Khalid al-Baghdadi

Khalid al-Baghdadi (1779-1826) was a Naqshbandi Sufi Sheikh and founder of the Khalidi branch of the Naqshbandi order. He was born into the Jaf Kurds in Shehrezur, Karadag an area near to Sulaymaniye in northern Iraq. His full name was Khalid ibn Husain taking the nickname "Ziyauddin" and al-Baghdadi later.
After travelling to India where he studied under revivalist Naqshbandi Sufi Sheikhs he returned to Syria where he engaged himself in teaching his students. He died in 1242/1826, his funeral was performed at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Biography
He was born in the year 1193 H./1779 CE. in the village of Karadag near the city of Sulaymaniyyah in Iraq. He was raised and trained in Sulaymaniyyah, where there were many schools and many mosques and which was considered the primary educational city of his time.
His grandfather was Par Mika'il Chis Anchit, which means Mika'il the Saint of the six fingers. His title is `Uthmani because he is a descendant of Sayyidina `Uthman ibn `Affan , the third caliph of Islam. He studied the Qur'an and its explanation and fiqh according to the Shafi`i school. He was famous in poetry. When he was fifteen years of age he took asceticism as his creed, hunger as his horse, wakefulness as his means, seclusion as his friend, and energy as his light.
Young Khalid studied with the two great scholars of his time, Shaykh `Abdul Karam al-Barzinji and Shaykh `Abdur Rahim al-Barzinji, and he read with Mullah Muhammad `Ali. He studied the sciences of mathematics, philosophy, and logicas well as the principles of jurisprudence. He studied the works of Ibn Hajar, as-Suyuti, and al-Haythami. He memorized the commentary on Qur'an by Baydawi. He was able to find solutions for even the most difficult questions in jurisprudence. He memorized the Qur'an according to the fourteen different ways of recitation, and became very famous everywhere for this.
The governor of Baban, Prince Ihsan Ibrahim Pasha asked him to look after the schools in his kingdom. He refused and moved to the city of Sanandaj, where he continued to study mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and chemistry under Muhammad al-Qasim as-Sanandaji. After completing the study of the secular sciences he returned to Sulaymaniyyah. Following the plague of 1213 H/1798 AD., he took over the school of his Shaykh `Abdul Karam Barzinji, where he taught the modern sciences.
He then entered seclusion, leaving everything he had studied behind, engaging in virtuous actions and much dhikr. Following this he decided to make the pilgrimage (hajj) and to visit Muhammad in 1220 H./1806 AD. He traveled to Hijaz through Mosul and Yarbikir and ar-Raha and Aleppo and finally Damascus. There he spent some time, meeting its scholars and studying with the master of both ancient and modern knowledge, scholar of hadith, Shaykh Muhammad al-Kuzbari. He received authorization in the Qadiri Tariqat from Shaykh al-Kuzbari and his deputy, Shaykh Mustafa al-Kurdi, who travelled with him until he reached Medina.
Following the hajj Shaykh Khalid returned to Sulaymaniyyah and continued his teachings of zuhd, self-denial. He was always looking for someone to show him the Path of gnosis. Shaykh Mirza Rahimullah Beg al-M`aruf, one of the caliphs of the spiritual pole `Abdullah ad-Dehlawi visited Sulaymaniyyah. Shaykh Khalid asked him about the perfect guide to show him the way and Shaykh Mirza told him, "There is one perfect Shaykh who observes the character of the Prophet and is a guide in the gnosis (ma`rifah). Come to his service in Jehanabad (India) for he told me before I left, 'You are going to meet someone, bring him back with you.'"
Move to India
Shaykh Khalid moved to India in 1224 H./1809 AD. His journey took him through Rayy, Tehran], and other provinces of Iran. He then traveled to the city of Herat in Afghanistan, followed by Kandahar, Kabul, and Peshawar. The great scholars of all these cities with whom he met would often test his knowledge in the sciences of Divine Law (shari'a) and Divine Awareness (ma`rifat), and those of logic, mathematics, and astronomy always found him immensely knowledgeable.
He moved on to Lahore, where he met with Shaykh Thana'ullah an-Naqshbandi and asked for his prayers. He recalled, "I left Lahore, crossing mountains and valleys, forests and deserts until I reached the Sultanate of Delhi known as Jehanabad. It took me one year to reach his city. Forty days before I arrived Shaykh Abdullah ad-Dehlawi told his followers, 'My successor is coming.'"
