Yunus Ali

Yunus Ali (Arabic: يونس علي العنايتفوري, Bengali: ইউনুস আলী; 1886–1951), also known as Khwaja Yunus Ali Enayetpuri according to his birthplace,^[1] was an Islamic sufi saint. He was one of the most influential Sufis in Bangladesh in 20th century. His followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands. A number of khanqahs are operated by his successors, including Bangladesh's largest Khanqahs and also the light still shinning from his chain in a Darbar Sharif called Ajadia Pak Darbar Sharif(আজাদীয়া পাক দরবার শরীফ) Sharif located in Sirajganj city.^[1]

Sufi Khwaja Yunus Ali
Personal life
Born	1886 Enayetpur, Sirajganj, Pabna District, Bengal Presidency
Died	1952 East Bengal, Pakistan
Resting place	Enayetpur Darbar Sharif, Bangladesh
Notable work(s)	Shariyater Alo (The Light of Sharia) and Ganj-e-Asrar (The City of Mystery)
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Tariqa	Naqshbandi (Mujaddidi)
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)	Yūnus ʿAlī يونس علي
Patronymic (Nasab)	ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm بن عبد الكريم
Epithet (Laqab)	Khawājah ʾInāyatfūrī خواجه عنايتفوري
Toponymic (Nisba)	al-ʾInāyatfūrī العنايتفوري

Personal life

Born in 1886, he studied from the age of 17 for 18 years under Syed Wajid Ali in Calcutta.^{[2][self-published source?][3][1]} He is believed to have been descended from Sayyids from Baghdad,^[4][1] but the records were destroyed in a fire on Chaitra 26, 1330 (1924 AD).^[4] Khwaja died in 1952.^[1]

Teachings

Khwaja's teachings focused on Tajalli, divine illumination,^[2] and his followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands.^[5][1] Khwaja Enayetpuri developed a tripartite teaching method, "by writing", "by lecture" and "by khanqah".^[1]

His Sufi order influences and is influenced by four other Sufi orders: Qadiri, Chishti, Naqshbandi and Mujaddediya,^[3] with special influence from Naqshbandi (Mujaddidi),^[1] and he is specifically credited with introducing the Mujaddediya order to Bangladesh.^[6] A Sufi revival in then-East Pakistan is attributed to Khwaja's outreach to Muslims skeptical of Sufism, including his work reconciling Sharia and Sufism (tariqa).^[1] He wrote two books, Shariyater Alo (The Light of Sharia) and Ganje Asrar (The City of Mystery), about Sharia and Sufism respectively.^[1]

Legacy

The institutions Khwaja Yunus Ali University^[7] and Khwaja Yunus Ali Medical College^[8] are named after Khwaja. The institutions were founded by a follower and son-in-law of Khwaja's, M. M. Amjad Hussain,^[9] with the location of the medical college having been purportedly selected by Khwaja during his lifetime.^[10] A ro-ro ferry is also named after Khwaja, the M/F “ENAYETPURI”.

Khanqahs (Sufi centres) in Bangladesh dedicated to Khwaja Enayetpuri and established by his devotees include:^[3]

• The Enayetpur Darbar Sharif, the initial khanqah, established by Khwaja himself, and the largest of all khanqahs in Bangladesh. This Sufi Centre is widely known as "Biswa Shanti Manzil" (The World Peace Centre).^[1]
• The Shambhuganj Darbar Sharif in Mymensingh
• The Biswa Zaker Manzil (The World Zaker Centre, established in Atroshi by the pir of Atroshi, and one of the largest khanqahs founded by Khwaja's disciples)^[1]
• The Chandra Para Darbar Sharif in Faridpur
• The Paradise Para Darbar Sharif in Tangail founded by Mowlana Makim Uddin, one of the closest disciples of Khwaja Enayetpuri.
• Murshidpur Darbar Sharif in Jamalpur
• Ajadia Pak Darbar Sharif

founded by Imamul Arefin Mawlana Syed Alawddin Al Ajadi Naqshabandi Mujaddedi (R), Shirajganj city (Victoria Quarter) . (Where the true knowledge of the silsila is shining its light) Current teacher : Rehamnaye Tariqwat Mawlana Syed Abdur Rajjak Al Ajadi Naqshabandi Mujaddedi.

The Enayetpur Darbar Sharif khanqah is led by the spiritual leader, Khwaja Kamal Uddin, the third son of Enayetpuri and the current sajjada nashin (Sufi master) of the khanqah.^[1] Khwaja Kamal Uddin is an authority on the Naqshbandi and Mujaddidi orders. He succeeded his brothers Khwaja Hasim Uddin and Khwaja Mozammel Huq, former sajjada nashin at the khanqah.^[3]