Sheikh Nazim Adil al Haqqani Naqshbandi ar-Rabbani
Childhood, meeting with his Master, his teaching
by Sheikh Amanullah
Sheikh Nazim is a descendant of the great Sufi saint 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, the founder of the Qadiri order, and of Mawlânâ Jalâl ad-Din Rumi, the founder of the whirling dervishes, through his mother. By his father he is "Hasani-Husayni", i.e. a descendant of the Prophet through the two possible lines passing through the Prophet's grandsons, Hassan and Hussayn. During his childhood, he was educated by his grandfather who was a sheikh of the Qadiri brotherhood and a famous calligrapher in the Ottoman Empire. This double ancestry is not insignificant, knowing that in the history of the brotherhoods there were often severe struggles for influence between the Qâdiriyya and the naqshbandiyya. It is understandable that, in this final period, Sheikh Nazim's totalizing, unifying and pacifying function among all the turuqs required that he be providentially predisposed to it. It is also remarkable that Sheikh Nazim is at the same time Turkish, Arab, European (from Cyprus with English nationality), and that he speaks and teaches as well in the corresponding languages. At a very young age, he could advise and predict the future. From the age of five, he would disappear from home, his mother would look for him everywhere and eventually find him in a mosque or a tomb, especially that of Umm Hiram, a woman, a companion of the Prophet. The child would often be found listening to her, answering her, having a conversation with the spirit of the one who had been buried in that place fourteen centuries earlier!
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He studied Islamic laws, the Qur'an, traditions, jurisprudence and logic. At the same time, he participated in the initiatory meetings of the qâdiriyya and the mawlawiyya. He studied at the Turkish high school in Nicosia, and then, from 1940, he took courses in chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of Istanbul University, where he obtained a doctorate. In Istanbul he met his first sheikh who initiated him into the Naqshbandi order, Sheikh Sulayman Arzurumi.
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But Sheikh Nazim already felt that his destiny was drawing him elsewhere. This was confirmed the day he saw Sheikh Sulayman Arzurumi in an intense vision and said to him: "Now the permission has come. Your secret, your heritage, your spiritual guidance is not with me. I have only helped you until you are ready to meet your true sheikh who is also mine, Sheikh' Abdullah ad-Daghastani, your key is in his hand, go to him in Damascus. This permission comes from myself and the Prophet. He ran to his sheikh who was in the mosque; there sheikh Arzurumï said to him: "So my son, are you happy with your vision?" The sheikh knew everything! And he confirmed to him that he should go to Damascus.
Shaykh Nazim and his master Shaykh ad Daghestani - Damas
His meeting with his Master, Sheikh 'Abdallah ad-Daghestani
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After many adventures and spiritual help, including that of the Mufti of Tripoli who assisted him by order of the Prophet, Sheikh Nâzim arrived in Damascus without any address. He finally had a vision showing him the house of Sheikh 'Abdallah. It was in 1945, and because of the bombing, the streets were deserted. Sheikh Nâzim was looking for the house. He says: « I looked in my heart to know which was the house of the sheikh. At that moment, I had a vision of a very specific house with a very specific door. I looked around until I found this door. I approached it to knock when the sheikh opened the door and said, "Welcome, O my son Nâzim effendi". »
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Sheikh Nâzim stayed with Sheikh 'Abdallah for the night prayer, slept, and then woke up for the morning supererogatory prayers which he performed with him. This initiatory ritual form, which is performed about two or three hours before sunrise and whose effects we will see later, is still taught and transmitted by Sheikh Nâzim in the continuity of Sheikh 'Abdallah, constantly with the disciples. They are the essential support of spiritual elevation for those who know how to remain faithful to them. In our time of agitation and difficult time management, the night is precious and even constitutes par excellence a moment of khalwa, of spiritual retreat; it has the function of it.
