Question:
If you do bayah with shaykh nazim can you be part of the mevlevi, shadhili and qadri tariqts and do their dhkir as well. for example the hadra and perform the sema?
Answer:
Yes you can, as tabarruk, blessing, but your baya` is to the Naqshbandi silsila of Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (q).
I used to accompany Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (q) to the Ushaqi dhikr in Turkey and Shadili dhikr in Syria; that does not change the baya`, but rather takes the barakah of other tariqahs. Even in the Naqshbandi dhikr, we do the first part of the Khatm up to Ihda, then we do the remainder as tabarruk from other tariqahs, which is an addition to the Khatm Khawajagan added by Grandshaykh (q).
The Khatm Khawajagan that we do now is not even required for us, as it is only for those who attend the Greater Khatm. If the number of people are less than seven, they do the Lesser Khatm which most are doing today, and if more, they should do the Greater Khatm on stones, as mentioned in the Naqshbandi Sufi Way. If you do the first part without doing the second, you have completed the Naqshbandi dhikr.
We are mentioning this simply to explain that it is permissible to go to dhikr of other tariqahs.
Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
