الرحلةThe Journey

علي الهجويري

al-Hujwiri (RH)

'Ali al-Hujwiri

Also known as: Data Ganj Bakhsh

c. 400–c. 465 AH · c. 1009–c. 1072 CE

Sufism & Theology Hanafi Sufism

Author of Kashf al-Mahjub, the first Sufi treatise in Persian, revered in Lahore as Data Ganj Bakhsh.

Al-Hujwiri was born near Ghazna and travelled widely through the Muslim world meeting Sufi masters before settling in Lahore. He is one of the earliest Muslim teachers of note in the Punjab.

His Kashf al-Mahjub (The Unveiling of the Veiled) is the oldest surviving treatise on Sufism in Persian. It explains the doctrines of the different Sufi schools and insists on keeping the Shari'ah. He is known in South Asia as Data Ganj Bakhsh, 'the master who bestows treasure'.

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Life journey

  1. c. 1009 CE Ghazna غزنة
  2. 1039 CE Lahore لاهور
    Died c. 1072 CE · c. 465 AH
    Settled in Lahore, where his shrine, Data Darbar, is one of the most visited in South Asia. The year is approximate.

Key works

  • Kashf al-Mahjub كشف المحجوب
    The Unveiling of the Veiled
    The oldest treatise on Sufism in Persian.

Places in their life

Data Darbar, the shrine of al-Hujwiri, Lahore
Data Darbar, the shrine of al-Hujwiri, Lahore
Photo: King Eliot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, tr. R. A. Nicholson (1911), introduction
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Dates are uncertain; death given between 465 and 481 AH.