Sayyida Siddiqa Begum

Sayyida Bibi Siddiqa Begum (d. 1914) was an important sufi saint of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, acting as a teacher and the contemporary female supreme leader of the order as successor to her relative Sayyid Mir Jan after the demise of his heir apparent Sayyid Mahmud Agha.
==Biography==
Sayyida Siddiqa was born and raised in Kabul and belonged to the family of Sayyid Mir Jan as a descendant of Hazrat Ishaan. Belonging to his family of Naqib ul Ashrafs of the Afghan descendants of Prophet Muhammad, she was raised up as a female scholar. She was married initially to a saint, but became a widow, leaving no children.Tazkare Khwanadane Hazrat Eshan(genealogy of the family of Hazrat Eshan)(by author and investigator:Muhammad Yasin Qasvari Naqshbandi company:Edara Talimat Naqshbandiyya Lahore), p. 339-341
She travelled upon the request of Sayyid Mir Jan´s mother to Lahore as the wider family was worrying about Sayyid Mir Jan´s well-being. Reaching Lahore, she was initiated as a senior saint by Sayyid Mir Jan and Sayyid Mahmud Agha and was appointed as the supreme preacher for female followers of Sayyid Mir Jan. Sayyida Siddiqa has been described as a lady who spent much of her time in teaching and in ascetic practices (Zuhd) including Muraqaba, Zikr, supererogatory prayers (Nafliyyah) and fasting (Sawm).Tazkare Khwanadane Hazrat Eshan(genealogy of the family of Hazrat Eshan)(by author and investigator:Muhammad Yasin Qasvari Naqshbandi company:Edara Talimat Naqshbandiyya Lahore), p. 339-341
After the demise of Sayyid Mir Jan in 1901, Sayyida Siddiqa became the spiritual retreat for the descendants of Sayyid Mir Fazlullah Agha and continued the guidance of Murideen based on the Uwayisiyya docrtine of epistomology. She passed away in year 1914 and was buried in the Hazrat Ishaan Mausoleum.Tazkare Khwanadane Hazrat Eshan(genealogy of the family of Hazrat Eshan)(by author and investigator:Muhammad Yasin Qasvari Naqshbandi company:Edara Talimat Naqshbandiyya Lahore), p. 339-341
==Legacy==
Sayyida Siddiqa is venerated as the female arch saint of the followers of Hazrat Ishaan and as an author of a canoncical work for adherents of the Mirjani (or Ishaani) sub-branch of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, the "Misbah ul Haqiqat".
===Misbah ul Haqiqat===
In year 1905, she authored a book called "Misbah ul Haqiqat" (Persian for "Lantern of truth") in which she discusses the fundamental concepts of the Naqshbandiya tradition. She does so in line with the role of Sayyid Mir Jan as the Ghaus of this era.Misbah ul Haqiqat by Sayyida Bibi Siddiqa Begum transcribed by Sayyid Maqbool Gilani, p. 36-40
In the first chapter of the book Sayyida Bibi Siddiqa mentions the necessity of having a living spiritual master in order to ease the spiritual compliance with Sharia Law and in that sense becoming a complete Muslim practician (Mumin). However she mentions the possibility of reaching sainthood without a master through Muraqaba on the Lataif-e-Sitta of Zikr which the Mujaddid Alf Thani (Mujaddid of the second Milenium) Ahmad Sirhindi established within the order.Misbah ul Haqiqat by Sayyida Bibi Siddiqa Begum, issued in year 1905 and transcribed by Sayyid Maqbool Gilani, p. 15-18 In the second chapter she explains the fundamental tenets of the Naqshbandiyya tradition of ascetism within Islam and in the third she explains the details of the Lataif points of Zikr.Misbah ul Haqiqat by Sayyida Bibi Siddiqa Begum transcribed by Sayyid Maqbool Gilani, p. 18-34 Sayyida Siddiqa elaborated the possibility of reaching Wilayat-e-Sughra (Junior Sainthood) through the guidance of saints through Uwaisiyya transmission by performing supererogratory prayers and Muraqaba.Misbah ul Haqiqat by Sayyida Bibi Siddiqa Begum transcribed by Sayyid Maqbool Gilani, p. 34-36 However she highlights that this necessitates a Silsila, meaning the blessing (Barakah) of one or more saints. Her work was compiled and transcribed by her Murideen Sayyid Tariq Jameel Gilani and Sayyid Maqbool Mohyuddin Gilani. Sayyid Tariq Jameel Gilani issued further works, which were highly influenced by the teachings of Sayyida Siddiqa.Tariq Jameel in Zikr Jameeliyah, 1934
Category:1914 deaths
Category:Sufi saints
Category:People from Kabul
Category:Pakistani people