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We noticed earlier how much importance the naqshbandi masters gave to vigilance, to the state of permanent "Presence". However, what obscures it in us is our inner night. There is indeed in us a heaviness, a coarseness, a constitutional "mud" of our human condition which suffocates the part of light which, in us, aspires to radiate. To fight this lethargy, this unconsciousness, this forgetfulness, is to illuminate the dark night of our soul. Now, because of the law of analogies, we can verify that the work on this darkness in us is done corollary to that of the vivification of the night, the qiyyâm al-layl. Let us recall that Sheikh Al-Akbar himself, in his little treatise The Adornment of the Abdal (Hilyat-al-abdâl), indicated that the works by which one becomes badil (a category of saints who inherit from the prophets and have the characteristic of making their body subtle to the point of doubling it several times) can be summed up as fasting and watchfulness, as well as silence and solitude.
His initiation by Sheikh 'Abdallah ad Daghestani
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Sheikh Abdullah also says that it is in this period of the night before dawn that the spirit of the master comes to visit the disciple. Sheikh Nazim, during this first ritual practice with Sheikh Abdullah, tells what vision he had then, seeing himself ascending from his place of prayer to Bayt al-Ma'mur (the heavenly Ka'bah), the "house of God", step by step. When he arrived there, he saw the one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets in a row, praying behind the Prophet Muhammad, the one hundred and twenty-four thousand companions also in a row behind him, then the seven thousand seven saints of the Naqshbandi order, then the one hundred and twenty-four thousand saints of all the other Sufi orders, all in a row for prayer. There was a place next to the companion Abû Bakr Siddiq; great sheikh (Abdallah) came there with sheikh Nàzim, who tells that this prayer behind the Prophet was one of the sweetest and most beautiful experiences of his Life. When the vision ended, Sheikh Abdullah asked him to call for prayer. Sheikh Nazim performed the morning devotions with him and then received the initiation into the Naqshbandi order.
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He recounts this experience: « Great Sheikh said to me: "O my son, I have been granted the power to give in one second to my disciple the spiritual station of which he is the heir." As he said this, he looked into my heart with his eyes, at the same time they began to change color from yellow to red, then to white, then to green, then to black. »
"The color of his eyes changed as he put into my heart the knowledge associated with each color. The yellow light was the first one, it corresponded to the station of the heart. He put into my heart all the kinds of outer knowledge that were necessary for people's daily lives. Then he introduced into the station of secrecy the knowledge of the forty brotherhoods whose origin goes back to Ali ibn Abû Tâlib. I discovered myself a master in all these brotherhoods. While he was imparting to me the knowledge of this state, his eyes had become red. At the third station, which is the secret of secrets and which is permitted only for the naqshbandi sheikhs, he transmitted knowledge into my heart while his eyes were white. Then he brought me to the hidden station, the station of hidden spiritual knowledge, while his eyes turned green. Then he took me to the station of complete annihilation, the most hidden station where nothing can appear: his eyes had turned black. There he brought me into the presence of God, and then brought me back into existence. My love for him at that moment was so intense that I could not imagine going away from him, I wanted nothing more than to stay by his side and serve him all my life. Then the storm came, the tornado and the turbulence tore the calm. The test was gigantic, my heart was in despair when he said to me : "My son, your people need you, I have given you enough for today. Go to Cyprus this very day."
Return to Cyprus
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« I had taken a year and a half to reach him, I had stayed only one night with him and now he ordered me to return to Cyprus, a place I had not seen for five years! It was a terrible order for me, but in the Sufi way, the disciple must submit to the will of his sheikh. After kissing his hands and feet, I took his permission and set out for Cyprus, although it was the end of the Second World War and there was no transportation. » (Sheikh Hishâm, The Naqshabandi Sufi Way)
Sheikh Nazim, despite many difficulties, using small boats, finally reached Cyprus. He tells that, as soon as he arrived, he had a spiritual vision opening his heart: "I saw great Sheikh Abdallah ad-Daghastani saying to me: "O my son, nothing could prevent you from obeying me, you did a great thing by listening to me and accepting. From now on, I will always be visible to you. Every time you direct your heart to me, I will be there, every question you ask will be answered by the divine Presence. Every spiritual station you wish to reach will be granted to you through your complete obedience. The saints are pleased with you, the Prophet is pleased with you." "As soon as he said these words, I felt him beside me and since then he has never left me, he has always remained by my side."
