Hadhrat Syed Ali bin Uthman al-Hujweri, popularly known as Data Ganj Baksh (Bestower of Spiritual Treasures) belonged to a place called Hujwer on the town of Ghanza in Afghanistan and came to the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent in the later part of the 5th century after Hijrah to preach Islam and converted large numbers of Hindus to Muslims.

"His grave in Lahore is the most frequented of all saintly shrines in that city and one of the most famous in Pakistan and other nearby countries.  His name is a household word, and his mausoleum the object of pilgrimage from distant places.  [Only a few] of such pilgrims can ever read his book.  His spiritual authority, then, transcends the world of literature and stands in its own right unsupported by outward evidences, however valuable these undoubtedly are." -Hadhrat Shah Shahidullah Faridi

Hadhrat Syed Ali Uthman al-Hujweri was the murid and khalifah of Hadhrat Shaikh Abul Fadhl Muhammad bin Hasan al-Khutalli who was khalifah of Hadhrat Abul Hasan al-Husri, khalifa of Hadrat Abul Abbas al-Ashqani, khalifah of Hadhrat Abu Bakr Shibli, khalifah of Master Junaid Baghdadi who is the sixth in the spiritual lineage of Hadhrat Ali bin Abu Talib cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

Hadhrat Syed Ali Hujweri was a contemporary of Hadhrat Abul Qasim al-Qushairi (author of the world famous Risalah Qushairiyah), Shaikhul Islam Hadhrat Abdullah Ansari of Hirat, Hadhrat Abul Qasim Gorgani, Hadhrat Shaikh Abu Ali Farmadi (who was the shaikh of Imam Muhammad Ghazali), and Hadhrat Shaikh Abu Saeed Abul Khair of Mihna who also belonged to the silsila of Hadhrat Junaid of Baghdad.  Hadhrat Syed Ali Hujweri travelled a lot, met many Sufi Shaikhs and learnt from them.

The contents of Kashful Mahjub show Hadhrat Syed Ali Hujweri was well versed in all the Islamic sciences such as Tafsir (exegeses) of the Qur'an, Hadith (sayings of the Prophet s.a.w.), Fiqh (Muslim Law) and the dogmatic theology (Ilmu Kalam).