Hazrat Pir Syed Mehr ‘Ali Shah of Golra Sharif (to be referred to hereinafter simply as “Hadrat”) was a descendent, on his father’s side, of Hazrat Syedna Ghaus- e- Azam Shaikh ‘ Abdul Qadir Jilani in the 25^th generation, and of the Holy Prophet of Islam through Syedna Hasan ibn ‘Ali in the 38^th generation. On the side of his mother, he was descended from Hazrat Ghaus-e-Azam in the 24^th generation and from the Holy Prophet through Syedna Husain ibn ‘Ali in the 37^th generation.

Two of Hazrat’s ancestors,Pir Syed Roshan Din Shah and Pir Syed Rasul Shah in the year 1211 A.H. by the then head of Syedna Ghaus-e-Azam’s shrine at Baghdad (Iraq), Hazrat Syed habib-e-Mustafa Ibn Syed Qasim Qadiri. This testimonial is preserved in original in Golra Sharif’s shrine records, and its text is reproduced below.

“in point of ancestry and lineage, these two gentlemen, Pir Syed Roshan Din Shah and Pir Syed Rasul Din Shah, are the off-spring of Hazrat Syedna Shaikh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani. In point of grace and blessedness, they are his true heirs and legatees, and I regard them as my own sons. Devotees of the exalted Qadiriyah Silsilah (chain) should therefore regard their hand as my hand and their word as my word.”

Hazrat Syed Pir Meher Ali Shah (R.A) was born on Monday, 1st Ramadan, 1275 A.H (14th April 1859 A.D) in Golra Sharif. The time before Hazrat’s birth saw the war of independence of 1857 being fought between the British and the Muslims.

Pir Meher Ali Shah (R.A) narrated himself that during his childhood, he used to feel uncomfortable in populated areas and found deserted places providing much serenity. Quite often, he said, he used to quietly leave the house at night after everyone else had gone to bed, and to spend much of the night wandering among the nearly bushes, trees and ravines. As he grew, he said, he started experiencing a feeling of such unusual heat within his body that he was sometimes compelled, even on cold winter nights, to bathe in the ice-cold canal water out in the open and also to rub pieces of it on his body. When he left his room late at night after finishing his studies, he used to experience the same kind of comfort from contact with the cold mountain air that a thirsty person normally derives from cool water at the height of summer.

Hazrat received his early education of the Holy Quran at the Khankah and was given classes in Urdu and Persian in the local Madressah. Allah blessed Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah (R.A) with tremendous mind abilities. As soon as Hazrat completed his oral reading of Quran, the entire Holy Book became embedded in his memory without any conscious effort by him towards that end. He completed his intermediate level religious education here. His stay in this Madressah was for 2 –2 and(1/2) years. After completing his education at Angah at the age of 15 years, he decided to continue further studies in the United Provinces of India (U.P). Therefore, Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah Sahib, in 1290 A.H set out his quest for higher education, to different parts of India such as Kanpur, Aligarh, and Saharanpur Hazrat’s stay at Aligarh at the Madressah of Maulana Lutfullah of Aligarh was 21/2 years

When Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah returned home after completing his studies, his marriage took place with the daughter of Syed Charagh Ali Shah who belonged to his respected mother’s family living in Hasan-Abdal Town, a few miles away from Golra.

1. Tahqiq-ul-Haq Fi Kalima-tul-Haq (The truth about Kalima-tul-Haq)
2. Shamsul Hidayah
3. Saif-e-Chishtiya
4. I’la Kalimatillah Fi Bayan-e-Wa Ma Uhilla Bihi Legharillah
5. AlFatuhat-us-Samadiyyah (Divine Bounties)
6. Tasfiah Mabain Sunni Wa Shi’ah
7. Fatawa-e-Mehria
8. Mulfuzaat-e-Mehria (Saysings of Meher Ali Shah)