Čištī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān d. 1094/1683

Saint/Biographer

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Čištī was a member of the Čištī spiritual order. In 1032/1622 he became leader of his local branch. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān completed several works, most of which deal with spiritual topics or the lives of saints. His most famous work is considered to be Mir’at al-asrar, a compendium of biographies of famous saints from the early periods of Islam to 853/1449. It was completed in 1065/1654. Among ʿAbd al-Raḥmān’s other works are a translation of a Sanskrit treatise of Hindu cosmogony and an abridged version of the Bhagavad Gita. He died in 1094/1683.

Works

Mirʾat-i Masʿudi     The Mirror of Masʿud

Mirʾat-i Masʿudi is a biography of the “legendary hero and martyr Masʿud Ğāzī,” allegedly a nephew of Sultan Mahmud of Ğazna (r. 389/999 to 421/1030). This work is supposedly based upon a contemporary account written by a servant of Sultan Mahmud.