Khalwati order

Origins The Khalwati has two lineages, but it is safe to say that it goes back to Ali, Hasan and Husayn, most likely via the Basran or Baghdadi tradition, out of which the Khorasani Khwajagan generation eventually emerged, the most famous of which being Yusuf Hamadani, Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani and Abu Ali Farmadi, from which the students of Ahmad Yasawi taught Zahed Gilani, who then ultimately went on to be the teacher of Muhammad-Nur al-Khalwati and Umar al-Khalwati; the Khwajagan also often connected to Bayazid Bastami, whom the Khalwati have special reverence for. Umar- Khalwati was considered a cryptic and mysterious man who was not very well known and did very little to spread the ordm:ner. Shaykh Yahya Shirvani is considered "the second pir" and was himself the primary person responsible for the spread of the Khalwati order. Also during this period, the order sought to reassert its Sunni identity, by disassociating itself with the Shi’i enemy. With the reign of Sulayman the Magnificent and Selim II the order entered a revival. They had links with many high-ranking officials in the Ottoman administration and received substantial donations in cash and property, which helped to recruit more members. The influences of Niyazi al-Misri By this time, members of the Khalwati order broke ties with the common people, who they previously aligned themselves so closely. They attempted to rid the order of folk Islam to a more orthodox order. Revival of the Khalwati Most scholars believe that the Khalwati themselves went through a major revival during the 18th century when Mustafa ibn Kamal ad-Din al-Bakri (1688–1748) was in charge. Al-Bakri was considered a great shaykh who wrote many books, invented Sufi techniques, and was very charismatic. Jong argues that al-Bakri's influence was limited to adding a prayer litany to the Khalwati rituals. He made his disciples read this litany before sunrise and called it the Wird al-sahar. Al-Bakri wrote this prayer litany himself and thought it necessary to add it to the practices of the Khalwati order. Jong argues al-Bakri should not be attributed with the revival of the Sufi order for his limited effect. After the influence of al-Bakri faded, the Khalwati order began gradually splitting into popular break-off branches, which were led by figures such as Ismail Haqqi Bursevi, Aziz Mahmud Hudayi, Mustafa Gaibi, Mustafa Devati, Osman Fazli and Shaban Veli, whom are nonetheless still highly esteemed and venerated by mainstream Khalwati followers. == 19th-century political influence ==

Members of the Khalwati order were involved in political movements by playing a huge role in the Urabi insurrection in Egypt. The order helped others oppose British occupation in Egypt. The Khalwati groups in Upper Egypt protested British occupation due to high taxes and unpaid labor, which, in addition to drought, made living very hard in the 1870s. Their protests blended with the large stream nationalist protests that lead up to the Urabi insurrection. It can be said that the Khalwati's fight to improve living conditions eventually lead to the larger nationalist protests. == 20th century to modern day ==

The situation varies from region to region. In 1945, the government in Albania recognized the principal tariqas as independent religious communities, but this came to an end after the Albanian Cultural Revolution in 1967. In 1939 there were twenty-five Khalwatiyya tekkes in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. In 1925 the orders were abolished in Turkey and all tekkes and zawiyas were closed and their possessions confiscated by the government, and there is no data available on the status of the Khalwatiyya. In Egypt there are still many active branches of the Khalwatiyya. Modernity has affected the orders to have quite different forms in different environments. They vary depending on the locality, personality of the shaykh and the needs of the community. There may also be different prayer practices, patterns of association, and the nature of relations linking the disciples to the shaykh and to each other. In the contemporary period, the practice and idea of khalwa (spiritual retreat) have been reinterpreted in diverse ways beyond traditional Sufi ṭarīqa frameworks. While classical Khalwati practice emphasized prolonged solitude under the guidance of a shaykh, modern adaptations often focus on inner reflection, ethical self-cultivation, and psychological well-being within broader philosophical or spiritual contexts. These contemporary approaches tend to be less institutionalized, more inclusive, and responsive to modern social conditions, illustrating how Khalwati-inspired concepts continue to evolve while remaining connected to their historical roots. == Khalwati tekkes ==

