Chapter two: Sufism
“The death of the heart is ignorance and life of the heart is knowledge.”
– Imam Ghazali.
Sufism is an Islamic mystical way of understanding the divine and the universe. Its focus is upon devotion, contemplation, learning, and creativity.
The city of Jerusalem is considered one of the holiest places in the world, it has a serious religious and spiritual importance in the hearts and minds of the believers from the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For Muslims, It is the third holy city after Mecca and Medina in modern-day Saudi Arabia. The prophet of Islam, Muhammad had stated the basis of the Islamic religion in the Arabian peninsula, but according to the Islamic belief Jerusalem was chosen by god, as it is believed to be the nearest point to heaven, the prophet brought to Jerusalem in his miraculous night journey “al-Israa” where it is believed that he traveled on the back of a “al-Buraq” to the al-Aqsa Mosque. which he then had ascended in his journey “al-Mi’raj” into heaven where he individually greeted the prophets and lead them in prayer and spoke to God, who gave him instructions to take back to the Muslims regarding the details of prayer.
Taking this important spiritual aspect of Jerusalem in Islam, Sufism (Islamic Mysticism) has been a prominent feature in Jerusalem during the Ottoman rule (1516-1917), when the Ottoman Sultans had supported the Tasawwuf (The act of being a mystic) in all parts of their Empire including the holy city of Jerusalem.
This part of the thesis studies Sufism in Jerusalem under the Ottoman Rule by studying its history and establishments. Let’s start with the definition of the term Sufism.
The Moroccan imam Ahamed Zarruq (846-899 AH/AD 1442–1493), said that the Tasawwuf have more than two thousand definitions, all of which go back to the sincerity of one’s self application to god. Each one definition corresponds to the state and extent of the definite experience, knowledge, and taste, upon which he put his definition. From these two thousand definitions, I have chosen three to present.
The first is the definition that was said by Sheikh Taqi ad-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya (661-728 AH/AD 1263-1328), one of the most known scholars of Sunni Islam. born in Harran, Sultanate of Rum (modern-day Harran, Şanlıurfa, Turkey) , who studied Islamic religious sciences in Damascus and accepted the Tasawwuf under one condition that it follows the Sharia’h (Islamic law). According to Ibn Taymiyya: Tassawuf is the science of realities and states of experience. This means that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anything which distracts him from the remembrance of God and who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value of gold and stones will be the same to him. And Tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious spiritual meanings and leaving behind the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of truthfulness because the best of humans after the prophets are the Siddiqenn (Truthful Ones). And the Sufi is in reality a kind of Siddiq, that Siddiq who specialized in zuhd (the self-denial or abstention from materialism.) and worship. Some people criticize Sufi and Tasawwuf and say that they are innovators, out of the religion, but the truth is they are striving in god’s obedience. Unfortunately modern days admirers of Sheikh Ibn Taymiyya cite him as an enemy of Sufism, by explaining his works in a violent way, they consider him as the principal authority in the campaign of ‘Salafis’ which in reality is the main responsible of creating the present climate of unwarranted fanaticism and encouragement to ignorance. Yet Ibn Taymiyya was himself a Sufi. However, Salafis’ are careful never to show the Sufi Ibn Taymiyya, who would severely hamper their construction of him as purely anti-Sufi.
The second definition is by Sheikh Abu al-`Ala’ al-Mawdudi (1321-1399 AH/AD 1903-1979) born in Aurangabad, Hyderabad Deccan, British India who is considered as the most famous contemporary Islamic Indian thinker. who published a Qur’anic commentary in Urdu and English. He wrote in his “Mabadi’ al-Islam” (Principles of Islam): That Fiqh addresses only external actions on performing prayers according to what is required. Here the condition of the heart is not taken under consideration. The science that investigates the states of the heart and its conditions is the Tasawwuf. The question asked by Fiqh is: Did you fulfill the pillars of prayer? Have you made all of your prayers?It is correct according to the rules of Fiqh. On the other side Tasawwuf, asks questions about the heart such as: Did you repent and turn to god in your prayer? Did you empty your heart of the preoccupations of the material world in your prayer? If the person who prayed did this, then his prayer is correct according to Tasawwuf, otherwise, it is defective. Tasawwuf is the establishment of the Law of Islam to the utmost point of purity of the heart.
