Takya

Sufi or Shia building

This article is about the type of building or complex. For other uses, see Takya (disambiguation).

"Takiyya" redirects here. Not to be confused with taqiyya.

This article duplicates the scope of other articles, specifically Khanqah. Please discuss this issue and help introduce a summary style to the article. (May 2024)

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A takya[a] (from Classical Persian: تَکْیه, romanized: takya;[1] modern Iranian Persian: تَکْیه, romanized: takye;[2] Azerbaijani: təkyə;[3] Ottoman Turkish: تَکْیه, romanized: tekye;[4] modern Turkish: tekke; Panjabi: تَکْیہ, romanized: takya;[5] Urdu: تَکْیہ, romanized: takya;[6] Uzbek: takya; Kurdish: تەکیە, romanized: tekiye; Arabic: تَكِيَّة, romanized: takiyya, plural تَكَايَا takāyā) or takyakhana (from Classical Persian: تَکْیه‌خانه, romanized: takya-khāna; Uzbek: takyaxona) was originally a type of building or complex for Sufi gatherings in the Islamic world (which could also provide shelter to pilgrims); under this sense, takyas functioned much like khanqahs, which had appeared earlier and which had flourished in pre-Ottoman Syria and Egypt and in India.

In the Ottoman Empire, many takyas or tekyes/tekkes were built, most notably for use by the Mevlevi Order and the Bektashi Order[7] (see § Ottoman Empire, below).

In South Asia as well, the word takya has been used as a synonym of khanqah (like the Takya of Baba Shah Musafir[8][9][10][11][12][b] at Aurangabad), but also to refer to the cemetery or graveyard of Sufis[14][5][15][16] (see § South Asia).

In Iran, however, takyas found a different usage. Following the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, existing takyas became used as husayniyyas[17] (buildings where Shia Muslims gather to mourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the month of Muharram) (see § Iran).

In the modern Arab world, takyas or takiyyas have come to refer to soup kitchens or similar institutions providing food assistance to those in need (see § Modern Arab world).

## Etymology[edit]

The Classical Persian word تَکْیه takya at its core meant "support"; also "cushion" or "pillow"[1] (this meaning has become widespread in South Asian languages which borrowed this word, including Hindustani, Bangali, Gujarati, Panjabi[5] and Sindhi[c]). The word was also borrowed in Ottoman Turkish as تَكْیه tekye,[4] eventually making its way into Arabic as تَكِيَّة takiyya and in languages of the Balkans.

Other words were derived from تَکْیه takya in Classical Persian, such as تکیه‌نشین takya-nishīn and تکیه‌دار takya-dār both meaning a Sufi.

## Ottoman Empire[edit]

The Sulaymaniyya Takiyya in Damascus, Syria

Many takyas (or tekkeler in Turkish; Ottoman Turkish: تَكْیه‌لر, romanized: tekyeler) have been built in Turkey and in the countries which came under Ottoman rule. The Ottomans used the words takya (Turkish: tekke), dargāh (Turkish: dergâh) and zāwiya (Turkish: zâviye) instead of khānqāh (Turkish: hankah).[19] Among the Ottoman Sufi orders which had the most takyas were the Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya and the Bektashi Order.[7] The takyas of the Mevlevi Order were called Mawlawī khānas (Ottoman Turkish: مولوی خانه‌لر, romanized: Mevlevî haneler, lit. 'Mawlawī houses').[7]

The Uzbeks' Takya in Istanbul

By the 20th century, Istanbul itself counted many takyas. Some were dedicated to certain Muslim communities (for example, the Uzbeks' Takya[d] or the Indians' Takya[e]) which symbolized a certain recognition of these communities by the Ottomans.[22] Iranians in Istanbul in the 1870s also attempted to establish a "Takya Ḥosayniya"[23] (Turkish: Hüseyniye Tekkesi),[23] which was meant to be used as a husayniyya like the takyas of Iran (see § Iran, below).

The Takya of Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ottoman takyas can be found in Albania, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Cyprus, in Egypt, in Greece, in North Macedonia and in Syria.

