Javad Nurbakhsh
Encyclopedia
Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh was the Master (pir
) of the Nimatullahi
Sufi
Order from 1953 until his death. He was also a psychiatrist
and a successful writer in the fields of both psychiatry and Sufi mysticism
.
, Iran
on the 10th of December 1926. He was initiated into the Nimatullahi sufi order at the age of sixteen and appointed its sheikh at twenty. Nurbakhsh studied at University of Tehran's medical school, receiving his doctorate in psychiatry in 1952, from the Sorbonne. He began his professional career as a medical doctor at the age of 26 when he became head of a local hospital in the southeastern town of Bam, Iran
. In the following year he succeeded his master, Mo'nes 'Ali Shah Zo'r-Riyasateyn, as master of the Nimatullahi, taking the Sufi sobriquet of Nur 'Ali Shah.
As well as his revival of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order and his many written works, Dr. Nurbakhsh became one of Iran's foremost psychiatrists. Dr. Nurbakhsh believed that all are equal in love. According to his obituary in Payvan's Iran news, he "promoted the creed of fraternity and equality of all human beings, regardless of gender, race, nationality and religion."
in 1979, first for the United States
, where he established several sufi centres or hostels known as khanaqahs, then moved to Britain in 1983 and settled there. Dr. Nurbakhsh's work in reviving and organizing Sufism through the Nimatullahi order continued until his death in Britain in 2008.
when it was for first hosted in Iran.
He produced 37 scientific works in the field of psychiatry, as author, editor and translator, along with many articles in scientific journals and a compendium of instructional brochures for the use of researchers, professors and students.
, Nurbakhsh was known for his “prodigious activity” in the publication of classical Sufi texts. By 1979, when he fled Iran, he had published some eighty books.
He wrote the two part article What is Sufism? Sufism and Psychoanalysis, published in the The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, which fall into the category of Sufi psychology
, bringing together his twin interests in the fields of Sufism and psychiatry.
Prior to 1979, according to biographical material on the Order's web site, "he established 70 Sufi centres in most of the major cities and towns of Iran, all set up as charitable organisations according to civil and Islamic law. A great number of these have since been expropriated under the current regime." The first of the Order's Sufi centres outside Iran was set up in San Francisco in 1975. Many more were set up outside Iran after his flight into exile in 1979.
He has been succeeded by his son, Dr. Alireza Nurbakhsh, a doctor in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin and a practising lawyer in London. His Sufi sobriquet is Reza 'Ali Shah.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Parvaneh Daneshvar Nurbakhsh, three sons, and two daughters.
Pir (Sufism)
Pir or Peer is a title for a Sufi master equally used in the nath tradition. They are also referred to as a Hazrat or Shaikh, which is Arabic for Old Man. The title is often translated into English as "saint" and could be interpreted as "Elder". In Sufism a Pir's role is to guide and instruct his...
) of the Nimatullahi
Nimatullahi
The Ni'matullāhī or Ne'matollāhī is a Sufi order originating in Iran. According to Moojan Momen, the number of Ni'matullāhī in Iran in 1980 was estimated to be between 50,000 and 350,000. Following the emigration of Dr...
Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
Order from 1953 until his death. He was also a psychiatrist
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and a successful writer in the fields of both psychiatry and Sufi mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
.
Iran
Dr. Nurbakhsh was born in the city of KermanKerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
on the 10th of December 1926. He was initiated into the Nimatullahi sufi order at the age of sixteen and appointed its sheikh at twenty. Nurbakhsh studied at University of Tehran's medical school, receiving his doctorate in psychiatry in 1952, from the Sorbonne. He began his professional career as a medical doctor at the age of 26 when he became head of a local hospital in the southeastern town of Bam, Iran
Bam, Iran
Bam is a city in and the capital of Bam County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 73,823, in 19,572 families.The modern Iranian city of Bam surrounds the Bam citadel. Before the 2003 earthquake the official population count of the city was roughly 43,000. There are...
. In the following year he succeeded his master, Mo'nes 'Ali Shah Zo'r-Riyasateyn, as master of the Nimatullahi, taking the Sufi sobriquet of Nur 'Ali Shah.
As well as his revival of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order and his many written works, Dr. Nurbakhsh became one of Iran's foremost psychiatrists. Dr. Nurbakhsh believed that all are equal in love. According to his obituary in Payvan's Iran news, he "promoted the creed of fraternity and equality of all human beings, regardless of gender, race, nationality and religion."
Exile in the West
Dr. Nurbakhsh left Iran following the Iranian revolutionIranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
in 1979, first for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he established several sufi centres or hostels known as khanaqahs, then moved to Britain in 1983 and settled there. Dr. Nurbakhsh's work in reviving and organizing Sufism through the Nimatullahi order continued until his death in Britain in 2008.
