Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir (1196–1291) also known as Sabir Kaliyari (Urdu: صابر کلیری), (lit: Sabir of Kaliyar), was an IndianSunni Muslim preacher and Sufisaint in the 13th century. He was nephew and successor to Baba Fareed (1188–1280), and the founder of Sabiriya branch of the Chishti Order. Today, his dargah (Sufi mausoleum) is located in Piran Kaliyar town, near Haridwar in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The dargah is one of the most revered shrines for Muslims in India, after Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan.
Biography
Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari was the great grandson of Abdul Qadir Gilani. His father was Sayyid Abdus Salaam Abdur Rahim Jilani, son of Abdul Wahaab Jilani, eldest son of Abdul Qadir Jilani. His mother was Jamilah, elder sister of Fariduddin Ganjshakar and a direct descendant of second Rashidun caliph Umar al Farooq.[1]
Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari was born on 13 Rabi' al-awwal, 592 Hijri (1196). After the death of his father, his mother brought him to Pakpattan in 1204 to Baba Fareed.[2]
Baba Fareed entrusted him with the duty of distribution of food (Langar). He accepted this duty happily and in between engaged himself in prayers. He dispensed with his duties well and also attended the discourse of Baba Freed Ganj-e-Shakar. Frequent and continuous fasting and eating leaves and wild food made him weak. When his mother came back again and saw him, she complained to his brother (Baba Fareed) about his weakness. Baba Fareed called upon him and asked the reason. Sabir Pak replied, “You ordered me to distribute the food and not to partake from it”. Baba Fareed embraced him happily and remarked, “He is sabir (Patient)”. From that day forth, He became famous with the name of “Sabir”.
A 15-day 'Urs' celebrations are held each year at the shrine, in the Rabi' al-awwal month of the Hijri calendar and the Dargah has become a symbol of national integration as people regardless of their religion, caste and creed throng it, in large numbers.[5]
^Dargahinfo - Complete Collection of Dargahs World Wide
Book: Tadhkira Anwar-i-Sabiri – An account of Sabir's Enlightenment] by Dar-ul-Ehsan Publications and Sabir'ul Baqa Networks
Mashaikh-e-Chist, by Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya, Translated by Mujlisul Ulama of South Africa, 1998
Islam in India, by Vidyajyoti Institute of Religious Studies Islamic Section. Vikas Pub. House, 1985. ISBN0-7069-2751-6. page 61.
Encyclopaedia of Sufism, Ed. Masood Ali Khan & S. Ram. New Delhi, Anmol, 2003, Vol 1–12. ISBN81-261-1311-1. (Vol 5.)
Rose, H.A., Ibbetson, D., Maclagan, E.D.A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. Vol. 3, L.-Z with Appendices A.-L, Asian Educational Services, 1990. ISBN978-81-206-0505-3