19th Muharram: Urs of Maulana Shaykh Darwish Muhammad, 22nd Grandshaykh of the Golden Chain

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

The 19th of Muharram marks uroos/passing of Maulana Shaykh Darwish Muhammadق.

Heق was the 22nd Grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain.

Maulana Shaykh Darwish Muhammadق is the Ghawth, the Arch-Intercessor among the renowned saints, and a blessing upon the scholars of Islam. He is the dawn and light of both East and West, the Master of the Kingdom of Guidance. He was raised in the home of his uncle, who nurtured him with excellent manners, trained him in spiritual and religious knowledge, and fed him from the wellspring of morality and ethics.

He drank deeply from the realities of the unseen and heavenly knowledge until his heart became a House of Revelation. As mentioned in the sacred hadith, “Neither My heaven nor My earth could contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contained Me.”

In his time, he was known as Darwish Wali. He mastered every branch of religious understanding and was able to eliminate the misguidance and harm spread by false teachers. He revived hearts that had withered and mended those that were broken, becoming a mercy for his era and the living embodiment of guidance. Many followers gathered around him from across the land. His home and mosque were constantly filled with seekers asking for his advice and spiritual direction.

Once, after a spiritual gathering, Shaykh Muhammad az-Zahidق instructed him to go to a distant hill and wait for him there. The Shaykh promised he would join him later. Darwish Muhammadق, in perfect obedience, surrendered his will completely and left without hesitation. He did not question how or why. He simply obeyed.

He reached the hill and began to wait. The time for afternoon prayers passed, then the sun set, yet his Shaykh did not arrive. His ego whispered doubts. “Your Shaykh is not coming. Go back. Perhaps he forgot.” But his heart replied, “O Darwish Muhammad, trust your Shaykh. He said he would come, so wait.”

His loyalty to his Shaykh was firm. Night fell and the cold bit into him. He stayed awake, finding warmth only in his constant remembrance of Allah, saying “la ilaha illallah.” Dawn came with no sign of the Shaykh. Hungry, he searched and found fruit trees. He ate a little and continued to wait. Days passed, then weeks. Despite the struggle within himself, he held on. He thought, “If my Shaykh is true, he knows what he is doing.”

A month passed. Still, he waited, his time filled with dhikr and prayer. The power of his remembrance grew so strong that animals came and gathered around him, joining in dhikr. He recognized this as a gift from his Shaykh.

Winter came. The snow fell and food ran out. He survived by peeling bark, eating roots and leaves. Deer came to him, and he began to milk the ewes. Another miracle. The ewes remained calm, and others joined. His spiritual state kept rising, and his teacher continued to send him knowledge through visions and these signs.

He wondered, “What if something happened to me?” But his heart remained firm. “If I had not stayed and obeyed, you would never have come to me by permission of the Prophet ﷺ” he later told his Shaykh. He had sensed that the Shaykh’s arrival was by the Prophet’s ﷺ command.

When Shaykh Muhammad az-Zahidق finally appeared, he laughed and said, “Come with me.” He poured into Darwish Muhammadق the secret and power of the Golden Chain of the Naqshbandi Order that he held in his heart, and appointed him as the spiritual guide for the murids.

Darwish Muhammadق remained in his Shaykh’s service until Shaykh Muhammad az-Zahid passed away.

Darwish Muhammadق passed on the 19th of Muharram, in the year 970 Hijri. He transmitted the sacred trust of the Order to his son, Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanakiق.

Tonight, do send gifts of Surah Al-Fatiha and Yasin to our 22nd Grandshaykh of the Golden Chain, Maulana Shaykh Darwish Muhammadق.

With Love, Al-Fatiha.

To learn more about the month of Muharram and the day of Ashura, please click here.

Wassalam.