| Full name | Muhammad Azim Barkhiyya |
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| Born | 1898 Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Died | January 27, 1979 Karachi |
| Era | Modern |
| Region | Subcontinent |
| School | Sufi |
| Main interests | Sufism, Islamic studies |
| Notable ideas | Silsila-i-Azimiyya, evolution of Sufism |
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Qalandar Baba Auliya (Urdu: قلندر با با اولیا) is the title of the Sufi mystic Sayyed Muhammad Azim Barkhiyya (can also spell Azeem) (1898, Uttar Pradesh, India – January 27, 1979, Karachi), the founder of the Azimiyya. His mother was adopted by Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur and hence Qalandar Baba always referred the latter as his nana (maternal grandfather).[1] He was given the honorifics Abdal-i-Haq and Hasn-e-Ukhra (Urdu: سید محمد عظیم برخیا).
Living in Aligarh he spent much time in the company of the local Sufi Kabli Baba.[1] After he had completed the 12th grade of school, Baba Tajuddin summoned him to Nagpur, where he spent nine years under Baba's guidance until his death in 1929. During this time his mother died, leaving four daughters and two sons, Muhammad Azim being the eldest son. Baba Tajuddin arranged his marriage with one of his disciples' daughters in Delhi. Muhammad Azim moved his family to Delhi and worked there as a journalist until the partition of India in 1947.[1] After this he and his family migrated to Pakistan, settling in Karachi's Lyari subdivision. He was appointed sub-editor of the Daily Urdu Dawn.[1]
In 1956 Hazrat Abul-Fayz Qalandar Ali Suhrawardi, a dervish of the Suhrawardi Sufi order, came to Karachi and Muhammad Azim asked to be initiated into the order. Hazrat Abul-Fayz blew three times on the forehead of Qalandar Baba Auliya. "On the first blow the cosmic world (Alam-e-Arwah) was revealed, on the second the angelic realm (Alam-e-Malkut) and on the third one the Divine Throne Arsh-e-Mu'alla." [1] The Sufi sheikh taught him for three weeks, after which, he said, he received knowledge from many past saints including Najmuddin Kubra.[1]
Qalandar Baba Auliya would go to the residence of his disciple Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi to hold sohbet(satsang, meeting with the spiritual master).[2] He taught that man's first and foremost purpose of is to recognise his own self and have an intimate relationship with his Creator.[2] One can not find truth in the outward (zahir) but only by turning inward (batin). Here is the doorway to the Cosmos - that is why Man is called microcosm (al-alam sughra).[2] One week before his death he told his disciples and friends; "I am a guest here for a maximum of one week". He appointed Khwaja Shamsuddin Azimi head of the order of the Azimiyya and died, on January 27, 1979. His tomb is in the Shadman Town subdivision of Karachi.[1]