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WHAT IS A MAQĀM?
B.R.R
A maqām is a sacred place associated with spiritual figures, visited by people seeking blessing and spiritual renewal.
In the current context, the maqām is understood as a spiritual space, sanctified by its connection to a figure of great spiritual significance, such as an awliyāʾ (saint) or a prophet.
The sacredness of the place does not necessarily depend on the physical presence of that figure’s body, although it may sometimes be their burial site. It can also be a place where the figure undertook a spiritual retreat or where a miraculous event is believed to have occurred.
Within the Sufi tradition, visiting these spaces (ziyāra) is a deeply meaningful devotional practice, motivated by the desire to receive blessings (baraka) and to find answers to personal prayers.
Many such places, especially throughout the Islamic world, are visited by pilgrims seeking comfort, strength, answers, or spiritual renewal. Turkey, Morocco, Syria, India… all of these countries are home to maqāmāt (plural of maqām), wondrous and radiant spaces that evoke the essential purity of the human being.
The maqāmāt as stages of the soul
The maqāmāt are sacred places that reflect the spiritual stages of the soul in its quest for the Divine.
There is a subtle yet meaningful correspondence between the physical maqāmāt—the shrines or sacred spaces—and the spiritual maqāmāt—the stations of the soul on its journey toward the Divine.
People who value moments of stillness, reflection, and reconnection with themselves and with higher, exalted values.
Analogously, the maqāmāt as physical spaces can serve as mirrors or catalysts for those inner stations.
Visiting a maqām is not merely an external experience, but also an inner readiness to symbolically inhabit that spiritual state: longing, humility, trust, Love, or surrender.
Thus, the sacred space is not only a geographical destination, but also a dwelling of the soul, where the traveler may glimpse or attain a state that transforms their consciousness.
An experience that goes beyond reason
The Transformative Power of the Maqām
Beyond a linear or merely conceptual definition, it is clear that the impact of a maqām transcends any formal explanation. The visitor’s experience—even in touristic contexts—reveals the transformative potential of these places.
Encounter with Inner Truth
It is common for those who visit them to describe feelings of deep connection with their most intimate and authentic dimension. In many cases, just a few minutes in a maqām are enough for a person to experience a spiritual reorientation toward their inner truth.
THE MAQĀM OF BURG
The Maqām of Burg is a spiritual sanctuary in the Pyrenees that facilitates a deep connection with the transcendent.
Consecrated to the Sultan al-Awliyāʾ Shaykh Abd Allah Fāʾiz ad-Dāghistānī, the Maqām of Burg lies in the heart of the Pyrenees, nestled among mountains that seem to silently guard an ancient mystery. Surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty, this place radiates a stillness that belongs not only to the landscape, but also to the soul.
For reasons beyond our understanding, such places act as mirrors of the soul and catalysts of the spirit. Crossing its threshold, the visitor does not merely enter a geographical location, but a different dimension of reality—one in which the sacred becomes tangible. In the apparent simplicity and silence of its surroundings, a door opens to the eternal, to the innermost, to who we truly are.
Many who come to this maqām are moved by an inner calling they cannot always explain. And yet, upon being there—even if just for a few minutes—they find what they didn’t know they were seeking: closeness to the Divine, inner peace, and the essential truth of being. It is not a spectacular or necessarily emotional experience, but a deep and silent transformation, as if the Heart remembers something long forgotten.
The Maqām of Burg is a sanctuary devoted to a great spiritual master. It is a station of the soul, a symbolic dwelling where human longing meets Divine Mercy. Within it echoes the living teaching of Sultan al-Awliyāʾ Abdullah al-Daghestani. His presence can still be felt by those who walk with sincerity, humility, and openness.
As with other maqāmāt around the world, its Power lies not only in the past, but in its capacity to touch the present and guide the traveler toward the most radiant part of themselves.
Brief history of the beginnings of our Maqām of Burg
I live with my family in a small Pyrenean village, with only four or five inhabited houses—that is our entire neighborhood. We moved there in the early 2000s, seeking a natural, peaceful, and safe life.
