The Naqshbandi Sufi Way

The most distinguished Naqshbandi Order is the way of the Companions of the Prophet and those who follow them.

This way consists of continuous worship in every action, both external and internal, with complete and perfect discipline according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (s).

It consists in maintaining the highest level of conduct and leaving absolutely all innovations and all free interpretations in public customs and private behavior, and in keeping awareness of the Presence of God, Almighty and Exalted, on the way to self-effacement and connection with the Divine Presence.

It is the Way of complete reflection of the highest degree of perfection. It is the Way of sanctifying the self by means of the most difficult struggle, against the self. It begins in the attraction of complete Divine Love which was granted to the first friend of the Prophet, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r).

The Naqshbandiyya stood in the vanguard as disseminators of truth and warriors against evil and injustice, firstly in Central Asia and India, recently in China and the Soviet Union, and presently in Europe and North America.

Naqshbandi shaykhs have consistently and valiantly addressed political, social, educational and spiritual issues, illuminating entire regions of the world with the light of Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s).

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 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-Ghujdawani 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. From the time of Sayyidina Ahmad al-Faruqi to the time of Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi it was called Naqshbandi-Mujaddidiyya. From the time of Sayyidina Khalid al-Baghdadi until the time of Sayyidina Shaykh Ismail Shirwani it was called the Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya. From the time of Sayyidina Ismail Shirwani until the time of Sayyidina Shaykh `Abdullah ad-Daghestani, this lineage was called Naqshbandi-Daghestaniyya. And today it is known by the name Naqshbandiyya-Haqqaniyya.

The First Spiritual Inheritors of the Prophet (s)
Historically speaking, the Naqshbandi tariqat can be traced back to the first of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq t, 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.”

The Naqshbandi school took its founding 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 t, Salman al-Farsi t, Ja`far as-Sadiq u, Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami, `Abdul 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 band which 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.

Salman al-Farsi (r)
Sayyidina Salman’s origin was Isfahan in Persia and he was the Companion 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 where he remained until just before his death. He is buried in Jerusalem.

Ja`far as-Sadiq (as)
Another star was Ja`far as-Sadiq. A descendant of the Prophet (s) on his father’s side and of Abu Bakr t on his mother’s, he rejected all positions of honor in favor of retreat, spiritual learning and practice. The oldest recorded occurrence of the term safa’a was in reference to his student, Jabir ibn Hayyan, in the middle of the 2nd century Hijri. He was a master in exegesis of Qur’an (mufassir), a scholar of Prophetic traditions (muhaddith), and one of the greatest jurists (fuqaha’) in Madinah. His Exegesis is partially preserved in Sulama’s Haqa’iq at-tafseer. Layth ibn Sa`d, one of the most reliable transmitters of Prophetic traditions, witnessed Ja`far’s miraculous powers as the latter was able to ask for anything, and God would grant it to him on the spot.

Bayazid al-Bistami (q)
Another star was Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami whose grandfather was a Zoroastrian. Bayazid made a detailed study of the statutes of Islamic law (shari`ah) and practiced a strict regimen of self-denial (zuhd). All his life he was assiduous in the practice of his religious obligations. He urged his students (mureeds) to put their efforts in the hands of God and he encouraged them to accept a sincere and pure doctrine of tawheed, 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 (bid`a).

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.”

Ibn Taymiyya says on page 499 Majma` Fatawa, Volume 11: “The shaykhs whom we need to take as guides are our examples and we have to follow them. As when on the Hajj (the pilgrimage), one needs a guide (daleel) to reach the Ka`ba, these shaykhs are our guide (daleel) to Allah and our Prophet (s).” Among the shuyukh Ibn Taymiyya mentioned is Shaykh Bayazid al-Bistami.

In Volume 10 of Majma` Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya speaks of, “...the great Sufi shaykh, Bayazid al-Bistami, and the famous story of when he saw God in a vision (kashf) and said to Him: ‘O Allah what is the way to You?’ And Allah responded, ‘Leave yourself and come to Me.’” Ibn Taymiyya continues quoting Bayazid al-Bistami, “I shed my self as a snake sheds its skin.” Implicit in this quotation is an indication of the need for zuhd (self-denial or abstention from the worldly life), as that was the path followed by Bayazid al-Bistami.

Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q)
Yet another star in the firmament of the Prophet (s), was `Abdul 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.

` Abdul 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 formalized the code of conduct (adab) that students of the Naqshbandiyya were expected to follow.

Imam of the Tariqat Shah Baha’uddin Naqshband
In this constellation, we come finally to Muhammad Bahauddin Uwaysi al-Bukhari, known as Shah Naqshband, the Imam of the Naqshbandi Tariqat without peer. He was born in the year 1317 C.E. in the village of Qasr al-`Arifan, near Bukhara. After he mastered the shari`ah sciences at the tender age of 18, he kept company with the Shaykh Muhammad Baba as-Samasi, who was an authority in hadith in Central Asia. After the latter’s death, he followed Shaykh Amir Kulal who continued and perfected his training in the external and the internal aspects of Islamic knowledge.

