A few Naqshbandi shaykhs cultivated relations with Ottoman sultans. We recall Ishaq Bukahri al-Hindi, for whom Sultan Mehmed II built the first Naqshbandi tekke of the capital shortly after the conquest [6]. Uzun Muslihuddin, a khalifa of Ahmad Bukahri from the area of Kastamonu near the Black Sea, had Sultan Bayezid II remove an ‘injustice’ (zulm) against the local population, having informed the sultan that local “pious people” had seen the Prophet “saddened” in their dreams [7]. Ahmad Sadiq Tashkandi and Sa’ban Efendi were both close to Sultan Murad III, the first perhaps initiating him into the tariqa and the second having him visit his tekke in the Fatih district on several occasions. When Ahmad Sadiq died in the plague of 994/1586, the sultan is said to have suspended the work of the Imperial Council for three days [8]. However, the relations that all these individuals established with the members of the Ottoman dynasty and governing elite were squarely within the traditional mold of Sufi Shaykhs extending spiritual advice, guidance, and sustenance to the powerful in exchange for patronage. Not one of these individuals was involved in dynastic or factional conflicts or influenced crucial political decisions. In other words, none of this amounted to anything close to Ahrarian politics.
ref: Le Gall, Dina (2005). A Culture of Sufism: Naqshbandi’s in the Ottoman World, 1450-1700 (pg 139) New York: State University of New York Press.
[6] Ayvansarayi, Hadikat ul-cevami, 1:219
[7] Taskopruzade, Shaqaiq, 1:561-62; Baldirzade, Revzat el-evliya, 37a; Belig-iBursevi, Guldeste-i riyaz, 180
[8] On the first, see Sadiqi, Manhaj, 11b-12a; NEvizade Atai, Hadaik, 362; Selaniki, Ta’rih-i Selaniki (Freiburg reprint), 211-12. On the second, Mustafa b. Hayreddin, Silsile-i hocagan, 14b; Nevizade Atai, Hadaik, 371-72, 380; Selaniki Tarih-i Selaniki (ed. Mehmet Ipsirli), 1:343-44
Comments:
A clearer picture of Naksibendi relations with politics emerges. They had little to do with political squabbles, but often represented the interests of the weak to the powerful.
The character of the Sultans is again demonstrated as it wasn’t Shaykhs visiting Sultans, but Sultans visiting and sitting at the feet of Shaykhs in Fatih district of Istanbul.
Which political leader of today would react to an injustice on the account of a Shaykh’s recounting of a dream of the Prophet (S)?
Le Gall says spiritual advice was given in exchange for patronage, but discounts the reality that this advice was given to commoners who had no patronage to give as well. The understanding of the wealthy giving sadaqa to support dergahs which fed and housed the poor and the saintly is somewhat beyond the scope of a Non-Muslim reading of sufism.
You have memorized the name of Allah, yet these veils and curtains
still remain.
You have studied and studied, yet your scholarship has only sharpened
your greed.
You have read hundreds of thousands of books, yet you have not
killed your cunning ego.
None but the Sheykhs can kill the inner thief, for it ravages the very
house in which it lives!
-Sultan Bahu
Naksibendi’s are often criticized for strong beliefs of Imam Mahdi’s (AS) imminent coming. This is an adjusted version my comments on the topic of the latter in a conversation.
–
My beliefs (if I can call them my own) are simply in line with basic Islam. A reminder for us would be that nearly all Sunni Sheykhs have referenced this day and age as the time immediately before Imam Mahdi (AS), a time of trials. In the same manner, it was sunnah to explain and describe things in this way. So much so that even the Sahabi who lived over 1400 years ago would expect Qiyamat, Imam Mahdi (AS), and the Dajjal as very imminent things.
Yet, is this yielding to a philosophy of life based on prophecy of events and people to come, defeatist in the present?
I assert that holding this religious position is not defeatist but a necessary factor in refocusing our efforts inward, which yields better outwards results (as a natural consequence) in the most clean and organic manner.
The way of Islam is that even if you know that Qiyamat is tomorrow, you are still expected to plant your tree, coming from a Hadith of the Holy Prophet (S).
However, by interpreting this tradition as belief that valuable knowledge of future spiritual realities is to be *ignored* in favor of any and all practical work would be a sad mistake. This is because the fundamental factor here is change of attitude, of perception. Modification of attitudes allows me to now focus on planting my tree, in my garden, but with the knowledge that it may or may not give fruit and give benefit for others tomorrow. We plant with hope.
The lesson to take here is not to act in ignorance of spiritual knowledge, but rather, to build your life in a way of Islam, and allow it to grow. Since then, the community changes, because you are a part of that community. The ‘government’ itself changes, because the people have changed, and Allah changed the conditions for such a people.
The way of Ahl ul sunnah leaves ‘big picture’, hard-turn, forceful changes of societies for the Awliya to manage and direct, and lets us focus on establishing ourselves as Muslim servants within an Islamic community in the best manner possible. One that allows us to keep our faith and live simply.
This approach directly contrasts with the example of secularists and their ‘activist reform’ that directly target political institutions and various ’causes of the day’ and sucks dry the spiritual progress of the activist individual in bitter arguments. Delusion upon layer of delusion piles on the individual as they believe they are changing society for the better, when they end up compromising principle after principle personally.
Sadly, I don’t think any of us are prepared to put aside our nafs and be able to dictate to each other how entire governments need to be run, especially when we can’t figure out how to run our own households.
Believing in Imam Mahdi (AS) and his imminent arrival is hardly a reason to stop working on improving our personal situation. If anything, it is more of a reason to focus on improving our personal relationship to our faith, which yields the best results for those around us in a very practical manner.
