Inayat

Shājara Sharīf ‘ Ināyati

ALLAH

Hazrat Jibra‘īl

Hazrat Khwāja Muhammad Rasulullāh

Hazrat Khwāja ‘Alī Walīullah

Hazrat Khwāja Hasan Basrī

Hazrat Khwāja ‘Abdul-Wāhid bin Zaīd

Hazrat Khwāja Fuzāyl bin ‘Ayaz

Hazrat Khwāja Ibrāhim Adham Balkhī

Hazrat Khwāja Sadīduddīn Huzaīfa Mar‘ashī

Hazrat Khwāja Amīnuddīn Hubaīra Basrī

Hazrat Khwāja Karīmuddīn Mumshad ‘Ulu Dinwarī

Hazrat Khwāja Sharāfuddīn Abu Ishāq Shāmi Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Qidwatuddīn Abū Āhmad Abdal Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Nāsihuddīn Abū Muhammad Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Nasīruddīn Abū Yūsuf Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Qutbuddīn Mawdūd Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Nāyīruddīn Hajji Sharīf Zindani Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja ‘Ūsman Harvanī Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Mu‘inuddīn Hasan Sanjarī-Ajmirī Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Qutbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kakī Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Farīduddīn Mas‘ūd Ganj-i Shakar Ajhodanī Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Nizāmuddīn Mahbūb-iIlahi Badaūnī Chishtī

Hazrat Khwāja Nasīruddīn Mahmūd Chirāgh-Dihlavī Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Kamāluddīn ‘Allāma Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Sirājuddīn Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh ‘Ilmuddīn Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Mahmūd Rajan Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Jamāluddīn Jamman Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Hasan Muhammad Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Muhammad Ā‘zam Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Yahya Madanī Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Shāh Kalīmullāh Jahanabadī Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Nizāmuddīn Awrangabadi Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Maulānā Fakhruddīn Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Maulānā Ghulām Qutbuddīn Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Nasīruddīn Mahmūd Kalī-Shāh Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Sayyed Muhammad Hasan Jīlī-Kalimī Chishtī

Hazrat Shaykh al-Mashā’ikh Sayyed Muhammad Abu Hāshim Madanī Chishtī

Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid ‘Ināyat Khān Chishtī

Hazrat Pir Vilāyat ‘Ināyat Khān Chishtī

Hazrat Pir Ziā ‘Ināyat-Khān Chishtī

The Chain of Transmission within a Sufi order is of central importance in the Sufi work. It is a major conduit of the barakat of any genuine Sufi school, and links the mureeds of that order with the combined spiritual power of their spiritual ancestors and with the unseen transformative forces that transpire behind the outward manifestation of the Chain, which is called the Silsila (“chain” or “pedigree”). A “lineage-holder” within a Sufi order will have the Silsila of the lineage committed to memory, and it is recited at pivotal occasions such as the group zikr of the order and especially at initiations. Working backward, experientially contacting and effacing oneself in the being of each master 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 “Shājara” (“Tree”). The shājara which appears here is that of Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid ‘Inayat Khan’s primary spiritual lineage, though he was considered a master in all four major Sufi lineages represented in India. It is worth noting that at each juncture, there may be several shaikhs deputized to carry on a lineage. A shājara is a tracing of initiatic ancestry rather than a representation of the full flow of barakat from the Source.

The Shājara above was compiled by Pir Zia ‘Inayat-Khan from scholarly researches in the West and India. The titles and honorifics ascribed to the masters in our Chain vary somewhat from one source to the next, but the names listed here are fundamentally correct.

Pir Zia has given a brilliant series of talks on the Shājara, presented at the 1999 Leaders’ Training. Recordings can be ordered through the Sufi Order Secretariat and are highly recommended for anyone wishing to become immersed in the spiritual heritage of Pir-o-Murshid ‘Inayat Khan.