- Apr 12, 2022
- 6 min read

The Origin of the Naqshbandi Order

An introduction to the most distinguished Naqshabandi Tariqat

By Moulana Shaykh Muhammed Nazim Adil Al Haqqani Al Qibla.

Shaykh Muhammed Nazim Al Haqqani says, "It is important for us to know about the beginning of Tariqat un Naqshbandiya til aliyya, if you do not know this, it is a huge imperfection. It must be perfect for anyone who is interested in or is in Tariqat Naqshabandiya must know where this tariqat began and where it came from, that is only one of the secrets that has been revealed about the Night of the ascension to the hearts of the saints through the transmission of the Golden Chain of the Naqshabandi Order." Many more visions were given to the Prophet (s), but there is no permission to reveal them.

That Night the Prophet (s) was ordered by God to perform fifty prescribed prayers a day. He asked God to shorten it to five prescribed prayers a day on the advice of the Prophet Moses alai his saalam. He returned from the night journey, and the first one to believe him was Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral). The unbelievers, hoping to ridicule him, asked him to describe Jerusalem. He described it in all its details. The unbelievers were humiliated.

Persecution against the Prophet (s) and his companions escalated. Then God sent him the helpers from Madinah. Islam had begun to spread among the tribes of this small oasis not far from Makkah. God gave the believers permission to emigrate to Madinah, the home of the helpers. Abu Bakr (ral) wanted to emigrate, but Muhammed (s) told him, not yet, wait and maybe you will travel with me. There is a very important event, which must take place.

The Prophet (s) departed at night with Abu Bakr (ral) and left behind him Ali (ral) to impersonate him in his bed. On the way he stopped to hide in the cave of Thawr. Abu Bakr (ral) said, "O Prophet (s), do not enter, I will enter first.? In his heart he thought that there might be something harmful inside. He chose to encounter it first. He found a hole in the cave. He called the Prophet (s) to come in while he put his foot over the hole. The Prophet (s) came in and lay down with his head on Abu Bakr (ral)'s lap.

A snake inside the hole began to bite the foot of Abu Bakr (ral). He tried not to move although he was in great pain. Tears flowed down his cheeks. One warm tear dropped on the blessed face of the Prophet (s). At this, as was mentioned in the Quran, "He said to his friend, 'grieve not for verily God is with us [9:40]. He also said, "What do you think of two when God is the third" (Bukhari). Abu Bakr (ral) said to the Prophet (s), "O Prophet of God, I am not sad, but I am in pain. A snake is biting my foot and I am wo ied that it might bite you. I am crying because my heart is burning for you and for your safety." The Prophet (s) was so pleased with the reply from his beloved Companion that he hugged Abu Bakr as Siddiq (r), put his hand on his heart and poured the knowledge that God had given him into the heart of Abu Bakr (ral). That is why he said in a Tradition, "Whatever God poured into my heart, I poured into the heart of Abu Bakr."

Shaykh Muhammed Nazim al Haqqani, describing some of the secrets given to the Naqshbandi saints, says, following this the Prophet (s) put his other hand on the foot of Abu Bakr as Siddiq radhiyallahu anhu and recited, 'In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,' and the foot was immediately healed.

Then he ordered the snake to come out and the snake came out, coiling itself in front of the Prophet (s). Then the Prophet (s) said to the snake, 'Do you not know that the flesh of a Siddiq is forbidden to you? Why are you eating the flesh of my companion?' He replied to the Prophet (s) in a perfect and pure Arabic, 'O Prophet of God, were not all things created for your sake and for your love? O Prophet, I too love you. When I heard that God Almighty and Exalted said that the best community is your community, I asked him to prolong my life, to grant me the honour of being from your community and to look at your face. God granted me that wish and that honour. When Abu Bakr (r), put his foot in that hole, it blocked my sight. I wanted him to move his foot to enable me to see you. The Prophet (s) said, "look at me now and fulfill your wish". The snake looked and looked. After a while, it died. The Prophet (s) ordered the jinn to carry the snake away and bury it.

Then the Prophet (s) said to Abu Bakr (ral), There was no need to stop in this cave, except that a significant event will happen here. The light of the root of the spiritual tree which is going to spread over all humanity the Light coming directly from the divine presence, will appear here. God has ordered me to transmit it to you and to all the Naqshbandi sufi followers.'

This lineage was not called the Naqshbandi at that time, but was known as the children of Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral), and he was known to Saints, as the 'father' of this line.

God asked the Prophet (s) to order Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral) to call all the masters of the Golden Chain who are the inheritors of Abu Bakr (ral). The latter called the GrandShaykhs of the Golden Chain, all of them, from his time down to the time of the Mahdi (alai). All of them were called through their spirits from the world of souls. Then he was ordered to call the 7007 Naqshbandi Saints. Then the Prophet (s) called the 124,000 prophets. Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral), by order of the Prophet (s), ordered every GrandShaykh to summon all his followers to appear spiritually.

Then Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral) ordered all the shaykhs to take the hands of their followers to receive initiation. He put his hand above them all. Muhammed (s) put his hand above all of them. God put His Hand, the Hand of Power, over them all. God by himself, put on the tongue of everyone present His recitation. He told the Prophet (s) to order Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral) to order all the saints present with their followers to recite what they were hearing from the voice of power,

Allah Hu Allah Hu Allah Hu Haqq

All of those present followed their shaykhs. The shaykhs followed what they heard the Prophet (s) reciting. God, Almighty and Exalted, taught the secret of the dhikr, known as Khatm al Khwajagan (recitation of the masters), to Sheikh Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (ral), who led the first dhikr among the saints of this order. The Prophet (s) announced to Abu Bakr (ral), who announced to all saints, that Sheikh Abdul Khaliq al Ghuijdawani is the leader of the Khatm al Kwajagan. Everyone was honoured to receive that secret and light from Khwaja Abdul Khaliq al Ghujdawani (q), in the presence of all saints, in the presence of Abu Bakr as Siddiq (r) , in the presence of the Prophet (s), and in the presence of God Almighty the Exalted. Anyone who accepts initiation from us or attends our dhikr must know that he was in the cave at that blessed time, in the Presence of the Prophet (s), and that he received all of these secrets then. These secrets have been transmitted to us from the masters of the golden chain, through Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral) . Abu Bakr as Siddiq (ral) was overjoyed and astounded with what took place in the cave. He understood why the Prophet (s) had chosen him to be the companion of his emigration. The Naqshbandi Shaykhs consider the events in the cave as the foundation of the spiritual Way. Not only is it the source of the daily devotion, but the souls of all members of the order were present together at that time.

After the events in the cave they continued on to Madinah. When they reached Quba, a village near Madinah, on a monday in Rabi ul Awwal, they stopped for several days. There the Prophet (s) built the first, mosque. They continued on their way on a Friday, after praying the first Fridat congregational prayer at Quba. He entered Madinah with his friend, amid shouts of "Allahu Akbar" and "Praise belongs to God," and the excited, joyful happiness of everyone. He moved to the place his camel stopped. It is there that he built his mosque and his home. He stayed as a guest in the home of Abu Ayyub al Ansari radhiyallahu anhu until his mosque was built.

When the Prophet (s) went to Madinah, it was full of disceases. As soon as he arrived, the disceases disappeared. It is also said, all of us who were present in the cave also accompanied the Holy Prophet (s) and Hazareth Abu Bakr as Siddiq (r) along with all the Great Sheikhs and Imams of the most distinguished Naqshbandiyya Tariqa to Medina .