Shah Nimatullah
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| <region> scholar Medieval era |
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|---|---|
| Name: | Shah Nimatullah |
| Birth: | |
| School/tradition: | |
| Influences: | Ibn Arabi[citation needed] |
| Influenced: | Abd-Allah Yafe'i[citation needed] |
Shah Nematollah Vali was an Islamic scholar.
[edit] Biography
Shah Nematollah Vali (or Nimatullah Wali) was born to a Sufi family in Aleppo, Syria. He travelled widely through the Muslim world, learning the philosophies of many masters, but not at first finding a personal teacher he could dedicate himself to. During this time, he also studied the writings of the great Sufi philosopher and mystic Ibn Arabi.
Shah Nematollah finally met Shaykh Abdollah Yafe'i in Mecca and became his disciple. He studied intensely with his teacher for seven years until, spiritually transformed, he was sent out for a second round of travels, this time as a realized teacher.
He temporarily resided near Samarkand, along the great Central Asian Silk Road. It was here that he met the conqueror Tamerlane, but to avoid conflict with the worldly ruler, he soon left and eventually settled in the Persian region of Kerman. His shrine is located in Mahan, a village near Kerman.
When Shah Nematollah died, his fame had spread throughout Persia and India, and it is said he initiated hundreds of thousands of followers. Today the Nimatullahi Sufi Order is one of the most important Sufi orders of Iran.