The third definition is by Sheikh Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al-Ghazali al-Tusi al-Nisaburi (450-505 AH/AD 1058-1111), religious renewer of the Fifth Islamic century, scholar of Fiqh and author of most well known document on Tasawwuf, Ihya ulum al-din (Revival of the religious sciences). Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (Deliverance from Error), his autobiography, states that the Sufi path entails purging the heart of anything other than god. It came to the conclusion that the Sufis were those who were seeking God’s Path, and that their conduct is the finest, their way the best, and their demeanor the most sanctified. They have purified their hearts from others than god and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run, carrying knowledge of god.
The term Tasawwuf:
The contemporary Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (b. AD 1945) (leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order in North America), stated in his book “The Sufi Science of Self-Realization: A Guide to the Seventeen Ruinous Traits, the Ten Steps to Discipleship and the Six Realities of the Heart”, that the term “Sufism” came from four different Arabic sources. The first “Ahlu al-Suffa”: The people of the bank/bench. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad, there were many people who were drawn to him and sought spiritual progress.
The Prophet used to meet with them in the evenings, and after he left, his followers would remain behind, sitting all night on benches in the mosque located near his house, trying to repeat and memorize what the prophet told them throughout the day. The second source is “Safaa” (crystal clear, and transparent). The third source is “Sufat ul-Kafa”: the cleaning sponge, which describes the soft heart of a Sufi. The fourth source is “Suuf”, meaning wool, after the robes which were worn by the devotees who went to caves to connect themselves with their god.
History of Sufism
The history of Sufism can be divided into four main phases: the first phase took place in the first two Islamic centuries (AD 622-814), In the essay of Sheikh Ibn Taymiyya entitled al-Sufiyya wa al-fuqara’ (Sufism and the poor) which was published in the eleventh volume (al Tawassuf) of his Majmou El-Fatawa al-Kubra (Collection of the big Fatwas), he states: That the word Sufi was not very known in the first three Islamic centuries but the usage of the word became stronger after that. A few Imams and Sheikhs spoke about the subject, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Sulayman al Darani. It has been related that Sufyan al-Thawri used it. Some have also mentioned Hasan al Basri. Tasawwuf’s place of origin is Basra in Iraq where the great Imam al-Hasan al-Basri lived. He was famous for his knowledge, his austerity, his fearless protest of the authorities, and his power of attraction in discourse and appearance. he left behind a white cloak made of wool which he had worn for twenty years, in winter and in summer, and that when he died it was in a state of cleanness and quality. This early phase was characterized by the Sufis of which strict to the Shariah.
The second phase took place from the third to the sixth Islamic century (AD 815-1202). That time was the change in which sufism became one of the religious sciences, it had its own terminology, and its own place outside of the mosques were Sufists used to gather to hear (Sama`) the poems and songs that tells about the love of the human to his Mighty God. Sufism at this phase got a bit far from the original Islamic Sharia law and was influenced by other cultures, religions, and philosophy especially Christianity, and Greek philosophies. There are two elements that characterized this phasee: First, most of the great names of Sufism history appeared in it. Second Sufism became unaccepted by part of the traditional Islamic scholars and was pointed at as an innovation (Bid’ah).
The third phase took place from the seventh to the eleventh Islamic centuries (AD 1203-1686), the seventh century can be described as the Golden Age of Sufism as at this phase it expanded all over the Islamic world, in the middle of the sixth Islamic century and reached Andalusia “after the invasion of the Iberian peninsula by the Moors in 92 AH/AD 711 , the southern half of Spain was Arabised under Islamic rule and the Arabic language became the common language of intellectual from different religions. In Al-Andalus Muhammed Ibn ‘Ali Ibn ‘Arabi was born in Murcia in 558 AH/ AD 1165, at the time of the flowering of the Hispano-Arab culture. The third phase was characterized by the division of Sufism into two schools. One which started by the reformer Sheikh Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al-Ghazali al-Tusi al-Nisaburi who exterminated the Greek thoughts so as to remove their effect from Muslims’ minds, and return Sufism to its Shariah’ origins. The second was the school that continues to be affected by Greek philosophers.
The fourth Phase started in the late Middle Ages, it was significantly supported by the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, who helped the Sufis to build their establishments in most parts of the Empire and gave them financial support.
