Angel of death came for Dagestan? Who was Said Afandi for the North Caucasus I would estimate the probability of these versions as follows
In Dagestan, the most significant and most serious in terms of possible military and political consequences, the murder of a religious figure in all the post-Soviet years took place.
“A woman entered the sheikh's house. She was young, beautiful and pregnant, so the guards did not search her. Entering inside, she sat opposite the sheikh.
I am Russian, I want to convert to Islam,” the woman said calmly.
Well, very well,” replied the Sheikh. At that moment there was an explosion.
A fashionable but modest dress hid not an unborn child, but a suicide bomber's belt. 7 people were killed: the 75-year-old sheikh himself, his 57-year-old wife, students, among those killed was a 12-year-old boy who came to the priest's house with his parents. Several other parishioners were also injured in the explosion. They were taken to the hospital. The suicide bomber was a grown woman.” Subsequently, the name of the killer was also reported - this is a resident of Makhachkala Aminat Kurbanova, nee Alla Saprykina. A Russian who converted to Islam, the widow of three Mujahideen.
We are talking about death around 16:50 Moscow time. time on August 28, 2012, Sheikh Said Afandi of Chirkey, the most influential Sufi sheikh in the Caucasus, ustaz of the Naqshbandi and Shazali tarikats.
The significance of this murder for Dagestan and the Muslims of the Caucasus in general, both North and South, can be compared with the significance of the murder of the Pope for Christian Europe. Just not the modern Pope. And the Popes of the sixteenth century, the era of the Reformation. When the head of the Roman Catholic Church had real political and economic power, and the Western Christian world itself was split by a confessional war. And for some, the Pontifex was the vicegerent of God on Earth, and for others - a heretic and viceroy of Hell.
Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi or Chirkeysky (passport name Said Abdurakhmanovich Atsaev) was an Avar by nationality (this is the most numerous people of modern Dagestan). Born and lived in Chirkey, Buynaksky district. He was orphaned at the age of seven, from the 7th grade he worked as a shepherd, after the army - a fireman, at the age of 32 he began to thoroughly study the tarikat and get acquainted with the works of leading Sufi sheikhs. Ijaza (the right to have his murids-disciples) received in the early 1980s. from Meseyasul Muhammad al-Khuchadi from the village. Nechaevka, Kizilyurtovsky district. Soon the sheikh gained phenomenal influence. According to Islamic experts, he knew Arabic only moderately, but he wrote poems and articles in Avar. According to connoisseurs, his works testify to an outstanding literary talent.
By the beginning of the 90s, he became the most authoritative spiritual leader of Dagestan. The main and still not fully reflected on the achievement of the deceased - he managed to conclude an unspoken "Islamic concordat" with the authorities of the republic, practically take control of the entire religious life of Dagestan and exert a great influence on secular politics.
The apparatus of the formally secular Russian Dagestan began to be used to spread the ideas, influence and principles of the Nashkbadiyya and Shaziliyya tarikats, which were represented by the sheikh. In Chechnya, the same process was openly initiated in the interests of the Qadiriyya tariqa by the hereditary Qadiriyya sheikh Akhmad Kadyrov (and then continued by members of his family, the most publicly known of them is Ramzan Kadyrov).
Quite quickly, secular Chechnya managed to turn into a state of political Islam of the Qadiriyya tarikat.
But in Dagestan, for some reason, this process did not go so smoothly. Said-Afandi managed to subjugate secular power and other Sufi sheikhs to his influence, however, the “Sufiization” of Dagestan ran into resistance from a noticeable part of Muslims who did not accept Sufism, some for theoretical and theological reasons, some because of its social practice, which in post-Soviet conditions accepted sometimes ugly forms. They united around a competing project - Salafi, "pure Islam", or, as it is commonly called in Russia - Wahhabism. A real civil war unfolded between them, in which one side - the Sufis - enjoy the support of the Russian state.
The Sheikh held no formal posts. However, in reality, since the first half of the 1990s, he controlled the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Dagestan (DUMRD), where all significant positions were occupied by his murids. This is one of the important centers of power, through which large financial resources also pass (only the total profit from organizing a large hajj reaches 10-15 million dollars annually). The sheikh influenced the government of the republic, the number of his murids (direct students, located on constant communication with a teacher and unquestioningly fulfilling his instructions in any sphere - both spiritual and secular) ten years ago there were 10 thousand, today, according to various estimates, from 20 to 30 thousand people. Among these murids there are high-ranking officials, security officials and big businessmen. And not only in Dagestan and other regions of the Russian Federation, but also in Azerbaijan. The sheikh's murid was, for example, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, who was shot in June 2009. The head of the republic, Magomedsalam Magomedov, and other leaders also went to the sheikh's house for advice. And for, probably, half of the practicing and not very Muslims of Dagestan - non-Wahhabis, he was just a spiritual leader and authority.
Sheikh was buried in accordance with the canons of Islam on the day of death before sunset. More than 100 thousand people came to the cemetery in his ancestral village of Chirkey, Bainaksky district (the population of Dagestan is slightly less than 3 million).
That the murder will have the most serious consequences is already clear.
But what exactly, how much and what kind of blood will be shed now - the answer to this question depends on another answer: Who did it? Here main question today.
The President, the People’s Assembly and the government of the Republic of Dagestan made a statement in which they clearly allude to “Wahhabis”: “The ideologists of terrorism are mortally afraid of such people, who are trying to replace true spiritual values with propaganda of false and misanthropic ideas.”
