivir
	Idris I of Morocco	d. 791	First Islamic ruler and founder of theIdrisid dynasty	City ofFez
	ʿAbd al-Ḳādir Muḥammad	d. c. 1500 [?]	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	Town ofFiguig
	Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā	d. 16th century	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofMeknes
Nigeria	Muhammad ibn al-Sabbagh(inHausaDan Marina)	fl.1640	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofKatsina
	Dan Masanih	1595 – 1667	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofKatsina
Pakistan	ʿAbd Allāh S̲h̲āh G̲h̲āzī	d. c. 800	Early Muslim mystic andpreacher	City ofKarachi
	Abu 'l-Ḥasan Ali Huj̲wīrī	d. 1072–1077	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence; often referred to as Dātā Ganj̲bak̲h̲s̲h̲ by Pakistanis	City ofLahore
	ʿAbd Allāh S̲h̲āh Qādri	d. 1757	MuslimSufi poetand philosopher ofQadiriyyatariqa	City ofKasur
	Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zakarīyā	d. 1170	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence and theSuhrawardiyyatariqa	Vast areas of south-westPunjabandSindh
	Lāl Shāhbāz Q̣alandar	d. 1275	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence	City ofSehwan Sharif
	Bilāwal S̲h̲āh Nūraniʾ	d.?	Sufi mystic buried inLahoot Lamakan	City ofKhuzdar
	HH The Hazrat Ishaan	d. 1642	Aristocrat and Patron Saint of theMughal EmperorsandShaybanid Khans of Bukharaburied alongside his successor Khwaja Khawand Ahmad Hazrat Ishaan III, Khwaja Bahauddin Thani Hazrat Ishaan IV,Sayyid Mir Jan Hazrat Ishaan VIIIandMir Mahmud Agha Hazrat Ishaan IXinBegampura	City ofLahore
	Sheikh Rahamkar	d. 1653	Sunnimystic andpir	City ofNowshera
	S̲h̲āh Qabūl ʾAwliyāʾ	d. 1767	Sunnimystic andpir	City ofPeshawar
	Jalālʾ al-Dīn Surk͟h Poṣ	d. 1295	Sufi saint andmissionary	City ofUch Sharif
Syria	Arslān of Damascus	d. 1160–1164	Sunnimystic	City ofDamascus
Tunisia	Muḥriz b. K̲h̲alaf	d. 1022	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofTunis
	Sīdī al-Māzarī	d. 1300 [?]	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofMonastir
	ʿAbd Allāh Abu 'l-Jimāl	d. 1500 [?]	Sunnimystic ofMalikijurisprudence	City ofKhroumire
	Boulbaba	d. 7th century	According to tradition, acompanionofMuhammad	City ofGabès
Turkey	Ḥājjī Bayrām Walī	d. 1429–30	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence	City ofAnkara
	Emīr Sulṭān	d. 1455	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence	City ofBursa
	Miskin Baba	d. 1858–59	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence	Island ofAda Kaleh,which was at one time under the control of theOttoman Empire;island was submerged in 1970 during the construction of theIron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station
	Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī	d. 1273	Hanafimystic ofMaturidicreed	City ofKonya
Uzbekistan	Qutham b. ʿAbbās	d. 676	Early Muslimmartyr	City ofSamarkand
	Zangī Ātā	d. 1269	Sunnimystic ofHanafijurisprudence	City ofTashkent
Yemen	Muḥammad b. ʿAlī Bā ʿAlāwī	d. 1255	Sunnimystic ofShafi'ijurisprudence and founder of the ʿAlāwiyyatariqainHadhramaut	Region ofHadhramaut
	S̲h̲aik̲h̲ Ṣadīq	d. 1500 [?]	Sunnimystic	City ofAl Hudaydah
	ʿAlī b. ʿUmar al-S̲h̲ād̲h̲ilī	d. 1400 [?]	Sunnimystic of theShadiliyyatariqa	Port-city ofMokha
	Abū Bakr al-ʿAydarūs	d. 1508	Sunnimystic ofShafi'ijurisprudence	City ofAden

See also

• Amir al-Mu'minin
• List of Sufi saints
• List of Sufis
• Mawla
• Mawlānā
• Pir
• Wali(Islamic legal guardian)
• Wali(administrative title)
• Wali al-Ahd
• Wali Sanga
• The Verse of Wilayah
• Righteous Among the Nations

