belief in Allah, angels, divine books, messengers, Judgment Day and predestination. Awliya’ of Allah are those who firmly believe in the pillars of faith, i.e. They also played an important role in the formation of Muslim society. In the traditional Islamic view, a saint is portrayed as someone “marked by divine favor holiness”, and who is specifically “chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to work miracles.” The saints have played a crucial role in the spread of Islam by educating the masses and deepening the spiritual concerns of the Muslims. Islam has no formal saints and no formal method of accrediting people as saints! The pious people in layman’s language are considered as saints. However, I sincerely doubt that he is very well known beyond Kashmir.
![shams tabrizi he she shams tabrizi he she](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/00/ce/b2/00ceb2efcd6d0906dbe8f480f3823450--tabriz-the-works.jpg)
For example, in our area Rainawari Srinagar Kashmir (Makhdoom Sahb) was considered a saint amongst the people of Kashmir, and his resting place (Makhdoom Sahb shrine) is a place of pilgrimage. There is no formal institution to appoint “saints” in Islam, and as such there are some that are revered locally/regionally, and some that are more widely recognized across the Ummah. In Islam, a “saint” is only someone who has displayed remarkable piety and profound insight into the words of Allah.
![shams tabrizi he she shams tabrizi he she](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fyDBVpedPfU/maxresdefault.jpg)
![shams tabrizi he she shams tabrizi he she](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vrfSKP1augg/TlAdwMSj8SI/AAAAAAAAALg/ZMV8RWgKbYE/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/shams+tabrez.jpg)
The term thus literally means “protector of (the words of) Allah”. Saint (Awliya) in Arabic is somewhat equivalent to the Arabic word wali, which means “custodian”, “protector”, or “preserver”.