Ashraf Jahangir Semnani

Sultan Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani ((1285–1386)   was an Iranian Sufi saint from Semnan, Iran. He was the founder of the Ashrafi Sufi order. He is India's third most influential Sufi saint after Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer and Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi.

His father Sultan Ibrahim Noorbaksh was the local ruler of Semnan. Semnani was claimed to be the descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, through his grandson Husayn ibn Ali. His mother Bibi Khadija was said to be a descendant of the Turkic Sufi saint Ahmad Yasawi.

Lineage
Semnani was said to be a descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah from the lineage of her son, Husayn ibn Ali.

Spiritual Lineage
Semnani spiritual lineage of the Chishti Order :
 * 1) Muhammad
 * 2) Fatima bint Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib
 * 3) Hasan al-Basri
 * 4) Abdul Waahid Bin Zaid
 * 5) Fudhail Bin Iyadh
 * 6) Ibrahim Bin Adham
 * 7) Huzaifah Al-Mar'ashi Basra
 * 8) Abu Hubayra al-Basri
 * 9) Khwaja Mumshad Uluw Al Dīnawarī Dinawar
 * 10) Abu Ishaq Shamī (Chishti name starts)
 * 11) Abu Aḥmad Abdal Chishti
 * 12) Abu Muḥammad Chishti
 * 13) Abu Yusuf Bin Saamaan
 * 14) Maudood Chishti
 * 15) Shareef Zandani
 * 16) Usman Harooni
 * 17) Muinuddin Chishti
 * 18) Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki
 * 19) Fariduddin Ganjshakar
 * 20) Nizamuddin Auliya
 * 21) Akhi Siraj
 * 22) Alaul Haq Pandavi
 * 23) Ashraf Jahangir Semnani

Early life
After his father's death, Semnani then aged 17, became the ruler of Semnan. He was said to be inclined towards mysticism. He enjoyed the company of Ruknuddin Ala ul Daula Semnani.

At the age of 23, Semnani abdicated his throne in favor of his brother Sultan Sayyid Muhammad. Thereafter, Semnani migrated to Bengal in order to meet Alaul Haq Pandavi.

Travels
After performing the obligatory pilgrimage to the Islamic Holy sites in Mecca and Medina, Semnani traveled to Gulbarga and Sarandib in South India.

Meeting with other Sufis
Semnani is said to have met with various known Sufis of his time that being Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani, Hafez Shirazi, Bande Nawaz and Sultan Walad (the son of the Sufi poet, Rumi).