Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil Haqqani’s (q.s.) Seclusion in Madina

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) was ordered, by his shaykh, to go into periods of seclusion, which varied in length from 40 days to one year.  These periods of seclusion also varied in the degree of isolation from outside contact: sometimes there was no contact; sometimes there was the small amount necessitated by performing the daily prayers in congregation; and sometimes more contact was permitted for attendance at circles of gathering for association, lectures or dzikr. 

Shaykh Nazhim (q.s.) did many periods of seclusion in the city of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  He said, “No one ever had the privilege of making seclusion with his shaykh.  I had the privilege of making a seclusion in the same room with my shaykh, in Madinah al-Munawwarah.  It was in an ancient room, near the Prophet's (s.a.w.) Holy Mosque.  It had one door and one window.  As soon as I entered the room with my shaykh, he blocked the window by boarding it up.  He gave me authorisation to leave the room only for the five daily prayers in the Holy Mosque of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  I was ordered, by my shaykh, to keep the practice, Nazar bar Qadam, ‘Watching the Step’, when I walked to the prayers.  By disciplining and controlling the sight, this practice is a means to disconnect oneself from everything except Allah (s.w.t.) and His Prophet (s.a.w.). 

My shaykh never slept during that seclusion.  For one year, I never saw him sleep.  He never touched food.  We were given one bowl of lentil soup and one piece of bread each day.  He would always give his share to me.  He only drank water.  He never left that room.  Day after day and night after night, my shaykh sat, reading Qur’an by the light of a lamp, making dzikr, and raising his hands in du’a.  For hours, he would make du’a, and one du’a never resembled another.  Each one was different from the other, and throughout the whole year, he never repeated the same du’a.  Sometimes I was not able to understand the language he was using in the du’a because it was a heavenly language.  I could only understand these du’a by means of the visions and inspirations that came to my heart.  I did not know when night left and day arrived except by the prayers.  Grand shaykh ‘Abdullah never saw the light of day for one whole year; only the light of the candle.  I would see the daylight only when I went out for the prayers. 

Through that seclusion I was raised to different levels of spirituality.  One day, I heard him saying, ‘O Allah, Give me the Power of intercession, from the Power of Intercession You have Granted Your Prophet, to intercede for all people on the Day of Judgement, to lift them up to be in Your Divine Presence.’  As he said that, I saw a vision of Judgement Day, and Allah (s.w.t.) was Descending on His ‘Arsh, and Judging people.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) was on the Right Side of the Divine Presence.  Grand shaykh was on the right side of the Prophet (s.a.w.), and I was on Grand shaykh’s right. 

After Allah (s.w.t.) had Judged the people, he authorised the Prophet (s.a.w.) to intercede.  When the Prophet (s.a.w.) had interceded and finished, he ordered grand shaykh to give his blessings, and to lift the people up with the spiritual power that he had been given.  That vision ended as I heard my Shaykh saying, ‘al-Hamdulillah, al-Hamdulillah, Nazhim Effendi, I have the Answer.’ 

These visions continued.  One day, he told me after I returned from fajr, ‘Nazhim Effendi, Look!’  Where should I look, up, down, right or left?  It came to me look at his heart.  As soon as I looked at his heart, a great unveiling occurred to me, and I saw ‘Abd al-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani appear in his physical body, and tell me, ‘O my son, your shaykh is unique.  No one like him has ever come before.’  Then he invited grand shaykh and me to come with him. 

Immediately, we saw ourselves with ‘Abd al-Khaliq in another place on this Earth.  He said, ‘Allah (s.w.t.) has Ordered me to go to that rock,’ and we followed him to a rock.  He said, ‘Allah (s.w.t.) has Ordered me to hit that rock.’  When he hit the rock, an incredibly powerful stream of water came gushing forth, the like of which I had never seen before.  ‘Abd al-Khaliq said, ‘That water coming out today is going to continue to pour out like this until Judgement Day.’ 

Then he said, ‘Allah (s.w.t.) has Told me that He Creates, from every drop of this water, an angel of light, which will praise Him until Judgement Day.  And He has Ordered me, ‘O My servant ‘Abd al-Khaliq, your job is to give every angel its name.  You cannot use any name twice.  You must name each one with a different name and count their praises.  You will divide the rewards of their praises among the followers of the Naqshbandi Order.  That responsibility is on you.’  Then, that vision ended.  I was so attracted to ‘Abd al-Khaliq, and amazed by his incredible task. 

Visions continued to pour into me in similar fashion.  In the last day of our seclusion, after fajr, I heard a voice outside the room crying.  I heard one great voice, and many smaller voices, like the voices of many children crying.  That crying did not stop, but I was unable to see who was crying because I had no permission.  The sound of crying kept increasing and continued for hours. 

Then grand shaykh looked at me, and said, ‘Nazhim Effendi, do you know who is crying?’ 

Though I knew that it was not the cries of human beings, I replied, ‘O my shaykh, you know better.’ 

Immediately, he told me, ‘This is Iblis and his soldiers.  Do you know why they are crying?’ 

I said, ‘O my Shaykh, you know better.’ 

He said, ‘Satan announced to his devils that two people on this earth have escaped their control.’  Then I saw a vision of Satan and his soldiers encircled with a heavenly chain that prevented them from reaching my shaykh and I.  That vision ended.  Then grand shaykh said, ‘al-Hamdulillah, the Prophet (s.a.w.) is happy with you and I am happy with you.’  Then he put his hand on my heart and I immediately saw the Prophet (s.a.w.) and 124,000 prophets, 124,000 Companions, 7,007 Naqshbandi Saints, 313 Exalted saints, the five Quthb and the Ghawts.  All of them were congratulating me and they each poured into my heart their divine knowledge.  I inherited from them the secrets of the Naqshbandi Order and the secrets of the 40 other Orders.”


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