Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi (1896, Biyara, ￶– 1997,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

), nicknamed Siraj al-Din al-Thani, meaning the second Siraj al-Din, in honor of his great-grandfather Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi, was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

mystic A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * ...

of the

Naqshbandi order 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 leader of the Sipay Rizgari militant group. He belonged to one of the most influential noble households of the Middle East and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, the

Sheikhs of Tavil The Sheikhs of Tavil, is a noble Middle Eastern household, which can be traced back to the 7th century. They were given the title “Sheikh”, in this case used when denoting a leader of a community. The prominent male members of the family use the ...

Biography

Early life

Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din, grandson of and son of , was descended from

Muhammad ibn Abdullah 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 ...

through

Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Ab ...

, making him a

sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

.Osman Sirâceddîn-i Tavilî (en-nakshibendî, el-evvel) ve Ailesi, s. 40 As he was named Uthman in honor of his great-grandfather Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi, he was given the nickname "al-Thani", which means the second in

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 ...

. Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din was of

Iraqi Kurdish Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

origin and born in 1896 in the village of Biyara, to the

household. After studying religious sciences under the supervision and training of his father at a young age, he completed his education in the Arabic and Persian languages at the Duru and Biyara

madrasas Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

. Following the death of his father, he settled in the Biyara

takiyya A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...

. He fled to Iran in 1959 after getting into conflict with the Iraqi government of

Abd al-Karim Qasim Abd al-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli al-Zubaidi ( ar, عبد الكريم قاسم ' ) (21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi Army brigadier and nationalist who came to power when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown du ...

. The Iranian government gave him asylum due to their strained relations with the Iraqi authorities, with

SAVAK SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prim ...

documents showing that the Iranian

Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 ** Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...

government viewed him as an ally and paid his pension.

Time in Iran

Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din brought back to life the Duru takiyya founded by his father in Iranian Kurdistan. As a result of his travels to different parts of Iran, he established a strong bond between the members of the

Khalidi Al-Khaldi ( ar, الْخَالْدِي), also spelled Al Khalidi is the last name given to members of the tribe of Bani Khalid. The tribe traditionally claims descent from Khalid ibn al-Walid a senior companion of the Prophet Muhammad, and esteem ...

Naqshbandis in the Sunni Kurdish regions and the

Talish Talish or Talish-i may refer to: *Talish (region) *Talish people *Talish-i Gushtasbi, Azerbaijan *Aruch, (until 1970 ''Talish''), a village in Armenia * Talish, Tartar, village in Nagorno-Karabakh Surname *Agha Talish, a Pakistani actor **Aehsun T ...

region of Iran. He had a school built for 450 students providing education in the field of Islamic sciences. At the same time, more than 100 schools were built in the region under his leadership. There was an increase in the number and activities of Naqshbandi members during the twenty-year period he was in Iran. His sons also took up positions within the Iranian government during this time.

Strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely a ...

farming was introduced to Iranian Kurdistan by Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi in the 1960s.

Leader of Sipay Rizgari

After the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

and overthrow of the Pahlavi government, he organised a militant group called Sipay Rizgari with 1000–2000 of his followers and participated in the Kurdistan conflict against the new Iranian government, planning to incite a sectarian war between Shias and Sunnis, and having formed an alliance with the Iraqi government, the

Kurdish Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...

, and Komala. As a result of the victory of Iranian forces in Operation Walfajr-10, as well as previous conflict with their former allies of Komala, the Sipay Rizgari group suffered heavy casualties and was disbanded. Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din left for

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

. He then continued his activities in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and later in

.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (volume 15, HÂLİDİYYE p. 295)

Time in Turkey

Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din settled in Turkey in 1990 and held religious conversations with his domestic and foreign visitors in his guesthouse in the neighborhood of Istanbul. He sought remedies for the material and spiritual ailments of the people who came to him. He asked people to work hard to earn a

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

livelihood and advised young people to learn useful knowledge and sciences. People came to him for important life decisions and he would guide them with divine inspiration. He was also an expert in herbal medicine and left a written record of it.

Death

Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din passed away on January 30, 1997. He was buried in the garden of his takiyya in the Hadımköy neighborhood of Istanbul.

Works

* ''Sirâcu'l Kulûb'' (Translation: Selahattin Alpay) ISBN 9789751625472 * ''Tafsīr Sūra Wa-t-Tīn'' * ''Risāla al-Shihāb al-Thāqib'' * ''Al-'Itiqād al-Rasīn wal-Yaqīn Billah''