The 35th Qutb Hazrat Nour Ali Shah the Second (Other Biography)
Hazrat Nour Ali Shah the Second
The eldest son of Hazrat Sultan Ali Shah, was born on 17 Rabiʿ al-Thani 1284 AH. He lost his mother at the age of two and was raised, both outwardly and inwardly, under the care of his noble father. After his childhood years, he swiftly acquired the foundational sciences and, due to his remarkable intelligence, by the age of seventeen had mastered most of the common sciences of his era, including jurisprudence, principles of religion, theology, philosophy, medicine, and astronomy. At the onset of adolescence, he attained faith under the guidance of his noble father, yet with the aim of achieving inner certainty and exploring the inner and outer worlds, he chose exile. He traveled through various countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Hejaz, Iraq, Yemen, and other Ottoman territories, where he met with notable figures from different religious schools and heads of various Sufi orders. Toward the end of his travels, he benefited from the presence of grand Ayatollahs in the holy shrines of Iraq. Eventually, following the direction of Hazrat Sultan Ali Shah, through the mediation of the late Haj Sheikh Abdullah Haeri and divine attraction, he journeyed to Gonabad and returned to his homeland to reunite with his noble father—finding his true purpose at home.
After a period, he engaged in spiritual discipline and inner purification until, on 14 Ramadan 1315 AH, he became prepared to receive the authorization to guide and assist seekers of divine truth from his noble father, under the title Noor Ali Shah. Following the martyrdom of Hazrat Sultan Ali Shah, he assumed responsibility for the education of the “fuqara” and the guidance of seekers. However, he faced hardships and the torment of those opposed to the path of “faqr”. As a result, the period of his spiritual leadership was brief. He was poisoned in Kashan and passed away at dawn on 15 Rabiʿ al-Awwal 1337 AH in Kahrizak, departing from the world of exile to the presence of the Beloved.
His tomb is located in the mausoleum of Hazrat Saadat Ali Shah in the courtyard of Imamzadeh Hamzeh. He authored numerous works, some of which were lost or left incomplete. His most important work is “Pand-e Saleh” (Risalah-ye Salehiyyah), dedicated to his noble son, Hazrat Saleh Ali Shah. It includes a summary of the mysteries of the Shari‘ah, the manners of the Path, the subtleties of Truth, and a collection of mystical, philosophical, and theological teachings that is rare, if not unparalleled, in its kind. Some of his other works include : “Rafiʿ al-Ahradh”, a book on Arabic grammar (nahw and sarf); “Tasreef and Ishtiqaq”, in a unique style appreciated by scholars for its clarity and simplicity; “Muʿin-e Idraak”, a concise Persian grammar; and “Sahl o Asan”, an easy Persian grammar for beginners that requires no instructor and follows a non-cumulative structure. He also authored “Nazim”, a complete thousand-verse Arabic poem in rajaz meter on meanings, rhetoric, and literary beauty; “Tadhhib al-Tahdhib”, a commentary on “Tahdhib al-Mantiq”; a comprehensive book on logical topics; “Manahij al-Usul ila Maʿalim al-Usul”, a commentary on “Maʿalim al-Usul” in the science of jurisprudential principles; “Hekooma”, in occult sciences; “Sultan”, on divine theology containing discourse, wisdom, and Mysticism; “Saltanat al-Husayn”, an elegy and historical account of Imam Husayn (AS) in two volumes; “Qolzam”, a seven-volume work on historical narratives; “Najd al-Hidayah”, a twelve-volume encyclopedic text on sects, beliefs, practices, and sayings across different nations and religions, including both formal and esoteric sciences. He also wrote “Rujum al-Shayatin”, a preface to the interpretation “Bayan al-Saʿadah” by his martyred father; “Dhu’l-Fiqar”, which forbids opium use based on the four sources of Islamic jurisprudence and includes 110 related legal rulings; “Sultan-e Falak-e Saʿadat”, affirming the legitimacy of the path of Sufism. These are apart from the books that were never transcribed, are lost, or were abandoned by him, such as “Nokhbeh”, “Zad al-Hujjaj Afghan”, “Damm-e Adam”, “Hesban-e Hesab”, “Risalah-ye Astrolab”, “Alawiyyah Kalam”, a manuscript on sand divination, a coded treatise on craft, travel maps, and a journal of mystical visions.
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Part of this section is based on the preface by Hazrat Saleh Ali Shah at the beginning of “Pand-e Saleh”. ↩