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Jerrahi

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The Jerrahi Order or Jerrahiyya (Turkish: Cerrahiyye, Cerrahilik) is a Sufi order that originated in 18th century Constantinople and descended from the charismatic Halveti Order of 14th century Persia. Their founding saint is Hazreti Pîr Muhammad Nureddin al-Jerrahi (1678-1720), who lived in the Ottoman capitol and is enshrined at the site of his tekke in Fatih, Istanbul. By some accounts, Pir Nureddin was a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad both from his mother and father. The path he founded is dedicated to the teachings and traditions through an unbroken chain of spiritual transmission (silsilah) that goes directly back to the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. During the late Ottoman period, the Order was widespread throughout the Balkans, particularly Macedonia and southern Greece (Morea). The Jerrahi Order of Dervishes is a cultural, educational, and social relief organization with members from diverse professional, ethnic, and national backgrounds.

Türbe of the Sufi Hazreti Pîr Muhammad Nureddin al-Jerrahi in Istanbul
Türbe of the Sufi Hazreti Pîr Muhammad Nureddin al-Jerrahi in Istanbul

The historic seat of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order is their Sufi lodge (tekke) and shrine (dargah) in Karagümrük, Istanbul. There are circles throughout Turkey and branches in some European countries, Australia, South Africa, South America and North America, including Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, San Francisco, Toronto and Chicago. Communities of the Jerrahi Order hold gatherings where the dervishes invoke remembrance ceremonies, practice sacred music, prepare and serve traditional cuisine, meditate and pray together, and engage in discourses with their Sufi guides. The traditional branch of the Jerrahi Order of America is in Chestnut Ridge, Rockland County, New York with a congregation of mixed immigrant and local convert backgrounds.[1][2]

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Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorāsān, or Khorāsān, is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau between Western and Central Asia. The name Khorāsān is Persian meaning "where the sun arrives from" or "the Eastern Province". The name was first given to the eastern province of Persia during the Sasanian Empire and was used from the late Middle Ages in distinction to neighbouring Transoxiana. Greater Khorasan is today sometimes used to distinguish the larger historical region from the former Khorasan Province of Iran (1906–2004), which roughly encompassed the western half of the historical Greater Khorasan.

Dargah

Dargah

A dargah is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervish. Sufis often visit the shrine for ziyarat, a term associated with religious visits and "pilgrimages". Dargahs are often associated with Sufi eating and meeting rooms and hostels, called khanqah or hospices. They usually include a mosque, meeting rooms, Islamic religious schools (madrassas), residences for a teacher or caretaker, hospitals, and other buildings for community purposes.

Fatih

Fatih

Fatih is a district of and a municipality (belediye) in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities but not the courthouse. It encompasses the peninsula coinciding with old Constantinople. In 2009, the district of Eminönü, which had been a separate municipality located at the tip of the peninsula, was once again remerged into Fatih because of its small population. Fatih is bordered by the Golden Horn to the north and the Sea of Marmara to the south, while the Western border is demarked by the Theodosian wall and the east by the Bosphorus Strait.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, cultural and historic hub. The city straddles the Bosporus strait, lying in both Europe and Asia, and has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is the most populous European city, and the world's 15th-largest city.

Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans, also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Musala, 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Europe

Europe

Europe is a continent comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits.

Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third most populous in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is also the most populous city in the Midwest. As the seat of Cook County, the city is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, one of the largest in the world.

Dervish

Dervish

Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (tariqah), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persian and Turkish (derviş) as well as in Amazigh (Aderwish), corresponding to the Arabic term faqīr. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (nafs) to reach God. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most popular practice is Sama, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic Rumi. In folklore and with adherents of Sufism, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles and ascribed supernatural powers. Historically, the term Dervish has also been used more loosely, as the designation of various Islamic political movements or military entities.

Dhikr

Dhikr

Dhikr is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remember God. It plays a central role in Sufi Islam, and each Sufi order has usually adopted a specific dhikr, typically accompanied by specific posture, breathing, and movement. In Sufi Islam, dhikr refers to both the act of this remembrance as well as the prayers used in these acts of remembrance. Dhikr can be performed in solitude or as a collective group. It can be counted on a set of prayer beads or through the fingers of the hand. A person who recites the Dhikr is called a Dhakir , literally "he who remembers." The content of the prayers includes the names of God, or a dua taken from the hadiths or the Quran.

Chestnut Ridge, New York

Chestnut Ridge, New York

Chestnut Ridge is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the state of New Jersey, east of Airmont, south of Spring Valley, and west of Nanuet. The population was 7,916 at the 2010 census.

History

The Jerrahi way branched off from the Halveti Order, established by the Persian Sufi Umar Khalwati, who died in Tabriz in 800 AH/1397 CE.

The Halveti consider themselves heirs to the teachings of Junayd of Baghdad and usually have supported and followed the perspective of Ibn Arabi, especially as concerns the doctrine of wahdat al-wujud. Historically, they have also had a pro-Shi'ite tendency.

