The Titles of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain

For more books visit Facebook Group ‘SUFI LITERATURE’ or Click on the link https://m.facebook.com/groups/14641 63117130957 PDF made by ZAHID HUSSAIN DAR Email: [email protected] The Titles of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain The designation of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain has changed from century to century. From the time of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) to the time of Bayazid al- Bistami (r) it was called as-Siddiqiyya. From the time of Bayazid to the time of Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani it was called at-Tayfuriyya. From the time of Sayyidina ‘Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawan to the time of Shah Naqshband it was called the Khwajaganiyya. From the time of Shah Naqshband through the time of Sayyidina Ubaidullah al-Ahrar and Sayyidina Ahmad Faruqi, it was called Naqshbandiyya. Naqshbandiyya means to “tie the Naqsh very well.” The Naqsh is the perfect engraving of Allah’s Name in the heart of the murid. From the time of Sayyidina Ahmad al-Faruqi to the time of Shaikh Khalid al-Baghdadi it was called Naqshbandi-Mujaddidiyya. From the time of Sayyidina Khalid al- Baghdadi until the time of Sayiddina Shaikh Ismail Shirwani it was called the Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya. From the time of Sayyidina Isma’il Shirwani until the time of Sayyidina Shaikh ‘Abdullah ad-Daghestani, it was called Naqshbandi-Daghestaniyya. And today it is known by the name Naqshbandiyya-Haqqaniyya. The Chain Chapters: The Naqshbandi Sufi Way: History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain© by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani Prophet Muhammad ibn Abd Allah Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, radiya-l-Lahuành Salman al-Farsi, radiya-l-Lahuành Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr Jafar as-Sadiq, alayhi-s-salam Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami, radiya-l-Lahu canh Abul Hassan Ali al-Kharqani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abu Ali al-Farmadi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abul Abbas, al-Khidr, alayhi-s-salam Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Arif ar-Riwakri, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Khwaja Mahmoud al-Anjir al-Faghnawi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Ali ar-Ramitani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad Baba as-Samasi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah as-Sayyid Amir Kulal, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad Baha’uddin Shah Naqshband, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Ala’uddin al-Bukhari al-cAttar, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Yaqub al-Charkhi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Ubaydullah al-Ahrar, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad az-Zahid, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Darwish Muhammad, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanaki, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad al-Baqi bi-l-Lah, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad al-Masum, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad Sayfuddin al-Faruqi al-Mujaddidi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah as-Sayyid Nur Muhammad al-Badawani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Shamsuddin Habib Allah, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abdullah ad-Dahlawi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Khalid al-Baghdadi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Ismail Muhammad ash-Shirwani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Khas Muhammad Shirwani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad Effendi al-Yaraghi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Jamaluddin al-Ghumuqi al-Husayni, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abu Muhammad al-Madani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Sharafuddin ad-Daghestani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah Inheritors The First Spiritual Inheritors of the Prophet Historically speaking, the Naqshbandi tariqat can be traced back to the first of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), who succeeds the Prophet (s) in his knowledge and in his role of guiding the Muslim community. Allah said in the Holy Qur’an “He was the second of two in the cave, and he said to his friend: ’do not be sad, for God is with us’” [9:40]. Of him the Prophet (s) said, “If I had taken to myself a beloved friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as my beloved friend; but he is my brother and my companion.” What distinguishes the Naqshbandi school from other Sufi orders was the fact that it took its foundations and principles from the teachings and example of six bright stars in the firmament of the Prophet (s). These great figures were: Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Salman al-Farisi, Jacfar as-Sadiq, Bayazid Tayfur al- Bistami, cAbdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani, and