Muhibullah was born in 1587in India. He was a descendant of
Fariduddin Ganjshakar. His home was in Sadarpur in Awadh. There he compiled a commentary in Arabic on Ibn Arabi's Fusus ul-Hikam. He was initiated into the Sabiriya branch of the
Chishti Order of Sufis with the help of Shaikh Abu Said Gangohi, and visited major Chishti places of pilgrimage and centers before settling in Allahabad in 1628, where he spent the rest of his life. He was active during the reign of the Mogul emperor
Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58). Muhibullah founded the Indo-Islamic literary culture in
Allahabad, with his many writings on obscure Sufi topics in both Persian and Arabic. In Muhibullah's view social relationships should be guided by the unity of Being. He was the
preceptor of
Shah Jahan's son, prince
Dara Shikoh. In response to an inquiry from the prince he wrote that the state should not make a distinction between Muslims and Hindus, since God did not discriminate between his creations. God had sent
Muhammad as
Rahmat al Alameen, mercy for all of creation, not only for Muslims. Many devotees visited Muhibullah's
Khanqah, including both Moslems and
Hindus. Muhibullah thought that mystic knowledge could be obtained from Hindus, and quoted the Hindu theory of cosmogony in a letter, but seems to have had no more than a very superficial understanding of Hindu mysticism. Muhibullah followed the teachings of
Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), the great Sufi poet and mystic from
Andalusia, and was himself called
Shaikh-e Kabir (the great master). Ibn Arabi had formulated the most advanced formulation of the
Tawhid wajudi (
Wahdat al-Wujud) doctrine, a fundamental Sufist doctrine. In the Sufi interpretation of the doctrine the face of God is seen everywhere, but that does not mean that everything that exists is an aspect of Divine unity. Muhibullah Allahabadi strongly supported the
Tawhid wajudi doctrine, and was called Sheikh Ibn Arabi II because of his depth of understanding of the doctrine. Muhibullah wrote several books, most notably
Taswiyah, in which he ardently defended the doctrine. The doctrine was highly fashionable during
Akbar's reign (1556–1605), because Sheikh Tajuddin Zakaria Ajodhini used to talk of it privately to Akbar. Muhibullah considered that the works of Ibn Arabi should not be interpreted either literally or metaphysically, and had more respect for Ibn Arabi's critics such as Shaikh
Ala ud-Daula Simnani and Mir Saiyid Muhammad Gesu Daraz than for commentators who simply glossed over Ibn Arabi's work. He was opposed by
Mulla Mahmud Jaunpuri (of
Jaunpur) and his followers who attacked Sufism in general and emphasized the importance of rational thought as opposed to dogma and mysticism. Some
ulama said that his views about Appearance and Reality were heretical, and Muhibullah should not be considered a Muslim. A fatwa was issued for his execution, which was only averted with considerable difficulty. Muhibullah Allahabadi died on 32 July 1648. ==Legacy==