Shah Naqshband performed hajj (pilgrimage) three times, after which he resided in Merv and Bukhara. Towards the end of his life he went back to settle in his native city of Qasr al-`Arifan. His teachings became quoted everywhere and his name was on every tongue. Visitors from far and wide came to seek his advice and his invocation (du`a). They received teaching in his school and mosque, a complex which accommodated more than five thousand people. This school is the largest Islamic center of learning (madrasa) in Central Asia and still exists in our day. It was recently renovated and reopened after surviving seventy years of Communist rule.

Shah Naqshband’s teachings changed the hearts of seekers from darkness to light. He continued to teach his students the knowledge of the Oneness of God in which his precedessors had specialized, emphasizing the realization of the state of ihsan (excellence) for his followers according to the hadith of the Prophet (s), “Ihsan is to worship God as if you see Him.”

When Shah Naqshband died he was buried in his garden as he requested. The succeeding kings of Bukhara took care of his school and mosque, expanding them and increasing their religious endowments (awqaf).

Shah Naqshband’s left a literary legacy of many books including Awrad an-Naqshbandiyyah, the Devotions of Shah Naqshband and Tanbih al-Ghafilin. He left many noble expressions praising the Prophet (s) and he gave many legal rulings. One of his opinions was that all the different acts and kinds of worship, whether obligatory or voluntary, were permitted for the seeker in order to reach reality. Prayer, fasting, zakat (paying the poor-tax), mujahadat (striving) and zuhd (self-denial) were emphasized as ways to reach Allah Almighty.

Shah Naqshband built his school on the renewal of the teachings of the Islamic religion. He insisted on the necessity of keeping the Qur’an and the teachings of the Sunnah. When they asked him, “What are the requirements of one who follows your way?” he said, “To follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s).” He continued saying: “Our way is a rare one. It keeps the `Urwat ul-Wuthqa, the Unbreakable Bond, and it asks nothing else of its followers but to take hold of the Pure Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and follow the way of the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet (s)) in their ijtihad (struggle in the way of God).”

Like all the Sufi orders, The Naqshbandi Order provides an easy way for the student to understand tawhid. It urges its followers to seek a state of complete worship of Allah both publicly and privately by keeping the complete code of conduct of the Prophetic Sunnah. It encourages people to keep to the strictest modes of worship (`aza’im) and to abandon exemptions (rukhas). It is also free from all innovations and deviations. It does not demand of its followers perpetual hunger or wakefulness. Thus the Naqshbandiyya has remained free from the excesses of the ignorant and the charlatans (musha’wazin). The Naqshbandiyya is innocent from any attack because it keeps the sunnah of the beloved Prophet (s).

The Naqshbandi Way of Dhikr
The students of Shaykh Amir Kulal used to make dhikr aloud when sitting together in association, and silent dhikr when alone. Shah Naqshband, however, although he never criticized nor objected to loud dhikr, preferred the silent dhikr. Concerning this he says, “There are two methods of dhikr; one is silent and one is loud. I chose the silent one because it is stronger and therefore more preferable.”

Allah mentioned, “And remember thy Lord in thy self with humility and fear, and without loudness of speech, in the mornings and evenings; and be not of the neglectful.” [7:205]

Imam Ahmad narrated, “Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet (s) said that Allah says, ‘I am with my servant when he remembers Me and by his remembrance of Me his lips move.’”

Commenting on this hadith, Imam Nawawi said, “Allah is with the one who remembers Him and calls Him in his heart, and calls Him on his tongue, but we must realize that the dhikr of the heart is more perfect. The rememberer made dhikr of the tongue in order to reflect the occurrence of the dhikr in his heart. When the love of Allah and His Remembrance overwhelms the heart and the spirit, the tongue is moved and the seeker is brought near.”

“When the love of Allah and His Remembrance overwhelms the heart, the tongue is moved and the seeker is brought near.”
 - Imam Nawawi

Shaykh Amin al-Kurdi said in The Enlightenment of Hearts (Tanweer al-Qulub) p. 522: “The dhikr by tongue, which combines sounds and letters, is not easy to perform at all times, because buying and selling and other such activities altogether divert one’s attention from such dhikr. The contrary is true of the dhikr by heart, which is named that way in order to signify its freedom from letters and sounds. In that way nothing distracts one from his dhikr, as the poet says:
"With the heart remember Allah, secretly from creation, wordlessly and speechlessly. That remembrance is best of all: out of it flowed the sayings of the saints."

“That is why our Naqshbandi masters have chosen the dhikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts his gaze, and the seat of belief, and the receptacle of secrets, and the source of lights. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is unsound, the whole body is unsound, as was made clear for us by the chosen Prophet (s).

“Something that confirms this was narrated on the authority of `Ayesha, ‘…Allah will say: O my servant, I have something good of yours for which I alone will reward you, it is your hidden remembrance of Me.’ Bayhaqi narrated it.

“Also on the authority of `Ayesha: ‘The dhikr not heard by the Recording Angels equals seventy times the one they hear.’ Bayhaqi narrates it.”

Based on these evidences from Qur’an and Sunnah, the silent form of dhikr became the distinguishing feature of the Naqshbandiyya among other tariqats.

