The devout and saintly scholar Shaykh Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Marghaylani al-Bukhari
al-Madani al-Naqshbandi was born in Marghaylan in the land of Bukhara in 1910 (1328 H).
His mother was a righteous woman and his grandfather was a pious man who perpetually
observed fasting – only avoiding fasting on the days it was not permitted. His grandfather
passed away after Hajj in Medina and is buried in al-Baqi’.

As a young boy before travelling to Medina Shaykh Muhammad had a dream wherein he saw
three graves in al-Baqi’. One was his grandfather’s, the other was his mother’s and the third
was his. When the Shaykh arrived in Madinah he was afflicted with severe fever and his
mother made du`a asking Allah to afflict her instead of her son. His mother took ill and after
three days she passed away on the night of the 15 Sha`ban 1956 (1375H) having reached 70
years of age. She was buried in al-Baqi’ in close proximity to the illustrious Ummahat al-
Mu’minin.

Shaykh Muhammad began his education as a young boy in his village in Bukhara under the
scholars of the area. He took the Naqshbandi Order from Shaykh Iskandar Effendi in
Bukhara. When the Russians entered the land they imprisoned many of his teachers so he
was forced to flee secretly. The escape from the Russians was a dangerous and life
threatening one but he eventually arrived in Medina.

Some of his [Shaykh Muhammad’s] teachers were:
• Shaykh Ibrahim al-Khutani (d. 1389H/1969)
• Shaykh `Alawi Abbas al-Maliki (d. 1391H/1971)
• Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Mashat (d. 1399H/1979)
• Shaykh Hasan Sha`ir (d. 1400H/1980)
• Shaykh `Umar Bari
• Shaykh Diya’uddin al-Bukhari
• Shaykh Muhammad Abdul Baqi’ al-Laknawi
• Shaykh Ahmad `Abdul Da’im

• Shaykh Abul Khayr al-Maydani (d. 1380=1960)
• Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ghalayni (d. 1377H/1957)
• Shaykh Hamid Mirza
His companions from amongst the `Ulema included:
• Shaykh Abdul Aziz Uyun al-Sud (d. 1398H/1978)
• Shaykh Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Indjani (d. 1402H/1982)
• Shaykh Mulla Ramadan al-Buti (d. 1410H/1990)
• Shaykh Muhammad al-Junayd al-Ka`ki al-Himsi (d. 1412H/1991)
• Shaykh `Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda (d. 1417H/1997).

The Shaykh used to make it a point of visiting Shaykh Zakariya whenever he visited
Madinah. Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya even had a gathering at his home where he accepted
condolences on the day when Shaykh `Abdul Fattah passed away.
• Shaykh `Abdullah Sirajuddin (d. 1422H/2001).

The two shared an excellent and cordial relationship. Shaykh Abdullah used to send him his
books from Aleppo and Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya used to reciprocate this with gifts
from Madinah. When Shaykh `Abdullah passed away, there was a large gathering at Shaykh
Muhammad Zakariya’s home where the Qur’an was recited.

• Shaykh Hasan al-Mosuli
• Shaykh Muhammad al-Hajjar (d. 1428H/2007)
• Shaykh Mahmud Effendi al-Istanbuli al-Naqshbandi
• Shaykh Wasfi al-Masaddi
• Shaykh `Abdul Ghaffar al-Darubi
• Shaykh Muhammad Iwad al-Dimashqi
• Shaykh `Umar Mulla Hafji
• Shaykh Muhammad Abul Fadl Awwama
• Shaykh Hamid Gharib al-Halabi
• Shaykh `Adil `Azzam al-Madani
• Shaykh Al-Habib Umar al-Jiffri
• Shaykh Ibrahim Khalifa al-Ihsa’i

There were many more scholars who used to visit him at his home at his home near the Al-
Majidi Door of the Prophet’s Mosque where he lived for forty years.

