CLARIFYING THE DOCTRINE OF THE SINGLE GRAND MURSHID IN EVERY NAQSHBANDĪ AGE

The Haqqānī Position: Clarification, Not Denial

It is vital to understand that the announcement of Shaykh Mehmet ʿĀdil ar-Rabbānī (q) affirming that certain individuals are not authorized to represent the ṭarīqah was not an act of excommunication (tabdīʿ) or spiritual negation (nafy al-maqām).

Rather, it was a clarification of organizational and initiatory authority:

who among the Shaykhs may grant bayʿah or speak in the name of the ṭarīqah Naqshbandiyyah al-Ḥaqqāniyyah.

The Naqshbandī tradition recognizes many awliyāʾ operating simultaneously, each with his own maqām, but at any given time there is only one “Shaykh al-ʿĀmm,” the Grand Murshid of the Golden Chain, through whom the secret of wilāyah (sirr al-wilāyah) flows outwardly to the rest.

Thus, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani (may Allah preserve him) retains his maqām as a realized ʿārif, a man of enormous spiritual contribution, recognized even by Shaykh Mehmet himself but the Grand Chair (kursī al-irshād al-ʿāmm) belongs to Shaykh Muḥammad ʿĀdil (q), as designated by his father and confirmed by the living awliyāʾ.

Historical Precedent: One Qutb, Many Khalīfahs

This principle is not a modern “organizational” rule; it is rooted in the earliest layers of Naqshbandī history.

▪ Shaykh Muḥammad Bābā as-Samāsī (q)

He trained and authorized several khalīfahs, but before his death,

“he passed the Secret of the Golden Chain to Shaykh Sayyid Amīr Kulāl ibn as-Sayyid Ḥamzah (q).”

This indicates that although many had ijāzah for teaching or guidance, one alone was entrusted with the “Sirr,” the living current of spiritual transmission.

▪ Shaykh Sayyid Amīr Kulāl (q)

He, too, had four sons and four khalīfahs, yet:

“He passed his secrets to only one the Master of Masters, Shaykh Muḥammad Bahāʾuddīn Shāh Naqshband (q).”

The others continued their teaching and dhikr circles, but the axis of the ṭarīqah (quṭb al-silsilah) centered upon one living inheritor.

▪ Shaykh Ismāʿīl ash-Shirwānī (q)

He transmitted the secret to three khalīfahs simultaneously

Shaykh Khāṣ Muḥammad ash-Shirwānī,

Shaykh Muḥammad al-Yarāghī, and

Sayyid Jamāluddīn al-Ghumuqī al-Ḥusaynī

yet by the command of the Prophet ﷺ,

“Each will hold the secret in sequence… after me it will be in the hand of Khāṣ Muḥammad, then al-Yarāghī, then Sayyid Jamāluddīn.”

Even when three shared the same nūr, only one carried the throne of guidance (ʿarsh al-irshād) at a time.

Thus, the rule was clear: plurality of sanctity is possible, but succession of authority is singular.

Continuity of This Principle in the Haqqānī Line

This same principle continued in modern times.

Mawlānā Shaykh Nāẓim (q) had many authorized deputies (khalīfahs and muqaddams) around the world, all of whom are respected and beloved.

However, he made it explicit both in private and public that his appointed successor (al-khalīfah al-muʿtabar) is his son, Shaykh Muḥammad ʿĀdil ar-Rabbānī.

This designation does not diminish the status of other Shaykhs it simply establishes the line of the living chain (silsilat al-ḥaqīqah al-muttaṣilah).

No two suns can rise in the same sky.

Theological Depth: The Unity of Qutbiyyah

In Sufi cosmology, at any time there is one Qutb al-Aqṭāb the Pole of all poles who serves as the axis of divine mercy on earth.

Many awliyāʾ act as abdāl, nujabāʾ, or awtād, but the qutbiyyah al-ʿuẓmā is never plural.

Mawlānā Shaykh Muḥammad ʿĀdil (q) is therefore recognized as the Ẓāhirī Qutb of the Haqqānī silsilah the one through whom the apparent bayʿah is valid and the spiritual current (faīḍ) is safely transmitted.

Meanwhile, figures like Shaykh Hisham and others may carry bāṭinī functions guiding seekers, reviving dhikr, and spreading knowledge all of which remain within the broader mercy of the chain.

Thus, there is no contradiction between respecting multiple awliyāʾ and maintaining one authorized Imām.

Adab Toward All Awliyāʾ

True followers of the ṭarīqah must preserve adab towards all who served Mawlānā Shaykh Nāẓim (q).

The Cyprus clarification was not a condemnation but a boundary, protecting both sides from confusion and unauthorized representation.

To attack, mock, or belittle any of Mawlānā’s deputies especially Shaykh Hisham, who carried the message of love and dhikr to millions would contradict the very spirit of the ṭarīqah.

But equally, to deny the Grand Murshid’s right of succession is to fragment what Allah made one. 


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Lifting the Veil of Confusion:

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