Hadhrat Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband

Zubdatul Muhaddithin, Hadhrat Abul Hasanaat (May Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) shower His Mercy on him) writes in Gulzar-e-Auliya:

 

Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband (May Allah be well pleased with him) was born in the month of Muharram in the year 718 Hijri.  Miracles were expressed through him, right from his childhood.  He is the Leader of the Path (Tareeqah), Mentor of the Reality (Haqeeqah), the Exemplar of the Law (Shariah) and the Leader of the Ahl Us Sunnah.  His genealogy is this:

 

Hadhrat Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband, son of Syed Muhammad Bukhari, son of Syed Jalauddin, son of Syed Burhanuddin, son of Syed Abdullah, son of Syed Zain Ul A'abideen, son of Syed Qasim, son of Syed Sha'abaan, son of Syed Burhanuddin, son of Syed Mahmood, son of Syed Bulaq, son of Syed Taqi Sufi Khalwati, son of Syed Fakhruddin, son of Syed Ali Akbar, son of Imam Hasan Askari, son of Imam Ali Naqi, son of Imam Muhammad Taqi, son of Moosa Raza, son of Imam Moosa Kazim, son of Imam Ja'afar Sadiq, May Allah be well pleased with all of them.  May Allah bless us with their blessings.

 

He was a follower of Imam A'adham Abu Hanifa. Most of the Shaykhs of this Path have followed the Hanafi school of Fiqh only.  He received spiritual blessings from Khana Muhammad Baba Sammasi (May Allah preserve his teachings), even though he was a disciple of Hadhrat Amir Kulal (May Allah preserve his teachings).  He received spiritual blessings through the Owaisi chain of transmission from Hadhrat Abdul Khaliq Ghujdwani (May Allah preserve his teachings). From Khwaja Mahmood Faghnawi to Khwaja Amir Kulal, all the leaders of this Path practiced both the audible dhikr and the inaudible dhikr (Dhikr Jahri, Dhikr khafi), when the blessed era of Hadhrat Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband came, then the soul of Hadhrat Abdul Khaliq Ghujdwani said: Baba Bahauddin, you leave the audible dhikr; always practice only the inaudible dhikr.  From then, he made inaudible dhikr compulsory in his Path.  Somebody asked Khwaja Bahuddin:  Your Path has neither the audible dhikr nor seclusion.  On what is your path based? The Khwaja replied: Body, with the creatures.  Heart, with the Creator; hands in work, heart with the Beloved, is the basis of my Path.  Then he recited this couplet:

 

Translation: Be a gnostic in the heart and appear like a stranger.This best way is rare in this world.

 

Once he saw a chameleon immersed in the sight of the sun.  He respectfully sat down before it and said: "O chameleon, you are immersed in the sight of your beloved.  For the sake of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala), pray for me that the divine vision and the immersion which you enjoy with your beloved, the same sight and immersion, my true beloved should also grant me.  He had not even finished this that the chameleon turned to him and turned to the sky and remained motionless as if praying.  The Khwaja kept reciting Aameen, Aameen.  From then, his divine vision became even stronger.  What selflessness! It is true the A'arif is perennially thirsty, the more he drinks, the more he becomes thirsty.

 

He used to follow the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) in all aspects and always used to recite: O Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala), increase my knowledge.  He passed away on he night of Monday, 3 Rabe'e Ul Awwal 791 Hijri.  His shrine is in Qisr e A'arifeen (Literally, The Palace of the A'arifeen), which is very near to Bukhara.

 

{Excerpted from Gulzar Auliya Pg No. 19-21 by Muhaddith-E-Deccan Abul Hasanaat Syed Abdullah Shah Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Qadri (May Allah shower His Mercy on him)