attuned personality. Once satisfied that these conditions were fulfilled, he
exerted himself on his followers behalf, calling upon them to purify their
souls.
Khwaja Baqi Billah believed in the doctrine of
wahdat al wujud
, ‘the
oneness of being’, as propounded by Ibn ‘Arabi and taught by the followers
of Shaykh Ubaidullah Ahrar. However, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, the most
famous
khalifah
of the Khwaja, did not accept this concept and became one
of its staunch opponents.
Khwaja Baqi Billah breathed his last when he was barely forty, but by
then he had already successfully launched the Naqshbandi spiritual movement
in India. His personal achievements during such a short period of time
were truly amazing. He left behind him worthy successors who could make
full use of the opportunities created by him to spread the order further.
Khwaja Ubaydullah, the eldest son of Khwaja Baqi Billah and popularly
known as Khwaja Kalan, wrote a book titled
Mablagh al Rijal
(‘Perfection of
Men’), which dealt with religious sects in India and Persia. Khwaja Khurd,
a younger son, who studied under ShaykhAhmad Sirhindi, the most eminent
disciple of Baqi Billah, wrote a treatise titled
Talim-i-Salik
(‘Instruction of
the Traveller upon the Path’). This book contained guidelines for entrants
to the Sufi path.
The disciples of Baqi Billah included Ahmad Sirhindi, ShaykhTajuddin of
Sambhal, Khwaja Husamuddin Ahmad and Shaykh al Haddad.
Khwaja Husamuddin Ahmad
Khwaja Husamuddin Ahmad (1569-1633) was born in the town of
Qunduz to one of Akbar’s courtiers, Qazi Nizamuddin Badakhshi. His father
Th e Na q s h ba n d i Or d e r 166
