Bahauddin Zakariya

Bahauddin Zakariya (c.1170 – 1262), also known as Baha-ul-Haq, was a Sunni Muslim scholar, saint and poet who established the Suhrawardiyya order of Baghdad in medieval South Asia, later becoming one of the most influential spiritual leaders of his era.

Life

Zakariya was born in 1161 or 1182. His family was of Hashimid lineage, and thus traced their descent back to Asad ibn Hashim, one of the ancestors of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Baha al-Din's family was originally from the Khwarazm region in Central Asia, but had settled in Kut Karur in the Punjab region, near the city of Multan. His father was Wajih al-Din Muhammad, while his mother was the daughter of Husam al-Din Tirmidhi.

For fifteen years, Zakariya travelled to different cities in southern Punjab, where the order was able to attract large numbers of converts from Hinduism. Zakariya finally settled in Multan in 1222. Under his influence, Multan became known as "Baghdad of the East," and is referred by Zakariya in his Persian poetry:

Zakariya became a vocal critic of Multan's ruler at the time, Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha, and sided with Iltutmish, the Mamluk Sultan of Delhi when he overthrew Qabacha in 1228. Zakariya's support was crucial for Iltutmish's victory, and so he was awarded the title Shaikh-ul-Islam by Iltutmish to oversee the state's spiritual matters, in gratitude for his support. Zakariya was also granted official state patronage by the Sultan.