20th Rajab: Urs of Khwaja Ala’uddin al-Attar, 18th Grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

(Select your preferred language by clicking the top right of the website.)

The 20th of Rajab marks the blessed Urs of Khwaja Ala’uddin al-Bukhari al-Attarق, the 18th Grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain, a servant of Allah ﷻ whose life unfolded quietly, yet whose heart carried an immense trust for this Way. He was the son-in-law and student of Imamul Tariqah, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Baha’uddin Shah Naqshbandق.

Khwaja Ala’uddin al-Attarق was born in the year 739 H in the city of Bukhara, a land already steeped with knowledge and remembrance. From his earliest years, he showed little inclination toward what people usually seek or hold dear.

When his father passed and inheritance came to him, he distributed all of it to his two brothers without hesitation and kept nothing for himself. Those close to him understood that he had chosen reliance upon Allah ﷻ long before wealth ever reached his hands.

He devoted himself to study in the schools of Bukhara, mastering the Qur’an, the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, jurisprudence, and the sciences of the heart. Scholars recognised his learning and sought his company, yet knowledge never veiled his heart. He longed for a deeper knowing, one that descends inwardly and reshapes the soul.

Those who sat near him noticed his stillness. He spoke little, listened deeply, and guarded his inner state with great care. His presence was calm, and his heart was constantly engaged in remembrance.

It was written that his life would be bound to Imamul Tariqah, Shah Naqshbandق, the Grandshaykh of his time. When Khwaja Ala’uddinق humbly proposed marriage to the daughter of Shah Naqshbandق, the response did not arrive through ordinary means.

One night, after midnight, Shah Naqshbandق awoke in Qasr al-ʿArifan with a strong inner command. Without delay, he went to the school in Bukhara where Khwaja Ala’uddinق resided. When he entered, he found all the students asleep, except Khwaja Ala’uddinق, who sat alone reciting the Qur’an by the faint light of a small oil lamp.

Shah Naqshbandق approached him and touched his shoulder, yet Khwaja Alauddinق did not respond. He pressed again, and still there was no movement. Through spiritual vision, Shah Naqshbandق realised that Khwaja Ala’uddinق was not present within himself, but standing before his Lord ﷻ.

When Shah Naqshbandق called him inwardly, Khwaja Ala’uddinق immediately turned and said, “O my Shaykh.”

Shah Naqshbandق said, “I saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream, and he accepted your proposal for my daughter. For this reason, I have come myself, late at night, to bring you these glad tidings.”

Khwaja Ala’uddinق replied, “O my Shaykh, I possess nothing. I have given away all that I inherited and I am poor.”

Shah Naqshbandق answered him gently, “Whatever Allah ﷻ wrote for you on the Day of Promises will reach you. Do not worry. Allah ﷻ will provide.”

From that night onward, Shah Naqshbandق took responsibility for him completely. He raised him quietly, state by state, until his heart was prepared to carry what cannot be taught through words.

Among the many disciples of Shah Naqshbandق, Khwaja Ala’uddinق was not one who sought attention. Yet his closeness was known.

It is related that some students spoke among themselves and questioned his state. When these words reached Shah Naqshbandق, he did not explain or compare. He said only, “Ala’uddin is my proof against my own students.”

With these few words, the door to judgment was firmly shut.

Despite this recognition, Khwaja Ala’uddinق chose to remain deeply concealed. Although his Shaykh had prepared him inwardly, he deliberately avoided public authority and outward standing. He did not allow himself to be placed forward.

When those near him urged him to accept recognition, he would reply simply saying, “If I become known, the work will stop.”

For this reason, little of his life was set down in writing, and even that was conveyed with restraint.

He understood that the trust placed in his heart required protection. His task was not to gather people, but to refine hearts. Not to be seen, but to preserve what was unseen.

