Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
Iranian Kubrawiya Sufi saint (c.1312–1384)
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (Persian: میر سید علی همدانی; c. 1314–1384 CE) was a Persian Sufi saint, scholar, poet and missionary of the Shafi’i Kubrawiya order, widely revered for spreading Islam in Kashmir and Central Asia. He played a pivotal role in shaping the region's religious, cultural, and economic landscape through his teachings, writings, and introduction of Persian handicrafts. Hamadani authored numerous treatises on Sufism and Islamic theology, including Dhakhirat al-Muluk and Risala-i Nuriyya, and established religious institutions across Persia, Central Asia, and South Asia. His legacy endures through the Khanqah-e-Moula shrine in Srinagar and his lasting influence on Kashmiri culture.
Hamadani was also addressed honorifically throughout his life as the Shāh-e-Hamadān ("King of Hamadan"), Amīr-i Kabīr ("the Great Commander"), and Ali Sani ("second Ali").
Early life
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani was born around 1314 in Hamadan, Persia (modern-day Iran), into a Sayyid family claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib.
His father, Sayyid Shihabuddin, was a local governor, and his family was steeped in Islamic scholarship and Sufism. Hamadani studied under prominent Sufi masters of the Kubrawi order, including Sharafuddin Mahmud Mazdaqani, mastering theology, mysticism, and Persian poetry.
His early education emphasized the Kubrawi focus on spiritual purification and divine remembrance (dhikr), which shaped his later missionary work.
Hamadani spent his early years under the tutelage of Ala ad-Daula Simnani, a famous Kubrawiya saint from Semnan, Iran, the first of the Sufis to criticize the teachings of the School of Ibn Arabi in general, and the concept of "oneness of being" (waḥdat al-wujūd) in particular.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q339427. VIAF identifies the subject as 90062645. The Library of Congress control number is n85345052. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1314 and 1384.
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