Khizr Rumi Qalandar

Shah Khizr Rumi Qalandar (Arabic: شاه خضر رومی) was a thirteenth-century Sufi saint of the Qalandariyya path who came from the province of Rum in Anatolia and became one of the earliest Qalandars to arrive in India. He played a foundational role in establishing the Qalandariyya-Chishtiyya fraternity in the Indian Subcontinent during the reign of Sultan Iltutmish.^[1][2]

Khizr Rumi is described as a Qalandar originating from Rum (present-day Turkey). Many miraculous and extraordinary spiritual acts were witnessed through him, despite the Qalandariyya's characteristic non-conformity toward formal initiation (inabat) and discipleship (bay‘at).^[3] Accounts describe Qalandars as outspoken and fiercely independent ascetics, which shaped his distinct spiritual persona.^[4]

Khizr Rumi reached Delhi when Shaikh-ul-Islam Khwaja Qutb al-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki was alive. Desiring guidance, he directed his devotion toward the Chishti master. Kaki sent him a cap and a robe (khirqa) of spiritual authorization, permitting his entry into the Chishti silsilah while allowing him to retain his Qalandari attire and practices.^[3]

Although he intended to visit Kaki physically, the shaykh aware of the uncompromising independence of Qalandars sent the formal spiritual lineage (shajra) to him at a distance, granting him initiation without a meeting in person.^[4] Foreseeing potential disruptions inherent to Qalandar temperament, Kaki instructed him to refrain from ostentatious or spiritually questionable miracles.^[5]

After Delhi, Khizr Rumi travelled to Sururpur (Sarharpur) near Jaunpur. There he initiated Saiyid Najm al-Din Ghaus al-Dahr and bestowed upon him the khirqah of Khilafat, after which the order continued through Shah Qutb's descendants.^[6] His lineage thus flourished within the Indian Subcontinent while he returned to Rum.^[3]

Traditional narratives describe Khizr Rumi as the disciple of Abdul Aziz Abdullah Alambardar Makki, a semi-legendary figure regarded by Qalandar tradition as extraordinarily long-lived and spiritually connected to early Islamic companions. Through him, Khizr Rumi is linked to the earliest Qalandariyya spirituality.^[7]

Through his acceptance into the Chishti silsilah by Kaki, Khizr Rumi became the source of a new derivative path known as the Qalandariyya-Chishtiyya, which gained particular prominence in Jaunpur and the eastern regions of Uttar Pradesh.^[5]

Prominent successors included Bu Ali Shah Qalandar of Panipat, whose tomb became a major pilgrimage site and who is cited by later writers as a key authority of the order.^[5]

Khizr Rumi eventually returned to Rum, where he died. Sufi historians such as S.A.A. Rizvi assign his death to 750 AH / 1349–50 CE, though older biographical dictionaries place his Indian activity earlier, within the period of Sultan Iltutmish.^[2][1]

Shah Khizr Rumi Qalandar is regarded as the first Qalandar saint to reach India from Anatolia. His spiritual work contributed to transforming the wandering Qalandar ethos into a more settled form within khanqahs. The silsilah he founded, the Qalandariyya-Chishtiyya, continues in India, particularly through the Jaunpuri branch. Historical records uniformly regard him as a saint of extraordinary power, humility and spiritual integration.^[3][6]