Khanqah - Revision history

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-{{Short description|Building for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood}}
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-== Etymology ==
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-The word khanqah is likely either Turkish or Persian in origin.<ref name=":1" /> In the [[Arab world]], especially [[North Africa]], the khanqah is known as a '''[[Zawiya (institution)|zāwiyah]]''' ({{lang-ar|زاوية}}, plural ''zāwiyāt''; also transliterated as ''zawiya'', ''zāwiya'' or ''zaouia'').<ref name=":3" /> In the former regions of the [[Ottoman Empire]], they are locally referred to as '''tekke''' in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] (from [[Ottoman Turkish]] {{lang|ota|تکه}}, alternative form of {{lang|ota|تكیه}} '''''tekye'''''), '''teqeja''' in [[Albanian language|Albanian]], '''tekija''' in [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], and {{lang|ar|تكيّة}} '''''takiyya''''' in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. In South Asia, the words ''khanqah'' and ''dargah'' are used interchangeably for Sufi shrines. Scholars in the Mamluk world often did not differentiate between khanqahs, ribats, zawiyas, and madrasas.<ref name=":2" />
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Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-08-30T19:57:16Z

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{{Short description|Building for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood}}
{{Redirect|Takiyya|the building where Shia Muslims gather in the month of Muharram|Takyeh}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Sufism}}
A '''khanqah''' ({{lang-fa|خانقاه}}) or '''khangah''' ({{lang-fa|خانگاه}}; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also [[Arabic|Arabized]] ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a '''[[ribat]]''' ({{lang|fa|رباط}}), is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a [[Sufism|Sufi brotherhood]] or ''[[tariqa]]'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berkey |first=Jonathan Porter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50476676 |title=The formation of Islam : religion and society in the Near East, 600-1800 |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-58214-8 |location=New York |oclc=50476676}}</ref> The khanqah is typically a large structure with a central hall and smaller rooms on either side.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Khanqah |url=https://iranicaonline.org/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Traditionally, the kahnqah was state-sponsored housing for Sufis.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hofer |first=Nathan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/919188147 |title=The popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325 |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-7486-9422-8 |location=Edinburgh |oclc=919188147}}</ref> Their primary function is to provide them with a space to practice social lives of asceticism.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Nizami |first=Khaliq Ahmad |date=1957 |title=Some Aspects of Khanqah Life in Medieval India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1595247 |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=8 |pages=51–69 |doi=10.2307/1595247|jstor=1595247 }}</ref> Buildings intended for public services, such as hospitals, kitchens, and lodging, are often attached to them.<ref name=":1" /> Khanqahs were funded by Ayyubid sultans in Syria, Zangid sultans in Egypt, and Delhi sultans in India in return for Sufi support of their regimes.<ref name=":5">{{Citation |last=Hussain |first=Pirzada Athar |title=Sufism and the Khanqah of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah in Shahdara Sharief: An Ethnographic Fathom |date=2021 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1598-6_3 |work=Understanding Culture and Society in India: A Study of Sufis, Saints and Deities in Jammu Region |pages=33–58 |editor-last=Chauhan |editor-first=Abha |place=Singapore |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-981-16-1598-6_3 |isbn=978-981-16-1598-6 |s2cid=238049797 |access-date=2022-12-05}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Irfan |first=Lubna |title=Medieval Indian Madrasas |date=2018 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26906255 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=79 |pages=260–269 |jstor=26906255 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word khanqah is likely either Turkish or Persian in origin.<ref name=":1" /> In the [[Arab world]], especially [[North Africa]], the khanqah is known as a '''[[Zawiya (institution)|zāwiyah]]''' ({{lang-ar|زاوية}}, plural ''zāwiyāt''; also transliterated as ''zawiya'', ''zāwiya'' or ''zaouia'').<ref name=":3" /> In the former regions of the [[Ottoman Empire]], they are locally referred to as '''tekke''' in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] (from [[Ottoman Turkish]] {{lang|ota|تکه}}, alternative form of {{lang|ota|تكیه}} '''''tekye'''''), '''teqeja''' in [[Albanian language|Albanian]], '''tekija''' in [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], and {{lang|ar|تكيّة}} '''''takiyya''''' in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. In South Asia, the words ''khanqah'' and ''dargah'' are used interchangeably for Sufi shrines. Scholars in the Mamluk world often did not differentiate between khanqahs, ribats, zawiyas, and madrasas.<ref name=":2" />

