This blessed tariqa was revealed by Allah Almighty to our Master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and then It was passed on to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah honor his face). From him, it branched into two wings, and the two wings eventually met at Shaykh Ma’ruf al-Karkhi, as illustrated below.
The Chain of Shaykhs of the Tariqa al-‘Aliyya al-Qadiriyya al-Kasnazaniyya
Allah Almighty says: “إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا” “Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad], they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah. The Hand of Allah is over their hands. So he who breaks his word only breaks It to the detriment of himself, and he who fulfills that which he has promised Allah, He will give him a great reward.”
This blessed tariqa was revealed by Allah Almighty to our Master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and then It was passed on to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah honor his face). From him, it branched into two wings, and the two wings eventually met at Shaykh Ma’ruf al-Karkhi.
The Golden Wing: From the hand of Imam Ali to Imam al-Husayn, then to Imam Zayn al-Abidin, then to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, then to Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, then to Imam Musa al-Kadhim, then to Imam Ali al-Ridha, and from him to Shaykh Ma’ruf al-Karkhi.
The Second Wing: From the hand of Imam Ali to Shaykh al-Hasan al-Basri, then to Shaykh Habib al-‘Ajami, then to Shaykh Dawud al-Ta’I, then to Shaykh Ma’ruf al-Karkhi, then to Shaykh al-Sari al-Saqati, then to Shaykh al-Junayd al-Baghdadi, then to Shaykh Abu Bakr al-Shibli, then to Shaykh Abd al-Wahid al-Yamani, then to Shaykh Abu Faraj al-Tarsusi, then to Shaykh Ali al-Hakkari, then to Shaykh Abu Sa’id al-Makhzumi, then to Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, then to Shaykh Abd al-Razzaq al-Jilani, then to Shaykh Dawud II, then to Shaykh Muhammad Gharibullah, then to Shaykh Abd al-Fattah al-Sayyah, then to Shaykh Muhammad Qasim, then to Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq, then to Shaykh Hussein al-Basra’I, then to Shaykh Ahmad al-Ihsa’I, then to Shaykh Isma’il al-Wuliyani, then to Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Kirkuk, then to Shaykh Abd al-Samad Kulla Zardah, then to Shaykh Hussein Qazan Qayah, then to Shaykh Abdul Qadir Qazan Qayah, then to Shaykh Abdul Karim Shah al-Kasnazani, then to Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Kasnazani, then to Shaykh Hussein al-Kasnazani, then to Shaykh Abdul Karim al-Kasnazani, then to Shaykh Sultan al-Khalifa Muhammad al-Muhammad al-Kasnazani, and finally to our current Shaykh, His Eminence Shaykh Shams al-Din Muhammad Nahro al-Kasnazani al-Husseini, Head of the Tariqa al-‘Aliyya al-Qadiriyya al-Kasnazaniyya worldwide.
