In the 18th and 19th centuries, Russian conquests in the North Caucasus fought the Muslim peoples of the Caucuses, the Daghestanis, Chechens, Ingush, and others, and incorporated them into the Russian state.
34th Grandshaykh of the Osmanli Naksibendi Order, Shaykh Muhummad al-Yaraghi (K.S.) was one of the leading Shaykhs speaking of defending against these incursions. However, he focused intimately on the purification of the self as a first priority, he is quoted as saying:
Go to the mosques, weep and pray in repentance, shake dreams from your eyes and God will forgive you and restore you to the righteous path and arm you for great deeds.
Then [after purification of their souls] Almighty God will reinforce you for the battle against the kaafir. Azrail will fly over the Russian troops, their bayonets and cannons will not be dangerous to you and you will learn that God has more power than any earthly tsar.
You must be ready when the hour comes and you are called to battle. God will give me a sign when this day has arrived and I will tell you. Meanwhile, pray and weep.
ref: In Quest for God and Freedom, Zelkina
January 4th, 2008 - 2:10 am
AA- Yursil,
Subhan’Allah. This is simply amazing!
I know that we’ve been down this road before in a previous post (and so I know your stance), but I continue to wonder how come we don’t have shuyookh like Al-Yaraghi who have this balanced perspective between the personal and the political that I so desperately seek?
January 4th, 2008 - 9:25 am
BismillahiRahmanirRahim
Alaykumsalaam Br. Naeem,
Oh, I think such Shayukh are out there. At least, for certain, the direct inheritors of Shaykh Yaraghi’s knowledge and secrets are found within the Osmanli Naksibendi Tarikat as represented by Shaykh Maulana Nazim Effendi and Shaykh Effendi Abdul Kerim.
January 4th, 2008 - 9:41 am
Asalaamu alaikum.
This is going to sound ignorant, so I hope you will explain to me, inshaAllah.
I am familiar (passingly) with the name Daghestani (as you know), but did not realize it was a region. Also never heard of Ingush. Are these still modern-day areas or have they been absorbed into another country? Where (geographically) are/were they located?
Brother Naeem, you knew the answer when you asked the question.
There are always going to be such Shaykhs, but whether we recognize them as such is up to us. If we are always looking for a shaykh to conform to our own ideals, we will find ourselves disappointed because they have risen through study and devotion above our understanding and worldly concerns.
January 4th, 2008 - 10:26 am
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Alaykumsalaam Aaminah,
These areas (Daghestan, Chechnya, Ingush) are called the Northern Caucuses. The people are the source for the word Caucasian. In fact, the term Caucasian used in Russia and surrounding areas refers to the people of these regions.
It is bordered on the Southwest by Turkey and the north by Russia proper.
You can see a map of the area here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Caucasiamapussr.gif