Knowing a Master of Sufism

Shah Seyed Nour Din Nematollh Wali

Shah Nematollah Wali was one of the important Masters of Sufism in the history of mysticism. He was in fact the person who lit the lamp of “gnosis” in a large part of the Muslim Countries, especially in Turk Stan, Hindustan, and Iran.

Family

The parents and the descendents of Shah were all mystical and the intellectual people.  His mother was Iranian from the region of Fars and his father was Arab, from Syria. At first, his family was in Halab in Syria, and they went to Mecca for the pilgrimage, then moved to Iran and stayed in Shiraz.

Birth date

19^th ascendant of Shah Nematollah is the Prophet of Islam and he is generally called “Seyed”. Shah was born in the month of Rajab of 730 or 731, but - because of the divergence of the historian’s opinions - we do not know exactly where: in “Syria” or in “Shiraz”.

Studies

According to the historians, he was very clever at a young age, and started learning the Koran and its commentary in multiple languages such as Urdu, Persian, and Arab. He had got the famous teachers like “Rokn edin Shirazi”, “Shamsedin Maqi”, “Seyed Jalal Kharazmi”, “Qazi Azod edin Idji”, … He studied the very important books about Sufism like “Mersad ol Ebad” of “Najmedin Razi” and “Esharat et Tanbihat” of “Avicenna”, and “Fosous ol Hekam”

of “Mohyedin Arabi”. He knew by heart “Fosous ol Hekam”, and he read the multiple interpretations and commentary about it.

Sufism

After having finished his studies, he started traveling around the World and frequenting the Sufi Masters.

He finished by finding a Master in a mosque in Mecca, Arabia. “Sheikh Abdollah Yafei” was an important Sufi, author of the books such as “Rozat ol Ryahin”, “Dorro Nazim”, “Nashr ol Mahasen”, “Ershad”; etc, an important religious person; and from Shah’s point of view, the King of the Walis of his time. Shah became his disciple and began practicing the spiritual exercises for seven years, leaded by his master.

Nematollahi order

Sheikh Abdullah Yafei had a master, Sheikh Saleh Barbary from Marrakesh, whose master was Sheikh Kamaledin Kufi, whose master was Sheikh Aboul Fat He Saidi, whose master was Sheikh Abu Madyan Magrebi, whose master was Sheikh Abu Masoud Andalusia, whose master was Sheikh Aboul Barakat Baghdadi, whose master was Sheikh Aboul Fazl Baghdadi, whose master was Sheikh Ahmad Ghazali, whose master was Sheikh Aboubakr Nassaj Tusi, whose master was Sheikh Abol Ghasem Khorasani Tusi, whose master was Sheikh Abu Osman Magrebi, whose master was Sheikh Abu Ali Kateb Baghdadi, whose master was Sheikh Abu Ali Roudbari, whose master was Sheikh Obeid Baghdadi, whose master was Sheikh Serri Sagati, whose master was Sheikh Marouf Karkhi, whose master was Sheikh Davoud Taei, whose master was Sheikh Habib Ajami, whose master was Hassan Basri, and he was a disciple of Hazrat Ali son of Abu Taleb, the cousin and successor of Prophet of Islam.

The Sufi order coming from Sheikh Marouf Karkhi was called “Maroufieh” before “Shah Nematollah” ,and after him, is named “Nematollahi”. 

Sheikh Marouf Karkhi was also a disciple of eight Imam of Shiite; and so the “Nematollahi order of Sufism” connects to Imam Ali by two parallel directions