specimen of a murshid’s diploma, in the kadiri order of the mystic craft al-tasawwuf.
this is the tree whose root is firm, and whose
branches are spreading, and whose shade is
perpetual: and the bearer is a good man —
we beg of allah to grant him purity of
intention by the power of him upon
whom revelation descended and in-
spiration! i have passed it on, and
i, the poorest of men, and the ser-
vant of the poor, am sayyid
a,2 son of sayyid b the
kadiri, the servant of the
prayer-rug of his grand-
sire, of the shaykh
abd al-kadir
jilani, allah
sanctify his
honoured
tomb!
amen.
a.
there
is no god but
allah — shaykh
abd al-kadir
— a thing to
allah.3
sayyid a
son of sayyid b
of c.4
and of him — in the name of allah the merciful, the compassionate — we beg aid.
praise be to allah, opener of the locks of hearts with his name, and withdrawer of the veils of hidden things with his beneficence, and raiser of the flags of increase to those who persevere in thanking him. i praise him because that he hath made us of the people of unity. and i thank him, being desirous of his benefits. and i bless and salute our lord mo- hammed, the best of his prophets and of his servants, and (i bless and salute) his (mohammed’s) family and companions, the excelling indignity, for the increase of their dignity and its augmentation. but afterwards thus saith the needy slave, who confesseth his sins and his weakness and his faults, and hopeth for the pardon of his lord the almighty — sayyid a the kadiri, son of sayyid b the kadiri, son of sayyid abu bakr the kadiri, son of sayyid ismail the kadiri, son of sayyid abd al-wahhab the kadiri, son of sayyid nur al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid darwaysh the kadiri, son of sayyid husam al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid nur al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid waly al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid zayn al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid sharaf al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid shams al-din the kadiri, son of sayyid mohammeda i-hattak, son of sayyid abd al-aziz, son of the
sayyid of sayyids, polar-star of existence, the white pearl, the lord of the reins of (worldy) possession, the chief of (allah’s) friends, the incomparable imam, the essence negativing accidents, the polar star of polar stars,5 the greatest assistance,6 the uniter of the lover and the beloved,7the sayyid (prince), the shaykh (teacher), muhiyal-din, abd al-kadir of jilan,8 allah sanctify his honoured sepulchre, and allah enlighten his place of rest! — son of abu salih muse jangi-dost, son of sayyid abdullah al-jayli, son of sayyid yahya al-zahid, son of sayyid mohammed, son of sayyid da’ud,son of sayyid musa, son of sayyid abdullah, son of sayyid musa al-juni, son of sayyid abdullah al-mahz, son of sayyid hasan al-musanna,9 son of theimam hasan, son of the imam and the amir oftrue believers, ali the son of abu talib — may allah be satisfied with him! — son of abd al-mut-talib,10 son of hashim, son of abd al-manaf, son of kusay, son of kilab, son of murrat, son of ka’ab, son of luwiyy, son of ghalib, son of fihr (kuraysh), son of malik, son of nazr, son of kananah, son of khuzaymah, son of mudrikah, son of iliyas, son of
muzarr, son of nizar, son of adnan,11 son of ada, son of udad, son of mahmisah, son of hamal, son of nayyit, son of kuzar, son of ismail, son of ibrahim, son of karikh, son of kasir, son of arghwa, son of phaligh, son of shalikh, son of kaynan, son of arfakhshad, son of sam, son of noah, son of shays, son of adam the father of mankind12 — with whom be peace, and upon our prophet the best of blessings and salutation! — and adam was of dust, and dust is of the earth, and earth is of foam, and foam is of the wave, and the wave is of water,13 and water is of the rainy firmament, and the rainy firmament is of power, and power is of will, and will is of the omniscience of the glorious god. but afterwards that good man, the approaching to his lord, the averse to all besides him, the desirous of the abodes of futurity, the hoper for mercy, the darwayah abd-ullah14 son of the pilgrim joseph the afghan — henceforward let him be known by the name of “darwaysh king-in-the-name-of-allah!”