Chapter (7) Being Chosen for the Shaikhdom of Ṭarīqa

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Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān at the Amman takya, Jordan (14 April 2014).

Assuming Shaikhdom is, according to the people of Ṭarīqa, a heavenly selection—a heavenly designation—that takes place by the command of Allah (blessed and exalted is He) and the command of His Messenger, our Master, the Seal of Prophets and Messengers, Muḥammad (PBUH).

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān (Al-Ṭarīqa al-ʿAlīyya al-Qādiriyya al-Kasnazāniyya, p. 161)

As is the case with all Masters of Ṭarīqa, Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad was appointed to the Shaikhdom of Ṭarīqa by divine decree and communication by the Messenger (PBUH). There are innumerable karāmas and spiritual unveilings that illustrate that Allah chose him for the Shaikhdom of Ṭarīqa, including some that occurred before his birth. We already saw, in Chapter two, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir’s revelation when his son, ʿAbd al-Karīm, was being swaddled—that is, twenty-six years before the birth of our Shaikh— that Allah will guide many Arabs at the hands of the son of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm.

In the 1950s, a walī and disciple of Ṭarīqa Kasnazāniyya saw a vision that prophesied that event. Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad Amīn (may Allah have mercy on him) saw Shaikhs taking the Ṭarīqa’s banners from northern Iraq to Baghdad in the centre of the country. He implored them to keep the Ṭarīqa’s banners in the north but they only left a small banner and took the rest south. In 1973 or 1974, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm revealed that the Shaikhs’ gaze and the Ṭarīqa’s blessing were oriented towards the Arabs in the south. In 1975, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm was in Karbchna overseeing renovations of the roof of the shrines’ hall and the mosque when the walī Aḥmad Muḥammad Amīn (may Allah have mercy on him) spoke to the Shaikh about seeing in ḥāl something similar to what his brother, Ṣāliḥ, saw two decades earlier. He saw the Ṭarīqa’s banners, canes, and prayer rugs being loaded into a car to transport them to the south. He tried to prevent this, but he only succeeded in taking some of the canes. As we will see in Chapter ten, in the early 1980s, Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad moved the central takya from Kirkuk to Baghdad. This resulted in a considerable amount of the Arab population of Iraq becoming followers of Ṭarīqa Kasnazāniyya.

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazān and Shaikh ʿAlī Laylān next to him at the takya in Āzādī, Kirkuk (1966/1967).

Naturally, the future Shaikh of Ṭarīqa receives indications and experiences that tell him that Allah has destined an important future for him. In the spring of 1957, when he was nineteen years old, Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad would sit on a small hill in the morning, overseeing the planting of rice in the farmland that he had in Hawmarāmān, Qaradāgh. He used to take advantage of his time alone to memorize the Qur’an. One night, he was sitting on his bed, reclining on cushions between his back and the wall, facing the Kaʿba, so he was facing towards Karbchna, where Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm lived. He was reciting the chapter of Yāsīn from the Qur’an when he closed his eyes. He saw a white light like the moon approaching him from afar. The whiteness of the light was indescribably beautiful and like no white he had ever seen. He realised that it was the Messenger (PBUH), who is described as a light in the Qur’an, “There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book” (al-Māʾida 5:15). The light continued to approach him until it entered his eyes, mouth, ears, nose, neck—all over his body. The light caused a unique sense of delight, and it was so dense that he could feel it moving through his body. After the Prophetic light had entered his body, he felt as if his body was not there anymore. He was overcome with a spiritual state of crying accompanied by a feeling of pleasure that he had never experienced.[1]

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm had hinted to individual dervishes in private that “Kāka Muḥammad”, which is how he used to refer to our Shaikh, would succeed him as Shaikh of Ṭarīqa. Still, for many long years, our Shaikh’s role in serving Ṭarīqa remained limited to meeting the takya’s needs and helping disciples with their worldly needs. He did not have any role in the spiritual matters of Ṭarīqa or its dervishes. That began to change when Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm decided to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1971. In that year, the pilgrimage was at the beginning of February. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm gave our Shaikh the Ṭarīqa’s pledge by hand and appointed him as his General Deputy, meaning his successor for the spiritual, not only worldly, matters of Ṭarīqa. Our Shaikh asked his Master to give him permission to practise all spiritual sciences, and the Shaikh granted him his request. Before his trip, the Shaikh informed the dervishes who visited him in Kirkuk that Kāka Muḥammad was his General Deputy and that he would take his place while he was away. One thing he told them was, “As of today, you do not know the real Kāka Muḥammad. The day will come, however, when you, and everyone in the world, will know his reality”. Our Shaikh stayed in the takya, representing his Master while he was on his pilgrimage.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān in the reception hall of the Baghdad takya (middle of 1980s).

