Sultan ul Awliya

His first seclusion by the order of Shaykh `Abdullah Daghestani was in the year 1955, in Sueileh, Jordan. There he spent six months in seclusion. The power and purity of his presence attracted thousands of murids, so that Sueileh and it surrounding villages, Ramta and `Amman became full of the murids of the Shaykhs. Scholars, officials and so many people were attracted to his light and his personality.

When he had only two children, one daughter and one son, he was called by our Grandshaikh, Shaykh `Abdullah ad-Daghestani. He told him, "I have received an order from the Prophet for you to make seclusion in the mosque of `Abdul Qadir Jilani in Baghdad. Go there and make seclusion for six months."

Describing that event, Shaykh Nazim says, "I didn't ask the Shaykh any questions. I didn't even go back to my house. I directed my steps immediately to Marja in the downtown. I didn't think, 'I need clothes, I need money, I need provisions.' When he said, 'Go!' I went. I was drawn to do seclusion with Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir. I went directly to Marja. When I reached the downtown walking I saw a man looking at me. He looked at me and he recognized me. He said, 'Shaykh Nazim, where are you going?' I said, 'To Baghdad.' He was a murid of Grandshaykh. He said, 'I am going to Baghdad myself!' He had at truckload of goods to deliver in Baghdad. So he took me with him."

"When I entered the mosque of Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir Jilani there was a giant man closing the door of the mosque holding it shut. He said, 'Shaykh Nazim!' 'Yes,' I answered. He said, 'I am the one assigned to be your servant during your stay here. Come with me.' I was surprised at this, but in my heart there was no surprise because we know in tariqat that everything is always arranged by the Divine Presence. I followed him as he approached the grave of the Arch-Intercessor (Ghawth al-`Azam) and I gave greetings to my great-great-grandfather, Sayyidina 'Abdul Qadir Jilani. Then he took me to a room and told me, 'Every day I will serve you one bowl of lentil soup with one piece of bread.'"

"I only emerged from my room for the five prayers. Other than that I spent my whole time in that room. I was able to reach such a state that I could recite the whole Qur'an in nine hours. In addition I recited 124,000 Dhikr of the Kalima (la ilaha illallah) and 124,000 salawat (prayers on the Prophet ) in addition to reading the entire Dala'il al-Khayrat. Added to that I was regularly reciting 313,000 'Allah Allah' every day, as well as all the prayers that were assigned to me. Vision after vision appeared to me every day. These visions took me from one state to another until I was Annihilated in the Divine Presence."

"One day I had a vision that Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir Jilani was calling me to his grave and he was saying, 'O my son I am waiting for you at my grave. Come!' Immediately I took a shower, prayed two cycles of prayer and I walked to his grave which was only some few feet from my room. When I got there I began contemplating and I said, as-Salam `alayka ya jiddee ('Peace be upon you O my grandfather'). Immediately I saw him come out of the grave and stand beside me. Behind him was a Great Throne decorated with rare stones. He said to me, 'Come with me and sit with me on that throne.'

"We sat like a grandfather with his grandson. He was smiling and saying, 'I am happy with you. The station of your Shaykh, `Abdullah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani is very high in the Naqshbandi Order. I am your grandfather and I am passing to you now, directly from me, the power that I carry as the Arch-Intercessor and I initiate you now directly into the Qadiri Order.'"

When Shaykh Nazim had finished his seclusion and was about to leave, he went to Sayyidina 'Abdul Qadir Jilani's grave to say goodbye. Sayyidina 'Abdul Qadir Jilani appeared in the flesh to him and said, "O my son. I am very happy with the states you have reached in the Naqshbandi Order. I am renewing your initiation to me through the Qadiri Order." Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir Jilani then said, "O my grandson, I am going to give you a token of your visit." He hugged him and gave him ten coins. Those coins were from the time he was living in, not from our time. Up until today, Shaykh Nazim has kept those coins with him.

Before he left, Shaykh Nazim gave the Shaykh who had served him during the seclusion, his jubba (cloak) as a remembrance. He told him, "I used that cloak during all of my seclusion, either as a mat to sleep on, or as a dress when praying and making dhikr. Keep it and Allah will bless you and Sayyidina Muhammad will bless you and all the Masters of this Order will bless you." The Shaykh took the cloak, kissed it, and wore it. Shaykh Nazim left Baghdad and went back to Damascus, Syria.

In 1992, when Shaykh Nazim was visiting Lahore, Pakistan, he visited the tomb of Shaykh `Ali Hujwiri. The Shaykh of the Qadiri Order invited him to his house, and Shaykh Nazim spent the night there. At Fajr time, the Shaykh said, "O my Shaykh, I kept you here tonight to show you a very precious cloak, that we have inherited 27 years ago. It was passed from one great Shaykh of the Qadiri Order to another from Baghdad, and finally it reached us. All our Shaykhs have kept it and preserved it, because it was the personal cloak (jubba) of the Ghawth of his time.
"A Turkish Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Order kept seclusion in the mosque and tomb of Sayyidina 'Abdul Qadir Jilani. When that Shaykh finished his seclusion he gave the cloak as a present to a Qadiri Shaykh who had served him during his seclusion. That Qadiri Shaykh, before he passed away, ordered his successors to take great care of that cloak, because if anyone wears it, he will be healed of any illness. Any seeker wearing that cloak, in his path to the Divine Presence, will be lifted easily to high states of Vision."

He opened the closet and revealed the cloak preserved in a glass case. He opened the case and took the jubba out. Shaykh Nazim was smiling. The Shaykh asked him, "What is it my Shaykh?" Shaykh Nazim said, "This brings me great happiness. This is the cloak I gave to the Qadiri Shaykh at the conclusion of my khalwat." When the Shaykh heard this he kissed the hand of Shaykh Nazim, asked to renew his initiation in the Qadiri Order and to take initiation in the Naqshbandi Order. Allah takes good care of his saints, wherever they go, by means of his sincere and beloved servants.

Shaykh Nazim used to go every year for pilgrimage as the Hajj leader for the convoy of Cypriot pilgrims. He made 27 pilgrimages in all.

