Category Archives: Maktubat (letters)

A letter on preparing for death: by Imam Ghazali

This is an English translation of a treatise called Risalah Sharh as-Sadr written by the great Imam Hujjat al-Islam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH). Although published as a book, it was actually a letter written to … Continue reading

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Six letters of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Jilani in English

Following are six of the letters of the greatest Islamic saint Sayyidinā Shaykh Abd al-Qādir Jīlānī Baghdādī quddisa sirruhū. These are translated from an Arabic translation into English by Muhtar Holland and are freely available on the Al-Baz Publishing website … Continue reading

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Five letters of Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi

Hadhrat Khwāja Pīr Fazal Alī Quraishī quddisa sirruhū often wrote letters to his followers, although very few of these have survived. The following five letters were written in Urdu and have been acquired through reliable sources. For the readers of … Continue reading

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Rabita – Connection with the shaykh

The practice of rābiṭa is one of the essential methods of spiritual advancement in the Naqshbandī Order. Rābiṭa translates to spiritual linkage, connection or bonding with the spiritual guide, the shaykh or the Sufi master, from whom one learns the … Continue reading

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Letter 58 of volume I from the Maktūbāt of Imām Rabbānī

On the description that the Path we are up to traverse is in all seven steps, that opposed to the mashā’ikh (shaikhs) of other orders, the Naqshbandi mashā’ikh have begun the journey from the command-world [Ālam-i Amr], that the Path … Continue reading

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Maktūbāt (letters) of Hazrat Khwājā Ubaydullāh Ahrār (quddis sirruhū)

The Sufi letters (Maktūbāt) of Hazrat Khwājā Ubaydullāh Ahrār quddis sirruhū (1404-1490 CE) have been recently published and translated by Jo-Ann Gross, professor of history at the College of New Jersey. This is the first ever publication of these letters … Continue reading

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Shaykh Haji Dost Muhammad Qandahari and the Wahhabi sect

Excerpt from letter 30 of the Maktubat of Hāji Dost Muhammad Qandahāri Naqshbandi (1801-1868), a great Naqshbandi master of India in the 19th century Written to Molvi Abdullāh, advising him to refrain from the beliefs of the Wahhabi sect It … Continue reading

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Letter 16 from the Maktubat of Haji Dost Muhammad Qandahari

Letter no. 16 from the Maktūbāt of Hazrat Khwaja Hājī Dost Muhammad Qandahāri Naqshbandi Mujaddidi, may Allah sanctify his soul. Written to Khalifa Sher Muhammad Kulāchvi, about following the noble Shariah, and that the practice upon knowledge is necessary.   … Continue reading

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