->Jay: merge proposal from Langar khana

2021-07-09T05:57:57Z

merge proposal from Langar khana

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{{for|the Sikh practice|Langar (Sikhism)}}
{{merge from|Langar khana|discuss=Talk:Langar (Sufism)#Proposal to merge with Langar khana|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Ajmer Sharif Langar.jpg|thumb|Langar at shrine of [[Sufi]], Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti]]

'''Langar''' (Persian: لنگر) is an institution developed and maintained by [[Sufi]] [[Muslims]] of [[South Asia]], particularly [[Pakistan]] and [[India]], whereby food and drink are provided to the needy regardless of ethnic, caste or religious background. Its origin is from [[Sufism]] ([[Islam]]) because serving of food to the needy has been a rich tradition among Sufis, especially of the [[Chishti Order]]. There is extensive use of free food imagery and metaphor in Sufi writings. Sugar and other sweet foods represent the sweetness of piety and community with God, while salt symbolizes purity and incorruptibility. Through the pronouncement of [[Bismallah]] during the bread-making process, the bread is imbued with spiritual power or [[Barakah|barakat]], which is shared by those who eat the bread. The transformation of the raw [[wheat]] to finished bread is used as an analogy for Sufi [[spiritual development]].

Sufi ritual observances ([[dhikr]]) are concerned with remembrance of God through exaltation and praise. Singing, dancing, and drumming are commonly part of such rituals, as is sharing of food.

The tradition of Langar was also adopted by the Sikh community, where it goes by the [[Langar (Sikhism)|same name]].<ref name="origin"/>

Food is served out of a massive{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=March 2016}} pot called a ''deg'' in the precincts of a [[dargah]] (Sufi shrine). It is also actively distributed to the poor.<ref>Kathleen Seidel, ''[http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_serving_love.html Serving Love]'', ''Serving the Guest: A Sufi Cookbook", September 2000. Accessed 15 January 2010.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Digital object identifier - Muslim World, The, Volume 95 Issue 4, pages 604–608, October 2005 (Article Abstract) |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2005.00115.x }}</ref><ref>[http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft3p30056w&doc.view=content&chunk.id=d0e5583&toc.depth=1&anchor.id=0&brand=eschol Before Taliban "d0e5583"]</ref>

==Etymology==
''Langar'' is originally a [[Persian language|Persian]] word, and later came into [[Urdu]] and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] from it, and in [[Bengali language|Bengali]] as ''longor'' ({{lang-bn|লঙ্গর}}).<ref>Kathleen Seidel, ''[http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_serving_love.html Serving Love]'', ''Serving the Guest: A Sufi Cookbook", September 2000. Accessed 15 January 2010.</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmxzoKBm30C&pg=PA245|title=My Hindu Faith and Periscope, Volume 1|author=Satish C. Bhatnagar|date=November 2012|page=245|isbn=9781466960978}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knA9NptP7xsC&pg=PA1130|title=A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary|page=1130|isbn=9788120606708|last1=Steingass|first1=Francis Joseph|year=1992}}</ref>

==History==
Langar, the practice and institution, was first started by [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar|Baba Farid]], a Muslim of the [[Chishti Order|Chishti]] [[Sufi]] order.<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2l56GzQ7d0C&pg=PA45|title=Epilogue, Vol 4, Issue 1 |page=45}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBQgAAAAMAAJ|title=Baba Sheikh Farid: His Life and Teaching|page=7|last1=Talib|first1=Gurbachan Singh|year=1973}}</ref> The institution of the langar was already popular in the 12th and 13th century among [[Sufi|Sufis]] (Muslim mystics) of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The practice grew and is documented in the ''Jawahir al-Faridi'' compiled in 1623 CE.<ref>{{cite book|author=Barbara D Metcalf|title=Moral Conduct and Authority: The Place of Adab in South Asian Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5-vzVq8hdkC |year=1984|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04660-3|pages=336–339}}</ref> It was later, both the institution and term, adopted by Sikhs.<ref name="origin">{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fI7AQAAIAAJ|title=Transactions, Volume 4|publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study|author=R. Nivas|others=The word langar, and this institution has been borrowed, so to speak, from the Sufis. The khanqas of the Chisti and other Sufi saints had a langar open to the poor and the rich, though the Hindus mostly kept away from them. To make the Brahmin sit with the pariah and do away with untouch- ability, and to make the Hindus and Muslims eat from the same kitchen and destroy all social|page=190|year=1967}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

{{Sufism}}

[[Category:Sufism in India]]
[[Category:Free meals]]

{{Sufism-stub}}

Langar (Sufism) - Revision history

->Jay: merge proposal from Langar khana