Naqshbandiya

Tariqa al-Naqshbandiyya

CLASSICAL ISLAM and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition
The Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition GUIDEBOOK of Daily practices & Devotions
Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The Indian Naqshbandiya & the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh
Through the Eye of the Needle : Counsel for Spiritual Survival in the Last Days
The Silence of the Sufi :
Naqshbandiyya : Orthodoxy and activism in a worldwide Sufi tradition
Beads of Dew from the Source of Life : Rashahat Ain al-Hayat
The Rules or Secrets of the Naqshbandiya
Bahauddin Naqshaband : A Central Asian Sufi
Naqshbandi Sufi Way : Collectors Edition

Page Last Updated : 17th April 2012

CLASSICAL ISLAM and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition
Paperback - 723 pages : by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

Considered one of the most distinguished schools of Islamic spirituality, the Naqshbandi Sufi Order has a long and illustrious history reaching back to the first days of Islam. Led by the Shaykhs of the Golden Chain — inheritors of the spiritual knowledge of the Prophets and Saints — the Naqshbandi Order has always played a central, pivotal role in the life of the Muslim world and has survived the turmoil and tribulations of the past century to remain one of the few authentic mystical traditions maintaining a living link with its ancient past.

Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition is the most detailed and authentic book ever written about a Sufi order in English. Providing a comprehensive history of the Naqshbandi Order, the author Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, one of the most respected teachers of Islamic spirituality in the world today, traces the lives of its foremost teachers from Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam to the present. Their life stories are intimately woven with landmark events of history, from the time of the Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam’s Companions to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the re-emergence of Islam in the former Soviet Union. Furthermore this book details the fundamental principles of the Sufi Path and the primary teachings of the Naqshbandi Order, exploring the doctrines and practices whose goal is nothing less than bringing humankind to its highest potential as the viceregent of God.

The outcome of extensive research, this book is based on the experiences of a traditional Sufi Shaykh over many years. Bringing to bear his voluminous knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, and combining it with superlative storytelling, Shaykh Kabbani provides the Western reader with a sumptuous spiritual feast – one that can be returned to again, not only for its comprehensive information, but for inspiration and guidance in today’s turbulent world. This major volume contains over 700 pages.

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The Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition GUIDEBOOK of Daily practices & Devotions

Paperback - 344 pages : by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

Book Description : One of the distinguished schools of Islamic spiritual discipline, the Naqshbandi Sufi Order has a long and illustrious history from the first days of Islam. Led by the shaykhs of the Golden Chain-inheritors of spiritual knowledge from Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam - the Naqshbandi Order has always played a central, pivotal role in the life of people in the Muslim world and survived the turmoil and tribulations of the past century to remain one of the few authentic mystical traditions maintaining a living link with its ancient past.

The extraordinary vision of the Naqshbandi Saints was manifest in their establishment of fixed devotions and daily practices firmly rooted in the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam. These practices have enabled devout seekers to awaken certainty of belief and to attain stations of nearness to the Divine Presence.

We pray that each person who picks up this book of devotions with sincere intention to observe any of its efficacious practices will receive a portion of the blessings and manifestations bestowed on the greatest saints of earlier times.

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SUFI HEIRS OF THE PROPHET by Arthur F. Buehler

- The Indian Naqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh

Paperback - 338 pages Foreward by Annemarie Schimmel

Sufi Heirs of the Prophet explores the multifaceted development of personal authority in Islamic societies by tracing the transformation of one mystical sufi lineage in colonial India, the Naqshbandiyya.

Arthur F. Buehler isolates four sources of personal authority evident in the practices of the Naqshbandiyya—lineage, spiritual traveling, status as a Prophetic exemplar, and the transmission of religious knowledge—to demonstrate how Muslim religious leaders have exercised charismatic leadership through their association with the most compelling of personal Islamic symbols, the Prophet Muhammad May Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Buehler clarifies the institutional structure of sufism, analyses overlapping configurations of personal sufi authority, and details how and why revivalist Indian Naqshbandis abandoned spiritual practices that had sustained their predecessors for more than five centuries. He looks specifically at the role of Pir Jama'at Ali Shah May Allah be pleased with him (d. 1951) to explain current Naqshbandi practices.

Arthur F. Buehler is a senior lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He is senior editor of the Journal of the History of Sufism.

