Sufi Abdullah Khan Passes Away

Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh , We pray this finds everyone well, wrapped in Allah’s mercy and steadfastly traveling the path to eternal felicity, in sha Allah.

Sufi Muhammad Abd Allah Khan Sahib Naqshbandi has passed away today at the age of 92, he was the Khalifa of Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Sahib Naqshbandi Rahimahullah of Ghamkol Sharif . Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. May He give him to drink from the Basin of His Prophet (alayhi salat wa salam), that he may never thirst thereafter, and may He enter him into the highest gardens of Paradise! Ameen.

انا لله وانا اليه راجعون
انتقل الى رحمة الله تعالى
الرجل الصالح العلامة الشيخ عبد الله خان النقشبندي رحمه الله
الله يرحمه ويجعل مثواه الجنة
إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون ولله ما أخذ ولله ما أعطى

A Loss of A Great Gem

Hazrat Sufi Muhammad Abdullah Khan Sahib Naqshbandi Returned to his Lord

With sorrow and patience, we announce the death of a great Man of Allah, and a Sufi Master, a gem of wisdom and a spring of guidance.

A man who served Muslims in the UK for and promoted Sunni Islam and sufism relentlessly for over 50 years.

He is Hazrat Sufi Muhammad Abdullah Khan Sahib Naqshbandi who died today at the age of 92.

While we offer our condolences to his family and his murids in Birmingham and in Pakistan, we pray that Allah, Most Generous, envelop him with His infinite Mercy and raise him to the highest ranks in the Garden.

As being unable to travel to the UK to attend his funeral in person, I call upon all our students to represent us in his funeral and offer condolences on our behalf.

– Sayyid Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi

Short Biography

Hazrat Sufi Muhammad Abdullah Khan Sahib Naqshbandi

Khalifa of Hazrat Khwaja Zinda Pir Sahib of Ghamkol Sharif.

Born in 1923 in the District of Chakwal in Pakistan.

Joined the army in 1940 and after completing military service was sent to the UK in 1962 by his Shaykh, Hazrat Khwaja Zinda Pir Sahib.

Upon reaching the UK he established regular dhikr circles and gatherings to promote Tassawuf and the Naqshbandi Tariqa. In later years he worked on a number of projects aimed to serve the local community and introduced religious studies and classes for the memorization of Quran.

One of his greatest achievements was in 1996, when under his guidance the largest mosque in Western Europe, Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif, was completed.

He devoted his life in service of Islam for the Muslims of the UK following the command of his Shaykh toward whom he always possessed and displayed the utmost respect, love, devotion and obedience.

Shaykh Muhammad Zahid Sultani al-Naqshbandi al-Bakri al-Siddiqi of Kashmir recalls his meeting with Sufi Abd Allah Khan Rahimahullah in Madinah al-Sharif about 10/11 years ago:

دس گیارہ سال قبل ماه رمضان میں مدینہ منورہ میں بندہ عاجز اور صوفی صاحب مرحوم اعتکاف میں قریب ، قریب هوتے تهے.بندہ نے انہیں اپنا تعارف نہیں کروایا تها .ایک روز ایک مرید صوفی صاحب کو ویل چیئر پر اعتکاف والی جگہ لیجارها تها. ویل چیئر جونہی بندہ کے پاس سے گزری صوفی صاحب اچانک اٹھ کھڑے هوئے اور بندہ عاجز کی دست
بوسی کی اور جلدی سے گزر گئے

Translation

Approximately 10/11 years ago in the month of Ramadan in Madinah Munawarrah Myself and Sufi Sahib marhoom use sit very close I did not introduce myself to them. One day a Mureed of Sufi Sahib was pushing on their wheel chair towards the ithikaaf area, as soon as the wheel chair reached near Me, Sufi Sahib suddenly stood up and kissed my hand (Dast Bosi) and quickly carried on.”

A brother had a dream of Sufi Abdullah Khan Sahib Naqshbandi Rahimahullah after they passed away

I was thinking about what I’ve read and seen of Sufi Abdullah, and how he carried banners of Mawlid in parades and I fell asleep after Asr for a few moments and I had a quick vision in a dream of the Prophet ﷺ carrying a banner for masjid Ghamkol Sharif in honor of Sufi Sahib and what he established in that community. I just relay that for the sake of the news of Sufi Sahib.

On the life of Shaykh Abd Allah Khan al-Naqshbandi Rahimahullah

The Shaykh was born in 1923 in the village of Behkri, district Chakwal, Pakistan. Upon completing his formal schooling, he entered the army in 1940. He served in World War II serving in the British Army, but was taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans and held captive for a number of years. After the war, Sufi Sahib returned to Pakistan. He was very keen on reciting Naat Sharif (poem praising the Holy Prophet ) at religious gatherings at the Unit mosque within the barracks. This is where he met Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah in 1945 whilst stationed in Abbottabad.

the Shaykh took ba’ait (vow of allegiance) a year later in 1946, at the hand of Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah. He became a disciple and continued to serve his Pir Sahib whilst they were both in the army. When Zinda Pir Sahib returned from Hajj in 1952, and embarked upon his Hijrat to Kohat, the Shaykh accompanied his Pir Sahib on that historic journey. Sufi Sahib spent much time at the Darbar during its early founding years and would regularly spend his entire leave from the army at Ghamkol Sharif. Sufi Sahib naturally became a very close companion of Zinda Pir Sahib Rahimahullah . the Shaykh continued visiting the Darbar and serving his Pir Sahib over the course of the next 10 years.

