Ahmad Afandi Abdulaev ( av, АхӀмад ХӀажи ГӀабдулаев, russian: Абдулаев, Ахмад Магомедович; b. 15 September 1959, Upper Inkho, Gumbetovsky district) — is a Russian

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

. He serves as Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Dagestan, Sheikh of

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 ...

and Shazali

Tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking '' haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

s, one of the spiritual leaders of Dagestani Muslims.

Early life

Ahmad Haji Afandi Abdulaev was born on September 15, 1959 in the

Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic av, Дагъистаналъул Автономияб Советияб Социалистияб Жумгьурият az, Дағыстан Мухтар Совет Сосиалист Республи ...

, in the village of Inkho,

Gumbetovsky District Gumbetovsky District (russian: Гумбе́товский райо́н; av, Бакълъул мухъ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in th ...

. From his earliest years, Ahmad Haji studied

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and Islam. His family practiced devotion to faith, even during

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

times, when believers were persecuted. His relatives took care of their faith and raised their children according to Islamic precepts. Ahmad Haji is the grandson of the famous Sufi sheikh of

and Shazali Tariqas Abdulhamid-Afandi.

Career

In 1991, Ahmad-Haji became the

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, se ...

of a mosque in Kizilyurt district. In 1992 he began teaching at the Islamic Institute in Kizilyurt, where he served as Rector. In 1998, at the Council of the Alims of Dagestan, Abdulaev was unanimously elected as Mufti and Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Dagestani Muslims. In 2010, he received the Spiritual Mentor

ijazah An ''ijazah'' ( ar, الإِجازَة, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such au ...

from

Said Afandi al-Chirkawi Said Afandi al-Chirkawi ( av, ЧӀикӀаса СагӀид афанди, russian: Шейх Саид Афанди аль-Чиркави; 21 October 1937 – 28 August 2012) was a prominent scholar in Shafii mazhab and a spiritual master, or mursh ...

, but he did not take up instructing Murids. After Said Afandi's death, his successor Abduljalil-Afandi made an order (amr) to Ahmad Abdulaev to instruct the Murids. In 2013, the Mufti received the honorary status of Guardian of the Holy Relics of the Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

, and also the relics themselves, including the hair of Muhammad.

Awards

* Order of Merit "For services to the Republic of Dagestan"(2009) * Anniversary Medal "50th Anniversary of ROSSNAA" (Russian Society of Solidarity and Cooperation of the Peoples of Asia and Africa) (2011) * Gold Star of the People's Hero of Dagestan (2015) * Commemorative Medal in honor of opening of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque complex (2015) * Medal of Honor of Dagestan Republic "For the love of his native land" (2016) * Golden "Order of the Peacemaker" (2018) * Memorable badge of RosAviation "95 years of Civil Aviation of Russia" (2018) * Anniversary Commemorative Medal "90th Anniversary of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Dagestan" (2018) * Memorable badge of the Russian Parliament "25 years of The

Federation Council The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...

" (2019) *

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...

(2019) * Order of Merit for the Ummah, I degree (2019) * Order of Glory and Honor (2019) * Medal "For Valiant Labor" - for services to the Republic of Dagestan (2021) * Medal "For loyalty to the Fatherland" (2021)

Bibliography

In 2015, his book ''The Virtues of the Righteous'' was published in Arabic, its translations in

Avar Avar(s) or AVAR may refer to: Peoples and states * Avars (Caucasus), a modern Northeast Caucasian-speaking people in the North Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia ** Avar language, the modern Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Avars of the North ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Tajik Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik (surname) * Tajik cu ...

Kazakh Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate * Kazakh cuisine * Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people * Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

and Uzbek languages were published subsequently.«Благонравие праведников» на таджикском языке презентовали в Доме дружбы
/ref> By the end of 2015, total circulation exceeded 200,000 copies. Based on the book a series of video lessons, as well as audio book followed its release.

References

External links

The Virtues of the Righteous
(in Arabic) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulaev, Ahmad Afandi 1959 births 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam Russian imams Russian Sufis Russian Sufi religious leaders Avar people 20th-century Islamic religious leaders Naqshbandi order Soviet Sufis Sunni Sufis Living people Russian people of Dagestani descent