thumb|upright|230px|Interior of the [[türbe of Sheikh Shaban-i Veli in Kastamonu, Turkey]]

The Khalwati order (also known as Khalwatiyya, Khalwatiya, or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey and Albania) is an Islamic Sufi order (tariqa). It is most widespread in Egypt, Albania, Bosnia, Turkey, and to a lesser extent, Azerbaijan. The order takes its name from the Arabic word khalwa, meaning hermitage.

The order emerged from the Safavi-Bektashi milieu and underwent Sunnification under the Ottomans. It was founded by Muhammad-Nur al-Khalwati, and his son Umar al-Khalwati, around the city of Herat in medieval Khorasan (now located in western Afghanistan). It was Umar's disciple, Yahya Shirvani however, who founded the “Khalwati Way” as a practice. Yahya Shirvani wrote Wird al-Sattar, a devotional text read by the members of nearly all the branches of Khalwatiyya.

The Khalwati order is known for its strict ritual training of its dervishes and its emphasis of individualism, their poetry is also notable for being influenced by Hurufis like Naimi and Nesimi.

History

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.

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:

  1. Muḥammad
  2. Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib
  3. Hasan ibn Ali
  4. Husayn ibn Ali
  5. Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
  6. Ḥabīb al-ʿAjamī
  7. Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī
  8. Maʿrūf al-Karkhī
  9. Sari al-Saqaṭī
  10. Jūnayd al-Baghdādī
  11. Mumshād al-Dīnawarī
  12. Muḥammad al-Bakrī
  13. Qaḍī Wajīh al-Dīn ʿUmar al-Bakrī
  14. Abū al-Najīb al-Suhrawardī
  15. Ahmad Ghazali
  16. Quṭb al-Dīn al-Abharī
  17. Rukn al-Dīn al-Najāshī
  18. Shihāb al-Dīn al-Tabrīzī
  19. Khwājah Jamāl al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī
  20. Zāhed Gilānī
  21. Muḥammad ibn Nūr al-Khalwatī
  22. ʿUmar al-Khalwatī

Another version of the spiritual lineage is as follows:

  1. Muḥammad
  2. Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib
  3. Ḥasan ibn Alī
  4. Ḥusayn ibn Alī
  5. Zayn al-ʿAbidīn
  6. Muḥammad al-Baqir
  7. Jāfar as-Sādiq
  8. Mûsa al-Kâzim
  9. Alī ar-Rida
  10. Maʿrūf al-Karkhī
  11. Sari al-Saqaṭī
  12. Jūnayd al-Baghdâdî
  13. Abū Bakr al-Shiblī
  14. Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Aʿrābī
  15. Abū ʿAlī al-Kātib
  16. Abu Uthman al-Maghribi
  17. Abu al-Qasim Gurgani
  18. Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani
  19. Abu Ali Farmadi
  20. Arystan Baba
  21. Yusuf Hamadani
  22. Ahmed Yesevi
  23. Shaykh Luqman Perende
  24. Zāhed Gilānī
  25. Muḥammad ibn Nūr al-Khalwatī
  26. ʿUmar al-Khalwatī

sub-orders

  • Gulshani
  • Jelveti
  • Jerrahi
  • Nasuhi
  • Rahmani
  • Sunbuli
  • Ussaki

See also

  • Naqshbandi
  • Bayrami

Notes

References

  • Clayer, Nathalie, Muslim Brotherhood Networks, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: May 23, 2011.
  • Home page of the Halveti-Ramazani order
  • Home page of the Halveti-Ussaki order (English/Turkish)
  • Sub-order page of the Halveti-Ussaki order (Turkish)
  • Home page of the Halveti-Jerrahi order
  • Home page of the Halveti-Shabani order
  • Home page of the Halveti-Sivasi order
  • Halveti branches
  • Home page of the Halveti-Ramazani order
  • The Unveiling of Love Sufism and the Remembrance of God By Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak
  • IRSHAD Wisdom of a Sufi Master By Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi
  • Garden of Paradise – Sufi Ceremony of Remembrance – Music CD Sheikh Muzzafer Ozak and the Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes
  • Lifting the Boundaries: Muzaffer Efendi and the Transmission of Sufism to the West by Gregory Blann
  • A link to numerous articles on Sufism including the Khalwati order.