Waris Ali Shah
Born on 1, Ramazan-Ul-Mubarak 1238 Hijri to Qurban Ali Shah, of Syed Hussein family, reaches his ancestor Imam Husain through Imam Mousa Kazim with twenty-six links in the lineage in between. His forefathers migrated from Neshapur five generations ago came to Devah Sheriff in India and settled there.
Waris Ali Shah did not feed on his mother’s milk during daytime as an infant; neither did he take it on 10th of Moharram, the Yaum-e-Aashurah (the day Imam Husain, his relatives and friends were killed in Karbala, now in Iraq). His father died when he was three years old and his mother passed away soon after. The grandmother brought him up and sent him to the maktab (school) at the age of five, where he learnt the holy Quran by heart till he reached seven. He always carried the holy book on his head out of respect.
He studied exterior subjects the Tradition and Jurisprudence from Abdul Aziz Mohaddis Dehlavi.
He pledged obedience to Hazrat Khadim Ali Shah at the age of eleven that awarded him the robe of his spiritual heir at this young age. His followers and devotees objected to this but Khadim Ali Shah did not heed them. He was confident of the intrinsic knowledge of Waris Ali Shah.
He traveled extensively in India. Besides, he went to Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Hijaz, Iraq, Rome, France, Belgium, Germany, and Russia, and performed the Haj at the age of fifteen.