==Architecture==
[[File:20120729 Budali Hoca Tekkesi exterior Thermes Xanthi Greece.JPG|thumb|left|The {{ill|Budali Hodja Tekke|el|Τεκές Μπουνταλά Χότζα}} in Greece]]
Prior to the Timurid period, khanqahs were typically designed as large complexes with several structures.<ref name=":2" /> After the fourteenth century, they were more commonly designed as one large structure.<ref name=":2" /> This design is typically characterized by one large hall with cells or galleries on either side, allowing more interaction for those working in the khanqah.<ref name=":0" /> They commonly have domes, mosaics, arches, columns, courtyards, portals, and minarets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archnet > Site > Khanqah wa Qubbat al-Amir Shaykhu |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/2210 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=www.archnet.org}}</ref><ref name="archnet.org">{{Cite web |title=Archnet > Site > Khanqah al-Farafra |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/5021 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=www.archnet.org}}</ref> The design and incorporation of these aspects varies by region and era.<ref name="archnet.org"/>

== Function ==
The patronage of Sufi khanqahs 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.<ref name=":3">{{Citation |last=EPHRAT |first=DAPHNA |title=THE DEVELOPMENT AND SPATIAL LAYOUT OF PHYSICAL SETTINGS |date=2021 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv22d4z9m.11 |work=Sufi Masters and the Creation of Saintly Spheres in Medieval Syria |pages=83–100 |publisher=Arc Humanities Press |jstor=j.ctv22d4z9m.11 |isbn=978-1-64189-208-7 |access-date=2022-12-05}}</ref> Funding a Sufi building was seen as an act of piety and a way in which the ruler could align themselves with public opinion.<ref name=":3" />

Khanqahs are often associated with dargahs of a tombs of Sufi saints or shaykhs.<ref name=":2" /> Typically, they feature a large hall where practitioners could pray and meditate.<ref name=":2" /> They also include lodgings for traveling Sufis and pilgrims.<ref name=":1" />[[File:Haruniyeh.JPG|thumb|right|''Haruniyeh'' tomb, named after [[Harun al-Rashid]]. The present structure, a khanqah, is located in [[Tus, Iran]] and was probably built in the 13th century. [[Al-Ghazali]] is buried here.]]In addition to their religious spaces, khanqahs also had structures for public services.<ref name=":2" /> This included hospitals, kitchens, bathhouses, and schools.<ref name=":2" /> Everyone working to provide these services was paid through a waqf.<ref name=":2" />

Although khanqahs are Sufi structures, they are very inclusive.<ref name=":3" /> Visitors from different cultures and religions could visit the khanqah and receive a blessing.<ref name=":3" />

Traditionally, Sufi communal lives of asceticism were seen as pious because solitude and self-sufficiency were believed to lead to ego-centricity.<ref name=":1" /> Penitence and suffering were intended to bring Sufis closer to understanding divinity.<ref name=":1" />

== History ==

=== Khanqah in Syria ===
Nur al-Din was the first large patron of Sufi structures, he built and gifted khanqahs to Sufi groups in his dominion.<ref name=":3" /> In Damascus, khanqahs were located inside as well as outside of the city walls.<ref name=":3" /> Under the Zangids, khanqahs were very centrally located in Old Damascus, near the Umayyad Mosque.<ref name=":3" /> Khanqahs are very commonly placed near a Madrasa that is dedicated to the same patron as the khanqah.<ref name=":3" /> The main purpose of the khanqah was for legal education.

[[File:Madreseh honar esfahan.jpg|thumb|right|'''[[Tohidkhaneh]], a medieval ''khanqah'' in [[Isfahan]], [[Iran]].''']]<ref name=":3" /> Most, including Nur al-Din's khanqah, included hospices.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kugle |first=Scott Alan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1303712460 |title=Hajj to the heart : Sufi journeys across the Indian Ocean |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-4696-6532-0 |location=Chapel Hill |oclc=1303712460}}</ref>

=== Khanqah in Egypt ===
[[Saladin]] founded the first khanqah in [[Cairo]], Egypt in 1173.<ref name=":0" /> This officially marked his defeat of the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]], who were largely [[Shia Islam|Shi’ite]], and the beginning of the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] period of [[Sunni Islam|Sunnism]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1325, the [[Mamluk]] sultan [[Al-Nasir Muhammad|al-Nāṣir Muḥammad]] relocated the khanqah north of the city.<ref name=":0" /> Saladin changed the Sa'Td al-Su'ada, a Fatimid palace, into a Sufi khanqah called al-khänqäh al-salähiyya (not to be confused with the [[Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque]] in Jerusalem).<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Hofer |first=Nathan |date=2014-08-20 |title=The Origins and Development of the Office of the "Chief Sufi" in Egypt, 1173–1325 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jss/3/1/article-p1_1.xml |journal=Journal of Sufi Studies |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.1163/22105956-12341260 |s2cid=110058093 |issn=2210-5948}}</ref> This khanqah provided a place to stay for Sufis who were not from Cairo.<ref name=":4" /> It was provided by Saladin based on the exchange of Sufis supporting the Ayyubid dynasty and policies.<ref name=":4" />

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 the khanqah.<ref name=":4" /> There was a lot of competition for this role due to its great degree of influence.<ref name=":4" /> The Chief Sufi maintained a close relationship with the Ayyubid Sultan, obtained military power and influence, and had the ability to teach at the Madrasas in the area.<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name=":4" />[[Image:Shrine Of Allo Mahar sharif.jpg|thumb|right|218px|Shrine of [[Islamic Naqshbandi saints of Allo Mahar]] Sharif]]

=== Khanqah in India ===
Madrasa-i-Firozshahi was built by [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq|Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq]] near [[Hauz Khas|Hauz-i-Alai]].<ref name=":6" /> Its architecture was said to be so appealing to locals that they relocated to be closer to the complex.<ref name=":6" /> The khanqah-madrasa structure had educational opportunities for the pious, and teachers were paid with stipends.<ref name=":6" /> Its main purpose was to offer lodging for travelers.<ref name=":6" />

The khanqah of Sayed Ghulam Ali Shah Mashadi in India was visited by and open to pilgrims from many different cultures around the world.<ref name=":5" /> Khanqahs had [[Langar (Sufism)|langarkhanas]], which served as free public kitchens for the poor sponsored by endowments from lakhiraj lands.<ref name=":1" /> Islamic values of equality and fraternity brought khanqahs to provide services for members of the lowest [[Caste system in India|castes]].<ref name=":1" /> The popularity of khanqahs declined in the early 14th century in India.<ref name=":1" />

==See also==
* [[Islamic architecture]]
* [[Ottoman architecture]]
* [[Architecture of Iran]]
* [[Historical tekkes, zawiyas, and dergahs in Istanbul]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Fernandes |first=Leonor E. |title=The Evolution of a Sufi Institution in Mamluk Egypt: The Khanqah |location=Berlin |publisher=Klaus Schwarz |year=1998 |isbn=3-922968-68-6}}
* Hattstein, M. and P. Delius — ''Islam: Art and Architecture'', 2000, {{ISBN|3-8290-2558-0}}.

==External links==
*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kanaqah ḴĀNAQĀH. Encyclopedia Iranica.]
*[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1270 "Khanaqah" article in Oxford Islamic Studies Online]
{{Islamic educational institutions}}
{{Iranian Architecture}}
{{Islamic architecture}}
{{Sufism terminology}}
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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sufi shrines]]
[[Category:Sufism in India]]
[[Category:Sufism in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Islamic architecture]]
[[Category:Ribats]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]
[[Category:Islamic education]]