Who is taha al hariri? What kind of person taha al hariri? When did taha al hariri live?
Taha al-Hariri [1803 – 1875]
Taha al Hariri (may Allah have mercy on him)was born in the hijri year 1220 (1803 AD) in the town of Harir in Arbil, in the province of Mosul. He began his first education in Arbil. He memorised the Holy Qur’an. He studied in the madrasas of Baghdad where he received his ijazah at a high level.
After completing the outer sciences he began to serve and enter under the auspices of the khalifah of Khalid Baghdadi in Arbil, Hidayetullah Efendi. Hidayetullah Efendi was the grandfather of As’ad Efendi.
Taha al-Hariri later saw the great shaykh of the time, Sayyid Taha al-Haqqari, in his dream, and then visited him in person and in a short time was given ijaza by his shaykh.
Taha al-Hariri received very good training, and was respected and honoured and spent approximately forty years in the regions of Arbil and Mosul guiding the people there. As was the practice of his own shaykh, he too used to read and expound upon the Maktubat of Imam Rabbani, during his suhbah.
The pole of his time, Taha al-Hariri (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away in the hijri year 1292 (1875 AD). His tomb is in Harir[1].
Close to his death Taha al-Hariri announced that he would appoint Muhammad As’ad Efendi (may Allah have mercy on them both) as his khalifa. As’ad Efendi requested that he give this important duty to his teacher’s son. Shaykh Taha responded:
“My son is here as long as I am, and when I am gone he is also no longer. I am giving you this trust because you are worthy of it”.
It so happened that just as he said, Taha al-Hariri’s son passed away six months after him. Muhammad As’ad Efendi then continued the task of guiding the people[2].
Words of Wisdom
- “The state of the traveller who is of the people of unveilings as opposed to the traveller whose kashf is closed, is like the journey of two people to the Hijaz, one who can see and who cannot. Each of them is nearing their destination throughout their journey. However the reward of the one who cannot see is greater. The traveller on the sayr u suluq, who does not have any kashf, is in a constant state of progress, however much this cannot be seen, and so is more profitable than the one whose kashf is open”[3].
- Muhammad As’ad Efendi has said:
“My teacher Shaykh Taha al-Hariri said that animals worship Allah more than human beings do”[4].
[1]. M. As‘ad Arbili, Risale-i As‘adiyya, p. 7.
[2]. Prof. Dr. Hasan Kamil Yılmaz, The Golden Chain, p. 205-208.
[3]. Prof. Dr. Hasan Kamil Yılmaz, The Golden Chain, p. 208.
[4]. Carl Vett, Memoirs from The Kalami Dergah, p. 237.
Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş,The Golden Chain of Transmission Masters of the Naqshinandi Way, Erkam Publications
