Zawiya of Shaykh Osman Sirajuddin Al Naqshabandi; Istanbul, Turkey
Shaykh Muhammad `Uthmān Sirāj al-Dīn ibn Shaykh Muhammad `Alā al-Dīn al-Husaynī was the Shaykh of the Naqshbandī and Qadirī Sufi Orders. He was born in the village of Bayāra in the Halabja region of Iraq in 1896 (1314). His father had taken special care in training him with both the outward and inner branches of knowledge more so after he had observed the boys zeal and readiness and after some miracles were witnessed. He was known for his exemplary behaviour and conduct with the `ulama and the awliyā. From a young age he was inclined to the pristine teachings of Islam and he loved the recitation of the Quran. He studied Tajwid under the renowned Egyptian Qari, Shaykh Mustafa Ismail. In addition he studied the art of public speaking and learnt the essentials with regard to leading a congregation in Salat. In addition he had also studied the various Arabic Sciences and Persian at the Bayara and Durud Schools.
After his father’s demise in 1953 (1373) he took over his duties and engaged in advising and guiding the people. He was very familiar with Prophetic and Herbal Medicine and thus treated many people.He remained in Bayara until 1958 when he travelled to Iran where he found an environment and an atmosphere more conducive to the Islamic teachings and advising people in matters of Islam. He established a school that accommodated 450 students who all studied the Islamic sciences at his expense. Under his supervision more than 100 such schools were established in the region and during his stay in the area more than one million Muslims had attached themselves to him. These people adhered to the recitation of the Quran and the litanies of the Naqshbandi Order. After the revolution of 1979 he returned to Bayara but after the war between Iraq and Iran had erupted he moved to Baghdad. In 1988 (1409) he moved to Turkey where he settled in the village of Jamshet in Istanbul where he remained until his demise in 1997(21 Ramadān 1417). He is buried in the Naqshbandī Zawiya in Istanbul.
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