The Shah Fakir are a Muslim community in South Asia. They are also known as Sayed, Shah, Alvi and Dewan Baba,Miya.Some people consider Shah to be a fakir but the meaning of Sayed and Shah is same. Sayed is an Arabic word and Shah is a Persian word.
The wordfakir orfaqir (Arabic:فقیر (noun of faqr)) is derived from the wordfaqr (Arabic:فقر, "poverty").They are claim to the descendants of Sufi saints belonging to Syeds lineage, that traced toAli. Faqirs were wanderingDervishes teachingIslam in South Asia.[1]
There is a theory that this community was formed byBadi' Al-Din an Arab muslim Sufi saint and he came to India from Syria.
His followers start using titleShah
The Faqir ofWest Bengal are also known as Shahji. They are said[by whom?] to have acquired the name Shahji because they were followers of Sher Ali Shahji, a well knownBengali Sufi saint. Most Faqir consider the famous SufiAbdul Qadir Jillani as their mentor, and most Faqir inBengal thus belong to theQadriyah Sufi order. A smaller number belong to the Chishti, Madariya, Mojadidi, andNaqshbandia orders. Like in other parts of India, the Faqir have evolved from what was originally a community of Sufi mendicants into an endogamouscaste grouping. They live mainly in the districts ofNadia,Howrah,Murshidabad,Malda,Bankura,Birbhum andPurulia. The majority of the West Bengal Faqir are now cultivators, living in multi-caste villages, in their own quarters known as Faqir paras. They cultivate paddy, jute, mustard and tilli seeds. A small number are also landless agricultural labourers. The Faqir speakBengali and follow the Sunni sect of Islam. But they practice a number of folk beliefs, collectively referred to asfaqirmat. This involves paying special reverence to a number of Sufi saints. A significant number of Faqir are also involved in the production of cooking oil, an activity traditionally associated with theTeli caste in other parts of India.[2]