The History of the Holy Cloak
The Holy Cloak is originally known to have been passed for generations from Prophet Abraham to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), then to Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (pbuh), then to Oveys Gharani, Salman Farsi, and the succeeding Sufi Masters. From then until the present time, over a period of 1400 years, the Cloak has been in the possession of forty-two enlightened Masters of the M.T.O. School of Islamic Sufism® in an unbroken succession. The present cloak–bearer and the 42nd Master of the school is Hazrat Molana Salaheddin Ali Nader Angha.
Shortly before the Prophet passed from this life, he directed Omar (second Caliph) and Hazrat Ali (the first Imam of the Shi’a) to take his Cloak to Hazrat Oveys. In doing so, the Prophet confirmed the method of heart to heart communication through which Hazrat Oveys had received the essence of Islam.
The process of passing of the Cloak represents two significant elements in the teachings of the Holy Prophet, which also constitute the method of instruction in the School of Islamic Sufism: cognition must take place inwardly, and cognition must be confirmed by the teacher, as it was in the case of Hazrat Oveys and Amir al-Mo’menin.
Since that time, the Cloak and the method of receiving knowledge through the heart, symbolizing the highest level of Divine Illumination and conferring honor, recognition, and respect on the recipient has been handed down through an unbroken succession of Sufi Masters. The designated Sufi Master, called the Pir, meaning the “Light of the Path”, is the essence of the Sufi Way, and the lineage has continued to the present day.
The current Sufi Master, Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Angha, known as Hazrat Pir, was officially appointed as the forty-second Sufi Master in the unbroken chain of transmission on September 4, 1970, when the Holy Cloak of guidance was bestowed upon him by his great master and beloved father Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha.
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