Origins & Early Life

Baha' al-Din Muhammad Naqshband (Persian: بهاءالدین محمد نقشبند; 1318–1389) was the eponymous founder of what became one of the largest Sufi Sunni orders, the Naqshbandi. Baha al-Din was born in March 1318 in the village of Qasr-i Hinduvan, near Bukhara. Like the majority of the region's sedentary population, Baha al-Din was a Tajik, i.e. a speaker of Persian and a participant in its culture.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

According Encyclopædia Iranica, the texts that claim Baha al-Din was descended from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Ja'far al-Sadiq (died 765), should be "treated with reserve". Early texts do not mention Baha al-Din's supposed ancestry to Muhammad, but they do imply that his teacher Amir Kulal (died 1370) was a descendant of Muhammad through Ja'far al-Sadiq, which may suggest that their genealogies were later conflated. Annemarie Schimmel highlights the descent of Bahauddin from Hasan al-Askari, referring to Khwaja Mir Dard's family and "many nobles, from Bukhara; they led their pedigree back to Baha al-Din Naqshband, after whom the Naqshbandi order is named, and who was a descendant, in the 13th generation of the 11th imam al-Hasan al-Askari". Three days after his birth...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• 1318 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1318
• 1389 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1389