Shaykh Muhammad al-Haqqani was born in Larnaca, Cyprus, on the 21st of April 1922(Hicri 26th of Sha^cban 1340), a Friday. His lineage from his father's side traces its roots to Sayiddina Abdul Qadir Jilani Order. His lineage from his mother goes back to Sayiddina Jalaluddin Rumi, founder of the Mevlevi Order. He is through the lineages of his grandfather related to the Family of the Prophet (sav).

 

During his childhood in Cyprus he sat with his grandfather, who was a Shaykh of the Qadiri Tariqat, to learn its discipline and its spirituality. Extraordinary signs appeared early in him. His conduct was perfect: he never fought nor argued with anyone. He was always smiling and patient.

 

As a youth, Shaykh Nazim was given great consideration because of his unusually high spiritual station. Everyone in Larnaca knew about him, because at a young age he was able to advise people and predict the future. From the age of five there were times when his mother couldn't find him. After searching, she would find him either in the mosque or at the grave of Umm ul-Hiram (ra), a Companion of the Prophet (sav) whose grave has a mosque built next to it. Tourists come to her grave in large numbers, attracted by the spectacle of a rock suspended in space above her grave. When his mother would try to bring him home, he would say, “Leave me here with Umm ul-Hiram, she is one of our ancestors”. He was often seen speaking to Umm ul-Hiram, who was buried fourteen centuries ago, listening and then speaking, listening and answering, as if having a conversation with her. Whenever anyone would disturb him, he would say, “Leave me, I am speaking with my grandmother who is in this Grave”.

 

During the day he went to school to study secular knowledge and in the evening he studied the religious sciences and the Mevlevi and Qadiri Tariqats.

 

 He learned Shari'ah Jurisprudence, the Science of Prophetic Narrations, the Science of Logic, the Interpretaion of the Qur’an and he was able to give juristic rulings on a whole range of Islamic subjects. He was able to speak from all spiritual levels. He had a gift for explaining difficult realities in clear and easy aphorisms.

 

After completing high school in Cyprus, he moved to Istanbul, where his two brothers and one sister were living and studying (1940- Hicri 1359). He studied Chemical Engineering in the University of Istanbul, in the Bayazit District. At the same time he was advancing in his Shari'ah knowledge and in the study of the Arabic language with his Shaykh, Shaykh Jamaluddin al-Alasuni (died in 1955- Hicri 1375). He received his degree in Chemical Engineering and he excelled among his colleagues. The University professors encouraged him to go into research. He said: “I feel no attraction to modern science. My heart is always drawn to the spiritual sciences.”

 

During his first year in Istanbul he met his first spiritual Shaykh, Shaykh Sulayman Arzarumi, a Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Order(died in 1948). While he studied Chemical Engineering, he would attend the gathering of this Shaykh to learn the discipline of the Naqshbandi Order.

 

He was usually seen in Sultan Ahmad's Mosque, meditating by himself throughout the night. He says:

 

“There I received great blessings and great peace in my heart. I always prayed the Fajr Prayer in that mosque with my Shaykh Jamaluddin al-Alasuni and Shaykh Sulayman Arzarumi. They were educating me and putting in my heart the spiritual knowledge. I had many visions during that time, drawing me to go to the Holy Land of Damascus, but I didn't yet have permission from my Shaykh. Many times in my visions, through Self-Effacement, I saw the Prophet Muhammad (sav)calling me to his presence. There was a deep yearning in my heart to leave everything and to migrate to the Holy City of the Prophet (sav).

 

One day, when this longing in my heart was particularly intense, I saw a vision in which my Shaykh, Sulayman Arzarumi, came, shook me by the shoulder, and told me: “Now the permission has come. Your secrets and your trust and your spiritual guidance are not with me. I only held you as a trust until you were ready for your real Shaykh, who is also my Shaykh, Shaykh Abdullah Daghestani. He is holding your keys. So go to him in Damascus. This permission comes from me and from the Prophet (sav) (Shaykh Sulayman Arzurumi was one of the 313 saints of the Naqshbandi Order, who stand in the footsteps of and represent the 313 messengers).”

 

That vision ended, and with it I had received the permission to move to Damascus. I looked for my Shaykh to tell him about that vision. I found him coming to the mosque after about two hours. I ran to him. He opened his arms and said to me: “My son, are you happy with your vision?” Then I knew that he knew everything that had happened. He said: “'Don't wait. Direct yourself to Damascus”. He didn't give me an address or any other information, except the name, Shaykh Abdullah Daghestani, in Damascus. I traveled from Istanbul to Aleppo by train. I tried to move to Damascus, but it wasn’t possible. The French, who occupied Sham, were preparing for an attack by the English. So I traveled to Homs to the grave of Sayiddina Khalid ibn Walid, a Companion of the Prophet (sav). I visited the grave and then I went into the mosque and prayed. Then someone came to me and said:

 “I saw the Prophet (sav) in a dream last night. He said; “One of my grandsons is coming here tomorrow. Take care of him for me” Then he showed me how you would look. Now I see you are that person”.