Four hours after the assassination, an emergency meeting of the Republic's Security Council was held under the leadership of the President of Dagestan, Magomedsalam Magomedov.
At it, M. Magomedov suggested organizing self-defense detachments to punish “these bandits”, by which, obviously, “Wahhabis” were meant: “I think that today we will make a decision in every city, in every district to organize self-defense detachments, squads from young people who are ready, under the guidance and together with the internal affairs agencies, to work to ensure security, to punish these bandits and terrorists. This is an instruction to all heads of cities and regions. Everything that is necessary for this - organizationally and financially - we must do. We must find both the money and everything necessary for this,” the president said.
The authorities are clearly trying to get their own benefit from this terrorist attack. The creation of "teams", in fact, is the creation of a new power structure, and a very serious structure deployed "in all cities and regions", which, apparently, will be personally subordinate to the president. How can she help in the fight against the secret urban underground and the forest partisan detachments, with which all the country's special services, along with the regular army, are unsuccessfully fighting? No way. But its usefulness is obvious as an instrument of influence on the masses of the population and a personal power resource of the incumbent president. The question of whom Magomedsalam Magomedalievich Magomedov is going to use it against is certainly interesting, but deserves separate consideration.
So the very first answer to the question "Who?", It would seem, suggests itself:
a). Dagestan local government. Very quickly, already four hours after the explosion, the authorities began to work out a terrorist attack. (The sheikh was killed either at 16:30 or 16:50, various official reports give different numbers, and the emergency meeting of the Security Council began at about 21).
However, I think that it should still be ruled out, the likelihood of this scenario, as well as the likelihood of others versions from the same circle
b). An attempt to sit down the incumbent president.
in). The struggle for the redistribution of money for the Hajj.
- close to zero
I agree with Konstantin Kazenin: “The assassination of Said Efendi will surely lead to attempts to provoke a serious confrontation along this line, that is, to involve thousands and thousands of believers in confusion. Given the growing social role Islam in Dagestan, such a result would be disastrous for the region as a whole.
At first glance, the beneficiaries of such a development of events will be the opponents and competitors of the current head of Dagestan. But I would not look for customers among them: it is very difficult to assume that one of them would want to lead the region if they first manage to launch the scenario just described in it.
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G).Foreign intelligence services: Israel - USA - England - KSA - Pakistan - Turkey - Georgia, these are the main candidates. I also consider the probability of this version to be close to zero. First, because none of them is interested in blowing up the region. Secondly, because they are unlikely to have enough operational capabilities to carry out such an operation without the risk that their Russian colleagues will present irrefutable evidence of their participation, with all the ensuing diplomatic and personnel consequences. No government will take that risk. Iran not on this list, we will talk about it separately.
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e). "Forest".
At first glance, it seems to be the most probable one, and it is this one that the authorities are already voicing.
As I said above, the president of Dagestan pointed to the "Wahhabis" as early as four hours after the attack, when he could not yet have any information from the investigation.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan the next day declared the perpetrators of the "ideologists of terrorism" and "extremists" who were "mortally afraid" of the deceased.
The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, a body, although unconstitutional and with an incomprehensible status, but close to the current government, in the person of its " working group The Public Dialogue and Institutions of Civil Society in the Caucasus (headed by Maxim Shevchenko) OP on the day of the terrorist attack accused the leadership of the Caucasus Emirate of organizing it: “Those who sent the “live bomb” are most likely a bandit – Doku Umarov.”
Indeed, the sheikh was the main ideological opponent of the "Wahhabis", and many security officials and officials who fought with them were murids or admirers of Said Afandi.
However, on closer examination, this version has significant disadvantages.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is clearly disingenuous, saying that the "Wahhabis" were "mortally afraid" of the murdered man. Since the end of 2010, a process of national dialogue has been going on in Dagestan between two warring Islamic movements, one of the initiators and pillars of which was the exploded sheikh.
The negotiation process has clearly been approaching success lately, the media controlled by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Dagestan (and, therefore, Said-Afandi) have reduced the intensity of anti-Wahhabi rhetoric. The legal wing of the Salafists has not only been completely legalized and does not encounter obstacles in its activities, but is included in the ruling establishment. One of its leaders Abbas Kebedov (brother of the founder and head of the Dagestan Salafi podoli Bagaudin Kebedov, who is on the wanted list) received official status, now he is a member of the Public Chamber of the Republic of Dagestan, a member of the Commission for Assistance in Adapting to Peaceful Life to Persons Who Decided to Stop Terrorist and Extremist Activities in territory of the RD.
All this was, of course, beneficial to the Salafists, because. allowed them to propagate their version of Islam unhindered. In neighboring Chechnya, Salafi in any form is simply banned. And in Dagestan, Salafism began the process of penetrating into power in order to use at least part of the capacity of the state apparatus in their own interests. Sufism, exhausted by years of war of annihilation, went to the point of "sharing" power.
On the other hand, it is obvious to everyone that if the “forest”, the military wing of the Salafis, are really guilty of this murder, a total attack on them is inevitable. At the same time, the authorities will receive unprecedented support from the population of Dagestan. Not only absolutely all the followers and sympathizers of "traditional Islam" will oppose them with zeal; Sufism, a significant part of the "non-aligned", but also a certain part of the supporters of Wahhabism. “Wahhabism” is not ready for such a total offensive, and it does not need it.
Abbas Kebedov and the organization "Ahl Sunnah", which unites religious figures standing on the positions of Salafi, published sympathetic condolences.
None of the representatives of the Wahhabi base did not take responsibility for the attack.
