16th November: Our Mother, Hajjah Amina Adil Sultanق

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

The 16th of November marks the blessed Urs of Hajjah Amina Adil Sultan Hanimق, the noble and saintly wife of Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق and the honoured mother of Mawlana Sheikh Muhammadق.

To commemorate this occasion, we share today a heartfelt sohbah by Hajjah Rukiye Sultan, back in 2020, about her beloved mother.

Bismillahi Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
Tariqatuna as-sohba wal khayru fil jam’iyya
Madad Ya Sayyidi Ya Rasul Allah ﷺ, wa Mashayikhina Sheikh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqaniق, Sheikh Muhammad Ar-Rabbaniق

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuhu

InshaAllah, the day after tomorrow, is Hajjah Aminaق’s anniversary. It has been 16 years since her departure from this world to eternal life. When you live together it is difficult to speak about her, and maybe from outside people can tell more about her.

But to live with her was different because everything she did felt natural and usual. Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق was telling that she was from the Arba’en, from the 40 holy people. Of these 40, 7 are ladies and she was one of them, and she was the head of them.

Hajjah Aminaق’s story is very interesting. They were Tatar Muslims living in Russia during Communism, during the time of Stalin, at the beginning of the 1930s. My grandfather was a Naqshbandi and he was a pious Muslim. It was a long story, they fled Russia to come to Damascus.

There is a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that says, “Awwaluhu as Shaam akhiruhu as Shaam.” In the beginning is Sham, and in the end is Sham. The beginning of history starts with Sham and in the end of times people will be gathered in Sham Sharif, Damascus, Syria.

So he was obeying this hadith and he took his 5 children and his wife and went through a very long hijrah (migration), in the times of the Soviet Union and Communism. It was such a horrible time.

They spent maybe 6 or 8 months hiding and running away from Russia slowly slowly until they reached Turkey. Then they stayed in Turkey for a while and later migrated again to Damascus.

Mawlana Sheikh Abdullahق also emigrated from Russia, from one of the Caucasian countries, not at the same time but some years before. He settled in Turkey with Mawlana Sheikh Sharafuddinق.

Afterwards, Mawlana Sheikh Abdullahق also immigrated to Damascus.

Mawlana Sheikh Abdullahق was saying that, “There were two children who came out of Russia, and all the saints, all the Awliya, were protecting them. One of them is me, and the other is Aminatق.” Aminatق is my mother. In Dagestani they do not say Aminah, they say Aminat.

Heق continued, “The other child was Aminatق and she was protected until she came here because she will be the wife of Sheikh Nazimق and she is a saint.” He told her that she had a high rank for this.

SubhanAllah, she was a pious lady who kept all the practices and made everything feel natural.

She always did everything herself first, never telling people to do something unless she had done it before them. Whatever it was, prayers, fasting, service, she was always first in action.

She was in service of the Tariqat nearly all her life. When she was newly married to Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق she served in the dergah of Mawlana Sheikh Abdullahق for one year.

Later, when she had her own house, she was again in service. Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق, MashaAllah, always had guests from the first day, always people to be served.

In her younger days they did not have a washing machine. She was handwashing her babies’ and children’s clothes, and Mawlanaق would bring the washing from the dervishes too. She washed, dried, ironed and returned everything to them.

That is how much she controlled her ego. For me, I could not do this. Even with a washing machine I could not wash someone else’s clothes.

She never missed her Tahajjud prayers and I witnessed this. She woke up every night and prayed all her prayers. She did her wirid and it was the highest one. Many of you know her from her lectures. SubhanAllah she had a photographic memory. When she read something, she remembered it.

Spiritually, when she spoke, it came from her heart. When you sat with her, it was as if you were sitting with the people she was speaking about.

If she talked about the Prophet ﷺ or any saint or prophet, you felt as if you were living those moments and seeing those blessed ones, with the strongest spiritual light coming to your heart.

For me she was a perfect woman, a mother, a pious Muslim and a saint. She was perfect. It would be very difficult for any of us to reach her rank. Alhamdulilah that Allah ﷻ blessed me with her as a mother and as a spiritual mother for you.

Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق used to say, “If she had not supported me so patiently and powerfully, I would not have reached the rank I reached in Tariqat, in this life.”

InshaAllah on her Urs, we ask you to read for her at least 3 Surah Ikhlas and 1 Fatiha. If you can, read 1 Surah Yasin and 1 Surah Mulk. If you can, read 1 Juz of the Quran and send it as a gift for her soul, inshaAllah.

We are asking her shafa’ah and Mawlana Sheikhق said that her name is Hajjah Amina Sultanق. InshaAllah we always ask for her intercession on Judgement Day.

She was a true lover of the Prophet ﷺ. It was the passion of her life. Even in her last days she was always seeing the Prophet ﷺ in her dreams.

In her final days, on the night of Laylatul Qadr, she saw the Prophet ﷺ in her dream. We were saying this was because Laylatul Qadr was coming. But I think the Prophet ﷺ came to take her home. She was telling that the Prophet ﷺ came to the dergah, to our house. All the family was standing to have a photograph with the Prophet ﷺ.

Then the Prophet ﷺ told her, “Come, you and I can have a separate photo.” He ﷺ took her and they had a photo together. She told us this while crying.

We were telling her that because it was Laylatul Qadr, the Prophet ﷺ was blessing her with this dream. Because she was very sad in her last days, she had a stroke and she could not move or work as she used to.

After the third day of Eid, she passed away. That time was the same time of year as now, in November.

Alhamdulilah we are blessed with her. Alhamdulilah, what to do, this is dunya.

One day we will meet her again with Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق, with all our beloved ones, with the Prophet ﷺ.

Al-Fatiha.

• Hajjah Rukiye Sultan

In this video, Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق lovingly recounts how he and Hajjah Amina Sultanق were brought together in marriage.

Al-Fatiha for their blessed souls, now reunited in eternal peace.

Books by Hajjah Amina Adil Sultanق can be found here.

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