His Holiness, Mr. Mahboub Ali Shah ( Hajj Ali Tabandeh ) the 38th head and master (Qutb) of the Alavieh Razavieh Namatullahieh Sultanalishahi Order of Sufis passed away at the age of 50 on the sixth of Ramadan, 1417, the sixteenth of January, 1997, the twenty-seventh of Day mah, 1375. He was buried beside his father in Gunabad-Beidokht, in accordance with his last will and testament.

Despite the short period during which he provided guidance, a period not lasting more than four years, in harmony with “the names sent down from the heavens,”[15] he became the beloved (mahbub) of the fuqara, and of his friends and enemies alike. He was so fond of God, that his body could not bear the burden of his spirit, and he anxiously awaited union with Him. He repeatedly mentioned to his intimates that his period of guidance would be short, and that in this respect he resembled his great grandfather, Hazrat NurAlishah II. The death of his father and master made him so sad that never fully recovered from it. In this way, he was like Mawlana Rumi after the murder of Shams.he was most fond of the following quatrain by Baba Tahir:

I see you in the desert when I look there,

When I gaze at the sea, I see you there,

Wherever I look, in the mountains or plains,

It is your graceful figure at which I stare

From the beginning of Ramadan 1375, his physical condition deteriorated. The day before his death, he said that he had been unable to sleep for a few days, yet he was fasting. During the sahar[25] of the sixth of Ramadan, he phoned his aunt in Baydukht and said to her that he was coming there. During these days he was like a guest invited to a feast and was waiting to go there. He was invited to the feast of Allah. According to the sufis, fasting has various stages the highest stage of which is fasting from one’s being, and the breaking of this fast is the divine encounter at the feast of Allah.

He passed away on the morning of Thursday, 6 Ramadan A.H.L. 1417, 16 January 1997. He died when his corporeal heart stopped, and the dove of his spirit was released from the cage of his body.

I am the dove from the garden of heaven, I do not come from the world of earth.

For several days a cage was made of my body.

Happy the day that I take flight to the bosom of the Friend,

Now I beat my wings in hope of reaching His lane.

Majzooban Noor website management, would like to express its sincere condolences at this grievous loss to the presence of His Holiness, Haj Dr.Noor Ali Tabandeh, “Majzoob Ali Shah” the great Qutb of the Nematollahi Gonabadi Sufi Order and to all Gonabadi Dervishes and Shia Muslims in all over the world.

Majzooban Noor