ASufi lodge[a] is a building designed specifically for gatherings of aSufi brotherhood ortariqa and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education.[1] They include structures also known askhānaqāh,zāwiya,ribāṭ,dargāh andtakya depending on the region, language and period (see§ Terminology).[2][3] InShia Islam, theHusayniyya has a similar function.[4][5]
The Sufi lodge is typically a large structure with a central hall and smaller rooms on either side.[3] Traditionally, the Sufi lodge was state-sponsored housing for Sufis.[6] Their primary function is to provide them with a space to practice social lives ofasceticism.[7] Buildings intended for public services, such as hospitals, kitchens, and lodging, are often attached to them.[7] Sufi lodges were funded by Ayyubid sultans in Syria, Zangid sultans in Egypt, and Delhi sultans in India in return for Sufi support of their regimes.[8][6][9]
Sufi lodges were called by various names depending on period, location and language: mostly,khānaqāh,zāwiya,ribāṭ,dargāh andtakya.[2][3]
The wordkhānaqāh (Classical Persian:خانَگاه,romanized: xānagāh orخانَقاه,xānaqāh;Arabic:خَانَقَاه,romanized: khānaqāh;Azerbaijani:xanəqah;[citation needed]Ottoman Turkish:خانَقاه,romanized: hanekâh;[10]Urdu:خانَقاہ,romanized: khānaqāh;[11]Uzbek:xonaqoh[citation needed]) is likely either Turkish or Persian in origin.[7]
The wordszāwiya (Arabic:زَاوِيَة; pluralزَوَايَا,zawāyā) andribāṭ (Arabic:رِبَاط; plural:رُبُط,rubuṭ) were especially used in theMaghreb.[12] The literal meaning ofzāwiya is 'corner', whileribāṭ means 'frontier guardpost'.[citation needed]
TheClassical Persian wordدَرگاهdargāh means 'doorway; shrine'.[citation needed]
TheClassical Persian wordتَکْیهtakya (whence modernIranian Persian:تَکْیه,romanized: takye;[13]Azerbaijani:təkyə;[14]Panjabi:تَکْیہ,romanized: takya;[15]Urdu:تَکْیہ,romanized: takya;[16]Uzbek:takya) at its core meant "support"; also "cushion" or "pillow".[17][b] The word was also borrowed inOttoman Turkish asتَكْیهtekye[18] (modernTurkish:tekke), eventually making its way intoArabic asتَكِيَّةtakiyya (pluralتَكَايَاtakāyā) and inlanguages of the Balkans (Albanian:teqeja;Bosnian:tekija).[citation needed]
The patronage of Sufi lodges historically made an important political and cultural statement. The patronage of a Sufi building by a ruler showed their support for Sufi religious practices and the spreading of Islam.[12] Funding a Sufi building was seen as an act of piety and a way in which the ruler could align themselves with public opinion.[12]
Sufi lodges are often associated with tombs ofSufi saints orshaykhs.[3] Typically, they feature a large hall where practitioners could pray and meditate.[3] They also include lodgings for traveling Sufis and pilgrims.[7]
In addition to their religious spaces, Sufi lodges also had structures for public services.[3] This included hospitals, kitchens, bathhouses, and schools.[3] Everyone working to provide these services was paid through awaqf.[3]
Sufi lodges have been very inclusive.[12] Visitors from different cultures and religions could visit them and receive a blessing.[12]
Traditionally, Sufi communal lives of asceticism were seen as pious because solitude and self-sufficiency were believed to lead to ego-centricity.[7] Penitence and suffering were intended to bring Sufis closer to understanding divinity.[7]
Nur ad-Din Zangi was the first large patron of Sufi structures, he built and giftedkhānaqāhs to Sufi groups in his dominion.[12] InDamascus,khānaqāhs were located inside as well as outside of the city walls.[12] Under the Zangids,khānaqāhs were very centrally located inOld Damascus, near theUmayyad Mosque.[12] Khanaqahs are very commonly placed near amadrasa that is dedicated to the same patron as thekhānaqāh.[12] The main purpose of thekhānaqāh was for legal education.[12] Most, including Nur ad-Din'skhānaqāh, included hospices.[12] However, there was a deep interconnection between education and religion in Sufi buildings, by the end of the Mamluk period the distinction between religious and educational buildings became blurred.[19]
Saladin founded the firstkhānaqāh inCairo, Egypt in 1173.[6] This officially marked his defeat of theFatimids, who were largelyShi'ite, and the beginning of theAyyubid period ofSunnism.[6] In 1325, theMamluk sultanal-Nāṣir Muḥammad relocated thekhānaqāh north of the city.[6] Saladin changed the Sa'id al-Su'ada, a Fatimid palace, into a Sufikhānaqāh called al-Khānaqāh al-Ṣalāḥiyya (not to be confused with theAl-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque in Jerusalem).[20] Thiskhānaqāh provided a place to stay for Sufis who were not from Cairo.[20] It was provided by Saladin based on the exchange of Sufis supporting the Ayyubid dynasty and policies.[20]
Saladin also created the role of the Chief Sufi, whose job was to operate activities from day to day and mentor the Sufis that lived in and visited thekhānaqāh.[20] There was a lot of competition for this role due to its great degree of influence.[20] The Chief Sufi maintained a close relationship with the Ayyubid Sultan, obtained military power and influence, and had the ability to teach at themadrasas in the area.[20] The Sultan gave a large degree of power to the Sufis in Cairo as part of an important trade off for political support which was incredibly important in solidifying the legitimacy of the Sultan's rule.[20] Scholars in the Mamluk world often did not differentiate betweenkhānaqāhs,ribāṭs,zāwiyas, andmadrasas.[3]
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In the Maghreb, Sufi lodges have been mostly known aszāwiyas orribāṭs.
