Honorific Titles: “Mazhar-e Kull Awwalīn wal-Ākhirīn, Tāj al-Muḥibbīn wal-Maḥbūbīn, Fakhr al-‘Ushshāq wal-Muwaḥḥidīn, Ghousinā, Ghayāsinā, Mughīsinā, Āqā’inā, Sayyidinā, Sanadinā, Murshidinā, Mawlānā, Abū al-Arwāḥ, Tāj al-Awliyā’, Ḥazrat Ghous Muḥammad Bābā Yoūsuf Shāh Tājī (ra). Yā Ghous, Yā Yoūsuf Shāh, Yā Bābā, aghisnī wa amdidnī.” (Manifestation of the All-Comprehensive Reality of the First and the Last, Crown of the Lovers and Beloveds, Pride of the Lovers and the Monotheists, our Helper, our Assistance, our Support, our Master, our Leader, our Reliance, our Guide, our Mawla, Father of Souls, Crown of the Saints—Hazrat Ghous Muhammad Baba Yousuf Shah Taji (ra). O Ghous, O Yousuf Shah, O Baba, assist me and grant me help.)
Early Life and Background
Sarkar (ra)’s blessed name was Hazrat Mawlana Muhammad Abdul Karim Shah, and among the people, he became known as Syed Baba Ghous Muhammad Yousuf Shah Taji (ra).
He was born in Ganga Pur, Saway Madhopur (State of Jaipur) in the month of Ramadan in the year 1885. A few months later, his revered mother passed away, and he was raised by his noble father, Syed Lal Muhammad Shah (ra). He received his primary education in the local school, studying the Noble Qur’an and the basics of Persian. The family lived with reliance upon Allah (swt), yet his passion for knowledge took him to Bareilly Sharif to pursue higher studies.
Turban of Distinction and the Prayer of Hazrat Nanhe Miyan (ra)
In Bareilly, at the madrasa of Ala Hazrat Mawlana Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (ra), he attained outstanding mastery in fiqh, hadith, and logic over twelve years, and he also completed the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum.
Then, on the advice of scholars, he had his certificates attested by the scholars of Sitapur, who tested him by scholarly standards and gladly confirmed them. During this period, his stature grew in circles of preaching and guidance. His attire and appearance matched the dignity of the preachers and scholars of that era: “hair grown in forelock style… a long muslin kurta… a green turban… a waistcoat with a pocket watch on a chain… sunglasses… a silver ring… and a walking stick”—this was the routine life of a preacher of the faith, and he would receive generous gifts as well.
At the ceremony for distributing certificates, Hazrat Siraj al-Salikin Shah Nizamuddin (ra) (known as Nanhe Miyan (ra)) presided. He seated Sarkar (ra) upon the dais and invited him to recite the Noble Qur’an and deliver a talk on the blessed Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Under the spirituality of the gathering and special attention, a state of ecstasy and self-effacement overtook him. At the time of kissing the feet, Hazrat Nanhe Miyan (ra) placed his blessed foot upon Sarkar (ra)’s noble shoulders and said: “Go, organize gatherings of Milad-un-Nabi (saw) and spread the religion.” Sarkar (ra) would relate this event with love and yearning: “The blessed foot of Hazrat Siraj al-Salikin created such an effect in my preaching that people now come from far and wide to listen to my sermons.”
Around this time, throughout the length and breadth of India—Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Madras, Kathiawar, Bombay, Junagadh, and the major cities of Uttar Pradesh—his lectures received extraordinary acclaim. He never fixed a fee; he accepted whatever was presented, and if it seemed excessive, he would accept a reduced amount.
Yet his heart yearned that “if a spiritual element were added to this (religious) knowledge, the temperament would find even greater freshness.”
This very impulse brought him to Ajmer Sharif, seeking a perfect shaykh for bay‘ah—“I will hold fast to the hem of such a shaykh who, along with spiritual ranks, also possesses excellence in knowledge.”
Bay‘ah into the Path
After Maghrib in the mosque of the Dargah Sharif, his heart inclined toward a venerable-looking, handsome saint, clad in sherwani and turban—Sufi Abdul Hakim Shah (ra). After greeting him with a handshake, the shaykh lovingly invited him for tea—“Tell me some of yours, and hear some of mine”—and the neatness and order of the cell further settled the confidence of a sincere seeker in his heart.
