Thekhirqa is the initiatory cloak of theSufi chain of spirituality, with whichesoteric knowledge andbarakah is passed from theMurshid or theShaikh to the aspirantmurid. The khirqa initiates an aspirant into thesilsilah, the chain or lineage of sheikhs that goes back to the Islamic prophetMuhammad. This chain serves as the channel through which barakah flows from the source of spiritual revelation to the being of the initiate.[1]
There are two kinds of this kind of transmission (tanakkul) of barakah through the khirqa: khirqa-yi irada and khirqa-yi tabarruk. Khirqa-yi irada is characterized by the passing of barakah to the aspirant from the singular sheikh to which they have pledged allegiance (bay'at). Khirqa-yi tabarruk, also known as the "frock of blessing", is characterized by the passing of barakah to the worthy aspirant from any sheikh that they have encountered.[2] The silsilah chain created from the passing of the khirqa that confirms authenticity of manyhadiths is a form ofisnad. It was not until the late eleventh and twelfth centuries thatSufism accepted this form ofisnad as a means to transmit mystical knowledge and blessings.[3]
