Baha-ud-din Naqshband

Bahá-ud-dín Shah an-Naqshband Muhammad al-Uwaysi al-Bukhárí (Persian: بهاءالدین محمد نقشبند بخاری) (1318–1389) was the founder of what would become one of the largest Sufi Sunni orders, the Naqshbandi.

Sayyíd Bahá-ud-dín Naqshband Bukhárí
Baha-ud-Din's name in Arabic calligraphy
Grandpatriarch of The Hazrat Ishaans
Born	1318 Bukhara, Chagatai Khanate
Died	1389 (aged 70–71) Bukhara, Timurid Empire
Feast	Khwaja Digar, 3rd Rabi al Awwal

Biography

Bahá-ud-dín was born on 18 March 1318 CE (14 Muharram, 718 AH) in the village of Qasr-i-Hinduvan (later renamed Qasr-i Arifan) near Bukhara, in what is now Uzbekistan and it was there that he died in 1389.^[1]

Lineage

Bahá-ud-dín was a Sayyid, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Imam Hasan al-Askari.

Harvard professor Annemarie Schimmel held the opinion of Bahauddin Naqshband being a descendant of Imam Hasan al Askari.^[2]

One registered lineage of him is the following:^[3]

1. Muhammad
2. Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima Al Zahra
3. Imam Hussain
4. Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin
5. Imam Muhammad al Baqir
6. Imam Ja'far al-Sâdiq
7. Imam Musa al-Kazim
8. Imam Ali al Reza
9. Imam Muhammad al Taqi
10. Imam Ali al Hadi
11. Imam Hasan al-Askari
12. Mir Sayyid Ali Akbar
13. Sayyid Mir Muhammad Mahmud Fakhriddin
14. Amir Sayyid Mir Muhyuddin
15. Amir Sayyid Mir Khalwati
16. Amir Sayyid Mir Naqi Naqib
17. Sayyid Mir Ilaq
18. Sayyid Mir Mahmud
19. Sayyid Burhan Qilich
20. Sayyid Mir Shaaban
21. Sayyid Mir Qasim
22. Sayyid Mir Zayn ul Abedin
23. Sayyid Mir Abdullah
24. Sayyid Mir Burhanuddin Qilich
25. Amir Sayyid Mir Jalalludin Muhammad Bukhari
26. Amir Sayyid Mir Muhammad Bukhari
27. Bahauddin Naqshband^[4]

Naqshbandi Golden Chain

He came into early contact with the Khwajagan (lit: the Masters), and was adopted as spiritual progeny by one of them, Baba Muhammad Sammasi, while still an infant. Sammasi was his first guide on the path, and more important was his relationship with Sammasi's principal khalifa (successor), Amir Kulal, the last link in the silsila, or chain of teachers, before Baha-ud-Din:^[5]

1. Muhammad
2. Sayyidna Abu Bakkar Siddique
3. Salman the Persian
4. Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakkar
5. Ja'far al-Sadiq
6. Bayazid Bistami
7. Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani
8. Abu Ali Farmadi
9. Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani
10. Abdul Khaliq al-Gajadwani
11. Arif ar-Riwagri
12. Mahmood Anjir-Faghnawi
13. Azizan Ali Ramitani
14. Mohammad Baba As-Samasi
15. Sayyid Amir Kulal
16. Imam at-Tariqah Muhammad Baha'uddin Shah Naqshband

As a youth, Naqshbandi was recognized as an exceptional Islamic scholar before he turned 20. He traveled to Mecca for the Islamic pilgrimage Hajj at least three times. He became a respected scholar in Central Asia and received many guests and pupils to Bukhara from other parts of Central Asia.^[6]

Death

Bahá-ud-dín was buried in his native village, Qasr-i Arifan, in 1389. In 1544, Khan Abd al-Aziz built over his grave a tomb and surrounding buildings. The Memorial complex is located 16 kilometers from Bukhara and is today a place of pilgrimage.^[6]

References

1. "Yawm-A-Wilaadat Hazrat Khwaja Shah Bahaudeen Naqshband Qaddas Allahu Sirruhul Azeez". 17 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27.
2. Schimmel in Pain and Grace, p. 32, quote: "Khwaja Mir Dard´s paternal family came from Bukhara; they led their pedigree back to Bahauddin Naqshband, after whom the Naqshbandi order is named, and who was a descendant in the 13th generation of the 11th Shi´a Imam al-Hasan al-Askari"
3. Tazkare Khanwade Hazrat Ishaan, p. 62 f., by Yaseen Qasvari, published by "Idarat Talimate Naqshbandiyya"
4. "Shajara-e-nasab lineages of descendants of Imam Hasan al-Askari r.a.-Shajara.org". Archived from the original on 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
5. Sultanova, Razia (2011). "Naqshbandiyya". From Shamanism to Sufism. I.B.Tauris. pp. 32–37. ISBN 978-1-84885-309-6.
6. Mullerson, Rein (2014). Central Asia. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781317792529.

Further reading

• The Rules or Secrets of the Naqshbandi Order by Omar Ali-Shah (1992) ISBN 2909347095
• The Masters of Wisdom by John G. Bennett (1995) ISBN 1881408019
• The Naqshbandi Sufi Way, (History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain). by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani. Kazi Publications, USA (1995) ISBN 0-934905-34-7
• Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Islamic Supreme Council of America (June 2004), ISBN 1930409230.

Other websites

• The official website of Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi the patron of Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Order in East and West.
• The official website of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order of America
• Naqshbandia Owaisiah
• Ghazwat ul-Hind Archived 2017-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
• The official website of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Order of the USA and Europe