He looked after the murids and followers of Grandshaykh. .
One time Grandshaykh ordered him to go from Damascus to Aleppo on foot and to stop at every village on the way to spread the Naqshbandi teachings, the knowledge of Sufism and the knowledge of religion. The distance between Damascus and Aleppo is about 400 kilometers. It took him more than a year to go and return. He would walk one or two days, reach a village, spend one week in the village spreading the Naqshbandi Order, leading dhikr, training the people, then move on down the road to the next village. Soon his name was on every tongue, from the border of Jordan to the border of Turkey near Aleppo.

Similarly, Grandshaykh once ordered Shaykh Nazim to walk through Cyprus. He walked from one village to another, calling people to Islam, to leave atheism, secularism, and materialism and to come back to Allah. He became so well-known throughout Cyprus, and so beloved, that the color of his turban and cloak, both a dark green, became known throughout the island as "the Shaykh Nazim green head" (Sheih Nazim yesilbas).

In recent years he has performed a similar walkabout in the country of Turkey. Each year since 1978, he has spent three to four months traveling throughout one area of Turkey. In one year he traveled the area of Istanbul, Yalova, Bursa, Eskisehir and Ankara. In another he traveled to Konya, Isparta, Kirsehir. In another year he traveled the southern seacoast, from Adana, to Mersin, Alanya, Izmir, Antalya. Then another year he went to the Eastern side, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, up to the border of Iraq. Another sojourn he spent on the Black Sea, moving from one district to another, from one town to another, from one mosque to the next, spreading the word of Allah, and spirituality and light wherever he went.

Wherever he travels he is welcomed by crowds of common people, and by the officials and government people as well. He is known by the beloved nickname of al-Kibrisi throughout Turkey. He was the Shaykh of the late president of Turkey, Turgut Ozal, and he was extremely well-respected by him. Currently he is well-known throughout Turkey because of the extensive coverage given to him by the media and the press. He is interviewed nearly every week by one television station or another, one reporter or another, to get his opinions on the events in Turkey and its future. He walks the middle path recommended by the Prophet , enabling him to tread a fine line between the secularist government and the Islamicist group. This brings happiness and peace to the hearts and minds of both the common people and the intelligentsia.

Starting in 1974, he began to visit Europe, travelling every year from Cyprus to London by plane and returning overland, by car. He continues to meet all kinds of people from every land and tongue, from all different faiths and all different cultures. People continue to take shahada, Tariqat, and spiritual secrets from him.

As Shah Naqshband was the Mujaddid in Bukhara and Central Asia, as Sayyidina Ahmad as-Sirhindi al-Mujaddedi was the Reviver of the 2nd Millenium, as Sayyidina Khalid al-Baghdadi was the Reviver of Islam and Shari'ah and Tariqat in the Middle East, now Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani is the Reviver, the Renewer and the Caller to God in this Age, the Age of Technology and Material Progress. His smiling, glowing face is beloved throughout Europe, for bringing the first real taste of spirituality the lifetime of the people.

Recently in 1991, he began his journey to America. In his first trip he visited over 15 states. He met many people of different beliefs and religions: Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, and New Age believers. This resulted in the establishing of over 15 centers of the Naqshbandi Order in North America. He made a second visit in 1993, and traveled to many cities and towns, visiting mosques, churches, synaguoges, and temples. Through him, over 10,000 people in North America have entered Islam and have taken initiation in the Naqshbandi Order.

In 1986, he was called to travel to the Far East: Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. He visited every major city in these countries. He was welcomed by sultans, presidents, members of parliament, government officials, and of course the common people everywhere. He is considered the saint of the Age in Brunei. He was welcomed by the generosity of its people and especially by the Sultan, Hajji Hasanal Bolkiah. He is considered one of the great Shaykhs of The Naqshbandi Order in Malaysia. In Pakistan, he is acknowledged as the Reviver of the Tariqat, and he has thousands of murids. In Sri Lanka, from among the officials and the common people he has over 20,000 murids. He is well respected among the Muslims in Singapore and has many murids there.

He visited Lebanon many times, where we came to know him. One time I was in the office of my uncle, who was the General Secretary for Religious Affairs in Lebanon, a high ranking government position. It was 'Asr time and my uncle, Shaykh Mukhtar Alayli, used to pray in the Masjid al-`Umari al-Kabir in Beirut. It was a church at the time of `Umar ibn al-Khattab (r), and it had been converted into a mosque in his time. Until today beneath the mosque are the foundations of the church. My uncle was leading the prayer, and two of my brothers and I were praying behind him. A Shaykh came and prayed beside us. He looked at my brother and said to him, 'Are you so-and-so?' and mentioned his name. He looked at my other brother and mentioned his name. He looked at me and called me by name also. We were very surprised at this, as we had never seen him before. My uncle was also drawn to him.

My eldest brother insisted on hosting Shaykh Nazim in our house and my uncle came with us. Our guest said, "I have been sent by Shaykh `Abdullah and he told me, 'The one on your right side after 'Asr prayer is named such and the other is named such and the other is named such. Initiate them into the Naqshbandi Order. They are going to be among our followers.' His knowing all our names astonished us and drew us to him. I was particularly attracted to him, being quite young.

From that time on, he made it a practice to visit Beirut regularly. We also used to visit Damascus every week to see Grandshaykh `Abdullah and Shaykh Nazim. We received a lot of spiritual knowledge and witnessed the miraculous powers that they were spreading to the hearts of seekers. We were so drawn to them, that we were always begging our father to let us go see them every Sunday.

Shaykh Nazim's house was never empty of visitors. At least one hundred visitors would pass through his house each day. He was serving each and every one of them. His house was near Grandshaykh's house on Jabal Qasiyun, a mountain overlooking the city, on the southeastern side of Damascus. He lived in a modest stucco house in which everything was simple, made by hand out of wood or some other natural material.

