Dedication to Dr. Muhammad Masud Ahmed (ra) (d. 28 April 2008 in Karachi)
Arthur F. Buehler
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Masud Ahmed (may Allah preserve his inner heart) was born in Delhi in 1930, and acquired his early education from his father, Mufti Muhammad Mazharullah (rahmatullah alayhi d. 1966), before attending Madrasa-yi Alia and then Oriental College, both located in Delhi.
He migrated from India to Pakistan in 1948, where he continued his education at Punjab University ( Lahore) and at Sindh University, Hyderabad, Sindh. Graduating with honours for his M.A. and M.Ed. at Sindh University, Dr. Masud Ahmed finished a Ph.D. dissertation on "Quranic translations and exegesis in Urdu" in 1971, supervised by the renown scholar and sufi shaykh, Dr. Ghulam Mustafa Khan (rahmatullah alayhi).
After this, Dr. Masud Ahmed continued researching the founder of the Barelvi school (Ahmad Rida Khan Barelwi, rahmatullah alayhi d. 1921), writing dozens of books and over one hundred articles on him after receiving his doctorate. He worked as lecturer, professor, and school principal, and examiner at Sindh University, Jamshoro; Khairpur University, Khairpur; and Punjab University, Lahore; as a paper setter for the Public Service Commission (Sindh); and as a supervisor of Ph.D. students at the University of Karachi and Khairpur University. He retired as Principal of the Government Degree College and Post-Graduate Studies Centre, Sukkur, Sindh, in 1992.
Dr. Masud Ahmed was initiated into both the Naqshbandiyya as well as Qadriyya lineages. His father, Mufti Shah Muhammad Mazharullah and Mufti Muhammad Mahmud Alwari (rahmatullah alayhi) from Hyderabad, Sindh are his two principal Naqshbandi shaykhs, while Zaynul‘abidin Shah Qadiri (rahmatullah alayhi) from Nurai Sharif, Sindh and Mufti Shah Muhammad Mazharullah (rahmatullah alayhi) were his principal Qadiri shaykhs.
In 1992 the Government of Pakistan bestowed an award of excellence (Ijaz-i fadilat) upon him, the same year as he was recognised with an award from the Pakistan Intellectual Forum. Dr. Masud Ahmed founded the Idarah-i Masudia in 1992, which soon became a major centre of Islamic education and publications in Pakistan. In 2002, Jawid Iqbal Mazhari founded the Imam-i Rabbani Foundation in Karachi under the guidance of Dr. Muhammad Masud Ahmed. The aims of this foundation are:
1) To publish research articles on Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (rahmatullah alayhi) who died in 1624 in Sirhind, India and is commonly known as the renewer of the second Islamic millennium, "Mujaddid Alf-i Thani."
2) To translate literature about Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi into Urdu from other languages.
3) To publish an encyclopaedia encompassing the biographies and teachings of the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi lineages.
4) To hold an annual Imam-i Rabbani Conference and publish a journal Yadgar-i Majaddid.
5) To have communication with scholars studying the Naqshbandiyya- Mujaddidiyya on an international level.
At the time of Dr. Masud Ahmed's passing, the goals of the Imam-i Rabbani Foundation had manifested. His Jahan-i Imam-i Rabbani Mujaddid-i Alf-i Thani in eleven volumes had already been printed. The lifelong effort that Dr. Masud Ahmed has put into communicating the life and teachings of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi is exemplified by this mammoth and unparalleled collection of scholarly materials.
All of the above indicates the tangible, worldly form of Dr. Masud Ahmed's magnificent contribution to Islamic education and research. It fails, however, to convey the more subtle formless qualities and aspects of his life and teachings. I had the honour of meeting Dr. Masud Ahmed eight years ago in Karachi. His calm, radiant being has left me with the lasting impression of a truly great man. The only way I can put it into words is to say that Dr. Masud Ahmed's being emanates the fragrance of the inner sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon him). If he had not published a word and if he had been totally unknown to the outside world, it would not have diminished his inner realisation at all. It is that realisation that can we can take with us when we return - as we all inevitably will - to our Lord.
