Silsila

The Chain of Transmission within a Sufi order is of central importance in the Sufi work. It is a major conduit of the baraka (light) of any genuine Sufi school, and links the mureeds (students) of that order with the combined spiritual power of their spiritual antecedents and with the unseen transformative forces that transpire behind the outward manifestation of the Chain, which is called the Silsila (“chain” or “pedigree”). The Silsila is recited at pivotal occasions such as the group Dhikr of the order, or at initiations. Working backward, experientially contacting and effacing oneself in each being in the chain is considered a necessary development of the practice known as Tasawwuri Murshid.

The representation of the chain of transmission is called the Shajara (tree). The Shajara which appears here is that of Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, who was, in fact, initiated into the four major Sufi lineages in India. It is worth noting that at any juncture, there may be several shaykhs authorized to carry on a lineage. A Shajara is a tracing of initiatic ancestry rather than a representation of the full flow of baraka from the Source.

Shajara of the Inayatiyya

Hazrat Sayyid al-Kawnain Muhammad Mustafa
Hazrat Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali Murtaza
Hazrat Khwaja Hasan Basri
Hazrat Khwaja ‘Abd al-Wahid bin Zaid Basri
Hazrat Khwaja Fuzail bin ‘Ayaz
Hazrat Khwaja Ibrahim ibn Adham Balkhi
Hazrat Khwaja Huzaifa Mar‘ashi
Hazrat Khwaja Hubaira Basri
Hazrat Khwaja Mumshad ‘Ulu Dinwari
Hazrat Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Abdal Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Nasir ad-Din Yusuf Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Qutb ad-Din Mawdud Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Sharif Zindani Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja ‘Usman Haruni Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Mu‘in ad-Din Hasan Sijzi-Ajmiri Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Qutb al-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Farid ad-Din Mas‘ud Ganj-i Shakar Ajhodani Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Nizam ad-Din Mahbub-i Ilahi Badauni Chishti
Hazrat Khwaja Nasir ad-Din Chiragh Dihlavi Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Kamal ad-Din ‘Allama Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Siraj ad-Din Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh ‘Ilm ad-Din Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Mahmud Rajan Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Jamal ad-Din Jamman Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Hasan Muhammad Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Muhammad Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Yahya Madani Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Shah Kalim Allah Jahanabadi Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Nizam ad-Din Aurangabadi Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Maulana Fakhr ad-Din Dihlavi Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Ghulam Qutb ad-Din Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Nasir ad-Din Mahmud ‘urf Kale Miya Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Sayyid Muhammad Hasan Jili Kalimi Chishti
Hazrat Shaikh al-Masha’ikh Sayyid Muhammad Abu Hashim Madani Chishti
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Hazrat Pirzadi-Shahida Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan
Hazrat Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
Sajjadanishin Zia Inayat-Khan ‘urf Sarafil Bawa