Note 45 — Chapter IV · WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AND SAINTS.
Reading edition
Aulia and Pir, synonymous terms, the first Arabic, the second Persian. Aulia is the Arabic plural of wali which means a saint. In Hindustāni the plural form is used to signify the singular e. g., a single wali or saint is often spoken of as an aulia. The word Pir originally meaning an old man is used in Hindustān in the sense of a saint. Aulia Pir is the Gujarāti for a single or many saints. ↑