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The founder of the Bâkharziyya branch of the Kubrawiyya; one of the best known shaykhs of Bukhara. He was called shaykh-i 'âlam, the master of the world, and the Mongols gave him the title ulu shaykh, the great shaykh.
His full name was Sayf al-Dîn Sa'îd b. al-Mutahhar b. Sa'îd al-Bâkharzî. He was born at Bâkharz in 586 (1190).
He travelled through centres of learning such as Bukhara, Baghdad, Nîshâpûr and Herat; at Herat he received Sufi training from Tâj al-Dîn Mahmûd al-Ushnuhî.
He attached himself to Najm al-Dîn Kubrâ; his shaykh sent him to Bukhara to guide others, and he settled in the quarter of Fathâbâd outside the city. There he preached and taught hadith.
He died on 25 Dhu al-Qa'da of the year 659 (21 October 1261) in his lodge at Fathâbâd.
His Circle of Influence — The Bâkharziyya branch of the Kubrawiyya arose from him. Amîr Berke, the brother of Batu Khan the ruler of the Golden Horde, became a Muslim at his urging and a disciple under his guidance; this is reckoned a turning point in the entry of the Mongol house into Islam. His lodge at Fathâbâd remained for a long time the centre of Sufism in the region. His successor Badr al-Dîn al-Samarqandî and his three sons Jalâl al-Dîn Muhammad, Burhân al-Dîn Ahmad and Muzhir al-Dîn Mutahhar carried on his way; Burhân al-Dîn Ahmad, who was sent to Kirmân, died in 696 (1297), and his grandson Yahyâ b. Ahmad al-Bâkharzî, who wrote works on the spiritual path, died in 736 (1335).
His Works — The Sharh asmâ' al-husnâ, the Risâla-i 'Ishq, his quatrains and the Wasâyâ, a testament, belong to him.
His Tomb and Complex — He lies at Fathâbâd near Bukhara, at the place of his lodge. His tomb and his lodge were visited for a long time both by the people and by officers of the state. When Ibn Battûta passed that way he found the complex under the administration of his grandson Shaykh Yahyâ and endowed with rich foundations; he was his guest and described his gatherings, in which the Qur'an was recited and poetry read in Persian and Turkish.
Differing Scholarly Views
His relation with the Mongols. Although the Mongols had killed his shaykh Najm al-Dîn Kubrâ, they showed him great respect. It is recorded that Berke Khan became a Muslim under his guidance; there are also hagiographic reports that Batu Khan and Hülegü Khan too became Muslims secretly at his hand. The atlas conveys this second group with the source's own characterisation of it, as hagiography (rule #9, principles 3 and 6).
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Necdet Tosun · vol. 4, pp. 474-475, entry “BÂHARZÎ, Seyfeddin”
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