The trials of Imam Mahdi’s (AS) time will be huge, in fact, numerous Muslims won’t even be properly able to identify him due to their own personal weaknesses of faith. Shouldn’t that concern us? Working on building that faith for the above reason, if not our own ‘personal’ Day-of-Judgement (death), gives us renewed energy to get us thinking about our own faith, its strength, its weaknesses.
Finally, while a faith in the future ‘Utopian ideal’ focuses us on personal development it is also a reason to let us abandon imposing our various socio-political-economic viewpoints on other people. It allows us to concern ourselves -with- ourselves and in that way be helpful to others.
Worry about governments is compost heap for our time and energy. Governments have very little imposing factors on real Islamic communities, especially rural ones living lives of simple Islam. This is really regardless of where in the world we decide to settle.
As the Prophet (S) said in Sahih Bukhari:
“Allah’s Apostle said, “There will come a time when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take to the tops of mountains and the places of rainfall so as to flee with his religion from the afflictions. ”
When will we decide that things will be bad enough to take a little bit of that holy advice?
Exposition of the Hadith, “The parable of my community is the parable of the Ship (Ark) of Noah: whoso shall cleave to it is saved, and whoso shall hold back from it is drowned.”
On this account the Prophet said, “I am as the Ship (ark) in
the Flood of Time
I and my Companions are as the Ship of Noah : whoso clings
(to us) will gain (spiritual) graces.”
When you are with the Sheykh you are far removed from
wickedness : day and night you are a traveller and in a ship.
You are under the protection of a life-giving spirit : you are
asleep in the ship, you are going on the way.
Do not break with the prophet of your days (1) : do not rely on
your own skill and footsteps (2).
Lion though you are, you are self-conceited and in error and
contemptible when you go on the way without a guide.
Beware! Do not fly but with the wings of the Sheykh, that
you may see (received) the aid of the armies of the Sheykh.
At one time the wave of his mercy is your pinion, at another
moment the fire of his wrath is your carrier.
Do not reckon his wrath to be the contrary of his mercy : be-
hold the oneness of both (these qualities) in the effect.
At one time he will make you green like the earth, at another
time he will make you full of wind, and big.
He gives the quality of inorganic things to the body of the
knower (of God), in order that gay roses and eglantines may
grow on it ;
But he (the Sheykh) alone sees (them), none sees but he :
Paradise yields no scent but to the purified brain.
Empty your brain of disbelief in the Friend, that it may feel
sweet odours from the rose-garden of the Friend;
So that you may feel the scent of Paradise from my Friend,
as Mohammad the scent of the Merciful (God) from heaven.
If you stand in the rank of those who make the spiritual
ascension, not being (self-naughtedness) will bear you aloft, like
Buraaq.
Tis not like the ascension of a piece of earth (an earthly being)
to the moon; nay, but like the ascension of a cane to sugar.
Tis not like the ascension of a vapour to the sky ; nay, but
like the ascension of an embryo to rationality.
The steed of not-being (self-naughtedness) became a goodly
Buraaq : it brings you to (real) existence, if you are non-existent
(self-naughted).
Its hoofs brushes the mountains and seas till it puts the world
of sense-perception behind.
Set your foot into the ship and keep going quickly, like the
soul going towards the soul’s Beloved.
(With) no hands and no feet, go to Eternity in the same fashion
as that in which the spirits sped from non-existence.
IF there had not been somnolence (dullness and inattention)
in the hearer’s hearing, the veil of logical reasoning would have
been torn asunder in the discourse.
O Heaven, shower pearls on his (the Sheykh’s) rede! O
World, have shame of (be abashed by) his world!
If thou wilt shower (pearls), thy substance will become (in-
creased in splendour) hundredfold : thy inorganic (matter) will
become seeing and speaking.
Therefore thou wilt have scattered a largesse for thine own
sake, inasmuch as every stock of thine will be centupled.
1) i.e. the Sufi Sheykhs who are the spiritual heirs and representatives of the PRophet
2) Reading
The Mathnawi of Jallaulddin Rumi Tr Books III and IV pg 308, tr: Nicholson
Most of the days of Cyprus, we would await Sheykh Maulana Nazim and Sheykh Abdul Kerim to come down and pray Zuhr. Before and after this time we would be involved working and helping the dergah itself. Coming from the NY Dergah, we were no strangers to being expected to do dergah work.
Some people believe being a Sufi is about meditative practices and some sort of spiritual enlightenment achieved through sitting and writing poetry.
One of the first things we learned with Sheykh Abdul Kerim Effendi is that real spirituality comes from service and hard work.
A lot of work the murids did was in the gardens around the dergah, picking fruit, planting, digging, fixing walls, cleaning toilets.
One day, Sheykh Maulana ordered us to go into the mountains, where the Naksibendi’s own some land, and dig.
So we began our long trek up the mountain.
Up there we found a tree which had to be removed to make room for proper planting and expansion.
That small hut on the side was the musjid of the mountain area. This is a closer view:
There also we found the chicken coop maintained by the dergah people.
Looking to follow Sheykhs orders we were eager to find exactly what we were supposed to dig. That is where we met Yunus.
Yunus lives in the mountains in a small hut… he knew nothing about what we were supposed to dig. But, he understood our plight and desire to follow Sheykh Maulana’s instructions and earn the barakat in them, so he told us to start throwing some stones to the side and dig up some extremely thorny weeds.
This was the rocky territory and the view from the mountain:
Later we were instructed by later arrivals that we were supposed to go higher up the mountain and plant almond trees, this we did as well alhamdulillah. I must say this work was good and hard but it was paradise compared to the work at Yunus’s hut! More about him later inshaAllah.
the truth on 
m.a.kidwai,CME/IND.RLY.(retd.) on 
