The Golden Chain (Silsilat adh-dhahab)

                          The venerable Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani at the tomb of Khwaja Baha al-Din Shah Naqshband

In the Qudsiyya, the book of dicta by the spiritual master Khwaja Baha al-Din Shah Naqshband, Khwaja Muhammad Parsa traced the spiritual genealogy of the Tariqat i-Khwajagan through three parallel lines known as the silsilat adh-dhahab (golden chain)-one leading through Abu Bakr Siddiq (radi Allahu anhu), another through ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu), and a third through ‘Ali and his descendents in the line of the twelve imams-yet there is little doubt that he considered the Bakri ancestry the most privileged. For Abu Bakr Siddiq (radi Allahu anhu) was the most perfect, most excellent, most splendid and best knowing of the friends of God.  Indeed, it was he who, after the passing of the Prophet (salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) gave 'Ali (radi Allahu anhu) himself a second spiritual initiation

According to the encyclopaedic Fasl al-Khitab, another of Khwaja Parsa's works, the Prophet (salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) gave instruction (talqin) to Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) in the performance of silent dhikr in the cave of Thawr, and thus, made him the first Naqshbandi disciple-practitioner (murid-murshid). 

The tradition of the Prophet (salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) giving Abu Bakr Siddiq (radi Allahu anhu) instruction (talqin) in silent dhikr is of particular import.  The basis of the tradition of talqin is the Qur'anic verse 9:40 which medieval exegetes interpreted as describing a moment of special grace the Prophet (salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) shared with his companion Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) while the two were hiding in the cave of Thawr during the Hijra:

"If ye help him (the Holy Prophet) not, (it is no matter): for Allah did indeed help him, when the Unbelievers drove him out: he had no more than one companion; they two were in the cave, and he said to his companion, "Have no fear, for Allah is with us": then Allah sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which ye saw not" (9:40)

The Naqshbandi interpreters invest this scene described in the Qur'anic verse with crucial significance, reinforcing it with two Prophetic traditions, one in which Allah revealed Himself to Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) "personally" (khassatan), and another in which the Prophet (salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) proclaimed that he had poured into Abu Bakr's (radi Allahu anhu) breast everything God had poured into his own.  This moment described in the Qur'anic verse was the moment the Prophet (salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) imparted the silent dhikr to Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), thereby allowing Allah to be manifested to him in the form of His 'quiescence' or 'divine presence' (sakina).

The tradition from Fasl al-Khitab portraying Abu Bakr Siddiq (radi Allahu anhu) as the first trainee of the silent dhikr emphasized the centrality of the silent dhikr in the Naqshbandi devotional regimen, and highlighted Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) as the fountainhead of the Naqshbandi silsila. Continue