Haji Muhammad NaushÃÂh Ganj Bakhsh (21 August 1552 â 18 May 1654) was a Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet, saint and scholar from Gujrat in Punjab. He was the founder of the Naushahiah branch of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, and his successors came to be known as NaushÃÂhiyyas.
Muhammad Naushah was born on 21 August 1552 in Gujrat, Punjab to a Punjabi Muslim family. His father, Hajji AlaâÂÂuddin Qadiri, was an ascetic, while his mother Bibi Jiuni belonged to a respectable family.
NaushÃÂh was the most outstanding disciple of Sufi saint Shah SulaimÃÂn Nà «ri of Naushera, Punjab. He later shifted to Shahanpal in Mandi Bahauddin where he died in 1654.
NaushÃÂh was respected by his contemporaries including nobles and rulers. He accepted the syncretic approach of Kabir and Guru Nanak but with more emphasis on tawhid or oneness of God. Like Kabir, he rejected caste and criticised the idea of transmigration of souls. NaushÃÂh enrolled his followers from different castes and occupations. They were Bhattis, Mochis, Lohars, Tarkhans, Awans, Jats and others. He condemned the caste system in his following dohras (a rhyming couplet in the Punjabi poetry):
The following works have been published: