Hazrat-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh-e Walī

Sayyid Nūruddīn Kermānī Shāh Ni‘matullāh was one of the most influential and prominent Persian Sufi Masters. He was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1330 CE. He was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. His father, Mīr ‘Abdullāh was a Sufi Master. He passed his spirituality on to his son, who later became a Sufi Master himself.

During his spiritual journeys he met many other Sufi Masters who shed light upon his path and helped him to attain spiritual knowledge (ma‘rifa or ‘irfān) and achieve higher mystical and inner stages.

For many years he travelled through the Islamic world and guided innumerable disciples (murīds). In 1431 he breathed his last and his spirit crossed over to the other world.

The word Shāh means “king” in Farsi and is given to Sufi Masters who have reached the realm of spiritual poverty (faqr). In Sufism, spiritual poverty is the stage of Love in which the existence of the Sufi (nafs, or ego or lower self) is annihilated in God (fanā Fillāh). Subsequently, he reaches the stage of Subsistence in God (Baqā Billāh).

His Journeys

He actively travelled through the Islamic world and met numerous revered Sufi Masters, who imparted their ideas and views to him, thus adding to and strengthening his spiritual knowledge (‘Irfān).

On one of his journeys to Mecca – the milestone of his spiritual quest – he met one of the foremost Sufi Masters of his time, i.e. Hazrat-e Shaykh ‘Abdullāh Yāfi‘ī (1298-1367 CE), who is generally considered as the Master who contributed the most to his progression on the Sufi Path (Tarīqat).

He spent seven years in the Master’s company, learning, imbibing and practicing more significant and profound aspects of the Sufi doctrine than he would ever receive during his lifetime.

Hazrat-e Shaykh ‘Abdullāh Yāfi‘ī instilled the very essence of Sufism in his murīd. This period was extremely fruitful for Hazrat-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh and was of key importance for his further spiritual life.

After seven years of teachings and practices, he was granted the title of Shaykh (“Master”) by Hazrat-e Shaykh ‘Abdullāh Yāfi‘ī, who charged him with the mission to travel to other places and guide murīds on the Sufi Path.

He traveled to Egypt, Transoxania, Herat and Yazd, and temporarily resided in Samarqand, where he met the formidable Mongol conqueror Tamerlane (a.k.a. Tīmūr-e Lang, “Timur the Lame” – 1336-1405 CE). However, in those days Samarqand was not a suitable and safe place to live in, and so he moved to the Persian city of Kerman, where he spent the rest of his life fulfilling his spiritual mission.

His Philosophy and Poetry

Like other eminent spiritual Masters, Shāh Ni‘matullūh used poetry to convey his mystical message. Like Hāfiz (1312-1389 CE) and Sa‘dī (1184-1291 CE), he belonged to the poetical school of ‘Irāqī (1213-1289 CE) . The most notable characteristic of this school is the use of symbolic language, certain specific Arabic words, expressions and proverbs in order to enrich and embellish mystical poems.

Shāh Ni‘matullāh’s thinking was strongly influenced by the school of the illustrious Sufi mystic and theoretician Ibn ‘Arabī (1165-1240 CE, the school of Wahdat-ul-Wujūd or “the Unity of Being”). As a young man he studied two major works by Ibn ‘Arabī: Al-Futūhāt-ul-Makkīya (“Meccan Revelations”) and Fusūs-ul-Hikam (“The Seals of Wisdom”).

Together with such mystical poets as ‘Irāqī, Jāmī, Shaykh Shabistarī, Bīdel and others, Shāh Ni‘matullāh-e Walī too, had a profound knowledge of the school of Wahdat-ul-Wujud (“The Oneness of Existence or Being”), of which Ibn ‘Arabī was the foremost exponent.

In his writings, Shāh Ni‘matullāh clearly shows the integration of Persian ‘Irfān (“gnosis”) and Ibn ‘Arabī’sdoctrine. In Jawāhir (“Gems”), one of his most famous risālāt (treatises), he comments on Ibn ‘Arabī’s Fusūs-ul-Hikam. This book is a combination of poetry and prose and is similar to ‘Irāqī’s Lama‘āt. (“Divine Flashes”).

Shāh Ni‘matullāh clearly illustrates the doctrine of Wahdat-ul-Wujūd in the sonnet below:

The light of His Self-disclosure enlightened me
Emanating from of His Beauty, I came into Being

The Pīr of Love’s Tavern (Kharābāt ) poured Wine into my cup
And made me the Sāqī of the drunkards

O intellect, for one moment go away from the drunkards of Love
I am drunk and you are sober and we do not match

Your party is yours and my party is mine,
The fragmented thoughts are yours and the Beloved’s perfumed hair is mine

In my view, Love, Beloved and lover are One
To me there is only One Reality in both worlds

Through His attributes His Divine Essence is made manifest
I am the manifested form of Love’s disclosure

I am the servant of every Master and Master of every servant,
It was the decree of the Tavern (Winehouse) that the Master of Qanbar* (‘Alī) should become my Master.**

*   Qanbar was a faithful murīd and servant of Hazrat-e ‘Alī.
** Dīwān-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh-e Walī, Sonnet nr 12, Page 4.

 

His Silsila

The Ni‘matullāhī Sufi Order is one of Iran’s most eminent Sufi orders. It is also present in India. Its influence is still remarkably widespread and alive, especially in Iran.

All the ramifications of the Ni‘matullāhī Sufi Order recognize Hazrat-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh-e Walī, whose lineage goes back directly to the Prophet Muhammad, as their greatest Pīr.

When Hazrat-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh was almost one hundred years old, he appointed his son Shāh Khalīlullāh as his successor and passed the office of Pīr on to him. Shāh Khalīlullāh was immediately sent to India to represent and establish the Ni‘matullāhī Sufi Order there.

Shāh Khalīlullāh remained in India, fulfilling his spiritual duties, guiding and helping murīds until his demise in the city of Bidār, in the state of Karnataka, South India.

Shāh Ni‘matullāh lived for more than one hundred years and eventually died in 1431 in Mahan, Iran, where his tomb is still a place of pilgrimage for Sufis and other people.
May his soul rest in peace.

 

Hazrat-e Safi ‘Alī Shāh I

Hājj Mirza Hasan Isfahani – “Hazrat-e Safī Alī Shāh I” –  the founder of the Ni‘matullāhī Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Order was born in Isfahan on 24th November 1835. His father, Mohammed Baqer Isfahani, was also known as “Safī”. He was a trader and on one of his trips from Isfahan to Yazd, he died in Yazd. Following this sad event, Safī ‘Alī Shāh decided to stay in Yazd and devote himself to study. His stay in Yazd would last 20 years.

In 1863, he planned to travel to Mecca via India. In India he met many dervishes and Sufi Masters. It was also there that he completed his book Zubdat-ul-Asrār (“The Cream of Mysteries”), which he had began in Kerman at the behest of his Pīr, Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh. When the Zubdat-ul-Asrār was finished, it was published in Bombay.

Then he returned to Persia. Via Karbala he went to Tehran, and for a while he lived there. But because of the rivalry and disputes among the Shaykhs of Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh he returned to Hydarabad (in India) and decided to continue his life there. However, certain factors made this impossible, and so he went back to Tehran, where he passed away at the age of 65 on 5th April 1899.

THE RESTING PLACE OF HAZRAT-E SAFĪ ‘ALĪ SHĀH I

The tomb of Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh I is situated on Safī ‘Alī Shah Street in Tehran and it is known as “Safī Khāneqāh”. This house was also his own home. After his death, his only child, Mrs. Shams oz-Zoha, converted it into a khāneqāh. Every Sunday evening all his murīds and followers used to gather there for zikr and samā‘ .

Mr. Okhovvat, one of the old murīds of Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh, says: “In the time of Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh some of the Shaykhs were allowed to guide murīds and spread the teachings of the Order, such as Safi ‘Alī Shāh I, Tavūs ol’Orafā, Haji Esmail Ojagh, Haji Miri Mohammad Hadi, Agha Mohammad Shirazi, and others. However, after the demise of Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh in 1861 CE fierce disputes broke out between Agha Mohammad Shirazi and Tavūs ol-Orafā. As a result, Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh’s murīds were split into two groups.”

VIEWS AND ACTIONS OF HAZRAT-E SAFĪ ALĪ SHĀH I

Safī ‘Alī Shāh loved Sufism from a young age. These are his own words: “I remember how at the age of fifteen, I loved and searched Sufism and adopted the ways of the dervish. Even though my parents were opposed to Sufism and tried to stop me, I used to roam about, looking for a Sufi Master to guide and teach me. In the end, I travelled on foot to Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh to be in his presence and become one of his murīds”.

He travelled to Karbala, but because of the disputes between some of Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh’s Shaykhs, he returned to Hyderabad in India. However, he didn’t choose anyone’s side and didn’t interfere. In truth, Safī ‘Alī Shāh was a very peace-seeking person.

He said: “I give thanks to God that I have never chosen any side at any time, because by doing so no-one has ever turned against me as an enemy”. On another occasion he advised his friends: “Never forget kindness and never be an enemy to anyone, because there is no difference between ‘enemy’ and Satan”.

He was truly submissive, he never did anything without his Pīr’s permission, and never asked more questions than he was allowed.

THE PĪR OF HAZRAT-E SAFĪ ALĪ SHĀH I

Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh was a dedicated follower of Hazrat-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh-e Walī and his morād (Pīr, spiritual Master) was Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh.

He met Hazrat-e Rahmat ‘Alī Shāh in Shiraz and lived with him in that city for several years. Throughout his life, Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh remained a dedicated and humble murīd of Hazrat-e Shāh Ni‘matullāh-e Walī. In his book Zubdat-ul-Asrār (“The Cream of Mysteries”), he calls himself Al-muhtāj Safī an-Ni‘matullāhī, “Safī, the poor and needy Ni‘matullāhī”.

 

Hazrat-e Ma‘rūf ‘Alī Shāh Shīrāzī

Mirza Abdolkarim (Hazrat-e Ma‘rūf ‘Alī Shāh Shīrāzī) was born in Shiraz. His father, Fathollah Shīrāzī, was a horse-dealer and always sought the company of the renowned mystics of Shiraz.

In his youth, Abdolkarim (Hazrat-e Ma‘rūf ‘Alī Shāh) took a great interest in mystical knowledge. He also wrote mystical poems under the pen name Mansūr (“He who is victorious with God’s help”). When, as a young man, he heard the name Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh, he decided to walk all the way from Shiraz to meet him. Eventually, he met Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh in the khāneqāh of Pamenar in Tehran. He was deeply impressed by the Pīr and straightaway became his murīd.

In order to help him reach maturity on the Path (sulūk), Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh immediately gave him several tasks. By order of the Pīr, he remained in one of the rooms of the khāneqāh for four years. After four years of hard work, his efforts were rewarded and he was granted the title of Shaykh by Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh. From then on, he had the Pīr’s permission to guide other murīds on the Sufi Path. In fact, he is the only one to have been appointed in writing by Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh as his successor.

After returning to Shiraz, he built a khāneqāh in the district of Sardarak and named it “Safī ‘Alī Shāh’s Khāneqāh in Shiraz”. Here, he began guiding and teaching murīds. He died at the age of 68 and was buried in the basement of the khāneqāh.

Hazrat-e Ma‘rūf ‘Alī Shāh was an enlightened, open-minded Sufi Master. He respected everyone and never engaged in debate. Prior to his death, he had appointed Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh as his successor.

Hazrat-e Ma‘rūf ‘Alī Shāh also wrote mystical poems. The verses beneath are an example of his graceful taste in poetry:

Being In Love
A fire was set in my mad heart for Love
So that its flames burnt the house of Love

From which tavern did I receive this Wine,
The fire of which consumed the soul, the heart and the cup of Love

When the lovesick nightingale sees the beauty of the rose
It moans in the state of intoxication by Love

In the house of Love, nothing is manifested
But your beauty spot, your face and hair

In order to light a flame in my ruined heart
There is only the candle of your face
Which enlightens this secret house of Love

In order to make the entire universe the nest of Love,
The bird of the soul made a way to reach the beauty of your hair.

Where is the person who is capable of giving his heart and belief away for your beauty spot,
Merely for having a glance at him in return, for the sake of Love

It is your kindness which has been bestowed on Mansūr
and is crowned by the glory of Love

 

Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh

Qasem Tawanger (Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh Shīrāzī) was born in 1898 in Dehbid (in the Iranian province of Fars). In his youth, he was trained by various Sufi Masters of his time. Later on, he became a disciple of Hazrat-e Ma‘rūf Alī Shāh.

At the age of 20, he enrolled in the gendarmerie, but could not accommodate his occupation with his spiritual goals. So, he resigned from the gendarmerie and started publishing the literary and mystical paper ‘Erfān (also written as ‘Irfān, a term meaning “gnosis”, “divine knowledge”), which attracted great public interest. However, in 1922 he ceased publishing the paper. He decided to stay in the khāneqāh (Sufi centre) and dedicate himself to the guidance of his murīds.

Some of his murīds were given the title Shaykh. These Shaykhs were commissioned to guide murīds in a number of provinces of Iran. Three of his most renowned Shaykhs were Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh, Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh Isfahānī en Mr. Qorbanian. They were authorized to lead Sufi gatherings (involving zikr and samā‘) in Dehbid, Kerman and Ahwaz. After the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, these gatherings were prohibited.

Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh died in 1966 at the age of 65. Both verbally and in writing, he had officially appointed Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh to be his sole successor and commissioned him to take over his office as a Shaykh, i.e. the guidance of murīds, the organisation of Sofra (shared ritual meals with murīds and dervishes ), and the appointment and dismissal of Shaykhs.

Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh

Hājj Mirza Hasan Aqadadi, Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh Isfāhānī, was born in Isfahan in 1921in a religious family who ran a fabric factory.

He was very young when the signs of Love first appeared in his heart and brought about a radical change in his life . The first Sufi Master whom he met was Hājj Jalāl Ajā’ī, who was a murīd of Shaykh Hasan ‘Alī Nakhodākī. Later he also met Hojjat Balāghī, who was the Pīr (Master) of the Ni‘matullāhī Shamsīya Sufi Order, from whom he received spiritual guidance.

He was about 22 when he had a significant meeting with the Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Master Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh Shīrazī. Consequently he became his murīd.

In 1943 he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, which made his heart even more enlightened and passionate.

In 1968, after many years of hard work under the guidance of Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh, he was formally appointed as Shaykh of the order, even though the order counted other great Sufis eligible for the office of Shaykh. For many years he remained active as a Sufi Master in Isfahan, teaching and helping other dervishes.

Although he was formally entitled to the name and position of Pīr of the order, in all his humility, he never claimed this supreme title and office of Mastership.

Despite his many responsibilities as a Sufi Master he was still also fully capable of running his business in fabrics.

Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh was a prominent and highly esteemed figure among Sufis and other people in Isfahan and regularly organized spiritual gatherings.

Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh also had a great passion for art and literature . Among his best friends were Isfahan’s famous artists and poets like Shakibe Isfahani, Hussein Saghir Isfahani and Abbas Qazi, who occasionally gathered at his house for artistic events.

He was a meritorious calligrapher and wrote elegant poems as well. The Mathnawī of Hazrat-e Mawlānā Jalāluddīn Rūmī was his greatest source of inspiration. He had memorized innumerable of its verses, which gave him joy and spiritual power.