Reviews: "It is heartening to see such important questions—on change, and on the complex relationship between authority, colonial society and Sufism in India and Pakistan—raised and engaged in such an insightful and stimulating manner."—Journal of Islamic Studies

"In this well-researched and convincing book, Buehler argues that the Naqshbandi order appropriated a shift in models of personal authority to establish and perpetuate its own institutional structure. Because of its theoretical sophistication and excellent first-hand research, this book should be recommended for both specialists and comparativists."—Religious Studies Review

"This meticulously researched work is not only to be recommended to all those who are particularly concerned with the more recent developments of the Indian Naqshbandiyya but provides some useful pointers for those scholars interested in the analysis of patterns of adaptation."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

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Through the Eye of the Needle by Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani an-Naqshbandi

Paperback - 204 pages Counsel for Spiritual Survival in the Last Days

THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE offers practical steps to purify the heart and overcome destructive characteristics that deprive us of inner peace and contentment.

In this time, as appearances of the end times are felt, as predicted by the holy books of every religious tradition, tribulations beset the seeker on the journey towards God, anxiety, doubt, fear, and negativity influence impact our daily lives, leaving us bewildered and forlorn. By introducing a focus on the Divine, self-evaluation, positive thought patterns, and beneficial actions that attract spiritual support, we can reach spiritual levels far beyond worldly comprehension. Unquestionably, such growth will permeate our lives with far-reaching positive results.

This book is meant to provide time-honored classical Sufi teachings which will have a lasting constructive impact on the reader, preparing her or him for the stages of life in the last days on this imperiled earth.

Author: Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani From the head of the one of the world's largest Sufi orders, the Naqshbandiyya-Haqqaniyya, comes a luminous volume of lectures intended for the soft hearts of the lovers of God. In his remarkable and inimitable style of discourse, Shaykh Nazim takes us on a journey towards true existence, showing us how to taste the difference between reality and illusion. A master of the Path, the shaykh guides the disciple to find balance, harmony, and discipline within the soul and to perfect the intimate relationship between the heart and heavens.

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The Silence of the Sufi by Sabit Madaliev
Paperback - 174 pages

The Silence of the Sufi is a devotional work. Its author has called it a spiritual journey, or stranstvie, using a Russian word for wandering that is laden with literary, religious, and historical nuance. Madaliev is an Uzbek, but his education is Russian, as is his chosen language of expression. Anyone familiar with the spiritual content of the works of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy will find deep affinities in the attitudes expressed by him in this book. Whether these are the result of the author's long proximity to things Russian — he lived in Moscow for twenty years before returning to Uzbekistan after its independence from the USSR — or from a longer, more troubled intermingling of spirituality that links the great Russian novelists to the religious teachings of Central Asia and beyond, is a question that scholars may ponder. What is certain is that the ideas of love, sacrifice, and absence of self, as well as of divine and human purpose, which both underlie and find explicit expression in every part of this book, continue to strike a chord in our frequently confused and apparently purposeless modern or post-modern lives.

This is a work of history, too, history the book serves to preserve and validate. In discreet segments — "On Listening Attentively," "On Gentle Words," "On Proper Posture" — it records and ruminates on Sufi Islam as practiced in Central Asia across the centuries. In this it resembles works such as The Cloister Walk or Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris, except that Sufism is a world virtually unkown to outsiders. Madaliev leads us into its historical and present-day practice among the Naqshbandiya with grace and elegance. Indeed, the historical and devotional aspects of the book —which could simply become dogmatic in the hands of another writer — are made beautiful and compelling here, partly by the author's poetic idiom, partly by his own uncertainty and sense of unworthiness in the search for God.

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The Naqshbandiyya : Orthodoxy and Activism in a Worldwide Sufi Tradition

Hardback - xv + 208 pages By Itzchak Weismann

About the book:

The Naqshbandiyya is one of the most widespread and influential Sufi orders in the Muslim world.

Having its origins in the Great Masters tradition of Central Asia almost a millennium ago, it played a significant role in the pre-modern history of the Indian subcontinent and the Ottoman Empire, and is still spreading today.

This volume seeks to present a broad picture of the evolution of the ideas and organizational forms of the Naqshbandi order throughout its history. It combines a synthesis of the vast literature on the order with original research, and shall be an important contribution for those interested in Sufism, Islamic history and Muslim-Christian relations.

