The Naqshbandi order owes many insights to
Yusuf Hamdani and
Abdul Khaliq Gajadwani in the 12th century, the latter of whom is regarded as the organizer of the practices and is responsible for placing stress upon the purely silent invocation.[7] It was later associated with
Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari in the 14th century, hence the name of the order. Afterward, a branch or sub-order name was added. From 'Ubeydullah Ahrar to
Imam Rabbani, the way was called "Naqshbandiyya-Ahrariyya"; from Imam Rabbani to Shamsuddin Mazhar "Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddadiyya"; from Shamsuddin Mazhar to
Khalid al-Baghdadi "Naqshbandiyya-Mazhariyya"; from Mawlana Khalid onwards "
Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya"; "Naqshbandiyya-Mustafvi" (Khalidi) and so on.[8]
South Asia
The Naqshbandiyya order became an influential factor in Indo-Muslim life and for two centuries it was the principal spiritual order in the
Indian subcontinent.
Baqi Billah Berang, who was born in Kabul and brought up and educated in Kabul and
Samarkand, is credited for bringing the order to India during the end of the 16th century. He tried to spread his knowledge about the order but died three years later. His disciple
Ahmad Sirhindi took over after his death, and it was through him that the order gained popularity within a short period of time.
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi was an 18th-century member of the order.[9]
Syria
The Naqshbandiyya order was introduced into Syria at the end of the 17th century by Murad Ali al-Bukhari, who established himself in Damascus and traveled throughout Arabia. His branch became known as the Muradiyya and was led by his descendants. In 1820, Khalid Shahrazuri rose as a prominent Naqshbandi leader in the Ottoman world and his order became known as the
Khalidiyya which spread for at least two decades. In Syria and Lebanon, the leaders of every active Naqshbandiyya group acknowledged its
spiritual lineage. Later, a strife between Khalid's khalifas led to disruption of the order and it divide. The Farmadiyya branch, which practices silent and vocal
invocation, is still present in Lebanon and is named after Ali-Farmadi. The pre-Mujaddidi line of the Naqshbandiyya in Greater Syria came to an end when political leader Musa Bukhar died in 1973. The only branch to have survived till recently is the one based in the
khanqah al-Uzbakiyya in Jerusalem.[10]
Egypt
The Naqshbandi order rose to prominence in Egypt during the 19th century. A major khanqah was constructed in 1851 by Abbas I as a favor to the Naqshbandi sheikh Ahmad Ashiq, who led the order until his death in 1883. Ahmad Ashiq practiced the Diya'iyya branch of the Khalidiyya. Two other versions of Naqshbandiyya spread in Egypt in the last decades of the 19th century: the Judiyya, led by sheikh Juda Ibrahim, and the Khalidiyya, led by Sudanese al-Sharif Isma'il al-Sinnari and his successors. These branches continued to grow and are still active today. Unfortunately, none of the early orders survived far into the 20th century, and all khanqahs in Egypt were closed in 1954 when the buildings were either assigned a different function or demolished.[10]
Remembrance (Yād-kard – Persian: یاد کرد): Always orally and mentally repeating the
dhikr.
Restraint (Bāz-gasht – Persian: بازگشت): Engaging in the heart repetition of the al-kalimat at-tayyiba phrase – "La-ilaha il-allah muhammadur rasul-allah".
Watchfulness (Negāh-dāsht – Persian: نگاه داشت): Being conscientious over wandering thoughts while repeating Al-kalimat at-tayyiba.
Recollection (Yād-dāsht – Persian: ياد داشت): Concentration upon the Divine presence in a condition of
dhawq, foretaste, intuitive anticipation or perceptiveness, not using external aids.
Awareness while breathing (Housh dar dam – Persian: هوش در دم): Controlling one's breathing by not exhaling or inhaling in the forgetfulness of the Divine.
Journeying in one's homeland (Safar dar watan - Persian: سفر در وطن): An internal journey that moves the person from having blameworthy to praiseworthy properties. This is also referred to as the vision or revelation of the hidden side of the
shahada.
Watching one's step (Nazar bar qadam - Persian: نظر بر قدم): Do not be distracted from purpose of the ultimate journey.
Solitude in a crowd (Khalwat dar anjuman - Persian: خلوت در انجمن): Although journey is outwardly in this world, it is inwardly with God.
Temporal pause (Wuquf-i zamāni - Persian: وقوف زمانی): Keeping account of how one spends his or her time. If time is spent rightfully give thanks and time is spent incorrectly ask for forgiveness.
Numerical pause (Wuquf-i adadi - Persian: وقوف عددی): Checking that the dhikr has been repeated in odd numbers.
Heart pause (Wuquf-i qalbi - Persian: وقوف قلبی): Forming a mental picture of one's heart with the name of God engraved to emphasize that the heart has no consciousness or goal other than God.
^Also known as Naqshbandiyah (
Arabic: نقشبندية,
romanized: Naqshbandīyah), Neqshebendi (
Kurdish: نەقشبەندی), and Nakşibendi (in
Turkish)
Citations
^Milani, M.; Possamai, A.; Wajdi, F. (2017). "Branding of Spiritual Authenticity and Nationalism in Transnational Sufism". In Michel, P.; Possamai, A.; Turner, B. (eds.). Religions, Nations, and Transnationalism in Multiple Modernities. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 197–220.
doi:
10.1057/978-1-137-58011-5_10.
ISBN978-1-137-59238-5.
^Ziad, Waleed (2018). "From Yarkand to Sindh via Kabul: The Rise of Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Sufi Networks in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries". The Persianate World: Rethinking a Shared Sphere. p. 165.
doi:
10.1163/9789004387287_007.
ISBN9789004387287.
S2CID197951160. {{
cite book}}: |work= ignored (
help)