Amir Kulal

Amir Kulal, born Shams ud-Din, was a Persian Sufi Islamic scholar of the Khwajagan order who lived from 1278 to 1370 and is widely considered one of the most influential Sufis in history. His father, Saif ud-Din Hamza, was a sayyid descendant of Muhammad and the chieftain, or amir, of the Persian Kulal tribe; after his father's death Shams ud-Din inherited that position, and as his reputation as a scholar spread through the Chagatai Khanate the title Amir-i-Kulal became his common name. He was popularly called Kulal, meaning potter in Persian, because he made earthenware. Among his students was Baha ud-Din Naqshband, and after the rise of the Timurid dynasty a close relationship developed between the houses of Amir Timur and Amir Kulal that continued through the Mughal line in India. He is buried at Sokhar, near Bukhara, Uzbekistan.