There were a number of people who spent a long time in his company, serving him and
benefiting from his company. Some of them were:

• Shaykh `Abdul Hafiz Bahlaq (d. 1424H/2003)
• Shaykh Faysal al-Darubi
• Shaykh Hasan Rasam al-Turki
• Shaykh Mahr `Ali al-Kurdi
• Shaykh Isma’il Za’im al-Hamawi
• Shaykh `Ali al-Ihsa’i
• Shaykh Abdul Basit `Abdul Hakim al-Dimashqi
• Shaykh Abul Faraj al-Salahi
• Shaykh `Abdul Ahad Qari
• Shaykh Sami Abu `Arif
• Abu Ridwan al-Ahmar
• Muhammad Madani
• Shaykh Hasan Dabbagh al-Hamawi
• Anas Bunni
• Amin Bashir Kirman
• In’amuddin al-Afghani
• Abdul-Rahman al-Afghani
• `Abdul Fattah ibn Muhammad Iwad
• `Abdullah and Muhammad Diya the sons of Shaykh `Umar Mulla Hafji
• Muhammad, Ahmad, `Abdullah and Muhiyiddin the sons of Shaykh Muhammad Awwama.

His home and his habits

[Shaykh Muhammad’s] home was a place of peace and tranquility. A visitor to his home
never left without tasting some of his delicious food. Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya used to
sleep immediately after Isha’ and he would not receive anyone thereafter. He never spent the
whole night awake but rather he awoke after midnight whereupon he would perform 12
rakats and thereafter engage in dhikr and du`a until before the adhan. He would travel by car
to the Haram and on the way he used to offer greetings and seek forgiveness for the people
buried in al-Baqi’. He performed fajr and then remained engaged in dhikr until sunrise. He
was punctual in observing salat al-duha and two rakats salat al-istikhara. If [Shaykh
Muhammad] was not fasting, he would often invite others to have breakfast with him. On
Saturday, he went to the Quba Mosque to perform two rakats as per the teachings of the
Hadith. On Wednesday, after salat al-duha, he invited `Ulema to have breakfast with him at
his home or in one of the gardens of Madinah. Some of the illustrious scholars of Syria
attended this function.

They included Shaykh Ahmad Qallash, Shaykh Muhammad al-Hajjar, Shaykh Muhammad
`Ali al-Murad, Shaykh Muhammad Iwad, Shaykh Muhammad Junayd and Shaykh
Muhammad Awwama. On this day Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya also visited the martyrs of
Uhud. He loved the martyrs of Badr and visited them from time to time.

[Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya] regularly observed the Sunnah fast of Monday and Thursday
and the middle of the month. He completed the Qur’an once every week in addition to the
various adhkar from dala’il al-khayrat and awrad fathiyya. The Qur’an used to be completed
weekly after jumu`a and this occasion was attended by hundreds of people. He performed
salat al-tasabih daily. He commemorated the Mawlid once a year in the month of Rabi` al4
Awwal on a Friday after sunrise. The guests were all invited to have breakfast with him and
they were given a Mawlid gift (a prayer rug and some sweets). [Shaykh Muhammad] revered
the 15th night of Sha`ban and he would perform 100 rakats on this night reciting Surat al-
Ikhlas 10 times in every raka. He then read Surat Yasin thrice. He only left Medina to
perform the obligatory Hajj and to visit to Syria in 1951H (1370).

Once someone performed salat with him and the visitor noticed the prayer mat the Shaykh
used. The person said to himself that when he left he would ask the servant about it. When
the visitor left, he found the servant waiting with the prayer rug which was given to the
visitor by the Shaykh.

He granted Ijazah for the recitation of adhkar to those who requested it from him as he had
received it from his Shaykh, Shaykh `Alawi al-Maliki. He always instructed those in his
gatherings to recite some adhkar and he maintained the practice of reading from al-adab almufrad,
al-shama’il by al-Tirmidhi and al-salat `alal nabi by Shaykh `Abdullah Sirajuddin. He
loved and respected the students of din and shared valuable advice with them. He often gave
them gifts like `itr, a miswak and a turban. He warned against imitating the kuffar. He enjoyed
listening to nashids in praise of the Prophet and was compassionate and loving towards the
children. He was loved and respected by all, irrespective of nationality.

Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya said:

“This is the era of silence and confining oneself to one’s home,
to be content with one’s provisions and to remember Allah the Everlasting.”

[The Shaykh] passed away after he underwent numerous medical treatments and operations
at the Mutabbaqani Hospital in Medina in 2005 (1426). The ghusl was performed by Shaykh
Mamduh al-Junayd as per his request and he was buried in al-Baqi’ rahimahullah.