Sufism in the common era is targeted and attacked by Salafi groups who believe that Sufism is an innovation which entered Islam from other religions and that according to them “true” Muslims must fight it. The Saudi Wahabist scholars led this attack, while Sufists still defended it.
Sufism in Al-Quds (Jerusalem)
As mentioned before in this part of the thesis, Jerusalem has always been one of the holiest places on earth. the holy Qur’an says:
“Glory be to Him who did take His servant for a journey by night from the sacred (Haram) mosque to the farthest (Aqsa) mosque whose precincts We did bless, -in order that We might show him some of Our signs: for He is the One Who hears and sees (all things)”
(Qur’an, Surah al- Isra’ :1)
From Jerusalem, the prophet Muhammad saw some of God’s Mighty signs, which means that Islam gave special spiritual importance to Jerusalem. For this reason, most of the great Sufis in the history of Sufism had visited the city, some of them died and got buried there, and others spent part of their life in this holy city.
Sheikha Rabi’a Adawiyya also known as Rabi’a of Basra (100-180 AH 717-801 AD) One of the most known female Sufis visited Jerusalem and fell in love with the city, she decided to live the rest of her life there, and she was buried in Jabal al-Tur (Mount of Olives), She is considered by some Sufists as a saint and believers visit the site of her grave to be blessed. As Sufism developed, this great woman was the first to express the relationship with the mighty divine in a language recognized as specifically Sufic by referring to God as the Beloved. Rabi’a was the first to speak of Sufism in a language that everybody could understand. Rabi’a’s relation with God was neither fear of hell nor a desire for paradise, but only adoration. “God is God,” she said. For this I love God not because of any gifts, but for him. her goal was to melt her being in God. According to her, “humans can find God by turning within themselves . Zawias are a central part of Islam, and in some cases challenges the position of mosques, and in some other cases, zawias and mosques coexist inside the same building. Some zawias have even been turned into mosques.
There are a large number of Sufi Sheikhs graves (shrines) in Jerusalem. Such as the main character in this thesis Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Budeir where his grave is located in his library next to Al-Aqsa mosque. Many Sufists were buried in the Islamic cemetery in the west side of Jerusalem Ma’man Allah or Mamela as it is known. In his book (Islamic Mausolea and Cemeteries In Jerusalem) Dr. Kamel L Asali mentioned the names of about 35 great Sheikhs of the Sufis who were buried in Mamela throughout the history, some of them were buried in what is called in Arabic (Housh) which is a small part of the cemetery, where the followers of their Sufi Tariqa (order) were buried around their Sheikhs graves. The other part of the graves was divided between the other two Islamic cemeteries: al-Sahera out the northern side of the walls of the old city, and Bab al-Asbat outside the eastern wall.
Sufi establishments in Jerusalem
Sufi centers: The sufi centers are varied, some of them are called Zawya, some are called Ribat, and others are called Khaniqah.
Zawia: Built around the residence or the shrine (grave) of a Sufi Sheikh which was considered holy to the followers of his path. The vast majority of zawias are simple in form and decoration, usually to reflect the ascetic lifestyle of the holy man or woman being commemorated. The people for whom the zawias were built were ascetics, Sufi leaders, teachers, people returning from pilgrimages (such as the Hajj), learned men, people with whom a miracle is associated, or former rulers.” The Zawya is also used as a school to teach people the spiritual studies and to practice listening (Sama’), which we will explain later.
Ribat: The second Sufi institution is known as (al-Rebat), which means “border fortresses.” In times of war, these places were used as camps for the Muslim soldiers, but when there was no war, they were used by the Sufis as schools for their spiritual studies and as libraries where they kept their books. In the late Middle Ages, they were also used as guest houses or shelters for poor people.
Khaniqah: The “Khaniqah,” a Persian word that used to refer to the structures where Sufis stayed to worship, study, and sleep, is the third institution of the Sufis. The “Khaniqah” was replaced with a new name, “Tkiyya,” during the late medieval era of Ottoman authority. The “Khaniqah’s” leader was selected by the government, who also provided salaries, and it became one of the government’s institutions.
Because the three institutions serve similar purposes, it might be confusing to refer to them by their respective names. This is especially true for certain historians and tourists who have visited the city; some of them have referred to a location by the name Khaniqah while it actually is Zawya.