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm would attend the dhikr circles on Monday and Thursday nights in the central takya in Kirkuk, so this became one of his General Deputy’s tasks in the absence of the Master. One night, the winter cold was brutal, as usual, but it was hot inside the takya because it was filled with dervishes and because of the heating system. Our Shaikh was standing in front of the takya’s open door, covering a part of its opening. When the disciples were chanting the first dhikr that is accompanied by drums, “Ḥayy Allāh, Ḥayy Allāh”, he felt a cool breeze enter from outside, touch his body, and enter the centre of the dhikr circle. The breeze had a unique fragrance, similar to that of a damask rose, which our Shaikh recognised as the Messenger’s (PBUH) special scent. This pleasant fragrance remained for days on the left side of his body, where the Prophetic breeze had touched him.

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm had a special love for Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad that was unlike his love for anyone else. The Shaikh would always ask about his whereabouts and what he was doing when he was not around. He would also pass on to his son the most precious and beautiful gifts he received. This was not a result of the usual love and care that a father gives his son. Rather, this love and care were both unique and special because they were those of a Shaikh of Ṭarīqa for his successor, for the Muḥammadan inheritor after him. Our Shaikh reciprocated this special spiritual love for his Master.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān in the Mosque of the Baghdad takya (middle of 1980s).

The same situation was repeated in Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad’s love and attention for his General Deputy, Shaikh Nahro. He loved and cared for all of his children, but what he felt for Shaikh Nahro was unique. It was not a result of his being the eldest of his children but rather because he was his General Deputy, whom our Shaikh had announced would succeed him as the Master of Ṭarīqa. Anyone who had witnessed the relationship between Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm and Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad recognised that the relationship between Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad and Shaikh Nahro was of that same kind of unique spiritual bond. To me personally, it appeared that our Shaikh loved only the Prophet (PBUH) more than Shaikh Nahro.

Those who possess ḥāls are often spiritually attracted to the future Shaikh of Ṭarīqa even before he assumes its Shaikhdom. Dervishes who experienced spiritual unveilings knew that Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad would succeed his father, even before Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm announced it. In the early 1960s, about fifteen years before our Shaikh became the Master of Ṭarīqa, a dervish named Majīd from Khurmāl, Sulaymāniyya, who had ḥāl, said that a day would come when dervishes of “King Muḥammad”, as he liked to refer to Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad, would come to visit him by plane. At the time, dervishes would exclusively travel by land to visit Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm, as air travel was not common. He also said that the majority of “King Muḥammad’s” future dervishes would be bareheaded. He said this at a time when the majority of people, including disciples, whether Arab or Kurdish, would cover their heads.

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazān at the takya in Āzādī, Kirkuk (1966/1967).

Also in the 1960s, when our Shaikh was still involved in the Kurdish movement, he met an aged female dervish in the company of her grandsons. When he greeted her, the elderly woman returned the greeting and added, referring to her grandsons, “These are your dervishes”. This happened a few years before Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm appointed him as his Deputy. There are many examples of similar unveilings. The Messenger (PBUH) also told some dervishes that Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad would succeed his father as Shaikh of Ṭarīqa.

Three or four years before Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad became the Master of Ṭarīqa, three accomplished disciples—Uncle Ḥusayn, ʿAlī Fshān, and Ibrāhīm Galālī—would sometimes leave Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s assembly and stand at the door of our Shaikh’s assembly hall. Our Shaikh would be annoyed, sometimes to the point of being upset, and ask them to go to Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s assembly, as he was the Shaikh of Ṭarīqa, to whom they were spiritually linked. Also, he did not like anyone to remind him that Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm would one day pass away. The dervishes would reply that they liked to be near his assembly. One day in 1973 or 1974, Uncle Ḥusayn and ʿAlī Fshān made a crown out of metal wires and, along with Ibrāhīm Galālī, brought it to our Shaikh’s assembly. When he saw them carrying it, he understood what they intended to do and became upset. He asked them to leave, which they did only after placing the crown in his assembly hall.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān in the city of Ḥadītha (27 December 1991).

As the present Shaikh of Ṭarīqa’s death and the advent of the new Shaikh draw near, dervishes who possess ḥāls begin to sense this imminent change. Where there was once only love for the present Shaikh, love for the next Shaikh begins to grow in their hearts, so they start feeling drawn to him. About five or six months before Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s departure, our Shaikh noticed an increase in dervishes with ḥāls who would come close to him. He was anxious about this because he knew what it meant. They began, for instance, to come to his assembly after Shaikh Abd al-Karīm left his assembly and went to his private room for worship. Our Shaikh would try his best to dismiss them, but their inclination towards him was not their choice. It was, rather, a divine intervention as Allah directed their hearts towards the person whom He had chosen to succeed the present Shaikh. This supernatural intervention is necessary because, otherwise, a dervish’s heart cannot love any other Master besides his present one.