The members of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order point to the fact that Imam Ahmad ibn Uthman Sharnubi, the disciple and son-in-law of the qutb Ibrahim al-Desuqi, wrote in the Tabaqat al-Alwiya (Ranks of the Saints) some three hundred years before the birth of Pir Nureddin al-Jerrahi in 1089 AH/1678 CE:

Sayyid Nur al-din Jarrahi will be from Istanbul and will appear in the year 1115 A.H. He will live forty-four years. One of his miracles will be that he will see his station in heaven while in this world, and will enter paradise directly upon his demise. The prayers of those who visit him and of those who pray in his presence will be accepted by God.

Pir Nureddin would someday sign the book by this passage, which is currently in the Fatih Library in Istanbul (#3286).

Through his father he was a descendent of Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, one of the ten companions whose inclusion in paradise, according to tradition, was announced in this world by the Prophet Muhammad. At the age of nineteen he finished his study of Sharia with honors and Sultan Mustafa II appointed him chief justice (qadi) of Egypt, which was then a province of the Ottoman realm. As he traveled through Istanbul on horseback, trailed by an entourage, in order to bid farewell to his family, he visited his maternal uncle, across from whose house was the dergah of the Jelveti-Halveti Order of dervishes in Üsküdar. His uncle took him to meet the Sheikh Ali Alaeddin al-Halveti Köstendili who knew his name before the introduction. During the zikr ceremony Nureddin experienced a state of ecstasy and immediately devoted himself to Sheikh Ali Alaeddin who ordered that he now put the world behind him. Nureddin, therefore, resigned from his honored post, dispersed his followers, and gave all his possessions to members of his family. He entered the spiritual retreat (halvet), spending a period of forty days in seclusion and fasting. For the next seven years he studied with his spiritual guide, until the age of twenty-six he himself was crowned a Sheikh.

His now famous Sufi lodge (tekke) was an Ottoman structure inaugurated for him in the year 1115 AH/1704 CE by the then reigning Sultan Ahmed III and it still stands in the Karagümrük, Fatih neighborhood of Istanbul today. In this year he received the secret Divine Names, the customs and ways (adab), and the meditations and invocations unique to his order –the Wird-i Kabir-i Sabahiyyah (“the Great Morning Litany”) and the Wird-i Saghir-i Masaiyyah (“the Great Evening Litany”)– all through divine inspiration.

Initially the dergah of the Jerrahis in Fatih attracted the aristocracy and administrators of the Ottoman Empire, just as the Mevlevi Order at that time attracted intellectuals and artists, the Bektashi Order drew the military, and the Naqshbandi Order the clergy. Today people from all walks of life gather there for zikr.

Indeed unique to the Jerrahis is their elaborate zikr, which originated as particular gifts given in recognition of Pir Nureddin’s station (maqām). It is traditionally held that the blue sheepskin upon which the Grand Sheikh of the dergah sits was a gift of Hazreti Aziz Mahmud Hudayi of the Jelveti-Halveti Order. The part of the Sheikh’s turban that hangs on the left side of the taj was a gift from Abdul Qadir Gilani. Ahmad al-Rifaʽi sent the metal top of the banner and the qiyam zikr. Majesty came from Ibrahim al-Desuqi and Beauty came from Ahmad al-Badawi, who also sent a secret zikr ritual known as the topu bedevi. From the Naqshbandi came the recitation of the Qur’an during the zikr ceremony. Shamsuddin Siwasi sent the first chant sung in the zikr and Sheikh Wafa sent the invocations chanted during the final circumambulations. From Mevlânâ Rūmī came the Sultan Walad Walk during the Sema rite. And from Hazreti Sünbül Efendi came the meditation on the Divine Name: Ya Hayy (O, Ever-Living and Eternal), which is repeated as part of the devren or circular movement in the zikr. Within the Jerrahi tariqa can be found essential elements of many different Sufi Orders.

The Jerrahi zikr is evoked aloud and rhythmically, using musical compositions derived from various brotherhoods. Group singers stand aside the circle of dervishes along with musicians playing bendir and kudüm used for rhythm. In the zikr ceremony the dervishes kneel in a perfect circle reciting the sacred invocation of Divine Unity (Lailahailla’Llah), followed by the sacred invocation of the Most Divine Name (Allah), and then the sacred invocation of the Divine Essence (Hu). Between each cycle there is a Quranic recitation and a supplication. The dervishes then arise and chant the sacred ballad, the initial ilahi given by Shamsuddin Siwasi. They continue with the repetition of Divine Essence (Hu) and the Divine Names.

Each dervish is given certain invocations and Sacred Names, according to his or her place on their path in life.

