Zahabiya
Some believe that the order originated during the ninth century AH in Iran; it first became popular in Khorasan and then in Shiraz during the early Safavid period.
[1] Zahabiya is a Sufi order[2] of Shia Islam which has its roots from the ninth century AH,[3] composed of followers of Seyyed Abdullah Borzeshabadi Mashhadi.
It was considered it to be a Sunni order before Borzeshabadi but became Shiite afterwards, especially after the Safavids forced conversion of Iran to Shia Islam.
[12] The poet Jami wrote about his title of "Wali Tarash" (Wali-maker), "Because in the victories of ecstasy, his blessed sight on whoever fell, reached the position of final enlightenment".
[23] During the departure of Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani was killed at the order of Shah Rukh as the main agitator against the Timurid Empire.
Seyyed Abdullah ibn Abdul Hai Ali Al-Hussein, nicknamed "Majzoob" ("engrossed"), was from the village of Borzeshabad in Mashhad County, Razavi Khorasan province.
Born c. 1368 to 1378 CE (770 to 780 AH), he was the son-in-law of his teacher Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani and was also taught by Qasim-i Anvar (died 1433).
[25][26] After the death of Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani, Seyyed Abdullah Borzeshabadi taught for nearly thirty years and died in the early ninth century AH (after 1446 CE).
Seyyed Abdullah Borzeshabadi wrote a number oftreatises, including the "Kamaliyeh treatise" (about Irfan and Sharia etiquette).
[28] According to some narratives, Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani[22] (the Qutb of Kubrawiya) saw in a dream a young disciple, Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, made him his successor (leaves the cloak of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani to Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani), and introduceds him as the Mahdi (savior of the world).
Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani entrusted his followers to Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, but one (Seyyed Abdullah Borzeshabadi)[4] refuses to obey him and leaves.
This guide is known as pir ("elder"), wali ("guardian"), sheikh ("lord, master") and Qutb (a perfect human).
[71] Zahabiya is the best-known name of the order, but it is also known as Elahieh, Mohammadiyyah, Alawiyah, Razaviyyah, Mahdieh, Marufiyah, Kubrawiya, and Ahmadiyya.
The latter name was bestowed by Mirza Ahmad Abdulhay Mortazavi Tabrizi (known as Vahid al-Owlia, the 37th Qutb of Zahabiya).
"[74] The order is said to have been named Zahabiya ("golden") because its Qutbs practice an alchemy of the soul; a seeker becomes spiritually refined, like gold.
[88] In the book, Tazkirat al-Awliya, Attar of Nishapur wrote that he became ill after the fracture;[93] according to other sources, he was disabled for the rest of his life.
The story of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi's conversion to Islam and his responsibility as gatekeeper was first told by Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami without documentation.
[103] Morteza Motahhari wrote, "The route that al-Ma'mun chose for Imam Reza was a specific path that did not pass through the Shiite-settled locations because they were afraid of them.
[78] Another claim is that no Sunnis were in the Zahabiya order; its elders and guardians were Twelvers, and their authenticity reaches the Infallible Imam.
[110] However, most Zahabiya Qutbs were Sunni; some, such as Junayd Baghdadi, Ahmad Ghazali, Abul Qasim Gurgani, Abubakr Nassaj Toosi and Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi, were not Twelvers.
[114] It is sometimes known as Zahabiya Eqteshashiah ("Anarchy Zahabiya") because Sufis called sectarian unrest without the permission of a sect's current leader Eqteshash ("Anarchy"); if it led to the formation of other independent sects, they were identified as baseless and unreliable with the addition of Eqteshashiah.
[125] Zahabiya originated in Greater Khorasan and the Khuttal region, the center of the Qutbs and Kubrawiya elders (especially Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani and Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani).
[127] Due to the pressure of Islamic jurists during the reign of Sultan Husayn, its center moved back to Shiraz.
[130] Zahabiya was formed with the rebellion and disobedience of Seyyed Abdullah Borzeshabadi[4] at the orders of his master, Khajeh Eshaq Khuttalani,[22] based on allegiance to Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani.
