Khwaja Muhammad Arif Riwgari is the first of the group of Central Asian

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

teachers known simply as ''

Khwajagan Khwājagān (shortened/singular forms: Khwaja, Khaja(h), Khawaja or khuwaja) is a Persian title for ''"the Masters"''. Khwajagan, as the plural for "Khwāja", is often used to refer to a network of Sufis in Central Asia from the 10th to the 16th ce ...

'' (the Masters) of the

Naqshbandi The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نه‌قشه‌به‌ندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...

order. His shrine is at Riwgar, or now is known as

Shofirkon Shofirkon ( uz, Shofirkon/Шофиркон, fa, شاپورکام, russian: Шафиркан) is a city and seat of Shofirkon District in Bukhara Region in Uzbekistan. The town population was 9,594 people in 1989, and 14,000 in 2016. History A ...

, about 45 km North of

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

, in today's

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

Life

Born in Riwgar, today called Safirkon, forty-five kilometers north of

. He studied the supervision of the master of his time,

Abdul Khaliq Ghajadwani Abdul Khaliq Ghijduvani (died 1179) was one of a group of Central Asian Sufi teachers known simply as Khwajagan (the Masters) of the Naqshbandi order. Abdul Khaliq was born in the small town of Ghijduvan, near Bukhara. His father had migrated t ...

. He was the deputy of Abdul Khaliq Ghajadwani, Khwāja Abdul Khaliq Ghajadwani had four deputies. When he died, his first deputy Khwāja Ahmad Siddīq succeeded him and took over the seat of spiritual directorship and trained the seekers in this noble path. When he was close to dying, he urged all his followers to seek the company of Khwaja Muhammad Arif Riwgari.

Contribution

Arif Riwgari wrote a treatise on Tasawwuf, called “Ārif Nāma”, and one of its manuscripts is located in the library of Khāniqāh Mūsā Zaī , district

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. At the end of his times, Arif Riwgari appointed Mahmūd Anjīr-Faghnawī as his deputy and all his companions associated themselves with Mahmūd Faghnawī after his demise.

Death

Arif Riwgari died on 1st Shawwāl 616 AH (December 1219 CE). He was buried in his hometown Riwgar (Shafirkon,

), where his noble tomb is a place of blessings and is visited by many.

Sources

* The Naqshbandi Order, Hamid Algar * Wafayat al-A'yan, Ibn Khallikan

Bibliography

* Hadhrāt al-Quds, by Shaykh Badr ad-Din Sirhindī * http://maktabah.org/blog/?p=1507 * Rashahāt Ain al-Hayāt, by Mawlānā Alī ibn Husain Safī {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamdani, Yusuf Sufi teachers 1219 deaths Naqshbandi order Year of birth unknown

Life

Contribution

Death

See also

Sources

Bibliography