In the year 1364 H/1944 CE, Shaykh Nazim moved on to Tripoli by bus. The bus took him to the harbor and dropped him there. He was a stranger there, not knowing anyone. As he wandered around the harbor area, he saw someone coming from the opposite side of the street. That person was Shaykh Munir al-Malek, the Mufti of Tripoli. He was, at the same time, the Shaykh of all Sufi Orders in the city. He approached and said, "Are you Shaykh Nazim? I saw a dream with the Prophet telling me, 'One of my grandsons is coming to Tripoli.' He showed me your appearance and told me to look for you in this area. He told me to take care of you."

Shaykh Nazim relates:

"I stayed with Shaykh Munir al-Malek for a month. Then he arranged for me to go to Homs and from Homs to Damascus. I arrived in Damascus on a Friday, in 1945 CE/1365 H. at the beginning of the Hijri year. I knew that Shaykh `Abdullah was living in the district of Hayy al-Maidan, near the tomb of Sayyidina Bilal al-Habashi (r) and many descendants of the Family of the Prophet , an ancient area full of monuments from long ago.

"I didn't know which house was the Shaykh's. A vision appeared to me at that moment, while standing in the street, that the Shaykh was coming out of his house and calling me inside. That vision ended but I could see no one in the streets. It was empty because of the bombardment by the French and the English. Everyone was afraid, hiding in their houses. I was alone in the streets. I was contemplating in my heart to know which house was the Shaykh's. Then in a vision I saw a specific house with a specific door. I looked until I found that door. As I approached to knock on the door, the Shaykh opened the door. He said, 'Welcome, my son, Nazim Effendi.'

"His unusual appearance immediately attracted me. I had never seen such a Shaykh before. Light poured from his face and forehead. Warmth was coming from his heart and from the brilliant smile on his face. He took me upstairs, climbing up to his room telling me, 'We have been waiting for you.'"

"In my heart I was completely happy to be with him, but I also had a yearning to visit the city of the Holy Prophet . I asked him, 'What shall I do?' He said, 'Tomorrow I will give you your answer. For now, rest.' He offered me dinner and I prayed the Night Prayer with him and slept. In the early morning he woke me for tahajjud (after-midnight) prayer. Never in my life had I felt such power as that in his prayer. I felt myself in the Divine Presence and my heart was more and more attracted to him.

"A vision came to me and I saw myself climbing a ladder from our prayer place to the Bayt al-Ma'mur, the Ka`ba of the Heavens, step by step. Every step was a state in which he put me, and in each state I received, in my heart, knowledge that I had never before learned or heard about. Words, phrases and sentences were put together in such a magnificent way, transmitted inside my heart in every state that I had been lifted to, until we reached the Bayt al-Ma'mur. There I saw 124,000 prophets standing in rows for prayers, with Sayyidina Muhammad as Imam. I saw 124,000 Companions of the Prophet Muhammad standing in rows behind them. Then I saw the 7,007 Saints of the Naqshbandi Order standing behind them for prayer. Then I saw 124,000 saints of the other orders, standing in rows for prayers.

There was a space left for two people directly on the right side of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). Grandshaykh went to that open space and he took me with him and we prayed Dawn Prayer. Never in my life had I experienced the sweetness of that prayer, and when the Prophet Muhammad lead the prayer, the beauty of his recitation was indescribable. It was an experience that no words can describe, because it was a Divine matter. As the prayer ended, the vision ended, and I heard the Shaykh telling me to call the adhan for Fajr."

"He prayed the Dawn Prayer and I prayed behind him. Outside I could hear the bombardment of the two armies. He gave me initiation in the Naqshbandi Order and he said to me, 'O my son, we have power that in one second we can make our murid reach his station. As soon as he said that he looked into my heart with his eyes, and as he did so they turned from yellow to red, then to white, then to green and black. The color of his eyes changed as he poured into my heart the knowledge associated with each color.

The yellow light was the first and corresponded to the state of the Heart (Qalb). He poured into my heart all kinds of the external knowledge which is necessary for the daily life of people. Then he poured from the stage of the Secret (Sirr), the knowledge of all forty Orders which came from Sayiddina `Ali (r), and I found myself a master in all these Orders. While transmitting the knowledge of this Stage, his eyes were red. The third stage, which is the Secret of the Secret (Sirr as-Sirr), is only permitted for Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Order, whose imam is Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r). As he poured into my heart from this stage, his eyes were white in color. Then he took me into the Stage of the Hidden (Khafa), the station of hidden spiritual knowledge, where his eyes were changing to green. Then he took me to the Station of Complete Annihilation, the Station of the Most Hidden (Akhfa) where nothing appeared, and the color of his eyes was black. Here he brought me into the presence of Allah. Then he brought me back to existence."

"My love for him at that moment was so intense that I could not imagine being away from him, and I desired nothing more than to stay with him forever and serve him. Then the storm arrived, the tornado descended, and turbulence threatened the calm. The test was gigantic. My heart was in despair when he told me, 'My son, your people are in need of you. I have given you enough for now. Go to Cyprus today.' I had spent one year and a half to reach him. I spent one night with him. Now he was ordering me to go back to Cyprus, a place I hadn't seen in five years. It was a terrible order for me, but in tariqat the murid must surrender and submit to the will of his Shaykh."

"After kissing his hands and feet, and taking his permission, I tried to find a way to travel to Cyprus. The Second World War was reaching its end. There was no transportation. As I was in the street thinking these thoughts a person came to me and said, 'O Shaykh, do you need a ride?' I said, 'Yes! Where are you are going?' He said, 'To Tripoli.' He took me in his truck and after two days we reached Tripoli. When we arrived there I said, 'Take me to the seaport.' He said, 'What for?' I said, 'To find a ship to Cyprus.' He said, 'How? No one is traveling in the sea with this great war going on.' I said, 'Never mind that, just take me there.' He took me to the seaport and dropped me there. I was again surprised when I saw Shaykh Munir al-Malek coming towards me. He said, 'What is that love your grandfather has for you? The Prophet came again to me in my dream and said, 'My son Nazim is coming. Take care of him.'"

