Nimatullahi

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The Nimatullahi order (also spelled "Nimatollahi" or "Nematollahi") is a Sufi Order or Tariqa originating in Iran. The Nimatullahi sufis are one of the genuine orders still in existence, with an initiatic chain of succession (silsilah) that extends through M'aruf Al-Kharkhi.

It is named after its 14th century founder Nur al-Din Nimatallah Wali, known as Shah Nimatullah, who settled in and is buried in Mahan, Kerman Province, Iran. Until the 1970s the majority of members resided in Iran, however through the charisma and influence of its present Master, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, as well as the emigration of dervishes after the Iranian Revolution, the tariqa has attracted numerous followers outside of Iran, mostly in Europe, West Africa and North America. The numerous publications of the order include the bi-annual SUFI journal. The Khaniqahi Nimatullahi also publish in Persian, English and other languages, Dr. Nurbakhsh's seven-volume treatment of the states and stations of traversing the Sufi path, his comprehensive, twelve-volume explanation of the meanings of Sufi mystical terminology and his many annotated biographies of the great, historic masters of the path. Social activities of the present-day order include the establishment of clinics and medical centers in impoverished regions of West Africa, where the order has attracted numerous adherents.

There are other offshoots of the original Nimatullahi Order still active in Iran and elsewhere, including the Bonyad Erfan Gonabadi Order.

[edit] Bibliography

Masters of the Path: A History of the Masters of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, New York and London, 2nd Edition, 1993, ISBN 0933546033 and ISBN 978-0933546035

Kings of Love - The History and Poetry of the Ni'matullahi Sufi Order by Nasrollah Pourjavady and Peter Lamborn Wilson, Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, Tehran, 1978, ISBN 0-87773-733-9 and ISBN 0-500-97351-2