After the Islamic Revolution in Iran he withdrew from public life and remained in seclusion until 1994.

In that year, at the insistence of a number of Sufis, he again began to attend the Sufi ceremonies and rituals in Safī ‘Alī Shāh’s Khāneqāh and at his house in Isfahan.
He passed away on 13th January 2008.
May his soul rest in peace.

 

Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh

Sayyid Mohammad Baqer Mir Moqtada’i (Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh Isfahānī) was born on the 22nd March 1919 in a religious family of dervishes. Since his father was a dervish of the Ni‘matullāhī Sufi Order, he got acquainted with Sufism at a very early age. Before he was 25, he had already met and received the blessings of a great number of Sufi Masters and Sufi Shaykhs, e.g.: Hājj Motahhar ‘Alī Shāh, the Pīr of the Khāksar-Jalālī Sufi Order, Sayyid Mohammad ‘Alī Mobārak and Hājj Āghā Jalāl Ajā’ī, a pupil of the mystical school of Hājj Shaykh Hasan ‘Alī Nakhodākī.

In spite of all these meetings, his thirst for Sufi knowledge was not quenched. So, with great ardour, he kept searching for the Pīr he really needed. Eventually he met Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh, who lovingly initiated him on the Sufi Path. During many years, he enjoyed Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh’s beneficial guidance. In 1969, he was granted the title Shaykh Ershād (also transliterated as Shaykh Irshād), which meant that he was entitled to guide other murīds of the Pīr. On 5th October 1985, he left this material world. His tomb is located in Bāgh-e Rezwān (“Garden of Contentment”) in Isfahan (God’s Mercy be upon him). Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh was a perfect Sufi and possessed many wonderful gifts, which he himself always denied. He also wrote mystical poetry under the pen name Sā’ī . The following is one of his poems:

In the land of spiritual poverty, nothing is of greater
value than to annihilate your untrue self (fanā)
In our times, in places of devotion and prayer,
nothing remains but feigned ascetism and hypocrisy
For the happiness and wellbeing of mankind, truly nothing is of
greater importance than to serve one’s fellow men and fellow creatures

He guided many disciples who later played an important role in the Silsila, e.g.:

-Abbas Panah Isfahani (the poet)
-Mahdi Sheikhbahaei Safī ‘Alī Shāh II
-Shafiq Isfahani (the poet)
-Akbar Mahdiya (the famous painter from Isfahan)

Even though Shaykh Mohammad Bāqer Sa‘dī appointed him (Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh) Shaykh Ershād, Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh still considered himself to be the servant of his Pīr, Hazrat-e Nūr ‘Alī Shāh. According to many other Shaykhs, Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh was a great Sufi Master, who always wished to live in love, peace, respect, tolerance and brotherhood with others.

 

Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh II

Hazrat-e Mawlānā Mahdi Sheikhbahaei Safī ‘Alī Shāh II was born as Mahdi Sheikhbahaei on the 22nd April 1947 in Isfahan, Iran. His esteemed father, Haji Agha Ali Sheikhbahaei, was a direct descendant of the mathematician, engineer and prominent Sufi Shaykh Bahā’uddīn Jabal ‘Āmilī. (Lebanon, 1532 CE – Isfahan, 1610 CE).

His respected mother, also originating from a distinguished Sufi family, is the granddaughter of the famous Sufis Khatun Abadi and Rozati. Five children were born of the marriage, four sons and one daughter. Hazrat-e Pīr is the eldest son. He grew up in the intellectual circles of Isfahan, a city famous since many centuries for its art and culture, but also as a centre of science. In world history however, the city of Isfahan has chiefly made a name as Persia’s centre of Sufism.

In the years 1967 and 1968, Mahdi Sheikhbahaei became acquainted with Meher Baba’s writings. The thoughts of this spritual teacher, living in India , impressed him deeply. A short time later, he met Shaykh Abbas Hadizadeh – better known as Abbas Halgheh Begush (“Abbas with the ring in his ear”). This Shaykh of the Ni‘matullāhī Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Order proved, at a later stage, to have played a major role in the life of our ‘God-thirsty’ murīd.

