Khwaja Muhammad Baba as-Samasi

Sheikh Muhammad Baba as-Samasi was born in Sammas, a village in the suburbs of Ramitan, three miles from Bukhara. He progressed in his journey by reading from the Sciences of the Qur’an, memorizing the Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition (hadith), and becoming a great scholar in Jurisprudence. Then he began to study the Speculative Theology, Logic, and Philosophy (‘ilm al-Kalam), as well as History, until he was a walking encyclopedia of every kind of art and science. He followed Sheikh Ali Ramitani al-’Azizan and he was constantly engaged in struggling against his self. He was put into seclusion on a daily basis, until he reached such a state of purity that his shaikh was permitted to transmit to his heart from the Unseen Heavenly Knowledge. He became very famous for his miraculous powers and his high state of sainthood. Sheikh ‘Ali Ramitani chose him before his death as his successor and ordered all his students to follow him.

Naqshbandi Golden Chain

The Naqshbandi Golden Chain is a lineage of spiritual masters of the Naqshbandi Sufi order related to each other going back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is a chain in which each scholar was given ijazah or permission for dhikr of God by his own teacher or pir to transmit the knowledge he had received to the next generation of students in the traditional manner of Sufi transmission.

Khwaja Baba as-Samasi was famous for his high station of sainthood and for his miraculous powers. When he used to pass the village called the ‘Pavilion of the Truly Wise’ (‘Qasr al-Arifin’), he would say, “I smell the scent of a spiritual knower who is going to appear and after whose name this entire Order will be known.” One day he passed the village and said, “I smell the scent so strongly that it is as if the knower has been born. “ Three days passed and the grandfather of a child came to Khwaja Muhammad Baba as-Samasi saying, “This is my grandson.“

The Khwaja said to his followers, “This baby is the knower that I was telling you about. I see in his future that he is to be a guide for all humanity. His secrets are going to reach every sincere and pious person. The heavenly knowledge that God is going to shower on him will reach every house in Central Asia. God’s Name is going to be engraved (‘naqsh’) on his heart. And the order will take its name from this engraving.”

This baby was Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshband, who Khwaja Baba as-Samasi later accepted as his spiritual son.

From His Sayings

The seeker must always stand on his keeping Allah’s Divine Orders, and he must be constant in the state of purity. He must first have a pure heart that never looks towards anything but Allah Almighty and Exalted. Then he must keep pure that inner self, which is never revealed to anyone. That is perceiving the true vision. The purity of the chest (sadr), consists of hope and contentment with His Will. Then purity of the spirit, which consists of modesty and reverence. Then purity of the stomach, which depends on only eating permitted food, and abstinence. This is followed by purity of the body, which is to leave desire. This is followed by purity of the hands, which consists of piety and endeavor. Then comes purity from sins, which is regret and heartbreak for past wrongdoing. After this is purity of the tongue, which consists of dhikr and asking forgiveness. Then he must purify himself from neglect and slackness, by developing fear of the Hereafter.

We must always be asking forgiveness, being careful in all our affairs, following the footsteps of the good and pious, following their internal teachings, and safeguarding the heart from all whispers.

You must keep in the association of a saint. In that association you must keep your heart from gossiping and you must not speak in their presence in a loud voice, nor should you be busy in their company with prayers and voluntary worship. Keep their company in everything. Don’t talk when they are speaking. Listen to what they say. Don’t look in their homes at what they have, especially in their rooms and their kitchens. Never look towards another sheikh but keep the belief that your sheikh will make you arrive. And don’t ever connect your heart to another sheikh, as you might be harmed by that. Leave behind whatever you have been raised on in your childhood.