The Khalwati order had many tekkes in Istanbul, the most famous being the Jerrahi, Ussaki, Sunbuli, Ramazani and Nasuhi. Although the Sufi orders are now abolished in the Republic of Turkey, the above are almost all now mosques and/or places of visitation by Muslims for prayer. Active branches in the Ottoman era • Pîr İlyas Amâsî branch • Seyyid Yâhyâ-yı Şirvânî branch • ' Molla Hâbib Karamanî sub-branch ' • ' Cemâli’îyye sub-branch ' (Followers of Çelebi Hâlife Cemâl-i Halvetî) • Sünbül’îyye • Assâl’îyye • Bahş’îyye • Şâbân’îyye • Karabaş’îyye • Bekr’îyye • Kemal’îyye • Hufn’îyye • Tecân’îyye • Dırdîr’îyye • Sâv’îyye • Semmân’îyye • Feyz’îyye • Nasûh’îyye • Çerkeş’îyye • İbrahim’îyye/Kuşadav’îyye • Halîl’îyye • ' Ahmed’îyye sub-branch ' (Followers of Yiğitbaşı Ahmed Şemseddîn bin Îsâ Marmarâvî) • Ramazan’îyye • Buhûr’îyye • Cerrah’îyye • Raûf’îyye • Cihângir’îyye • Sinan’îyye • Muslih’îyye • Zeherr’îyye • Hayât’îyye • Uşşâk’îyye • Câhid’îyye • Selâh’îyye • Niyâz’îyye/Mısr’îyye • Beyûm’îyye • ' Rûşen’îyye sub-branch ' (Followers of Dede Ömer-i Rûşenî) • Gülşen’îyye • Sezâ’îyye • Hâlet’îyye • Demirtâş’îyye • ' Şems’îyye sub-branch ' (Followers of Şemseddîn Ahmed Sivâsî) == Khalwati practices ==

The hallmark of the Khalwatiyya tariqa way, and its numerous subdivisions is its periodic retreat (khalwa) that is required of every novice. These can last between three days to forty days. The khalwa for some offshoots of the Khalwatiyya is essential in preparing the pupil, murid. The collective dhikr follows similar rules throughout the different branches of the Khalwatiyya order. The practice of dhikr is described as repetitive prayer. The practitioner is to be repeating Allah's name and remembering Allah. The dervish is to be attentive to Allah in their repetitive prayer. They are to be completely focused on Allah, so much so that an early Sufi master says "True dhikr is that you forget your dhikr." Another practice that distinguishes the Khalwatiyya from other tariqas is that for them it is through participation in the communal rites and rituals that one reaches a more advanced stage of awareness, one that the theorists of the order described as a face-to-face encounter with Allah. == Lineage ==

The following are two commonly cited spiritual chains (silsilas) tracing back to Prophet Muhammad: • Muḥammad • Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib • Hasan ibn Ali • Husayn ibn Ali • Ḥasan al-Baṣrī • Ḥabīb al-ʿAjamī • Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī • Maʿrūf al-Karkhī • Sari al-Saqaṭī • Jūnayd al-Baghdādī • Mumshād al-Dīnawarī • Muḥammad al-Bakrī • Qaḍī Wajīh al-Dīn ʿUmar al-Bakrī • Abū al-Najīb al-Suhrawardī • Ahmad Ghazali • Quṭb al-Dīn al-Abharī • Rukn al-Dīn al-Najāshī • Shihāb al-Dīn al-Tabrīzī • Khwājah Jamāl al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī • Zāhed Gilānī • Muḥammad ibn Nūr al-Khalwatī • ʿUmar al-Khalwatī Another version of the spiritual lineage is as follows: • Muḥammad • Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib • Ḥasan ibn Alī • Ḥusayn ibn Alī • Zayn al-ʿAbidīn • Muḥammad al-Baqir • Jāfar as-Sādiq • Mûsa al-Kâzim • Alī ar-Rida • Maʿrūf al-Karkhī • Sari al-Saqaṭī • Jūnayd al-Baghdâdî • Abū Bakr al-Shiblī • Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Aʿrābī • Abū ʿAlī al-Kātib • Abu Uthman al-Maghribi • Abu al-Qasim Gurgani • Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani • Abu Ali Farmadi • Arystan Baba • Yusuf Hamadani • Ahmed Yesevi • Shaykh Luqman Perende • Zāhed Gilānī • Muḥammad ibn Nūr al-Khalwatī • ʿUmar al-Khalwatī == sub-orders ==

• Gulshani • Jelveti • Jerrahi • Nasuhi • Rahmani • Sunbuli • Ussaki == See also ==