 

I was so taken by what he said, that I accepted his invitation. He gave me one room near that mosque, where I stayed for one year. I didn't go out except to pray and to sit in the majlis of two eminent scholars of Homs, who were teaching Recitation (tajwid), Exegesis (tafsir), Narration of Traditions ('ilm al-hadith) and Jurisprudence (fiqh). They were Shaykh Muhammad Ali Uyun as-Sud and Shaykh Abdul Aziz Uyun as-Sud. I also attended the spiritual teachings of two Naqshbandi Shaykhs, Shaykh Abul Jalil Murad and Shaykh Sa'id as-Suba'i. My heart was yearning to go to Damascus. Because the war was so intense, I decided to go to Tripoli in Lebanon, from there to Beirut and from Beirut to Sham by a safer way.”

 

In the year 1944 (Hicri 1364), Shaykh Nazim moved on to Tripoli by bus. The bus took him to the harbor and dropped him there. He was a stranger there, not knowing anyone. As he wandered around the harbor area, he saw someone coming from the opposite side of the street. That person was Shaykh Munir al-Malek, the Mufti of Tripoli. He was, at the same time, the Shaykh of all Sufi Orders in the city. He approached and said: “Are you Shaykh Nazim? I saw a dream with the Prophet(sav) telling me, “One of my grandsons is coming to Tripoli”. He showed me your appearance and told me to look for you in this area. He told me to take care of you.”

 

Shaykh Nazim relates: “I stayed with Shaykh Munir al-Malek for a month. Then he arranged for me to go to Homs and from Homs to Damascus. I arrived in Damascus on a Friday, in 1945, at the beginning of the Hijri year 1365. I knew that Shayh Abdullah was living in the district of  Hayy al-Maidan, near the tomb of Sayyidina Bilal al-Habashi and many descendants of the Family of the Prophet(sav), an ancient area full of monuments from long ago.

 

I didn't know which house was the Shaykh's. A vision appeared to me at that moment, while standing in the street, that the Shaykh was coming out of his house and calling me inside. That vision ended but I could see no one in the streets. It was empty because of the bombardment by the French and the English. Everyone was afraid, hiding in their houses. I was alone in the streets. I was contemplating in my heart to know which house was the Shaykh's. Then in a vision I saw a specific house with a specific door. I looked until I found that door. As I approached to knock on the door, the Shaykh opened the door. He said “Welcome, my son, Sir Nazim”.

 

His unusual appearance immediately attracted me. I had never seen such a Shaykh before. Heavenly light poured from his face and forehead. Warmth was coming from his heart and from the brilliant smile on his face. He took me upstairs, climbing up to his room telling me “We have been waiting for you”.

 

In my heart I was completely happy to be with him, but I also had a yearning to visit the city of the Holy Prophet(sav). I asked him, “What shall I do?”. He said, “Tomorrow I will give you your answer. For now, rest”. He offered me dinner and I prayed the Night Prayer with him and slept. In the early morning he woke me for tahajjud (after-midnight) prayer. Never in my life had I felt such power as that in his prayer. I felt myself in the Divine Presence and my heart was more and more attracted to him.

 

A vision came to me and I saw myself climbing a ladder from our prayer place to the Bayt al-Ma'mur, the Ka’ba of the Heavens, step by step. Every step was a state in which he put me, and in each state I received, in my heart, knowledge that I had never before learned or heard about. Words, phrases and sentences were put together in such a magnificent way, transmitted inside my heart in every state that I had been lifted to, until we reached the Bayt al-Ma'mur. There I saw 124,000 prophets standing in rows for prayers, with Sayyidina Muhammad (sav) as Imam. I saw 124,000 Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (sav) standing in rows behind them. Then I saw the 7007 Saints of the Naqshbandi Order standing behind them for prayer. Then I saw 124,000 saints of the other orders, standing in rows for prayers.

 

 There was a space left for two people directly on the right side of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r.a). Grandshaykh went to that open space and he took me with him and we prayed Fajr (Dawn) Prayer. Never in my life had I experienced the sweetness of that prayer, and when the Prophet Muhammad (sav) lead the prayer, the beauty of his recitation was indescribable. It was an experience that no words can describe, because it was a Divine matter. As the prayer ended, the vision ended, and I heard the Shaykh telling me to call the adhan for Fajr.

 

He prayed the Fajr Prayer and I prayed behind him. Outside I could hear the bombardment of the two armies. He gave me initiation in the Naqshbandi Order and he said to me, “O my son, we have power that in one second we can make our murid reach his station”. As soon as he said that he looked into my heart with his eyes, and as he did so they turned from yellow to red, then to white, then to green and black. The color of his eyes changed as he poured into my heart the knowledge associated with each color.