In 2007, just as we were about to become parents, we took as our guide our master Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and, through him, embraced the Sufi path. That original intention of rural living took an unexpected turn that radically transformed the direction of our lives and our relationship with the land. Sufism was calling to our Hearts, and we felt that this calling required us to reexamine our lives.
In January 2010, I traveled to his dergah in Lefke, Cyprus, with the intention of undertaking a 40-day retreat. At the end of the retreat, during our farewell, Mawlana entrusted us with building a maqām in Burg in honor of his master, the Grand Shaykh Abdullah (q.s.). I expressed my doubts, given how small and humble our village was, but he gently replied: “Step by step. You can build a maqām.”
He gave us instructions: it had to be in the forest, beneath a large tree; black cats would appear, and there would be a treasure. For two months we searched in vain, until we understood: the place was an old stable overgrown with vegetation, right next to our house. Beside it, the church bell tower rose like a “great tree.” That was the spot! Shortly after, seven black cats appeared. We consulted our master, and he confirmed: “That’s the place.”
We built a simple structure, which for 14 years has been the spiritual heart of our lives, blessed with many visits.
In January 2024, we began its renovation. On April 20, it was inaugurated by our current master, Shaykh Mehmet Adil ar-Rabbani, and his sister Hajja Rukiye. It almost coincided with the 102nd birthday of Shaykh Nazim, and more than 250 people from around the world celebrated with us.
We ask God to protect this place and those who visit it, covering them with His Light, Mercy, and Blessings. Amīn.
Grandsheikh Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani
(May God sanctify his innermost being) was the thirty-ninth Sheikh in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain. He was the Qutb or “Spiritual Pole” of his time, also known as the Sultan al-Awliyāʾ, meaning “King of the Friends of God.”
He was born in Daghestan, Central Asia, in 1891. Sheikh Abdullah was raised and educated by his uncle, Sheikh Sharifuddin ad-Daghestani, who was then the Master of the Naqshbandi Order. Sheikh Sharifuddin gave him special care from a very young age. Even during his sister’s pregnancy, he had foretold that the child in her womb would become the Sultan al-Awliyāʾ of his time.
Grandsheikh Abdullah began to speak at seven months old. By the age of seven, he had memorized the Qur’an and would sit beside his uncle, Sheikh Sharifuddin, answering questions from the many people who came seeking guidance. He soon became well-known for his deep spiritual and religious knowledge, attracting numerous visitors. He was also known for his gift of healing.
In the late 1890s, Sheikh Abdullah joined Sheikh Sharifuddin and their families in fleeing Daghestan to escape the Bolshevik Soviet incursion. They undertook a perilous journey on foot during winter that lasted five months, finally reaching Turkey. After a one-year stop in Bursa, they settled in Rashadiya (now known as Gunekoy), where they joined Sheikh Sharifuddin’s uncle and Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Madani. There they built a mosque and established a modest Sufi community.
Sheikh Abdullah’s father passed away when he was thirteen, and he had to work to support his mother. He married at the age of fifteen. Just six months after his wedding, Sheikh Sharifuddin instructed him to enter seclusion for five years. This retreat took place in a cave atop a snowy mountain deep in the forest. A person would bring him seven olives and two ounces of bread each day.
When Sheikh Abdullah emerged from this seclusion at the age of twenty, he was conscripted into the Turkish army and sent to fight in the Battle of Safar Barlik in the Dardanelles, where he was severely wounded in the heart. He miraculously survived and experienced lofty spiritual states while on the brink of death. At the age of thirty, he entered another five-year seclusion.
Sheikh Abdullah had two daughters with his wife Halima. Shortly before his death in 1936, Sheikh Sharifuddin officially appointed him as his successor. After Sheikh Sharifuddin’s passing, a delegation from King Faruq of Egypt came to offer their condolences, as Sheikh Sharifuddin had many followers in Egypt. One of the princes in the delegation proposed to marry Sheikh Abdullah’s younger daughter. The proposal was accepted, and the wedding was celebrated.
“The ice that dwells in the world
my Heart will melt away.
My Home shall be a sanctuary
of Peace and Well-being.
It takes only the sowing of joy,
of values and familiarity,
to welcome whoever arrives
with Love and Kindness.”