Despite the fact that the Tasawwuf in Jerusalem reached its pinnacle during the Ottoman era, the Tasawwuf’s history in the city dates back to the early years of Islam, as was previously indicated, when the Tasawwuf was integrated into Islamic studies. Many Sufis have visited or resided in the city since the second century of Islam, and many Sufi institutions have been constructed as a result.
“al-Khaniqah al karamia,” founded by the Sufi Muhammad ibn-karram (died AD 868), was the first Sufi institution. The audience abandoned his lectures when he began to argue that a person can be a believer in God merely by saying so and without a need for acting, which translates to without a need for worshiping God. He was an Asian native from Sagistan who taught at the al-Aqsa mosque and used to dress in leather. In that Khaniqah, he and his adherents used to do “dhikr,” which involves repeatedly repeating the name of God or a brief religious phrase.
The Mamluk Sultan Barkuk (1382-1398 AD) encouraged the fusion of Sufi studies with other academic studies and used to pay the shaikhs who shared the daily dhikr in addition to the salary they had paid for being teachers at the Khanqahs, which is why the majority of the Sufi Khaniqahs were constructed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, during Mamluk rule.
The institutions were split in accordance with what is referred to as (Tariqa) in the Sufi tradition, which means: The Way of those shaikhs to invoke Allah’s Divine Presence and Prophetic obedience. Those shaikhs serve as guides, and each has a unique approach (Tariqa) for pointing people in the direction of the Prophet’s teachings. Most of those Tariqas’ founders were Muslims who lived in the Middle Ages in various regions of the Islamic world. Some of their followers have continued their order over the years; others have formed new Tariqas. There were seventy Sufi institutions in Jerusalem in the seventeenth century, and each one made reference to a distinct Sufi Tariqa. Most of the structures around the two mosques in the Haram were occupied by Sufis during the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.). Others were constructed before the Ottomans, while some were built by the Ottoman governors.
We learned about the Tasawwuf and the Sufis in Jerusalem during the Ottoman era from two different sources: the first is the old record of the authentic Moslem court in East Jerusalem, and the second is the literature produced by travelers who visited the city at that time. One of the best Sufis at the time, Abed al-Ghane al-Nabulsi, is most well known for his visit to the city in 1690 AD and the book he composed, al-Hadra al-Unsia fi al-Rehla al-Maqdesia, which translates to “the pleasant assembly-dhikr in the journey to Jerusalem.” This trip provides a good overall impression of the city and, in particular, the Sufis and Tasawwuf. Through his book and other sources, we’ll begin our journey to the Tasawwuf and Sufis in Jerusalem. We’ll visit some of the zawias from that era, learn about the buildings—most of which are still standing—learn about the Tariqas that define the zawya, and take part in some of the rituals that al-Nabulsi performed more than 300 years ago.
The Indian Zawya
Entering Herod’s gate at (Bab al-Sahera) to the old city, the first thing that you face after the two small shops in front of the gate are the steps that led to Saadyya quarter up the hill there are two buildings, the first in the front is new used as an UNROW clinic, the one on the back is an old building used as a guest house for the Indian Moslems who visited Jerusalem. Shaikh Ahmed er Rifa’i (AD 1118-1181), who was born in Basra, Iraq, founded the er Rifa’I tariqa, which had its headquarters here. They tell this story about his miracles: “In the year AD 1160 Ahmed er Rifai went on pilgrimage, and in Medina he went to see our Prophet. He used to stamp himself with knives and swords without being hearted according to the belief that their shaikh had a spiritual power to heal them as he did near the tomb of the prophet (pbuh). The guard didn’t want to let him in because he was not traveling in his Sayyid clothes that would have shown that he was a blood relative of the Prophet. When the guard didn’t let him in, he was sad and yelled towards our Prophet’s tomb and said “Eselamu-aleyke ya jeddi” (“Peace be on you, my ancestor”) and then our Prophet answered saying “Aleykesselam ya veledi” (“And peace be on you, my son”) and our Prophet’s hand came out of the tomb and he kissed our Prophet’s hand. And when people saw this miracle, they went into a state of vejd (ecstasy) and began stabbing themselves with their swords and knives. When the ecstasy moment passed, there were people lying wounded all over the floor with lots of blood. So Ahmed er Rifa’i went around and healed them all back to their normal health. After that, Ahmed er Rifa’i was known to have this gift and this is known as a Rifa’i miracle.”
