Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan

Mirzā Mazhar Jān-i Jānān , also known by his laqab Shamsuddīn Habībullāh (13 March 1699 – 6 January 1781), was a renowned Hanafi Maturidi Naqshbandī Sufi poet of Delhi, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of Urdu poetry." He was also known to his contemporaries as the sunnītarāsh, "Sunnicizer", for his absolute, unflinching commitment to and imitation of the Sunnah. Shaikh Muhammad Tahir Bakhshi notes his date of birth as 11th Ramadan 1111 AH. His father Mirzā Jān was employed in the army of the mighty Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Following a custom according to which the Emperor had the right to name the sons of his officers, Aurangzeb is reported to have said:

His early religious instruction was entrusted to hājjī Afzal Siyālkōtī (hadith) and hāfiz Abd al-Rasūl Dihlawī (Qur'an). At the age of 18, he joined the Naqshbandī order under Nūr Muhammad Bada'ūni, who was closely connected to the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindī, and completed his studies in four years. He was also initiated in the Qādirī, Chishtī and Suhrawardī orders.

He founded a sub-order within the Naqshbandi Tariqa known as the Naqshbandiyya Mazhariyya. Mazhar authorized more disciples than any of his predecessors. He regularly corresponded with his deputies, and his letters form much of the basis of our knowledge about his life and ideas.

He was succeeded by his khalifa (deputy) Abdullah alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dahlavi, who is considered Mujaddid of the 13th Islamic century by most Naqshbandi followers today. His tariqah spread to whole India and Middle East.

Death Mirzā Mazhar was shot and seriously injured on the 7th of Muharram, of the year 1195 AH/1780 CE. The author of Āb-i Ḥayāt writes:

The author of Āb-i Ḥayāt, a determined Shi'a, has been suspected of indulging in partisan religious bias. Professor Frances Pritchett has noted that the latter account of the death of Mirzā Mazhar in Āb-i Ḥayāt is a deliberate distortion. Professor Friedmann, as well as Annemarie Schimmel and Itzchad Weismann, have all noted that Mirzā Mazhar was killed by a Shi'ite zealot.

Spiritual Chain of Succession

Mirza Mazhar belonged to the Mujaddidi sect of Sufism, which is a main branch of Naqshbandi Sufi Tariqa. His spiritual lineage goes through Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, the Mujaddid of eleventh Hijri century.

Khulafa In Maqamat Mazhari, his foremost Khalifa and successor Shah Ghulam Ali Dahlwai writes short biographies of many of his Khulafa (deputies). Among them were:

Qadi Thanaullah Panipati, author of Tafsir Mazhari and other notable Islamic books, descendant of Usman the third caliph of Islam Mawlana FadalUllah, elder brother of Qadi Thanaullah Panipati Mawlana AhmadUllah, eldest son of Qadi Thanaullah Panipati, famous for his braveness and fighting skills Wife of Qadi Thanaullah Panipati Shah NaimUllah Bahraichi Naqshbandi author of Mamoolaat-e- Mazhariya, Basharaat-e- Mazhariya (Hand written copy in British Museum India office London. Shah Abdul Ghani Mujadidi Maulvi Kalim Faruqi, scholar of Hadith and founder of the Maulvi family in Sylhet