Since Pir Nureddin Jerrahi, twenty sheikhs have knelt upon the blessed blue sheepskin seat at the principal dergah in Karagümrük and followed Islamic principles in order to bind themselves to the Beloved. Nineteen of these sheikhs, along with Pir Nureddin and his family, are entombed in the dergah. The nineteenth, Hajji Sheikh Muzaffer Özak Âșkî al-Jerrahi, came to America and initiated a branch of the order in the West. Sheikh Muzaffer’s greatest dream was to share with humanity the secrets within the invocation of Divine Unity. He passed away into the realm of pre-eternity in Istanbul on 12 February 1985, his head bowed in prayer, his lips and heart humming the invocation of Unity, Lailahailla’Llah, one final time.[3]

Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak's most prominent disciples and successors in North America were Tosun Bayrak, Lex Hixon, and Philippa de Menil. Following Ozak's death, the tariqa was split into the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order and the Jerrahi Order of America, with the former reflecting a more "universalistic" orientation, and the latter a more "traditional" one. Sheikh Muzaffer consciously fostered different interpretations of his teachings while also showing it was not his intention to have the Halveti-Jerrahi Order separated. Moreover, he grew to embrace the more adaptive interpretations of his message over the more conservative, yet still legitimate perspective of traditionalists.[4]

Sheikh Sefer Dal was Grand Sheikh of the Order from 1985 until his own death in 1999. Sheikh Ömer Tuğrul İnançer Efendi was Grand Sheikh of the Order between 1999 and 2022. According to Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman, it was Sefer Dal, 20th Grand Sheikh of the Order, who advised him to establish the organization during a visit to Dal's Istanbul lodge in Fatih.[5]

During the Bosnian War, the Order's American branch worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation to bring 160 Bosnian refugees to the US.[6] Inancer was a speaker at the World Sufi Forum organized by the All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board in 2016.[7]

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Khalwati order

Khalwati order

The Khalwati order is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (tariqa). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. The order takes its name from the Arabic word khalwa, meaning “method of withdrawal or isolation from the world for mystical purposes.”

Persians

Persians

The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.

Junayd of Baghdad

Junayd of Baghdad

Junayd of Baghdad was a Persian mystic and one of the most famous of the early Islamic saints. He is a central figure in the spiritual lineage of many Sufi orders.

Ibn Arabi

Ibn Arabi

Ibn ʿArabī, nicknamed al-Qushayrī and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn, was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influential within Islamic thought. Out of the 850 works attributed to him, some 700 are authentic while over 400 are still extant. His cosmological teachings became the dominant worldview in many parts of the Muslim world.

Ibrahim al-Desuqi

Ibrahim al-Desuqi

Ibrahim bin Abdul-Aziz Abul-Majdi, better known as Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim al-Desouki, was an Egyptian Imam and the founder of the Desouki Order, (also known as the Burhaniyyah tariqa.

Pir (Sufism)

Pir (Sufism)

Peer or Pir is a title for a Sufi spiritual guide. They are also referred to as a Hazrat and Sheikh or Shaykh, which is literally the Arabic equivalent. The title is often translated into English as "saint". In Sufism, a Pir's role is to guide and instruct his disciples on the Sufi path. This is often done by general lessons and individual guidance. Other words that refer to a Pir include Murshid and Sarkar.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, cultural and historic hub. The city straddles the Bosporus strait, lying in both Europe and Asia, and has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is the most populous European city, and the world's 15th-largest city.

Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah

Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah

ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Jarrāḥ, better known as Abū ʿUbayda was a Muslim commander and one of the Companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is mostly known for being one of the ten to whom Paradise was promised. He remained commander of a large section of the Rashidun Army during the time of the Rashid Caliph Umar and was on the list of Umar's appointed successors to the Rashidun Caliphate but died before Umar did.

Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets within Islam. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.

Mustafa II

Mustafa II

Mustafa II was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.

Qadi

Qadi

A qāḍī is the magistrate or judge of a sharīʿa court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works.

Egypt

Egypt

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt, while Alexandria, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the Mediterranean coast. At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the 14th-most populated country in the world.

Source: "Jerrahi", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 26th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerrahi.

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References
  1. ^ Anne Noyes Saini and Ramaa Reddy Raghavan, At Houses Of Worship, Women Serve Food For A Higher Purpose. NPR, 17 August 2014. Accessed 1 November 2018.
  2. ^ Jane Lerner and Richard Liebson, Local Muslims, Jews horrified by terror in Paris. The Journal News, 9 January 2015. Accessed 1 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Jerrahi Order of America - A Brief History of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order".
  4. ^ Kasperski, J. G. (2021). The Halveti-Jerrahis & the Legacy of Sheikh Muzaffer in North America. Canada: University of Lethbridge.
  5. ^ Ryan Lenora Brown, A charity that gives food – and frees hostages. Christian Science Monitor, 19 November 2016. Accessed 1 November 2018.
  6. ^ Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Stuck in Syria, Iraqi students get a crack at college in the U.S. The Christian Science Monitor, 14 August 2008. Accessed 1 November 2018.
  7. ^ Priyanka Mogul, World Sufi Forum 2016: What you need to know about Muslim event inaugurated by Narendra Modi. International Business Times, 17 March 2016. Accessed 1 November 2018.

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