Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: R. A. Nicholson, Studies in Islamic 

Mysticism (1921. Reprint, Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-

versity Press, 1978); Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical 

Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North 

Carolina Press, 1975).

al-Haqqani, Muhammad Nazim

   

(1922–  )  mystic and spiritual teacher who 

pioneered the establishment of Naqshbandi Sufi orders 

in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas

Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani was 

born and raised in Larnaca on the island of 

Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. He 

claims descent from m

Uhammad

 (d. 632) on both 

sides of his family, from the prominent 11th-

century Iraqi Sufi a

bd

 

al

-q

adir

 

al

-J

ilani

 on his 

father’s side and from the famous 13th-century 

Perso-Turkish Sufi master J

alal

 

al

-d

in

  r

Umi

 (d. 

1273) on his mother’s side. Al-Haqqani received 

a secular 

edUcation

 as a child and learned about 

the Qadiri and Mevlevi Sufi Orders from rela-

tives. After graduating from high school in 1940, 

he went to t

Urkey

 for his university education, 

receiving a degree in chemical engineering from 

Istanbul University. His brother’s death during 

World War II caused him to turn to religion for 

solace and understanding. His religious studies 

focused on Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), 

and  s

UFism

. His spiritual guide at that time in 

Istanbul was Shaykh Sulayman Arzurumi, who 

initiated him into the n

aqshbandi

  s

UFi

  o

rder

.

In some circles, this 

shaykh

 was considered to 

be one of the leading Sufi masters in the world. 

Al-Haqqani’s spiritual quest led him to s

yria

 and 

l

ebanon

, and in 1945 he became the disciple of 

the Naqshbandi shaykh and visionary Abd Allah 

al-Daghistani, who had immigrated from the 

Caucasus region of southern Russia. This disciple-

ship was to last until al-Daghistani died in 1973. 

Al-Daghistani instructed al-Haqqani to return to 

Cyprus, his homeland, and establish a branch of 

the Naqshbandi order. Despite opposition from 

secular authorities, he succeeded in building up 

a following there immediately after World War 

II and returned for visits to Syria and Lebanon. 

Later, he traveled to more distant destinations in 

Central Asia, m

alaysia

, i

ndonesia

, South Asia, and 

Russia. He began to make regular visits to Europe 

in 1973 and visited the U

nited

 s

tates

 and c

anada

for the first time in 1991 to promote his teachings 

and win followers. It is also said that he has per-

formed the 

haJJ

 to m

ecca

 27 times as leader of the 

Cypriot pilgrims. Al-Haqqani has reportedly won 

thousands of converts to his teachings around 

the world. In recognition of his commitment 

to resolving modern conflicts, he was elected