The websites of the Emirate, including Kavkaz-Center, limited themselves to moderate-toned information about the terrorist act, taken from Russian sources.
“The official website of Vilayat Dagestan VDagestan.com” published on August 28, 2012 “Statement of the website editors regarding the murder of Said Afandi”:
“We urge Muslims, as well as the entire public, not to jump to conclusions about who is the initiator and who is really behind the explosion in Chirkei and the murder of Said Afandi. We have no information that the Mujahideen are taking responsibility for these events.
We want to emphasize that Jihad has been going on in Dagestan for more than 12 years, and all this time the Mujahideen have not made a single attempt on Said Afandi, although all this time they could easily have killed him.”
However, all of the above does not yet serve as evidence of the non-involvement of the "Wahhabis".
The editors of VDagestan.com are located abroad and at the time of the publication of the statement clearly had no connection with the militants operating in the Caucasus.
"Legal Salafiya" can't order anything "illegal". It is quite possible that the militants had their own point of view on the negotiation process with "traditional Islam" and on the role of the Sheikh of Chirkey in it. The fact that the military wing is more radical than the legal one is a common place in the history of various partisan movements. Moreover, in any case, reconciliation with the Sufis was forced, in “traditional Islam” and personally in the sheikh, the Salafists continued to see both their ideological opponent and the person largely responsible for the repressions carried out against them.
Three weeks before the attack, on August 6, 2012, Amir of the Caucasus Emirate Dokku Abu Usman (Dokku Umarov) appointed a new commander of the Dagestan Front of the Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate, Amir of Dagestan - Abu Muhammad. Maybe this operation is his “taking office”. The special services, through the Kommersant newspaper, threw this version into the press: “As it became known to Kommersant, the former amir of the Kadar gang Rustam Aselderov is suspected of organizing the explosion, the victim of which was the most famous theologian in Dagestan, Sheikh Said Afandi Chirkeysky. Celebrating his appointment as the leader of the North Caucasian militants, Doku Umarov, the amir of the Dagestan vilayat, he sent a suicide bomber, 30-year-old Aminat Saprykina, to the sheikh.
In general, there are few good tacticians among the operational leadership of the Mujahideen in the Caucasus, and after the assassination of Anzor Astemirov there were no good strategists at all. But there are enough stubborn and politically short-sighted dogmatists.
Finally, the order to destroy could have been given, even over the head of Dokka Umarov, and Al-Qaeda. She could consider that the brightly burning hotbed of war in the Caucasus is more in line with today's goals of the "Global Jihad".
The only instance that could clarify is the “Command of the Dagestan Front of the Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate”, located in the Caucasus, but it is still silent.
However, the Dagestan militants, unlike other “fronts”, for some reason do not always publish a complete list of their actions.
This silence can also be caused by the fact that after the operation, all of it was explained to the “forest” possible consequences. And the command of the militants decided not to take responsibility, which is quite in the customs of "world jihad".
The identity of the suicide bomber also speaks in favor of the responsibility of the "forest". The first husband of Alla-Aminat Saprykina-Kurbanova was Marat Kurbanov, Amir of Makhachkala. Having become an adherent of Wahhabism, she was married four times, all her husbands held important positions in the skirts, three were liquidated by the security forces. She herself was involved in the recruitment and training of suicide bombers.
That is, the attack was committed not by a lone novice, but by a person from the leadership of the skirts and, therefore, sanctioned by him.
However, this proof has one flaw.
The death of Saprykina was already reported on May 5, 2012. Then a police post was blown up in Makhachkala, and "according to the preliminary version, suicide bomber Muslimat Aliyeva and recruiter Kurbanova were killed in the car." Another report about the explosion in Makhachkala in early May, however, stated that "The identity of their recruiter, Aminat Kurbanova, has not yet been confirmed." However, there were no denials about the death of Saprykina-Kurbanova. Most likely, the authorities simply did not bother to do this. Now the message is that The woman who blew herself up in the house of Sheikh Said-Apandi has been officially identified as 30-year-old Kurbanova (Saprykina) Aminat Andreevna,” appeared on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.
It looks like the incident is over. But, as they say, "the sediment remained", and it is impossible to be completely sure that it was Saprykina-Kurbanova who blew up the sheikh.
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Russian authorities. No matter how terrible it sounds, but in the modern Russian Federation such an assumption does not seem absurd. On the contrary, I think that most of the inhabitants of Dagestan share exactly this view of what happened. Moreover, the authorities are not united, different groups are pursuing different policies. This may not be a decision of Moscow at all, but of Pyatigorsk (hardly) or Rostov (more likely). "Moscow" as a center of power is also not united.
one). Those who did this profess the theory of "managed crisis".
2). They are afraid that the United Dagestan will overthrow the Russian authorities.
3). It is believed that if the civil war in Dagestan weakens, then the Mujahideen will seriously take up the federals in Dagestan and other regions in the North Caucasus. Now the vast majority of the victims are "local", which the center "does not feel sorry for." But if the militants cross into central Russia, then, in the opinion of these people, the most terrible thing will happen. Tatarstan reinforced these fears and pushed for “active measures”.
The following glaring fact attracts attention: Recently, almost all those prominent representatives who advocated reconciliation between “Wahhabis” and “Sufis” have been killed - both from the side of “traditional Islam” and from the side of the Salafis. Sheikh Murtazali Dagistani, mufti, prof. Maksud-haji Sadikov, Sufi sheikh Sirajudin Khuriksky, Mufti Ismail Bostanov (Islamic Institute, Karachay-Cherkessia), Imam of the central mosque of Buynaksk Gitinomagomed Abdulgapurov ...
