Atlas
About this atlas
The atlas holds the chains of transmission from the Prophet as the standard references and the classical sources record them: the Sufi orders, the chains of Qurʾān recitation, the teachers of the schools of law and ḥadīth, and the lines of the Prophet's family, with the places they spread and the living houses and teachers who carry them today. Every link shows its sources; where they differ, both readings are shown, and we do not rule on any community's claims. Ibn ʿArabī's own life, teachers and readers are on their own page.
رحمت علیشاه
Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh
Died 1861 · Shiraz
Pole after whom Trimingham dates the split of the order; date from Iranica summary
Sources for this person
The chain up to the Prophet
Dates are given where the sources give them. Years are CE; the Hijri year is in each name's detail.
Route 1 of 3, the best-sourced: Niʿmatullāhiyya. Tap a rule to read its basis, sources and checks.
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīnعلي زين العابدين713
two sourcesthis step is recorded in Schools of law and ḥadīth, not in Niʿmatullāhiyya
child of · ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn to Muḥammad al-Bāqir · Two independent sources
Al-Bāqir is Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn's son (Siyar, entry Zayd b. ʿAlī, which calls Zayd 'brother of al-Bāqir').
al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Zayd b. ʿAlī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, lines 74327-74329)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Câfer es-Sâdık'Checked against
- al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L176089, 134408 · agreesal-Bāqir’s entry lists his father ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn) among his sources; the father’s entry lists “his son Abū Jaʿfar”.
- Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L30679 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Muḥammad al-Bāqir, son of Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn.
Muḥammad al-Bāqirمحمد الباقر733one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: the generations between al-Bāqir (d. c. 733) and Niʿmat Allāh (b. 1330), not namedsources differ
family descent · Muḥammad al-Bāqir to Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walī · One source
Trimingham: Shāh Niʿmat Allāh claimed descent from the fifth Shīʿī Imam, Muḥammad al-Bāqir. Recorded as his claim.
Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5844 · agreesClaimed descent from the fifth Shi'i Imam, Muhammad Baqir.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Trimingham classes the order as keeping Shīʿī orthodoxy in Iran (via the Gunābādī) and as the most active order in Iran; the date and manner of the order's Shīʿī turn were not found in sources read.Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102
Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walīشاه نعمت الله ولی1431one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: some four centuries of poles, including the Indian Deccan strand (Bahmanid patronage) and the 18th-c. revival; not enumerated in sources read
initiation · Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walī to Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh · One source
Trimingham: the order's poles continued from the founder at Mahan; the split came after Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh.
Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5906 · agreesFootnote names the split as coming after Rahmat 'Ali Shah.
Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāhرحمت علیشاه1861
Other routes (2)
Route 2 of 3: Niʿmatullāhiyya
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīnعلي زين العابدين713
two sourcesthis step is recorded in Schools of law and ḥadīth, not in Niʿmatullāhiyya
child of · ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn to Muḥammad al-Bāqir · Two independent sources
Al-Bāqir is Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn's son (Siyar, entry Zayd b. ʿAlī, which calls Zayd 'brother of al-Bāqir').
al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Zayd b. ʿAlī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, lines 74327-74329)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Câfer es-Sâdık'Checked against
- al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L176089, 134408 · agreesal-Bāqir’s entry lists his father ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn) among his sources; the father’s entry lists “his son Abū Jaʿfar”.
- Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L30679 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Muḥammad al-Bāqir, son of Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn.
Muḥammad al-Bāqirمحمد الباقر733one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: the generations between al-Bāqir (d. c. 733) and Niʿmat Allāh (b. 1330), not namedsources differ
family descent · Muḥammad al-Bāqir to Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walī · One source
Trimingham: Shāh Niʿmat Allāh claimed descent from the fifth Shīʿī Imam, Muḥammad al-Bāqir. Recorded as his claim.
Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5844 · agreesClaimed descent from the fifth Shi'i Imam, Muhammad Baqir.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Trimingham classes the order as keeping Shīʿī orthodoxy in Iran (via the Gunābādī) and as the most active order in Iran; the date and manner of the order's Shīʿī turn were not found in sources read.Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102
Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walīشاه نعمت الله ولی1431one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: some four centuries of poles, including the Indian Deccan strand (Bahmanid patronage) and the 18th-c. revival; not enumerated in sources read
initiation · Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walī to Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh · One source
Trimingham: the order's poles continued from the founder at Mahan; the split came after Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh.
Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5906 · agreesFootnote names the split as coming after Rahmat 'Ali Shah.
Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāhرحمت علیشاه1861
Route 3 of 3: Niʿmatullāhiyya
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīnعلي زين العابدين713
two sourcesthis step is recorded in Schools of law and ḥadīth, not in Niʿmatullāhiyya
child of · ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn to Muḥammad al-Bāqir · Two independent sources
Al-Bāqir is Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn's son (Siyar, entry Zayd b. ʿAlī, which calls Zayd 'brother of al-Bāqir').
al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Zayd b. ʿAlī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, lines 74327-74329)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Câfer es-Sâdık'Checked against
- al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L176089, 134408 · agreesal-Bāqir’s entry lists his father ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn) among his sources; the father’s entry lists “his son Abū Jaʿfar”.
- Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L30679 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Muḥammad al-Bāqir, son of Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn.
Muḥammad al-Bāqirمحمد الباقر733one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: the generations between al-Bāqir (d. c. 733) and Niʿmat Allāh (b. 1330), not namedsources differ
family descent · Muḥammad al-Bāqir to Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walī · One source
Trimingham: Shāh Niʿmat Allāh claimed descent from the fifth Shīʿī Imam, Muḥammad al-Bāqir. Recorded as his claim.
Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5844 · agreesClaimed descent from the fifth Shi'i Imam, Muhammad Baqir.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Trimingham classes the order as keeping Shīʿī orthodoxy in Iran (via the Gunābādī) and as the most active order in Iran; the date and manner of the order's Shīʿī turn were not found in sources read.Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102
Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walīشاه نعمت الله ولی1431one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: some four centuries of poles, including the Indian Deccan strand (Bahmanid patronage) and the 18th-c. revival; not enumerated in sources read
initiation · Shāh Niʿmat Allāh Walī to Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh · One source
Trimingham: the order's poles continued from the founder at Mahan; the split came after Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh.
Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5906 · agreesFootnote names the split as coming after Rahmat 'Ali Shah.
Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāhرحمت علیشاه1861
How to read the marks
- Two sources: a solid rule. Two independent references give the same link.
- One source: a lighter rule, so labelled.
- The community's own account: a dotted rule. The order tells it; we have not yet read it against a reference source.
- A gap in the rule: the sources omit names between the two. The label says which.
- The sources differ: tap the ≠ to read each reading with its source.
- A ring: a spiritual link, without a meeting (uwaysī).
Who received from Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh
3 recorded, each with the chain set it belongs to.
- Ḥājjī Mullā Sulṭān (Sulṭān ʿAlī Shāh) of Gunābādسلطان علیشاه گنابادی
one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyyaomits: Saʿādat ʿAlī Shāh (Iranica summary) and Ṭāʾūs al-ʿUrafāʾ (Trimingham)sources differ
successor of · Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh to Ḥājjī Mullā Sulṭān (Sulṭān ʿAlī Shāh) of Gunābād · One source
Iranica summary: after Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh three claimants competed (Saʿādat ʿAlī Shāh, Ṣafī ʿAlī Shāh, Munawwar ʿAlī Shāh); the Gunābādī line goes through Saʿādat ʿAlī Shāh to Sulṭān ʿAlī Shāh.
Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ne'matollāhiya, as summarised in search results (full text not read; 403)Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Iranica in summary, Ne'matollāhiya · agreesDispute over whether Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh named Saʿādat; three claimants.
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5906 · agreesFootnote lists the sequence Raḥmat, Ṭāʾūs al-ʿUrafāʾ Iṣfahānī, Mullā Sulṭān of Gunābād; Ṣafī-ʿAlī-Shāh a separate shoot.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Iranica (summary): the Munawwar ʿAlī-Shāhī line has the strongest claim to the main Niʿmatullāhī descent and its members call themselves exclusively Niʿmatullāhī. The Gunābādī line records Saʿādat ʿAlī Shāh as Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh's successor. Reported as the branches' own claims; no winner named here.Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ne'matollāhiya, as summarised in search results (full text not read; 403)
- Munawwar ʿAlī Shāhمنور علیشاه
one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyya
successor of · Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh to Munawwar ʿAlī Shāh · One source
Iranica summary: Munawwar ʿAlī Shāh was the third claimant after Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh.
Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ne'matollāhiya, as summarised in search results (full text not read; 403)Checked against
- Iranica in summary, Ne'matollāhiya · agreesThird claimant; strongest main-line claim per Iranica summary.
- Ṣafī ʿAlī Shāhصفی علیشاه
one sourcein Niʿmatullāhiyya
successor of · Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh to Ṣafī ʿAlī Shāh · One source
Iranica summary and Trimingham: Ṣafī ʿAlī Shāh headed a separate shoot after the split.
Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ne'matollāhiya, as summarised in search results (full text not read; 403)Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, Ni'matullahiyya, pp. 101-102Checked against
- Iranica in summary, Ne'matollāhiya · agreesSafi line became a separate order.
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L5880 · agreesNames Safi-'Ali-Shah among shoots besides the Gunabadi.
How to cite
Mashraba Reader, Atlas of transmission, “Raḥmat ʿAlī Shāh”, https://www.mashraba.org/atlas/figure/rahmat-ali-shah (data of 31 October 2026).