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.
حاجي بكتاش ولي
Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî)
Died c. 1271 (approximate) · Hacıbektaş (Sulucakarahöyük)
Eponym; Turkmen shaykh of Sulucakarahöyük; TDV: probably died 1271, historically a khalīfa of Baba İlyas
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: Bektāshiyya. Tap a rule to read its basis, sources and checks.
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
one sourcethis step is recorded in Naqshbandiyya, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
initiation · The Prophet Muhammad to Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq · One source
TDV Sıddîkıyye: in the earliest attested Khwājagān chain (Maqāmāt-i Yūsuf-i Hamadānī, attributed to Ghujduwānī) Hamadānī says the dhikr instruction 'first came to Abū Bakr's heart'; TDV traces how later Naqshbandī works explained this.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'Checked against
- Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, pp. 88, 90, 92 · agreesBuehler: Sirhindī stressed the Abū Bakr line; Bahāʾ al-Dīn named both the imams' golden chain and Abū Bakr descent.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Naqshbandī tradition: Maslak al-ʿārifīn (early 8th/14th c.) cites a report attributed to the Prophet, 'whatever God poured into my heart I poured into Abū Bakr's heart'; al-Qazwīnī (978/1570) adds that the Prophet taught Abū Bakr the dhikr of the heart three times in the cave of Thawr (as reported by TDV).TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'
- TDV Sıddîkıyye: the Thawr-cave narration is not found in hadith and history works, the Sufi classics or the earliest Naqshbandī sources, though later Naqshbandī circles largely accepted it.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'
- The Naqshbandī shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn al-Marjānī of Kazan said the chain said to come through Abū Bakr has no scholarly basis (as reported by TDV).TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'
- Buehler: three of the first six links of the Bakrī silsila are historically impossible (n. 14); Dina Le Gall, cited by him, finds 16th-17th c. Naqshbandī chains often give parallel Bakrī and ʿAlid derivations.Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, pp. 88, 90 n. 28
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīqأبو بكر الصديق634one sourcethis step is recorded in Naqshbandiyya, not in Bektāshiyya
initiation · Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq to Salmān al-Fārisī · One source
In Hemedânî's earliest-attested chain (via Gucdüvânî's Maqāmāt) the line passes from Abū Bakr to Salmān al-Fārisī.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, p. 86 fig. 4 · agreesFigure 4 draws Abū Bakr then Salmān al-Fārisī among the Bakrī-line ancestors; text silent on the edge itself.
Salmān al-Fārisīسلمان الفارسي656the community's own accountthis step is recorded in Naqshbandiyya, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
initiation · Salmān al-Fārisī to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq · The community's own account
In the earliest attested chain (Hamadānī's words in the Maqāmāt, per TDV Sıddîkıyye) the line passes from Salmān directly to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ iii. And Sufism' (Hamid Algar), Vol. XIV, Fasc. 4, pp. 356-362 · silentSays the main Naqshbandī line from the 8th/14th c. places Jaʿfar after his grandfather Qāsim, not directly after Salmān.
- Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, p. 86 fig. 4 · differsFigure 4 routes Salmān to Qāsim b. Muḥammad and then Jaʿfar, not directly; OCR of the chart is imperfect.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Muḥammad Pārsā (Risāla-yi Qudsiyya) inserted Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr between Salmān and Jaʿfar.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'
- The order's own chain (Haqqani) lists Salmān, Qāsim, Jaʿfar in sequence.the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)
- TDV Sıddîkıyye: from the 6th/12th century, amid Sunni–Shiʿi debate, some orders declared chains reaching ʿAlī, and in the 16th century some Kubrawīs in Samarqand implicitly objected to the Abū Bakr chain by saying the well-known orders came through ʿAlī. Naqshbandī chains through ʿAlī are not detailed in the sources read.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Nakşibendiyye'
- Algar (Iranica 'Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq iii'): from the 8th/14th century the main Naqshbandī initiatic line places Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq between Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr and Bāyazid.Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ iii. And Sufism' (Hamid Algar)
Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiqجعفر الصادق765two sourcesthis step is recorded in The Prophet's family: descent and imamate lines, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
successor of · Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq to Mūsā al-Kāẓim · Two independent sources
Seventh Imam (d. 183/799), per the Twelver account.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, İsnâaşeriyyeChecked against
- Ibn ʿInaba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib (OpenITI), umda#L3684-3693 · agreesMūsā b. Jaʿfar, called al-Kāẓim; born 128, died 183 in Baghdad in custody.