Hearting animals is prohibited by the adherents of this Tariqa. In Jerusalem, there was another zawya for er Rifai’s adherents close to al-Ghwanema gate, one of the Haram gates. The zawiya of Mawlawiyya In the Islamic sector, not far from the last one, there is a zawya that was built in AD 1543 by Khawandek Karbek, the Ottoman governor of Jerusalem at the time. The Ottoman Sultans gave a special position to the sheikhs and the followers of the Maylawiyya Tariqa through the history, before building the zawiya in Jerusalem Sultan Salim named the shaikh Akhfash Zada as the shaikh of the Tariqa in Jerusalem and he order his government to pay him a great amount of money monthly (500 Uqja). “The Maylawiyya Tariqa which was established by Jalaluden Rume who was born in AD 1207 in Balkh in what is today Afghanistan. At an early age his family left Balkh because of the danger of the invading Mongols and settled in Konya, Turkey, which was then the capital of the Seljuk Empire. His father Bahauddin was a great religious teacher who received a position at the university in Konya.
Jalaluden’s early spiritual education was under the tutelage of his father Bahauddin and later under his father’s close friend Sayyid Burhaneddin of Balkh. The circumstances surrounding Sayyid’s undertaking of the education of his friend’s son are interesting: Sayyid had been in Balkh, Afghanistan when he felt the death of his friend Bahauddin and realized that he must go to Konya to take over Jalaluden ‘s spiritual education. He came to Konya when Mevlâna was about twenty-four years old, and for nine years instructed him in “the science of the prophets and states,” beginning with a strict forty day retreat and continuing with various disciplines of meditation and fasting. During this time Jalaluden also spent more than four years in Aleppo and Damascus studying with some of the greatest religious minds of the time.” His most important work, the “Mathnawi” or “Spiritual Couplets,” fills six volumes, and their impact on Islamic civilization was so great it gave rise to his title, Mevlana, meaning “the teacher.” “Rumi was a sensuous poet as well as a religious thinker, offering great insight into the struggle of the mystic with physical existence.”
Al-Nabulsi paid a visit to Maylawiyya Zawya on Wednesday, April 16, 1690 AD. In his book (al Hadra), he described it as a three-story building with a large courtyard in front of the first floor, a second courtyard that was smaller than the first one when reaching the second floor, and a third courtyard that was “here we nearly reached the sky” in front of the third floor. He entered a great room (Diwan) . The stony seats were all around covered with a mattress and pillows. A small pool with a fountain was in the middle of the room, the roof of the room was built of stone. From its windows he sowed all the parts of the city. As a Sufi guest they made him a special Sama’ ceremony “the word Sama’ comes from a root meaning to listen, suggesting an occasion when music is used to uplift the soul.
In Rumi’s day, Sama’ and whirling undoubtedly took the shape of protracted nights of dhikr, music, and poetry. This form was probably informal and ecstatic. The Sama’ assumed a more ceremonial shape after his death and was governed by his obedient son, Sultan Veled, as a sort of embodied cosmology, it is important to know that the Miliu zawya was the most wealthy zawya under the Ottoman rule, a lot of property in the city were owned in the name of it as investments to cover payments. The Bistami Zawya There were two Zawwiyas for the followers of the Bistami Tariqa: The first was in the same Islamic quarter (Sadia’) it was established by the shaikh Abdullah – al-Bistami (died in the year1391 AD), he came to from Baghdad with his shaikh Aladdin Ali, he was also his teacher who taught him at the Nizamia school there, they came together to Jerusalem and settled tell they died
According to the person who founded it, al-Bistami is the name of a Sufi Tariqa (order): “Bayazid’s grandpa was a Zoroastrian from Persia. Bayazid adhered to a stringent regimen of self-denial and conducted a thorough study of Islamic law (Sharea’) (zuhd). He dedicated his entire life to upholding his religious duties and participating in free worship. He urged his students (murids) to put their affairs in the hands of Allah and he encouraged them to accept sincerely the pure doctrine of tawhid (the Oneness of God). This doctrine consisted of five essentials: to keep the obligations according to the Qur’an and Sunnah, to always speak the truth, to keep the heart free from hatred, to avoid forbidden food and to shun innovations (bidca). Bayazid died in the year 874” (19)
al-Nabulsi mentioned in his book that he met there a carpenter his name was Isma’el living with his family at the zawya near the tomb of al-Bistami he said that the man told him that he lost his sight and he wrote a complement poem in the name of prophet Mohamed and his sight return back, he added that all the sheikhs of the Tariqa used to call themselves Bistami the family name of the founder of the Tariqa. He said also that there was a special part at Mamela cemetery where all the shaikhs of the Tariqa are buried. al-Nabulsi did not mention any ceremony at the Bistami Zawya.