Arthur F. Buehler
Senior Lecturer, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
4 November 2008
The Book " Ma huwa t'Tasawwuf (What is Sufism) will be published in 2009 by Fons Vitae and is dedicated to Shaykh Muhammad Masum Naqshbandi(r.a) |
Prologue: Ahmed Mirza M.D, Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education
We deeply regret that the world has lost one of the greatest scholars and sufis of our time, Shaykh Muhammad Masum al-Naqshbandi ( may Allah sanctify his inner secret). As a spiritual guide and Islamic scholar renowned for his depth of spiritual wisdom, Shaykh Muhammad Masum radiated a sincere, humble, yet uncompromising piety like that of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). This extraordinary yet down-to-earth man transformed the lives of people meeting him for over six decades. He himself was the living example of the hadith saying, "The learned scholars of my community are the heirs of the prophets." Shaykh Muhammad Masum al-Naqshbandi ( may Allah sanctify his inner secret) was in a long line of spiritual teachers who traced their lineage back to the Noble Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). During his adult life Shaykh Muhammad Masum was the paramount Kurdish shaykh of the Naqshbandi-Khalidi lineage. This lineage is named after Baha ad-Din Naqshband (d. 1389) and Mawlana Khalid Kurdi (d. 1827). The latter revitalized the Naqshbandiyya in Syria and sent his followers far and wide, the most renowned of whom was Shaykh Uthman Siraj ad-Din (1781-1867). During his life Shaykh Uthman Siraj ad-Din trained 96 people to transmit the Khalidi teachings, four of whom were in his family: Shaykh Muhammad Baha ad-Din (1837- 1881), Shaykh Umar Diya ad-Din (1839-1901), Shaykh Muhammad Najm ad-Din (1863-1918), and Shaykh Muhammad Ala ad-Din (1863-1954 ). May Allah be pleased with all of them. The author of this book, Shaykh Amin Ala ad-Din an-Naqshbandi, the son of the aforementioned Naqshbandi shaykh, Muhammad Ala ad–Din, was also the younger brother of Shaykh Uthman Saraj ad-Dini (1896-1997) and Shaykh Muhammad Masum's cousin. Thus, both the author of this book and Shaykh Muhammad Masum are the descendants of the aforementioned prominent Naqshbandi shaykhs -- all of whom are in a spiritual lineage originating with the Noble Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) via Mawlana Khalid Kurdi. The book you are about to read was originally written in Kurdish and translated into Arabic by Dr. Muhammad Sharif Ahmad, a professor in Baghdad University and a member of Iraq’s intellectual elite. Later, the book was translated from Arabic into Persian by a prominent scholar from Afghanistan, the Honorable Judge Baha ad-Din Baha and published by Mahaz-i Milli Islami Afghanistan in Peshawar, Pakistan, in Feburary 1992. Baha ad-Din Baha is the founding director of the Naqshbandiyya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE) and currently the Chairman of the Judicial Reform Commission in Kabul and legal counsel to the President of Afghanistan. The current translation came about in response to enthusiastic seekers for spiritual wisdom who persistently asked Shaykh Muhammad Masum for a book reflecting Naqshbandi practices as they are performed in sufi centers such as that of Biyarah, Iraq, where Shaykh Muhammad Masum used to teach. Shaykh Muhammad Masum ( may Allah sanctify his inner secret) had been the spiritual guide of NFIE for many years before he kindly wrote an introduction to this book. This introduction is a great blessing that serves as a continuation of his fragrant teaching, which is the vibrant resonance of Islam. We pray that Allah bless this translation so that it benefits readers on their spiritual journeys to God. All praise is due to Allah, alone, and peace and blessings be on our Prophet, Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) his family, and Companions.
