Mawlana Waliyunnabi Mujaddidi Naqshbandi (d.1903)

Mawlānā Shaykh Walī an-nabī Mujaddidī Naqshbandī Rāmpurī was one of the distinguished deputies of Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī. He was a male descendant of the great Mujaddid Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindī (d.1034 AH).

Genealogy

  1. Shaykh Walī an-Nabī was son of
  2. Mawlānā Habīb an-Nabī (d.1261 AH), son of
  3. Mawlānā Ḍiyā an-Nabī Mujaddidī (d. 1215 AH), son of
  4. Shāh ʻInāyat an-Nabī Mujaddidī, son of
  5. Shāh Sultān al-Mashāikh Mujaddidī, son of
  6. Shaykh ʻAsmat-Allāh Mujaddidī, son of
  7. Shaykh Muhammad Yaʻqūb Mujaddidī, son of
  8. Shaykh Muhammad Saʻīd Fārūqī (d.1070 AH), son of
  9. The Great Mujaddid Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindī Fārūqī (d.1034 AH)

Biography

He was born in Rāmpur, India, in 1244 AH.

At the age of four years and four months, he started his education by reciting the first Surah of the Quran, according to the tradition of Indian Muslims. When he was asked to recite Bismillah, he continued reciting the Quran until he finished three and half juz (juz = 30th part of the Quran). Later when he was asked how he recited this, he replied that he used to listen to other children reciting the Quran and memorized what he heard.

After memorizing the Holy Quran, he studied first at Rāmpur and later in Kolkata. To learn the spiritual path of the Naqshbandī Order, he went to Delhi and took initiation at the hands of Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī, who was the resident shaykh at Khānqāh Mazhariyah. He lived in the company of his master for about three years, and was finally awarded deputyship.

He was completely disengaged with dunyā (material belongings) and lived a life full of piety and simplicity. He would go to masjid quite early and wait there for other people to arrive before starting the prayer. In the night, he would wake up at around one and would pray Tahajjud. Later in the life he lost his eyesight. Because he did not like to wake up his family members for help, he would often hit beds and other furniture while trying to get to pray. This led to visible signs of injuries in his lower legs. Continue reading

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Mawlana Sayyid Abdus-Salam Haswi (d.1882)

Mawlānā Sayyid ʻAbd as-Salām Haswī Naqshbandī was one of the distinguished deputies of Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī.

He was son of Sayyid Shāh Abul-Qāsim Naqshbandī. He was born in Haswa, a town near Fatehpur, UP, India, in 1234 AH (1818/9).

After memorizing the Quran, he studied Islamic sciences with his uncle Mawlawī Sirāj ad-Dīn Ahmad, Mawlawī Muʻīn Karvī and Mawlawī Muhammad Muʻīn Lakhnawī. He studied the six books of Hadith with Shaykh ʻAbd al-Ghanī Mujaddidī al-Muhaddith. He graduated from his studies in 1261 AH (1845).

To seek the spiritual path, he became a disciple of the venerable master Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī, and later became his deputy. A few letters of his master written to him are present in Khānqāh Mazhariyah, Delhi.

In 1282 AH, he performed Hajj and there he received certificate (ijāzah) in Hadīth from Shaykh Ahmad Dahlān Makkī.

He died in Shawwāl 1299 AH (1882).

References

  1. Tazkirah Ulamā-e Hind, by Mawlawī Rahmān ʻAlī.
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Shaykh Muhammad Mazhar Mujaddidi Naqshbandi (d.1883)

Shaykh Muhammad Mazhar Mujaddidī Naqshbandī was a venerable master of the Mujaddidi Order in the holy sanctuary Madīnah. He was the youngest son and deputy of Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī, who migrated to Madīnah after the Indian rebellion of 1857.

Biography

Shaykh Muhammad Mazhar was born on 2 Jumādā al-Awwal 1248 AH (September 1832) in Khānqāh Mazhariyah in Delhi.

He memorized the holy Qurʼān by heart and studied the established courses of Islamic sciences. His earlier studies were with Mawlānā Habībullāh. He studied all the six books of Hadith from his uncle Shaykh ʻAbd al-Ghanī Muhaddith, and studied books of Tasawwuf from his father.

He was trained and perfected in the Naqshbandī Mujaddidī spiritual path by his father, and was appointed a deputy and successor at the age of twenty two. After that, he went to Sirhind to receive spiritual blessings of the Mujaddidī masters, and later went for Hajj. While on Hajj, he wrote letters to his father and received appreciation from him.