- al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ (OpenITI), siyar#L81825-81835, L81925 · agreesMūsā al-Kāẓim, born c. 128; died Rajab 183.
- Ibn ʿInaba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib (OpenITI), umda#L3677-3678 · agreesMūsā heads the list of al-Ṣādiq's five sons with offspring.
- Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge UP, 2nd ed. 2007), ch. 3, pp. 88–89 · agreesMost Imāmī followers came to Mūsā; he is counted seventh Twelver imam and died in custody at Baghdad in 183/799.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Ismāʿīlī account: the imamate passed through Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar and his son Muḥammad. TDV İsmâiliyye gives the reasons reported for Mūsā's designation instead of the elder Ismāʿīl: a report that Ismāʿīl died three years before his father, and a report about his conduct and his ties to Abū l-Khaṭṭāb.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, İsmâiliyye
- Daftary (modern historian of Ismāʿīlism), reporting the Twelver position: the Twelvers claim a designation (naṣṣ) of Mūsā by al-Ṣādiq, supported by ḥadīths. Daftary adds that it is not certain al-Ṣādiq named anyone after Ismāʿīl. (ch. 3, p. 88)Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge UP, 2nd ed. 2007)
Mūsā al-Kāẓimموسى الكاظم799one sourcein Bektāshiyyaomits: all generations between Mūsā al-Kāẓim (d. 799) and Ḥājjī Bektāsh (d. c. 1271); the Vilâyetnâme gives no generations
family descent · Mūsā al-Kāẓim to Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî) · One source
The Vilâyetnâme, as TDV reports, presents Hacı Bektaş as a seyyid descended from Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓim; TDV treats the Imāmī framing as a later reshaping.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hacı Bektâş-ı VelîChecked against
- TDV, Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî, Silsila claims · agreesSeyyid descent from Musa al-Kazim stated in the Vilâyetnâme; TDV sees later Shiite overlay.
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L3423 · silentCalls the relationship of Hajji Bektash to the order attributed to him tenuous; states no Kāẓim descent.
Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî)حاجي بكتاش وليc. 1271
Other routes (2)
Route 2 of 3: Bektāshiyya
Sources differ on 4 links of this route.
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. Abī Bakrالقاسم بن محمد بن أبي بكر725
two sourcesthis step is recorded in Naqshbandiyya, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
initiation · Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq · Two independent sources
In the same revised chain Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq follows Qāsim.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Sıddîkıyye'the community's own account: naqshbandi.org, 'Origins' (Naqshbandi Haqqani Order's own golden chain)Checked against
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ iii. And Sufism' (Hamid Algar), Vol. XIV, Fasc. 4, pp. 356-362 · agreesNaqshbandī line puts Jaʿfar after Qāsim (his maternal grandfather); Iranica calls Qāsim's preceptorial role 'fanciful'.
- Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1998), ch. 4, p. 86 fig. 4 · agreesFigure 4 places Qāsim b. Muḥammad between Salmān and Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Algar (Iranica): the attribution to Qāsim of a preceptorial function toward Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq 'seems therefore fanciful'; the imam did transmit hadith from him.Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ iii. And Sufism' (Hamid Algar)
Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiqجعفر الصادق765two sourcesthis step is recorded in The Prophet's family: descent and imamate lines, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
successor of · Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq to Mūsā al-Kāẓim · Two independent sources
Seventh Imam (d. 183/799), per the Twelver account.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, İsnâaşeriyyeChecked against
- Ibn ʿInaba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib (OpenITI), umda#L3684-3693 · agreesMūsā b. Jaʿfar, called al-Kāẓim; born 128, died 183 in Baghdad in custody.
