Syedna Pir Mehr Ali Shah was born in 1859 and died in 1937. His life span was stretched between two most important events in the history of Indian Muslims. He was born just 2 years after the Muslims lost the Great War of Independence against the British and died 10 years before the creation of Pakistan. He was a great Sufi teacher, religious scholar and descendent of Qadria Chishtia Sufi order. He was a beacon of light for Muslims of India in one of the darkest periods in their history. This was a period when Muslims had lost political power to the British, their political forces were in disarray, a gloom had beset on them due to their brutalization at the hands of colonial rulers and they needed intellectual guidance to redefine their temporal and spiritual values to deal with changing circumstances.

During this period Hadhrat Syedna Pir Mehr Ali Shah guided Muslims of the sub continent on responding to new realities, western science and technology, sectarian prejudice and inner dissension caused in their ranks by false interpretation of Quran and Sunnah. He taught modernity, moderation, self-responsibility, remembrance of Allah, loyalty to the prophet and firm belief in the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. He gave a vision of spiritual enlightenment, worldly progress, hope and compassion to the Muslim community. He also taught renunciation of bigotry, despair and false self-pride to people of his faith. With his spiritual presence he worked for spiritual uplift of Muslims and enriched the spiritual heritage of many a generation of Muslims with his blessings. His method of teaching and guidance was continuation of unique Sufi tradition. It consists of both inner teachings for spiritual growth through a variety of methods and guidance on the ways to deal with social and political changes unfolding during British Raj. He led a very sophisticated political endeavour to protect the legacy of Islamic thought and defend popular beliefs of Muslims against erroneous interpretations undermining their faith.

Some important aspects of his teaching relate to interpretation of shariah, Sufi path of spiritual growth and quest of Muslims for  self-rule in India. Sydna Pir Mehr Ali Shah subscribed to the doctrine of Wahdat ul Wajood (unity of existence) and undying love for the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW).The doctrine of the unity of existence is based on the notion that every thing around us is manifestation of majesty and glory of Almighty Allah. All praise is due to him for all the beauty, wisdom and grace. To him belong all the treasures of heaven and earth. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is his last prophet and sole reason for the creation of the universe. He has been sent to bring Allah’s mercy to all the creatures. Without complete sub subservience of one’s will to Allah and his prophet one cannot find inner peace, self fulfillment and virtue in this world. This vision teaches Muslims to have compassion and mercy for people of other faiths without abandoning their own values and practices. Hadhrat Syedna Pir Mehr Ali Shah lived his life according to theses teachings and guided million of Muslims to his path through personal example. His analysis of contemporary problems in the light of Quran and Sunnah was a source of inspiration for his followers in public service. There were very few other religious scholars and spiritual leaders who had a modern and enlightened vision of political realities of British India like him.

His devotees included people from other faiths and religions as well. However his love and compassion for people of other faiths did not mean compromising his own beliefs. He very firmly supported the struggle of Muslims for a separate homeland under the banner of Muslim League. He led a scholarly discourse to support the struggle of Muslim League at a time when majority of distinguished Muslim scholars joined hands with Indian National Congress. He articulated his views in the light of Quran and Sunnah while many of his contemporaries were influenced by narrow worldly view of political events.

He also led a very enlightened debate to defend attacks on the Islamic concept of finality of prophet hood by a claimant of prophet hood from Qadian, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Without inciting his followers to bigotry, violence and blind hatred he agreed to hold a dialogue with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on the authenticity of his claim and his knowledge of Islam, Quran and prophet hood. He did not get provoked by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s manipulations to falsely declare himself a winner in the debate before it took place. His effort to hold dialogue with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad did not turn into expression of personal disrespect and intolerance at any time. On the contrary, he thought that engagement in dialogue might bring Allah’s mercy to Mirza and he may change his views. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad declined to participate in the debate he had himself insisted upon. But Syedna Pir Mehr Ali Shah was able to show a clear path to fellow Muslims through his speeches and writings on this question. He never closed the door to a scholarly debate on this issue. He was blessed with supreme intellectual capabilities and profound knowledge of Quran and Sunnah. He considered knowledge, self restraint and submission to the will of Allah as his source of strength in his fight against misleading ideologies and religious doctrines. Throughout his life he taught these virtues to his followers.

It was because of his deep understanding of Islam and complete devotion to the Sufi path that Allama Mohammad Iqbal, creator of the idea of Pakistan, held him in high esteem. He influenced the views of Muslim leaders from Sir Syed Ahmed khan to Allama lqbal on issues relating to Muslim intellectual heritage and religious education. He prevailed on Sir Syed’s thinking on the question of religious education. Sir Syed-pioneer of Western Education for Muslims- wanted Indian Muslims to stop financial support to institutions of religious education with lower educational standards and donate all their contributions to modern educational institutions. He arranged to send a European education expert to the Madrassah to where Pir Mehr Ali Shah was a student to reconfirm his views on religious schools. One day before the visit Head of the Madrassah gave a difficult problem of Euclidian Geometry to the students to solve. He wanted to see how much prepared they were to sit for the test to be given by the European expert. Pir Sahib not only gave a unique solution of the problem but also gave critical remarks about the formulation of the problem itself. Head of the school was so impressed that he sent his solution to the visitor before his arrival. European expert was so impressed by this solution that did not show up the next day. When Head of the Institution enquired from Sir Syed about the matter he said he had change his mind. He agreed that madrassah education should continue side by side with modern schools. Allama Iqbal sought Pir Sahib’s guidance on interpretation of Ibn-e-Arabi’s concept of time and space. Writing to Pir Sahib for seeking his view on the subject, he said “ I don’t know of any other door to knock at to find a satisfying answer on this question in the rest of India”.

Pir Sahib was not only a Sufi master but a talented poet as well .He lived a life based on extremely demanding Sufi practices. He would fast for long periods, retreat to abandoned places for worship in seclusion, stay awake all night for remembrance and prayers, give up the worldly comforts and follow a very demanding routine. This was in line with sufi practices & teachings. Despite his rigorous personal routine he paid full attention to the needs of his companions and visitors. His capacity for untiring work did not make him oblivious of the fragility of others. He therefore firmly rejected extremist views and practices promoted in the name of islam. He believed that extremist and unbalanced views would move people away from Islam. Zealots and extremists should not deny people concessions given to them by Allah. A group of maulvis in Swat had stopped offering funeral prayers of people who chewed or smoked tobacco. Pir Mehr Ali Shah considered it very hard penalty not in accordance with Shariah. He traveled to Swat and convinced these ulema to offer funeral prayers of these people . Hadhrat Pir Mehr Ali Shah always stayed away from active politics. However he considered politics an important means for protecting and promoting national interests of Indian Muslims.

He considered that of all the political parties Muslim League was the true representative of the national interests of the Muslims. Therefore he encouraged his followers to lend support to the cause of Muslim League. During struggle for freedom from British rule his followers sought his guidance on very important turning points. He never disappointed them. Some important issues where his guidance was of critical important were support to Khalifat movement, Quit India movement, Civil Disobedience of British authority, boycott of British products, use of only khaddar cloth for dress and political support  to Indian National Congress. Hadhrat Pir Mehr Ali Shah never based his judgment on political expedience, popular sentiments or human wisdom. He always sought guidance from Quran and Sunnah and always came up with a profound and wise judgment. His services to the cause of Muslim national movement are invaluable .He guided them to lift their spirits, strengthen their character, improve their morals and build their unity. He asked Muslims to adhere to correct politic line and do every thing in life for the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. He left behind an intellectual treasure which has not been fully documented.