- Shah Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani
-
Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani also well known as Shah Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani by his followers was a great Sufi Master and the Religious Theologian (Faqih) of Sufia Nurbakhshia Muslims. He wrote al Fiqh-al-Ahwat (Islamic jurisprudence) and Kitab al Aetiqadia (Book of Faith). Nurbkhsh is the 28th official master of Maktab Tariqat "Silsila Dhahab Sufia", in a continuous succession of Sufi masters dating back 1,400 years to the time of Islamic prophet Muhammad. After Nurbakhsh the Maktab Tariqat "Silsila Dhahab Sufia" became well known as Sufia Nurbakhshiya.[1] The present article focuses on life and works of Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani.
Contents
Nurbakhsh's Mystical Path
Mysticism or Sufism is a path through which a believer enters into a closer relationship with God. Even in Mohammad's lifetime, most of his followers were not content with merely obeying the precepts but followed a certain path in order to enter into a closer relationship with God. The prophet taught them a way to purge their souls of qualities that had been declared evil. Thus a science of pious self-examination and religious psychology, assisted by the study of Islamic Scriptures, came into existence. The followers of this movement grew in numbers with spread of Islam. After considerable interval of time, a nuber of Sufi Orders came into being. At the same time a clash of ideology started among various religious doctrines which was of sectarian nature. This state of the affairs created a great confusion amongst the followers of Sufism in particular and the Muslims in general. At that crucial time Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani was reflected in a dream to abolish innovations and to revive the practices of Mohammad's time.[2] and further.[3]
Nurbakhsh'S Short Biography
Nurbakhsh's real name was Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Abdullah. His father was born in Qain and his grand father in al-Hasa, whence in some ghazals (lyrics) he styles himself as Lahsavi. His father migrated from Bahrayn to Qain in Qahistan, where his son (Nurbakhsh) was born in 795/1393. Thus his full name as appeared in his prose works is "Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani". Nurbakhsh was a religious genius. He learned the Qur'an by heart when he was only seven years old...[4] He became a disciple of Sayyid Ishaq al-Khatlani, himself a disciple of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani well known as Shah-e-Hamadan (whose biography has been published in several languages but the most reliable and earliest biography written in his lifetime by one of his disciples Nur at Din Jaffar Badakhshani has recently been published by Nadwat-al-Islamia al- Nurbakhshia Pakistan).
Appointment of Nurbakhsh
Saiyyed Ali Hamadani well known as Shah Hamdan appointed Khawaja Ishaq al- Khatlani as his successor. Ishaq was the then spiritual master of Kubravia Sufi Order, one of the major Sufi orders of the time in Central Asia and Northern Persia. He, in obedience to a dream, gave Sayyed Muhammad Qahistani the name "Nurbakhsh" and coferred the Khirqa of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani upon him, and from that day he himself became a disciple of his own pupil (Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani)...[5]
Nurbakhsh's Spiritual Place
This was surely a spiritual matter and it is difficult to find such an example in the religious history that any spiritual leader has ever become a disciple of his own pupil/ disciple. This is really a landmark in the history of Mysticism or Sufism, showing that Nurbakhsh had reached a very high degree of spiritual enlightenment.
Nurbakhsh as a Sufi Theologian (Faqih)
It is an historical fact that the earlier Sufi masters and representatives paid less attention to the legal and philosophical aspects of Qur'an and the Hadith/Traditions of Mohammad and laid more stress on the conduct of the soul. Questions of dogmas and metaphysics were also relatively overlooked. But Mir Sayyed Muhammad Nurbakhsh paid special attention to the legal and philosophical aspects of Qur'an and traditions of Mohammed, besides giving significance to the conduct of soul. This fact distinguishes Nurbakhsh not only from all the contemporary Sufiyas but also from his predecessors. Nurbakhsh made an attempt to bridge the gap between the orthodox Sunni'ism and Shi'ism and gave an Islamic Fiqh of religious moderation titled Al-Fiqh al- Ahwat (Moderate Islamic Jurisprudence).[6] and further in the Article by Sajjad, Hussain Balghari:"Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani", Nawa-i-Sufia Islamabad, Issue No. 12, 1995</ref>.