Sheikh Said Afandi, as has already been said, lately restrained his murids from clashes with the "forest".
Most likely, these murders “fit into the system, and behind them are those who want to destabilize the situation, and who have now decided that it’s enough just to rock the boat – it’s time to turn it over.
It is noteworthy that according to the Kommersant newspaper, which, citing a “law enforcement source”, published exclusive information about the attack: “The authorities in Dagestan are already saying that numerous murids (students) of the late sheikh can be assigned to self-defense units, which are already ready to take up arms to avenge the death of their spiritual leader».
The question of how the sheikh's murids, united in self-defense units, will be able to find the organizers of the terrorist act, who are unsuccessfully searched for by the best forces of all the country's special services, was not disclosed by a “law enforcement source”. As a question, who specifically are going to take revenge on these "numerous" detachments. After all, it is obvious that the victims of the vengeance of "numerous detachments" should also be numerous.
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h).Iran.
AT last years there is an ever-increasing penetration of Iran into the North Caucasus. “Shiite expansion, backed by Iran, is growing in the southern and other regions of Dagestan. I heard information that Iran is trying to strengthen Shiite positions in Dagestan: it imports literature by trucks, maintains close ties with local politicians, buys land in the coastal strip and is already stepping outside the traditional habitat of Shiism in the south of Dagestan, ”said in an interview“ Echo of the Caucasus” local expert Ruslan Kurbanov.
1000 people from Dagestan received free education last year in the main Shiite center - the city of Qom in Iran, the same thing is happening this year.
At the same time, the spread of Sunnism is being blocked in Azerbaijan.
It is practiced by the Dagestanis living there, but the position of the Sunnis is rather complicated. Sheikh Said Afandi has been declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan for many years. A large number of his murids live in Zagatala and Belokan, located on the territory of Azerbaijan.
The North Caucasus is seen as a lost, but requiring return, sphere of influence of Shiism. Dagestan fell into the sphere of political influence of Safavid Persia at the beginning of the 16th century. In 1606, Shah Abbas I occupied Derbent, and from that time on, continuous conquest campaigns of the Shiites began in the depths of Dagestan. The main thing is that it is strategically important for Iran to gain a foothold in the North Caucasus in the perspective of the Shiite-Sunni war flaring up more and more on a global scale and the approaching End of Days.
Iranian activity in Dagestan encounters organized resistance from both the Sufis and the Wahhabis. On August 18, in Khasavyurt, parishioners of a Shiite mosque were spread out from machine guns, one was killed and eight were wounded.
So in peaceful Dagestan, the chances of spreading the influence of Shiism are small. It's a different matter in burning Dagestan...
I would estimate the probability of these versions as follows:
50% - Russian authorities; 40% forestry (either a purely local initiative or an order from al-Qaeda); 10% - Iran.
In any case, Dagestan is waiting for a period of increasing instability.
Among other things, this will lead to an increase in the emigration of Dagestanis to Russia and an increase in interethnic tension there.
“Will the day come when the Angel of Death will come for Dagestan”? - exclaimed a couple of years ago one of the spiritual leaders of the republic, saying that in recent years, as a result of the armed struggle of "Wahhabis" and "tarikatists", about three thousand Dagestanis were killed.
Over the past short time, the number of those killed has increased by perhaps another thousand.
Perhaps this day came on August 28, 2012 at 16:30 in the village of Chirkey, Buynaksky district. The angel of death came for Dagestan.
The well-known ustaz of the Naqshbandi and Shazili tariqats, the venerable Sheikh Said-Afandi was born in 1937 in the Dagestan village of Chirkey, Buynaksky district, in the family of ‘Abdurrahman. It was a time when clouds gathered over Islam and Muslims: the enemies of Islam destroyed thousands of Islamic scholars (may Allah be pleased with them!), including such famous people as Hassan Afandi and Muhammad Ya'subi. During this difficult period, by the Grace of Allah, a boy was born in the village of Chirkey.
It is said that this happened on the night when the fate of a person is determined. It was on this great night that Said-afandi was born (may Allah exalt him!). By the will of Allah, through communication with him in the future, thousands of murids found true happiness. On such an important occasion, Said's father, after reading Sura "Ya-sin" three times, turned to the Almighty with a request that his son follow the path of Islam with firm steps and never turn away from it, and that he become a scientist who would teach faith to a new generation, for at that time the tendencies hostile to Islam were gaining strength every day.
Indeed, on that night of Laylat al-Bara'a, in the middle of the month of Sha'ban, which is called the month of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when the grace and mercy of the Almighty are sent down, Allah heeded the prayer of Father Said-afandi.
Said Afandi's mother, 'Aisha (may Allah have mercy on her), spoke of unusual dreams that she had while she was expecting the birth of her son. She dreamed that she, together with the baby's cradle, took off into the sky and from there looked at the cities lying below, similar to anthills. And she also said that the birth of her son was easy and completely painless for her.
Often the father, putting Said in the cradle, would read Surah Al-Fatiha in his ear, and the son listened attentively, peering at his father. Noticing his good disposition, which manifested itself from the first months of his life, his father said that a special person would grow out of him. Since childhood, Said was an amazingly calm, patient and intelligent boy. The most cocky guys were careful not to quarrel with him or enter into conflicts. He never aroused anger or malice, even from children. As a child, he had special, wise dreams.
