Naqshband, Muhammad Baha? Al-Din Al- (1317–1388)

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NAQSHBAND, MUHAMMAD BAHAʾ AL-DIN AL- (1317–1388)

Sufi mystic, founder of the order of Naqshbandiyya. After having been initiated into Sufism along with Muhammad Baba al-Sammasi, who designated him his caliph, he spent twelve years in service to the sultan Khalil at Samarkand, where he participated, in spite of himself, in the all-conquering proselytism of Tamburlaine. Naqshbandiyya is still a significant force in a parallel form of Islam in Central Asia.

SEE ALSO Tasawwuf.