Khalid, Maulana

(c. 1778-1826)

   Sheikh Maulana Khalid brought the highly influential Naqshbandi sufi order to Iraqi Kurdistan early in the 19th century. He was a Kurd belonging to the Jaf tribe in Shahrizur and a mulla in Sulaymaniya. Sheikh Abdullah of Nehri instructed him into the Qadiri order. When he was about 30 years old, however, Mau-lana Khalid traveled to India (a highly unusual action), where he studied in Delhi under Sheikh Abdullah Dihlawi, also known as Shah Ghulam Ali. It proved to be an extremely profound experience.

   After Maulana received the ijaza, or authorization to transmit the Naqshbandi tariqa (school), he returned home and initiated an extraordinary number of khalifas. These disciples quickly spread the Naqshbandi order at the expense of the Qadiri order. Maulana claimed knowledge of the future, an ability to protect the living from harm, and the capacity to contact the spirits of the dead. These claims surpassed anything possessed by the Qadiris. Indeed, many Qadiris converted to the Naqshbandi order, including Sheikh Abdullah of Nehri, Maulana's original Qadiri instructor. Maulana remains one of the most revered Kurdish holy men.