Qutb Shah

**Awn bin Yaʿlā al-ʿAlawī al-ʿAbbāsī** (), also known by his spiritual title **Qutb Shah** (قطب شاه), was an 11th-century ʿAlid–ʿAbbāsid Sufi and scholar from Baghdad, Iraq.

He is noted in later genealogical literature as the maternal uncle of Abdul Qadir Gilani (470–561 AH / 1077–1166 CE) and as an ancestor of South Asian Awan (tribe) families.

## Biography

Born around 440 AH (c. 1048 CE) into a learned ʿAlawī–ʿAbbāsī household in Baghdad, Awn bin Yaʿlā was a descendant of Abu Yaʿlā Ḥamza bin Qāsim, a jurist from the Banū Hāshim. He pursued the religious sciences and spiritual training, becoming known for his devotion to Tasawwuf (Islamic mysticism). His epithet _Qutb Shah_ is understood to denote his spiritual rank (_maqām al-qutbiyya_) rather than any kingship or military command.

Awn is traditionally regarded as a spiritual follower and contemporary of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī al-Ḥasanī, who later founded the Qadiriyya order.

## Genealogy (Ansaab)

Multiple Arabic and Persian genealogical sources record the lineage of Awn bin Yaʿlā with slight variations. The principal variants include:

**Variant A** (from _Mawsūʿat Zurārī Abī al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās_)
- قطب شاه : السيد عون بن يعلى بن حمزة بن القاسم بن علي بن حمزة بن الحسن بن عبیداللہ بن العباس بن علي بن أبي طالب
— tracing his ancestry to al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (عليه السلام).

**Variant B** (from _Khulāṣat al-Ansāb_ by Najaf Kirmānī)
- عون بن يعلى بن أبي يعلى حمزة بن الطیار بن القاسم … إلى العباس بن علي بن أبي طالب
This version also records the migration from Baghdad to the Indian subcontinent, connecting his descendants with several Awan (tribe) families in present-day Pakistan and India.

**Variant C** (from _al-Shajara al-Zakiyya fī Ansāb Banī Hāshim_) — which is quite similar to **Variant A**.

Pages 599–610 describe Awn bin Yaʿlā (Qutb Shah) among the descendants of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAlī, corroborated by older manuscripts referenced therein.

## Family and Kinship

His wife was Sayyida ʿĀʾisha bint Sayyid ʿAbdullāh al-Sawmaʿī al-Ḥusaynī, the maternal aunt of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī.

His son was ʿAbdullāh Shāh Golrā, who is associated with the early shrine settlement at Golra Sharif (Islamabad, Pakistan) and a shrine in Soon Valley.

Through this connection, Awn is regarded as the _maternal uncle of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī_, and his son ʿAbdullāh Shah as the Shaykh’s cousin.

## Sufi Role and Legacy

Later _tadhkira_ and _shajara_ traditions describe Awn bin Yaʿlā as a spiritual rank _(Qutb)_ recognized within early Qadiriyya circles in Baghdad. He is portrayed as an ascetic devoted to the remembrance of God, transmitting teachings that influenced the later Qadiriyya order.

## Descendants

Several prominent Sufi figures and Sayyids claim descent from Awn bin Yaʿlā (Qutb Shah):

- Sultan Bahoo — famed 17th-century Punjabi Sufi saint and poet.
- Pir Sial — Sufi saint in Punjab.
- Nausha Ganj Bakhsh — Sufi saint in Punjab.
- Wasif Ali Wasif — Sufi saint in Punjab.

Additional notable descendants among the Awan (tribe) include those listed on the Awan (tribe)) Wikipedia page

- Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan – Former Nawab of Kalabagh, Chief of the Awan tribe and Governor of West Pakistan from 1960 to 1966.
- Air Marshal Nur Khan – Commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force, 1965–69, Governor of West Pakistan, 1969–70, and recipient of the Hilal-i-Jurat, the second-highest military award of Pakistan.
- Tajammul Hussain Malik, War Hero of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, held an impenetrable defence in the Battle of Hilli against a multiple times larger force, famously refused to surrender and attempted coup against the military dictatorship of the 1980s
- Mir Sultan Khan – A chess master also believed by some to be the greatest natural chess player of modern times.
- Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi – Urdu poet, journalist, literary critic, dramatist, short story author, recipient of the Pride of Performance and Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third-highest civil award of Pakistan.
- Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan – Islamic scholar and spiritual leader of the mystic tradition known as Naqshbandia Owaisiah.
- Khadim Hussain Rizvi – A Pakistani Islamic scholar and the founder of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan.
- Saad Hussain Rizvi, Pakistani far-right politician
- Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi – Islamic scholar, jurist and muhaddith.
- Dilip Kumar –Actor in Hindi cinema.
- Babar Awan – Pakistani politician and lawyer
- Malik Munawar Khan Awan, Pakistan army officer who fought for independence of Azad Hind against the British Raj and a decorated soldier awarded for gallantry for conquering areas of the Kashmir Valley in the Second Indo-Pakistani War
- Muhammad Akram , Pakistani martyr soldier who commanded an outnumbered regiment at Hilli, East Pakistan and was post-humously awarded the highest military honour of the country

His descendants are venerated throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the _Soon Valley Sakesar_, _Khyber Pakhtun Khaw_ and _Golra Sharif_ regions of present-day Pakistan, where shrines attributed to his progeny remain important Sufi centers.

## Related pages

- Abdul Qadir Gilani
- Qadiriyya
- Sayyid
- Awan

## References

- Jamal al-Layl, Yūsuf bin ʿAbd Allāh (17th century). _al-Shajara al-Zakiyya fī Ansāb Banī Hāshim_ (in Arabic). Digital edition, Internet Archive / Shamela. pp. 599–610.
- Kirmānī, Muḥammad Najaf (17th century). _Khulāṣat al-Ansāb_ (in Persian). Hyderabad Manuscript.
- _Mawsūʿat Zurārī Abī al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās_ (in Arabic). al-Maktaba al-Dijitaliyya, 2005. pp. 162–164.
- al-Kattānī, ʿAbd al-Ḥayy (1982). _Fahras al-Fahāris wa-l-Athbāt_ (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Beirut: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī. p. 211.
- al-Samhūdī, ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh (1910). _Nūr al-ʿAyn fī Mawālīd Ahl Bayt Sayyid al-Mursalīn_ (in Arabic). Cairo: Dār al-Maʿrifa.

## Infobox (religious biography)

- **name**: Awn bin Yaʿlā al-ʿAlawī al-ʿAbbāsī
- **title**: Qutb Shah (قطب شاه)
- **birth date**: c. 440 AH / 1048 CE
- **birth place**: Baghdad, Iraq
- **death date**: 6th century AH
- **spouse**: Sayyida ʿĀʾisha bint Sayyid ʿAbdullāh al-Sawmaʿī al-Ḥusaynī
- **children**: ʿAbdullāh Shāh Golrā
- **era**: Abbasid Caliphate
- **lineage**: Descendant of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
- **known for**: Hashemite Sufi scholar and spiritual mentor
- **religion**: Islam
- **denomination**: Sunni (Qadiriyya Sufi Order)
- **main interests**: Tasawwuf, spiritual instruction