Hazrat Jamal al-Din Saoji Qalandar

Founder and Master of the Qalandariyya
Great Grand Spiritual Murshid of Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin (R.A.)

Hazrat Jamal al-Din Saoji (R.A.) (d. c. 1232–33 CE), also known as Jamaluddin Saoji, was a majestic saint of Allah, a true wali who renounced the world completely and became the illustrious founder of the Qalandariyya path. His blessed life was a shining example of spiritual poverty (faqr), detachment from the world, and total surrender to the Divine Will. Through his disciples, he became the great-grand spiritual guide of Sultan al-Arifien Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin (R.A.) of Penukonda, and his light continues to shine through the Qalandari silsila that flourishes to this day.

Birth and Early Years

Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) was born in Savah, near present-day Tehran, towards the end of the 12th century. From his earliest days, he was blessed with extraordinary knowledge and insight. In later Chishti traditions, he was remembered as a “walking library,” such was his mastery of the sacred sciences. Truly, Allah had gifted him both the outward knowledge (‘ilm) and the inward light (ma‘rifa).

Turning to Asceticism

After traveling to Damascus and studying under noble teachers, Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) turned fully to the path of renunciation. Inspired by Allah through the company of ascetic saints, he abandoned all worldly attachments.

He lived in graveyards, ate only the simple herbs of the earth, and turned his face only to Allah in silence and contemplation. He clothed himself in poverty, embodying the Prophetic command:

“Die before you die.” (Mutu qabla an tamutu)

This death was not of the body, but of the ego, the world, and its desires.

The Qalandari Way

Through him, Allah Most High established the distinctive signs of the Qalandariyya:

  • Shaving of Hair and Eyebrows: Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) introduced the ritual shaving of the head, beard, moustache, and eyebrows — later known as the “Four Blows” (chahar zarb). This was no ordinary act, but a sacred symbol of shedding pride, vanity, and attachment to the self.
  • The Crown of Poverty: He was called the “King of Poverty” (Sultan al-Fuqara), for he declared faqr — spiritual poverty before Allah — to be the greatest of stations.
  • Rejection of the World: He preached celibacy, silence, and utter trust in Allah for sustenance, teaching that the world is but a veil that must be torn away to behold the Beloved.

To this day, at the blessed shrine of Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin (R.A.) in Penukonda, the sacred initiation of faqirs — the shaving of the facial hairs including the eyebrows — is performed in continuity with the path set down by Hazrat Jamal al-Din Savi (R.A.). This living tradition binds seekers to the silsila of the Qalandari masters.

Disciples and Spiritual Lineage

Although he himself preferred solitude, Allah drew seekers to his blessed presence. Among his disciples were Muhammad Balkhi, Abu Bakr Isfahani, and Jalal Darguzini. Through his noble disciple Hazrat Ibrahim Mujarrad (R.A.), the light of Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) reached the great Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (R.A.) of Sehwan Sharif, and from there continued to spread across Hindustan.

Thus, Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) is the great-grand spiritual master of Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin (R.A.), whose shrine in Penukonda remains the living heart of Qalandari faqr in South India.

Later Life and Departure

In his final years, Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) traveled to Damietta, Egypt, where he lived in the graveyards, immersed in remembrance of Allah. Many miracles (karamat) are recorded of him, including the famous “beard miracle” before the town magistrate — a sign of Divine power manifest through his blessed person. The magistrate became his devotee, built him a hospice, and remained in his service until the saint’s passing.

Hazrat Jamal al-Din (R.A.) returned to his Lord around 1232–33 CE in Damietta, where his blessed tomb became a place of visitation and prayer for seekers of Allah.

Legacy

Hazrat Jamal al-Din Savi (R.A.) is remembered with awe and reverence as the founder of the Qalandariyya — a path of fearless renunciation, poverty, and love of Allah. His practices, particularly the sacred act of shaving, became the defining symbols of Qalandari identity.

Through his disciples, his light reached Syria, Egypt, Iran, India, and Anatolia. Through his spiritual descendants, especially Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (R.A.) and Hazrat Syedna Sultan Syed Baba-e-Nathar Sarmast Tabl-e-Aalam Dhool Samandar Hussaini Suharwardy (R.A)  and Qlandar e Barhaq Hazrat Sultan Syed Shah Khwja Baba Fakhruddin (R.A.), his influence spread deeply into the hearts of millions across South Asia.

Today, the shrine of Hazrat Baba Fakhruddin (R.A.) in Penukonda continues his blessed legacy, where faqirs are still initiated in the Qalandari way, their heads and eyebrows shaved in remembrance of the great master who first established this sign of surrender.

✨ In reverence:
Hazrat Jamal al-Din Savi (R.A.) was not merely a scholar, nor merely an ascetic, but a king of saints who emptied himself of the world to be filled with the light of Allah. His life was a beacon of faqr, his example a school of annihilation (fana) and subsistence (baqa) in the Divine. To remember him is to remember the essence of the Qalandari path — to die before death, to live only in Allah, and to walk the earth as a true faqir.