A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The history of Muslim resistance against the Czarists, the Soviets and their successors is inextricably the history of the Sufi orders and their muridun .   And the most prominent order in the region until today is the Naqshbandi, including the Naqshbandi Haqqani, followed closely by the Qadiri.   If we had to fight to believe, would we take your religion for granted?   Much of Central Asia is the heartland of the Naqshbandi.   This was the land of Shah Baha’ ad-Din Naqshband al-Bukhari ( q.s. ), the Imam ath-Thariqa’ and the Ghawts al-Khaliqah .   The Naqshbandi shuyukh of Central Asia, from the 10 th to 16 th century, were known as the Khwajanagan or Khwajagan .   It is for this reason that the dzikr of the Naqshbandi is known as the Khatm Khwajanagan - it is the completion of the wisdom of the Masters.   “ Khwaja ” itself is a Persian title meaning “Master”.   Other prominent masters of the Naqsh...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The first principle of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order is “Conscious Breathing”, called Hosh dar Dam .  “ Hosh ” means “mind.”  “ Dar ” means “in.”  “ Dam ” means “breath.”  According to Khwaja ‘Abd al-Khaliq ibn ‘Abd al-Jamil al-Ghujdawani ( q.s. ), “The wise seeker must safeguard his breath from heedlessness, coming in and going out, thereby keeping his heart always in the Divine Presence; and he must revive his breath with worship and servitude and dispatch this worship to His Lord full of life, for every breath which is inhaled and exhaled with Presence is alive and connected with the Divine Presence.  Every breath inhaled and exhaled with heedlessness is dead, disconnected from the Divine Presence.”  In another text, he was quoted thus: “Every breath which is exhaled from within must be exhaled with awareness and presence of mind and so that the mind does not stray into heedlessness.”   Khwaja ‘Ubaydullah a...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 17 th January 2010.   We have only knowledge of the next world.   We have never seen anything about it with our own eyes, so we only have ‘ilm al-yaqin .   We have yet to reach ‘ayn al-yaqin or haqq al-yaqin .   These are the three levels of yaqin .   ‘Ilm al-yaqin is the knowledge of certainty of faith.   ‘Ayn al-yaqin is the vision of certainty of faith.   And haqq al-yaqin is the Reality of certainty of faith.   If we have heard of the Pacific Ocean, we know it exists, and though we have never seen it, we believe it exists.   That is ‘ilm al-yaqin .   Once we travel and have been to the Pacific Ocean and we have seen it with our own eyes, our belief is increased and is stronger.   That is ‘ayn al-yaqin .   But a person staying on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, having e...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a brief explanation of the Eleven Naqshbandi Principles.   These must be known and practised by the muridun of the Naqshbandi Haqqani.   There were originally eight principles formulated by Khwaja ‘Abd al-Khaliq ibn ‘Abd al-Jamil al-Ghujdawani ( q.s. ).   The last three were later added by Shah Muhammad Baha’ ad-Din an-Naqshband ( q.s. ).   The Eleven Naqshbandi principles, known in their original Persian as Kalimat-i Qudsiya , “the Sacred Words”, are a system of guidelines used as spiritual exercises.   The use and deep meaning of these Eleven Principles, is, in truth, unlimited.   As the murid matures and develops spiritually, he will perceive more and more aspects of each of the Principles.   They are secrets because they open little by little, developing the individual who uses them constantly, as guides to self-knowledge and to knowing more and more of the Totality that gives Life to Cre...