The second Bistami Zawya, where the Tariqa’s adherents used to gather every Thursday night to participate in the dheker rite, located in the east side of the Haram courtyard, according to the Turkish traveler Olia Jalabi, who visited Jerusalem in 1670.
The Qyrami zawya
This zawya is in the Islamic quarter not far from the Haram, it was built by the sheikh Shams Adin Mohamed al- Turkmeni he was born in the year 1386 AH and died in the year 1420 AH his tomb on the zawya.
On Saturday 19th of April 1689 sheikh al-Nabulsi visited the zawya. He wrote that he met there with a man who told him that Shams Addin was his ancestor, and told him about the gnosis and the knowledge of the unseen of Shams Addin. He also told him how his ancestor allowed women to share the “dheker” ceremonies. Al-Nabulsi stood near the grave, prayed and seeked his blessings.
Al-Zawiya al-Wafa’iya of Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Budeir Ibn Mohammed Ibn Mahmoud Ibn Hubeish al-Shafi’i al-Maqdisi which is also known as Khalwatiyya
The Order of the Khalwatiyya (Expressed in Arabic: خلوتية or, Turkish, Halvetiyye ) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood ( tariqat ). along with naqshbandiyya , the Qadiri and Shadhiliyya It is among the most famous mystical orders. The Order takes its name from the Arabic word khalwa , meaning “method of abandonment or isolation from the world for mystical purposes.
The Order was founded by Zahir al-Din al-Omar Khalwati (born at an unknown date in Lahij, Gilan, and died in Tabriz in 1397) in the Khorasani city of Herat (now western Afghanistan), but is particularly common among Turkey in the fourteenth century, gaining particular importance in the Ottoman period. At that time, there were many scientists and artists who were part of this brotherhood. However, it was Umar’s disciple, Yaḥyā Shirvānī, to establish the so-called “Via Khalwati”. He wrote the Wird al-Sattar , a devotional text read by almost all members of the Khalwati order.
The Khalwatiyya Order is famous for the rigor of its Dervish training and its emphasis on individualism. In particular, the Order favors individual asceticism (Zuhd) and “withdrawal” (Khalwa), unlike other Orders at the time. The Order is considered one of the schools to inspire many other Sufi brotherhoods.
The location of the zawya is near one of the Haram’s gates, it was built in the fourteenth century, and was used by the followers of the Wafiyya’ Tariqa which is a part of the Shadhli tariqa established in the thirteenth century by Abu-al-Hassan al-Shadhli who was born in Tunis in the year AD 1196. He was one of the great saints of the Community, and he said about tasawwuf: He who dies without having entered into this knowledge of ours dies insisting upon his grave sins (kaba’ir) without realizing it.
The Adhamiya zawya
Adhamia zawya was outside the old city walls near the now- existing central bus station. It was built in a cave in the year AD 1358 by the Mamluki governor of Damascus. It includes some graves of sheikhs. al-Nabulsi visited it with company and said that after they left the old city they walked between the gardens till they reached it, and he described it by saying that alive people are living under dead ones, which means the zawya was built above the Islamic al-Sahera cemetery which was up the hill. Entering the old city from Bab al-Asbat: Saint Stevens’ gate, going from the east towards the west through the Way of the Cross (via-Delarosa), there were many zawias some of which are:
The Mehmazia Zawya
Mehmazia was built through the Mamluki rule. Inside the Zawya there is a tomb of one of the Sheiks: Khiera’den Mehmazia (died 747 AH/AD 1347).
