Abdullah Fa'izi ad-Daghestani (Peace be upon him)
Abdullah Fa'izi ad-Daghestani (Dec. 14, 1891-Sept. 30, 1973) Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Sufi order.He was born in the Caucasian region of Daghestan (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1891. Both his father and elder brother were medical doctors, the latter being a surgeon in the Imperial Russian Army. Abdullah was raised and trained by his maternal uncle, Shaykh Sharafuddin Daghestani (1875-1936). He showed remarkable spiritual aptitude from a young age and this attracted the attention of many local people.Sometime in the 1900s Abdullah’s family (indeed his whole village) wearied of the repression imposed on Daghestan by the Russian government and decided to make Hijrah (emigration) to the Ottoman Empire. They first settled in the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa, and then after a year moved to a place called Reşadiye (now known as Güneyköy). A new village was established that was populated by Daghestani refugees. Shortly thereafter, Abdullah’s father died and at the age of fifteen he was married to a Daghestani girl named Halima.
In 1910, after merely six months of marriage, Shaykh Sharafuddin ordered Abdullah into sacred seclusion (khalwat) for five years. This practice included severe austerities that were intended to raise his spiritual rank.
He successfully completed this seclusion and when he returned to secular life he found the Ottoman Empire embroiled in the First World War. Along with many young men of his village, Abdullah entered into military service and took part in the Battle of Gallipoli. During a firefight he was severely wounded by Allied fire and he endured a near death experience that only led to a deeper understanding of Reality.
In 1921 Abdullah was instructed by Shaykh Sharafuddin to enter another long seclusion for that would last for five years. He completed this and, as it has been described, “the power of his spiritual attraction increased. He became so renowned that even during his Shaykh's lifetime, people used to come from everywhere to learn from him.” He was then granted a license (ijazah) to be a master, a shaykh, in the Naqshbandi Path.
With the anti-Sufi regulations in the new Turkish Republic impeding religious practice, Shaykh Abdullah began to contemplate leaving the country. After the death of Shaykh Sharafuddin in 1936, a delegation came to Reşadiye from King Farouk to pay their condolences, as he had many murids in Egypt. One of the delegation married a daughter of Shaykh Abdullah and the family moved to Egypt.
Shaykh Abdullah resided in Egypt until his daughter’s divorce. The family then left Egypt for Syria. Shaykh Abdullah resided for a time in Aleppo and from there moved to Homs and then finally to Damascus near the tomb of great saint Sa’d ad-Din Jibawi. There he established the first tekke for his branch of the Naqshbandi Order.
In 1943 he moved to a house on Jabal Qasioun mountain, a house that was bought by his first Syrian murid and later khalifah, Shaykh Husayn Ifrini. This house and the mosque next to it still stand, and it is now the site of his türbe (tomb).
Over the years Shaykh Abdullah Daghestani became well known throughout Damascus for his spiritual teachings and he attracted many thousands of individuals who sought out relief from the weight of worldly life. He died on September 30, 1973.
One of his khalifahs, Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi, made remarkable progress in spreading the Sufi teachings of Shaykh Abdullah to the West.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
Naqshbandi Hakkani Golden Chain
- Holy Prophet Muhammad ibn Abd Allah Sllallaho Alaihee Wa Sallam (570/571 - 632 CE)
- Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, (r)
- Salman al-Farsi, (r)
- Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr
- Jafar as-Sadiq, (a)
- Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami, (r),
- Abul Hassan Ali al-Kharqani, (q)
- Abu Ali al-Farmadi, (q)
- Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani, (q)
- Abul Abbas, al-Khidr,
- Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani, (q)
- Arif ar-Riwakri, (q)
- Khwaja Mahmoud al-Anjir al-Faghnawi, (q)
- Ali ar-Ramitani, (q)
- Muhammad Baba as-Samasi, (q)
- as-Sayyid Amir Kulal, (q)
- Imam at-Tariqah Muhammad Baha'uddin Shah Naqshband, (q)
- Ala'uddin al-Bukhari al-cAttar, (q)
- Yaqub al-Charkhi, (q)
- Ubaydullah al-Ahrar, (q)
- Muhammad az-Zahid, (q)
- Darwish Muhammad, (q)
- Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanaki, (q)
- Muhammad al-Baqi bi-l-Lah, (q)
- Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi, (q)
- Muhammad al-Masum, (q)
- Muhammad Sayfuddin al-Faruqi al-Mujaddidi, (q)
- as-Sayyid Nur Muhammad al-Badawani, (q)
- Shamsuddin Habib Allah, (q)
- Abdullah ad-Dahlawi, (q)
- Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi, (q)
- Shaykh Ismail Muhammad ash-Shirwani, (q)
- Shaykh Khas Muhammad Shirwani, (q)
- Shaykh Muhammad Effendi al-Yaraghi, (q)
- Sayyid Jamaluddin al-Ghumuqi al-Husayni, (q)
- Shaykh Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri, (q)
- Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Madani, (q)
- Shaykh Sharafuddin ad-Daghestani, (q)
- Shaykh Abdullah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani, (q)
- Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani (q)
Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi (an-Naqshbandiyyah, Nakşibendi, Naksbendi, Naksbandi) is one of the major tasawwuf spiritual orders (tariqa) of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "sober" order[1]The Naqshbandi order is nearly 1,500 years old, and is active today. It is the only Sufi order that claims to trace its direct spiritual lineage (silsilah) to Hazrat Muhammad saws through Abu Bakr r.a., the First Caliph and Hazrat Muhammad (saws)'s companion. This lineage also indirectly connects to Ali r.a.[2], Muhammad (saws)'s cousin, son-in-law and the Fourth Caliph, via Jafar as-Sadiq r.a.. In contrast, most other Sufi orders (turuq) trace their lineage through Ali.[3][4]
It is considered that the transmission of spiritual lineage or silsilah, is directly from one Sheikh to another, at or after the time of death or burial. It is not tied to a country, family or political appointment, but is a direct heart to heart transmission. It is also considered that the appointed Sheikh will be in some communication with past Sheikhs. At any one time, there will of course be many other Sheikhs, who will all naturally owe their spiritual allegiance (Beyat) to the current master of the silsilah.
The Naqshbandi order owes many insights to Abu Ya'qub Yusuf al-Hamadani r.a.. and Abd al-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani r.a., who is regarded as the organizer of the practices and is responsible for placing stress upon the purely mental dhikr[5] . It was later associated with Muhammad Baha ad-din an-Naqshabandi r.a., hence the name of the order. Some interpret the name translation as "the engravers (of the heart)", "related to the image-maker", "pattern maker", "image maker", "reformer of patterns", "way of the chain" and "golden chain."
The name has changed over the years. Originally called "as-Siddiqiyya", around the times of Bayazid al-Bistami to Sayyadina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani r.a. it was called at-Tayfuriyya, and from the times of Sayyadina 'Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani r.a. to Shah Naqshband r.a. it was called the "Khwajagan" or "Hodja". From the time of Shah Naqshband it has been called Naqshbandiyya.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