Further reading

Primary

• Ibn Abi 'l-Dunyā,K. al-Awliyāʾ,in Mad̲j̲mūʿat rasāʾil, Cairo 1354/1935
• Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣbahānī,Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ,Cairo 1351 ff./1932 ff.
• Abū Saʿīd al-K̲h̲arrāz,K. al-Kas̲h̲f wa 'l-bayān,ed. Ḳ. al-Sāmarrāʾī, Bag̲h̲dād 1967
• al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmid̲h̲ī,K. K̲h̲atm al-awliyāʾ,ed. O. Yaḥyā, Beirut 1965
• idem,K. Sīrat al-awliyāʾ,ed. B. Radtke, in Drei Schrijten, i, 1-134, Beirut 1992
• idem,al-Farḳ bayn al-āyāt wa 'l-karāmāt,ms. Ankara, Ismail Saib i, 1571, fols. 152b-177b
• idem,Badʾ s̲h̲aʾn Abī ʿAbd Allāh,ed. Yaḥyā, in Tirmid̲h̲ī,K̲h̲atm,14-32, facs. and German tr. in Radtke,Tirmid̲iana minora,244-77, Eng. tr. in Radtke and O'Kane,Concept of sainthood,15-36. Handbooks.
• Bādisī, "al-Maḳṣad", tr. G. Colin, inArchives marocaines,xxvi-xxvii (1926)
• G̲h̲ubrīnī,ʿUnwān al-dirāya,Algiers 1970
• Hud̲j̲wīrī,Kas̲h̲f al-maḥd̲j̲ūb,ed. V. Zhukovsky, repr. Tehran 1336/1958, 265 ff., tr. Nicholson,The Kashf al-mahjūb. The oldest Persian treatise on Sufism,Leiden-London 1911, 210-41
• Kalābād̲h̲ī,al-Taʿarruf li-mad̲h̲hab ahl al-taṣawwufed. Arberry, Cairo 1934, tr. idem,The doctrine of the Sufis,2, Cambridge 1977, ch. 26
• Sarrād̲j̲,K. al-Lumaʿ fi 'l-taṣawwuf,ed. Nicholson, Leiden-London 1914, 315-32, Ger. tr. R. Gramlich,Schlaglichter über das Sufitum,Stuttgart 1990, 449-68
• Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī,Ḳūt al-ḳulūb,Cairo 1932, Ger. tr. Gramlich,Die Nährung der Herzen,Wiesbaden 1992–95, index, s.v. Gottesfreund
• Ḳus̲h̲ayrī,Risāla,many eds., Ger. tr. Gramlich,Das Sendschreiben al-Qušayrīs,Wiesbaden 1989, index, s.v. Gottesfreund
• ʿAmmār al-Bidlīsī,Zwei mystische Schriften,ed. E. Badeen, forthcoming Beirut
• Ibn al-ʿArabī,al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya,Cairo 1329–1911.
• idem,Rūḥ al-ḳuds,Damascus 1964, Eng. tr. R.W. Austin,The Sufis of Andalusia,London 1971, Fr. tr. G. Leconte,Les Soufies d'Andalousie,Paris 1995
• F. Meier,Die Vita des Scheich Abū Isḥāq al-Kāzarūnī,Leipzig 1948
• Muḥammad b. Munawwar,Asrār al-tawḥīd fī maḳāmāt al-S̲h̲ayk̲h̲ Abī Saʿīd,ed. Muḥammad S̲h̲afīʿī-i Kadkanī, Tehran 1366-7, Eng. tr. J. O'Kane,The secrets of God's mystical oneness,New York 1992
• ʿAzīz al-Dīn Nasafī,K. al-Insān al-kāmil,ed. M. Mole, Tehran-Paris 1962, 313-25
• Ibn Taymiyya,al-Furḳān bayna awliyāʾ al-Raḥmān wa-awliyāʾ al-S̲h̲ayṭān,Cairo 1366/1947
• idem,Ḥaḳīḳat mad̲h̲hab al-ittiḥādiyyīn, in Mad̲j̲mūʿat al-Rasāʾil wa 'l-masāʾil,iv, Cairo n.d., 1 ff.
• Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh,Laṭāʾif al-minan,Fr. tr. E. Geoffroy,La sagesse des maîtres soufis,Paris 1998

Secondary

• Henri Corbin,En Islam iranien,esp. iii, Paris 1972
• Michel Chodkiewicz,Le sceau des saints,Paris 1986
• Jahrhundert Hidschra.Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im frühen Islam,i-vi, Berlin-New York 1991-7
• B. Radtke and J. O'Kane,The concept of sainthood in early Islamic mysticism,London 1996
• Radtke,Drei Schriften des Theosophen von Tirmid̲,i, Beirut-Stuttgart 1992, ii, Beirut-Stuttgart 1996
• R. Mach,Der Zaddik in Talmud und Midrasch,Leiden 1957
• Radtke, "Tirmid̲iana minora", inOriens,xxxiv (1994), 242-98
• Gramlich,Die Wunder der Freunde Gottes,Wiesbaden 1987
• idem,Die schiitischen Derwischorden Persiens,Wiesbaden 1965–81, ii, 160-5 (on the hierarchy of saints)
• C. Ernst,Ruzbihan Baqli,London 1996
• Radtke, "Zwischen Traditionalisms und Intellektualismus. Geistesgeschichtliche und historiografische Bemerkungen zum Ibrīz des Aḥmad b. al-Mubārak al-Lamaṭī", inBuilt on solid rock. Festschrift für Ebbe Knudsen,Oslo 1997, 240-67
• H.S. Nyberg,Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī,Leiden 1919, 103-20
• A. Afifi,The mystical philosophy of Muhyid-din Ibnul-ʿArabi,Cambridge 1939
• W. Chittick,The Sufi path of knowledge,Albany 1989
• Jamil M. Abun-Nasr,The Tijaniyya. A Sufi order in the modern world,London 1965
• Radtke, "Lehrer-Schüler-Enkel. Aḥmad b. Idrīs, Muḥammad ʿUt̲mān al-Mīrġanī, Ismāʿīl al-Walī", inOriens,xxxiii (1992), 94-132
• I. Goldziher, "Die Heiligenverehrung im Islam", inMuh. Stud.,ii, 275-378
• Grace Martin Smith and C.W. Ernst (eds.),Manifestations of sainthood in Islam,Istanbul 1993
• H.-Ch. Loir et Cl. Gilliot (eds.),Le culte des saints dans le monde musulman,Paris 1995.

External links

• Martin Lings, "Proofs of Islam," transcript of lecture delivered at the Islamic Cultural Centre, later published inIlm Magazine,Volume 10, Number 1, December 1985, pp. 3-8