Nazim Al-Haqqani
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
Nazim Al-Haqqani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mehmet Nazım Adil 21 April 1922 |
| Occupation | Leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order |
| Website | www.Saltanat.org[1] |
Mehmet Nâzım Adil (Arabic: محمد ناظم الحقاني, born April 21, 1922 (CE) / Sha'ban 26, 1340 AH), formally referred to as Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani (Turkish: Muhammed Nazım El-Hakkani), often called Shaykh Nazim, is a Turkish Cypriot Sufi Sheikh and leader of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Order.[1]
Born in Larnaca, Cyprus, Nazim traces his lineage back to the 11th-century Sufi Saint Abdul Qadir Jilani and 13th-century mystical poet Jalaluddin Rumi.[2] His maternal and paternal grandfathers were sheikhs in the Qadiri and Mevlevi orders, respectively.[2] As a child, the young Nazim showed a propensity towards spirituality that would determine his future. His father sent him to school to study secular knowledge during the day, followed by the evening in which he studied Islam at the local maktab.[2] This is where he would learn the basics of Islamic law, jurisprudence, the hadith and Qur'anic exegesis.[2]
Biography
At a very young age, Shaykh Nazim displayed unexplained talents in the form of explaining to his teachers what they were going to teach before it was introduced.[3] After completing secondary school in 1940, at the age of 18 Nazim moved to Istanbul, where two brothers and a sister were living. He studied chemical engineering at Istanbul University. While advancing in his non-religious studies, he continued his education in Islamic theology and the Arabic language under the tutelage of Cemalettin Elassonli (died 1955 CE). Shaykh Nazim received a degree in chemical engineering, yet he would later state, "I felt no attraction to modern science. Rather, my heart was always drawn to the spiritual sciences."[2] He is fluent in Turkish (native), Arabic, English, and Greek.
At some point during his first year of life in Istanbul, Shaykh Nazim met his first spiritual guide, Suleyman Erzurumi (died 1948), who was a murshid in the Naqshbandi Order.[2]
Shaykh Nazim attended the gatherings of this particular shaykh which were held in the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Here he learned the basic spiritual methods of the Naqshbandi Order, in addition to those of the Qadiri and the Mevlevi. His focus on spirituality was further reinforced by the unexpected death of an elder brother who died serving as a doctor in World War II.[citation needed] Shortly after obtaining his degree, Shaykh Nazim received inspiration to go to Damascus in order to find the famed Naqshbandi master, Shaykh Abdullah Fa'izi ad-Daghestani. He obtained permission from Shaykh Erzurumi to leave Istanbul and in 1944 he arrived in Syria, although the unrest caused by the Vichy French government prevented his entry into Damascus until 1945.[2] Upon meeting with the master, whose tekke is located on the slopes of the Jabal Qasyoun, Shaykh Nazim took his hand in bay'ah, or initiation.[2]
Shortly thereafter Shaykh Abdullah Daghestani ordered Shaykh Nazim to return to his native Cyprus to deliver spiritual guidance. Shaykh Abdullah also reportedly conferred the title of "Shaykh" to Nazim, thus giving him the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the Naqshbandi Order.[citation needed]
While in Cyprus, Shaykh Nazim came into conflict with pro-Atatürk governing body of the Turkish community of the island. His repeated act of making the adhan in Arabic rather than the prescribed Turkish brought several lawsuits against him and there were some 114 cases lodged against him for crimes against the secular order.[citation needed] Nevertheless all these were dropped shortly thereafter with the coming to power of Adnan Menderes in Turkey, whose government opted for a more tolerant approach to Islamic traditions.[2]
Shaykh Nazim moved back to Damascus in 1952, when he was wed to the daughter of one of the murids of Shaykh Abdullah Daghestani, Amina Adil, whose family came to settle in Syria after fleeing Soviet rule of their native Kazan. From that time, Shaykh Nazim took up residence in Damascus, and every year he would visit Cyprus for at least three months. The couple have two daughters and two sons.[2]
Worldwide mission work
In the year following the death of Shaykh Abdullah Fa'izi ad-Daghestani in 1973, Shaykh Nazim began visiting Western Europe, travelling every year from the Middle East to London. On his return trips to Damascus, he would often drive by car through the former Yugoslavia, spending time visiting the Muslim communities there. It became his practice to spend the month of Ramadan in the large centre established in London. In 2000 this practice was discontinued.
In 1997, Shaykh Nazim visited Daghestan, the homeland of his murshid, Shaykh Abdullah Fa'izi ad-Daghestani. He also made repeated visits to Uzbekistan were he made the pilgrimage to the tomb of the eponymous founder of the Naqshbandi Order, Shah Baha'uddin Naqshband.[2]
In 1991, Shaykh Nazim visited the United States for the first time, at the invitation of his son-in-law and representative Shaykh Hisham Kabbani. At that time Nazim made the first of four nationwide tours, during the course of which thousands of individuals entered the fold of Islam.
In 1996, Shaykh Nazim was guest of honor at the First International Islamic Unity Conference in Los Angeles, California, chaired by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani. Over 8,000 people attended this conference, which included major Islamic scholars from around the world and whose theme focused on Islamic spirituality. While in the United States, Shaykh Nazim gave widely attended speeches and associations and dhikr gatherings in a number of venues, including churches, temples, universities, mosques and New Age centres.
