Ahmed Raza Khan, commonly known as Aala Hazrat, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, or Ahmed Rida Khan in Arabic, (14 June 1856 CE or 10 Shawwal 1272 AH – October 1921 CE or Safar 1340 AH), was an Islamic scholar, jurist, mufti, philosopher, theologian, ascetic, Sufi, poet, and mujaddid in British India. He wrote on law, religion, philosophy and the sciences, and because he mastered many subjects in both rational and religious sciences, Francis Robinson, one of the leading Western scholars of South Asian Islam, considers him to be a polymath. He was reformer in north India who wrote extensively in defense of Muhammad and popular Sufi practices and became the leader of a movement called "Ahl-i Sunnat wa Jamàat". He influenced millions of people, and today the Barelvi movement has around 200 million in the region. Biography Family Khan was born on 14 June 1856 in Mohallah Jasoli, Bareilly, the North-Western Provinces. The name corresponding to the year of his birth was "Al Mukhtaar". His birth name was Muhammad. Khan used the appellation "Abdul Mustafa" ("servant of the chosen one") prior to signing his name in correspondence. Teachers According to the official Biography written by Molana Zafar Uddin Bihari, some of his famous teachers included: Shah AI-i-Rasul (d. 1297/1879) Naqi Ali Khan (d. 1297/1880) Ahmad Zayni Dahlan Makki (d. 1299/1881) Abd al-Rahman Siraj Makki (d. 1301/1883) Hussayn bin Saleh (d. 1302/1884) Abul-Hussayn Ahmad Al-Nuri (d. 1324/1906) 'Abd al-Ali Rampuri (d. 1303/1885) Spiritual order In the year 1294 A.H. (1877), at the age of 22 years, Ahmed Raza became the Mureed (disciple) of Shah Aale Rasool Marehrawi. His Murshid bestowed him with Khilafat in several Sufi Silsilas. Some Islamic scholars received permission from him to work under his guidance. Ahle Sunnat Revival movement Imam Ahmed Raza wrote extensively in defense of his views, countered the Wahabism and Deobandi movements, and, by his writing and activity, became the leader of the Ahle Sunnat movement. The movement is spread across the globe with followers in Pakistan, India, South Africa and Bangladesh. The movement now has over 200 million followers globally. The movement was largely a rural phenomenon when began but is currently popular among urban, educated Pakistanis and Indians as well as the South Asian diaspora throughout the world. The efforts of Khan and his associate scholars to establish a movement to counter the Deobandi and Ahl-i Hadith movements resulted to in the