Zawiyas in Algeria

Last updated • 6 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

The Zawiyas in Algeria are religious buildings located in Algeria honoring the memory of patron saints and dedicated to Quranic and religious education. They are associated with Sufism, with each affiliated to a tariqa (torouq) brotherhood under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, in accordance with the precepts of the Algerian Islamic reference. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Zawiya Thaalibia The view from Sidi Abder Rahman Mosque on the bay of Algiers.jpg
Zawiya Thaalibia

The history of the zawiyas in Algeria is linked to that of the Sufi brotherhoods or tourouqs. [3] With the advent of the fifteenth century, the movement to create these spiritual retreats intensified, as the Muslim world in the Machrek as in the Maghreb declined. [4]

The large Muslim cities lost their scientific and spiritual influence when the last Muslim dynasties lost educational and initiatory control over the mass of Muslim faithful due to the fragmentation of territories between rival emirates. [5] The territory of what is now Algeria was thus torn between two Berber Muslim dynasties that were the Zianid kingdom of Tlemcen to the west and the Hafsid dynasty of Tunis to the east. [6]

Religious education in the Maghreb was then concentrated in Fez in the Al Quaraouiyine mosque, and in the Great Mosque of Kairouan. [7] As for the central part bordering the two dynasties Zianide and Hafside, it saw its great intellectual centers in Cherchell and Béjaïa being reduced to their simplest formal expression. [8]

To save Quranic teaching in this conflicting central Maghreb, which later became Algeria, the village customary authorities took charge of safeguarding the Muslim cult by erecting zawiyas in each confederation of tribes. [9]

Scholarly students were selected at the end of the fourteenth century and the beginning of the fifteenth century, after preliminary local Quranic studies, they were then sent to the Al-Azhar mosque in Egypt, passing either through Fez or Kairouan, to perfect their skills and doctrinal training. [10] The return of these hundreds of Maghrebian theologians after a journey of several years of study in the Machrek, and their installation in the Eastern Zianid and Western Hafsid villages, allowed the creation of the Zawiyas which perpetuated the Muslim influence despite the civilizational decline that then fell on the south of the Mediterranean basin. [11]

The advent of the reconquista and the massive exodus of Andalusian Moors, towards the coast and the coastal urban centers of the Maghreb, brought with them a version of the Muslim mystic inherited from Ibn Arabi and Abdul Qadir Gilani which became embedded in the landscape of Maghrebian Sufism. [12] This is how the Qadiriyya tariqa spread across the central Maghreb and saw the emergence of notable theologians and ascetics like Sidi Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi who had his Zawiya Thaalibia built next to Thaalibi Mosque  [ ar ] in the Casbah of Algiers. [13]

Quran recitation

Thaalibia Quran mSHf lmTb`@ lth`lby@.jpg
Thaalibia Quran

The Quran is the main subject taught in each zawiya in Algeria where the reading of the Quran is done according to the canonical method of Warsh recitation, by way of Al-Azraq and Al-Isfahani (died 908 CE), which is assumed in this religious institution.

Before the advent of modern mechanized printing, Algerian zawiyas relied on manuscripts of the Quran for the reading and recitation of verses and suras, but the founding of the Thaalibia Publishing in 1895 for the first time made it possible to produce the Thaalibia Quran written with the Maghrebi script, and this Mus'haf was used until 1979 as the official Mus'haf of the zawiyas in particular and of the Algerians in general.

The burgeoning popularity of the Kufic script for transcribing the Arabic language into Algerian textbooks forced zawiyas and mosques to produce a printed version of the Quran in 1979 named the Algeria Quran according to this Kufic script.

Teachings

Several Islamic sciences are taught in the Algerian zawiyas, as the Hadith which is taught on the basis of Al-Muwatta compiled by Imam Malik ibn Anas. This is how the fiqh according to the Malikite Madhhab is observed in the courts of each zawiya which is based on the body of the Mukhtasar Khalil written by Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi.

Another reference of the Malikite fiqh dispensed in this zawiya is the Risala fiqhiya written by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani. A third Malikite fiqh reference inculcated in this zawiya is Matn Ibn Ashir written by Abdul Wahid Ibn Ashir.

The Arabic language is taught on the basis of the text of the Al-Alfiyya of Ibn Malik composed by Ibn Malik. The syntax of the Arabic language is taught on the basis of the text of the Al-Ajurrumiyya composed by Ibn Adjurrum. The teaching of this same syntax is based on the text of Qatr al-Nada composed by Ibn Hisham al-Ansari.

Idjazates

The talibe (scholar) receives from the zawiya a certificate called Idjaza at the end of each level of his teaching to certify his pedagogical success. This Idjaza, in addition to qualifying the talibe for professional employment in religious education or affairs as mudaris, muezzin, or imam, allows him to be included in the Sanad of the Silsila of the Shuyukhs of his Sufi tariqa.

