pledging allegiance in ṭarīqah, so that on the Day of Judgment, he may be resurrected among the righteous. This verse contains evidence for taqlīd (following a school of Islamic jurisprudence), bayꜤah (the oath of spiritual allegiance), and murīdī (spiritual discipleship).^[1]

Dear Islamic brothers! You have heard how vital it is to have a murshid. Remember, becoming the murīd of a spiritual guide is not a new practice. It has been followed for centuries, passed down through generations. All the blessed Companions رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم were murīds of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and the saints after them were murīds of a shaykh.

Who was the disciple of whom?

Let us now mention some of the great personalities who, despite being highly eminent themselves, were murīds of a shaykh:

1. Imam Aḥmad Razā Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه was a murīd of Sayyid Āl-i-Rasūl Mārihrawī  رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.

2. Mufti Amjad ꜤAlī al-AꜤzamī  رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه was a murīd of Imam Aḥmad Razā Khan  رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.

3. Sayyidunā Ḥabīb al-ꜤAjamī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه was a murīd of Imam Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.

4. Sayyidunā Fuḍayl b. ꜤIyāḍ رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه  was a murīd of Sayyidunā ꜤAbd al-Wāhid b. Zayd رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.

5. Sayyidunā Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāˈ رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه was a murīd of Sayyidunā Farīd al-Dīn Ganj Shakar رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.

6. Sayyidunā Farīd al-Dīn Ganj Shakar رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه  was a murīd of Sayyidunā Quṭb al-Dīn Bakhtiyār Kākī  رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.

7. Sayyidunā Bahāˈ al-Dīn Zakariyyā Multānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه was a murīd of Sayyidunā Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn ꜤUmar al-Suhrawardī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.