MirzàMazhar JÃÂn-i JÃÂnÃÂn (), also known by his laqab Shamsuddën HabëbullÃÂh (13 March 1699 â 6 January 1781), was a renowned Hanafi Maturidi Naqshbandë Sufi poet of Delhi, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of Urdu poetry." He was also known to his contemporaries as the sunnëtarÃÂsh, "Sunnicizer", for his absolute, unflinching commitment to and imitation of the Sunnah.
The date of birth is variously given as 1111 or 1113 A.H, and it took place in KÃÂlÃÂ BÃÂgh, MÃÂlwa, according to one source, while according to another source he was born in Agra. Shaikh Muhammad Tahir Bakhshi notes his date of birth as 11th Ramadan 1111 AH. He was born into a noble family of Alvi Syed Awan parentage that served in the administration of the Mughals. His father MirzÃÂ JÃÂn 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 hÃÂjjë Afzal SiyÃÂlkà Âtë (hadith) and hÃÂfiz Abd al-Rasà «l Dihlawë (Qur'an). At the age of 18, he joined the Naqshbandë order under Nà «r Muhammad Bada'à «ni, who was closely connected to the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindë, and completed his studies in four years. He was also initiated in the QÃÂdirë, Chishtë and Suhrawardë orders.
In his prime, Mazhar was advised to write poetry in Urdu rather than Persian as the days of the latter language were said to be numbered in India. Besides authoring poetry and polemics, Mazhar also wrote a large number of letters relating to Sufi thought and practice.
Among his 'disciples' or Muridin was the Hanafë scholar, QÃÂdë ThanÃÂullÃÂh Panipatë, who wrote a famous Tafsir of the Qur'an by the name Tafsir-i Mazharë, which he named after his teacher. Also in his spiritual lineage (silsila) came the great Hanafë jurist Imam Ibn 'Abidën and the Qur'an exegete AllÃÂma al-Alusë.
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.
MirzàMazhar was shot and seriously injured on the 7th of Muharram, of the year 1195 AH/1780 CE. The author of ÃÂb-i ḤayÃÂt writes:
The author of ÃÂb-i ḤayÃÂt, 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 MirzàMazhar in ÃÂb-i ḤayÃÂt is a deliberate distortion. Professor Friedmann, as well as Annemarie Schimmel and Itzchad Weismann, have all noted that MirzàMazhar was killed by a Shi'ite zealot.
Most of his Urdu biographers have also written that he was killed by a gunshot by a Shi'ite on 7th Muharram, and he died on 10th Muharram 1195 AH.
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.
In Maqamat Mazhari, his foremost Khalifa and successor Shah Ghulam Ali Dahlwai writes short biographies of many of his Khulafa (deputies). Among them were: