Shaykh Taner Ansari Biography
Es-Seyyid Es-Shaykh Taner Mustafa Ansari Tarsusi er Rifai el Qadiri was born in Tarsus, Turkey, to a devout Muslim family of seyyids (descendants of Prophet Muhammad). He completed his university studies in Michigan, where he helped found the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada.
Shaykh Taner was initiated into the Qadiri Rifai Tariqa in Istanbul under Es-Seyyid Es-Shaykh Muhyiddin Ansari, from whom he received his license to teach Sufism. His spiritual lineage also includes the Naqshbandi, Mevlevi, and Bektashi orders. Under his Shaykh’s orders, Shaykh Taner founded a new order called Ansari Qadiri Rifai Tariqa.
Shaykh Taner teaches Sufism and the Holy Qur’an and gives weekly talks internationally through live classes on the Internet. He has spoken about Islam and Sufism, alternative healing, and sustainable living in radio interviews, at churches, synagogues, schools and universities, among them Harvard University, Humboldt State University, Napa Valley College, Boston University and at the Annual Sufism Symposium.
Shaykh Taner and his wife Es-Sharifa Es-Shaykha Muzeyyen Ansari travel to and have established centers of the order in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania, Mauritius, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Shaykh Taner is also a healer. Along with his wife Shaykha Muzeyyen Ansari, he has presented healing workshops worldwide for healers and health professionals and anyone else interested in the healing arts.
Shaykh Taner’s books on Sufism include The Sun Will Rise in the West: The Holy Trail, What About My Wood! 101 Sufi Stories, Alternative Healing: The Sufi Way and Grand Masters of Sufism, a volume comprised of his translations of Abdul Qadir Geylani’s Secret of Secrets and Ahmed er Rifai’s Guidance to Mysticism. He is currently translating the Holy Qur’an into modern English from the Sufi perspective. The first sura to be published as a booklet is Ya Sin. Shaykh Taner also regularly publishes articles on spiritual topics. He and and his wife Shaykha Muzeyyen reside in New York, where they teach privately and hold regular public lectures and congregational zikr.