"I stayed with him three days. I asked him to help me arrange passage to Cyprus. He tried, but it was impossible at that time because of the war and the shortage of fuel. He could find nothing except a sailboat. He told me, 'You can go but it is dangerous.' I said, 'I must go, because that is the order of my Shaykh.' Shaykh Munir payed the owner a heavy price to get him to take me. We set sail. It took us seven days to reach Cyprus, a trip which normally takes four hours by motorboat."

"As soon as I landed and put my foot on the soil of Cyprus, immediately a spiritual vision was opened to my heart. I saw Grandshaykh `Abdullah Daghestani saying to me, 'O my son. Nothing was able to keep you from carrying out my order. You have acheived a lot by listening and accepting. From this moment I will always be visible to you. Anytime you direct your heart towards me I will be there. Any question you have you will receive an answer directly from the Divine Presence. Any spiritual state you wish to achieve it will be granted to you because of your complete submission. The Saints are all happy with you, the Prophet is happy with you. As soon as he said that I felt him beside me, and since then he has never left me. He is always beside me."

During his first year in Istanbul he met his first spiritual Shaykh, Shaykh Sulayman Arzarumi, a Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Order who died in 1368 H/1948 CE. While he studied Chemical Engineering, he would attend the gathering of this Shaykh to learn the discipline of the Naqshbandi Order, in addition to his two orders, the Qadiri and the Mevlevi.

He could usually be seen in Sultan Ahmad's Mosque, meditating by himself throughout the night. He says,

"There I received great blessings and great peace in my heart. I always prayed the Dawn Prayer in that mosque with my two Shaykhs, Shaykh Jamaluddin al-Alasuni and Shaykh Sulayman Arzarumi. They were educating me and putting in my heart the spiritual knowledge. I had many visions during that time, drawing me to go to the Holy Land of Damascus, but I didn't yet have permission from my Shaykh. Many times in my visions, through Self-Effacement, I saw the Prophet Muhammad calling me to his presence. There was a deep yearning in my heart to leave everything and to migrate to the Holy City of the Prophet .

"One day, when this longing in my heart was particularly intense, I saw a vision in which my Shaykh, Sulayman Arzarumi, came, shook me by the shoulder, and told me, 'Now the permission has come. Your secrets and your trust and your spiritual guidance are not with me. I only held you as a trust until you were ready for your real Shaykh, who is also my Shaykh, Shaykh `Abdullah ad-Daghestani. He is holding your keys. So go to him in Sham. This permission comes from me and from the Prophet ." [Shaykh Sulayman Arzurumi was one of the 313 saints of the Naqshbandi Order, who stand in the footsteps of and represent the 313 messengers.]

"That vision ended, and with it I had received the permission to move to Sham. I looked for my Shaykh to tell him about that vision. I found him coming to the mosque after about two hours. I ran to him. He opened his arms and said to me, 'My son, are you happy with your vision?' Then I knew that he knew everything that had happened. He said, 'Don't wait. Direct yourself to Sham.' He didn't give me an address or any other information, except the name, Shaykh `Abdullah ad-Daghestani, in Sham. I traveled from Istanbul to Aleppo by train, where I stayed some time. While there I would go from one to mosque to another, praying, sitting with scholars and spending time in worship and meditation.

"Then I travelled to Hama, which, like Aleppo, is a very ancient city. I tried to move on to Sham, but it was impossible. The French, who occupied Sham, were preparing for an attack by the English. So I traveled to Homs to the grave of Sayiddina Khalid ibn Walid (r), a Companion of the Prophet . I visited Khalid ibn Walid (r) and then I went into the mosque and prayed. A servant came to me and said, 'I saw a dream last night in which the Prophet came to me. He said, 'One of my grandsons is coming here tomorrow. Take care of him for me.' Then he showed me how you would look. Now I see you are that person.'

"I was so taken by what he said, that I accepted his invitation. He gave me one room near that mosque, where I stayed for one year. I didn't go out except to pray and to sit in the majlis of two eminent scholars of Homs, who were teaching Recitation (tajwid), Exegesis (tafsir), Narration of Traditions ('ilm al-hadith) and Jurisprudence (fiqh). They were Shaykh Muhammad `Ali `Uyun as-Sud and Shaykh Abdul `Aziz `Uyun as-Sud, the Mufti of Homs. I also attended the spiritual teachings of two Naqshbandi Shaykhs, Shaykh `Abul Jalil Murad and Shaykh Sa'id as-Suba'i. My heart was yearning to go to Sham. Because the war was so intense, I decided to go to Tripoli in Lebanon, from there to Beirut and from Beirut to Sham by a safer way."

During his childhood in Cyprus he sat with his grandfather, who was a Shaykh of the Qadiri Tariqat, to learn its discipline and its spirituality. Extraordinary signs appeared early in him. His conduct was perfect: he never fought nor argued with anyone. He was always smiling and patient. His grandfather from his father's side and his grandfather from his mother's side trained him for the spiritual path.

As a youth, Shaykh Nazim was given great consideration because of his unusually high spiritual station. Everyone in Larnaca knew about him, because at a young age he was able to advise people, and to predict the future and reveal it spontaneously. From the age of five there were times when his mother couldn't find him. After searching, she would find him either in the mosque or at the grave of Umm ul-Hiram (r), a Companion of the Prophet (s) whose grave has a mosque built next to it. Tourists come to her grave in large numbers, attracted by the spectacle of a rock suspended in space above her grave. When his mother would try to bring him home, he would say, "Leave me here with Umm ul-Hiram, she is one of our ancestors." He was often seen speaking to Umm ul-Hiram, who was buried fourteen centuries ago, listening and then speaking, listening and answering, as if having a conversation with her. Whenever anyone would disturb him, he would say, "Leave me, I am speaking with my grandmother who is in this grave."

His father sent him to school to study secular knowledge during the day, and in the evening he studied the religious sciences. He was a genius among his fellow-students. After completing his high school studies every night, he would devote his time to studying the Mevlevi and Qadiri Tariqats. He was conducting the Qadiri and Mevlevi circles on Thursday and Friday.

Everyone in Cyprus knew him at that time as an intensely spiritual person. He learned Shari'ah, Jurisprudence, the Science of Prophetic Narrations, the Science of Logic, the Interpretaion of the Qur'an and he was able to give juristic rulings on the whole range of Islamic subjects. He was able to speak from all spiritual levels. He had a gift for explaining difficult realities in clear and easy aphorisms.