- al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ (OpenITI), siyar#L81825-81835, L81925 · agreesMūsā al-Kāẓim, born c. 128; died Rajab 183.
- Ibn ʿInaba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib (OpenITI), umda#L3677-3678 · agreesMūsā heads the list of al-Ṣādiq's five sons with offspring.
- Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge UP, 2nd ed. 2007), ch. 3, pp. 88–89 · agreesMost Imāmī followers came to Mūsā; he is counted seventh Twelver imam and died in custody at Baghdad in 183/799.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Ismāʿīlī account: the imamate passed through Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar and his son Muḥammad. TDV İsmâiliyye gives the reasons reported for Mūsā's designation instead of the elder Ismāʿīl: a report that Ismāʿīl died three years before his father, and a report about his conduct and his ties to Abū l-Khaṭṭāb.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, İsmâiliyye
- Daftary (modern historian of Ismāʿīlism), reporting the Twelver position: the Twelvers claim a designation (naṣṣ) of Mūsā by al-Ṣādiq, supported by ḥadīths. Daftary adds that it is not certain al-Ṣādiq named anyone after Ismāʿīl. (ch. 3, p. 88)Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge UP, 2nd ed. 2007)
Mūsā al-Kāẓimموسى الكاظم799one sourcein Bektāshiyyaomits: all generations between Mūsā al-Kāẓim (d. 799) and Ḥājjī Bektāsh (d. c. 1271); the Vilâyetnâme gives no generations
family descent · Mūsā al-Kāẓim to Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî) · One source
The Vilâyetnâme, as TDV reports, presents Hacı Bektaş as a seyyid descended from Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓim; TDV treats the Imāmī framing as a later reshaping.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hacı Bektâş-ı VelîChecked against
- TDV, Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî, Silsila claims · agreesSeyyid descent from Musa al-Kazim stated in the Vilâyetnâme; TDV sees later Shiite overlay.
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L3423 · silentCalls the relationship of Hajji Bektash to the order attributed to him tenuous; states no Kāẓim descent.
Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî)حاجي بكتاش وليc. 1271
Route 3 of 3: Bektāshiyya
- The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
- Muḥammad al-Bāqirمحمد الباقر733
two sourcesthis step is recorded in Schools of law and ḥadīth, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
studied with · Muḥammad al-Bāqir to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq · Two independent sources
Siyar: Jaʿfar related from his father al-Bāqir, 'and not much except from his father'; TDV names al-Bāqir as father.
al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Jaʿfar (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 81512)al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Jaʿfar (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 81515)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Câfer es-Sâdık'Checked against
- al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L26768, 176089 · agreesJaʿfar’s entry lists his father al-Bāqir among his sources; al-Bāqir’s entry lists “his son Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq”. Jaʿfar died 148.
- Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L5685 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, son of Muḥammad al-Bāqir; died 148 in Medina; one of the twelve imams according to the Imāmiyya.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Twelver account, as TDV 'Câfer es-Sâdık' gives it: an Imam's knowledge is ladunnī and comes down from the Prophet, so Jaʿfar's legal views are not reached by ijtihād like other mujtahids'.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Câfer es-Sâdık'
- Sunni scholars, as TDV gives them: Jaʿfar is a trustworthy transmitter and a mujtahid with sources (Qurʾān and Sunna first) and methods, not held to be infallible.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Câfer es-Sâdık'
- Ibn Khallikān introduces Jaʿfar as “one of the twelve imams according to the Imāmiyya”, i.e. he reports the Twelver doctrine as attributed to a school, while also noting his noble descent and his death in 148.Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, entry Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (OpenITI Shamela0001000, line 5685ff)
Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiqجعفر الصادق765two sourcesthis step is recorded in The Prophet's family: descent and imamate lines, not in Bektāshiyyasources differ
successor of · Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq to Mūsā al-Kāẓim · Two independent sources
Seventh Imam (d. 183/799), per the Twelver account.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, İsnâaşeriyyeChecked against
- Ibn ʿInaba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib (OpenITI), umda#L3684-3693 · agreesMūsā b. Jaʿfar, called al-Kāẓim; born 128, died 183 in Baghdad in custody.