Once the women, returning from work from the collective farm garden, met him on one of the streets and offered him a bunch of grapes. But he refused. When this story reached his loved ones, they asked why he did not take it? Said replied that it was unlawful (haram).
Once, returning from the village of Gelbakh, where he went for wheat, Said found in his shoes a few grains that accidentally fell into it. Seeing this, he began to get ready for the return journey, arguing that he needed to return to the village, and his family barely kept him, for it was already night in the yard.
Said always treated the elders with great respect, and was kind and affectionate to the younger ones. He never entered into arguments with anyone that led to conflicts, and even when someone was wrong, he always conceded.
Said Afandi (may Allah be pleased with him!) is a venerable and modest person who is alien to the pursuit of glory and never breaks his promise.
Said-afandi's father had a great desire to give his son an Islamic education. But he died of a sudden illness (may Allah rest his soul in Paradise!), when Said was seven years old. It happened on that day and hour when the boy, reading the Koran, reached the Surah Ya-sin.
Left an orphan, thanks to the support and perseverance of his mother, the boy completed the reading of the Koran, despite all the difficulties. At the end of the seventh grade, he had to tend the rural flocks of sheep in order to provide for his family. Four years later, he was drafted into the ranks of the Armed Forces, where he served as an operator in the air defense forces. For three years in the army, overcoming all the hardships of that time, he did not miss any prayers or fasts and did not eat illicit meat. After graduating from military service and returning to his native village, Said was again forced to work as a shepherd, taking flocks of sheep to the mountains. But even there, in the mountains, in any weather - blizzard, snow, rain or wind - every time he performed ablution, he himself pronounced the adhan (call to prayer) and performed namaz.
There are many surprising things in the life of Said-afandi. However, his biggest miracle (karama) is istikama - his constancy in following the True Path, ordained by Allah.
During all these years, he suffered greatly, remembering his father's desire to see him as a person educated in Islam. Every time love and a thirst for knowledge suddenly seized him, he wept bitterly, standing in front of the herd, and asked Allah for help to grant him religious knowledge. However, the lack of material resources and the need to support a family forced him to remain a shepherd. Closer to thirty years, he left this job and continued his studies. During this period, an event occurred that became decisive in his fate - he embarked on the path of the Shazili tarikat.
Fortunately, despite the difficult dangerous time scholars of Islam, Haji, son of Yakub, and Haji, son of Patala, taught him the religious sciences. At that time, Said was already a mature person, and, overcoming all difficulties, relying on the great abilities received from the Almighty, he successfully moved towards the intended goal, quickly and confidently moving forward in the comprehension of religious sciences. Thanks to the sharp and penetrating mind, receptivity, excellent memory that were granted to him by Allah, he knew any book he studied, as if he himself were its author.
Many Murshids foresaw his future fate. So, the Tariqat sheikh Abdul-Hamid-afandi from the village of Inkho asked his murid from Chirkey Muhammad-hadji, the son of Shamkhal: “There is a house on the edge of your village where a blessed orphan lives. How is he doing?. They say he asked many Chirkeyans about it. In fact, it was true: the house of Said-afandi was located on the outskirts of the countryside. Muhammad Arif-afandi often said to his murids: “In Chirkei, my children, the hair of the Prophet is kept; the day will come and it will become clear to all".
One of the best qualities of Said-afandi is his good nature. He never refused to help anyone. He is a patient and meek person. It happened more than once that, having begun the construction of his house, he left to solve human problems, postponing work and leaving the solution to dry.
Once, together with fellow villager ‘Abdurrahman, the son of ‘Ali, he came to the village of Nechaevka to his ustaz Muhammad-afandi. The teacher told him: “Said, my son, my strength is leaving me. I thought a lot about whom to leave after me and, absorbed in thoughts, began to ask Allah to reveal to me the name of the one who would become my successor. I know that your knowledge and deeds have reached perfection. Now I give permission to you, from now on you will have to handle this case.. Said-afandi's eyes filled with tears, sweat broke out on his face, and he began to ask his ustaz not to entrust such a responsible matter to him. However, the ustaz did not even want to hear such speeches, saying that permission for mentoring (ijaza) is not given according to someone's personal desire and is not taken away if someone does not want to instruct people. But it didn't end there either. Qutb from Batlukh Muhammad, the son of Sa'adu-haji, sent ustaz Muhammad-afandi together with Khasmuhammad to Chirkei to convey the command (amr) to the guidance of Said-afandi. Together with the command, they brought him the seal of mentorship and a robe (khirka), which is passed from ustaz to ustaz along the chain (silsila).
There are many surprising things in the life of Said-afandi. However, his biggest miracle (karama) is istikama - his constancy in following the True Path, ordained by Allah. Despite the huge number of murids who come to him for advice, and the fact that he has to solve various kinds of problems, no one has ever heard or seen him say even a word or perform any deed that is contrary to Sharia and Tariqa .
The books written by him in a short time testify to the abilities and deep knowledge of Said-afandi. A person who has completed only seven classes, whose life was spent on mountain pastures, gives Sharia conclusions in poetic form (nazm), describes the history of religion and prophets. He wrote four books (three of them in verse), the fifth book is being prepared for publication. These works testify to high level his religious knowledge. Many prominent scholars of Islam confirm that the history of the Dagestan theologians (‘alims) has not yet known this.
When the sheikh from the village of Batlukh Muhammad-hadji first read his works, he said that after ‘Ali-hadzhi from the village of Inho, Said occupies the second place. But when Said Afandi's first book came out, the sheikh said that now he was in first place.
