Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri (; -1072/77), known reverentially as Data Sahib (), was an Islamic scholar and mystic who authored , the earliest treatise on Sufism in the Persian language. Born in the Ghaznavid Empire, al-Hujwiri is believed to have contributed "significantly" to the spread of Islam in South Asia through his preaching.
Al-Hujwiri is venerated as the primary saint of Lahore, Pakistan by the Sufis of the area and his tomb-shrine, known as the Data Darbar, is one of the most frequented shrines in South Asia. Currently, it is Pakistan's largest shrine "in numbers of annual visitors and in the size of the shrine complex," and, having been nationalized in 1960, is managed today by the Department of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of the Punjab. The mystic himself remains a "household name" in the daily Islam of South Asia. In 2016, the Government of Pakistan declared 21 November to be a public holiday for the commemoration of the commencement of Ali Hujwiri's three-day death anniversary.
Background
He migrated to Punjab from Khorasan and transmitted Islam to a land where majority of the people were Hindus. Ali Hujwiri was born in Ghazni, in present-day Afghanistan, in around 1009 to Uthman ibn Ali or Bu Ali. His claimed genealogical chain supposedly goes back eight generations to Caliph Ali as He is Syed and from the Ahel el bayt,
According to the autobiographical information recorded in his own Kashf al-maḥjūb, it is evident that Ali Hujwiri travelled "widely through the Ghaznavid Empire and beyond, spending considerable time in Baghdad, Nishapur, and Damascus, where he met many of the pre-eminent Ṣūfīs of his time." In matters of jurisprudence, he received training in the Hanafi rite of orthodox Sunni law under various teachers. As for his Sufic training, he was linked through his teacher al-Khuttalī to al-Husrī, Abu Bakr al-Shibli (), and Junayd al-Baghdadi (). For a short period, the mystic is believed to have lived in Iraq His brief marriage during this period is said to have been unhappy. and deemed him "the leader (imām) of all the folk of this Path." and stated elsewhere that he "is placed by the Sufi shaykhs at the head of those who have adopted the contemplative life." In conclusion, Ali Hujwiri stated: "The whole sect of Sufis has made him their patron in stripping themselves of worldly things, in fixity, in an eager desire for poverty, and in longing to renounce authority. He is the leader of the Muslims in general, and of the Sufis in particular."
Umar
Al-Hujwiri described the second caliph of Islam Umar () as one "specially distinguished by sagacity and resolution," He further praised Umar for his "very exalted station" in combining a life of worldly duties with intense and consistent spiritual devotion.
Ali
With respect to the fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs of Islam, Ali (), al-Hujwiri stated: "His renown and rank in this Path were very high. He explained the principles of Divine Truth with exceeding subtlety.... Ali is a model for the Sufis in respect to the truths of outward expressions and the subtleties of inward meanings, the stripping of one's self of all property either of this world or of the next, and consideration of the Divine Providence."
Husayn
With respect to the younger grandson of Muhammad and son of Ali, Husayn ibn Ali (d. 680), Ali Hujwiri emphatically declared: "He is the martyr of Karbala and all Sufis are agreed that he was in the right. So long as the Truth was apparent, he followed it; but when it was lost, he drew the sword and never rested until he sacrificed his dear life for God's sake."
Muhammad al-Baqir
Regarding the grandson of Husayn, Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 733), Ali Hujwiri stated: "He was distinguished for his knowledge of the abstruse science and for his subtle indications as to the meaning of the Quran."
Zayn al-Abidin
Ali Hujwiri praised Zayn al-Abidin (d. 713), the son of Husayn, for being of "the character of those who have attained perfect rectitude."
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Regarding Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855), the traditionally recognized founder of the Hanbali school of orthodox Sunni jurisprudence, Ali Hujwiri stated: "He was distinguished by devoutness and piety, and was the guardian of the Traditions of the Messenger. Sufis of all sects regard him as blessed. He associated with great shaykhs ... his miracles were manifest and his intelligence sound. The doctrines attributed to him today by certain anthropomorphists are inventions and forgeries; he is to be acquitted of all notions of that sort. He had a firm belief in the principles of religion, and his creed was approved by all the theologians.... He is clear of all [the slander] that is alleged against him."
Law and jurisprudence
As a Sunni Muslim, Ali Hujwiri believed it was a spiritual necessity to follow one of the orthodox schools of religious law, being himself a staunch follower of the Hanafi school of orthodox Sunni jurisprudence. He further denounced all those "who held that ... when the Truth is revealed the Law is abolished".
Dancing
According to Ali Hujwiri, purely secular dancing "has no foundation either in the religious law of Islam or in the path of Sufism, because all reasonable men agree that it is a diversion when it is in earnest, and an impropriety when it is in jest". As such, he censured "all the traditions cited in its favour" as "worthless". Due to these reasons, he censured those who "declare that it is unlawful to listen to any poetry whatever, and pass their lives in defaming their brother Muslims." In conclusion, he stated that those who regarded the hearing of such poetry "as absolutely lawful must also regard looking and touching as lawful, which is infidelity and heresy." As such, he stated: "You must know that the principle and foundation of Sufism and Knowledge of God rests on sainthood, the reality of which is unanimously affirmed by all the teachers, though every one has expressed himself in a different language."
Works
Kashf al-maḥjūb
Ali Hujwiri is perhaps most famous for writing what has been described as "the earliest formal treatise on Ṣūfism in Persian," the Kashf al-maḥjūb (Unveiling of the Hidden). Egyptian Sufi scholar Abul Azaem has translated this work into Arabic.
Other works
Reynold Alleyne Nicholson provided a short list of Ali Hujwiri's writings (all of which are lost aside from the Kashf al-maḥjūb), which included, amongst others, the following unpreserved works:
- Dīwān (Songs of Hujwirī), a collection of the saint's poems.
- Minhāj al-Dīn (The Way of the Religion), a work containing: (i) a detailed account of those companions of Muhammad whom Ali Hujwiri deemed the precursors of the Sufis; and (ii) a full biography of the executed 10th-century mystic Mansur al-Hallaj (d. 922).
- An untitled work explaining the meaning behind the mystical sayings of Mansur al-Hallaj. with one historian describing him as "one of the most important figures to have spread Islam in the Indian subcontinent." Pakistan by the traditional Sunni Muslims of the area. In 2016, the Government of Pakistan declared 21 November to be a public holiday for the commemoration of the commencement of al-Hujwiri's three-day death anniversary.