MTO Shahmaghsoudi®

"And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge"
--Holy Qur'an- 17:36--

The School

MTO Shahmaghsoudi®, the school of Islamic Sufism, teaches students to strive to cognize themselves and, in doing so, ultimately cognize God. The school dates back 1400 years and has been chronicled to the time of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi® (MTO®) translates to “the School of the Path of Oveys.” This refers to the great Sufi Master, Hazrat Oveys Gharani who lived at the time of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Hazrat Oveys obtained the Prophet’s teachings by way of true inward cognition without ever physically meeting the Prophet. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) confirmed this feat by having his cloak delivered to Hazrat Oveys. The reality of Islam has never been left without the heedful watch of a Sufi Master, as depicted by the unbroken chain of the MTO Shahmaghsoudi® lineage.

The name of the school of MTO Shahmaghsoudi® refers to its forty-first Sufi Master, Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, who revolutionized the school by opening its gates to eager pupils worldwide. He then entrusted his son, Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Angha, the current Sufi Master to fulfill his mission of spreading the message of Sufism across the globe.

“We are to open to all mankind

The gates of knowledge

To make wisdom the lantern of the path,

And cognition the light of the aware hearts.”

Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha

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The Present Teacher

“He is the One who sends to His Servant Manifest Signs, that He may lead you from the depths of Darkness into the Light and verily God is to you most kind and Merciful.”

--Holy Qur'an- 57:9--

The MTO Shahmaghsoudi® School of Islamic Sufism has had an unbroken lineage of 42 Sufi Masters, which date back to the time of the Holy Prophet of Islam (Peace Be Upon Him) to Imam Ali (Peace Be Upon Them) and Oveys Gharani. The present Sufi Master of the M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi School of Islamic Sufism is Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Angha, “Pir Oveyssi”, known as Hazrat Pir to his students

Hazrat Pir was taught under the guidance of prior enlightened Sufi Masters: his grandfather, Hazrat Mir Ghotbeddin Mohammad Angha, and his father, Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha. On September 4th 1970, Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Angha received the Robe of Faghr, or cloak, from the hands of his father to become the 42nd and current Sufi Master of the School.

Through Hazrat Pir’s perpetual dedication to delivering the message of Sufism worldwide, he has developed over 50 works of prose, poetry, philosophy and sciences. Under his direction, MTO® has thrived into an international non-profit organization and expanded across five continents with over 500,000 students.

Hazrat Pir is well respected throughout the globe by scholars and scientists for his all-inclusive knowledge, which ranges from esoteric disciplines and sacred sciences to poetry and philosophy. He has delivered an array of lectures to many esteemed institutions across the globe, including Sorbonne University in France and Oxford University in England.

Currently, Hazrat Pir’s latest lectures are available and viewed by millions in the form of weekly webcasts through the MTO® website.

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Past Teacher

Hazrat Seyyed Mohammad Nourbakhsh

Hazrat Mohammad Nourbakhsh is the 24th Sufi Master of MTO. Born in 795 A.H. in Quhestan, Iran, he was the founder of the Nourbakhshieh order. By the age of seven, Hazrat Nourbakhsh knew the Holy Quran by heart. Shortly thereafter, he mastered the common sciences of the time as well. Hazrat Mohammad Nourbakhsh was indulged by the inward and outward teachings of his master, Hazrat Khatlani, and became his successor. Hazrat Khatlani granted him the title of Nourbakhsh (luminous, one who bestows light) and gave him the cloak.

Despite disagreements, punishments, and imprisonments, he traveled to many Iranian cities to spread the truth of the teachings of Islam for twenty four years.

Below we can see an excerpt from one of his written works, Resalah Selselat Al Zahab:

“Oh dear, know that human beings are created in order to cognize God. Saints and seekers of the truth can be categorized into different groups based on their capabilities in this path Some of them only know about the Divine existence and attributes. Whereas, some others see the Truth besides knowing about it. And there is a group of perfect prophets and saints who not only know and see, but also are annihilated in the truth of the Devine existence and attributes.”

Hazrat Nourbakhsh passed away in 869 A.H. His holy shrine in Suleghan, Iran, is a refuge for the seekers of the path of cognition.