Nimatullahi Sufi Order
The Nimatullahi Sufi Order is a spiritual tradition dedicated to the unity of all beings and the selfless service of humanity through love and devotion.
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Dr. Alireza Nurbakhsh is the present Master of the Nimatullahi Order. With the passing of his father, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, he assumed the position of leadership of the Nimatullahi Order on October 10, 2008, according to the wishes and written request of his father. His Sufi sobriquet is Reza Ali Shah. Under his leadership, the Order has expanded its charitable initiatives, establishing programs in each center to support the social and economic needs of their communities. He currently resides in London, England.
Alireza Nurbakhsh was born in August 12, 1955 in a small town near Bam, Iran. He moved to Tehran with his parents when he was two years old and lived in Tehran khaniqah until he left Iran in 1977. He graduated from Alborz high school in 1973 and after completing his BA in philosophy at Melli University, went to University of Wisconsin, Madison for post graduate studies and received his PhD in philosophy in 1988.
Growing up in Tehran khaniqah, Alireza Nurbakhsh learned the ways and etiquettes of Khorasanian Chivalry (Javanmardi) under the direction of his father and the supervision of Mr. Kobari, one of his father’s devoted disciples. He was formally initiated into the order when he was eighteen years old.
After completing his PhD, Alireza Nurbakhsh moved to the London khaniqah upon his father’s request and started the publication of SUFI journal in English and Farsi. In addition to his editorial positions, Alireza was gradually assuming more responsibilities in London khaniqah and by the time his father moved to the Old Windmill near Banbury UK, he was appointed the Shaykh of the London khaniqah. During this time Alireza Nurbakhsh went back to school and received his degree in law.
Dr. Nurbakhsh was born in Kerman on the 10th of December 1926, affectionately referred to by sufis as the "capital of spiritual poverty."
Shah Nimatullah, the founder of the order bearing his name, called it the "heart of the universe." Nurbakhsh was descended from Shaykh Kamal ad-Din Nurbakhsh, one of the distinguished Shaykhs of the Nurbakhshi Sufi Order, over whose tomb the present sufi center in Kerman was built.
After a prodigious early life, he began his professional career as a medical doctor at the age of 26 when he became head of a local hospital in the southeastern town of Bam, Iran. The following year, 1953, he succeeded his master, Munes 'Ali Shah Zo'r-Riyasateyn, as master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order, with the sufi sobriquet of Nur 'Ali Shah.
Following a term serving the people of Bam, he was transferred to Tehran, where he took up residence in the small sufi center in the downtown district of Shahpur Square. This became the center of a sufi revival in Iran as well as attracting western seekers and scholars from around the world.
Shah Nimatullah was born in 1330 A.D. (731 A. H.) in Aleppo, Syria. His father, Mir 'Abdo'llah, was himself a Sufi master and a descendent of the Prophet.
His mother was from a noble family of Fars in southern Iran. Shah Nimatullah traveled extensively in the Islamic world—meeting numerous masters and becoming acquainted with the important ideas of his time.
He studied Ebn 'Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam extensively and later in his life wrote several commentaries on this book. Towards the end of the first period of his travels he met Shaykh 'Abdo'llah Yafe'i in Mecca and became his disciple.
After serving Shaykh Yafe'i for seven years, Shah Nimatullah began a second period of traveling within the Islamic world. This time, however, he did not go as a thirsty seeker in search of a perfect master, but as a perfect master quenching the spiritual thirst of others. In this second period of travels, Shah Nimatullah first set out for Egypt, then went on to Transoxania, settling near Samarqand. Here he met the great conqueror, Tamerlane who, unable to appreciate Shah Nimatullah, caused him to leave and journey to Herat. A period of travels west followed, leading the master to Kerman and finally to Mahan, where he remained for the last twenty-five years of his life.
During Shah Nimatullah's stay in Mahan, his fame spread throughout the regions of Iran and India, with pilgrims coming from all over to visit him. Shah Nimatullah lived nearly a hundred years. He died in 1431 A.D. (834 A. H.) and was buried in Mahan.