'Abd al-Quddus Gangohi, Shaikh

(1456-1537)

   'Abd al-Quddus was born at Rudauli (District Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh). His father, Shaikh Ism'ail, was a theologian who traced his ancestry to the famous doctor of Islamic law Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 768). 'Abd al-Quddus himself was drawn to Sufism, which led to his attaching himself to the Chishti hospice established at Rudauli by Shaikh Ah-mad 'Abd al-Haq (d. 1474). He migrated to Shahabad in 1491 and from there shifted to Gangoh (District Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh) at the time of Babur's invasion (1526). At Shahabad, 'Umar Khan Sarwani, an important noble of the Lodi Empire, became his patron. He also cultivated close relations with the Timurid ruler Humayun (1530-1556). In his early youth, 'Abd al-Quddus wrote a treatise, Rushd-nama (The Book of Piety), that seeks to reconcile the teachings of Gorakh-nath with Chishti Sufism.