One can easily estimate the justice of the assertion that "the system is an attempt to form a via model between Sunnism and Shiism after studying Fiqh al Ahwat. Without access to Fiqh al Ahwat, it is not justifiable to evaluate the Nurbakhshies, Nurbakhsh's mission and his great services and sincere efforts for the cause of Pan-Islamism.
Nurbakhsh's Genealogy
The Silsila Dhahab meaning golden chain starts from the Prophet of Islam. The genealogy as given by Nurbakhsh in his works are as follows:
1. Mohammed
2. Imam Ali Ibn Abi Tal;ib
3. Imam Hussain
4. Imam Ali Zain-Ul-Abideen
5. Imam Muhammad Baqir
6. Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq
7. Imam Musa Kazim
8. Imam Ali Raza
9. Shayk Maruf al Kurkhi
10. Shaykh Sari as-Saqti
11. Shaykh Junayd Baghdadi
12. Shaykh Abu ali al Rudbarai
13. Shaykh Abu Ali Katibi
14. Shaykh Abu Usman Maghribi
15. Shaykh Abu al-Jurjani
16. Shaykh Abu Bakr Annasaji
17. Shaykh Ahmed Ghazali
18. Shaykh abu Najeeb al-suharwardi
19. Shaykh ammaar yasir al-Badeesi
20. Shaykh al-Najm-ud-din al–kubra
21. Shaykh Ali al-Lala
22. Shaykh Ahmed zakir al Jurjani
23. Shaykh Abud al- Rahman Asfariyeni
24. Shaykh Alla al-Dula as-Samnani
25. Shaykh Mehmood al Muzdiqani
26. Shaykh Amir al-kabir sayyid Ali Hamadani
27. Khawaja Ishaq al –Khutalni
28. Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh al-Qahistani
....to be contd....
The fact is that these practices are not an assemblage of his (Nurbakhsh's)personal view but the practices were originally conceived to him from Muhammad through the masters of the spiritual chain. If any reader feel doubt in this connection, we would invite them to travel on the long road through the history of mysticism and to compare it with that of Nurbakhsh’s teachings. The research itself will tell you the fact.
Works of Nurbakhsh
The most important books of Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani are: 1. Al- Fiqh Al- Ahwat (Islamic Jurisprudence,)ISBN-969-8648-00-3
2. Kitab al Aetiqadia (Book of Faith).in French Marijan, "Professions de foi de deux Kubrawis: Ali-Hamadani et Muhammad Nurbakhsh, "Bulletin d'etudes orientals 17 1961-62, 133-203, (Damascus Syria).
3. Silsila Dhahab (in Arabic and Persian)
4. Risal fi Ilm Firasat or Insan nama
5. Kashf al haqaeeq
6. Risala Maash al Salikeen
7. Makarim al Akhlaq
8. Silsila al- Auwliya (Arabic)
9. Risala Nooria or Nur al-Haq
10. Risala Miraajia (Persian)
11. Risal al Huda (Arabic)
12. Risala Irfani(Persian)
13. Risala Aqsam-e-Dil(Persian)
14.
....to be contd....
References
- ^ Dr. Naeem, G: Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh aur Maslak-e-Nurbakhshiya", "Shah-e-Hamadan Publications, Islamabad", page 12, 2000
- ^ Balghari Sajjad, H: "Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani", Nawa-i-Sufia Islamabad, Issue No. 12", 1995
- ^ Qahistani, M.S. Nurbakhsh: "Fiqh al Ahwat", Urdu Translilation by Allama Muhammad Bashir Brahvi, "Madrasa Shah Hamdan Skardu", ISBN-969-8648-00-3, page 1
- ^ Khadim Hussain, Maulana:"Ahwal wa Asar e Shah Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani",page 1 to 3, "Anjuman-e- Sufia Nurbakhshiya Karachi", 1987
- ^ Khadim Hussain, Maulana:"Ahwal wa Asar e Shah Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani",page 4, "Anjuman-e- Sufia Nurbakhshiya Karachi", 1987
- ^ Dr. Reick Andreas: "Nurbakhshis of Baltistan-Revival of the Oldest Muslim Community in the Northern Areas of pakistan", paper read at the International Conference "Karakurum-Himalaya-Hindukush- Dynamic of Change", National Library Islamabad 29.9 to 2.10.1995
Categories:- Sufi mystics
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