The intervention of the Prophet (PBUH) and the Shaikhs of Ṭarīqa in moving the dervishes’ hearts is demonstrated in visions and spiritual experiences that reveal to dervishes the future Shaikh’s imminent assumption of the Shaikhdom and attract their hearts to him. A few months before Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s departure, for example, Aḥmad Muḥammad Amīn visited our Shaikh and told him about a vision he had seen. He saw the honourable Messenger (PBUH) take one of two outfits from a bundle of clothes and give it to our Shaikh. About two months later, another walī and caliph, called Ḥājj Mullā ʿAbd Allah, visited our Shaikh and told him that he saw the Messenger (PBUH) ask for a cane then give it to our Shaikh. Visions and spiritual unveilings like these confirmed to our Shaikh the imminence of his Master’s passing and his assumption of the Shaikhdom. A dream of the Prophet (PBUH) is always a true dream because he (PBUH) said, “Whoever sees me [in a dream] then, indeed, he has seen the truth, as Satan cannot appear in my form”,[2] and, “Whoever sees me in a dream has really seen me, as Satan cannot impersonate me”.[3]

Karāmas and spiritual indications confirming that Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad was destined for the Ṭarīqa’s Masterdom continued to happen. They included our Shaikh taking the pledge directly from the Prophet (PBUH). Less than two months before Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s death, our Shaikh was blessed with meeting the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in a dream. He (PBUH) was sitting with his back reclined against the side of Shaikh Ḥusayn’s head in his shrine in Karbchna. He was facing the Kaʿba, almost in the direction of Kirkuk, where Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm lived. He had a light beard and seemed sad. As soon as our Shaikh saw him, he rushed towards him and fell to his knees before him. With complete subservience and submission, he extended his hand balled into a fist. His clenched fist met the Messenger’s (PBUH). His fist seemed like a child’s fist in comparison to the Prophet’s (PBUH).[4] His joy in meeting the Messenger (PBUH) was mixed with apprehension over what the vision indicated. When he told his Master about the dream, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm did not say a single word. They both understood what the dream meant: Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm would soon be leaving this world and the Shaikhdom would be transferred to our Shaikh. This taking of the pledge at the Prophet’s (PBUH) hand explains our Master’s words about his noble palm, “Whoever touched this palm has touched the Prophet’s (PBUH) palm”.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān in Karbchna (1989).

Sultan Ḥusayn also visited Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad in a vision and placed his nephew’s hand in his and gave him the succession of Ṭarīqa. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm then gave the Ṭarīqa’s succession to our Shaikh by hand. Progressively, he gave him all the permissions and spiritual Sufi matters he had from the Shaikhs of Ṭarīqa. These included the permission to write supplications that Kāka Aḥmad al-Shaikh gave to Shāh al-Kasnazān, even though Kasnazānī Shaikhs only used them in exceptional cases. Our Shaikh would sometimes give certain caliphs special supplications to use temporarily while on preaching tours, to cure specific diseases, for example. Ṭarīqa Kasnazāniyya’s daily and perennial dhikrs have enormous spiritual power. By consistently performing them, a dervish can obtain various karāmas, spiritual rewards, and whatever he needs. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm also handed to our Shaikh the responsibility of the takya and told him that his time was up.

The notification came once more during Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s last visit to the shrines of the Shaikhs in Karbchna. Our Shaikh came from Kirkuk to visit him after a few days. When Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm decided to return to Kirkuk, he went to visit the shrines as usual before leaving. This visit, however, was not like the previous ones. He came out of the hall of the shrines and sat on a chair near the door with a joyous expression. He went on to address the large crowd of caliphs and disciples that were present:

My children! My dervishes! From this day forth, sayyid Shaikh Muḥammad is your Shaikh. This is our Master’s order. Whoever obeys him has obeyed us, and whoever loves him has loved us. Whoever disobeys him has disobeyed us.

He turned towards the shrines and said:

I am saying my farewell to you now. This is my last visit to you. This is your deputy whom you have entrusted.[5]

While crying, our Shaikh took his Master’s hand and kissed it, saying, “You are in good health. You have broken our hearts”. Those present were overwhelmed by the gravity, majesty, and sadness of the situation. After returning from Karbchna, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm entrusted his son and General Deputy with the administration of Ṭarīqa’s takyas. He passed away about two months later, and Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad succeeded him. Before his demise, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm also made final farewell trips to the holy shrines in Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf.

[1] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 10 February 2016; 22 September 2016.

[2] Al-Bukhārī, Al-Jāmiʿ al-ṣaḥīḥ, III, no. 6749, p. 603.

[3] Ibid., I, no. 109, p. 82.

[4] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 10 February 2016; Al-Kasnazān, Al-Ṭarīqa al-ʿaliyya al-qādiriyya al-kasnazāniyya, 163-164.

[5] Al-Kasnazān, Al-Anwār al-raḥmāniyya, 1.

.Louay Fatoohi 2004-2024. All rights reserved
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