Silsilat adh-Dhahab
The Golden Chain
Heart to heart, hand in hand: the unbroken line of masters through whom the light of the Prophet ﷺ reaches us today.
Every authentic Sufi path is carried by a silsila, a chain in which each master received the Way from the one before him, back to the Prophet ﷺ. The Naqshbandi chain is called the Golden Chain because of the purity of those it passes through, and because it flows to us from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r).
When a murid takes bay‘ah, they are joined to this chain. The light that passed through each of these hearts is the same light offered in our gatherings in Bradford today.
The source
Sayyiduna Muhammad ﷺ
The Seal of the Prophets, source of every light in the chain.
- 1
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r)
The first Caliph, companion of the Prophet ﷺ in the cave.
- 2
Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (r)
Companion of the Prophet ﷺ, counted among the People of the House.
- 3
Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (q)
One of the seven great jurists of Madinah.
- 4
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (q)
- 5
Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q)
- 6
Abul Hasan Ali al-Kharqani (q)
- 7
Abul Qasim al-Gurgani (q)
- 8
Abu Ali al-Farmadi (q)
- 9
Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani (q)
- 10
Abul Abbas al-Khidr (a)
- 11
Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q)
Head of the Khwajagan, who set down the first eight principles.
- 12
Arif ar-Riwakri (q)
- 13
Khwaja Mahmud al-Anjir al-Faghnawi (q)
- 14
Ali ar-Ramitani (q)
- 15
Muhammad Baba as-Samasi (q)
- 16
As-Sayyid Amir Kulal (q)
- 17
Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshband (q)
The Imam of the Tariqah, from whom it takes its name.
- 18
Ala'uddin al-Bukhari al-Attar (q)
- 19
Ya'qub al-Charkhi (q)
- 20
Ubaydullah al-Ahrar (q)
- 21
Muhammad az-Zahid (q)
- 22
Darwish Muhammad (q)
- 23
Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanaki (q)
- 24
Muhammad al-Baqi billah (q)
Brought the Way to India.
- 25
Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (q)
Imam ar-Rabbani, the Renewer of the second millennium.
- 26
Muhammad al-Ma'sum (q)
- 27
Muhammad Sayfuddin al-Faruqi (q)
- 28
As-Sayyid Nur Muhammad al-Badawani (q)
- 29
Shamsuddin Habibullah Mazhar Jan-i-Janan (q)
- 30
Abdullah ad-Dahlawi (q)
- 31
Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi (q)
Carried the Way across the Ottoman lands.
- 32
Ismail Muhammad ash-Shirwani (q)
- 33
Khas Muhammad ash-Shirwani (q)
- 34
Muhammad Effendi al-Yaraghi (q)
- 35
Sayyid Jamaluddin al-Ghumuqi al-Husayni (q)
- 36
Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri (q)
- 37
Abu Muhammad al-Madani (q)
- 38
Sayyid Sharafuddin ad-Daghestani (q)
39
Grandshaykh Abdullah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani (q)
Grandshaykh of Damascus, the teacher of Maulana Shaykh Nazim.
40
Maulana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (q)
Sultan al-Awliya, who carried the Way to the West.
41
Maulana Shaykh Mehmet Adil
Our Murshid today, by whose permission our dergah is open.
And through our Murshid’s permission, to the dergah in Bradford.
Join the circle
The chain is not only history. It is alive in every gathering of dhikr held by permission of our shaykhs.