wikipedia | Naqshbandi (an-Naqshbandiyyah, Nakşibendi, Naksibendi, Naksbandi) is a major spiritual order of Sunni Islam Sufism. It is the only Sufi way that traces its spiritual lineage to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through Abu Bakr, the first Caliph and Muhammad's companion. Some Naqshbandi orders trace their lineage through Ali,[1] Muhammad's cousin, son-in-law and the fourth Caliph, in keeping with most other Sufi paths.[2][3]
Spiritual lineage criteria
In Sufism, as in any serious Islamic discipline such as jurisprudence (fiqh), Quranic recital (tajwid), and hadith, a disciple must have a master or sheikh
from whom to take the knowledge, one who has himself taken it from a
master, and so on, in a continuous chain of masters back to Muhammad.
According to Carl W. Ernst:[4]
Within the Sufi tradition, the formation of the orders did not immediately produce lineages of master and disciple. There are few examples before the eleventh century of complete lineages going back to the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the symbolic importance of these lineages was immense: they provided a channel to divine authority through master-disciple chains. It was through such chains of masters and disciples that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to both general and special devotees.
This means that a Sufi master has met and taken the way from a master, and that during his lifetime he has explicitly and verifiably invested the disciple—whether
in writing or in front of a number of witnesses—as a fully authorized
master (murshid ma’dhun) of the spiritual path to succeeding generations
of disciples.
Such spiritual transmission from an unbroken line of masters is one criterion that distinguishes a true or ‘connected’ Sufi path (tariqa muttasila), from an inauthentic or "dissevered" path, (tariqa munqati‘a).
The leader of a dissevered path may claim to be a Sufi master on the
basis of an authorization given by a master in private or other
unverifiable circumstance, or by a figure already passed from this
world, such as one of the righteous person or Muhammad, or in a dream,
or so on.
These practices only “warm the heart” (yusta’nasu biha)
but none meets Sufism’s condition that a Sufi master must have a clear
authorization connecting him with Muhammad, one that is verified by
others than himself. Without such publicly verifiable authorizations,
the Sufi path would be compromised by the whims of the people.
The chain of spiritual transmission is not tied to a country, family
or political appointment, but is a direct heart to heart transmission,
at or after the time of death or burial. It is also considered that the
appointed sheikhs will be in some communication with past sheikhs. All are joined by their common spiritual allegiance to the master of spiritual lineages, Muhammad.
Syria and Palestine
The Naqshbandiyya was introduced into Syria at the end of the 17th
century by Murad Ali al-Bukhari, who was initiated in India. Later, he
established himself in Damascus, but traveled throughout Arabia. His
branch became known as the Muradiyya. After his death in 1720, his
descendents formed the Muradi family of scholars and sheikhs who
continued to head the Muradiyya. In 1820 and onward, Khalid Shahrazuri
rose as the prominent Naqshbandi leader in the Ottoman world. After the
death of Khalid in 1827, his order became known as the Khalidiyya,
which continued to spread for at least two decades. In Syria and
Lebanon, the leaders of every active Naqshbandiyya group acknowledged
its spiritual lineage, which had retained the original Naqshbandiyya way.
