Yahya al-Shirwani al-Khalwati

Shaykh Yahya al-Shirwani al-Qalyuri al-Hanafi, shaykh of the Khalwati order in the land of Baku; and from his remaining companions he settled in Shirwan. Emirs, sultans, scholars and the poor came to him in turn; he related subtle litanies and heavy service, and bore its weight — his share of renunciation and worship was evident. More than ten thousand of the poor followed him; he organized them on retreats, invocations and litanies and distributed them among his deputies in Shirwan, Baku, Armenia, Gilan, Azerbaijan and Persia — so that hardly anyone submitted to a shaykh outside his order. It is said he was the first to establish the khalifa-system on which the shaykhs of the orders stand today, and it is said the Khalwatiyya traces to him. He died in 868 or shortly before, in the land of Baku. ¹