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Manytakyas (Ottoman Turkish:تَكْیهلر,romanized: tekyeler; modernTurkish:tekkeler) have been built in Turkey and in the countries which cameunder Ottoman rule. The Ottomans used the wordstakya (Ottoman Turkish:تَكْیه,romanized: tekye),dargāh (دَرگاه,dergâh) andzāwiya (زاویه,zâviye) instead ofkhānaqāh (خانَقاه,hanekâh).[10][21] Among the Ottoman Sufi orders which had the mosttakyas were theMevlevi Order orMawlawiyya and theBektashi Order.[22] Thetakyas of the Mevlevi Order were calledMawlawī khānas (Ottoman Turkish:مولوی خانهلر,romanized: Mevlevî haneler,lit. 'Mawlawī houses').[22]
By the 20th century,Istanbul itself counted manytakyas. Some were dedicated to certain Muslim communities (for example, the Uzbeks' Takya[c] or the Indians' Takya[d]) which symbolized a certain recognition of these communities by the Ottomans.[25]
Ottomantakyas can be foundin Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, North Macedonia, and Syria.
Many Sufi lodges existed in Iran during the Middle Ages. Examples include theTohidkhaneh inIsfahan. After theSafavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, many Sufi lodges became used asḥusayniyyas[26] (buildings whereShia Muslims gather tomourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the month of Muharram).
In South Asia, the wordskhānaqāh,jamāʿat-khāna (Urdu:جماعت خانہ),takya (Urdu:تَکْیہ,lit. 'pillow, bolster'),dargāh (Urdu:درگاہ,lit. 'royal court'),langar (Urdu:لنگر,lit. 'refectory'[e]), and sometimesʿimārat (Urdu:عمارت,lit. 'building').[27] are used interchangeably for Sufi lodges.
The Madrasa-i-Firozshahi was built bySultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq nearHauz-i-Alai.[9] Its architecture was said to be so appealing to locals that they relocated to be closer to the complex.[9] Thekhānaqāh-madrasa structure had educational opportunities for the pious, and teachers were paid with stipends.[9] Its main purpose was to offer lodging for travelers.[9]
The Khanaqah of Sayed Ghulam Ali Shah Mashadi in India was visited by and open to pilgrims from many different cultures around the world.[8]Khānaqāhs hadlangar-khānas, which served as free public kitchens for the poor sponsored by endowments fromlakhiraj lands.[7] Islamic values of equality and fraternity broughtkhānaqāhs to provide services for members of the lowestcastes.[7] The popularity ofkhānaqāhs declined in the early 14th century in India.[7]
Prior to theTimurid period, Sufi lodges were typically designed as large complexes with several structures.[3] After the fourteenth century, they were more commonly designed as one large structure.[3] This design is typically characterized by one large hall with cells or galleries on either side, allowing more interaction for those working in the lodge.[6] They commonly have domes, mosaics, arches, columns, courtyards, portals, and minarets.[28][29] The design and incorporation of these aspects varies by region and era.[29]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Osmanlılar'da hankah yerine daha çok dergâh, tekke ve zâviye kelimeleri kullanılmıştır
بناء الحسينية كان حديث العهد بإيران، وأما التكايا فكانت معروفة ومنتشرة في أنحاء إيران وكانت تقام فيها بعض الشعائر الحسينية أيضا قبل أن تنتقل إلى الحسينيات التي تخصصت بالشعائر الحسينية.
takya is used also in India and in Xinjiang (China). In the Indian subcontinent, the terms used are jamā'at-khāna (meeting room), takya (pillow, bolster) or dargāh (royal court) and langar (refectory), a term of Sanskrit origin, and sometimes imarat (religious complex).
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