The Naqshbandi Shaikhs of Hawraman and the heritage of Khalidiyya-Mujaddidiyya in Kurdistan

International Journal of Kurdish Studies, Jan, 2005 by Farhad Shakely

In addition to his letters there are a few lines of poetry and ten advisory articles by Shaikh Uthman, in which he instructs his disciples in the issues of the order. In one of these articles, dated 1272/1856, he appoints his sons, Muhammad Baha' ad-Din and Abd ar-Rahman, as his deputies and successors and advises his followers to obey them.

Shaikh Uthman Siraj ad-Din I was succeeded in turn by five Shaikhs in his family. But it should be indicated also that other members of the family have been in charge of the path in different periods, each with his own disciples and khanaqas. He was succeeded directly by his son Shaikh Muhammad Baha' ad-Din (1252/1837-1298/1881). Although in his testament Siraj ad-Din had appointed two of his sons; Baha' ad-Din and Abd ar-Rahman Abu al-Wafa (1253/1837-1285/1868) to be his successors, apart from a very short time, Shaikh Abd ar-Rahman declined the position and resided in Baghdad. He was a creative poet. The small number of poems to which we have access today, some 70 poems in Persian, mostly ghazals, indicates his talent as a Sufi poet. Baha' ad-Din was also a poet, although only a few of his poems are extant.

The third Shaikh in the Siraj ad-Din silsila (initiating chain) was Shaikh Umar Zhia' ad-Din (1255/1839-1318/1901). He was distinguished from his predecessors in some respects. It was in his time as a Shaikh that dhikr-i jahr (vocal remembrance) was practiced besides dhikr-i khafi (silent remembrance). He was known for his enthusiasm for science and education, and for culture as a whole. He built several new khanaqas in Khanaqin, Kifri, Qizrabat, Biyara, Tawela and Sardasht. He was a brilliant poet in Kurdish, Persian and Arabic. In his poems he used "Fawzi" as his takhallus (pen name). We have access also to some fifty letters written by him to his deputies or to the great men of his time, among whom we find the Qajari Shah Muzaffar ad-Din (reigned 1896-1907) and the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid II (reigned 1876-1909). There are, moreover, three treatises on Sufi teachings. A remarkable feature in the life of Shaikh Umar Ziya' ad-Din was his good relation to the Qadiri Shaikhs and their disciples and followers, which will be dealt with later.

The immediate successor in the chain was his son Shaikh Najm ad-Din (1280/1863-1337/1918) who was known for his zuhd (renunciation). The Ottomans wanted to give him a monthly salary to use it for the khanaqa and its visitors, but the Shaikh rejected the offer. He had great interest in intellectual conversations with the scholars who so often visited the khanaqah in Biyara. He was a poet, but the number of the poems available to us is very small.

Shaikh Najm ad-Din was succeeded by his brother Shaikh Muhammad Ala' ad-Din (1280/1863-1373/1954). He wrote a treatise in Arabic entitled Tibb al-Qulub (Healing the hearts), which contains advices and recommendations. He was a well-known physician who helped thousands of people in the region and he prescribed them herbal medicine.