Ameer Abulola

Sayyid Ameer Abul Ula (1583 – 1651 CE) was an Indian Sufi shaykh of the Naqshbandi order and the eponymous founder of the Naqshbandi Abul Ulai lineage, one of the largest Naqshbandi branches in the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded as a descendant of the Ahl al-Bayt and is widely known in Sufi literature for his spiritual connection with the Chishtiyya through the saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. His synthesis of Naqshbandi and Chishti influences led to his silsila being described as Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn (“the Meeting of the Two Seas”).

Early life & Background

Birth Ameer Abul Ula was born in 990 AH / 1592 CE in Narela, near Delhi into a family tracing its descent to the Prophet Muhammad through the Ahl al-Bayt. His given name was Amīr Abū al-ʿUlā, and his pen-name was Insān. He came to be known by various honorifics such as “Mīr Ṣāḥib”, “Sayyidnā Sarkār”, “Maḥbūb-e-Jall-o-Ilā”, and “Sartāj-e-Āgra”. His father was Amīr Abū al-Wafā and his mother was Bībī ʿĀrifa.

His Lineage On his father's side, Sayyid Ameer Abul Ula traced his descent to Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn and through him to Husayn ibn Ali and Ali ibn Abi Talib. On his mother's side, he traced his lineage to Abu Bakr, through Khwāja Muḥammad al-Nāmī al-Baghdādī and ultimately to Ubaydullah Ahrar of the Naqshbandī order.

According to traditional accounts, he resigned from this position following a visionary dream in which Ali, Hasan and Husayn instructed him to adopt the spiritual life (dariweshī).

He departed Bardwan and travelled first to Azimabad (Patna) and then to Maner Sharif, where he learned of the presence of Hazrat Abu Yazīd Makhdūm Shah Daulat Manerī (d. 1017 AH/1608 AD), a descendant of the early conqueror of Maner and closely related to the eminent Firdawsi master Makhdūm-e-Jahān Sharafuddin Ahmad Yahyā Manerī (d. 782 AH/1380 AD). The sources note that the Sajjāda-nashīn (custodian) family of Khanqah Sajjadia Abulolaiya, Danapur descends from these notable saints.

Sufi Training and Initiation According to Syed Shah Muradullah Maneri, Ameer Abul Ula first visited the renowned Firdawsi master Makhdūm Sharafuddin Yahya Maneri (d. 782 AH) after hearing of his spiritual rank, and received his earliest spiritual instruction from him.This early training, according to the source, contributed to the later prominence of the Abul-Ulā’iyyah branch. and Nijāt-e-Qāsim ''

Naqshbandi-Abul Ulai