In 1290 AH (1873), he raised a large three-story hospice for the seekers of the Naqshbandī Path in Madīnah, which was called Ribāt Mazharī. It contained several rooms, including a large library in which he had gathered numerous precious books and manuscripts. After more than a century, this place was included into the present day Masjid al-Nabawī. About 1100 books and manuscripts from this Ribāt are now preserved in other places.

In his stay at Madīnah, he trained numerous disciples from several countries in the Naqshbandī spiritual path. His disciples and deputies came from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and the Arabian peninsula. Continue reading

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Shaykh Muhammad Umar Mujaddidi Naqshbandi (1829-1880)

Shaykh Muhammad ʻUmar Fārūqī Mujaddidī Naqshbandī was a renowned Sufi master of the Naqshbandī Order and a member of the Mujaddidī family of Sufi masters. He was the middle son and spiritual deputy of Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī (d.1860).

Biography

He was born in Shawwāl 1244 AH (1829) at Khānqāh Mazhariyah, Delhi. His noble grandfather passed away when he was five years old.

He memorized the Holy Quran by heart and then learned Islamic sciences from Mawlānā Habīb-Allāh Multānī. He studied Hadith from his uncle Shāh ʻAbd al-Ghanī Mujaddidī, who was a renowned master of Hadith. He also studied many courses and books with his esteemed father, particularly books of Tasawwuf, and was initiated into the Naqshbandi Sufi Order by his father. After completing the Naqshbandi Sufi Path, he was authorized by his father as his deputy.

After the Indian rebellion of 1857, he migrated to the holy sanctuary Madīnah along with his noble father and family, where he settled until the death of his father in 1860. After that, he settled in Makkah where he established a hospice for his followers and trained them in the Naqshbandī Sufi Path. Since Makkah was a central place for Muslims of all areas, he initiated followers from many parts of the world. Thousands of people learned the spiritual path from him, and many were appointed deputies. His spiritual order reached as far away as Malaysia. Continue reading

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Shaykh Abd ar-Rashid Mujaddidi Naqshbandi (1820-1871)

Shaykh ʻAbd ar-Rashīd Fārūqī Mujaddidī Naqshbandī was a renowned Sufi master of the Naqshbandī Order and a member of the Mujaddidī family of Sufi masters. He was the eldest son and spiritual deputy of Shāh Ahmad Saʻīd Mujaddidī (d.1860).

Biography

He was born in 1235 AH (1820) in Lucknow, India. At the age of ten, he was initiated in the Naqshbandī Sufi path by his grandfather Shāh Abū Saʻīd. He received education from some of the finest scholars of India and the Holy Sanctuaries including his father. In 1256 AH, at a young age, he traveled to the Holy Sanctuaries to perform Hajj pilgrimage. While leaving, he was granted deputyship in the Naqshbandī Order from his noble father.

After the Indian rebellion of 1857, he accompanied his father and family in migration to Madīnah. There he lived for the rest of his life, and trained numerous disciples in the spiritual path of the Naqshbandī Order.

Among his regular practices was the convening of annual Mawlid ceremoney on 11th Rabīʻ al-Awwal, and the anniversaries of his ancestors and spiritual grandmasters. In the Mawlid ceremoney, he would himself recite the Mawlid book written by his noble father. After recitations, he would show the noble hair of the Holy Prophet sallAllāhu ʻalayhi wasallam, that he inherited from his father.

He died in Makkah a few days after Hajj, in 1287 AH (1871). His funeral prayer was led by his brother Shaykh Muhammad ʻUmar Mujaddidī. He was buried close to the blessed tomb of Sayyidah Khadījah radiyAllāhu ʻanhā.

Creed

His era was one of controversies and sectarian differences. The Wahhabi sect was spreading in Arabia as well as in India. He was a staunch follower of the Ahl as-Sunnah creed and the Hanafī school. His son Shāh Muhammad Maʻsūm writes in Zikr-us-Saʻīdain (abridged text): Continue reading

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Amir Ahmad Bukhari (922 AH, Turkey)

Amīr Ahmad Bukhārī Naqshbandī Ahrārī was a well renowned Sufi master of the Naqshbandī Sufi Order in Istanbul. He was the spiritual successor of Mullā Abdullāh Ilāhī Simāvī, one of the distinguished deputies of Khwāja ʻUbaydullāh Ahrār quddisa-sirruhūm (may their secret be sanctified).