Table of Contents:
1. The Core and Contours of a Sufi Brotherhood
2. Local Beginnings in the Oases of Inner Asia (Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries)
3. Consolidation and Expansion
4. Shari‘a and Renewal in the Great Empires (Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries)
5. Inner Rivalries and Cooperation
6. Scholarship and Organization into the Modern World (Nineteenth Century to the Present)
7. The Persistence of Older Traditions
8. Modern Transformations on the Path (Seventeenth to Twentieth Centuries)
9. The Contemporary Situation

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Beads of Dew from the Source of Life :'' Rashahat 'Ain al-Hayat ''

Paperback - 391 pages by Mawlana 'Ali Ibn Husain SafI

HISTORIES OF THE KHWAJAGAN - THE MASTERS OF WISDOM

Shaykh 'Ali ibn Husain Safi may Allah be pleased with him, the author of the Rashahat, lived in the beginning of the 10th Century AH. He was brother-in-law of the famous mystic and poet Jami may Allah be pleased with him, who gave him the name 'Safi'. In the Rashahat 'Ain al-Hayat, Safi gives an account of the lives and teachings of a group of Sufi mystics known as the Khwajagan - the Masters of Wisdom.

The Khwajagan lived in Central Asia between the 4th and the 9th centuries Hijri. The ranks of the Khwajagan include the great sufis 'Abd al-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani and Baha' al-Din Naqshband may Allah be pleased with them, who gave his name to the Naqshbandi Order, though he did not found it. The many branches of the Naqshbandiyya survive to this day.

This book is the first translation of the Rashahat into English and provides the present generation with clear and precise biographies of the great and genuine sufis who emerged in Turkestan at a most significant period.

Extract from the Introduction :

"In our book, the sayings attributed to the masters of this noble group have been established as authentic. Special care has been devoted to correct reporting of the exploits of the venerable Khwaja and other distinguished figures, whether knowledge of these has been obtained by indirect or direct means. Since the original purpose of this work was to record the spiritual state and exploits of the venerable Khwaja, this topic was the first to be brought to completion. The letters of the Arabic alphabet also have numerical values, so the number 909 (the date of the work's completion) is encoded in the title: Rashahat 'Ain al-Hayat [Beads of Dew from the Source of Life]."

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The Rules or Secrets of the Naqshbandi Order

Paperback - 350 pages by Omar Ali Shah

This collection extends the original version of this book, first published by Tractus in 1992 as a working textbook for the students of Omar Ali-Shah throughout the world. By adding about three-quaters of hitherto unpublished material, mostly concerned with the internalisation and application of the rules, the book takes on a new and more general focus, and is possibly destined to become a classic of contemporary sufism.

The rules themselves, eleven simply-expressed concepts which students of sufism were expected to work over and apply, were first drafted in the twelfth and fourteenth century by the Sufi Masters Abd al-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani and Baha' al-Din Naqshband may Allah be pleased with them, who founded the order. Contemporary orientalists have generally relegated them to the category of interesting historical footnotes, but the genius of Omar Ali-Shah has been to dust off these shelved ideas and show us how relevant they are to our lives and inner thinking here and now. They are not secrets in the sense of inpenetrable mysteries, they are secrets because they refer to hidden or intimate aspects of ourselves which must be exercised to develop further.

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Bahauddin Naqshband - A Central Asian Sufi

Paperback - 96 pages by Necdet Tosun | Translated by Jane Louise Kandur

Description : Bahauddin Naqshband, May Allah be pleased with him, of Bukhara, known as the reviver of the Khwajagan school, is one of the most eminent Sufi figures of the 14th century. After Bahauddin Naqshband’s, May Allah be pleased with him, time, this school later came to be known as the Naqshbandiyya order which has now spread throughout the entire Islamic world. Since then, the Sufi views of Bahauddin Naqshband, May Allah be pleased with him, and the Naqshbandiyya order have functioned as an elaborate part of the fabric of Muslims’ lives, both on material and spiritual planes.

This book is a humble contribution to the history of Sufism as an introduction to the life of this great historical figure, Bahauddin Naqshband, his life, his Sufi views, and history of the Naqshbandiyya order.