The Naqshbandi Zawya
Going straight towards the west in the same road we reach The Naqshbandia or Uzbakia zawya, which was established in the fourteenth century by Muhammad Bahauddin Uways al-Bukhari the founder of the Tariqa. Behind the word Naqshband stand two ideas: “naqsh” which means (engraving) and suggests engraving the name of God in the believer’s heart, and “band” which means “bond” and indicates the link between the individual and his Creator. This means that the Naqshabandi Sufi initiates practices, prayers and obligations according to the Divine Revelations and Inspirations. The Imam of the Naqshbandi Tariqat without peer was Muhammad Bahauddin Uways al-Bukhari, known as Shah Naqshband.He was born in the year AD 1317 in the village of Qasr al-Arifin, near Bukhara. After he mastered the shariah sciences at the tender age of 18, he kept company with the Shaikh Muhammad Baba as-Samasi, who was Master of Traditions (imam al-muhaddithin) in Central Asia at that time.
Shah Naqshaband performed Hajj three times, after which he resided in Merv and Bukhara. Towards the end of his life he went back to settle in his native city of Qasr al-Arifin. His teachings became quoted everywhere and his name was on every tongue. Visitors from far and wide came to see him and to seek his advice. Shah Naqshaband said: “The Naqshbandi School is the easiest and simplest way for the student to understand tawhid. …It is also free from all innovations and deviations and exaggerated statements and dancing and dubious recitals (sama’a). It does not demand of its follower’s perpetual hunger or weakness. That is how the Naqshbandiyya has managed to remain free from the excesses of the ignorant and the charlatans (mushawazeen). In sum we say that our way is the mother of all Tariqats and the guardian of all spiritual trusts. It is the safest, wisest and clearest way. It is the purest drinking-station, the most distilled essence. Naqshbandiyya is innocent from any attack because it keeps the the way of the blessed Sunnah.”
Naqshbandi zawiya was renewed in the year AD 1625. The poor Moslem visitors from Bukhara and other Asian countries used to stay in it through their visit to Jerusalem. Inside the zawya there are three tombs, a mosque, and many rooms for the guests.
The Afghani zawya
There is one behind the Naqshabandi Zawya. In the year AD 1633 the adherents of the Qadiriyya Tariqa founded it. Shaikh ‘Abdul-Qadir Al-Jilani, who was born in the Iranian region of Gillian, south of the Caspian Sea, around AD 1077-8, founded this Tariqa. He moved away from his home province when he was eighteen to enroll in school in Baghdad, the enormous capital. After studying conventional sciences, he came upon a more spiritually minded teacher in the form of Abu’l-Khair Hammaad al-Dabbas, a revered figure. Then, instead of embarking on his own professorial career, he abandoned the city and spent twenty-five years as a wanderer in the desert regions of Iraq. He was over fifty years old by the time he returned to Baghdaad, in 1127 AD, and began to preach in public.
In the words of Shaikh Muzaffer Ozak Efendi: “The venerable ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani passed on to the Realm of Divine Beauty in. 1166 AD., and his mausoleum in Baghdad is still a place of pious visitation. He is noted for his extraordinary spiritual experiences and exploits, as well as his memorable sayings and wise teachings. The dheker in this zawya is still going on weekly every Thursday night.
There used to be another Qadiriyya zawya in Jerusalem. It was built before the year 1703 AD by Mohamed Pasha the Ottoman ruler of Jerusalem at that time, but Dr. Kamel L Asali who mentioned that in his book Mausolea and Cemeteries In Jerusalem Islamic” did not give the location of this zawya, and did not say if it still appears.
The Salaheia Khaniqah
The last Sufi institution that I want to mention here is al-Khaniqah al- Salaheia, which was built by “Salahuddin al Ayyubi” the Moslem leader who liberated Jerusalem from the crusaders. He built it in the year AD 1187 in the record number 95, which was written in the year AD 1613. The Ottoman court rewrote the endow script that was written by Salah-iddin 426 years ago. After he described the properties that he endowed, including those that will be rented to spend on the Khanqah, he wrote: I endowed it to the old and the young sheikhs of the Sufis, the residents, and those who came from aboard (Arabs and non Arabs), to stay in it, in condition that all of them meet after the afternoon prayers and read some verses from the Quran and make dheker ceremonies and ask god to bless the man who endowed the property and to bless the Muslims all around the world