Baha-ud-din Naqshband

Bahá-ud-dín Shah an-Naqshband Muhammad al-Uwaysi al-Bukhárí () (1318–1389) was the founder of what would become one of the largest Sufi Sunni orders, the Naqshbandi.

 Biography 
Bahá-ud-dín was born on 18 March 1318 CE (14 Muharram, 718 AH) in the village of Qasr-i-Hinduvan (later renamed Qasr-i Arifan) near Bukhara, in what is now Uzbekistan and it was there that he died in 1389.

 Lineage 
Bahá-ud-dín was a Sayyid, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Imam Hasan al-Askari.

Harvard professor Annemarie Schimmel held the opinion of Bahauddin Naqshband being a descendant of Imam Hasan al Askari.Schimmel in Pain and Grace, p. 32, quote: "Khwaja Mir Dard´s paternal family came from Bukhara; they led their pedigree back to Bahauddin Naqshband, after whom the Naqshbandi order is named, and who was a descendant in the 13th generation of the 11th Shi´a Imam al-Hasan al-Askari"

One registered lineage of him is the following:Tazkare Khanwade Hazrat Ishaan, p. 62 f., by Yaseen Qasvari, published by "Idarat Talimate Naqshbandiyya"

 Muhammad
 Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima Al Zahra
 Imam Hussain
 Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin
 Imam Muhammad al Baqir
 Imam Ja'far al-Sâdiq
 Imam Musa al-Kazim
 Imam Ali al Reza
 Imam Muhammad al Taqi
 Imam Ali al Hadi
 Imam Hasan al-Askari
 Mir Sayyid Ali Akbar
 Sayyid Mir Muhammad Mahmud Fakhriddin
 Amir Sayyid Mir Muhyuddin
 Amir Sayyid Mir Khalwati
 Amir Sayyid Mir Naqi Naqib
 Sayyid Mir Ilaq
 Sayyid Mir Mahmud
 Sayyid Burhan Qilich
 Sayyid Mir Shaaban
 Sayyid Mir Qasim
 Sayyid Mir Zayn ul Abedin
 Sayyid Mir Abdullah
 Sayyid Mir Burhanuddin Qilich
 Amir Sayyid Mir Jalalludin Muhammad Bukhari
 Amir Sayyid Mir Muhammad Bukhari
 Bahauddin Naqshband

 Naqshbandi Golden Chain 
He came into early contact with the Khwajagan (lit: the Masters), and was adopted as spiritual progeny by one of them, Baba Muhammad Sammasi, while still an infant. Sammasi was his first guide on the path, and more important was his relationship with Sammasi's principal khalifa (successor), Amir Kulal, the last link in the silsila, or chain of teachers, before Baha-ud-Din:

 Muhammad
 Sayyidna Abu Bakkar Siddique
 Salman the Persian
 Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakkar
 Ja'far al-Sadiq
 Bayazid Bistami
 Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani
 Abu Ali Farmadi
 Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani
 Abdul Khaliq al-Gajadwani
 Arif ar-Riwagri
 Mahmood Anjir-Faghnawi
 Azizan Ali Ramitani
 Mohammad Baba As-Samasi
 Sayyid Amir Kulal
 Imam at-Tariqah Muhammad Baha'uddin Shah Naqshband

As a youth, Naqshbandi was recognized as an exceptional Islamic scholar before he turned 20. He traveled to Mecca for the Islamic pilgrimage Hajj at least three times. He became a respected scholar in Central Asia and received many guests and pupils to Bukhara from other parts of Central Asia.

 Death 
Bahá-ud-dín was buried in his native village, Qasr-i Arifan, in 1389. In 1544, Khan Abd al-Aziz built over his grave a tomb and surrounding buildings. The Memorial complex is located 16 kilometers from Bukhara and is today a place of pilgrimage.

 References 

 Further reading 

 The Rules or Secrets of the Naqshbandi Order by Omar Ali-Shah (1992) 
 The Masters of Wisdom by John G. Bennett (1995) 
 The Naqshbandi Sufi Way, (History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain). by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani. Kazi Publications, USA (1995) 
 Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Islamic Supreme Council of America (June 2004), .

 Other websites 

 The official website of Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi the patron of Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Order in East and West.
 The official website of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order of America
 Naqshbandia Owaisiah
 Ghazwat ul-Hind 
 The official website of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Order of the USA and Europe

Category:1318 births
Category:1389 deaths
Category:Asian Sufis