An Inquiry into Naqshbandi Dhikr Practices

Question

(1) Is it obligatory and necessary in the Naqshbandi tariqa to perform dhikr of Allah with both lips closed, exhaling the breath through the nose — saying “Allah” while inhaling and “Hu” while exhaling — together with fairly forceful movement of the head and forceful exhaling of breath? And what is this method called in Naqshbandi terminology? And is there any proof for performing dhikr through the nose, that is, dhikr through the nose with the mouth closed, or not? (2)

Answer

Just as the science of hadith is an independent discipline with its own terminology and its own method of transmission — with principles for accepting and rejecting a hadith, and imams of jarh wa ta‘dil (criticism and validation of narrators) — likewise tazkiyah al-batin (purification of the inner self)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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