The Four Chains of Tasawwuf

Question

Which are the four [main] chains (silsilas) of tasawwuf, and to which pious elders are these chains attributed? Please also explain whether, besides these four, there is any other chain of tasawwuf.

Answer

At present, in our region these four chains are well known: (1) Chishtiyya, (2) Qadiriyya, (3) Naqshbandiyya, (4) Suhrawardiyya. The first (1) is attributed to Khwaja Mu‘in al-Din Chishti Ajmeri ﵀. The second (2) to Hazrat Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadir Jilani ﵀. The third (3) to Hazrat Baha’ al-Din Naqshband ﵀. The fourth (4) to Shaykh Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi ﵀.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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