— hath ccome to us and visited us and begged of us instruction in the saying of unity. i therefore taught him the saying which i learned by ordinance from my shaykh and my instructor and my paternal uncle sayyid the shaykh abd al-kadir15 the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh abu bakr the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh ismail the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh abd al-wahhab the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh nur al-din the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh shahdarwaysh the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh husam al-din the kadiri, son of the sayyid the shaykh nur al-din the kadiri, from his sire and shaykh waly al-din the kadiri, from his sire and shaykh zayn al-din the kadiri, from his sire and shaykh sharafil al-din the kadiri, from his sire and shaykh mohammed al-hattak the kadiri, from his sire and shaykh abd al-aziz — allah sanctify his honoured sepulchre and allah enlighten his place of rest! — from his sire and shaykh sayyid the polar star of existence, the white pearl, the polar star of holy men, the director of those that tread the path, the sayyid the shaykh muhiyy al-din abd al-kadir of jilan — allah sanctify his honoured sepulchre and allah enlighten his place of rest! amen! — from his shaykh the shaykh abu-sa’id al-mubarak al-makhzumi, from his shaykh the shaykh abu ‘i hasan, al-hankari, from his shaykh the shaykh abu faras al-tarsusi, from his shaykh the shaykh abd al-wahidal-tamimi, from his shaykh the shaykh abu ‘l kasim al-junayd of baghdad, from his shaykh the shaykh al-sirri al-sakati, from his shaykh the shaykh al-ma’aruf al-karkhi, from his shaykh the shaykh da’ud al-tai, from his shaykh the shaykh habib al-‘ajami, from his shaykh the shaykh al-hasan of bussorah, from his shaykh the prince of true believers, ali son of abu talib — allah be satisfied with him! and allah honour his countenance! — from the prophet of allah, upon whom may allah have mercy, from jibrail, from the omnipotent, the glorious. and afterwards we taught him (i.e. that good man abdullah) the saying of unity, and ordered its recital 165 times after each farizah,16 and on all occasions according to his capability. and allah have mercy upon our lord mohammed and upon his family and upon his companions one and all! and praise be to allah, lord of the (three) worlds!
it is finished.
there is no god but allah!
number17 165.
1 this document is written upon slips of paper pasted together, 4 feet 5 inches long, by about 6 1/2 inches broad, and contains altogether 71 lines below the triangle. the divisions are in red ink. it rolls up and fits into a cylinder of tin, to which are attached small silk cords, to sling it over the shoulder when travelling or on pilgrimage.
2 the names are here omitted for obvious reasons.
3 facsimile of the seal of the great abd al-kadir. this upon the document is a sign that the owner has become a master in the craft.
4 this is the living shaykh’s seal, and is the only one applied to the apprentice’s diploma.
5 or prince of princes, a particular degree in tasawwuf.
6 ghaus (assistance) also means a person who, in tasawwuf, has arrived at the highest point to which fervour of devotion leads.
7 the human soul, and its supreme source.
8 for a short notice of this celebrated mystic, see d’herbelot, “abdalcader.
9 “hasan the second,” from whom sprung the sharifs of al-hijaz.
10 father to abdullah, father of mohammed.
11 dated by m.c. de perceval about 130 years b.c.
12 thus, between adnan and adam we have eighteen generations! al-wakidi and al-tabiri give forty between adnan and ishmael, which ibn khaldun, confirmed by m.c. de perceval, thinks is too small a number. the text, however, expresses the popular estimate. but it must be remembered that the prophet used to say, “beyond adnan none but allah knoweth, and the genealogists lie.”
13 moslems cleaving to the neptunian theory of earthy origin.
14 your humble servant, gentle reader.
15 the former genealogy proved my master to be what is technically called “khalifah jaddi,” or hereditary in his dignity. the following table shows that he is also “khulfai” (adopted to succeed), and gives the name and the descendants of the holy man who adopted him.
16 each obligatory prayer is called a farizah. the shaykh therefore directs the saying of unity, i.e. la ilaha illa llah, to be repeated 825 times per diem.
17 i.e. number of repetitions after each obligatory prayer.