 

The yellow light was the first and corresponded to the state of the Heart (Qalb). He poured into my heart all kinds of the external knowledge which is necessary for the daily life of people. Then he poured from the stage of the Secret (Sirr), the knowledge of all forty Orders which came from Sayiddina Ali (ra), and I found myself a master in all these Orders. While transmitting the knowledge of this Stage, his eyes were red. The third stage, which is the Secret of the Secret (Sirr as-Sirr), is only permitted for Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Order, whose imam is Sayyidina Abu Bakr (ra). As he poured into my heart from this stage, his eyes were white in color. Then he took me into the Stage of the Hidden (Khafa), the station of hidden spiritual knowledge, where his eyes were changing to green. Then he took me to the Station of Complete Annihilation, the Station of the Most Hidden (Akhfa) where nothing appeared, and the color of his eyes was black. Here he brought me into the presence of Allah. Then he brought me back to existence.

 

My love for him at that moment was so intense that I could not imagine being away from him, and I desired nothing more than to stay with him forever and serve him. Then the storm arrived, the tornado descended, and turbulence threatened the calm. The test was gigantic. My heart was in despair when he told me, “My son, your people are in need of you. I have given you enough for now. Go to Cyprus today”.

I had spent one year and a half to reach him. I spent one night with him. Now he was ordering me to go back to Cyprus, a place I hadn't seen in five years. It was a terrible order for me, but in tariqat the murid must surrender and submit to the will of his Shaykh.

 

After kissing his hands and feet, and taking his permission, I tried to find a way to travel to Cyprus. The Second World War was reaching its end. There was no transportation. As I was in the street thinking these thoughts a person came to me and said, “O Shaykh, do you need a ride?” I said, “Yes! Where are you are going?” He said, “To Tripoli”. He took me in his truck and after two days we reached Tripoli. When we arrived there I said, “Take me to the seaport”. He said, “What for?” I said, “To find a ship to Cyprus”. He said, “How? No one is traveling in the sea with this great war going on”. I said, “Never mind that, just take me there”. He took me to the seaport and dropped me there. I was again surprised when I saw Shaykh Munir al-Malek coming towards me. He said, “What is that love your grandfather has for you? The Prophet (sav) came again to me in my dream and said, “My son Nazim is coming. Take care of him”.

 

I stayed with him three days. I asked him to help me arrange a passage to Cyprus. He tried, but it was impossible at that time because of the war and the shortage of fuel. He could find nothing except a sailboat. He told me, “You can go but it is dangerous”. I said, “I must go, because that is the order of my Shaykh”. Shaykh Munir payed the owner a heavy price to get him to take me. We set sail. It took us seven days to reach Cyprus, a trip which normally takes four hours by motorboat.

 

As soon as I landed and put my foot on the soil of Cyprus, immediately a spiritual vision was opened to my heart. I saw Grandshaykh Abdullah Daghestani saying to me, “O my son. Nothing was able to keep you from carrying out my order. You have acheived a lot by listening and accepting. From this moment I will always be visible to you. Anytime you direct your heart towards me I will be there. Any question you have you will receive an answer directly from the Divine Presence. Any spiritual state you wish to achieve it will be granted to you because of your complete submission. The Saints are all happy with you, the Prophet (sav) is happy with you”. As soon as he said that I felt him beside me, and since then he has never left me. He is always beside me.”

 

Shaykh Nazim began to spread spiritual guidance and Islamic teachings in Cyprus. Many followers came to him and accepted the Naqshbandi Order. Unfortunately it was at a time when religion was limited in Turkey, and as he was in the Turkish community of Cyprus, religion was limited there as well. Even the calling of the adhan in Arabic was prohibited.

 

His first action after reaching his birthplace was to go to the mosque and call the adhan in Arabic. He was immediately jailed and stayed in jail for one week. As soon as he was released, he went to the big mosque of Nicosia and called the adhan from its minaret. This made the officials very angry and they filed a lawsuit against him. While he awaited the lawsuit, he went all over Nicosia and nearby villages calling the adhan from the minarets. As a result, many more lawsuits were raised, and eventually there were 114 cases pending against him. Lawyers advised him to stop calling the adhan, but he said, “No, I cannot. People must hear the call to prayer”.

 

The day of the hearing arrived for the 114 cases. If prosecuted and convicted he could receive over 100 years of jail time. The same day, the election results came in from Turkey: a man named Adnan Menderes had been voted into power. His first action as President was to open all mosques and to permit the Adhan to be made in Arabic. That was a miracle of our Grandshaykh.

During his years there, Shaykh Nazim traveled all over Cyprus, and also visited Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and many other places to teach the tariqat.

 

He moved back to Damascus in 1952, where he got married to one of the murids of Grandshaykh, Hajjah Amina Adil. From that time he lived in Damascus, and every year he would visit Cyprus for the three months of Rajab, Sha”ban and Ramadan. His family lived in Damascus with him and would travel with him to Cyprus when he went there. He had two daughters and two sons.

 

(This text mostly taken from www.naqshibandi.org/chain/40.htm, please check this site for more detailed information)