Some of the more historically significant Kubrawi shaykhs were 'Ala al-Dawla Simnani (d. 736/1336) and Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh (d. 869/1464). The Nurbakhshi Kubrawi lineage embraced Shi'ism. One continuation of this lineage today is the Oveysi (Uwaysi) Shahmaghsoudi order, known as the Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi.

Kurds, Turks and the Alevi revival in Turkey At times, both in history and today, Sufi elements are found in political movements. One such contemporary mixture is in the leftist Alevi-Kurdish movement in Turkey, in which Haji Bektash and Pir Sultan Abdal are considered to be saints. This article, by Professor Martin van Bruinessen, one of the chief authorities on Kurdish religious groups, clarifies the facts of this issue. (Back on-line 5/18/98)

Yunus Emre is the most significant Bektashi poet.

 One of the most important Afghan / Uzbek shaykhs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a Naqshbandi in the lineage of the Mujaddid, a shaykh whose name was Sufi Islam, or, as he was also known, Shaykh al-Islam Karrukhi. His khaniqah (Sufi hospice) at Karrukh, near Herat (in Afghanistan), is apparently still functioning. In the Summer of 1997, while travelling in Uzbekistan, I obtained a copy in Persian of his life story and teachings. If any readers have any information about Afghans or others who may be connected to Sufi Islam's lineage, please send me (Dr. Godlas) email by this link.

The most significant Nasqshbandi shaykh in Syria today is Shaykh Ahmad Kuftaro. Born in 1915, yet still active, Shaykh Kuftaro is particularly important because not only has he been a Naqshbandi shaykh since 1938, but he has also been Syria's Grand Mufti (the chief scholar of Islamic law) since 1964.

The shaykh of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani order is Shaykh Nazim. His representative for the United States is Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, who is the author of the on-line book, The Fundamentals of Tasawwuf (Sufism). See their extensive website The Naqshbandi Homepage. Another branch of the Naqshbandiya is the Naqshbandiya of Shaykh Mahmud Es'ad Cosan (pronounced "Jo'shan"). This branch is centered in Istanbul, Turkey. A branch of the Naqshbandiyah now centered in Manchester, England, is that of Shaykh Asif Hussain Farooqui. An organization centered in the United States and having as its purpose the education of both Muslims and non-Muslims about the holistic nature of Islam--which includes spirituality as an essential dimension--is the Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education. See the website devoted to Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan, a twentieth century Turkish Naqshbandi scholar and Sufi. Of the various pages at the site, one focuses on his Sufi activities. A Turkish Naqshbandi shaykh who recently passed away was Ahmet Kayhan. A biographical sketch of Ahmet Kayhan has been written by a disciple of his, Henry Bayman. See also a picture of Ahmet Kayhan. For a concise overview of a number of branches of the Naqshbandi order in Turkey today, see the article titled Concerning the Naqshbandiyya in Turkey.

Anyone interested in researching the Naqshbandi order will find the Bibliography of the Naqshbandiyya by Vika Gardner, a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan, to be very useful. 

Chishti-Habibi Soofie Islamic Order website was constructed by a South African branch of the Chishti order deriving from Sayed Khwaja Habib Ali Shah from Hyderabad (India) (d. 1326/1906). 

Chisti Order of Sufis, which is affiliated with Shaykh Hakim Abu Abdullah Moinuddin, the author of the Book of Sufi Healing. This is an excellent, comprehensive site covering topics such as the history and literature of the Chisti Order and including pages on actual Sufi practice and Sufi healing.

Gudri Shahi Branch of the Chishti Order, established by Dr. M. Qadeer Shah Baig in Toronto, Canada. The current khalifa in Toronto is Syed Mumtaz Ali.

Gudri Shahi/Zahuri Branch of the Chishti Order previously headed by Hz. Zahurul Hasan Sharib (d. 1996) and currently headed by Inaaam Hasan of Ajmer, India. This branch now has a presence in England, the Americas, and other regions of the world. Jamiluddin Morris Zahuri (a devotee of Hz. Zahurul Hasan and the webmaster of the Zahuri website), notes that the Gudri Shahi order actually has two lineages, one deriving in this material world from the Qadiriya and the other being an "Uwaysi" transmission (occuring in the non-material world of the spirit) from Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti to Hazrat Saeen Gudri Shah Baba (Saeenji Sahib), who is the founder of the Gudri Shahi order. In addition, some members use the appellation "Zahuri" to refer to their affiliation with Hz. Zahurul Hasan Sharib. For more information see Jamiluddin Morris' letter to Dr. Godlas.