The Shaykh left the army in 1962 when it was decided by Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah to send him to the UK. the Shaykh became overcome with self-doubt in how he would manage such a task. Zinda Pir Rahimahullah reassured him and stated that “Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is with you”. Upon Sufi Sahib’s departure for the UK,  Zinda Pir Rahimahullah conferred upon him the Khilafat (spiritual representation) of the Tariqa and gave him the following words of wisdom in 1962:

–  To stay firm on the “aqeeda-e-Tawheed” (belief in the oneness & supreme being of Almighty Allah
–  To always have at the forefront of your mind the “rahza” (pleasure) of Almighty Allah& His Beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) before embarking upon any task
– To use your ‘Ilm (knowledge) & Aql (intellect/sense) for the “Rahza” (pleasure) of Almighty Allah as this results in attaining the “shaf’qat” (love, affection) of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)
– Do not undertake any task for your personal Izat (honor) or that which leads to “be-iz’zatee” (dishonor/disgrace)

From Signs on the Horizons (All Night Long)

Sufi Abdallah cut a striking figure. He was a tall, handsome, powerfully built with an easy swagger, thick salt and pepper beard, a rakish smile and piercing eyes. It was said he worked sixteen hours a day – two consecutive shifts – as a shop foreman in a Birmingham factory. It was also said that he rarely slept, although I had trouble believing this.

He led a Naqshbandi Sufi order in Birmingham, The Naqshbandiyya trace their lineage directly back to our Master Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, may God be well pleased with him, and their practice, reflecting the quiescence of their spiritual father, was inward and silent. It has been said that the Naqshbandiyya preserved Islam throughout the Central Asian republics during the repressively atheistic Soviet period because their spiritual practice could be carried out in silence, invisibly, without a trace.

The Naqshbandis of Birmingham were anything but invisible. They were a flamboyant, vigorous bunch, mostly working class Pakistani emigrants who congregated with a wonderful sense of processional solidarity behind their towering, energetic leader, arriving at gatherings like the Eid prayers by the busload, brandishing banners and flags and carrying trays groaning with Pakistani food. They were far and away the most organized group of Sufis in Britain.

I was always impressed by Sufi Abdallah and the men around him but wondered whether theirs was a case of style over substance. I had my chance to find out when a few friends and I were invited to attend a night of Dhikr in London. We gathered at a modest brick row house in a working class neighborhood after sunset. We had tea and talked casually until the night prayer, after which a delicious Pakistani supper was served on tablecloths spread across the floor of the room we had gathered in. This seemed more like a social gathering and I began to think my suspicions about these Naqshbandiyya were justified.

For us a meal after the night prayer usually signaled the end of an evening. These men, I discovered, were just getting started. A large circle was formed and the invocation began. The practice of the Naqshbandiyya revolved around the silent invocation of La ilaha illa ‘llah – “No god but God” – on the breath and with a rhythmic movement of the head down on the “La” and the “illa” and in a circular motion accompanied by a visualization of light. Although silent, it is an incredibly powerful practice.

Sufi Abdallah led the assembly with single-minded intensity. The practice began slowly and accelerated gradually in unison until the group breathed as a single body, lost in remembrance. Time passed. We were swept away in this luminous circular breath. Time flowed. The invocation ended. It was dawn.

We prayed the dawn prayer and the assembly broke up. I staggered out into the early morning air, ready to collapse. Sufi Abdallah walked out with me. On the working class street he looked down at me with a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle and gave me a pat on the back with his large hand, as if to say, “Nice try”. He shook my hand with an iron grip. Unruffled, he was ready to head back to Birmingham to start his first shift. As we parted ways in the cold morning light, I realized that I had just experienced a case of substance over style.

Our abode is transitory, our life therein is but a loan,
our breaths are numbered, and our indolence is manifest.

– Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq RadiAllahu Anhu

Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Sahib Rahimahullah of Ghamkol Sharif in Kohat

Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah of Ghamkol Sharif, Kohat, Pakistan

Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Sahib Rahimahullah emanated from the illustrious family of eminent Awliya and Saliheen, both from his maternal and paternal genealogies.

At a very tender age, Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah used to stay awake at nights and fast during the day, and continued doing so till his demise. As a youth, whoever has seen Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah, was overwhelmed by him and automatically became devoted to him, because of his external and spiritual beauty, which was seen through his luminous face.

A special thanks to Ghamkol Sharif and Michael Sugich for the information regarding the Noble Shaykh

Photos of Sufi Abdullah Khan Sahib Rahimahullah and Zinda Pir Rahimahullah

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Sufi Abd Allah Khan Rahimahullah reciting the Shajarah Sharif of Ghamkol Sharif

Sayyid Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi meeting Sufi Abd Allah Khan Rahimahullah

Dua by Sayyiduna Zinda Pir Rahimahullah

Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada pays tribute to Sufi Abdullah Khan Rahimahullah

The Funeral of Sufi Abdullah Khan Rahimahullah

The Funeral of Sufi Abdullah Khan Rahimahullah