"Their role in the political life of the Islamic world always in the service of traditional
Islam has been immense. One can observe the effect of their activities on the social and
political realm in Mogul India, Ming and Ch'ing China, throughout the later history of
Central Asia and Afghanistan since the 8th/14th century and Ottoman Turkey. Moreover,
they have played a crucial role whenever Islam has been threatened by external forces
as in Caucasia during the Czarist period, throughout the Muslim Republics of the former
Soviet Union during Communist rule and during the last few years in Bosnia, Syria,
Afghanistan and Western China. They have also been at the forefront of Muslim forces
in Turkey which have sought to preserve Islam before the onslaught of secularism imported
from the West.
...
"Shaykh Kabbani must be congratulated for making available this first account in the English language of the history and teachings of the Naqshbandiyyah Order. At a time when there is so much distortion in the presentation of Sufism, the present volume is a precious reminder of the traditional and orthodox understanding of Sufism as represented by one of its major orders. Both those in quest of an authentic spiritual life and serious scholars of Sufism must be grateful to Shaykh Kabbani for this work. May Allah shower His blessings upon him and give him strength to continue to present the authentic voice of Sufism, which is none other than the the heart of Islam and which seeks to enable man to surrender himself fully to Allah with all his mind and will throught he remembrance of His Blessed Names as taught by the Prophet (s) and transmitted over the centuries by various traditional chains of Sufism and masters of the path that leads to the realization of the One.
Bethesda, Maryland
Jumada 'l-Thaniyah 1415 (AH)
November 1994 (AD)
Introduction to The Naqshbandi Sufi Way, by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