Among the inner knowings that distinguished him was an understanding later related by Mawlana Shaykh Nazimق in Mercy Oceans, through the words of Shah Naqshbandق. Shah Naqshbandق spoke of Khwaja Ala’uddinق as one who had been granted insight into the hidden wisdom of creation itself.

He described him as among a select few scholars who understood the wisdom behind the existence of shaytan, a knowledge known to the awliya, yet grasped by only a small number among the ‘ulama. Shah Naqshbandق taught that whoever is granted this understanding is able to overcome shaytan, while whoever is veiled from it remains subject to his influence.

Through this understanding, Khwaja Alauddinق knew that nothing Allah ﷻ created exists without benefit, and that struggle, opposition, and inner resistance are among the means by which a servant is raised. What appears as danger to the heedless becomes a path of ascent for the one who is guided.

It was this depth of perception, the ability to see wisdom where others saw only harm, that distinguished his rank and marked him as a bearer of trust in the Naqshbandi Way, prepared inwardly to guide seekers safely toward Allah ﷻ.

From the moments preserved of his training is a state that revealed the depth of his heart. A Shaykh once asked him, “How is your heart?” He replied, “I do not know how my heart is.”

The Shaykh said, “I know my heart. It is like the moon on its third night.”

When Khwaja Ala’uddinق related this to Shah Naqshbandق he said, “He answered according to his heart,” and then placed his foot firmly upon Khwaja Ala’uddinق’s foot.

Instantly, Khwaja Ala’uddinق left himself. He witnessed that the Heavens and the earth were contained within his heart. When he returned to awareness, Shah Naqshband was still standing upon his foot and said, “If the heart is like this, then it cannot be described. What do you say now about the hadith, ‘Neither My heavens nor My earth contain Me, but the heart of the believer contains Me.’ This is one of the secrets you must come to understand.”

At another time, the scholars of Bukhara disputed over whether Allah ﷻ could be witnessed in this life. Some denied it, others affirmed it. All were followers of Khwaja Ala’uddinق.

They came to him seeking judgement.

He said to those who denied it, “Remain with me for three days. Keep ablution at all times and remain silent.”

For three days he held them in his presence. On the third day, the weight of what was unveiled overcame them, and they fell unconscious. When they regained awareness, they cried out, “Amanna wa saddaqna.” We believe and we confirm.

From that moment, they understood that sight is not claimed, but gifted, and that purification precedes witnessing.

Khwaja Ala’uddinق taught that silence protects the heart, that guarding the inner space is among the greatest struggles, and that seeing one’s own actions as good is a hidden form of pride. He taught that muraqabah opens doors that speech cannot, and that love of the Shaykh, when it fills the heart completely, prepares the seeker to receive Heavenly knowledge without limit.

On the second of Rajab, 802 H, he said quietly, “Soon I am going to leave you for the next life.” On the twentieth of Rajab, 802 H, he returned to his Lord ﷻ and was laid to rest in Jaganyan near Bukhara.

He entrusted the secret of the Way to his successor, Khwaja Yaqub al-Charkhiق, allowing the Naqshbandi light to continue its gentle transmission through the generations.

Khwaja Ala’uddin al-Attarق left this world as he lived: quietly, having fulfilled his trust without seeking fame or recognition. His life reminds us that the deepest work is done unseen and without claim, and that hearts are prepared in silence long before their fruits are made known. Though he remained largely hidden, his service was essential to the unfolding of this Way, and its benefit continues to reach us today.

May Allah ﷻ sanctify his secret, raise his rank in closeness to Him, accept his quiet service, and reward him fully for the trust he carried and fulfilled in sincerity and silence.

May He ﷻ grant us true purification of the heart and nearness to the Lord. May He open for us the clarity of what truly matters on this journey, and allow us to serve this Way quietly, with deeds that outlive us, as he did, rather than seeking empty titles or worldly acclaim.

Tonight, do send gifts of Surah Al-Fatiha and Yasin to the 18th Grandshaykh of the Golden Chain, Khwaja Ala’uddin al-Attarق.

With Love, Al-Fatiha.

---