Psychiatry
After obtaining his Psychiatric degree from the Sorbonne, Dr. Nurbakhsh was appointed professor of psychiatry at the Tehran University school of medicine, a position which he held until he retired, along with that of director of the Iranian Medical Council, president of the Iranian Association of Psychiatrists, and head of the Ruzbeh Psychiatric Hospital. He was also an honorary member of the American Psychiatrists' Association. Nurbakhsh also supervised the World Congress of Psychiatry for the World Psychiatric AssociationWorld Psychiatric Association
The World Psychiatric Association is an international umbrella organisation of psychiatric societies.-Objectives and goals:Originally created to produce world psychiatric congresses, it has evolved to hold regional meetings, to promote professional education and to set ethical, scientific and...
when it was for first hosted in Iran.
He produced 37 scientific works in the field of psychiatry, as author, editor and translator, along with many articles in scientific journals and a compendium of instructional brochures for the use of researchers, professors and students.
Sufism
According to the Islamic scholar Henry CorbinHenry Corbin
Henry Corbin was a philosopher, theologian and professor of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.Corbin was born in Paris in April 1903. As a boy he revealed the profound sensitivity to music so evident in his work...
, Nurbakhsh was known for his “prodigious activity” in the publication of classical Sufi texts. By 1979, when he fled Iran, he had published some eighty books.
He wrote the two part article What is Sufism? Sufism and Psychoanalysis, published in the The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, which fall into the category of Sufi psychology
Sufi psychology
There are three central ideas in Sufi Islamic psychology, which are the Nafs , the Qalb and the Ruh . The origin and basis of these terms is Qur'anic and they have been expounded upon by centuries of Sufic commentaries.-Overview:Nafs is considered to be the lowest principle of man...
, bringing together his twin interests in the fields of Sufism and psychiatry.
Prior to 1979, according to biographical material on the Order's web site, "he established 70 Sufi centres in most of the major cities and towns of Iran, all set up as charitable organisations according to civil and Islamic law. A great number of these have since been expropriated under the current regime." The first of the Order's Sufi centres outside Iran was set up in San Francisco in 1975. Many more were set up outside Iran after his flight into exile in 1979.
Death and succession
Dr. Nurbakhsh died in his retreat in the English countryside near the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire, where he spent his final years, and is buried there.He has been succeeded by his son, Dr. Alireza Nurbakhsh, a doctor in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin and a practising lawyer in London. His Sufi sobriquet is Reza 'Ali Shah.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Parvaneh Daneshvar Nurbakhsh, three sons, and two daughters.
Selected Statements by Nurbakhsh on Sufism
"The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this."
"Sufism is a path towards the Truth where there are no provisions except Love. Its method is to look solely in one direction, and its objective is God."
"True lovers prefer the Beloved's desires to their own, being content with whatever the Beloved desires - 'be it cure or pain, union or separation.'"
"...if you encounter a human being who claims to be a Sufi and behaves contrary to the human code of ethics, do not ask, "What kind of Sufi is this?" Rather, it would be better to ask, "What kind of person would this have been had he not been a Sufi?"
"The capital of the Path is, in truth, nothing other than sincerity. Sincerity has been defined as `showing yourself as you really are' and `being inwardly what you show yourself to be'."
Selected bibliography
- In the Paradise of the Sufis, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1979)
- Divani Nurbakhsh, Sufi Poetry, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1980)
- The Truths of Love: Sufi Poetry, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1982)
- The Gnosis of the Sufis (Ma‘arif-i Ṣufiyya), in five volumes, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1983)
- Jesus in the Eyes of the Sufis, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1983)
- Sufi Women, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1983)
- Spiritual Poverty in Sufism, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1984)
- The Great Satan, ‘Eblis’, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1986)
- Sufi Symbolism (Farhang-i Nurbakhsh), in 16 volumes, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1990 onwards)
- Dogs from a Sufi Point of View, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1992)
- In the Tavern of Ruin, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1992)
- The Psychology of Sufism, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1992)
- Masters of the Path: A History of the Nimatullahi Order, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1993)
- Traditions of the Prophet, Volumes I and II, trilingual texts (Arabic, Persian and English), Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1993)
- Discourses on the Sufi Path, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (1996)
- The Path, Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications, London (2003)
External links
- Internet site of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order nimatullahi.org
- Obituary and Biographical Sketch of Dr. Nurbakhsh, on the BBC's Persian language internet service.
- Obituary tribute on Payvand.com, the Persian social and cultural forum.
- Notice of Death at the Daily Telegraph.