Sufia Nurbakhshia
Encyclopedia
Nurbakhshiya also written as Noorbakhshiya, is an Islamic sect. The followers of this sect are called Nurbakhshis. The name has been derived by their founder Mir Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani.
, Central Asia
, Kashmir
and Baltistan
as a branch of the Kubravia Sufi order.
It was in the valley of Kashmir and in Baltistan where the Nurbakhshiya gained their greatest prominence in the early 16th century. This was due to the missionary efforts of Mir Sham ud-Din Iraqi, himself a disciple of Sayyid Muhammad Nurbkhsh's son and spiritual heir, Shah Qasim Faizbakhsh.
In its country of origin, Iran, the order became outright Shi'a some decades after the Safavid dynasty made twelver Shi'ism the religion of the state in 1501, and the same happened in Kashmir, either during the lifetime of Shams ud-Din Iraqi, who died in 1527, or in the following decades during the brief interlude of the Chak dynasty's reign. But in Baltistan the Nurbakhshiya has survived until this day as a sect with doctrines of its own, combining elements of both Shi'ism and Sunni Islam..
Ghousulal-Mutakharin Sayyid al Arifin Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh was the 9th century missionary Sufi master on whom the researchers have paid less attention. That is why we could not trace a detailed biography on his life. Although Nurbakhsh had many scholar-disciples including Assiri lahiji, but none of his disciples made any serious effort to write Nurbakhsh's biography and to preserve his teachings. However it is a wonderful miracle that hundreds of thousand of his followers are still present in a very far-flung and the most backward areas of Islamic Republic of Pakistan who are practicising his teachings in in its entirety and who are the custodians of his works and teachings even these days when five centuries have been passed after Nurbakhsh..
Nurbakhshis believe that the practices are not an assemblage of his personal view but the practices were originally conceived to him from Islamic Prophet Muhammad through the masters of the spiritual chain. They state that if anyone feels doubt in this connection, they would invite them to travel on the long road through the history of mysticism and to compare it with that of Nurbakhsh’s teachings.
During 1990 Nurbakhshis divided into two further sects
1)Hamadanis the followers of Hamadanis mainly locate in Shigar Valley
2)Nurbakhshis
During 1999 the remaining Nurbakhshis further divided in to two further sects
1)Sofia Imamia Norbakshia who's leader is Peer Syed Muhammad Shah Norani (Present peer e tariqat)of Keris Valley. He had been appointed by Syed Aon Ali (His father) was former peer e tariqat of Nurbakhshia.
2) Sufia Nurbakhshis who's leader is the Faqir Muhammad Ibrahim of Kahplu valley.
3)Nurbakhsis have been spoiled by the dominant shia sect of Kashmir, Baltistan and to some extent Iran as well.
Doctrine
The most important sources of Nurbakhshi doctrines are two books: the "al-Fiqh al-Ahwat", meaning "Superlatively Precautionary Jurisprudence" and the "Kitab al-Aitiqadia," meaning book of Faith or doctrines. Both of these books are written by Mir Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, the founder of Sufia Nurbakhshiya school of thought of Islam.History
Nurbakhshiya emerged in 15th century IranIran
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...
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Baltistan
Baltistan
Baltistan , also known as بلتیول བལིུལ་ in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan which forms Gilgit-Baltistan, bordering the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. In addition, a part of Baltistan also falls into Jammu and Kashmir of India. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains...
as a branch of the Kubravia Sufi order.
It was in the valley of Kashmir and in Baltistan where the Nurbakhshiya gained their greatest prominence in the early 16th century. This was due to the missionary efforts of Mir Sham ud-Din Iraqi, himself a disciple of Sayyid Muhammad Nurbkhsh's son and spiritual heir, Shah Qasim Faizbakhsh.
In its country of origin, Iran, the order became outright Shi'a some decades after the Safavid dynasty made twelver Shi'ism the religion of the state in 1501, and the same happened in Kashmir, either during the lifetime of Shams ud-Din Iraqi, who died in 1527, or in the following decades during the brief interlude of the Chak dynasty's reign. But in Baltistan the Nurbakhshiya has survived until this day as a sect with doctrines of its own, combining elements of both Shi'ism and Sunni Islam..
Ghousulal-Mutakharin Sayyid al Arifin Mir Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh was the 9th century missionary Sufi master on whom the researchers have paid less attention. That is why we could not trace a detailed biography on his life. Although Nurbakhsh had many scholar-disciples including Assiri lahiji, but none of his disciples made any serious effort to write Nurbakhsh's biography and to preserve his teachings. However it is a wonderful miracle that hundreds of thousand of his followers are still present in a very far-flung and the most backward areas of Islamic Republic of Pakistan who are practicising his teachings in in its entirety and who are the custodians of his works and teachings even these days when five centuries have been passed after Nurbakhsh..
Nurbakhshis believe that the practices are not an assemblage of his personal view but the practices were originally conceived to him from Islamic Prophet Muhammad through the masters of the spiritual chain. They state that if anyone feels doubt in this connection, they would invite them to travel on the long road through the history of mysticism and to compare it with that of Nurbakhsh’s teachings.
During 1990 Nurbakhshis divided into two further sects
1)Hamadanis the followers of Hamadanis mainly locate in Shigar Valley
2)Nurbakhshis
During 1999 the remaining Nurbakhshis further divided in to two further sects
1)Sofia Imamia Norbakshia who's leader is Peer Syed Muhammad Shah Norani (Present peer e tariqat)of Keris Valley. He had been appointed by Syed Aon Ali (His father) was former peer e tariqat of Nurbakhshia.
2) Sufia Nurbakhshis who's leader is the Faqir Muhammad Ibrahim of Kahplu valley.
3)Nurbakhsis have been spoiled by the dominant shia sect of Kashmir, Baltistan and to some extent Iran as well.