In one of the books of Said-afandi there are the following lines:
On the path where I have chosen to love You as a goal,
You know, Lord, I am always a student.
Mystery and reality, like oil and honey,
Delight, Al-Qadir, in my heart...
Addressing readers, he writes:
We could talk about many things,
If it were not for the fear that it will be in vain.
But a hint is enough for a smart one,
And whoever seeks will find much here.
May Almighty Allah increase the strength of the venerable Sheikh Said Afandi and give happiness to both worlds to his family, loved ones and all those whom he loves and who loves him! Amen!
Sheikh Said-afandi of Chirkey
(From the book "Mazhmuatul Fawaid" 1997)
While still young, I heard about the sons of Yakub and Patala. both Hajis (may Allah (praise be to Him, the Almighty) forgive their sins and build as many houses for them in Paradise as there are letters in the science they transmitted to me!), said:
"Wahhabis are misguided people and mislead others." They also said that these people would burn with fire in the very center of Hell, like coasters under boilers.
Since religion was banned in those days, the people who observed it and the Ulama were forced to hide. The Wahhabis, on the other hand, did not make themselves known and behaved very quietly. At that time, I knew about them only by hearsay. But when the Soviet Union collapsed, and the people got the opportunity to do whatever they wanted, the Wahhabis slowly began to stir. Praise be to Allah, today people are gradually beginning to understand their true nature, but at first they were so fooled by their cunning speeches that there was nothing to say against it.
To the question, who are the Wahhabis, I will answer as follows. When the wrath of the Almighty overtakes a people, He closes for them the gates of service to Himself and opens the gates of strife. It is the Wahhabis who are the people for whom these gates have been opened. If you look closely, you can see that this is actually the case. No matter how little knowledge I have and no matter how little good deeds I do, I know what envy of others leads to. Whatever thoughts crept into my heart, and whatever I say, Allah (praise be to Him, the Almighty) knows everything about me, for nothing can be hidden from Him. Therefore, relying in everything on Allah (praise be to Him, the Almighty), I will not allow myself to utter a single word of lies because of envy of someone. Still, I will tell about the Wahhabis, a little from what I read in books and learned from the words of reliable eyewitnesses.
Sheikh Yusuf Nabahani testifies that once he was in the company of one of those who belong to the Wahhabis, the Egyptian Muhammad Abdu, and that he did not pray. Haji, the son of Patala (may Allah forgive him and his sins!), who passed on religious knowledge to me, said that while studying in the village of Kharakhi, his teacher met with the most trusted student Zamir-Ali (Ali Kayaev is one of those who first introduced Wahhabism to Dagestan). When my teacher told him that Zamir-Ali did not pray, this student confessed that his teacher (Zamir-Ali) did not pray.
In addition, Haji said that when Zamir-Ali came to Buynaksk in the rank of a big alim, a lot of people gathered around him. But after it turned out that he did not pray, people turned away from him.
And today, people who have returned from the pilgrimage testify that the Wahhabis left the Muzdalifa valley before the middle of the night, arguing their departure by the fact that it is not necessary to stay there all night. Another pilgrim told that there were Wahhabis in the Mina valley not far from them. One of them, having made ablution, woke up the others, and they, waking up and rubbing their eyes, immediately performed the morning prayer without ablution. Pay attention, dear brothers, one prayer is performed, the other is not. What is this prayer and what is this faith of such Muslims? What will happen in the end with such a careless service to Allah (praise be to Him, the Almighty). Take a look at how the worship of the Almighty (praise be to Him) is described by those imams, awliya and sheikhs that are so objectionable to the Wahhabis. Compare those and these. If even then someone does not see the difference, then what to do with it ?!
Said Afandi Chirkeysky (Atsaev Said)
Said Afandi of Chirkey (Said-afandi al-Chirkawi) is the most famous among the sheikhs of modern Dagestan, who have the right to distribute the tariqats "Naqshbandiyya" and "Shizaliya" and pass them on to their students. According to various estimates, its murids are from 10 thousand to 25 thousand people living in Buynaksky, Kizilyurtovsky, Khasavyurtovsky, Shamilsky, Gergebilsky, Gumbetovsky, Kazbekovsky regions of Dagestan, as well as other Russian regions - in Siberia, in the Central federal district and the Volga region. The followers of Said-afandi are representatives of many Dagestan peoples. In joint celebrations or dhikrs (mentioning the name of Allah), Sheikh Said of Chirkey gathered, along with the Shizalians, the Naqshbandis and Qadiris. In his opinion, there is no fundamental difference between these tarikats, for all of them are paths leading the believer to God.
Among the admirers of Said Atsayev are high government officials and big businessmen. Since the mid-1990s, the entire leadership of the DUM of Dagestan belonged to the followers of Said-Afandi, although he himself did not take a direct part in public events.
Said Chirkeysky said that there are no fundamental differences between Sharia and Tariqa. Sharia, according to the figurative expression of Said-Afandi, is comparable to a ship, tarikat - to the sea, and truth (haqiqat) - to a pearl mined from the sea. In his opinion, in order "to unite or gather Muslims together, a party is needed." Said-afandi believed that some part of the Constitution of Dagestan should correspond to the Koran and Sunnah.
Said Afandi Chirkeysky was killed in 2012 by a suicide bomber.
Biography
Said Atsaev was born on October 21 (according to other sources - January 1), 1937 in the village of Chirkey, Buynaksky district, Dagestan SSR. Avar. At the end of seven classes, he worked as a shepherd in his native village - to support the family, which was left without a breadwinner (Said's father died when the boy was seven years old).
