UpdateBot at 17:40, 20 June 2022

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
[[File:Mahim Dargah 4.jpg|thumb|[[Dargah]] of Mahimi in Mahim]]
{{Sufism}}
'''Makhdoom Ali Mahimi Shafi'i''' (1372–1431 A.D) was a saint and scholar of international repute. He lived during the time of the Tughlaq dynasty and that of Sultan Ahmed Shah of Gujarat, and was married to the Sultan's sister. He is widely acknowledged for his scholarly treatises, liberal views and humanist ideals. Mahimi was born into a family of [[Arab]] travelers from Iraq who had settled down on the island of [[Mahim]] known as Nawayath, one of the [[seven islands of Bombay|seven islands]] that later formed the city of Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]).<ref name="Dehlvi2012">{{cite book|author=Sadia Dehlvi|title=Sufism: Heart of Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zw_Q2Rbh7yIC&pg=PT211|date=5 September 2012|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|isbn=978-93-5029-448-2|pages=211–}}</ref>

Not much is known of his early childhood. He later became the follower of disciples of [[Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani]] ShafI'i and became the master of [[Kubrawiya]] order.<ref>Great Sufis of South, page:44 print: Malabar, 1980</ref> Mahimi's reputation grew after the [[Sultan]] of [[Gujarat]], [[Ahmed Shah of Gujarat|Ahmed Shah]] of the [[Muzaffarids (Gujarat)|Muzaffarid dynasty]], chose him to be the town's [[Qazi]] (the Head Muslim Judge/Cleric of a town).

Mahimi was the first Indian scholar to write an [[exegesis]] on the [[Qur'an]], which gained critical acclimation from numerous Islamic scholars including [[Shah Waliullah Dehlavi]]. He authored more than 100 books but only 21 books are known, from which only 10 books are available in different libraries in India, he was given the moniker ''Qutub-e -Kokan'' (Kokan's [[Pole Star]]). He
was the first commentator of the Quran in India . His commentary is called "Tafsirur Rahman." It is available in [[Al Azhar University]], Cairo and Ummul-Qura University, Makkah.

Mahimi is revered by both the Muslims and [[Hindu]]s. All [[Muslim]] sects hold him in high esteem. After his death in 1431, he was buried in Mahim. The site later became a [[Dargah]] (shrine) for devotees.<ref name="Michell2013">{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdBbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT54|date=1 May 2013|publisher=Roli Books Private Limited|isbn=978-81-7436-903-1|pages=54–}}</ref>

==Urs festival==
During the annual ten-day [[Urs (Sufism)|Urs]] festival celebrated on the 13th day of [[Shawwal]] as per the Muslim calendar, millions of devotees visit his dargah.

The highlight of this is a procession of around eight thousand begins at the Mahim Police Station, believed to be the site of his residence. Two police officers from each of the eighty four city [[Mumbai Police|police]] stations represent the police whose association with the saint dates back to the saint's era. A representative of the Mumbai police who is the first to offer the "chaddar" (shawl) at the tomb on the first day of the festival. Legend has it that it was a [[police constable]] who gave water to the dying saint from his cap. Another story points to some miraculous assistance police officers once received from an old man, who they believed was the saint, in fighting smugglers.<ref name="CurrimMichell2004">{{cite book|author1=Mumtaz Currim|author2=George Michell|title=Dargahs, Abodes of the Saints|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mDqAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Marg Publications|isbn=978-81-85026-65-7}}</ref>

A room adjacent to the office of the senior inspector of police station contains a steel cupboard that houses the saint's preserved belongings such as his chair, a pair of sandals and his hand-written Qur'an which is considered to be a [[calligraphy|calligraphic]] work of art. The room is opened once every year to the public. In 1920 the cupboard was purchased by a senior British police inspector, [[Raymond Esquire]] as a tribute to the saint he revered.

On 2005-05-21, the government of [[Maharashtra]] named the JJ Flyover after the saint as a tribute to the saint. The 2.1 kilometre flyover is the longest [[viaduct]] in the country.

==References==
*''A saint revered by both Hindus and Muslims'', Mohammed Wajihuddin/[[Times News Service|TNN]], pg 4, ''Sunday [[Times of India]]'', Bombay, dated 2005-05-22
* [http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=15261 On Urs, Mumbai police keep tryst with Sufi saint], S Ahmed Ali, [http://www.indianexpress.com The Indian Express], Sunday, 2002-12-22
*Sayed Imamuddin Gulshan Aabadi, Barakat-ul-Awliya, Bombay.
*Ghulam Azad Bilgrami, Rausat'ul-Awliya, Aurangabad, 1892-93.
*Bombay Gazetteer, Volume III, Bombay, 1910.
*S.M. Edwardes, Rise of Bombay, Bombay 1909.
*Maulana A. R. Parvaz Islahi, Makhdum Ali Mahimi, Naqsh-e-Kokan Publication Trust, Bombay,1976.
*Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan, Abjad-ul-Uloon, Bhopal,1295 AH.
*Muhammed Yusuf Khatkhatey, Kashaful Maktoon
*Fi-Halat-e-Haji Ali Makhdoom, Maktaba-e-Shihabi, Bombay,1903.
*Towns and Islands of Bombay, Statistical account (Administration), Volume III, Bombay,1894.
*Prof. Abdus Sattar Dalvi, Dargahs Abodes of the Saints.
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Sufism]]
* [[Mahim]]
* [[2006 Mumbai "Sweet" Seawater Incident]]
* [[Konkani Muslims]]
* [[Konkan]]
* [[Makhdoom]]

===External links===
*[http://www.makhdumalimahimi.org/ Official Website of Dargah]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahimi, Makhdoom Ali}}
[[Category:1372 births]]
[[Category:1431 deaths]]
[[Category:History of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Scholars from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian Sufis]]
[[Category:Konkani Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian people of Arab descent]]

Makhdoom Ali Mahimi - Revision history

UpdateBot at 17:40, 20 June 2022