Duties of the Naqshbandi affiliation

From the foregoing account you will have understood that the essence of the Naqshbandi affiliation (nisbat) is permanent presence and awareness and the vanishing of passing thoughts (khatarat) from the heart. Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlawi Mujaddidi (may his secret be sanctified) says: In my view, the lessening of passing thoughts is equivalent to their vanishing. Once he was asked what is obligatory in the Naqshbandi order. He said: Two things are obligatory: first, awareness of the heart (wuquf-e qalbi); second, guarding of thoughts (nigahdasht-e khawatir). In one place he said that the noble verse:

رِجَالٌ ۙ لَّا تُلْہِیۡہِمْ تِجَارَۃٌ وَّ لَا بَیۡعٌ عَنۡ ذِکْرِ اللہِ

“Men whom neither trade nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah”

points to the permanence of the remembrance of the heart (dhikr-e qalbi), and from the other verse:

فَاذْکُرُوا اللہَ قِیٰمًا وَّقُعُوۡدًا وَّعَلٰی جُنُوۡبِکُمْ

“So remember Allah standing, sitting and lying on your sides”

this same remembrance of the heart is also understood, because remembrance of the heart can be done at all times, while continuous remembrance of the tongue is difficult.

The Naqshbandi Affiliation Is the Name of Four Things

Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlawi (may his secret be sanctified) says that the exalted Naqshbandi path is the name of four things: first, freedom from passing thoughts (be-khatragi); second, permanent presence; third, attractions (jadhabat); fourth, spiritual inspirations (waridat). In another place he says that in this noble path the matter has been based on five things: first, the seeker's attention towards the heart; second, the heart remaining turned towards the Creator; third, remaining heedless of passing thoughts; fourth, remaining occupied in remembrance (dhikr); fifth, keeping this meaning in view within the heart: “O Lord, You are my goal and Your pleasure is what I seek.” (Durr al-Ma'arif)

Presence Is of Two Kinds

The comprehender of the Ahmadi perfections, Hazrat Sayyiduna Shah Ghulam Ali (may his secret be sanctified), says that presence is of two kinds. One is the presence of remembrance, at the initial stage when the subtle centres (lata'if) become engaged in remembrance; it should be protected and guarded. The second is presence with Allah, which in our path is called recollection (yaddasht), attention (tawajjuh) and awareness within presence, and in other paths is named witnessing (shuhud). It is the heart's sight turned towards the Real, glorified is He. When this is attained, guarding it is necessary until it becomes a settled disposition (malaka) of the heart, presence becomes permanent and heedlessness finds no way in — so that even if outwardly one is occupied with the affairs of the world, inwardly one is intimate with the Real, glorified is He, as has been said: “Dil ba yar o dast ba kar.”

According to Hazrat Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, this permanent presence is attained when even in sleep there is no heedlessness of the Lord of Might; according to us, when one wakes from sleep and finds the heart aware; and according to Hazrat

......................

The heart with the Beloved and the hands at work.

Mawlana Jami (may his secret be sanctified), when one turns towards the heart and finds the heart in contemplation of the Essence. (Durr al-Ma'arif)

The Dervishhood of the Path Rests on Two Things

In the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi path, dervishhood is the name of two things: first, permanent presence and awareness; and second, love of the masters, which is a shadow of divine love (exalted be His mention). Its conditions are two things: first, constant companionship (suhbat); second, following the Sunnah (upon its master be blessings and peace).

As for unveiling (kashf), it is neither a pillar of the path nor a condition of it, nor is it necessary or essential for it. Hazrat Khwaja Mirza Jan-e Janan Shahid Dehlawi (may his secret be sanctified) said that Hazrat Khwaja-e Khwajagan Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified) removed unveiling from the path altogether, as is written in the discourses (malfuzat) of Hazrat Baqi Billah (may his secret be sanctified): those who are turned towards Allah Most High have no need of unveiling, because unveiling is of two kinds.

Unveiling Is of Two Kinds

One is worldly, that is, the unveiling of some matter of this world; this kind of unveiling is of no use at all. The second is otherworldly unveiling, which relates to the matters of the Hereafter; this unveiling has been set out well in the Book and the Sunnah, and that suffices us — no unveiling can equal it. Further, Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Baqi Billah (may his secret be sanctified) says:

The elders of the Sufi way (tariqat) have adopted spiritual disciplines and struggles (riyazat wa mujahadat) in their paths in such a manner that through them things are unveiled and visionary events (waqi'at) and the like appear; they have also made suluk, step by step, a condition. The progress of these great ones in suluk

is by way of unveiling. With them, at every single step one must see what they have prescribed; if all the things connected with a given station are not seen, this with them is a sign of deficiency.