Muhammad Baha’uddin Uwaysi al- Bukhari, known as Shah Naqshband–the eponymous Imam of the tariqat. Behind the word “Naqshband” stand two ideas: naqsh which means “engraving” and suggests engraving the name of Allah in the heart, and bandwhich means “bond” and indicates the link between the individual and his Creator. This means that the Naqshbandi follower has to practice his prayers and obligations according to the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to keep the presence and love of Allah alive in his heart through a personal experience of the link between himself and his Lord. Besides Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, who are these stars in the firmament of the Prophet (s)? One of them was Salman al-Farisi (r). His origin was Isfahan in Persia and he was the one who advised the Muslims to dig a trench in the battle of Ahzab. After the Muslims seized al-Mada’in, the capital city of Persia, he was made Prince and governor of that city and remained there until his death. Another star was Jacfar as-Sadiq. A descendant of the Prophet (s) on his father’s side and of Abu Bakr (r) on his mother’s, he rejected all positions of honor in favor of retreat and spiritual learning and practice. He was called “The Inheritor of the Prophetic Station (Maqam an-Nubuwwa) and the Inheritor of the Truthful Station (Maqam as-Siddiqiyya). The oldest recorded occurrence of the term safa was in reference to his student, Jabir ibn Hayyan, in the middle of the second Hijri century. He was a mufassir al-Qur’an or master in exegesis, a scholar of hadith, and one of the greatest mujtahids (qualified to give legal decisions) in Madinah. His Tafsir is partially preserved in Sulami’s haqa’iq at-tafsir. Layth ibn Sacd, one of the most reliable transmitters of prophetic traditions, witnessed Jacfar’s miraculous powers as the latter was able to ask for anything, and God would grant it to him on the spot. Another star was Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami whose grandfather was a Zoroastrian. Bayazid made a detailed study of the statutes of Islamic law(sharica) and practiced a strict regimen of self-denial. All his life he was assiduous in the practice of his religious obligations. He urged his students (murids) to put their efforts in the hands of God and he encouraged them to accept a sincere and pure doctrine of tawhid, knowledge of the Oneness of God. This doctrine, he said, imposes five obligations on the sincere: To keep obligations according to the Qur’an and Sunnah; To always speak the truth. To keep the heart free from hatred. To avoid forbidden food (haram). To shun innovation (bidà). Bayazid said that the ultimate goal of the Sufis is to know God in this world, to reach His Divine Presence, and to see Him in the Hereafter. To that effect he added: “There are special servants of Allah who, if Allah veiled them from His vision in Paradise, would have implored Him to bring them out of Paradise as the inhabitants of the Fire implore Him to escape from Hell.” Yet another star in the firmament of the Prophet (s), was cAbdul Khaliq al- Ghujdawani, who was born in the village of Ghujdawan, near Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan. He was raised and buried there. He studied Qur’an and the Islamic sciences of both external and internal knowledge until he reached a high station of purity. He then traveled to Damascus where he established a school from which many students graduated and went on to become masters of fiqh and hadith as well as spirituality in their time, both in the regions of Central Asia and in the Middle East. cAbdul Khaliq continued the work of his predecessors by formulating the dhikr (remembrance of God) passed down from the Prophet (s) according to the Sunnah. In his letters he set down the code of conduct (adab) that the students of the Naqshbandiyya were expected to follow. Prophet Muhammad (S) How can people in this world grasp his reality? They, who are asleep and pleased by dreams from him. How beautiful what has been said about his reality! Your light is everything and everything else is particles. O Prophet, your soldiers in every time are your Companions! Imam Busayri, al-Burda The Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Order are known as the Golden Chain because of their connection to the highest, most perfect human being, Muhammad , the First to be created, the First to be mentioned, the First to be honored. When Allah ordered the Pen to write, it asked, “What shall I write?” and Allah said, “Write ‘La Ilaha Ill-Allah.’” The Pen wrote “La Ilaha Ill-Allah” for seventy-thousand of Allah’s years and then it stopped. One of Allah’s days is equal to one thousand of our years. Then Allah ordered it to write again, and the Pen asked, “What shall I write?” and Allah answered, “Write Muhammadun Rasul-Allah.” And the Pen said, “O Allah, who is this Muhammad that You have put Your Name next to his name?” Allah said, “You must know that if it were not for Muhammad I would not have created anything in Creation.” So the Pen wrote Muhammadun Rasul-Allah for another seventy- thousand years.

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