After completing high school in Cyprus, he moved to Istanbul, where his two brothers and one sister were living and studying, in 1359 H/1940 CE. He studied Chemical Engineering in the University of Istanbul, in the Bayazit District. At the same time he was advancing in his Shari'ah knowledge and in the study of the Arabic language with his Shaykh, Shaykh Jamaluddin al-Alasuni, who died in 1375 H./1955 CE. He received his degree in Chemical Engineering and he excelled among his colleagues. The University professors encouraged him to go into research. He said, "I feel no attraction to modern science. My heart is always drawn to the spiritual sciences."

Bismillahi 'r-rahmani 'r-raheem

A Glimpse at Our Beloved Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's
Life and Teachings

Dr. G.F. Haddad

Damascus
12 Rabi' al-Awwal 1425 - 1 May 2004

Glory and thanks to You, our Lord, for guiding us to the mercy oceans of Your truth and Your light. Allahumma! Send blessings and salutations of peace to our liege-lord Muhammad, the Seal of Your Prophets and Messengers who brought the Last Testament - the Qur'an - and upon his Family and all his Companions, and his inheritors past and present, especially his chief successor and representative in our time. The weak servant Gibril ibn Fouad was asked to "write a biography and article on our Beloved Mawlana Shaykh Nazim in your own few words about his life and teachings and your experience with him." This month of Rabi' al-Awwal 1425 (May 2004) is most appropriate for this. May Allah inspire both the writer and the reader about Mawlana Shaykh Nazim to render justice to this high subject. There is no power nor help except in Him. Just as He encompasses our ignorance with His knowledge, so may He encompass it with His mercy, Amin! ( Al-Hamdu lillah, permission was secured from Mawlana to release this text today.)

Mawlana's full name is Muhammad Nazim 'Adil ibn al-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Hasan Yashil Bash al-Haqqani al-Qubrusi al-Salihi al-Hanafi, may Allah sanctify his soul and have mercy on his foreparents. His kunya is Abu Muhammad - after his oldest son - and he is also the father of Baha' al-Din, Naziha, and Ruqayya.

He was born in 1341 (1922) in the city of Larnaca, Cyprus (Qubrus) to a family of Arab origin with Tatar roots. He told me that his father descended from Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani. I was also told that his mother descends from Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi. This makes him a son of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, upon him blessings and peace, on his father's side and a son of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Allah be well pleased with him, on his mother's side.

After finishing school in Cyprus, Mawlana went to college in Istanbul and graduated in chemical engineering. There, he studied Arabic and fiqh under Shaykh Jamal al-Din al-Alsuni (d. 1375/1955) and received ijaza from him. He took tasawwuf and the Naqshbandi Tariqa from Shaykh Sulayman Arzarumi (d. 1368/1948) who eventually sent him to Sham (Syria).

Mawlana continued his Shari'a studies in Halab (Aleppo), Hama, and especially Hims. He studied at the shrine and mosque school of the great Companion Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be well pleased with him) in Hims under its great Ulema and obtained ijaza in Hanafi fiqh from Shaykh Muhammad 'Ali 'Uyun al-Sud and Shaykh 'Abd al-Jalil Murad, and ijaza in hadith from the Muhaddith Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Muhammad 'Ali 'Uyun al-Sud al-Hanafi.

Note that the latter is one of the ten great hadith teachers of the late Rifa'i Hafiz of Aleppo, Shaykh al-Islam 'Abd Allah Siraj al-Din (1924- 2002 CE) who sat on his knees for two hours at the feet of Mawlana Shaykh 'Abd Allah when the latter visited Aleppo in 1959 and who gave bay'a in the Naqshbandi Tariqa to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim during the latter's last visit to him in Aleppo in 2001 as narrated to me by Ustadh Muhammad 'Ali ibn Mawlana al-Shaykh Husayn 'Ali from Shaykh Muhammad Faruq 'Itqi al-Halabi who was present at the latter event.
Mawlana also studied under Shaykh Sa'id al-Siba'i who sent him to Damascus after receiving a sign related to the coming of Mawlana Shaykh 'Abd Allah al-Daghistani to Syria. After his initial arrival in Syria from Daghistan in the late thirties, Mawlana Shaykh 'Abd Allah lived mostly in Damascus but often visited Aleppo and Hims. In the latter city he got to know Shaykh Sa'id al-Siba'i who was director of the Khalid ibn Walid School. Shaykh Sa'id wrote him, "We have a remarkable student from Turkey studying with us." Mawlana Shaykh 'Abd Allah replied to him, "That student belongs to us; send him over!" That student was our teacher Mawlana Shaykh Nazim who came to Damascus and gave his bay'a to our Grandshaykh between 1941 and 1943.

The next year Mawlana al-Shaykh 'Abd Allah moved into the house bought for him by his first Syrian Murid and presently-living caliph, Mawlana al-Shaykh Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad 'Ifrini al-Kurkani al-Rabbani al-Kurdi al-Shaykhani al-Husayni (b. 1336/1917) - Allah sanctify his soul and have mercy on his foreparents - in Qasyoun, the mount overlooking Damascus to which Allah Most High alluded: "By the Fig and the Olive! By Mount Sina!" (95:1-2) Qatada and al-Hasan al-Basri said: "The Fig is the Mount on which Damascus sits [Jabal Qasyun] and the Olive is the Mount on which Jerusalem sits." Narrated by 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Tabari, al-Wahidi, al-Bayzawi, Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, al-Suyuti, al-Shawkani, etc., all in their Tafsirs.

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim also bought a house near Grandshaykh's house and, together with Mawlana Shaykh Husayn, helped build Masjid al- Mahdi, Grandshaykh's Mosque, which was recently enlarged into a Jami' in the back of which is Grandshaykh's illumined grave and shrine and where, to this day, delicious cereal and chicken soup is prepared in huge vats and continues to be distributed to the poor twice a week.

