Naqshbandi Qutb Shaykh Mahmud Afandi ad-Daghestani

Mahmood Afandi (may Allah sanctify his soul), great shaykh, Qutb, Murshid of the Naqshbandi tariqah was born approximately in 1810, in the village of Almalo (Dagestani village, now Azerbaijani territory).

In his youth he served as a clerk at khans Danial Sultanali and his relative Hajji Agabekov. They both were admired by the talents and wit of Mahmud Afandi(may Allah sanctify his soul).

Wilayat al-Sugra is the first stage in reaching the level of God’s auliya (favourite). Mahmood Afandi reached this stage with the help of Shaykh Yunus-afandi (may Allah sanctify his soul). Once he told Mahmood-afandi, ”I have brought you to my level. If you find a shaykh with a higher level than mine, follow him and be his disciple until you reach the level you are predestined for.”
Soon afterwards Mahmood-afandi (may Allah sanctify his soul) met Hashim-afandi from Yamashani, and the latter invited Mahmood-afandi to his home.

It took five days walk for Mahmood-afandi to reach to Hashim-afandi’s house; When he finally came, his future mentor told him, “You haven’t reached the level you are predestined for. If you wish to succeed in reaching it, you can become my disciple”

Mahmood-afandi readily agreed to that proposal.

Sometimes he would recall, “Being in Kazan I saw the image of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be to him) as if he was alive, and now, being in Dagestan I see him (p.b.u.h.) by my heartsight. I also met with the ruhanii of the prophet Hidr (peace be on him), who taught me dhikr.”

Mahmood-afandi was a disciple of the Prophet’s (p.b.u.h.) ruhanii. He was also brought up by Yunus-afandi (during his life and after death), by ruhanis of imam Rabbani, Muhammad Ma`soom, Abdulqadir Gilani, Khalid-shakh Baghdadi, Muhammad Naqshubandi, that’s to say, Mahmood-afandi could be rightfully called uwaisi.

He was afraid of nothing but Allah the Almighty.

No matter who was in front of him, a rich man or a beggar, he always said the truth, not paying much attention to some people’s accusations and false rumors regarding him. Mahmood-afandi consistently instructed people on what was permissible and prohibited according to Sharia law.

He used to say, ”The Prophet Muhammad is always next to me. To my right is Khalid-shakh, to my left is Khawajjah Bahaudin and there are souls of Shaykhs around me.”

One day Mahmud Afandi (may Allah sanctify his soul) and his murids went to ziyarah. It was very hot day, and the wayfarers suffered from thirst. Mahmud Afandi (may Allah sanctify his soul) asked his companions if they had any vessel for water. It turned out that one of the murids had a sieve with him. He handed it to Mahmud Afandi, who took the sieve and, holding it in his hand said, “By the name of Allah, will be blessed.”

Then he asked the sieve to be filled in by water. Amazingly, but no drop of water poured out of the sieve. All murids could quench their thirst drinking from the sieve, which started letting the water out only after everybody had drunk in full.

Mahmood-afandi could make tawajjuh (heart connection) to a hundred of murids simultaneously.
There was a time when hypocrites were very zealous in spreading false rumors about him.

One night he had a bad dream: two black dogs approached him and began biting him. Springing from the terrible dream he woke his wife and told her to get ready for leaving the village before dawn. They hired a phaeton and set out to Astrakhan.

When crossing the small river the phaeton suddenly broke. There was complete darkness everywhere and it was no chance to fix the phaeton. But miraculously, Mahmood-afandi’s finger began shining so brightly that they managed to repair the transport and moved on.

One day a youth from Astrakhan, known as a richman’s son, was preparing to go to hajj.

After some time, when the young man returned, his father invited many guests and arranged mawlid in honor of his son’s return. Mahmood-afandi was also among the invited.

On seeing him the young man rushed up and hugged Mahmood-afandi not being able to hold back the tears. All guests were very surprised by the incident. When asked what the reason for such emotions was, the young hajji said, "The ship we were on during our trip began sinking, but this man came and saved us. “

Here is the part of Mahmood-afandi’s will addressed to his murids, “Keep relying on Allah The All Mighty whatever you intend to do and whatever troubles you have got. Follow the commandments of the righteous ulama’ (scholars) of the past.

Always critically analyze the desires and deeds of our soul. Follow the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), never lose even a second uselessly, be merciful and do not cause harm to people.

Try to remember Allah secretly and openly. Don’t be misled by the transient benefits of this life; always show a true way to those who repented.

Stay away from inventions in religion, as well as from any disgraceful deeds like slandering, backbiting, looking at women forbidden for you and so on.”

Not denying the necessity to earn for one’s livelihood, Mahmood-afandi wrote in his recollections, “The one who loves this mortal worldly life may find it difficult to get rid of hypocrisy”

There were twelve Mahmud Afandi’s khalifas (successors) in Dagestan as well as in Azerbaijan who had ijazah (permission from master) to guide people to the way of Truth.

Mahmud Afandi (may Allah sanctify his soul) spent his last years living in Astrakhan where he died in 1294 Hijri.

His ziyarat in Astrakhan is often visited by his numerous murids and followers.