Khwaja Yunus Ali


Hazrat Khwaja Yunus Ali, also known as Khwaja Enayetpuri after his birthplace of Enayetpur in East Pakistan, was a Sufi saint. He is considered the founder of the Mujaddediya Sufi order in Bangladesh.

Personal life

Born in 1886, he studied from the age of 17 for 18 years under Syed Wazeed Ali in Calcutta. He is believed to have been descended from Sayyids from Baghdad, but the records were destroyed in a fire on Chaitra 26, 1330. Khwaja died in 1952.

Teachings

Khwaja's teachings focused on Tajalli, divine illumination, and his followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Khwaja Enayetpuri developed a tripartite teaching method, "by writing", "by lecture" and "by khanqah".
His Sufi order influences and is influenced by four other Sufi orders: Qadiri, Chishti, Naqshbandi and Mujaddediya, with special influence from Naqshbandi and Mozaddediya, and he is specifically credited with introducing the Mujaddediya order to Bangladesh. 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. He wrote two books, Shariyater Alo and Ganje Asrar, about Sharia and Sufism respectively.

Legacy

The institutions Khwaja Yunus Ali University and Khwaja Yunus Ali Medical College are named after Khwaja. The institutions were founded by a follower and son-in-law of Khwaja's, M. M. Amjad Hussain, with the location of the medical college having been purportedly selected by Khwaja during his lifetime. A ro-ro ferry is also named after Khwaja, the M/F “ENAYETPURI”.
Khanqahs in Bangladesh dedicated to Khwaja Enayetpuri and established by his devotees include:
The Enayetpur Darbar Sharif khanqah is led by the spiritual leader, Khwaja Kamal Uddin, the third son of Khwaja Enayetpuri and the current sajjada nashin of the khanqah. Khwaja Kamal Uddin is an authority on the Naqshbandi and Mozaddediya orders. He succeeded his brothers Khwaja Hasim Uddin and Khwaja Mozammel Huq, former sajjada nashin at the khanqah.