But our masters (may Allah Most High sanctify their secrets) have adopted their path in such a manner that unveilings and visionary events do not arise at all. There are two reasons for this. One is that seekers are generally enamoured of unveiling; in such a case, through the appearance of states and visionary events, the seeker becomes caught up in them and attached to them, and as a result is held back from that progress in the degrees of nearness which is consumption and effacement in the very source of collectedness ('ayn-e jam'iyyat) — whereas the goal and the Sought One should be solely and only the Real, glorified is He, and states, visionary events and the like should be regarded as other than Him and superfluous.

People asked Hazrat Khwaja-e Khwajagan, the balm of aching hearts, Sayyid Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified), about states and unveilings, and he said: We have negated them all under the word “La” (no). The second reason is that for every theophany with which the All-Merciful (majestic is His majesty) manifests, the accursed Satan has also been given the power to manifest with that same theophany, and distinguishing and discerning between merciful theophanies and satanic theophanies is very difficult. For this reason the Naqshbandi masters have adopted a method in which none of the things mentioned above appears, and they have known with certainty that the true goal is this: that, turning away from all things, one becomes so occupied with the Real, glorified is He, that however much one may wish to put presence and awareness away from oneself, one cannot.

From the above account you will have well understood how lofty the aspiration (himmat) of the Naqshbandi saints is. They emphasise solely and only attention towards Allah. To seekers

they always give this admonition: that the Sought and the Goal be the one Divine Being alone, and that besides Him there be no desire for anything in the heart; even if the Holy Lord grants them, there should not be the least attachment to states and visionary events. If Naqshbandi seekers experience no unveiling on the path of suluk, they should never lose heart; this is the very temperament of their path. Yes, one should wring one's hands in regret when the Sunnahs are being abandoned and yet unveiling keeps occurring.

How regrettable it is to see those Naqshbandis who have no concern for acting on the Sunnah, and who keep both themselves and their disciples entangled in unveiling. It is most regrettable to see that, despite abandoning the Sunnah, when something is unveiled to them they take it as proof of their acceptance, and do not worry about the loss incurred by abandoning the Sunnah. For such people I quote a saying of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), every sentence of which is worth memorising, and from which it will be well gauged what worth unveiling and visionary events have with the Naqshbandi saints. He says: One should do one's work before death comes, and die crying out “O longing!” First, there is no escape from correcting one's beliefs, and affirming what is known of the religion necessarily and by continuous transmission (tawatur) is essential. Second, knowing and acting upon what relates to the science of fiqh is likewise essential. Third, the suluk of the Sufis is also needed — not for the purpose of beholding unseen forms and shapes and seeing lights and colours, for that itself falls within play and amusement. What is wrong with sensory forms and lights, that one should leave them and crave unseen forms and lights through disciplines and struggles? Unseen and sensory forms and lights are both creations of the Real, glorified is He, and among the signs that point to His being the Maker.

The light of the sun and the moon, which belongs to the visible world ('alam-e shahadat), is superior in several ways to the lights that are seen in the World of Images ('alam-e mithal); but because this seeing is constant and the elite and the common share in it, they drop it from consideration and crave unseen lights. Indeed, as the verse says:

The water that flows before your own door seems muddy.

Rather, the purpose of the suluk of the Sufi way is to gain an increase of certainty in the beliefs of the Shari'ah, so that one may come out of the narrow place of reasoning into the wide land of unveiling, and from the general to the detailed. (Letter 210, Volume One)

Walayat and Wilayat

Hazrat Sayyiduna wa Ghawthuna Khwaja Muhammad Baqi Billah (may his secret be sanctified) says: Walayat (with a fatha on the waw) is the nearness a servant has to the Real, glorified is He; and wilayat (with a kasra on the waw) is that which is the cause of acceptance among creation, through which the people of the world are drawn to him, and it pertains to perfection in relation to created beings. Extraordinary acts (khawariq) and spiritual influences (tasarrufat) fall under the second kind. One of those present asked: The blessings that reach those with capacity — under which kind do they fall? He replied that they are an effect of walayat (with a fatha on the waw). In the course of this discourse, speaking of how seekers benefit, he said: When the seeker's mirror faces the guide's mirror, whatever is in the guide's mirror casts its reflection on the seeker's mirror in proportion to their affinity. On this occasion he said that some are granted one of these two kinds of wilayat, some receive an ample share of both kinds, or someone receives more of one of the two

and a lesser share of the other.

