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.

Zahid Husain, a close aide of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was the father of Supreme Court of Pakistan justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid. Zahid remained vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, he became Pakistan's first high commissioner in India, the founder and first governor of the State Bank of Pakistan from 1948 to 1953, the first chairman of the Planning Commission and the author of Pakistan's first five-year plan. He died in 1957.

Syeda Ayesha Gilani (Urdu:سيده عائشہ گیلانی)(born March 4, 1982) is Miss Pakistan World for 2009. Gilani won the pageant on the 27th of June 2009 in Toronto, Ontario. Gilani is now going to represent Pakistan in various international pageants.

Gilani was born in Lahore, Pakistan and as of 2009 resides in Washington, D.C.

Ayesha Gilani won the Miss Pakistan World title on the 23rd of June 2009 in Toronto, Canada, where the Miss Pakistan World pageant gets hosted every year, which was started by Sonia Ahmed. She was also awarded the Miss Congeniality 2009 title as well.

In August 2009, Ayesha Gilani represented Pakistan in the world's 5th largest pageant - Miss Tourism Queen International 2009. Ayesha Gilani won Miss Elegant runner up within the pageant.

In November 2009, Ayesha Gilani represented Pakistan in the world's third largest pageant - Miss Earth. Pageant websites and critics did claim her to be a hopeful candidate in the top 16 for the Miss Earth 2009 contest. Gilani, brought a lot of hype and media for Pakistan in Philippines as well as in the international pageant industry, but did not make it to the top 16 in the Pageant. She did, however, make top 15 in the talent finals with her belly dance performance.