Sufism

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE) was among the most influential thinkers in Islamic history. His Ihya Ulum al-Din synthesized law, theology, and mysticism, while his critique of Aristotelian rationalism and account of spiritual crisis remain landmarks of medieval thought.

Baha al-Din Naqshband of Bukhara (1318-1389 CE) gave his name to the Naqshbandi order, one of the most widespread in Islam. His insistence on silent remembrance and his rejection of music, retreat and distinctive dress set the order apart from every other Sufi path of his age.

Baha al-Din Zakariya (d. 1262 or 1265 CE) was sent from Baghdad to Multan by his master Umar Suhrawardi and, with Jalal al-Din Tabrizi, established the Suhrawardi order in the Indian subcontinent. The record of his life is thin, and this article says what it carries.

Bukhara, known across the Islamic world as Bukhara-i-Sharif (Noble Bukhara), was among the most important cities of Islamic civilization. Capital of the Samanid dynasty and a major Silk Road center, it produced scholars such as Imam al-Bukhari and Ibn Sina.

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292-1350) was the foremost student of Ibn Taymiyya and a Hanbali jurist of Damascus. His works on legal theory, prophetic guidance and the spiritual life gave his teacher's positions a systematic and more accessible form.

Islam reached Southeast Asia through Indian Ocean trade from the thirteenth century, spreading via Muslim merchants, Sufi teachers, and converting rulers. Today the region holds the world's largest Muslim population, with Indonesia home to more Muslims than any Arab country.

Mu'in al-Din Hasan Sijzi (d. 1236 CE) settled at Ajmer in Rajasthan and is held by the Chishti order to be its founder in India. His shrine became the most visited Muslim sanctuary in the subcontinent, though the early record of his life is thinner than his fame suggests.

Nizam al-Din Awliya (1239-1325 CE) was the Chishti master whose hospice outside Delhi became the centre of Sufi life in the subcontinent. He outlived a dozen sultans, defended the practice of sama before the court, and admitted Hindus to his assemblies without requiring conversion.

Rabia al-Adawiyya (717-801 CE) was one of the most influential Sufi mystics in Islamic history, renowned for her teachings on divine love and rejection of worship motivated by fear or reward.

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273 CE) was a Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi teacher in Konya under Seljuk patronage. His Masnavi — six books and some 25,000 verses — is a landmark of Persian literature, and his Divan-e Shams remains among the most widely read verse anywhere.