ASufi shrine ordargah[a] is ashrine ortomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often aSufi saint ordervish.Sufis often visit the shrine forziyarat, a term associated with religious visitation and pilgrimages. Dargahs are often associated with Sufi eating and meeting rooms and hostels, calledkhanqah or hospices. They usually include a mosque, meeting rooms, Islamic religious schools (madrasas), residences for a teacher or caretaker, hospitals, and other buildings for community purposes.
Dargah is derived from a Persian word which literally means "portal" or "threshold."[1] The Persian word is a composite ofdar (در) meaning "door, gate" andgah (گاه) meaning "place". It may have a connection orconnotation with theArabic worddarajah (دَرَجَة) meaning "stature, prestige, dignity, order, place" or may also mean "status, position, rank, echelon, class".[citation needed]
The same structure, carrying the same social meanings and sites of the same kinds of ritual practices, is calledmaqam in the Arabic-speaking world.
Sufi shrines are found in many Muslim communities throughout the world and are called by many names. The termdargah is common in the Persian-influenced Islamic world, notably in Iran, Turkey and South Asia.[2]
InSouth Africa, the term is used to describe shrines in theDurban area where there is a strongIndian presence, while the termkramat is more commonly used inCape Town, where there is a strongCape Malay culture.[3]
In China, the termgongbei is usually used for shrine complexes centered around a Sufi saint's tomb.[4]
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Some Sufi and other Muslims believe that dargahs are portals by which they can invoke the deceased saint's intercession and blessing, as pertawassul, also known asdawat-e qaboor[5]دعوتِ قبور, "invocations of the graves or tombs" or‘ilm-e dawatعِلمِ دعوت, "knowledge ofinvocations". Still others hold a less important view of dargahs, and simply visit as a means of paying their respects to deceased pious individuals or to pray at the sites for perceived spiritual benefits.
However, dargah is originally a core concept in Islamic Sufism and holds great importance for the followers ofSufisaints. Many Muslims believe their wishes are fulfilled after they offer prayer or service at a dargah of the saint they follow. Devotees tie threads ofmannat (منّت, "grace, favour, praise") at dargahs and contribute tolangar and pray at dargahs.
Over time, musical offerings of dervishes andsheikhs in the presence of the devout at these shrines, usually impromptu or on the occasion ofUrs, gave rise to musical genres likeQawwali andKafi, whereinSufi poetry is accompanied by music and sung as an offering to amurshid, a type of Sufi spiritual instructor. Today they have become a popular form of music and entertainment throughoutSouth Asia, with exponents likeNusrat Fateh Ali Khan andAbida Parveen taking their music to various parts of the world.[6][7]
In South Asia, dargahs are often the site of festivals (milad) held in honor of the deceased saint on the anniversary of his death (urs). The shrine is illuminated with candles or strings of electric lights at this time.[8] Dargahs in South Asia, have historically been a place for all faiths since the medieval times; for example, theAjmer Sharif Dargah was a meeting place for Hindus and Muslims to pay respect and even to the revered SaintMu'in al-Din Chishti.[9][10]
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There are many active dargahs open to the public worldwide where aspirants may go for a retreat. The following is a list of dargahs open to the public.
TheAhl-i Hadith,Deobandi,Salafi andWahhabi religious scholars argue against the practice of constructing shrines over graves, and consider it as associating partners with God, which is calledshirk.[14][15][additional citation(s) needed] They believe Islamic prophetMuhammad strongly condemned the practice of turning graves into places of worship and even cursed those who did so.[15][additional citation(s) needed]
Many modern Islamic reformers criticize visits to shrines as mere superstition and a deviation from true Islam.
Relying mainly on hadiths and the Qur'an, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's most famous work, The Book of God's Unicity (Kitab al-tawhid), describes a variety of shirk practices, such as occultism, the cult of the righteous (salih), intercession, oaths calling on other than God himself, sacrifices or invocational prayers to other than God, and asking other than Him for help. Important things about graves are remarked on in a chapter entitled "About the Condemnation of One Who Worships Allah at the Grave of a Righteous Man, and What if He Worships [the Dead] Himself."72 Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab starts by quoting a hadith: "Umm Salama told the messenger of Allah about a church she had seen in Abyssinia in which there were pictures. The Prophet said: 'Those people, when a righteous member of their community or a pious slave dies, they build a mosque over his grave and paint images thereon; they are for God wicked people.' They combine two kinds of fitna: the fitna of graves and the fitna of images." He then continues with another hadith: "When the messenger of Allah was close to death, he ... said: 'May Allah curse the Jews and Christians who make the graves of their prophets into places of worship; do not imitate them.'" From this hadith Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab derives the prohibition of building places of worship over graves, because that would mean glorification of their inhabitants, which would amount to an act of worship to other than Allah.
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