He came from Māwarāunnahr (Transoxiana) and settled in Anatolia (modern Turkey). Later, he established his own Sufi lodge in the Fatih district of Istanbul, called Amīr Bukhārī Tekke.

He died in 922 AH (1516).

Among his preserved writings is a book of Persian poetry called Dīvāncha. It includes 2 qasīdahs, 54 ghazals, 1 rubāʻī, 1 verse (bayt) and a Turkish ghazal. It is yet unpublished. Continue reading

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Shaykh Muhammad ibn Yaqub Hijazi Bahraini Naqshbandi

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Yaʿqūb Ḥijāzī Shāfiʿī Baḥrainī was a prominent Sufi scholar and shaykh of the Naqshbandī tarīqah in Bahrain.

He was born in Muḥarraq, a city in Bahrain, in 1908 / 1328 AH.

He died in 1996, in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. It is not confirmed whether he left any authorized khalīfa, but his students, who are themselves renowned scholars, continue his method and establish Zikr sessions in Bahrain. Continue reading

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Sayyid Badruddin Badri Kashmiri Naqshbandi

Sayyid Badruddin ibn Abdus-Salam Badri Kashmiri was a Sufi of the Naqshbandi Ahrari Order, an author, historian and a prolific poet. He lived in the tenth and eleventh centuries A.H, exact dates are unknown.

Initially he learned the Kubravī Sufi method and later associated himself with the Naqshbandī Order.

In 960 AH, he left Kashmir to visit the Holy Sanctuaries and perform Hajj pilgrimage. In 961, he affiliated himself with a Sufi shaykh called Amīr Yūnus Muhammad Naqshbandī Ahrārī (d. Rabī al-Awwal 961 AH), and after his death, he became a disciple of Khwāja Saʻīd ad-Dīn Saʻīd, son of Khwāja Muhammad Islām Jūybārī.

  1. Shaykh Badruddīn Badrī Kashmīrī
  2. Khwāja Saʻīd ad-Dīn Saʻīd
  3. Khwāja Muhammad Islām Jūybārī (d.971 AH)
  4. Makhdūm-i-Aʻzam Khwāja Ahmad Kāsānī
  5. Mawlānā Muhammad Qāzī
  6. Khwāja Ubaydullāh Ahrār (d.895 AH)

His writings include: Continue reading

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Shaykh Jamaluddin Dana Naqshbandi

Hadrat Shaykh Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Dana Naqshbandi Ahrari was a renowned Sufi master of Gujarat, India.

He was born in the Middle East, possibly in Turkey. His father Sayyid Badshah Parda-Posh was of Husaini lineage of sayyids, and was martyred fighting with the Safavi Shia regime.

He was a disciple and deputy of Khwaja Muhammad Islam Juybari. His spiritual chain is following:

  1. Shaykh Jamal ad-Din Dana (d.1016 AH), deputy of
  2. Khwaja Muhammad Islam Juybari (d.971 AH)
  3. Makhdum-e-Azam Khwaja Ahmad Kasani
  4. Mawlana Muhammad Qazi
  5. Khwaja Ubaydullah Ahrar (d.895 AH)

Shaykh Jamal ad-Din migrated to Gujarat, India to propagate Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Order.

He died on 5 Muharram 1016 AH (1607 A.D). He had two sons:

  1. Khwaja Muhammad Hashim (or Qasim)
  2. Khwaja Abul-Husain

Continue reading

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Over 100 Sunni scholars declare Wahhabis to be outside mainstream Sunni Islam – Chechnya

An International conference of Sunni scholars was held in Grozny, Chechnya, attended by more than 100 renowned Islamic scholars and Sufi shaykhs who came from Russia, Syria, Turkey, India, Egypt, Jordan, South Africa, United Kingdom and other countries.

Sunni scholars attending the conference in Grozny, Chechnya

Shaykh Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Egypt, defined the mainstream Sunni Islam and excluded Wahhabis from it. He stated:

“Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah are the Ash’arites and Muturidis (adherents of the theological systems of Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and Imam Abul-Hasan al-Ash’ari). In matters of belief, they are followers of any of the four schools of thought (Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki or Hanbali) and are also the followers of the Sufism of Imam Junaid al-Baghdadi in doctrines, manners and [spiritual] purification.”

This statement implies that Salafists, also called Wahhabis, are not part of the mainstream Ahl as-Sunnah or Sunni Muslims, despite the fact that they are trying to hijack the term Sunni by labeling themselves as Sunni Muslims. Continue reading

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