Investigating the Role and Status of Sheikh in Kebrawiya Order and Comparing it to the Shiite View

The status and role of a Sheikh and a guide in any mystic order is of great importance, because the wayfarer in his path is in continuous need to the guides and instructions of a Sheikh to be able to cover all states and positions in a healthy and good manner. This role is much more prominent in Kebrawiya order and the related mystics consider a special importance for it. It is worth saying that among the mystics, this order is well-known for having Shiite leanings. Najmuddin Kebrawi, the head of that order, and his disciples, especially Majduddin Baghdadi and Najmuddin Razi consider a very high position for Sheikh in esoteric authority. The present article is of descriptive-analytical type and uses library sources to investigate the sheikh’s characteristics and qualities in the famous works written by those three mystics, i.e. Fawayih al-Jamal, Tuhfat al-Barara and Mirsad al-‘Ibad, and compares it with a Shiite look. To do so, the sheikh’s status has been analyzed from three aspects: sheikh and God, sheikh and self, and sheikh and wayfarer. This study shows that the three mystics consider the existence of a perfect sheikh necessary for guiding the wayfarer and disciple in their way towards Allah, because lack of a sheikh in any state would lead to the wayfarer’s deviation. Similarly, for the Shiite Imams and mystics, this is of great importance in guiding the nation and the wayfarers.