Thus, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim lived in Damascus from the mid-forties to the early eighties, travelling at times to study or on behalf of Grandshaykh, until the latter left this life in 1973, after which Mawlana remained in Damascus for several years then moved to Cyprus.

So Mawlana, who is originally Cypriot, and Grandshaykh, who is originally Daghistani, both became Damascene "Shamiyyun" and lived in the district of the righteous (al-salihin) called Salihiyya! No doubt, the reason for the importance of Damascus for Mawlana and GrandShaykh is because Sham is blessed and protected through the Prophets and Saints.

Imam Ahmad and his student Abu Dawud narrated with sahih chains that our Holy Prophet said, upon him blessings and peace: "You must go to Sham. It is Divinely chosen by Allah in all His earth. In it He protects His chosen servants; and Allah Almighty has given me a Guarantee concerning Sham and its people!" Imam al-Nawawi said in his book Irshad Tullab al-Haqa'iq ila Ma'rifati Sunan Khayr al-Khala'iq (s): "This hadith is among the huge merits of Sham and is an observable fact!"

The director of Dar al-Ifta' in Beirut, Lebanon, Shaykh Salah al-Din Fakhri told me in his house in Beirut and wrote to me by hand: On the morning of al-Ahad 20 Rabi' al-Akhir 1386 corresponding to Sunday 7 August, 1966, we were granted the privilege of visiting Shaykh 'Abd Allah al-Daghistani - Allah have mercy on him - in Mount Qasyun in Damascus on the initiative and in the company of Mawlana al-Shaykh Mukhtar al-'Alayli - Allah have mercy on him - the Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon at the time; [and uncle of Shaykh Hisham Kabbani], Shaykh Husayn Khalid the imam of Nawqara Mosque; Hajj Khalid Bashir - may Allah have mercy on both of them; Shaykh Husayn Sa'biyya [the present director of Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya in Damascus]; Shaykh Mahmud Sa'd; Shaykh Zakariyya Sha'r; and Hajj Mahmud Sha'r. The Shaykh received us most kindly, with a warm welcome full of happiness and mirth. This was in the presence of Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi - Allah save and keep him! We sat from nine o'clock in the morning until the zuhr call to prayer while the Shaykh - Allah have mercy on him - explained and spoke about Sham, its excellence, its extraordinary merits, and the fact that it is the site of the Resurrection and that Allah will gather all human beings in it for the final Reckoning. He mentioned things that moved our hearts and minds, imbued with the glorious spirit of the Salihiyya district, and he spoke about the indissoluble link - in practice as well as discourse - between tasawwuf and the Shari'a.... May Allah lead and keep us upon guidance in the company of the righteous Saints. Amin, ya Rabb al-'alamin! There are many more prestigious names of the Ulema and Awliya' of Sham that loved and associated with our Shuyukh during that golden period such as Shaykh Muhammad Bahjat al-Baytar (1311-1396), Shaykh Sulayman Ghawji al-Albani (d. 1378) the father of our teacher Shaykh Wahbi, Shaykh Tawfiq al-Hibri, Shaykh Muhammad al-'Arabi al-'Azzuzi (1308-1382) the Mufti of Lebanon and principal Shaykh of our teacher Shaykh Husayn 'Usayran, al-'Arif Shaykh Shahid al-Halabi, al-'Arif Shaykh Rajab al-Ta'i, Shaykh al-Qurra' Shaykh Najib Khayyata al-Farazi al-Halabi, al-'Arif Shaykh Muhammad al-Nabhan, Shaykh Ahmad 'Izz al-Din al-Bayanuni, al-'Arif Shaykh Ahmad al-Harun (1315-1382), Shaykh Muhammad Zayn al-'Abidin al-Jadhba, and others - Allah have mercy
on all of them!
From that blessed thirty-year suhba between Mawlana and GrandShaykh came those unparalleled Mercy Oceans that are still lavishing on every seeker their Endless Horizons, their Pink Pearls, their Rising Suns. No doubt, those early transcriptions are milestones of the greatest singlehanded call to Islam the US and Europe had seen in the twentieth century, by the grace of Allah!
May Allah bless Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ever more and grant him the highest stations He ever granted to His Friends, near our glorious liegelord Muhammad who said, upon him blessings and peace:
If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise, the angels will lower their wings from pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, and the dwellers of the heavens and the earth and the fish in the depth of the sea will ask forgiveness for the person of learning!
The superiority of the person of learning over the ordinary believer is like that of the moon on the night when it is full over the rest of the stars! The Ulema are the inheritors of the Prophets, and the Prophets have neither dinar nor dirham, they leave only knowledge; and he who takes it takes an abundant portion! The first place I ever travelled in search of this Prophetic Knowledge was London in the month of Ramadan 1411 following my shahadat an la ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasulullah. There, I took Mawlana's noble hand for the first time and made bay'a after having been introduced to Tariqa by his son-in-law and American deputy, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani - may Allah guide him and all Mawlana's friends!
I visited Mawlana several times in his home in Cyprus and saw him in Damascus as well. Among the gifts of suhba Mawlana gave were the last two weeks of Rajab in the year 1422 - October 2001 - in his house and zawiya in the Turkish Cypriot town of Lefke. A memento of this experience was written in Arabic and English and published under the title Qubrus al-Tarab fi Suhbati Rajab or The Joy of Cyprus in the Association of Rajab.
At that time and also later, during his last two trips to the US, in England,
Cyprus, and Damascus, I took from Mawlana the same great directive for every seeker of truth:
OUR GOAL IS THE DEFENSE AND ILLUSTRATION OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD AND HIS LOFTY ATTRIBUTES, upon him and his House and Companions blessings and peace;
to which Allah support us!
I understood from this that the true Murid in the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Tariqa is the friend and helper of every defender of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and it is his duty to associate with such defenders because they are on Mawlana's path whether they are Naqshbandi or not.
When the octogenarian Friend of Allah in Johore, Malaysia, al-Habib 'Ali ibn Ja'far ibn 'Abd Allah al-'Aydarus received us in his home in May 2003, wearing clothes that had not changed since the 1940s, he looked like Mawlana in all respects and even seemed to mimick him when he said to pardon his broken Arabic. To our begging his du'a for our injured lands and people he replied, "The Umma is protected and in good hands and you have in Shaykh Nazim Sufficiency!"
Thus has it been for the humble murid of Mawlana in every encounter with the Awliya' of this Umma. They invariably show the highest respect and most fearsome humbleness to Mawlana and his silsila even when they are ostensibly on a different path such as al-Habib 'Ali al-'Aydarus in Malaysia; Sayyid Muhammad ibn 'Alawi al-Maliki in Makka; al-Habib 'Umar ibn Hafiz of Tarim; Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa'i of Kuwait; Shaykh 'Isa al-Himyari in Dubai; Sayyid 'Afif al-Din al-Jilani and Shaykh Bakr al- Samarra'i of Baghdad; al-Sharif Mustafa ibn al-Sayyid Ibrahim al-Basir in central Morocco; the Grandmufti of Syria Shaykh Ahmad Kuftaro ibn Mawlana al-Shaykh Amin and his friends Shaykh Bashir al-Bani, Shaykh Rajab Dib, and Shaykh Ramazan Dib; the Kattani Shuyukh of Damascus; the late Shaykh 'Abd Allah Siraj al-Din and his nephew Dr. Nur al-Din 'Itr; Mawlana al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghuri; Dr. Samer al- Nass; and the remainder of our teachers and brethren in Damascus - may Allah always protect her and have mercy on them and us! I have met each of the above-named except for Shaykh Siraj al-Din and they all invoked tarazzi on Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim, expressing belief in the loftiness of his wilaya and asking for his du'a or that of his followers; "And Allah suffices as Witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah" (48:28-29).
It is an agreed-upon rule among the Men of Allah that multiplicity of paths is the theme (dandana) of the unconnected while those that are mawsul are all on one path and in one circle and they know each other and love one another. They will be on pulpits of light on the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, we Murids of those respective paths must also know and love one another for the sake of Allah and His Prophet and His friends so that we may enter that blessed light and belong in the highest circle of suhba and jama'a away from furqa and arrogance.
As Allah Most High said: "O Believers! Beware of Allah and keep [company and loyalty] with the Truthful ones!" and our Holy Prophet said (s): "I charge you with following my Companions then those that follow them then those that follow; after that, lying will spread... But you must keep to the Jama'a and beware of separation!"
This Jama'a is described in the mutawatir hadith: "He for whom Allah desires great good, He grants him true understanding in the Religion. I only distribute and it is Allah Who gives! That group shall remain in charge of the Order of Allah, unharmed by those who oppose them, until the coming of the Order of Allah." O Allah, make us thankful forever for what You gave and Your Rasul and Habib distributed!

