Turkish Cypriot Sufi Shaykh Nazim buried (update)

By Evie Andreou

MUHAMMAD Nazim Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani, also known as Shaykh Nazim, the Turkish Cypriot leader of the Sufi Naqsibandi order, died yesterday from multiple organ failure. He was 92.

The Shaykh’s condition had deteriorated over the last three days having been in hospital for more than two weeks.

His funeral took place at the Selimiye mosque in Nicosia and his body taken for burial to his ‘dergah’ or religious commune in Lefka.

Shaykh Nazim was taken to the intensive care unit of the Near East University Hospital in the northern part of Nicosia on April 17 with breathing and heart problems. He was on a respirator and his condition was considered serious but stable for many days. His son, Shaykh Bahauddin, sent a message of hope in the last update on his father’s condition on Monday from saltanat.org, the spiritual leader’s website.

Shaykh Nazim’s condition deteriorated the last three days with the news spreading rapidly and people rushing to the hospital, including leaders of the Order’s other dergahs from all over the world, while many his followers with compatible blood types offer blood for transfusions.

Mehmed Nazim Adil was born in Larnaca on April 21, 1922. He studied chemical engineering in Istanbul and claimed to be a descendant of the 13th century mystic Djalal al Din Rumi and the 40th sheikh in the “golden chain” of the Naqshbandiya, which leads back to the Prophet Mohammed. He was the leader of the Sufi Naqsibandi-Haqqani Order with millions of followers worldwide.

Shaykh Nazim lived in his dergah in Lefka with his followers. He spoke Turkish, Arabic, Greek and English. He had two sons and two daughters and in 2011 he appointed his eldest son, Shaykh Mehmed Adil, as his successor to lead the Order.

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, in his message regarding the Shaykh’s death, called him a valuable member of the Turkish Cypriot community, a friend and a brother and that his service to humanity and the Islamic world will never be forgotten.

 

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