## South Asia[edit]

The Takya of Baba Shah Musafir at Aurangabad

In South Asia, the word takya in the religious sense has been used as a synonym of khanqah (like the Takya of Baba Shah Musafir[8][9][10][11][12][b] at Aurangabad) alongside the words jamāʿat-khāna (Urdu: جماعت خانہ), dargāh (Urdu: درگاہ, lit. 'royal court'), langar (Urdu: لنگر, lit. 'refectory'[f]) and sometimes ʿimārat (Urdu: عمارت, lit. 'building').[24]

In Hindustani and Panjabi, the word takya has also referred to the cemetery or graveyard of Sufis.[14][5][15][16]

## Iran[edit]

The former Takyeh Dowlat in Tehran, which was used as a husayniyya

Main article: Takyeh

Following the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, existing takyas in Iran became used as husayniyyas[17] (buildings where Shia Muslims gather to mourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the month of Muharram). This is one of the reasons why the words "takyeh" and "hoseyniyeh" are often used interchangeably in modern Iran.[25] The majority of takyehs built in Iran since Iran's conversion have been built to be used as husayniyyas, although some of them also include a zaynabiyya (in honor of Husayn's sister Zaynab bint Ali)[26] or an abbasiyya (in honor of Husayn's paternal half-brother Abbas ibn Ali), like the Takyeh Moaven-ol-Molk.[27] Famous takyas or takyehs in Iran include the Takyeh of Mir Chakhmaq in Yazd (built in the 15th century), the Takyeh Beyglarbeygi and the Takyeh Moaven-ol-Molk in Kermanshah, and the former Takyeh Dowlat built by Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in Tehran, all of which have been used as husayniyyas.

## Azerbaijan[edit]

In Azerbaijan, examples of takyas (or təkyələr in Azerbaijani) include the Takya in the Old City of Baku.

## Modern Arab world[edit]

The Egyptian Takiyya in Medina The Ibrahimiyya Takiyya in al-Khalil

In the modern Arab world, takyas (Arabic: تَكَايَا, romanized: takāyā, plural of تَكِيَّة takiyya) have come to refer to soup kitchens or similar institutions providing food assistance to those in need, generally called تَكَايَا خَيْرِيَّة (takāyā khayriyya, lit. 'charity takiyyas'). Among the earliest charity takiyyas were the two Egyptian Takiyyas (Arabic: التكيّتان المصريّتان, romanized: at-Takiyyatān al-Miṣriyyatān) in Mecca and Medina, built in the first quarter of the 19th century by Muhammad Ali of Egypt (they no longer exist). More recent examples include the Tkiyet Um Ali founded in Amman in 2003, or the Takiyyat Nābulus al-Khayriyya founded in Nablus in 2012.[28]

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Variously spelled in historical English sources as takyah, takia, takiya, takiyah, takyeh, takieh, takié, takiye, takiyeh, tekyeh, tekieh, tekiye, tekiyeh and many other spellings.
2. ^ a b Urdu: تکیہ بابا شاہ مسافر.[13]
3. ^ Sindhi: تَڪْيو, romanized: takyo.[18]
4. ^ Ottoman Turkish: اوزبكلر تكیه‌سی, romanized: Özbekler Tekyesi;[20] Turkish: Özbekler Tekkesi.
5. ^ Ottoman Turkish: هندولر تکیه‌سی, romanized: Hindiler Tekyesi;[21] Turkish: Hindiler Tekkesi.
6. ^ From Sanskrit.