He served in the ranks of the Soviet Army in the city of Kaunas (Lithuania) as an operator in the air defense forces. After that he again worked as a shepherd.
After the 1970 earthquake, Said Atsaev worked on the construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station. There he later served in the fire departments and VOKhR.
At the age of 32, while working at the Chirkey hydroelectric power station, S. Atsaev began to study Islamic sciences, the works of Ulama and Sufi sheikhs. Sheikh Said-afandi considered his first spiritual mentor (ustaz) to be Abdulhamid-afandi from the village of Inkho.
Books
Said-afandi Atsaev (Chirkeysky) was the author of five books on Islam: "Treasury of blessed knowledge" (in Russian and Avar languages), "History of the prophets" (in two parts, in Russian and Avar languages), "Collection of speeches of Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi", "Modernity through the eyes of Sheikh Said Afandi", "Incitement to heed the call of the Koran" (in Avar).
Said-afandi wrote his works in the Avar language, because, according to experts, Arabic language knew to a limited extent. According to connoisseurs, his works testify to an outstanding literary talent.
Assassination attempts and murder
In November 2007, news agencies, citing the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, reported that an attempted murder of Said Atsaev had been prevented.
On August 28, 2012, Sheikh Said-afandi Atsaev was killed as a result of a terrorist act - a suicide bombing near his house in the village of Chirkey, Buynaksky district of the Republic of Dagestan. In addition to the sheikh and the suicide bomber, six more people became victims of the attack.
From July 2014 in the Supreme Court of Dagestan trial in the case of the murder of Sheikh Said of Chirkey.
The Supreme Court of Dagestan sentenced to life imprisonment three defendants in the case of a terrorist attack, which killed a religious leader of Dagestan, Sheikh Said Afandi Chirkeysky. The fourth defendant was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The "Caucasian Knot" reported that on August 28, 2012, an explosion occurred in the house of the Sufi sheikh Said Atsaev (Chirkeysky) in Dagestan. The bomb was detonated by suicide bomber Aminat Saprykina. As a result, eight people died: Sheikh Said of Chirkey, six people who were nearby, and the suicide bomber herself. In December 2012, the alleged organizers of the attack were detained. Residents of Dagestan Shikhmirza Labazanov, Magomedali Amirkhanov and Magomed Gadzhiev were charged with training Aminat Saprykina, as well as banditry and illegal arms trafficking. The fourth defendant, Akhmed Israpilov, was charged with banditry, arms trafficking and kidnapping for ransom.
Sentence to the killers
On April 21, 2015, the Supreme Court of Dagestan, on the basis of a jury verdict issued on April 8, sentenced the defendants Shikhmirza Labazanov, Magomed Gadzhiev, Magomedal Amirkhanov to life imprisonment, Akhmed Israpilov to 12 years in prison.
A family
Said Atsaev was married. Had four children. One of the sons - Atsaev Abdulla Saidovich - is the rector of the Chirkey Theological Institute named after Said-afandi.
His wife - Uzlifat-haji - died from the explosion along with her husband.
Sources:
- Website of the DUM RF: Atsaev (Chirkeysky, Chirkavi) Said Abdurakhmanovich, December 26, 2011
- Website of Said-afandi of Chirkey.
- Website "My Dagestan": Atsaev Said Abdurakhmanovich (Said-afandi Chirkeysky).
- Website "JourClub.ru": V. Akaev, "Peculiarities of Sufism in the North Caucasus".
- Kisriev E.F. Islam in Dagestan. M.: Logos, 2007. 132 p. (Islam in Russia / edited by A.V. Malashenko).
- Rabjabova N. The wife of Sheikh Said-afandi Uzlifat-hadji: happiness is to be the wife of a real Muslim - Islam.Ru - April 11. 2009.
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“In every village, in every mosque, there are people who perform their duties. And there is no such person. He was alone.", - this is how they characterize the sheikh who died in Dagestan at the hands of extremists Saida Afandi those who knew him. A person who completed the seventh grade high school and being a shepherd until adulthood, became the largest religious authority in the region.
In Dagestan, Wednesday, August 29, became officially a day of mourning in connection with the murder on the eve of one of the most respected religious figures of the Caucasus, Sheikh Said Afandi. His death was a shock to local Muslims. More than a hundred thousand people came to his funeral, having made their way through the mountains.
“His role was huge, Said Afandi had tens of thousands of students in Dagestan and thousands outside of it, among them were representatives of different nationalities. This man was indeed the heir of the Prophet.”, - said RIA News" Islamic theologian, chairman of the Russian cultural and educational center "Al-Vasatiya" ("Moderation") Ali Vyacheslav Polosin.
According to Polosin, who himself in 1999 received a vird (a spiritual task, the fulfillment of which is a prerequisite for following Sufism) from Afandi, the sheikh was an indispensable leader of the Muslims of the republic.
“Not only for Dagestan Muslims, but also for Muslims throughout Russia, Said Afandi was a man who guides on the right, sincere path, he was a man who adheres to moderate Islam, far from extremism and terrorism”, - said the press secretary of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Dagestan (DUMRD) Magomedrasul Omarov.
According to a representative of the DUMRD, Afandi was "a gift from the Almighty to the Muslims of the Republic of Dagestan" and "a mentor of mentors."
“He fulfilled his mission with honor, in nine volumes of his works, every letter, every line praises the beauty of Islam” Omarov said.
