Manīrī (or Manērī), Šaraf al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā d. 772/1371 or 781/1380 or 782/1381

Sufi/Spiritual Leader

Born in the Bihār district of present day India, Šaraf al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Manīrī (or Manērī) traveled to Delhi and became the disciple of a Sufi master there. After leading a life of meditation and seclusion, Manīrī re-emerged in Bihar in the 720’s/1320’s and was soon thereafter hailed “as a spiritual preceptor and guide of extraordinary power” in Northern Bihār and West Bengal.

Works

Ḫwān-i Pur niʿmat     A Table Laden with Good Things [Jackson]

Ḫwān-i Pur niʿmat, compiled by Manīrī’s disciple Zayn Badr ʿArabi in 750-751/1349-50, is an example of the malfuz genre in Sufi literature in which the assemblies presided over by a Sufi Master are recorded. This work is the record of forty-seven assemblies in the framework of questions asked of Manīrī by his disciples and Manīrī’s answers.

Maktūbāt-i Saʿdī     The Writings of Saʿdī

Manīrī is best known for his work Maktūbāt-i Saʿdī, a collection of letters addressed to one of his disciples. In these letters, Manīrī wrote on the “essential problems concerned with the enlightenment of man’s inner personality”. Overall, Manīrī’s writing’s show him to be not only versed in the traditions but also that of Sufi categories and concepts.