'Abdallah al-Ilahi al-Simawi

The knower of God ʿAbd Allah al-Ilahi al-Sufi al-Hanafi. He was born in the town of Simaw in the province of Anatolia, and at first he studied the sciences and lived for a time in Constantinople, at the Zirek college. When Mawla ʿAli al-Tusi travelled to the Persian lands, he travelled too, met him in Kerman, and studied under him. Then the Turkish call overcame him, and he intended to burn his books or drown them. In the midst of this hesitation a poor man came to him and said, "Sell the books and give their price in charity, except this one, which will benefit you." It was a book containing the epistles of the shaykhs, and he did as he was told.

He then went to Samarqand, served Khwaja ʿAbd Allah al-Samarqandi, and received from him the litany of remembrance. On his direction he went to Bukhara and secluded himself at the tomb of Khwaja Baha al-Din al-Naqshbandi, and was trained by his spirit. He returned to Samarqand and attended Khwaja ʿUbayd. On his direction he went to the lands of Rum, passed through Herat, and attended Mawla ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Jami and other shaykhs of Khurasan. He then came back to his homeland, and his state became known across the horizons. His fame reached Constantinople, and its scholars and notables asked for him, but he did not turn to them until the time of Sultan Muhammad. When troubles arose in his homeland he came to Constantinople and lived at the Zirek mosque, and the notables and dignitaries gathered around him. When the crowds pressed upon him he was disturbed and moved to the province of Rumili, where he died around 896 AH ¹.