Among the Naqshbandi masters (may Allah Most High have mercy on them), walayat (with a fatha on the waw) has always prevailed over wilayat (with a kasra on the waw). He also said that when a guide (muqtada) passes from this world, he hands over wilayat (with a kasra on the waw) to one of his sincere followers and takes walayat (with a fatha on the waw) with him. (Tadhkira-e Masha'ikh-e Naqshbandiya)

The Naqshbandi Affiliation Works by Reflection and Love

The locus of manifestation of the merciful theophanies, Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified), writes to Mawlana Muhibb Ali: O Makhdum! Whichever of the ways of life permitted by the Shari'ah you may be in, there is no harm, on condition that the bond of this love does not weaken but grows stronger day by day, and that the sigh of this yearning does not grow cold but increases its blaze hour by hour; for our connection is one of love (hubbi), and our affiliation works by reflection and dyeing (in'ikasi wa insibaghi), and makes no distinction between nearness and distance.

In another letter he says: Giving and receiving benefit take place by reflection and dyeing. Through the bond of love (rabita-e mahabbat) which the disciple holds with the guiding shaykh, he is coloured moment by moment with his colour and, by way of reflection, illumined by his lights. In this case knowledge is not required for giving and receiving benefit. A melon ripens slowly from the rays of the sun and becomes ripe as the days pass; what need is there for it to know of its ripening, or for the sun to know that it is ripening it? Yes, in the voluntary guiding and wayfaring (taslik wa suluk) found in other orders knowledge is required; but in our path, which is the path of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), knowledge of suluk and taslik is not required

at all, although the guiding shaykh, who is like the founder of the path, is endowed with perfect knowledge and abundant gnosis. Inevitably, then, in this exalted path, as regards arrival, the living and the dead, children and the old, the young and the elderly are all equal, for they reach the utmost of their goals through the bond of love or through the attention of the possessor of this wealth. (Letters 261–262)

In short, the foundation of the Naqshbandi affiliation is reflection and dyeing. The more love the disciple has for the shaykh and the more he follows the shaykh, the greater will be his affinity with the shaykh. In such a case the perfections of the shaykh will be reflected and cast their light upon the disciple. Since everything rests on reflection, it is not even necessary for the disciple or the guide to know his station and stage. Yes, in voluntary suluk, as in other orders, knowledge is certainly required there. Further clarification of this will come later.

A Note

Khwaja-e Khwajagan, the Imam of the Path, Sayyiduna Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified), according to the account of Mawlana Ya'qub Charkhi (may his secret be sanctified), held affiliation in Sufism (tasawwuf) by four routes. The first is from Hazrat Khidr (peace be upon him), by way of Uwaysi transmission (uwaysiyyat).

The second is from Hazrat Sayyid al-Ta'ifa Junayd Baghdadi (may his secret be sanctified). Its details are that Hazrat Khwaja-e Buzurg (may his secret be sanctified) received it from Hazrat Khwaja Sayyid Amir Kulal; he from Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Baba Sammasi; he from Khwaja Azizan Ali Ramitani; he from Khwaja Mahmud Anjir Faghnawi; he from Khwaja Muhammad Arif Riwgari; he from Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghijduwani; he from Khwaja Yusuf Hamadani; he from Khwaja Bu Ali Farmadi; he from Khwaja Imam Abul Qasim Qushayri; he from Khwaja Abu Ali Daqqaq; he from Khwaja Abul Qasim Nasrabadi; he from Khwaja Abu Bakr Shibli; and he from Sayyid al-Ta'ifa Hazrat Khwaja Junayd Baghdadi — may Allah Most High sanctify

their secrets and pour upon us of their blessings.

This affiliation of Hazrat Khwaja reaches the Commander of the Faithful, Hazrat Ali al-Murtaza (may Allah Most High ennoble his noble face).

The third affiliation is the one that, through the mediation of Hazrat Bayazid Bistami, ends at the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him); and

the fourth is the one that, through the mediation of Hazrat Bistami (may his secret be sanctified), ends at Hazrat Ali al-Murtaza (may Allah be pleased with him).

In general among the Naqshbandis, and especially among the Naqshbandi Mujaddidis, the affiliation that shines forth, and through which the Naqshbandis attained such lofty perfections and ranks, is the same affiliation that passed from Hazrat Abu Bakr to Salman Farsi, from him to Hazrat Imam Qasim, from him to Imam Ja'far Sadiq, from him by way of Uwaysi transmission to Hazrat Sultan Bayazid Bistami, from him likewise to Hazrat Khwaja Abul Hasan Kharaqani, and from him to Hazrat Khwaja Bu Ali Farmadi (may Allah Most High be pleased with them all). The rest is the same chain as was mentioned under the Junaydi affiliation.

The Titles of the Affiliation

It should be known that the well-known affiliation among our masters is the one that comes from Hazrat Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), as has passed (as was just mentioned). This exalted affiliation has had different names according to the differences of the age. Thus, from Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) to Hazrat Sultan al-Arifin Tayfur ibn Isa, known as Bayazid Bistami, this affiliation was called Siddiqiyya; from Hazrat Bayazid Bistami up to Hazrat Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghijduwani (may Allah sanctify their secrets) its name was Tayfuriyya; and from him up to Hazrat

Khwaja-e Buzurg Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified) it continued to be called Khwajaganiyya; and from the blessed time of Hazrat Khwaja-e Buzurg (may his secret be sanctified) its name became Naqshbandiyya, which continues to this day.

