History of Hazrat Saiyad Ali Mira Datar (R.A.)

From Bukhara to Gujarat

Hazrat Saiyad Ali Mira Datar belongs to the Husaini Saadat, the family line traced to Imam Husain (R.A.). His grandfather, Saiyad Ilmuddin, came with his father from Bukhara to a village near Lucknow, at a time when many learned preachers were travelling to India to teach and guide.

In Gujarat, his granduncle Kutbe Alam introduced Ilmuddin to Sultan Ahmed Shah of Ahmedabad, who appointed him commander of his army. Soldiers who served under him are remembered as having become his disciples. His son, Saiyad Dost Muhammad, also a commander, married Aisha Bibi, remembered as Jannati Maa or Rasti Amma, from a family of saints.

Birth and childhood

He was born in Saiyedwada, Khanpur, Ahmedabad, on the night of the Eid moon, 29 Ramzan 879 Hijri, as remembered in tradition. Accounts say his face seemed lit with noor from birth.

His mother passed away when he was not yet a year old, on 16 Rajab 880 Hijri. He was raised by Daulat Bibi, remembered as Dama Amma or Rastima, with his Dadi Amma and his grandfather, from whom he received his early education. He spent his time in ibadat and in the study of Hadith and Sunnah, and loved Imam Husain (R.A.) deeply, wishing to follow him in shahadat.

The call to Mandavgad

Sultan Mahmud Begada of Gujarat had laid siege to the fort of Mandavgad in present-day Madhya Pradesh, whose ruler is described in tradition as a tyrant who oppressed his people. The siege went on for years without success. Dost Muhammad was summoned from Unava with horsemen, and the Sultan’s camp was told that Saiyad Ilmuddin’s grandson, Saiyad Ali, could win the fort.

At about eighteen, with his wedding being prepared at Unava, he asked his mother’s permission and left. At the Unava pond he planted a miswak and said that on the day he was martyred, it would become a tree. He then rode out with a small force.

Signs remembered on the way

Tradition recalls that a storm struck the camp the night before, and only the tent where he sat reciting the Quran beside his grandfather was spared, which convinced the Sultan of his standing. It is also narrated that a river made way for his party, that his horse cleared the eighteen-foot fort wall, and that hoofprints from that leap are still pointed out at the fort.

Shahadat

In the accounts, the fighting was fierce, and the ruler eventually fled to the Lohani caves. There, after a last confrontation, Hazrat Mira Datar was martyred. Traditional sources differ on the exact date: one account places it on Friday, 29 Moharram, while a published English booklet hosted by syedalimiradatar.com gives Monday in Muharram 986 or 1012 Hijri. This website does not resolve that difference.

He then appeared in his grandfather’s dream and told him where his body lay. The party found it covered in flowers, guarded by his red horse. The casket was carried toward Unava on a camel, which stopped at the very spot where the miswak had grown into a tree. The Dargah stands there today.

Remembered today

The observances include Gusal with rosewater, sandal, loban, and visitors bringing roses or chadar.