The difficulty of his mission
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Sheikh Nazim stayed on to teach in Cyprus and built up a large group of followers. However, at that time religion was outlawed and it was forbidden to make the call to prayer. When the sheikh went to the mosque to make his call to prayer, he was immediately thrown into prison, but he stayed there for only a week. As soon as he was released, he rushed to the great mosque of Nicosia and did it again. The authorities had decided to gather as many judgments against him as possible in order to lock him up for a long time : in fact, he was sentenced to a hundred years in prison! But, on the day he was to be imprisoned, new elections in Turkey changed the wheels of power in Cyprus... The new president was one of his relatives and was to become a disciple.
Sheikh Nazim returned to Damascus in 1952 where he married one of Sheikh Abdullah ad-daghastani's disciples, hajja Amina. He stayed there for more than twenty years, where his four children were born: two girls and two boys.
His retreat to the Mausoleum of his grandfather Sheikh 'Abd-al-qâdir aj-Jîlâni in Baghdad (Iraq)
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One day, Sheikh Abdullah called him and said: « I have received the order from the Prophet to put you on a spiritual retreat in the mosque of 'Abd al-Qâdir aj-Jîlâni in Baghdad. Go there and make a six-month retreat. Sheikh Nazim went straight away, without even returning to his house to get food or money. He said, "When I entered the mosque of Sheikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, I found a sort of giant who was closing the door and said, Sheikh Nazim. I said, Yes. He said, I am in charge of serving you while you stay here, come with me." »
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« I was only half surprised, for in my heart I knew that in this path everything is organized by the divine Presence. I followed him as he approached the tomb of the "Great Intercessor to the Throne". I greeted my grandfather Abd al-Qadir al-Jîlâni, then my guardian took me to a room and said: "Every day I will bring you a bowl of lentils and a piece of bread". "I only went out for the five daily prayers, otherwise I stayed in my room. I was able to read the entire Qur'an in nine hours every day. I recited the la ilaha ill-Allah one hundred and twenty-four thousand times, the prayer on the Prophet one hundred and twenty-four thousand times, and I read Dalail al-khayrât [a book of prayers on the Prophet by Imam al Jazouli of Marrakech] in its entirety, and I mentioned the name Allah three hundred and thirteen thousand times, as well as the prayers that were assigned to me. The visions followed one after the other until I was annihilated in the divine Presence. »
« One day I had a vision in which Sheikh Abd al-Qâdir called me from his tomb. He said to me, "O my son, I am waiting for you at my tomb, come!" I immediately took a shower, made two rak'a [prayers] and went to his tomb, which was only a few steps away from my room. When I arrived there, I stood in contemplation and said, "Peace be upon you, O my forefather!" Immediately I saw him emerge from his tomb and stand beside me. Behind me was a great throne decorated with precious stones. He said to me, "Come with me and sit on this throne." We sat down like a grandfather and his grandson. He smiled and said, "I am pleased with you. The station of your sheikh Abdullah al-Fâ'iz ad-Daghestâni is very high in the naqshbandi order. I am your grandfather, and now I am transmitting to you directly the spiritual power that the intercessor to the throne carries. I also initiate you into the Qadiri order. »
« Immediately the Prophet, Shah Naqshband and Sheikh 'Abdallah appeared. Sheikh 'Abd al-Qadir and I stood up out of respect for them. Sheikh 'Abd al-Qadir said, "O Prophet, O Messenger of God, I am the forefather of this grandson, I am so pleased with his progress in the Naqshbandi order that I would like to help him with my spiritual powers." The Prophet smiled and looked at shah Naqshband, while Shah Naqshband looked at grand sheikh Abdallah al-Fâ'iz ad-Daghastani, This was a compliant attitude, as sheikh Abdallah was the living master of his time. Grand Sheikh then transmitted the secret of the Naqshbandi order through the prophetic line passing through Abû Bakr Siddiq, adding it to the spiritual influence of Sheikh Abd al-Qâdir al-jilani. »
Sheikh Nâzim says that just before he came out of retirement, he saw Sheikh Abd al-Qâdir al-Jilânî again, who gave him ten coins from his time as a souvenir of their meeting, which he still keeps to this day.