I heard Mawlana Shaykh Nazim say many times on behalf of his teacher, Sultan al-Awliya' Mawlana al-Shaykh 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad 'Ali ibn Husayn al-Fa'iz al-Daghistani thumma al-Shami al-Salihi (ca.1294-1393),1 - from Shaykh Sharaf al-Din Zayn al-'Abidin al-Daghistani al- Rashadi (d. 1354), - from his maternal uncle Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Madani al- Daghistani al-Rashadi,2 - from Shaykh Abu Muhammad Abu Ahmad Hajj 'Abd al-Rahman Effendi al-Daghistani al-Thughuri (d. 1299),3 - from Shaykh Jamal al-Din Effendi al-Ghazi al-Ghumuqi al-Husayni (d. 1292),4 - also (both al-Thughuri and al-Ghumuqi) from Muhammad Effendi ibn Ishaq al-Yaraghi al-Kawrali (d. 1260),5 - from Khass Muhammad Effendi al-Shirwani al-Daghistani (d. 1254),6 - from Shaykh Diya' al-Din Isma'il Effendi Dhabih Allah al-Qafqazi al-Shirwani al-Kurdamiri al-Daghistani (d. ?) - from Shaykh Isma'il al-Anarani (d. 1242), - from Mawlana Diya' al-Din Khalid Dhul-Janahayn ibn Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Shahrazuri al-Sulaymani al-Baghdadi al-Dimashqi al- Naqshbandi al-'Uthmani ibn 'Uthman ibn 'Affan Dhul-Nurayn (1190-1242) with his well-known chain up to Shah Naqshband Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Uwaysi al-Bukhari who said: "Our Tariqa is companionship and goodness is in the group!"
Allah be well-pleased with them, have mercy on them, reward them, and benefit us with them through our ears, our hearts and our entire beings, Amin!

Certain would-be Sufi critics of the Haqqani Tariqa expressed criticism of our path for what they term "lack of knowledge." A prudent Sufi would be the last person to utter such deluded criticism! They should be the first of people to know that knowledge by itself is not only useless but may be a mortal trap that leads to Satanic pride. Neither the proud nor the ignorant are excused; yet the loving, sincere, and repentent Sufi who suffers even severe gaps in his knowledge and adab is closer to Allah Most High and to knowledge of Allah than the knowledgeable Sufi who harbors a speck of pride in his heart. May Allah protect you and us!

Ibrahim al-Khawwass said knowledge is not to know much but to obey the Sunna and practice what one knows even if a little. Imam Malik said knowledge is not to know many things but is a light Allah casts in the heart.
Imam al-Shafi'i said knowledge is not to know proofs but to know what is beneficial.
And when someone said of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi, "He is not very knowledgeable," Imam Ahmad said: " Mah! Allah forgive you! Is anything meant by Knowledge other than what Ma'ruf attained?!"

Other critics object to Rabita or "connection," a particular characteristic of the Naqshbandi Tariqa. More precisely, they object to the element of tasawwur or "picturing" in Rabita which requires of the Murid to picture the image of the Shaykh in the heart at the beginning and during dhikr. But Allah Most High said, "Truly in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example" (33:21) and He said to "enter the houses through their doors" (2:189) and so we come to the Prophet (s) through the Siddiq (may Allah be well pleased with him) , and to the latter through
Salman (may Allah be well pleased with him) , and to the latter through Qasim (may Allah be well pleased with him) , and to the latter through the Sayyid (may Allah be well pleased with him) , etc. Since "the Ulema are the inheritors of the Prophets" it follows that the Murshid is our example of that example. He must be one of those of whom the Prophet said (s): "When you see them, you remember Allah!" This is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, Asma' bint Zayd, and Anas (may Allah be well pleased with them) , and also from the Tabi'in Sa'id ibn Jubayr, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanam, and Muslim ibn Subayh.