During the conversation, the shaykh’s scholarly insight, gentle speech, and understanding of the Qur’an impressed him; it also became known that he held authorization in the Qadri, Razzaqi, Chishti, and Sabri orders. As his inner urge grew, he requested bay‘ah; the shaykh immediately, joyfully, granted spiritual support—“This bay‘ah took place in 1912.”
He acted upon Sufi Sahib (ra)’s commands and litanies with resolve and steadfastness; within a few months, he received khilafah and ijazah and was appointed to preach and spread the order. Where once he preached as a scholar, now people began entering the order in crowds under him as a shaykh of the path.
After successful journeys, when he presented himself with his murshid at the threshold of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (ra), an intense weeping overtook him. As he knelt at the foot of the blessed resting place to kiss it and placed his head there, “the cap fell from my head and vanished; I never found it again.” When he came outside, even the shoes he had left were not found. From these events, he understood that henceforth his head and feet were to remain bare; he abandoned forelocks, turban, waistcoat, pocket watch, and stick; he adopted a waist-wrap and long kurta—thus changing from the garb of a preaching scholar to the raiment of a dervish.
Appearance in the Court of Hazrat Baba Tajuddin (ra) and Decisive Indications
A slight reservation remained in his heart: “There is no doubt about Baba Sahib (ra)’s unveilings and miracles, but he does not seem to observe the bounds of the Sharia.” With this thought, when he leaned in to kiss the feet in a gathering, Baba Sahib (ra) drew back his feet and said: “The maulvis stay here; otherwise we will tie you to the bush.”
The next day, in another crowd, he cast a meaningful glance, “took off his blessed cloak and threw it forcefully toward me, saying: ‘Here—may your Sharia be blessed for you!’”—an indication that one must unite the realities of Sharia and Tariqa.
Then he said: “You should present yourself in Waki Sharif in the service of Baba Sahib (ra)….” Sarkar Yousuf Shah Baba (ra) says, “We began preparations and reached there. I saw a vast multitude.”
Staying in the Bawri and the World of Ecstasy
One day Baba Sahib (ra) came walking briskly, took my hand, and led me to the mouth of a dry step-well (bawri) near the fort… There was a cave-like hollow in the wall. He seated me inside and said:
“Hazrat (You will) reside right here, drinks tea, and engage in ‘Allah! Allah!’.
When needed, you may go outside the bawri well.”
After he left, in the evening, Khuda Bakhsh brought only one cup of tea and said to me,
“Baba Sahib (ra) has sent this tea; please drink it. For as long as you remain here, you will receive one cup in the morning and one cup in the evening. If you desire more, as Baba Sahib (ra) comes and goes, let him know.”
By the karamat of Baba Tajuddin Baba (ra), for forty (40) days, life was sustained on those two cups of tea alone, though I had become weak.
Sarkar Yousuf Shah Baba (ra) would mostly recite salutations upon the Prophet (saw), the Durood-e-Taj, Surah Ya-Sin, Surah al-Muzzammil, Chehl Kaaf, Qasida-e-Ghawthiyah, and the Mathnawi-e-Sharif. Whenever there was a need to relieve himself, he would go out of the bawri to the other bank of the pond, purify himself with fresh wudu, and return.
After forty days, when Khuda Bakhsh brought tea, he said, “Come, Baba Sahib (ra) has called you.” I, Sarkar Yousuf Shah Baba (ra), presented myself with Khuda Bakhsh in the service of Baba Sahib (ra) and kissed his feet. At that time Baba Sahib (ra) said, “Come, Yousuf!” Sarkar’s given name was Abdul Karim. It seems that the title “Yousuf” was bestowed in connection with the well or the step-well. From then on, Sarkar would write his name as Muhammad Yousuf, also known as Abdul Karim.
During this very meeting, Baba Tajuddin (ra) uttered, with the grace of his gaze, a decisive sentence—one that became his spiritual hallmark in the times to come.
Baba Sahib (ra) lifted the hand of Yousuf Shah Baba (ra) high before the assembly and declared.
“Learn from him and study with him.
He is the greatest key to the treasures of Tajuddin (ra).”
That was the moment when Sarkar Tajuddin (ra) proclaimed the scholarly and spiritual inheritance of his perfected khalifah.