Seclusion
Seclusion [khalwat] is better than isolation [`uzlat]. It is a kind of isolation that can only be prescribed by a disciple’s shaykh. Its shortest time limit is 40 days, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an about Sayiddina Musa u, “And remember We appointed forty nights for Moses” [2: 51]. Its aim is to clean the heart of connection to this world of material pleasures, and to bring it to a state of remembrance of Allah, Almighty and Exalted. In it countless visions occur, and it elevates the disciple to a state of knowing the self, from which it ascends to a state of knowing Allah.

The shaykh orders the disciple to seclude himself in a room where he will be served every day only with what is necessary for survival. Then he will teach his tongue the way of reciting Dhikr, until he will be engaged with that recitation.

Seclusion is not an innovation but is an order of Allah, Almighty and Exalted, in his Holy Book and in the example of the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) used to make seclusion in the cave of Hira in the mountains of Makkah, remembering Allah, Almighty and Exalted, Allama Abu Saud commenting on the exegesis of Qur’an by Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi says, “The meaning of this verse [73: 8] is to keep secluding yourself from anyone other than Allah, Almighty and Exalted, remembering Him day and night, by glorification, praising and negation and affirmation of Allah’s Oneness, and to disconnect yourself, by all the power you have, and approach Him through the meditative stations such that you will not see anyone except Him, and be cut from connections to other than Him through that meditation.”

Meditation here is founded on seclusion. The proof of this can be found in the Qur’an in the story of Maryam (as), the mother of Jesus (as): “So her Lord accepted her with a gracious acceptance, and caused her to grow an excellent growth, and made Zakariyya (as) her guardian. Whenever Zakariya visited her in her seclusion he found with her provision. He said, ‘O Maryam, whence hast thou this?’ She replied, ‘It is from Allah. Surely, Allah gives to whomsoever He pleases without measure.’” [5: 37]

Imam Nawawi, explained the hadith of Bukhari where `Ayesha t says, “The Prophet loved to make seclusion, and he was secluding himself in the Cave of Hira” says, “To be alone with the one you love is the real seclusion. It is the way of the pious and the way of Knowers.”

He also said, in his explanation of Sahih Muslim, “The Prophet (s) said, ‘I was made to love seclusion,’ because with it the heart will be empty of all this materialistic life, and it will be in peace. It helps to deepen the meditation on Allah’s Divine Presence, and with it his attachments to worldly life will decrease, and with it his reverence will increase.”

The heart is where the Forgiver casts his gaze;
it is the seat of Belief,
the receptacle of Secrets, and the source of Lights.

Abi Jamra explained this hadith, “Anyone who will imitate the Prophet (s), under the order of his shaykh, will be lifted up to the state of sainthood. The proof of seclusion is that the Prophet (s), through his seclusion in the Cave of Hira, was lifted up to the state in which he received revelation. During his seclusions the first fruit was true dreams, and from that state he was elevated to the state in which he received revelation, to the state where he could receive revelation from the angel Gabriel. Then he was lifted up more and more until he reached, during the Night of Ascension, the Divine Presence, to the station of “two bows’ length or nearer.” [53: 9]

Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (q) said, “From the cave of Hira, where the Prophet (s) used to make seclusion, the light emanated, the dawn shone forth, and sunrise came. The first sparks of the luminescence of Islamic Sufism were struck. Never did the Prophet (s) leave his seclusion, even when he left the cave of Hira. All of his life he continued to make seclusion, in the last ten days of Ramadan every year.”

It is said that the believer who can mingle with people and carry their difficulties is better than the believer who keeps away from people. On that delicate point Imam Rabbani Shaykh Ahmad As-Sirhindi (q), 25th master in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain said,
“It must be known that the seeker at the beginning might use the external seclusion to isolate himself from people, worshipping and concentrating on Allah, Almighty and Exalted, until he reaches a higher state. At that time he will be advised by his shaykh, in the words of Sayyid al-Kharraz, ‘Perfection is not in exhibitions of miraculous powers, but perfection is to sit among people, sell and buy, marry and have children; and yet never leave the presence of Allah even for one moment.’”

Need for a Master
The Naqshbandi Way has two sources. If someone receives from both, he or she will gain everything in this life. The first draws completely from the example of the Prophet (s), and the second draws from the example of the perfected shaykh, who will take the seeker to the Presence of the Prophet (s). These shaykhs teach that the reality of remembrance of God (dhikrullah) is to banish heedlessness and to exist in the Divine Presence.

It is a great honor for an individual to taste the honey of a master of the Naqshbandi Order. If God grants you to meet with one of them, you will have been granted the most precious jewel to adorn your heart, and you will smell the sweet fragrance of the Way, a way of which you never conceived, the way to love and happiness. The Naqshbandi Way like the other 40 turuq, brings the seeker to the Divine Presence of Allah Almighty and Exalted by means of a moderate line which one can enter, worship and be with people, training the heart always to be present with the Almighty Lord.

Adapted from “The Naqshbandi Sufi Way: History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain”, KAZI, 1995.

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