Shaykh Abbas Hadizadeh guided his first steps on the Sufi Path and in 1970 introduced him to Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh, who then held the position of Shaykh of Shaykhs – Shaykh-ul-Mashāyikh – in the Order.

In Hazrat-e Manzūr, young Mahdi found the Murshid (“spiritual guide”) he had always been looking for, one who proved to be able to quench his spiritual thirst in a loving manner. Hazrat-e Manzūr introduced him to various Sufi Orders. For 15 years, his murīd followed him in total surrender. They were inseparable, and through Hazrat-e Manzūr’s mastership and inspiring leadership, he attained to the level of Shaykh. Their deep and loving relationship ended with Hazrat-e Manzūr ‘Alī Shāh’s death on 5th October 1985.

This was the beginning of a very sad period, during which he had to come to terms with the loss of his beloved Murshid. But in other respects too, it was a very disturbing time.

Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh Isfahānī, international Master and Pīr of the Ni‘matullāhi Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Order, had closed the doors of his khāneqāhin 1981 and had withdrawn from public life.

In 1988, Shaykh Sayyid Ali Ashraf Sadeqi of the Qādirī Sufi Order proposed Shaykh Mahdi to open a common khāneqāhin Isfahan . Shaykh Mahdi agreed, thus making it possible to establish a joint khāneqāhof the Qādirī and the Ni‘matullāhī Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Orders. The Qādirī Order authorized Shaykh Mahdi to represent their Order as well. This fruitful cooperation lasted for two years.

In 1989, Shaykh Mahdi travelled to America . Here, for the very first time, he guided murīds outside his native country. In 1990, he came back to Iran.

In 1991, after 10 years, Hazrat-e Mūnis ‘Alī Shāh Isfahānī broke silence and reopened his khāneqāhin Isfahan. In 1994, in the presence of all the dervishes, Hazrat-e Mūnis received the inner order from Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh I (1835-1899) to appoint Shaykh Mahdi as his successor and Pīr of the Ni‘matullāhī Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Order, and name him “Safī ‘Alī Shāh II”. Everyone was requested to come to the khāneqāh immediately, because Hazrat-e Mūnis had a very important announcement to make. In the presence of thousands of dervishes, Hazrat-e Mūnis asked Shaykh Mahdi to step forward. Then, in a loud voice, so that everyone present could hear it, he spoke about the inner order he had received from Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh I the previous night. He embraced Shaykh Mahdi and said that he passed on to Shaykh Mahdi’s heart everything that was present in his own. Next, Hazrat-e Mūnis showed all persons present a document, written with his own hand, stating the Pīr’s qualifications. He then handed over this document to Hazrat-e Pīr. From that moment on, Hazrat-e Pīr was commissioned to head the Ni‘matullāhī Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Order as international Master under the name Hazrat-e Mawlānā Mahdi Sheikhbahaei Safī ‘Alī Shāh II. Subsequently, the ceremony was ratified by handing over the ‘abbā’, the special cloak of succession, which the resigning Pīr hangs around the shoulders of his successor.

In 1997, Hazrat-e Pīr came to the West and in the Netherlands he established the European headquarters of the Ni‘matullāhī Safī ‘Alī Shāhī Sufi Order. In 1998, Hazrat-e Pīr was invited by the late Professor Annemarie Schimmel to give a lecture at the Bonn University on the occasion of a conference on Sufism. Once a week since the beginning of 2000, Hazrat-e Pīr gives classes on the Mathnawī of Hazrat-e Mawlānā Jalāluddīn Rūmī in his khāneqāhin Rotterdam, both in Farsi and in Dutch. Apart from that, Hazrat-e Pīr is currently working on the English, Dutch and German translations of – among other things – various published, but also unpublished works of Hazrat-e Safī ‘Alī Shāh I.