After Sheikh Abdallah ad-daghestani
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After Sheikh Abdullah's death, the time came when, in Turkey as well as in Cyprus, Presidents Turgut Ozal and Rauf Denkas approached the Sheikh to the point of recognizing his spiritual authority. He was thus able to set up in Cyprus a place of spiritual study for his disciples - his own home, which was to become a typically Naqshbandi place in its very structure and organization. The sheikh lived with his family in a small house with a patio; just behind it, through a small door, the sheikh can go to an adjoining mosque where he leads all the prayers and dhikr meetings and gives his teachings. A little further on are dormitories for the reception of the disciples. All year long, they live there and, when sheikh Nazim is present, there are about one hundred people every day, whom the sheikh takes care of personally. He asks them in exchange, without any real obligation, to participate in the maintenance of the mosque's garden which produces dates, lemons, oranges and mandarins. The sheikh himself directs this agricultural work with great skill as is customary in the way of the naqshbandi masters. One day I witnessed an amazing situation : at that time there was a severe drought on the island. That day, several officials came to talk to the sheikh about it. A technician with a pump was there, the sheikh took him to a certain place on the plantation and told him: "Dig and pump there!" The man complied, and the next day a spring of water gushed out at the exact spot that had been indicated. It tasted extraordinarily sweet, in an island where spring water is often still a bit salty. The sheikh nevertheless pretended to be surprised and to attribute this happy event to the baraka of one of the visitors. Yet, as we shall see, the sheikh's mission was to leave the oasis of peace that had become his home for incessant travel.
As we have noticed, Sheikh Nazim stayed in his house in Cyprus only for a short time each year. Sheikh 'Abdullah had given him a spiritual function that seemed to take him all over the world (for the whole earth is a mosque) in order to spread spiritual teaching, wisdom, awaken hearts and prepare minds for the difficult times ahead. By traveling in this way, we can say that the sheikh visits his disciples spread all over the world, but in reality his journey is also an initiatory pilgrimage to certain high places in the world. Some of the journeys also have the function of invigorating places that could be spiritual "reservoirs". In addition to the twenty-seven pilgrimages to Mecca that he made to lead his disciples, the sheikh visited, among other places, Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Europe and the United States.
France
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After London, according to his habit, the sheikh came to Paris where he met other disciples. He appreciated, he said, the delicacy of the atmosphere and he found there the opportunity to satisfy an ever-awakening curiosity, visiting for example the Palace of Versailles to understand the spirit of France. In France again, he was received at Matignon; he met ministers and deputies who did not hide, even after his departure, their astonishment at the accuracy and wisdom of his speech, always perfectly adapted to the situation.
France's potential is also exceptional, if we take into account the revival of Akbarian studies (the studies and translations of the greatest of spiritual masters, Sheikh Al-Akbar sidi Muhyi Ad-Din Ibn Arabi), which this country is the bearer of, as recognized by specialists around the world. This is due to the providential work of René Guénon, this great inspired master, disciple of the Khidr and of whom General de Gaulle said: "He is a great Frenchman". This is due again to the one who was a great interpreter of Sheikh Al-Akbar not only by his translations and his life, but also by his teaching and his mastery: Sheikh Mustafa Michel Valsan, himself a close friend of René Guénon. What is sown must take time to ripen before being harvested, but we know that the harvest will be great.
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Sheikh Nazim never stopped giving sincere people his person and his energy, typical and characteristic of the Muhammadan sages who synthesize both the outer and inner sunnah of the Prophet Mohammad. Even until the end of his life, Sheikh Nazim had the concern to spread wisdom, and adapted perfectly to the tools of modernity to such an extent that he had the spontaneity and the initiative for the future generations to make himself visible online on Youtube at almost 90 years old!
The great companion of Imam al-Mahdi, Sheikh Nazim Adil al Haqqani an-naqshbandi ar-Rabbani was born on April 23, 1922 in Larnaca and joined his lord on May 7, 2014 (7 rajab 1435) in Lefke where he was buried in his house. May God sanctify his secret.
Sheikh Amanoullah on the maqam of Sheikh Nazim in Cyprus