In its country of origin, Iran, the Noorbakhshia underwent a transition towards Shia Islam, particularly Twelver Shi'ism, several decades after the Safavid dynasty officially established Twelver Shi'ism as the state religion in 1501. A similar transformation occurred in Kashmir, either during the lifetime of
Shams ud-Din Iraqi, who died in 1527, or in the subsequent decades, coinciding with the brief reign of the
Chak dynasty. The order began declining in the mid-16th century in Kashmir and persecution by Sunni authorities led to its eventual demise. Eventually, the order was assimilated into mainstream
Twelver Shia Islam. Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, a Sufi master of the 15th century, has received relatively little attention from researchers despite his significant influence. Although Nurbakhsh had numerous scholar-disciples, such as Shaikh Asiri Lahiji, none of them undertook substantial efforts to document Nurbakhsh's biography or to preserve his teachings. Nurbakhshis believe that the practices are not an assemblage of his personal views but were originally conceived by him from
Muhammad through the masters of the spiritual chain. They state that anyone who questions this connection is invited to travel on the long road through the history of
mysticism and to compare it with that of Nurbakhsh's teachings. == In Baltistan and Ladakh ==