Sufism is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, asceticism, and esotericism.
Sheikh is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder".
The Azeemi Sufi Order, known in Urdu as Silsila Azeemiyya , known in Arabic as Al-Ṭarīqah al-Aẓeemiyyah
The Qalandariyyah, Qalandaris, Qalandars or Kalandars are wandering ascetic Sufi dervishes. The term covers a variety of sects, not centrally organized and may not be connected to a specific tariqat. One was founded by Qalandar Yusuf al-Andalusi of Andalusia, Spain. They were mostly in Iran, Central Asia, India and Pakistan.
Abu Talib Muhammad ibn Ali al-Makki, was a hadith scholar, Shafi'i jurist, and Sufi mystic.
Silsila is an Arabic word meaning chain, link, connection often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his khilafat to his khalîfa, or spiritual descendant. In Urdu, silsila means saga.
Shaykh Syed Sharfuddin Bu Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati, renowned as Bu Ali Qalandar, born in Panipat, Delhi Sultanate, present-day Haryana, India, was a Qalandar and Sufi saint of the Owaisī Order, who lived and taught in India. His dargah (Shrine) is located in Panipat, and is a place of pilgrimage for his followers.
Uthman Marwandi, popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, was a Sufi saint and poet who is revered in South Asia.
The Uwaisī silsila or tariqa (pathway) is a form of spiritual transmission in the vocabulary of Sufism, named after Owais al-Qarani. It refers to the transmission of spiritual knowledge between two individuals without the need for direct interaction between them.
Baba Ishak, also spelled Baba Ishāq, Babaî, or Bābā’ī, a 13th-century preacher, led an uprising of the Turkoman of Anatolia against the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm well known as Babai Revolt c. 1239 until he was hanged in 1241.
Sayeen Faqeer Muhammad Shams Ali Qalandar was a Sufi faqir and qalandar who belonged to Silsilah Owaisi Qadiriyya Noshahi, from the part of Punjab in what is now in Pakistan.
Syed Baba Fakhr al-Din al-Hasani al-Hussaini commonly known as Baba Fakhruddin was a Persian Sufi of Suhrawardiyya order from present-day Eastern Iran.
Michel Boivin is a French historian and anthropologist who specializes in South Asia. Trained in contemporary history, Islamic studies and ethnology, he is currently Emeritus Director of Research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and a member of the CESAH, former CEIAS at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS). He had taught at the Université de Savoie Mont Blanc, at Sciences Po Lyon, as well as at The Catholic University of Lyon. He has co-directed three seminars at the EHESS: "History and Anthropology of the Muslim Societies of South Asia", "Authority and Politics in the Sufism of South and Central Asia", and "Material Culture and devotion among the Shia societies". In addition, he contributed to the organization of two CEIAS research groups: "Vernacular Cultures and New Muslim Elites", with Julien Levesque, and "Gujarati and Sindhi Studies: Societies, Languages and Cultures", with Pierre Lachaier.
Persecution of Sufis over the course of centuries has included acts of religious discrimination, persecution, and violence both by Sunni and Shia Muslims, such as destruction of Sufi shrines, tombs and mosques, suppression of Sufi orders, murder, and terrorism against adherents of Sufism in a number of Muslim-majority countries. The Republic of Turkey banned all Sufi orders and abolished their institutions in 1925, after Sufis opposed the new secular order. The Islamic Republic of Iran has harassed Sufis, reportedly for their lack of support for the government doctrine of "governance of the jurist".
The Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is a shrine and mausoleum dedicated to the 13th century Muslim and Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The shrine is located in Sehwan Sharif, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The shrine is one of the most important in Pakistan, and attracts up to one million visitors annually.
Abd al-Rauf ibn Ali al-Fansuri al-Sinkili was a well-known Islamic scholar, spiritual leader of the Shattariyya tariqa and the mufti of Aceh Sultanate. He was the confidant of Sultana Safiyat al-Din. He was considered the first person to spread the Shattari Sufi order in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Many of his students also became disseminators of Islam. He is commonly known as Shaikh Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili, and also known posthumously in Aceh as Teungku Syiah Kuala, which translates to "Sheikh in the Estuary".
Syed Nadir Ali Shah, popularly known as Murshid Nadir Ali Shah, was a Sufi saint of the Qalandariyya sufi order of Islam, a Muslim preacher, ascetic, mystic, philanthropist and humanitarian. Born in Gandaf in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent, he eventually settled in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh. He was a spiritual descendant of the well-regarded Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and the custodian of the revered Sufi Khanqah, Kafi Sakhi Sarwar located in Sehwan Sharif. Nadir Ali Shah's legacy primarily revolves around his distinction as one of the most remarkable figures among the saints of the Qalandariyya Sufi order. He is renowned for his pursuits in Islamic preaching, mysticism, and asceticism. Beyond his spiritual contributions, he is recognized for his substantial efforts in advancing human welfare and uplifting the underprivileged, in line with the teachings of the Qalandariyya Sufi order of Islam. Notably, he also served as the custodian of the shrine of the Sufi saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi.
Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya fi 'Ilm al-Tasawwuf, mostly known as al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, is one of the early complete manuals of the science of Sufism, written by the Shafi'i-Ash'ari scholar Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri. It was written in 438/1045–6 and has been published in several editions and translated in various languages, including English, French, German, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu. It became the most widely disseminated handbook of Sufism in the Islamic world.
ʿAlī Shāh, known by the regnal name al-Mustanṣir Billāh II, was the 32nd imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community. His reign initiated the Anjudan period of Nizari history, which was marked by a revival of Nizari teachings.
Islamportal 
Islamportal 
