Fahkruddin Al Burhani
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Transcript of Fahkruddin Al Burhani
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Khatam Sharif in honour of Shaykh Muhammad Uthman Abduh al-Burhani ®
Shaykh Muhammad Uthman Abduh al- Burhani was
born in Halfa in Sudan at the turn of the century
(1902). As a child he had a dream in which the great
saint Sayyidi Ahmad al-Badawi took him by the hand
and led him to the mountain of the saints, jabal-e-
awliya, a place near Khartoum. Sayyidi Ahmad struck
the mountain enforcing it to form a cave. "Pray in this
cave" he ordered Muhammad Uthman. The boy awoke
and was puzzled by these instructions. He inquired
from the mayor of that place, a man named Wasim,
about the mountain. Wasim told him that the mountain
was called jabal-e-Awliya, as particular saints had once
prayed in one of its caves. Muhammad Uthman finally
found the place revealed in the dream, a cave the floor
of which was covered with white sand and in which the direction of prayer, qibla, was
indicated. There he prayed for the Shaykhs of his order, their chain being completely
known to him. He returned to the cave in later years and spent six months there in
spiritual retreat.
At the age of 10 his uncle initiated him into the order of Burhaniya. He could find no
teacher in the outside world which meant he could not perform any spiritual exercises nor
receive any instructions. He held long nightly vigils in prayer during which he had visions
and was visited by some of the great saints. During these visions and in his dreams he
learned some parts of the awrad, the special prayers of the Burhaniya. After many years
had passed, he finally found a teacher, a blind stranger who had been sent to him by
Sayyidi Ibrahim Disuqi, the original founder of the order. He later discovered books which
had been buried in pots by his grandparents during the period of Mahdi in which many
books were burnt. They enclosed the entire awrad of his Tariqat which Muhammad
Uthman immediately put to use for his followers. In a long vision taking over forty days
he learned that his task was to revitalize the order of Sayyidi Ibrahim Disuqi. For two
months, Muhammad Uthman refused to take on this task until Imam al- Husain (RAD)
personally ordered him to do so. Under the leadership of Shaykh Muhammad Uthman,
Tariqa Burhaniya gained many followers in Sudan and in Egypt. During the seventies the
order already counted over 3 million members alone in Egypt. Since 1981 the order has
also spread to Europe and North America.
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Burhaniya
The Burhaniya Disuqiya Shadhuliya is the sufi order, tariqat, of Sayyidi Ibrahim Qurashi
Disuqi (13th Century A.D.), the fourth of the great sufi Shaykhs and founders of sufi
orders, aqtab. In the spiritual line, silsila, of the Burhaniya Shaykhs traces back to the
Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The most important chain links are:
Sayyidi al Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad Uthman ®
Sayyidi al Shaykh Ibrahim Muhammad Uthman ®
Sayyidi al Shaykh Muhammad Uthman Abduh al Burhani ® *
Sayyidi Ahmad Arabi al Sharnubi ®
Sayyidi Musa Abu al Umran ®
Sayyidi Ibrahim al Qurashi al Disuqi ®
Sayyidi Abul Hasan al Shaduli ®
Sayyidi Abduh al Salam ibn Mashish ®
Sayyiduna wa Maulana al Imam al Husain (RAD)
Sayyiduna wa Maulana al Imam al Ali (RAD)
Ziyadatan fi Sharaf al Mustafa, salla'llahu alaihi wa sallam (SAW)
The name of the tariqa relates to:
Burhan - the name of Sayyidi Ibrahim al Qurashi al Disuqi in the Hadra
meditation.
Disuq - the town of Sayyidi Ibrahim in the north of Egypt.
Shadhuli - Sayyidi Ibrahim's uncle Sayyidi Abul Hasan al Shadhuli.