There he took initiation with Shaykh `Abdullah ad-Dahlawi and served in the zawiya (mosque-school) of the shaykh. He made rapid progress in the struggle against his self. Five months had not passed when he became one of those who achieved ma`rifat.
He took permission from Shaykh `Abdullah to return to Iraq. The Shaykh gave him written authority in five tariqats: first being the Naqshbandi Order; the Qadiri Order; the Suhrawardiyya; the Kubrawiyya Tariqat,and the Chishti Order.
He gave him authorization to teach all the Sciences of Hadith, Tafsir, Sufism, and the Daily Practices (awrad). He memorized the Books of the Twelve Imams, the source-books for the knowledge of the descendants of Sayyidina `Ali .
Move to Baghdad
He moved to Baghdad in the year 1228 H./1813 AD. for the second time and he stayed in the school of Ahsa'iyya Isfahaniyyah. There he spread the knowledge of Allah and His remembrance. Later Shaykh Khalid left Baghdad for some time and then returned again for a third time, returning to the Ahsa'iyya Isfahaniyyah. He began anew to teach spiritual knowledge. He deputized many caliphs sending them to Hijaz, Sham (Syria), Turkey, Iran, India and Transoxania, to spread the teachings of the Naqshbandi Order.
He visited the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem accompanied by many followers. There his caliph, `Abdullah al-Fardi, came out to meet him with a large crowd of people. Christians asked him to enter the Church of Kumama to bless it with his presence. He then visited Hebron, city of Ibrahim (whom Muslims call "Father of all prophets"), and he was welcomed by its people.
He went again to Hijaz to visit the Holy Ka'ba in the year 1241 H/1826 AD. A large contingent of his caliphs and disciples accompanied him. The city of the Holy Mosque with all its scholars and saints came out to meet him and all took initiation from him. They gave him the keys of the two Holy Cities accepting him as a spiritual master of the Two Holy Cities.
Return to Syria
After completing the pilgrimage and visiting Muhammad in Madinah, he returned to Syria. The Ottoman Sultan, Mahmud Khan, held a huge celebration upon his return in which 250,000 people welcomed him at the gates of the city. Scholars, ministers, shaykhs, the poor and the rich, all came out seeking his blessings and prayers. Poets sang his praises and the rich fed the poor.
Plague
In the last ten days of Ramadan of the year 1242 H./1827 AD. Shaykh Khalid announced his intention to visit Jerusalem. However, in the first days of Shawwal a plague began to spread quickly throughout Damascus. The first to die from it was his son, Bahauddin, followed shortly by another son, Abdur Rahman.
Shaykh Khalid predicted, "From my followers large numbers are going to die," and ordered them to dig many graves for them, including his wife and daughter. Then he said, "I am giving the authority to succeed me in the Naqshbandi Tariqat to Shaykh Isma`il ash-Shirwani."
He asked his disciples to follow his deputy Isma`il ash-Shirwani after him. He ordered them not to cry on his behalf, and that they feed the poor for the love of God and dedicate the charity in his behalf. He ordered them to write nothing on his grave except, "This is the grave of the stranger, Khalid." He called his family and advised them, "I am going to pass away on Friday." Before the dawn prayer he got up and prayed then entered his room and raised his hands and prayed, "Whoever the plague touches, let it strike me instead and spare everyone in Damascus."
Thursday came and all his caliphs entered. Sayyidina Isma`il ash-Shirwani asked him, "How are you feeling?" He said, "Allah has answered my prayer. I will take all the plague from the people of Sham and I alone will die on Friday." He passed on, as he had predicted, on the 13th of the Islamic month Dhul Qi'da, 1242 H./1827 AD.
It is said that more than 300,000 people prayed the funeral prayer over Shaykh Khalid. The next day, Saturday, it was as if a miracle had happened in Sham, the plague immediately stopped and there were no further deaths.
Permission for mastery of the order after him had been given to his successor, Shaykh Isma`il ash-Shirwani. Shaykh Khalid had also passed permission for teaching about the order to 299 caliphs. Through these caliphs the Khalidi branch of the Naqshbandi order was to become one of the most widespread in the Middle East spreading to Turkey the Balkans, Southern Russia, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt and even to Indonesia. The order however, remained most popular in Turkey where almost all of the current Naqshbandi leaders in Turkey today trace their history through Khalid al-Baghdadi.

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