Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia

Reveals the secret teachings of the Khwajagan, the Masters of Wisdom of Turkish Sufism

• Provides biographies for the entire lineage of teachers in the Naqshbandi order, such as Yusuf Hamdani, the first recognized Khwajagan, and Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, from whom the Naqshbandi order of Sufis took its name

• Shows that this spiritual path focuses on expanding awareness of the heart to reach God-consciousness

• An essential guide for understanding Itlak Yolu, the Sufi path of Absolute Liberation, and fana’, Annihilation in God

Almost one thousand years ago a new and powerful nexus of spiritual transmission emerged in Central Asia and lasted for five centuries, reaching its culmination in the work of the Khwajagan, or “Masters of Wisdom.” Like the much earlier Rishi Pantha of India, these masters of Turkish Sufism were not renunciates but advocated maintaining an active connection with the world, including raising a family or running a business. They exerted a remarkable influence on the destiny of Central Asia, yet their chief significance lies in their almost unparalleled depth of spiritual perfection.

Based on primary Persian and Turkish sources, the same texts used by the Sufi authority Idries Shah in his many books, Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia explores the entire lineage of teachers from this golden age of Islamic Sufism. Author Hasan Shushud provides brief biographies of each teacher, such as Yusuf Hamdani, the first recognized Khwajagan; Ahmad al-Yasavi, the father of Turkish Sufism; and Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, from whom the Naqshbandi order of Sufis took its name. He examines their spiritual journeys, their writings and teachings, and their most famous sayings, incorporating occasional parables to illustrate their wisdom.

Shushud reveals how this spiritual path focuses on expanding awareness of the heart and how heart awareness is a prerequisite for divine contemplation and God-consciousness, for the heart is the manuscript within the body on which the infinite mysteries of the Godhead are recorded.

An essential guide for understanding Itlak Yolu, the Sufi path of Absolute Liberation, and fana’ fi-llah, Annihilation in God, this book is an indispensable work for anyone interested in Sufism or the spiritual history of Central Asia. ⁞

Hasan Lutfi Shushud (1902-1988) was born near Izmir in Anatolia, Turkey. A renowned Sufi saint and master, he was perhaps best known for his role as final guide to Gurdjieff’s disciple J. G. Bennett.

Foreword by Nevit Ergin

About the Author--An Autobiographical Note

Introduction

The Importance of Khwāja Yūsuf al-Hamadānī

Three of the Deputies of Khwāja Yūsuf al-Hamadānī
Khwāja ‘Abdallāh Barqī
Khwāja Ḥasan al-Andāqī
Khwāja Aḥmad al-Yasavī, “Top Link” for the Turkish Shaikhs

The Chain of Transmission of the Yasaviyya
Through the Four Deputies of Khwāja Ahmad al-Yasavī
Manṣūr Ata and His Family Lineage
Sa’īd Ata of Khwārizm
Sulaymān Ata, Great Turkish Shaikh
Ḥakīm Ata

The Line of Transmission through Zengi Ata, Deputy of Hakīm Ata
The Deputies of Zengi Ata: Uzun Ḥasan Ata, Sayyid Ata,
Ṣadr Ata, Badr Ata
The Deputies of Sayyid Ata
Ismā‘īl Ata
Isḥāq Khoja
Kamāl Shaikh Īkānī
Khadim Shaikh

Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq al-Ghujdawānī
Fourth Deputy of Khwāja Yūsuf al-Hamadānī
Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq’s Letter of Counsel
The Principles of the Way of the Masters

The Deputies of Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq Ghujdawānī
Khwāja Aḥmad Ṣiddīq, First Deputy of Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq Ghujdawānī
Khwāja Awlīyā’ Kabīr, Second Deputy of Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq Ghujdawānī
Khwāja Sulaymān Germīnī, Third Deputy of Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq Ghujdawānī
Khwāja ‘Ārif Riwgarī, Fourth Deputy of Khwāja ‘Abd al-Khāliq Ghujdawānī
Khwāja Maḥmūd Faghnawī, Successor of Khwāja ‘Ārif Riwgarī

Khwāja ‘Azīzān ‘Alī al-Rāmitanī
One of the Greatest of the Masters of Wisdom
Khwāja Muḥammad Baba Sammāsī
Sayyid Amīr Kulāl