Some even object to the Murid's self-effacement in the Shaykh or fana' fil-Shaykh. They say, "Your Shaykh is just a man; let your fana' be in Rasulullah!" But it is false that the guiding Shaykh is just like any other. Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi said - Allah sanctify his soul: Know that wayfaring (suluk) in this Most Distinguished Path is by connection (rabita) and love for the Shaykh we follow. Such a Shaykh trod this Path steadfastly and was dyed (insabagha) with all kinds of perfections through the strength of Divine attraction (jadhba). His gaze cures the diseases of the heart and his Concentration (tawajjuh) lifts away spiritual defects. The owner of these perfections is the Imam of the period and the Khalifa of that time.... Thus our connection is love and our relationship (nisba) is mirroring and dyeing regardless of being near or far. Then the murid gets dyed in this Path by the connection of love for the Shaykh, hour by hour, and gets enlightened through the reflection of his lights. In this pattern, knowledge of the process is not a precondition for the giving or receiving of benefit. The watermelon ripens through the heat of the sun hour by hour and warms with the passage of days. It matures, yet what knowledge does it have of this? Does the sun even know that it ripens and warms it? As mentioned above, objecting to fana' fil-Shaykh is also like Objecting to love of the Shaykh. We aim to love our Shaykh and know that he is the worthiest object of love and respect in this world.

As the poet said:
Out of pure and sincere faithfulness to you I say:
Love of you is written inside my heart of hearts,
a patent engraving [NAQSH], an ancient writ.
Nor do I have any will [IRADA] except your love,
Nor can I say anything to you but that I love you.

On this topic Mawlana said recently:
"We have been ordered to love holy people. These are the Prophets and, after Prophets, their inheritors, the Awliya'. We have been ordered to believe in Prophets and belief gives us Love. Love makes people to follow that beloved one. ITTIBA' means to love and follow while ITAAT means [only] to follow. An obedient person may be obedient by force or by love but not always by love.

"Now, Allah Almighty is asking for His servants to love Him. And servants can't reach directly to love of their Lord. Therefore, Allah Almighty sends, on behalf of Himself, Prophets that represent Him among His servants. And everyone that loves Awliya and Anbiya, through Awliya are reaching love of Prophets. And through love of Prophets you are reaching to love of Allah Almighty.

"Therefore, without love, a person can't be a beloved one in the Divine presence. If you are not giving your love, how does Allah Almighty love you?

"But people that are like wood, dry, dry wood, are denying love. They are such dry ones - no life! A tree, with love, is opening through spring time. But dry ones, even if seventy springs came on them, never open. Love makes nature open and give its fruits, its beauty to people. Without love, it should never be opening, never flowering, never giving its fruits. "So love IS the most important pillar for faith. No love, no faith. I may speak on it up to next year, but you must understand, from a drop, an ocean!" (This is the end of Mawlana's talk.)

By Mawlana, Allah has made all difficult things easy. We are grateful to know him because he is our shortcut to the nur in this Religion. This nur is the goal of every sane person. It is described in the magnificent verse "He gives wisdom unto whom He will, and he unto whom wisdom is given, he truly has received abundant good! But none remember except people of understanding" (2:269). May Allah grant us
this wisdom and keep us on the path He commands and loves for us! May Allah grant Mawlana long life in health and grant us the rank of his true discipleship for the sake of the Most Honored Prophet Muhammad!

Damascus, 12 Rabi' al-Awwal 1425.

Notes

1 There is a variety of opinions over Mawlana al-Shaykh 'Abd Allah's date of birth ranging from 1284 (in Muhammad Darniqa's al-Tariqa al-Naqshbandiyya) to 1294 according to Shaykh 'Abd Allah's oldest student Mawlana al-Shaykh Husayn (in Muhammad 'Ali ibn al-Shaykh Husayn 'Ali, al-Tariqat al-Naqshbandiyya al-Khalidiyya al-Daghistaniyya) to 1303 in Shaykh 'Adnan Kabbani's al-Futuhat al- Haqqaniyya to 1309 in Shaykh Hisham Kabbani's The Naqshbandi Sufi Way.

2 He also received the Qadiri Tariqa from Shaykh Ibrahim al-Qadiri (as did Shaykh
Jamal al-Din) with whom he began his suluk until Shaykh Ibrahim directed him to Shaykh al-Thughuri cf. 'Ali, Tariqa Naqshbandiyya (p. 229).

3 Cf. Shu'ayb ibn Idris al-Bakini, Hadaya al-Zaman fi Tabaqat al-Khwajagan al- Naqshbandiyya (p. 375). He also took directly from al-Yaraghi cf. Ilyas al-Zadqari,
Sullam al-Wusul as quoted in Hadaya (p. 378 n.).

4 Cf. al-Bakini, Hadaya (p. 396). He received the Qadiri Tariqa from Shaykh Ibrahim al-Qadiri and introduced the loud dhikr into the Daghistani branch of the Naqshbandiyya through that authorization cf. al-Bakini, Hadaya (p. 396); 'Ali, Tariqa Naqshbandiyya (p. 229).

5 And not 1254 as erroneously mentioned in several sources. The correction is
thanks to 'Ali, Tariqa Naqshbandiyya (p. 214). Muhammad al-Yaraghi also took directly from Shaykh Isma'il al-Shirwani cf. al-Bakini, Hadaya (p. 350-351).

6 From present-day Shirvan in Azerbaijan. He died in Damascus and is buried in
Mount Qasyoun next to Mawlana Khalid and Mawlana Isma'il al-Anarani who is Mawlana Khalid's first successor who died seventeen days after the death of Mawlana Khalid, both of them from the plague - may Allah have mercy on them and all His shuhada'.