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892). A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in Persian literature. London: Routledge & K. Paul. p. 319.
2. ^ Hayyim, Sulayman (1934). "تکیه". New Persian-English Dictionary. Vol. 1\. Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim. p. 469.
3. ^ "təkyə". Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti (in Azerbaijani).
4. ^ a b Redhouse, James W. (1890). "تكیه". A Turkish and English Lexicon. Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian. p. 585.
5. ^ a b c d Salah-ud-Din, Iqbal (2002). "تکیہ". Vaḍḍī Panjābī lughat: Panjābī tūn Panjābī. Lāhaur: ʻAzīz Pablisharz. p. 790.
6. ^ Platts, John T. (1884). A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English. London: W. H. Allen & Co. p. 332.
7. ^ a b c "Tekke". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (44+2 vols.) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. 1988–2016.
8. ^ a b Rahman, Abdur (1984). Science and Technology in Indian Culture: A Historical Perspective. "Shah Musafir, whose 'takia' is at Aurangabad"
9. ^ a b Nicolas Morelle (2020). Architecture militaire du Deccan. Archaeopress Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78969-745-2. "Musafir (takya de 1739)"
10. ^ a b The Book Review. 2001. p. 8\. "The younger shaykh, Baba Musafir, turned to the task of establishing a takya or khanqah at Awrangabad"
11. ^ a b Nasir Raza Khan (2023). Regional Sufi Centres in India: Significance and Contribution. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-89880-4. "takya at Aurangabad"
12. ^ a b Digby, Simon (1998). "Before the Bābās Came to India: A Reconstruction of the Earlier Lives of Bābā Saʿīd Palangpōsh and Bābā Muḥammad Musāfir in "Wilāyat"". Iran. 36. Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 139–164. doi:10.2307/4299981. JSTOR 4299981. "the Takya of Bābā Musāfir in Awrangābād"
13. ^ سب رس (in Urdu). 2007.
14. ^ a b A. D. Khan (1994). Diplomatics of the Soyurghal Farman of the Great Mughals. p. 6\. "takyas (graveyards)"
15. ^ a b Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers. 1979. p. 33.
16. ^ a b Sharif, Ja'far; Crooke, William (2017). Islam in India. "Takya, a pillow, a resting-place of Faqīrs"
17. ^ a b محمد صادق محمد الكرباسي (2019). معجم المشاريع الحسينيّة - الجزء الثالث: دائرة المعارف الحسينية (in Arabic). "بناء الحسينية كان حديث العهد بإيران، وأما التكايا فكانت معروفة ومنتشرة في أنحاء إيران وكانت تقام فيها بعض الشعائر الحسينية أيضا قبل أن تنتقل إلى الحسينيات التي تخصصت بالشعائر الحسينية."
18. ^ Parmanand, Mewaram (1910). "تَڪْيو". Sindhi-English Dictionary. Hyderabad, Sindh: The Sind Juvenile Co-operative Society. p. 96.
19. ^ "Hankah". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (44+2 vols.) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. 1988–2016. "Osmanlılar'da hankah yerine daha çok dergâh, tekke ve zâviye kelimeleri kullanılmıştır"
20. ^ ايغناتس قونوس. تورك خلق ادبياتی (in Ottoman Turkish). p. 38.
21. ^ Ahmet Cevdet Paşa (1893). تاريخ جودت (in Ottoman Turkish). p. 70.
22. ^ M. Naeem Qureshi (1999). Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918-1924. p. 16.
23. ^ a b Yıldız, Güllü (2021). "II. Abdülhamid Dönemi İstanbul'unda Şii Kimliği ve Hüseyniye İnşa Girişimi". Cihannüma. 7: 131–148. doi:10.30517/cihannuma.970811. hdl:11424/254280.
24. ^ Ridgeon, Lloyd (2020). Routledge Handbook on Sufism. "takya is used also in India and in Xinjiang (China). In the Indian subcontinent, the terms used are jamā'at-khāna (meeting room), takya (pillow, bolster) or dargāh (royal court) and langar (refectory), a term of Sanskrit origin, and sometimes imarat (religious complex)."
25. ^ العمارة الاسلامية بإيران مساجد - مدارس - حسينيات (in Arabic). p. 391.
26. ^ Encyclopedia of Islam. 2009. p. 320.
27. ^ Zulfikar Hirji (2010). Diversity and Pluralism in Islam.
28. ^ "تكية نابلس.. أياد ممدودة بالإحسان". aljazeera.net (in Arabic). 2018-05-25.

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