The teachings of another Chishti branch that also has a Qadiri lineage can be found at the site Islam and the Sufi Tradition of Chishti Qadhiri. The current shaykh is FaizeeShah.

One of Abu Madyan's disciples was Muhammad 'Ali Ba-'Alawi, from whom the 'Alawiya Order, also know as the Ba'Alawiya Order, derives. A branch of the 'Alawi Order is the 'Attasiya Order (or as they themselves write it: Attasia Tarikah), which is centered in Yemen but also has zawiyas (hospices) in Pakistan, India, and Myanmar. The 'Alawiya order in the Yemen has recently been studied by the anthropologist, David Buchman. In his article titled The Underground Friends of God and Their Adversaries: A Case Study and Survey of Sufism in Contemporary Yemen, Professor Buchman summarizes the results of his six month period of fieldwork in Yemen. The article was originally published in the journal Yemen Update, vol. 39 (1997), pp. 21-24.

'Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish (d. 625 AH/1228 CE), another disciple of Abu Madyan, transmitted his teachings to Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili. One of al-Shadhili's most prominent disciples was Abu-l-'Abbas al-Mursi (d. 686 AH/1287 CE), whose shrine is in Alexandria, Egypt. From another angle, visit the Mosque and Tomb of al-Mursi. His murid (disciple) and successor was Ibn 'Ata' Allah Iskandari (d. 709/1309 in Cairo), who wrote the text The Key to Salvation: A Sufi Manual of Invocation (Miftah al-falah). See also the chapter on dhikr (remembrance of God) from Miftah al-falah translated by the scholar Ayesha Bewley. Another of Ibn 'Ata Allah's works is the Hikam (maxims or aphorisms), partially translated here by Ayesha Bewley. An important Shadhili shaykh in Morocco was al-Jazuli (d. between 869/1465 and 875/1461), whose fame was spread throughout the Muslim world by his collection of prayers titled Dala'il al-khayrat. The order founded by him, the Jazuliya, as well as other Moroccan Sufi orders and saints, are discussed by Prof. Vincent Cornell in his recent book Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism.

Another Moroccan branch of the Shadhili order is the Darqawiya, founded in the late 18th century (CE) by Mawlay al-'Arbi al-Darqawi. Selections from the Letters of Shaykh al-Darqawi have been translated by the scholar Ayesha Bewley. One of the first tariqas to become established in the West was the 'Alawiya branch of the Darqawiya, (link fixed Nov. 23, 2001) which became named after Shaykh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-'Alawi al-Mustaghanimi, popularly known as Shaykh al-Alawi (link fixed Nov. 23, 2001) A significant book about him, written by Martin Lings, is titled A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century. (offline Nov. 23, 2001). A Shadhili shaykh who has established centers in the West has been Shaykh Abdalqadir al-Murabit, a Scottish convert to Islam, whose lineage is Shadhili-Darqawi. Currently his order is known as the Murabitun. At other times his order has been known as the Darqawiya and Habibiya. One of the first books that Shaykh Abdalqadir wrote was The Book of Strangers, which he authored under the name Ian Dallas. For a brief anecdote of Shaykh Abdalqadir in the early 1970's, go to the chapter "Forgiveness and Maturation of the Heart" from the book Recovery of the Sacred, by the psychiatrist Carlos Warter, and scroll down to " A few weeks later, I was walking down Telegraph Avenue...", which begins after about two-thirds of the chapter.

A contemporary order deriving, in part, from Shaykh Abdalqadir is the al-Haydariyah al-Shadhiliyah, headed by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri. Of Shi'ite descent, Shaykh Fadhlalla, nevertheless, neither teaches within a Shi'i nor a Sunni framework. 

Between October 17-26, 1999, the First International Shadholian Festival will occur in Egypt and will include among other events an academic conference. It will conclude with a pilgrimage to the tomb of Abu 'l-Hasan al-Shadhili and will also involve Sufi gatherings of dhikr and chanting. 

The Burhaniya or Burhamiya, named after Shaykh Burhan al-Din Ibrahim al-Dasuqi (d. 687/1288), sometimes regarded as derived from the Shadhili order and sometimes from the Rifa'i order, is an order active today in Egypt. A branch in Australia is led by Murshid F. A. Ali ElSenossi. (Link fixed, August 14, 2000.)

Orders in North Africa

Orders in East Africa

Orders in West Africa

Orders in South Africa

Orders in Indonesia and Malaysia

Orders in Afghanistan

Orders in Pakistan

Orders in Kurdistan

Orders in Russia

Orders in Turkmenistan

Orders in the Balkans