The book describes about the life of Hazrat Mir Sayid Ali Hamadani (RA)the great scholar Sufi Saint known as Shah-i-Hamadan in Kashmir. Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (Persian: میر سید علی همدانی‎; c. 1314–1384 CE) was an Iranian scholar, poet and a Sufi Muslim saint of the Kubrawiya order. He was born in Hamadan, Iran and preached Islam in Central and South Asia as he travelled to practice Sufism. He died in Khatlan, Tajikistan in 1384 CE, aged 69–70. Hamadani was also addressed honorifically throughout his life as the Shāh-e-Hamadān ("King of Hamadan"), Amīr-i Kabīr ("the Great Commander"), and Ali Sani ("second Ali").[1] Early life The title "Sayyid" indicates that he was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, possibly from both sides of his family. Hamadani spent his early years under the tutelage of Ala ud-Daula Simnani, a famous Kubrawiya saint from Semnan, Iran. Despite his teacher's opposition to Ibn Arabi's explication of the wahdat al-wujud ("unity of existence"), Hamadani wrote Risala-i-Wujudiyya, a tract in defense of that doctrine, as well as two commentaries on Fusus al-Hikam, Ibn Arabi's work on Al-Insān al-Kāmil. Hamadani is credited with introducing the philosophy of Ibn-Arabi to South Asia.[3] Travels Sayyid Ali Hamadani traveled widely and preached Islam in different parts of the world such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, China, Syria, and Turkestan. The third visit of Sayyid 'Ali was caused by the third invasion of Persia by Timur in 1383 when he conquered 'Iraq, and decided to exterminate the 'Alavi Sayyids of Hamadan who, until his time, had played an important part in local affairs. Sayyid 'Ali, therefore, left Hamadan with 700 Sayyids, and set out towards Kashmir where he expected to be safe from the wrath of Timur. He had already sent two of his followers: Syed Taj ud-din Semnani and Mir Syed Husain Semnani, to take stock of the situation. Shibu'd-din became a follower of Mir Syed Husain Semnani and so Hamadani was welcomed in Kashmir by the king and his heir apparent Qutub ud-Din. At that time, the Kashmiri ruler was at war with Firuz Shah Tughlaq, the Sultan of Delhi, but Hamdani brokered a peace. Hamdani stayed in Kashmir for six months. After Sharaf-ud-Din Abdul Rehman Bulbul Shah, he was the second important Muslim to visit Kashmir. Hamadani went to Mecca, and then returned to Kashmir in 1379/80 CE, during the reign of Qutub ud-Din, and spent a year spreading Islam in Kashmir, before returning to Turkestan via Ladakh in 1381/82 CE. He returned to Kashmir for the third time in 1383/84 CE with the intention of staying for a longer period but had to return earlier owing to illness. Hamadani died on his way back to Central Asia at a site close to the present day town of Mansehra in North-West Pakistan. His body was carried by his disciples to Kulob, Tajikistan, where his shrine is located. Influence Hamadani started organized efforts to convert Kashmir to Islam. Hamadani is regarded as having brought various crafts and industries from Iran into Kashmir; it is said that he brought 700 Syed's with him to the country.The growth of the textile industry in Kashmir increased its demand for fine wool, which in turn meant that Kashmiri Muslim groups settled in Ladakh, bringing with them crafts such as minting and writing. Hamadani wrote a book on politics, governance and social behaviour, called the Zakhirat ul-Muluk. Works One manuscript (Raza Library, Rampur, 764; copied 929/1523) contains eleven works ascribed to Hamadani (whose silsila runs to Naw'i Khabushani; the manuscript contains two documents associated with him). · Risalah Nooriyah is a tract on contemplation · Risalah Maktubaat is a collection of Hamadani's letters · Dur Mu’rifati Surat wa Sirat-i-Insaan, discusses the bodily and moral features of man · Dur Haqaa’iki Tawbah, deals with the nature of penitence · Hallil Nususi allal Fusus, is a commentary on Ibn Arabi’s Fusus-ul-Hikam · Sharhi Qasidah Khamriyah Fariziyah, is a commentary on the wine qasidah of Umar ibn ul-Fariz who died in 786 A.H. =1385 A.C. · Risalatul Istalahaat, is a treatise on Sufic terms and expressions · ilmul Qiyafah or Risalah-i qiyafah is an essay on physiognomy. A copy of this exists in the United States National Library of Medicine. · Dah Qa’idah gives ten rules of contemplative life · Kitabul Mawdah Fil Qurba gathers traditions on affection among relatives · Kitabus Sab’ina Fi Fadha’il Amiril Mu’minin, gives the seventy virtues of Ali. · Arba’ina Amiriyah is forty traditions on man’s future life · Rawdhtul Firdaws is an extract of a larger work entitled Manazilus Saaliqin, which is on Sufi-ism · Awraad-ul-Fatehah gives a conception of the unity of God and His attributes · Chehl Asraar (Forty Secrets), is a collection of forty poems in praise of Allah and Muhammad · Zakhirat-ul-Muluk a treatise on political ethics and the rules of good government Syed Abdur-Rehman Hamdani in his book Salar-e-Ajjam lists 68 books and 23 pamphlets by Sayyid Ali Hamadani.

Hazrat Mir Sayid Ali Hamadani (RA) was born in 1314 AD at Hamadan Iran. His mother's name was Fatimah and his father's name was Sayid Shahab-ud-din bin Sayid Muhammad Husaini. His lineage gets connected to Hazrat Ali (RA) by sixteen links through Hazrat Imam Husain (RA). He gained his Islamic knowledge and spiritual knowledge at a young age and traveled various countries for 21 years. He arrived in Kashmir thric between 1372 AD to 1383 AD. He passed away at Kunar in 1384 AD at the age of 72 years and was buried at Khatlan Tajkistan. In Kashmir he is known as the founder of Islam in Kashmir. He was agreat scholar of Islam and wrote many books in Persian and Arabic.

This book is an extensive critical study of the mystical poetry of Nund Rishi (1378-1440), the founder of the Kashmiri Sufi order called the Rishi Order, who is revered and remembered by most Kashmiris as 'Alamdār-e Kashmir or the flag-bearer of Kashmir. The author breaks with dominant perceptions of Nund Rishi as a quietistic Sufi and argues that the themes of Islam, Death, the Nothing and the Apocalyptic in his poetry are a form of negative theology. Nund Rishi's negative theology is presented as a discourse on the transcendent which relies on negations rather than affirmations that disclose an existential politics. It explores Nund Rishi's mystical poetry not only within its historical context but also in relation to religious and political controversies in medieval Kashmir. The book locates the negative theology of Nund Rishi as one form, among others, of the 'negative path' across regions in the medieval Indo-Persian world.

"Picture on pages 44-49 and 96-97 by Shahid A Makhfi"--T.p. verso.