Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب, Transliteration: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, [ʕaliː ibn ʔæbiː t̪ˤɑːlib]; 13^thRajab, 24 BH–21^stRamaḍān, 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661). The son of Abu Talib, Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of Islamic prophet Muhammad, ruling over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam.Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shias regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of which are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah (Muslim community) into the Sunni and Shia branches.

Muslim sources, especially Shia ones, state that since Muhammad's time, Ali was the only person born in the Kaaba sanctuary in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. His father was Abu Talib and his mother was Fatima bint Asad, but he was raised in the household of Muhammad, who himself was raised by Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, and Ali's father. When Muhammad reported receiving a divine revelation, Ali was the first male to accept his message, dedicating his life to the cause of Islam.

Abul Hassan Ali Ibn Usman al-Jullabi al-Hajvery al-Ghaznawi (ابوالحسن علی بن عثمان الجلابی الهجویری الغزنوی) or Abul Hassan Ali Hajvery (sometimes spelled Hujwiri, Hajweri, Hajveri), also known as Daata Ganj Bakhsh (Persian/Punjabi: (داتا گنج بخش) (which means the master who bestows treasures) or Daata Sahib (Persian/Urdu: (داتا صاحب), was a Persian Sufi and scholar during the 11th century. He significantly contributed to the spreading of Islam in South Asia.

He was born around 990 CE near Ghazni, Afghanistan during the Ghaznavid Empire and died in Lahore (in present day Punjab, Pakistan) in 1077 CE. His most famous work is Revelation of the Veiled (Kashf Al Mahjub) (کشفُ المحجوب), written in the Persian language. The work, which is one of the earliest and most respected treatises of Sufism, debates Sufi doctrines of the past.

Ali Hajvery is also famous for his mausoleum in Lahore, which is surrounded by a large marble courtyard, a mosque and other buildings. It is the most frequented of all the shrines in that city, and one of the most famous in Pakistan and nearby countries. His name is a household word, and his mausoleum the object of pilgrimage from distant places.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان (Shahmukhī)) (October 13, 1948 – August 16, 1997), a world-renowned Pakistani musician, was primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis (a mystical tradition within Islam). Considered one of the greatest singers ever recorded, he possessed a six-octave vocal range^{[citation needed]} and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely credited with introducing Sufi music to international audiences. He was popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of Kings of Qawwali".

Born in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Khan had his first public performance at age of 16, at his father's chelum. He officially became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971, and was signed by Oriental Star Agencies (OSA), Birmingham, U.K., in the early 1980s. In subsequent years, Khan released movie scores and albums for various labels in Pakistan, Europe, Japan and the U.S. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist in the process. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries.