NAQSHBANDIYAH

orthodox fraternity of Muslim mystics (Sufis) found in India, China, the Central Asian republics, and Malaysia. It claims a lineage extending back to Abu Bakr, the first caliph. Baha' ad-Din (d. 1384), founder of the order at Bukhara, Turkistan, was called an-naqshband, the painter, because of the impression of God that the repetition of his prescribed ritual prayer (dhikr) should leave upon the heart, and so his followers became known as Naqshbandiyah. The order has no mass support, for its litanies are subdued and emphasize repetition of the dhikr to oneself. Through the reforming zeal of Ahmad Sirhindi (15641624), the Naqshbandiyah were given new life in India in the 17th century and played a vital role in the reform of Muslim life in the 18th and 19th centuries throughout the Isl amic world.