Some books indicate that when this affiliation was filled with a particular light through the person of Hazrat Khwaja Ubaydullah Ahrar (may his secret be sanctified), from that time until Hazrat Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) it was called Ahrariyya. As for the Naqshbandi affiliation that became available to people through the mediation of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified): since it received a new freshness and radiance from Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), and his lofty and exalted person raised it to such heights and elevations that even the loftiness of the Throne was left lost in wonder, from that time the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi line became in its own right a great highway of divine grace. Indeed, ever since Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) appeared and this affiliation was filled with Mujaddidi lights, this branch of the Naqshbandi order gained the greatest fame and acceptance and illumined the world; from that time this affiliation became known by the name Naqshbandi Mujaddidi. Then, among those who received this same affiliation through the mediation of Hazrat Shamsuddin Habibullah Mirza Jan-e Janan Shahid Dehlawi (may his secret be sanctified), the word Mazhariyya was further added to it; and from the time this affiliation reached people through Hazrat Qutb al-Aqtab Allama Mufti Raza Ali Sahib Banarasi (may his secret be sanctified), the word Razawiyya was added.

Since Hazrat Mawlana Raza Ali (may his secret be sanctified) held a great station in knowledge, learning and sanctity, and his spiritual grace became widespread in the region of Banaras, he had many deputies who spread this affiliation far and wide. The one who most spread the grace of Hazrat

Mawlana Raza Ali (may his secret be sanctified) was his most rightly guided deputy, Hazrat Mawlana Sayyid Abdul Halim Sahib Siwani, together with his noble son, the Qutb-e Alam Mawlana Sayyid Abul Khayrat Sahib (may Allah sanctify their secrets). Owing to the strength of the spiritual grace of Hazrat Mawlana Sayyid Abul Khayrat (may his secret be sanctified), this affiliation shines forth even today in its full splendour; from his time the word Khayriyya was further added to it.

Hazrat Mawlana Abul Khayrat (may his secret be sanctified) had many accomplished deputies, but those in whom his affiliation is present today with those same elevations are his most eminent deputy, Shaykh al-Masha'ikh Hazrat Mawlana Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sahib Kamalpuri (may his secret be sanctified), and the bearer of his qualities, the comprehender of his perfections, his beloved son, my master and my support, my lord and my guide, Hazrat Mawlana Shah Ahmad Raza Khan Sahib — may Allah let the Muslims benefit from his long life, and pour His grace upon me and upon all my brothers, always and forever. Now this affiliation stands in his spiritual lineage (shajara) as follows: Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya Khayriyya Razawiyya. The word Razawiyya was placed after Khayriyya in connection with him.

The Difference Between the Naqshbandi and Mujaddidi Affiliations

You have already read about the Naqshbandi affiliation in detail. The Ahmadi Mujaddidi affiliation is this: that in each of the seven subtle centres (lata'if-e sab'a) attention arises in such a way that this attention then disappears, and the presence of Allah Most High comes about just as the seeker's own self is present to the seeker, and nothing of relish, yearning or attention remains; and that in the subtle centres of the World of Creation ('alam-e khalq) expansiveness and breadth in the lights of the affiliation, and subtlety of states, are attained. This is called the Ahmadi Mujaddidi affiliation. (Letters of Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlawi, may his secret be sanctified)

Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali Mujaddidi (may his secret be sanctified) says in “Izah al-Tariqa”: Know that the Mujaddidi path is built on the principles of the Naqshbandi path, which are awareness of the heart, attention to the bountiful Source (mabda'-e fayyaz), guarding of thoughts, permanent remembrance, and holding fast to the companionship of the guiding shaykh. In every station one should keep in view the customary regard, and the grace and its source, and persevere in the remembrances and practices (adhkar wa ashghal) of this same path; but the lofty stations and noble terms of these great ones are something else altogether. (Two lines later he says:) The essence of this noble path is permanent presence and permanent awareness

of the Divine Essence, glorified is He, together with adherence to sound belief in accordance with the Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah and adherence to following the Prophetic Sunnah ﷺ. Whoever lacks any one of these three matters (permanent presence, adherence to sound belief, and following the Sunnah) leaves the path — we seek refuge in Allah from that. In the way of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) this state was called excellence (ihsan), and in the terminology of the Sufis it is called witnessing, contemplation (mushahada), recollection and the eye of certainty ('ayn al-yaqin). For attaining this wealth, which is the capital of servanthood ('ubudiyyat), four methods have been set.