Islamic Widget

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Naqshbandiah Owaisiah Order



Recent History

Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandiah Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidiah and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Thani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the holy Prophet-saws without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandiah is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath.

The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet-saws. It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Shaikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandiah Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Shaikh or even when the Shaikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Shaikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah.

Shaikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’

By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandiah Owaisiah Order is the honour of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad-saws.


The Reviver Shaikh

Shaikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Shaikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence.

He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul-Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandiah Owaisiah Order.

He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty. Six months before his death, he nominated his most illustrious and spiritually gifted student, Muhammad Akram Awan, as his successor to lead the Naqshbandiah Owaisiah Order.

The Current Shaikh

Shaikh Muhammad Akram Awan was born on 31st December, 1934 in village Noorpur Sethi, about 4 km from the present headquarters of the Order, Dar ul-Irfan. He received his initial education in his village school and later attended a college at Chakwal. He spent a turbulent youth characterized by family feuds and external skirmishes. Duly dismayed by the violence and tumult, he set out in search of peace and truth. His sincere resolve was answered at the age of 24, when he met Shaikh Allah Yar Khan at a religious assembly. He remained in close association with his Shaikh, marked by unmatched sincerity and devotion, for twenty-five years. Shaikh Allah Yar Khan transformed the unbridled youth into a Sufi saint of high eminence, infusing deep vision and spiritual blessings into the heart of his promising student.

Shaikh Muhammad Akram Awan did not receive formal religious education at any institution. He acquired the basic Islamic knowledge directly form his Shaikh. Blessed with llm-e Ladunni (Knowledge from the Divine Presence,) he possesses singular wisdom in Tafsir (interpretation of the holy Quran). He delivered regular lectures on Quranic subjects during the life of his Shaikh and has written an exemplary Tafsir of the Quran, titled ‘Asrar at-Tanzil’. This was in fulfilment of Shaikh Allah Yar Khan’s desire, who could not undertake this work himself due to enormous demands of his mission. Asrar at-Tanzil has received wide acclaim and recognition form all schools of Islamic thought, both in Pakistan and abroad.

He is Dean of the Siqarah Education System, a unique system that integrates Islamic teachings with normal education at both school and college levels, and strives to transform its young students into enlightened, practical Muslims.

He is the Patron-in-Chief of al-Murshid, a monthly magazine of the Order in Urdu. He regularly writes for the Magazine to provide guidance for seekers on the spiritual heritage of Muslim Ummah.

He is also the Patron-in-Chief of al-Falah Foundation, an organization established in 1989 for the welfare of the people in Pakistan’s rural areas.

His sole mission in life is to create awareness in Muslims about their spiritual heritage and to spread the Prophetic lights and blessings to every comer of the globe for the guidance of whole mankind.


The Chain of Transmission

Hadhrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah
(Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam)

Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq
(Radhi Allah-o Unho)

Hadhrat Imam Hassan Basri
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Daud Tai
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Abdur Rahman Jami
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Allah Deen Madni
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Abdur Raheem
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Allah Yar Khan
(Rahmat Ullah Alaihi)

Hadhrat Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan
(Madda Zillah al-‘Aali)

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