Khwāja Muh.ammad Bahā’ al-Dīn ‘Shah’ Naqshband and His Contemporaries
Khalīl Ata, Eminent Turkish Shaikh
Mawlānā Bahā’ al-Dīn Qishlāqī and Mawlānā ‘Ārif Dikkarānī
Pilgrimage and Passing of Khwāja Bahā’ al-Dīn Naqshband
Sayings of the Venerable Khwāja Naqshband
Some Remarkable Episodes in the Life of Khwāja Naqshband

Seven of the Major Deputies of Khwāja Bahā’ al-Dīn Naqshband
Khwāja Muḥammad Parsā
Khwāja Burhān al-Dīn Abū Naṣr-i Parsā
Khwāja Musāfir Khwārizmī
Mawlānā Muḥammad Figanzī
Mawlānā Ya‘qūb Charkhī
Khwāja ‘Alā’ al-Dīn Ghujdawānī
Mawlānā Saif al-Dīn Mannārī
Shaikh Sirāj al-Dīn Kulāl Pīrmesī

Khwāja ‘Alā’ al-Dīn ‘Attār
Foremost Deputy of Khwāja Bahā’ al-Dīn Naqshband
Sayings of Khwāja ‘Aṭṭār
Sayings of Khwāja Naqshband Transmitted by Khwāja ‘Aṭṭār
Last Illness and Final Teachings of Khwāja ‘Alā’ al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār

Chief Companions and Deputies of Khwāja ‘Alā’ al-Dīn ‘Attār
Khwāja Ḥasan ‘Aṭṭār
Mawlānā Ḥusām al-Dīn Parsā al-Balkhī
Mawlānā Abū Sa‘īd
Khwāja ‘Ubaidallāh Imām al-Iṣfahānī
Shaikh ‘Umar al-Bāyazīdī
Khwāja Aḥmad al-Samarqandī
Sayyid Sharīf al-Jurjānī
Mawlānā Niẓam al-Dīn Khāmūsh
Mawlānā Sa‘d al-Dīn Kāshgharī

The Exceptional Khwāja ‘Ubaidallāh al-Ah. rār (Tashkandī)
Khwāja Aḥrār’s Family and Ancestors
His Childhood and Youth
His Spiritual Journey and the People He Met
Experiences with Sayyid Qāsim Tabrīzī
Meeting His Spiritual Director, Mawlānā Ya‘qūb Charkhī
Some Sayings of Khwāja Aḥrār
Some Marvelous Exploits of Khwāja Aḥrār
His Death
Khwāja Aḥrār’s Descendants and Companions
Khwāja Muḥammad ibn ‘Abdallāh
Khwāja ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq
Khwāja Muḥammad Yaḥyā
Mawlānā Sayyid Ḥasan
Mawlānā Sirāj al-Dīn Qāsim
Mīr ‘Abd al-Awwal
Mawlānā Ja‘far
Mawlānā Burhān al-Dīn Khuttalānī
Mawlānā Luṭfallāh Khuttalānī
Mawlānā Shaikh Idāmallāh
Mawlānā Sulṭān Aḥmad
Mawlānā Abū Sa‘īd Awbahī
Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāḍī
Mawlānā Khwāja ‘Alī Tashkandī
Shaikh Ḥabīb Najjār Tashkandī
Mawlānā Nūr al-Dīn Tashkandī
Mawlānā Zāda Otrārī
Mawlānā Nāṣir al-Dīn Otrārī
Hindū Khwāja Turkistānī
Mawlānā Ismā‘īl Firhatī
The Spread of Khwāja Aḥrār’s Influence to Anatolia
Shaikh Faḍlī Ilāhī
Sayyid Aḥmad al-Bukhārī

The Renowned Mawlānā ‘Abd al-Rahmān Jāmī
Mawlānā Jāmī’s Education
His Sufi Initiation
The Sufis He Met
Mawlānā Jāmī’s Meetings with Khwāja Aḥrār
His Pilgrimage to Mecca
Some Sayings
The Works of Mawlānā Jāmī
Selections from His Works
Poetry
From the Lawā’iḥ
From the Lawāmi‘
His Death
Mawlānā Jāmī’s Sons and Companions
Mawlānā ‘Alī ibn Ḥusain Ṣafī

Appendix I: The Way of Liberation (It. lāq) in Islamic Sufism
Stages of the Way
Four Basic Practices of the Mystical Path
Remembrance
Austerity
Contrition
Fellowship
Commentary

Appendix II: Glossary of Sufi Terms

Bibliography