Atlas
About this atlas
The atlas holds the chains of transmission from the Prophet as the standard references and the classical sources record them: the Sufi orders, the chains of Qurʾān recitation, the teachers of the schools of law and ḥadīth, and the lines of the Prophet's family, with the places they spread and the living houses and teachers who carry them today. Every link shows its sources; where they differ, both readings are shown, and we do not rule on any community's claims. Ibn ʿArabī's own life, teachers and readers are on their own page.
الباقي بالله
Bāqī-Billāh
Died 1012/1603 · Delhi
Spread the order in India
Sources for this person
The chain up to the Prophet
Dates are given where the sources give them. Years are CE; the Hijri year is in each name's detail.
Route 1 of 3, the best-sourced: Naqshbandiyya. Tap a rule to read its basis, sources and checks.
Sources differ on 10 links of this route.
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- Muḥammad al-Zāhidمحمد الزاهد
two sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Muḥammad al-Zāhid to Darwīsh Muḥammad · Two independent sources
Order's own chain.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesDarvīsh named as a khalifa of Muḥammad Zāhed Vakhshī.
Darwīsh Muḥammadدرويش محمدtwo sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Darwīsh Muḥammad to Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakī · Two independent sources
Order's own chain.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesKhwājagī Muḥammad Amkanagī is son and disciple of Darvīsh.
Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakīمحمد خواجه الأمكنكيtwo sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakī to Bāqī-Billāh · Two independent sources
Order's own chain; TDV says Bāqī-Billāh spread the order in India.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'İmâm-ı Rabbânî' (incl. Bâkī-Billâh)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesBāqībellāh formally initiated by Amkanagī, then sent as khalifa to India; also claims spiritual initiation from Naqshband.
Bāqī-Billāhالباقي بالله1603
Other routes (2)
Route 2 of 3: Naqshbandiyya
Sources differ on 9 links of this route.
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- Muḥammad al-Zāhidمحمد الزاهد
two sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Muḥammad al-Zāhid to Darwīsh Muḥammad · Two independent sources
Order's own chain.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesDarvīsh named as a khalifa of Muḥammad Zāhed Vakhshī.
Darwīsh Muḥammadدرويش محمدtwo sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Darwīsh Muḥammad to Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakī · Two independent sources
Order's own chain.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesKhwājagī Muḥammad Amkanagī is son and disciple of Darvīsh.
Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakīمحمد خواجه الأمكنكيtwo sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakī to Bāqī-Billāh · Two independent sources
Order's own chain; TDV says Bāqī-Billāh spread the order in India.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'İmâm-ı Rabbânî' (incl. Bâkī-Billâh)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesBāqībellāh formally initiated by Amkanagī, then sent as khalifa to India; also claims spiritual initiation from Naqshband.
Bāqī-Billāhالباقي بالله1603
Route 3 of 3: Naqshbandiyya
Sources differ on 8 links of this route.
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- Muḥammad al-Zāhidمحمد الزاهد
two sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Muḥammad al-Zāhid to Darwīsh Muḥammad · Two independent sources
Order's own chain.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesDarvīsh named as a khalifa of Muḥammad Zāhed Vakhshī.
Darwīsh Muḥammadدرويش محمدtwo sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Darwīsh Muḥammad to Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakī · Two independent sources
Order's own chain.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesKhwājagī Muḥammad Amkanagī is son and disciple of Darvīsh.
Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakīمحمد خواجه الأمكنكيtwo sourcesin Naqshbandiyya
initiation · Muḥammad Khwāja al-Amkanakī to Bāqī-Billāh · Two independent sources
Order's own chain; TDV says Bāqī-Billāh spread the order in India.
the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'İmâm-ı Rabbânî' (incl. Bâkī-Billâh)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesBāqībellāh formally initiated by Amkanagī, then sent as khalifa to India; also claims spiritual initiation from Naqshband.
Bāqī-Billāhالباقي بالله1603
How to read the marks
- Two sources: a solid rule. Two independent references give the same link.
- One source: a lighter rule, so labelled.
- The community's own account: a dotted rule. The order tells it; we have not yet read it against a reference source.
- A gap in the rule: the sources omit names between the two. The label says which.
- The sources differ: tap the ≠ to read each reading with its source.
- A ring: a spiritual link, without a meeting (uwaysī).
Who received from Bāqī-Billāh
1 recorded, each with the chain set it belongs to.
- Aḥmad Sirhindī (Imām-i Rabbānī)أحمد السرهندي1624
two sourcesin Naqshbandiyyasources differ
initiation · Bāqī-Billāh to Aḥmad Sirhindī (Imām-i Rabbānī) · Two independent sources
Sirhindī met Bāqī-Billāh in Delhi after 1007/1598 and became his most important khalifa.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'İmâm-ı Rabbânî' (incl. Bâkī-Billâh)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'BĀQĪBELLĀH NAQŠBANDĪ' (Johan ter Haar), Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 728-729 · agreesAḥmad Serhendī is described as Bāqībellāh's disciple.
- Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, p. 95 n. 41 · silentBuehler notes Sirhindī called himself an Uwaysī (Maktūbāt 3.87); this does not address the link to Bāqī Billāh.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Buehler: Sirhindī denied Uways ṣuḥba with the Prophet (Maktūbāt 1.58.35) yet identifies himself as an Uwaysī (Maktūbāt 3.87).Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, pp. 88, 90 n. 28
How to cite
Mashraba Reader, Atlas of transmission, “Bāqī-Billāh”, https://www.mashraba.org/atlas/figure/baqi-billah (data of 31 October 2026).