Thus, Sarkar Yousuf Shah Baba (ra) was granted that station which became the key to knowledge and gnosis—a grace that even today illumines the hearts of the order’s disciples.
Journeys of Preaching and Dissemination
By the command of Baba Tajuddin (ra), the first journey began from Madras. “People entered the order in great numbers… to the extent that many Hindus also became devoted.” In many places the ritual of aarti would be performed, a tilak placed on the forehead, and Sarkar (ra) seated upon an elevated throne—this was a wise method of winning hearts and gradually guiding them to the reality of tawhid.
Ajmer Sharif is the spiritual center of the subcontinent; in every corner of the city and sanctuary one sees caravans of remembrance and reflection. In this very backdrop, the account remains incomplete without understanding his residences and qualities of life in Tajabad Sharif and Ajmer Sharif.
The sweetness of Sarkar (ra)’s character and the purity of his inward state were unparalleled; in one incident, when someone took the rupees from his pocket and later another asked, “Are they sufficient?”, he replied, “Sarkar is sufficient.” The person said, “I’m not asking about the Lord; count and tell me how much money you have.” Then he took five rupees from his pocket, bestowed them, and gently said, “Keep this; we do not tell lies.” This statement still knocks at the heart of a sincere seeker—that inner truthfulness and purity are the foundation of the path.
In Sarkar (ra)’s view, the inclusion of a spiritual element in religious instruction was essential; hence, he turned from popular sermons and Milad gatherings toward suluk—not outward show, but a uniting of the realities of Sharia and Tariqa. Whether it was the “disappearance” of the cap and shoes in Ajmer, or the well-wishing of Baba Tajuddin (ra)’s cloak—every occurrence directed him toward the garb of the dervish, simplicity, and constant remembrance.
His melodious recitation and powerful impact in Milad and sermon gatherings were already renowned, but the blessing of Nanhe Miyan (ra)’s blessed foot made it nationwide—“People come from far and wide to listen to my sermons.” When the means of the path were provided, caravans of those entering the order formed.
Service of Faith, Invitation to Love
After the permission of Siraj al-Salikin (ra), the gatherings of Milad-un-Nabi (saw) became a hallmark of his invitation. With na‘ti yearning and presence of heart, the lamps of love and adab remained lit in his assemblies. He taught that the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) and following the Sharia are the criteria of Sufism, and he explained Baba Tajuddin (ra)’s guidance as an exposition of the subtleties of the path—showing that Sharia and Tariqa, each in its own sphere, are truth and complete one another.
Final Days, Passing, and Shrine
From the grace of Hazrat Tajuddin Auliya (ra) and the training of Hazrat Sufi Abdul Hakim Shah (ra), the double affiliation (Taji and Yousufi) that was firmly rooted in his heart became the very soul of his teaching, invitation, and training. He regarded bay‘ah not as a formality, but as a bond of hearts; he considered Sharia the foundation, and remembrance and love its spirit. To safeguard this trust, he maintained the circle of authorizations and khilafah with balance and careful verification—aiming not at numbers, but at the quality of sincerity.
After performing Hajj of the House of Allah (swt), his illness increased. During this period, Sarkar, with humor and affection, said:
“Hey, why are you people searching for graves for me here?
My soil is not of this place.
My head is in Pakistan, and my feet are in Pakistan.
Take me to Pakistan!
And write to all my children that they should reach Pakistan as soon as possible.
Whoever arrives late will be that much at a loss.”
In short, in the year 1947, in the last ten days of the month of Shawwal, Huzur and some of his disciples came to Karachi. His condition continued to worsen, and in the night between the 29th of Dhu al-Qa‘dah and the 1st of Dhu al-Hijjah, at half past one, Sarkar Yousuf Shah Baba (ra) answered the call of the Almighty with “Labbayk” (“O God, here I am”) and passed from this world.
He was laid to rest in Karachi at the Mewa Shah Cemetery. There, a magnificent dargah—famous as the Khanqah-e-Taji—was built. From the 29th of Dhu al-Qa‘dah to the 2nd of Dhu al-Hijjah, the Urs is held on a grand scale. Fatiha is held every Thursday. Affiliates of the order and devotees continue to visit. In order to obtain outward and inward blessings, the people of Karachi also come to pay respects at the blessed shrine. To read a detailed biography of Sarkar Yousuf Shah Baba (ra), study the comprehensive book on his life, Sarkar Namah.