The mystic Taj Al-Din Ebrahim ibn Rushan Amir Al-Kurdi Al-Sanjani (or Sinjani) (1216–1301) (Arabic: تاج الدين ابراهيم الكردي السنجاني), titled Sheikh Zahed (or Zahid) Gilani, was Grandmaster (Murshid Kamil) of the famed Zahediyeh Sufi Order at Lahijan. He was of Kurdish descent.
Since the mid 13th century, Sheikh Zahed is revered as a spiritual authority and his tomb near Lahijan in Iran's Gilan Province, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, draws numerous pilgrims to the picturesque village of Sheikhanvar. His ancestors hailed from the ancient Iranian city of Sanjan in Khorasan (located in present day Turkmenistan). Fleeing the Seljuq invasion that would eventually conquer large parts of Persia, his ancestors settled in Gilan in the late 11th century. Sheikh Taj Al-Din Zahed Gilani was able to attain cultural and religious influence on the Ilkhanid rulers (1256–1353), descendants of Genghis Khan, who followed Seljuq rule.
The Sheikh's most notable disciple was Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili (1252–1334), the Eponym of the Safavid Dynasty (1501–1736). He wed Sheikh Zahed's daughter Bibi Fatima and, overgoing the interest of Shaikh Taj Al-Din Zahed's firstborn son, Gamal Al-Din Ali, was entrusted with the Grand Master's Zahediyeh Sufi Order, which he transformed into his own, the Safaviyya (Sufi order) Order. Some 170 years after Sheikh Safi Al-Din's death, Safaviyya had gained sufficient political and military power to claim the Throne of (Northern) Iran for the Safavid Heir, Shah Ismail I Safavi. The Sheikh's second-born son, Sadr al-Dīn, wed Sheikh Safi Al-Din's daughter from a previous marriage. The two families were to be intertwined for many centuries to come, by blood as well as mutual spiritual causes.
The Sil-silat-al-nasab-e Safaviyeh or Genealogy of the Safavids, was written by Sheikh Pir Hossein Abdul Zahedi, a 17th century descendant of Sheikh Zahed Gilani. This hagiography in praise of the Safavid forebears, was devoted to the genealogy of the Safavid Sufi masters.
The Turkish Bayrami and Jelveti orders also had their origin in Sheikh Zahed Gilani's Zahediyeh Sufi Order.
- Other transliterations: Tajeddin, Tajoddin, Tajoldin. Zahid Gilani, Sahid Gilani. Zahidi, Sahidi, Sahedi