“Muhammad Nazim Adil is actually considered one of the most important Sufi masters alive.  He is known as the "Hidden Pole" of Islam, and his mission is to transfer baraka, or "Force of God," to his fellow man.  Direct protagonist of a mysterious initiation, in Nazim Adil knowledge of one of the hermetic traditions of the world is brought together with the tolerance that is the mark of the authentic Sufi.” (Luis Lazaro)

Sheikh, or master, Muhammad Nazim Adil was born in Larnaca, Cyprus, on April 23, 1922.  His lineage on his paternal side can be traced back to Jalaluddin Rumi, founder of the Mevlevi Order [and renowned Sufi poet]; his maternal side has its roots in Abdul Qadir Gilani, founder of the Qadiri Order.  It was his paternal and maternal grandparents who trained him to follow the Sufi path.  When he was young, Nazim already earned great deference for his unusual and elevated spirituality.  Everyone in Larnaca knew him because from an early age he was capable of advising people and predicting the future spontaneously.  After completing his high school education in Cyprus, he moved to Istanbul in 1940, where he studied chemical engineering while he progressed in his knowledge of the Divine Law and in his study of Arabic.  And it was during his stay in Istanbul when he met his first spiritual Sheikh, Sulayman Arzurumi of the Naqshbandi Order.

One day, Nazim had a vision in which Arzurumi placed his hand on his shoulder and said to him, "Now permission has arrived.  Your secrets, your confidence and your spiritual guidance is not with me.  I only had you in my care until you were ready for your real Sheikh, who is also mine.  I speak to you of Sheik Abd Allah ad-Daghestani.  He has your keys.  Go to him in Damascus.  This permission comes from me and from the Prophet, peace be upon him."

He arrived in Damascus one Friday in 1945 without knowing which was the house of his new Sheikh.  The streets were vacant because of the French and English bombardments.  Then, thanks to another vision, he was able to see a house with a specific door, and he searched until he found it.  For that reason he was not surprised to find Sheikh Abd Allah ad-Daghestani awaiting him: "Welcome my son, Nazim Effendi."

He gave him dinner, they prayed the evening prayer together, and Nazim slept.  When dawn arrived, the Sheikh woke him to pray and Nazim affirms that never in his life did he feel a power like that which his teacher transmitted during his prayer.  Abd Allah ad-Daghestani gave him initiation into the Naqshbandi order: "Oh my son, we have the power to make our disciple reach his station in a second."

Scarcely had he grounded when the Grandsheikh told him, "My son, your people need you.  I have given you enough.  Go to Cyprus today."  He had waited a year and a half in finding him, he was with him a night, and now he was being ordered back to Cyprus, a place that Nazim had not seen in five years.  It was a terrible order for him, but on the Sufi Path, the disciple must surrender himself and submit to the will of his Sheikh.

He tried to find a means of traveling to Cyprus.  The Second World War was arriving at its end and there were not means of transportation, but the help of the Naqshbandis permitted him to arrive in a few days in his native island.  Unfortunately, it was an era in which religion was banned in Turkey, and his first action was to go the mosque and make the Arabic call to prayer.  He was imprisoned immediately.  He was in jail for a week, but as soon as they released him he went to the great mosque of Nikosa and again called the people to prayer from the minaret, an act that he repeated in many other cities.  There were more judicial actions against him, but he continued with his activity.  Fortunately, on the day upon which he was to be judged for the 114 cases accumulated against him, a man named Adnan Menderes rose to power and decided to open al the mosques and to permit that the call to prayer be made in Arabic.  Sheikh Nazim traveled throughout the island, becoming the undisputed and invisible guide of the spiritual destinies of Turkish Cyprus.  He also visited Lebanon, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to teach the Sufi Path, and upon his return to Damascus in 1952, he married Hajjah Amina Adil, with whom he had two daughters and two sons.

At the beginning of the seventies, he began to travel to London to spend Ramadan there.  Year after year the number of his western Murids (disciples) increased, principally English and German while he traversed the markets of the city in the mornings, collecting food that had been wasted, and after the food was cooked for the disciples he imparted his teachings.

He actually resides in Cyprus, although he also dedicates himself, in spite of his advanced age, to traveling in the West and East, where he maintains an important circle of disciples amongst which are included the sultans of Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, artists such as Cat Stevens, politicians of international prestige and famous businessmen.  But also drug addicts and homeless people kneel before him in his London home or in his "invisible mosques" in Turkey, to love Allah.

For fifty years, the life of Sheikh Nazim has transpired peaceably and monotonously between prayers, trips and visits.  Sometimes he travels to Damascus, Germany, London or the United States, when his disciples invite him.  He never teaches anything special, nothing technical; he simply advises complying with the "Five Pillars of Islam," and vigilance of the heart so that the Deceiver does not confuse us and make us consider ourselves more important that what we really are.¹ Despite the simplicity of his teachings, Shaykh Nazim currently has millions of followers, including the people of the Republic of Chechnya.

Shaykh Nazim is the Chairman of many international organizations, including the Haqqani Foundations of Australia, Malaysia and the Far Pacific, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon and the Middle East, the Haqqani-Naqshbandi Foundation of the United Kingdom, and the Haqqani Foundation of North America. Shaykh Nazim has become an extremely prominent figure in America since 1991 when his son-in-law, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, migrated to America with his family to promote the Naqshbandi Order in the U.S., Canada, Central and South America. Through Shaykh Kabbani’s representation, Shaykh Nazim has established several nationwide organizations, including the Islamic Supreme Council of America, American Muslim Assistance, As-Sunnah Foundation of America, Kamilat Muslim Women’s Organization, and the highly acclaimed The Muslim Magazine. Through Shaykh Kabbani’s coordination, Shaykh Nazim has visited the United States on many occasions, including to act as the Chairman and keynote speaker at two international Islamic conferences. The first, in 1996, was attended by over 8,000 delegates. The second took place in 1998 and was attended by over 5,000 delegates and featured 200 speakers from Congress, Senate and every Muslim nation in the world. He is the author of numerous books on Islam and spirituality, written in his native Turkish, English and now in Arabic. His books have been translated into many other languages and have been published by many companies around the world.

¹ Excerpted from Luis Lazaro, “Muhammad Nazim Adil, Hidden Leader of Sufism – ‘Miracles shame the true masters’”, Mas alla, June 1999. Trans. By Karima Parsons O’Keeffe

For more information on the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order, please visit http://www.naqshbandi.net.