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Hazrat Sheikh Ḥamza Makhdoom (RA), also known as Mahbub-ul-Alam (Beloved of the World) and Sulṭan-ul-Arifin (King of the Gnostics)
Born 900 AH / 1494–95 CE at Tujjar, Baramulla; died 984 AH / 1576 CE; buried at Koh-e-Maran (Hari Parbat), Srinagar.
Saint of the Suhrawardiyya order, trained under Sayyid Jamal-ud-Din Bukhari (RA), a disciple of Sheikh Ḥaji Abd al-Wahab Dehlavi (RA).
Hazrat Sheikh Ḥamza Makhdoom (RA) was born into a pious family – his father, Sheikh ʿUthman Rayna, was a scholar and patron of Sheikh Ismail Kubrawi’s seminary in Srinagar. From childhood, he showed deep devotion to learning and truthfulness.
His spiritual journey began under Sayyid Jamal-ud-Din Bukhari (RA), who recognised his potential and trained him in Sufi discipline. Through rigorous asceticism and devotion, Sheikh Ḥamza Makhdoom (RA) emerged as the foremost spiritual leader of his generation.
Adherence to Sunnat-wal-Jamaat and opposition to religious innovations
Integration of spiritual insight with public ethics
Reported to have disapproved of sama (mystic music) as contrary to Suhrawardiyya discipline
Emphasis on moral reform and resistance against social injustice
Among his most distinguished disciples were Baba Daud Khaki (RA), Sheikh Yaqub Ṣarfi (RA), and ʿAllama Jawhar Nant. These students carried forward his legacy, blending spiritual instruction with scholarship.His role was pivotal during Kashmir’s transition from the Shahmiri to Chak dynasty, promoting unity amid political unrest.
He lived to the age of 84 and was buried on Koh-e-Maran (Hari Parbat), where his shrine remains one of Kashmir’s most revered sites. His life symbolises steadfast devotion, moral discipline, and enduring service to the Kashmiri people.
Tradition recounts that Sheikh Ḥamza Makhdoom (RA) performed long prayers on Koh-e-Maran and that recitations of Awrad-i Fatḥiyya during times of crisis were believed to bring peace – a theme echoed in popular Kashmiri devotion.
Baharistan-i-Shahi (Persian chronicle)
Tarikh-i-Ḥasan, Volume III: Asrar al-Akhyar
Wikipedia entry ‘Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom,’ verified chronology (1494–1576 CE)
Kashmir Digital Museum: Koh-e-Maran shrine profile
University of Kashmir publications on the Suhrawardiyya order