In 1998, Shaykh Nazim was again chief guest of honor at the Second International Islamic Unity Conference, held in Washington DC. Attended by over 6000 people, the highlight of this conference was the ringing denunciation of terrorism by Shaykh Nazim to the 160 Islamic scholars and VIPs from around the world, including the current Grand Mufti of Egypt, Grand Muftis of Russia and neighbouring nations and dignitaries from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa.
Later in 1998, Shaykh Nazim traveled to South Africa, accompanied by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and a large contingent of students from around the globe. There he visited Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, in each city giving lectures in mosques filled to capacity.
In 2001, Shaykh Nazim, made the 2001 "Naqshbandi-Haqqani Eastern World Tour of the Muslim World", accompanied by his two sons Shaykh Mehmet Adil and Hajj Bahauddin and son-in-law Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, and a large contingent of students. The trip begin in Istanbul, from which the entourage flew to Uzbekistan, then Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the course of this journey, Shaykh Nazim met with people of all walks of life, from the highest dignitaries and leaders to the common folk. The shaykh, despite his advanced age, was able to maintain an incredibly hectic schedule of meetings, speeches, dhikr gatherings and spiritual gatherings with little or no rest for a period of forty days and covering a distance of over 15,000 miles.
Shaykh Nazim made his last trip to the United States in 2000, during which he was invited to speak at a United Nations conference on Religion and Spirituality.
Shaykh Nazim has had close relations with several notable politicians, notably the late president of Turkey, Turgut Ozal, as well as the ex Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş. During his travels in Southeast Asia he gave his spiritual blessings to His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei. His Highness Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of Yogyakarta and several members of Malaysia's royal families, including His Highness Prince Raja Dato' Seri Ashman Shah have taken initiation into the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Order at his hand. He also traveled on numerous occasions to India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka where he has been received with great fanfare. In the late 1990s he visited South Africa where he established contacts with the Sunni Muslim community. Shaykh Nazim has made the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) some 27 times.
Shaykh Nazim rarely travels abroad nowadays. As of 2010 he mainly resides in his family home and spiritual dergah in the town of Lefka, Northern Cyprus, where he is still visited by hundreds of murids each week.
A website which is authorized by and dedicated to Maulana Nazim is Sufilive.com; it consists mainly of video lectures. This website was sponsored by his deputy and son-in-law Hisham Kabbani. In 2010 another online journal Saltanat.org went online. Both sites provide articles written by him and broadcast his lectures. For a comprehensive account of the teachings of Shaykh Nazim, a website approved and authorized by Shaykh Nazim, which is also often referred to as the Sheikh Nazim Website is also online. This website has the distinction of being the first website through which ONLINE BAYYATH was given on the specific instructions of Sheikh Nazim.
A website founded by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, providing comprehensive information on the Naqshbandi tariqat is Naqshbandi.org.
Shaykh Nazim and his organisations are not connected to the Haqqani network that is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Visiting Shaykh Nazim Al Haqqani
Hundreds of people (from varying faith traditions) visit Shaykh Nazim each month at his home and derga in Lefke, Cyprus where followers from every country come to share in the blessings of this living Sufi Master. The derga is a unique environment that must be experienced to be understood. Jokingly referred to as a 'mental house,' as most aspirants are struggling to let go of something, Shaykh Nazim, now almost ninety, still greets his visitors and allows time to meet with most persons coming to see him. Men may stay in the Derga and enjoy at least one meal a day and women stay in the ladies guest house within walking distance and are permitted access to Shaykh Nazim's home during part of the day.
Saltanât (The life ideology of Shaykh Nazim)
The life ideology of Shaykh Nazim (Saltanât) is a life system to provide a safe way out for mankind.[clarification needed] The dissemination of his ideology is conducted through Saltanât-TV. Saltanât addresses the situation humanity finds itself in.[clarification needed] At the opposite end of the spectrum from Saltanat is Democracy.[clarification needed] A system, some say,[who?] humiliates and oppresses mankind[citation needed]. Saltanat's aim is to bring humanity back to its honourable and lofty station.[clarification needed]
Saltanat, as a subject, is led by Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani Saltanat of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain Sufi Order but was also supported by previous Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]Saltanat is different from Sultanate.[clarification needed]
References
- ^ Bottcher, Dr Annabelle. "The Naqshbandiyya in the United States". Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 'The Naqshbandi Sufi Way' by Hisham Kabbani. KAZI Publications, 1995. http://www.naqshbandi.org/chain/40.htm
- ^ "Biography Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani, A Rare Fragrance Revealed". Retrieved 2001-07-12.
External links
- Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani leader of the Naqshbandi - official site at Cyprus - www.meryoceans.org
- BeRabbani.com - Lefke International Rabbani Association - english and turkish 3000 sohbet lectures audios in MP3 of Sheikh Nazim since 1980-2010. All about Sheikh Nazim and his son and full successor Sheikh Mehmet Sultan. And much more...
- Saltanat - Official Journal of the Naqshbandi Order
- Sheik Nazim
- Sufi Live
- Naqshbandi in America
- Al Sunnah Foundation of Canada (ASFC)
- Saltanat definition according to Sheikh Nazim
- Sheikh Nazim's Saltanat Talks
- Visiting Sheikh Nazim
- Naqshbandi Sufis in North America: Going Back to Divine Presence
- Haqiqat ul Haqqani
- [2]
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