چكيده لاتين :
One of the texts of the pre-Naqashbandi period related to the Khwajagan period is a book entitled Maslak al-Arifin, the author of which is a person named Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad Bukhari or Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn As'ad Bukhari. This book is one of the most important sources for understanding the Khwajagan sect before the formation of the Naqshbandiyya and Baha'u'llah Muhammad Naqshband Dynasty (d. 791 AH), which has not been published yet. There were 2 reductions of this book: the short reduction included 17 chapters and the long reduction consisted of 23 chapters. In this article, besides introducing the book, its aspects of importance were shown. The most important information in Maslak al-Arifin was about the dynasties of Khawaja and its branches. In this work, there was a dispute between Ghijdiwani successors over vocal and silent dhikr, which showed how the Khwajagan dynasty was divided into two groups. Also, some Naqshbandiyya terms that were among the eight principles, such as "solitude in the society" and "travel in the homeland", were mentioned in this book. There was also a chapter entitled "Cloak", which give us unique information about the types of cloak colors and their suitability with the Sufi’s conditions. This research was based on a descriptive-analytical method accompanied by historical research.
Introduction
One of the most important surviving works of the Khwajagan is the book entitled “Maslak al-Arifin”, the oldest version of which was written around the end of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century AH. The author of this book was a person named Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad Bukhari or Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn As'ad Bukhari, who collected the words of his elder Sheikh Sa'd al-Millah, the second successor of Khwaja Sulayman. This book was a collection of profundity and the Handbook of Khwajagan, in the branch of Khwaja Awliya and Abdulkhaliq Ghijdvani’s followers and contained the beliefs and customs of this group of mystics. The large number of the surviving copies of this book around the world and its various manuscripts showed the extent of its validity and expansion. According to the author of this book, Mohammad Bukhari, he was the last person in this lineage in the long term and Sheikh Sa'd al-Millah chose him as his successor.
In addition to covering various mystical subjects and Sufi rites, this book contained information about the Khwajagan and their dynasty, as well as the branches of the Abdul-Khaliqian sect, which helped to better understand this branch of the Sufi dynasty in the Transoxiana region. This book was one of the most important sources for understanding the Khwajagan sect before the formation of the Naqshbandiyya and Baha'uddin Muhammad Naqshband dynasty (d. 791 AH), which has not been published yet.
Materials and Methods
The research was based on a descriptive-analytical method accompanied by historical research.
Results
In this book, there were two reductions: the short reduction included 17 chapters and the long reduction consisted of 23 chapters, which was the first sign of the difference between its short and long reductions. The short manuscripts seemed to represent the oldest form of the work and served as a source for the long reductions of the texts that were written in later periods after reviewing short manuscripts and adding new contents. Another important difference between the short and long manuscripts of this book was that in most of the manuscripts, there was an introduction that contained Abdul Khaliq Ghijdvani’s wills, which did not exist in the short reductions and it was clear that it was added to the text later.
The sect of the mystics belonged to a branch of the dynasty of Abdul Khaliqian, who, after Khaja Abdul Khaliq Ghijdwani, were Khwaja Awliya’s followers. These mystics practiced silent dhikr as opposed to dhikr Jali (vocal dhikr), which was practiced by the other branch, i.e., Aref Rivgari’s followers.
From the 9th century onwards, after writing the book “Rashhat Ain al-Hayat” in 909 AH, eleven principles called the principles of the Naqshbandiyya method became popular in all the educational texts of the Naqshbandiyya. The first eight principles of this method, which were known as the holy words, were “awareness while breathing”, “watching the step”, “journeying in the homeland”, “solitude in the society”, “remembrance”, “restraint”, “watchfulness”, and “recollection” ascribed to Abdul-Khaliq Ghijdwani, the head of the Khwajagan dynasty, and the other 3 principles of “numerical waqf", “temporal waqf”, and “heart waqf” were attributed to Baha'uddin Naqshband, the head of the Naqshbandi lineage.
In none of the reductions of Maslak al-Arifin, the first two principles of the Naqshbandiyya, namely “awareness while breathing” and “watching the step” were mentioned, but the two principles of “journeying in the homeland” and “solitude in the society” were taken into account. These two terms were also mentioned in the 9th chapter of the short reductions of Maslak al-Arifin.
Also, in the chapter entitled "Dhikr" in the short reduction of the text, the terms “remembrance”, “restraint”, “watchfulness”, and “recollection” were used and explained several times.
Throughout the book of Maslak al-Arifin, the issue of dhikr and its etiquette were discussed. One of the most important issues among the Khawajas was that the Pirs of this dynasty received their lessons of Dhikr (Sabagh) from them. The presence of Sabagh among them was as important as receiving the cloak from the Sheikh. At the beginning of the book, the author introduced his sheikh Sa'd al-Millahva al-Din and mentioned that he had received the Sabagh of dhikr from Khawaja Sulayman. The history of receiving the dhikr of Sulayman dated back to Abdul Khaliq Ghijdvani and Yusuf Hamedani and other Sheikhs of his dynasty after him.
In the narration of Mohammad Bukhari, it was mentioned that Yousef Hamedani had received the Sabagh of dhikr from Abolhassan Kharaghani and he had received it from Bayazid Bistami, who had received from Imam Ja'far Sadegh (may Allah be pleased with him).
One of the interesting and important parts of Maslak al-Arifin was the chapter entitled "In the Expression of the Cloak", which existed in both the short and long reductions. After mentioning the cloak documents, the most important discussion in this regard was related to the traits of the seeker and his correspondence with the color of the cloak he wore. In this section, the reason for wearing the cloak in blue, green, white, red, and black was asked and the sheikh explained them separately in each paragraph.
Conclusion
Maslak al-Arifin is one of the most important sources for recognizing the Khawajas and Naqshbandiyya, which reveals many of the customs and beliefs of this group of mystics. In this book, you can find a lot of information about their beliefs in monotheism and worship. Also, you will be informed of the etiquette related to dhikr and the conditions of their cloak.