The Tariqa Burhaniya has spread out in the time of Sayyidi Fakhruddin Shaykh Muhammad
Uthman Abduh al Burhani (died 1983) and his son Sayyidi Shaykh Ibrahim Muhammad
Uthman (died 2003). Today, under the leadership of Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim
Muhammad Uthman, there are many thousands of followers and hundreds of Burhani
communities all over the world.
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Receiving the Tariqa
The Shaykh relates,” During sleep and during my visions I saw a
locomotive with only one wagon coming towards me and stopping
right in front of my feet. I discovered that the train came from
Disuq, the home of my Shaykh. This dream repeated itself for forty
days. After that the vision became more tangible and I could enter
it. I opened the wagon and found a coffin inside. I opened the
coffin and found a corpse wrapped in white cloth. I lifted the white
cloth and found a green cloth underneath. I lifted the green cloth
and found a yellow cloth beneath it."
These are the three colours of the Tariqa: the white colour is the
one which the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW),
had given to Sayyidi Ibrahim. It symbolizes the Islamic law - the Sharia. The colour green
stands for Sayyiduna Husain (RAD) and the colour yellow for Sayyidi Abul Hasan al
Shadhuli. Yellow symbolizes the conquest of the seven egos progressing upon the path.
After he had lifted all three cloths, Maulana Shaykh Muhammad Uthman saw the feet of
the corpse and he was highly astonished to discover that they resembled his own. Then
he discovered the presence of the Shaykh Sayyidi Abul Hasan al Shadhuli and many other
saints. "Who is this deceased?" he asked. "It is Ibrahim Disuqi", was the answer. Maulana
broke into tears believing that all his efforts and many prayers had been in vain since his
Shaykh had really died. But then Sayyidi Ibrahim Disuqi appeared to him in person. "The
dead man stands for my Tariqat", he said, "and you have been chosen to bring it back to
life". Maulana refused to take on this task for two months. Then the saints appeared to
him once more, this time in the company of Sayyiduna Husain (RAD). It is said that one
cannot refuse a request from him. He said, "My son, do not hesitate. Those who receive a
burden, also receive support. Shoulder this responsibility and ask for whatever you need.
It will be granted you”. Muhammad Uthman posed many conditions, including the
condition that his followers are not allowed to go mad (majzûb) and that they need not
perform the spiritual retreat (khalwa). Sayyidi Ibrahim and Sayyiduna Husain (RAD)
signed a contract including 60 conditions. This contract is still in the possession of the
Shaykh of the Tariqa, Maulana Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad Uthman.
The Blind Teacher
Even though Maulana Shaykh Muhammad Uthman had taken the
covenant of the Tariqa Burhaniya many years before, he could still
not find a teacher who could instruct him in the exercises needed to
progress on the path of Allah. So he spent most of his time in the
mosque where he studied Islamic Law and Shar’ia. One day a blind
Egyptian entered the room and asked him, "Don't you want to offer
me a seat?" "This is a mosque", Maulana answered, "Everyone is
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welcome here." The stranger turned and prayed as is custom when entering a mosque.
Then he said, "Sayyidi Ibrahim Disuqi has sent me to teach you awrad." He stayed with
Muhammad Uthman for seven months and taught him all the details of awrad and other
special exercises of the Burhaniya Tariqat. In this time Muhammad Uthman often secretly
prayed for his teacher to be cured of his blindness. But then one day his teacher moved
about the room, naming the colour of every object - for although he was blind, he could
see without using his eyes. After the seven months were over he left Muhammad Uthman
to return, to Disuq near the grave of Sayyidi Ibrahim Disuqi, which was his home. The
next time Muhammad Uthman was in Disuq he asked the people there about the stranger
but nobody had ever heard of him.
Shaykh Muhammad Uthman, who
received the name Sayyidi Fakhruddin,
died on April 5th, 1983, and is buried in
Khartoum (Sudan). His grave, maqam,
has become a place of pilgrimage, and
each anniversary thousands of Burhanis
from all over the world as well as
members of other sufi orders gather to
celebrate a great festival, hawliya, in his
honour.
Al-Fatiha