Shah Waliullah al-Dehlawi’s Chain For The Shadhili Tariqah

Salam

I hope this information will be of interest to discerning readers out there, not least because of the central importance of Shah Waliullah in Indian scholarship and the recent relative popularity of the Shadhili tariqah amongst Muslims in the West who are linked to the Indian Subcontinent.  Shah Waliullah al-Dehlawi said in his ‘Al-Intibah fi Salasil al-Awliyah’ mentions a number of his chains for the Shadhili order.  Here we present one of them.  He said (p.135) onwards:

“As for the Shadhili order this needy one wore the cloak (khirqah) from the hands of Shaykh Abu Tahir

And he from his father Shaykh Ibrahim Kurdi

From Shaykh Ahmad Qashashi

From Shaykh Ahmad Shinawi

And he took from a group amongst them:  Sayyidi Ahmad bin Qasim, the most learned scholar and great Wali Sayyidi Hasan al-Anjayhi, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Alqama and Sayyidi Muhammad bin Zain al-Din.  All of them accompanied Shaykh al-Islam Kamal al-Din al-Tawil and learnt manners from his manners and wore (a cloak) from him.

And he accompanied the most learned scholar Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Jazari

And he accompanied and took (the cloak) from Taj al-Subki

And he accompanied and took from Sayyidi Ahmad bin Ataillah al-Sikandari, the author of ‘al-Hikam’

And he accompanied and took and wore (the cloak) from the Qutb: Abu Hasan al-Shadhili.”