Biography of tatar sheikh Muhammad-Zakir al-Chistawi (Camalov) in arabic-language manuscripts
Biography of tatar sheikh Muhammad-Zakir al-Chistawi (Camalov) in arabic-language manuscripts
Information about Muhammad Zakir al Chistawi is also found in another Arabic language work “Siraj as Sa`adat” (The Candle of Happiness), which belongs to the pen of Dagestani Naqshbandi sheikh Hasan al Kahibi. In the section dealing with the biography of his sheikh, Saifulla qadi Bashlarov, Hassan al Kahibi remembers and recalls the following from his teacher's words,
“We were closely connected with the famous scholar Khasbulat alKustaki. I studied with him and read under his guidance the book “Silk al «ain”.
Then I told him that I wanted to become his murid. He said,
“The soul of my sheikh Mahmud al Almali appeared to me and said that your mentor will be Sheikh Muhammad Zakir al Chistawi, who occupies a high position (in Sufism) and that you will be his in spring.”
I was confused by this. And he told me again,
“I was hoping that you would become my son, but the command is from Allah and it will happen that you meet MuhammadZakir, may his secret be sanctified”.
Then in the spring I bid farewell to him and went to Muhammad Zakir alChistawi.” Sayfulla qadi soon met with Sheikh Muhammad Zakir. Here is how he describes his meeting with him,
“He was a great sheikh, possessing a number of virtues. I have never seen him talk to anyone about this world, even once. One day, when I came to him, he performed a muraqaba (one of the techniques in Sufi ritual practice of self control). When I met him, he was glad to see me. Together with him at our meeting there were about one and a half thousand of his murids.
Muhammad Zakir asked me to sit next to him and while I was with him none of his murids sat down. He instructed me to perform the Sultan Zikr (the main zikr in Naqshbandi ritual practice) for forty days. Soon, with the permission of his sheikh, he left us and returned to his homeland . I said that I would return to him a second time, to which he smiled and said, “You will not see me again .”
They really did not meet again. After the death of al Chistawi Saifulla qadi took up the guidance of Sheikh Zaynullah Rasulev and received from him the ijazah. (1, pp.242-243).
In his memoirs Abulkhalil al Ata al Bakri writes about the reasons which prompted Muhammad Zakir al Chistawi to stand under the guidance of Sheikh Mahmud Afandi al Dagistani, “Our learned scholar, Haji Habibullah alQahi, told me that Sheikh Muhammad Zakir, the author of “Tabsirat almurshidin” (Guide to Mentors), was an enlightened, wealthy man of a large build; he did not recognize Sheikh Mahmud Afandi.
One night, while he was sleeping, Mahmud Afandi came to him and struck him with a stick. He woke up from a dream and then fell asleep again. After that the sheikh again approached him and struck with a stick. He woke up a second time . This was repeated seven times. After that the sheikh came and stood beside him silently. And Mahmud Afandi told him words explaining what happened to him that night in a dream. After that he accepted the tarikat from him and became a perfect (Kamil) sheikh.
Our pious brother Sayfulla al Nitsubri also said about him, “I saw a letter written by the hand of Sheikh Mahmud Afandi to Sheikh Muhammad Zakir. There were words addressed to him, “You have surpassed us in degrees (darajat). The end.” May Allah be pleased with them both, by us, and also by all Muslims.” (2, pp.7-8)
Thus, the hagiographical genre, which includes both the spiritual genealogical branch (shajarah) and works devoted to biographies of prominent representatives of the Muslim spiritual elite (tabaqat) occupied a specific place in Tatar Arabic language literature.
The above material shows that Tatar Muslim literature developed not in isolation but in close connection with the literature of other Muslim regions of Russia.
Despite differences between the religious legal schools of the Muslims of the Volga Ural regions and the Northeast Caucasus, the sources which have been revealed demonstrate not only the multifaceted cultural ties between these regions but also some commonality in the genres of Muslim literature.
The Arabic language sources which have been discovered help us to take a fresh look at the close literary connections between these two regions. In talking separately about the Tatar Arabic language and Arabic literature, it should be noted that many works of representatives of the Tatar Muslim spiritual elite which were spread across various regions of Russia, unfortunately are still not fully understood.
However, research is revealing more and more works of Tatar theologians, both those which repeat the traditions of Arabic literature and those which relate to the specificities of the religious culture of the Muslims of the Volga Ural regions.
Today, there is hardly anything that requires more attention in our country than the legacy of our ancestors: of our great sheikhs and imams. By studying their works and their way of life, we strengthen the connection of our generation with our spiritual roots.
Bibliography:
- Hasan b. Muhammad Hilmi al Kahi. “Siraj as sa`adat fi siyar as sadat”, Makhachkala, 2011. (in Arabic)
- Shuaib bin Idris al Baghini, “Tabaqat al Khawajagan al Naqshbandiyya wa sadat mashaih al Khalidiyya al Mahmudiyya”, Damascus, 1999. (in Arabic).
ALSU HASAVNEH CANDIDATE OF PHILOLOGY