Ismail Berdiyev, chairman of the Coordinating Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus, told the VZGLYAD newspaper that Sheikh Said Afandi was a mentor (ustaz) "for 90% of the several million Muslims living in Dagestan." “He was the most peaceful person, the elder, to whom people came and asked: “What to do? How to do?" He taught them: “In order not to go around idle, sit and say: “La Illahu il Allah.” Say so many times." He gave tasks, all the people completed them. He called only for peace and tranquility.”.
“We talked to him. Very kind person- said Berdiev. - When you meet a person, at first glance, when you look at the face, you can see what kind of person he is. Some kindness emanated from him. He said: “I am an absolutely simple Muslim. But with the permission of the Almighty, this is given to us. And people don’t know, illiterate, so they come, I teach them. I say: "Do like this, ask like this." People do and that's it.".
According to him, Said Afandi was the most authoritative religious figure in Dagestan. “In every village, in every mosque, there are people who perform their duties. And there is no such person. He was alone. From all the republics, they came to him and took tasks from him, carried out this, and this calmed all people. This is the most important thing - a person is looking for peace. He prays, but does not know what he is reading, how he is reading. And so you come to such a person and say: “I do this, but my soul is restless.” So he reassures them: “What you read, you say like this. When you say: “God, forgive me my sins,” He perceives this, forgives your sins. If you do it in a new way, it will be doubled.” Religion itself and the way it is explained and presented are completely different things. That was the kind of person who presented it in this form, ”said Berdiev.
“I learned kindness from him: whatever is in your soul, when a person comes to you, you must treat him calmly, and this will be the most important thing. What moods you have there - you should forget it. You must talk to a person in the way that is proper according to Islam. From his words, this is the most important. He said: “When you become a boss, it does not mean that you have to stand with your chest out. You must be for them, so that they go through you, so that you help them., he added.
According to him, Said Afandi did not refuse anyone who came to him: “Those who stood next to him refused. There were a lot of such people there. And they said: “You pass, you do not pass,” people were offended. There were such cases. When he found out, he stopped it. They seemed to do this out of good intentions, so that no one bad would come to him. But see how it all turned out ".
Formerly head of the commission for the adaptation of former militants, former vice premier Republic, now a State Duma deputy from Dagestan, Rizvan Kurbanov, in an interview with the VZGLYAD newspaper, called the death of Said Afandi Chirkeysky a great loss for the whole society.
“Sheikh Said Afandi of Chirkey enjoyed respect, trust and reverence not only in Dagestan, but throughout the Caucasus and even beyond its borders. Kurbanov said. - The clergy, high officials, and ordinary believers listened to his opinion. Sheikh Said Afandi has always called for peace and peaceful coexistence. He condemned the bombings and terrorist attacks carried out by the militants. His murids (disciples) live everywhere: in the entire North Caucasus, in Azerbaijan, Moscow. The terrorist act against him was committed by persons belonging to a totalitarian sect, whose goal is to destabilize the situation in the republic..
The biography of Said Afandi on the IslamDag.ru portal tells two episodes from his youth: “Once women, returning from work from a collective farm garden, met him on one of the streets and offered him a bunch of grapes (collective farm property). But he refused. When this story reached his loved ones, they asked why he did not take it? Said replied that it was unlawful (haram).
Once, returning from the village of Gelbakh, where he went for wheat, Said found in his shoes a few grains that accidentally fell into it (also collective farm property). Seeing this, he began to get ready to go back, arguing that he needed to return to the village, and his family barely kept him, because it was already night in the yard.
There are also given following words about him:
“The books written by him in a short time testify to the abilities and deep knowledge of Said Afandi. A person who has completed only seven classes, whose life was spent on mountain pastures, gives Shariah conclusions in poetic form (nazm), describes the history of religion and prophets. He wrote four books (three of them in verse), the fifth book is being prepared for publication. These works testify to the high level of his religious knowledge. Many prominent scholars of Islam confirm that the history of the Dagestan theologians (alims) has never known such a thing.”
Among the poems with which he wrote some of his books were the following:
“... On the path where I chose love for You as a goal,
You know, Lord, I am always a student.
Mystery and reality, like oil and honey,
Delight, Al-Qadir, in my heart ... "
Said Afandi Chirkeysky (Said Abdurakhmanovich Atsaev) was born on October 21, 1937 in the Dagestan village of Chirkey, Buynaksky district. When Said was seven years old, his father died. After finishing seven classes, in order to provide for his family, he began working as a shepherd.
He did military service in the ranks of the armed forces, served as an operator in the air defense forces in the city of Kaunas (Lithuania). After returning to his native village, he again began to work as a shepherd.
After the 1970 earthquake, Said Atsaev went to work on the construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station. He served as a firefighter in the structure of the VOKhR. Leaving work on the construction of a hydroelectric power station, at the age of 32 he began to thoroughly study the tarikat (the path of spiritual elevation, asceticism in Sufism) and get acquainted with the works of leading Sufi sheikhs. In the early 1980s, he received the right to have his murids-disciples (ijaz) from Meseyasul Muhammad al-Khuchadi from the village of Nechaevka, Kizilyurt district.
According to experts, the murids of Said Afandi Chirkeysky are tens of thousands of people in Dagestan and other Russian regions, including Siberia, the Central Federal District and the Volga region.
Said Afandi is the author of the books “Treasury of blessed knowledge” (in Russian and Avar languages), “History of the prophets” (in two parts, in Russian and Avar languages), “Collection of speeches of Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi”, “Modernity through the eyes of Sheikh Said Afandi”, “Incitement to heed the call of the Koran” (in Avar), according to VZGLYAD.ru.