However, I sincerely doubt that he is very well known beyond Kashmir. For example, in our area Rainawari Srinagar Kashmir (Makhdoom Sahb) was considered a saint amongst the people of Kashmir, and his resting place (Makhdoom Sahb shrine) is a place of pilgrimage. There is no formal institution to appoint “saints” in Islam, and as such there are some that are revered locally/regionally, and some that are more widely recognized across the Ummah. In Islam, a “saint” is only someone who has displayed remarkable piety and profound insight into the words of Allah. The term thus literally means “protector of (the words of) Allah”. (Maqalat 164) ” After a while, by the end of 1247, he was married to Kimia, a young woman who’d grown up in Mawlana Rumi's household.Saint (Awliya) in Arabic is somewhat equivalent to the Arabic word wali, which means “custodian”, “protector”, or “preserver”. Otherwise it makes no difference to me whether I'm in Anatolia or Syria, at the Kaaba or in Istanbul, except, of course, that separation matures and refines you. My going away is all for the sake of your development. (Maqalat 72) ” Referring to his absence, he explains that he left for the sake of Mawlana Rumi's development: “ I'd go away fifty times for your betterment. And now they are happy and they show me honor and pray for me. They lost even what they had, so that even the enmity (hava, against Shams) that had swirled in their heads disappeared. They gave it a try and things got worse, and they got no consolation from Mowlana. Referring to the disciples, Hazrat Shams narrates that their new found love for him was motivated only by desperation: “ They felt jealous because they supposed, "If he were not here, Mowlana would be happy with us." Now he belongs to all. After his return, he and Mawlana Rumi returned to their intense discussions. As he originally had no intention to return to Konya, he most likely would not have returned if Hazrat Sultan Walad had not himself gone to Damascus in search of him. He reserved special praise for Hazrat Sultan Walad for his selflessness, which greatly pleased Mawlana. Hazrat Shams was received back with joyous celebration with sama ceremonies being held for several days, and all those that had shown him resentment tearfully asked for his forgiveness.
During the return journey, he invited Hazrat Sultan Walad to ride on horseback although he declined, choosing instead to walk alongside him, explaining that as a servant, he could not ride in the presence of such a king. Hazrat Sultan Walad and a search party were sent to Damascus to invite him back and in April 1247, he made his return. Some months later, news arrived that Hazrat Shams had been seen in Damascus and a letter was sent to him with apologising for the behaviour of these disciples. Realising the error of their ways, they repeatedly repented before Mawlana. He was without a doubt furious with them. After he left, Mawlana was grief stricken, secluding himself even more rather than engaging with his disciples and students. In March of 1246 he left Konya and went to Syria without warning.
They believed Hazrat Shams had ruined their spiritual circle and prevented them from listening to Mawlana's sermons. “The sudden and total disappearance of Mawlana aroused resentment among his disciples and students, some of them becoming highly critical of Hazrat Shams, even threatening him.