- al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ (OpenITI), siyar#L81825-81835, L81925 · agreesMūsā al-Kāẓim, born c. 128; died Rajab 183.
- Ibn ʿInaba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib (OpenITI), umda#L3677-3678 · agreesMūsā heads the list of al-Ṣādiq's five sons with offspring.
- Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge UP, 2nd ed. 2007), ch. 3, pp. 88–89 · agreesMost Imāmī followers came to Mūsā; he is counted seventh Twelver imam and died in custody at Baghdad in 183/799.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- Ismāʿīlī account: the imamate passed through Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar and his son Muḥammad. TDV İsmâiliyye gives the reasons reported for Mūsā's designation instead of the elder Ismāʿīl: a report that Ismāʿīl died three years before his father, and a report about his conduct and his ties to Abū l-Khaṭṭāb.TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, İsmâiliyye
- Daftary (modern historian of Ismāʿīlism), reporting the Twelver position: the Twelvers claim a designation (naṣṣ) of Mūsā by al-Ṣādiq, supported by ḥadīths. Daftary adds that it is not certain al-Ṣādiq named anyone after Ismāʿīl. (ch. 3, p. 88)Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge UP, 2nd ed. 2007)
Mūsā al-Kāẓimموسى الكاظم799one sourcein Bektāshiyyaomits: all generations between Mūsā al-Kāẓim (d. 799) and Ḥājjī Bektāsh (d. c. 1271); the Vilâyetnâme gives no generations
family descent · Mūsā al-Kāẓim to Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî) · One source
The Vilâyetnâme, as TDV reports, presents Hacı Bektaş as a seyyid descended from Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓim; TDV treats the Imāmī framing as a later reshaping.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hacı Bektâş-ı VelîChecked against
- TDV, Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî, Silsila claims · agreesSeyyid descent from Musa al-Kazim stated in the Vilâyetnâme; TDV sees later Shiite overlay.
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L3423 · silentCalls the relationship of Hajji Bektash to the order attributed to him tenuous; states no Kāẓim descent.
Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî)حاجي بكتاش وليc. 1271
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 Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî)
1 recorded, each with the chain set it belongs to.
- Balım Sultanبالم سلطان1516
two sourcesin Bektāshiyyaomits: roughly two centuries of lodge heads between c. 1271 and 1501, none named in the sources readsources differ
successor of · Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî) to Balım Sultan · Two independent sources
Balım Sultan is traditionally counted second pir; TDV says he took over the Hacı Bektaş lodge c. 1501 (907 AH) from Dimetoka; Trimingham says appointed to the Pir Evi in 907/1501.
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, BektâşîlikTrimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, BektashiyyaChecked against
- TDV, Bektâşîlik, Tarih · agreesSecond pir; took over the Hacı Bektaş lodge c. 1501; death 1516 (as given).
- Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, trimingham_sufi-orders-in-islam_1971.txt#L4850 · agreesCalled the first true Bektāshī leader; appointed head of the Pir Evi 907/1501; died 922/1516.
Where the sources differ, side by side. We do not rule between them.
- The identity of Hacı Bektaş's successor is debated between the Çelebi and Babagan branches to this day (Gümüşoğlu 2022 abstract excerpt). Çelebis claim descent from Hacı Bektaş and an office hereditary at least from 1750 (Trimingham); Babagan (Yol evladı) dedes derive from Balım Sultan, an apostolic head chosen by council.Gümüşoğlu (2022), postnişin and Çelebi/Babagan study (search excerpt)Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (1971), local .txt, BektashiyyaTDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Bektâşîlik
How to cite
Mashraba Reader, Atlas of transmission, “Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī (Hacı Bektaş-ı Velî)”, https://www.mashraba.org/atlas/figure/haci-bektas (data of 31 October 2026).