Table of Contents :

---Introduction

I. His Life and Family

   A. Birth, Childhood and Discipleship
   B. Period as Sheikh
   C. The Death of Khawaja Bahauddin Naqshband and His Tomb
   D. Family and Descendents

II. His Sufi Thoughts

   A. Sufi Thoughts
   B. Some Memorable Words
   C. New Approaches Introduced by Bahauddin Naqshband
   D. Some Hagiographic Events

III. His Influence

   A. Representatives and Tariqa (Sufi Way)
   B. Important Works Written about Bahauddin Naqshband
   C. Other Influences

---Conclusion
---Selected Bibliography

About the Author : Necdet Tosun (Ph.D., Marmara University, 2002) is Associate Professor of Sufism at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. He has published works on Ottoman, Central Asian and Indian Sufism.

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The Naqshbandi Sufi Way - Collectors Edition

Large Hardback - 500+ pages by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabanni

History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain

Description : The Naqshbandi Sufi Order was a school of thought and practice that stood in the vanguard of those that disseminated Sufism and defended Sufi communities where the armies did not reach, especially in Central Asia and India where these communities numbered in the millions. I specifically mean the Naqshbandi Sufis who took up political, social and educational roles in their communities, acting according to the Divine Revelations and Inspirations and following the Tradition of sincerity and Perfect Moral Character of the Prophets and Saintly Guides, may God grant them ever more from His Divine Lights.

The Naqshbandi Sufi Order traces its roots to the first of the Successor of Muhammad the Messenger, May Allah bless him and grant him peace. His name was Abu Bakr Siddiq, Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, and he was the closest friend and Disciple of the Holy Messenger of God. He was followed by Salman al-Farsi, the Persian, who as a seeker had spent many years in the path seeking the men and women of knowledge and gnosis, before finally finding his way to the side of the Prophet and Messenger of his age, Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be on him. He in turn passed the secret of this path to his successor, Qassim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, the grandson of Abu Bakr Siddiq, mentioned above. From there the secret was passed to the great Imam, the Master of Gnosis and the Spiritual Beacon of his Age, Jaf'ar as-Sadiq, Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, the Trustworthy, respected as Imam and Master of the Way by both Sunni and Shi'a, Moslem, Jew and Christian. He was the fifth generation of descent in the familial lineage of the Messenger of God, and he inherited his spiritual trusts both from his mother's side, who was a direct descendant of Abu Bakr, and from his father's side, who was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter, the Blessed Fatimah, Radi Allahu ta'ala anha.

Following as-Sadiq in the transmission of the Secret of the Order is Bayazid al-Bistami, Radi Allahu anhu, whose grandfather was a Zoroastrian. Bayazid practiced ascetism at par excellence (zuhd). He was the first of the Sufis to formulate the concept of Annihilation in God, fana'un fillah.

The name of the Order is the word Naqshband, which means "to engrave the Name of God in the Heart." For this reason, the Imam of this Sufi Path was called the King of Engravers, famous for not only having inscribed the spiritual presence of God in his heart, but for actually having the word "Allah" physically inscribed on his chest, found when he died. This miracle occurred due to his intensity when reciting the holy name of God "Allah." To him are attributed countless miracles, blessings and statements about the love of God, His Oneness, and the requirements of the Path to His Divine Presence.

He said about the Path named after him: "[it] is the easiest and simplest way for the student to understand Divine Oneness. It urges its followers to seek a state of complete worship of God both publicly and privately by keeping the complete code of conduct of the Prophetic Path. ... It does not demand of its followers perpetual hunger or wakefulness. ...we say that our way is the Mother of all Paths to God, and the guardian of all spiritual trusts. It is the safest, wisest and clearest way. It is the purest drinking-station, the most distilled essence."

There followed in succession, from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, a lineage of 40 masters. In each time there was one Master in this lineage whose spiritual accomplishments and master made him known was the Pole and the Ghawth of his age. The masters were so powerful in propelling their followers to the Divine Presence, that people would emigrate to their locales simply to be in the aura of their physical presence. Their ability to project their spiritual power through time and space was the cause for millions of people to reach the Divine Presence, many without ever encountering the master in physical form.

Prophet Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, Salla Allahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, radiya-l-Lahu`anh

Salman al-Farsi, radiya-l-Lahu`anh

Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah

Jafar as-Sadiq, alayhi-s-salam

Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami, radiya-l-Lahu canh

Abul Hassan Ali al-Kharqani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah

Abu Ali al-Farmadi, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah

Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah

Abul Abbas, al-Khidr, alayhi-s-salam

Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah

Arif ar-Riwakri, qaddasa-l-Lahu sirrah