Ceremonies

The zawiyas, as popular religious institutions, participate in social life through activities combining the spiritual with the festive. Thus the daily and periodic collective recitation of the Quran such as the Hizb Rateb and the Salka is at the center of the activity of each zawiya.

The ceremonies linked to the Mawlid and to the memory of the ancient Sufis in the Haḍra and the Ziyarat are also part of the social activities of these Quranic schools. Other social festivals with religious connotations see the participation of the zawiyas in their organization and joviality such as the Ashura, the Sebiba, the Tweeza, the Wezeea and the Mawsim.

Tariqas

Zawiya of Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine [ar] in Bounouh. Bounouh CheikhBenAbderrahmane 22Mar.png
Zawiya of Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine  [ ar ] in Bounouh.

Each of the Algerian Zawiyas is affiliated to a Sufi tariqa. Among the affiliated tariqa are: [14] [15] [16] `

Zawiyas

Zawiya of El Hamel [ar] in El Hamel. Zaouia El Hamel.JPG
Zawiya of El Hamel  [ ar ] in El Hamel.
Zawiya of Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine [ar] Zawiya of Sidi M'Hamed Bou Qobrine zwy@ sydy 'mHmd bwqbryn fy blwzdd.jpg
Zawiya of Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine  [ ar ]

More than 1600 Zawiyas were existing in Algeria before its independence in 1962, among them: [38] [39] [40]

In Algiers

Some of the zawiya in the city of Algiers are:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boumerdès Province</span> Province of Algeria

Boumerdès is a province (wilaya) of northern Algeria, located in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès just east of Algiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algiers Province</span> Province of Algeria

Algiers Province is a province (wilayah) in Algeria, named after its capital, Algiers, which is also the national capital. It is adopted from the old French department of Algiers and has a population of about 8 million. It is the most densely populated province of Algeria, and also the smallest by area.

Abdul-Rahman al-Tha'alibi was an Arab Scholar, Imam and Sufi wali. He was born near the town of Isser 86 km south east of Algiers. He was raised in a very spiritual environment with high Islamic values and ethics. He had great interpersonal skills and devoted his entire life in service of the most deprived, to dhikr of Allah, and to writing of over 100 books and treatises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahmaniyya</span> Sufi mystic order in Sunni Islam

The Raḥmâniyya is an Algerian Sufi order founded by Kabyle religious scholar Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Azhari Bu Qabrayn in the 1770s. It was initially a branch of the Khalwatîya established in Kabylia region. However, its membership grew unwaveringly elsewhere in Algeria and in North Africa.

Sidi Boushaki or Ibrahim Ibn Faïd Ez-Zaouaoui was a Maliki theologian born near the town of Thenia, 54 km (34 mi) east of Algiers. He was raised in a very spiritual environment with high Islamic values and ethics within the Algerian Islamic reference.

Sheikh Abdul Bāqi Miftāh is a Sunni Islamic scholar of Sufism from Guemar, Algeria. He is known for his writings on Ibn al-Arabi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad al-Kattani</span>

Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani, also known by his kunyaAbu l-Fayḍ or simply as Muhammad Al-Kattani, was a Moroccan Sufi faqih, reformer, and poet from Fes. He is recognized as the father of the Moroccan constitution movement and the leader of the Conditioned Bay'ah of 1908. He was also vocally opposed to the metastasizing French colonial presence in Morocco, and launched at-Tā'ūn, the first national newspaper in Morocco. He was a member of the al-Kattani family and the Tariqa Kattania, a Sufi order. He composed over 300 works, printed 27 of them, and wrote Sufi philosophical love poetry. He was accused of treason and flogged to death under Sultan Abdelhafid.

<i>Thaalibia Quran</i>

The Thaalibia Quran is a mushaf written in Algeria in the Maghrebi script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thaalibia Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Algeria

Thaalibia Cemetery or Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi Cemetery is a cemetery in the Casbah of Algiers in the commune of the Casbah of Algiers. The name "Thaalibia" is related to Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zawiya Thaalibia (Algiers)</span>

The Zawiya Thaalibia or the Sidi Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi Zawiya is a zawiya in the Casbah of Algiers in the commune of Casbah in Algeria. The name "Thaalibia" relates to Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi.

Matn Ibn Ashir or Al-Murshid al-Mu'een is a Maliki fiqh book written by Ibn Ashir for learning Islam in North Africa.

The Algerian Islamic reference is the fundamentalist and legal framework for the practice of the religion of Islam in Algeria within Sunnism under the tutelage of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zawiya Thaalibia (Issers)</span> Building in Algeria

The Zawiya Thaalibia or the Sidi Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi Zawiya is a zawiya in the commune of the Issers in Algeria. The name "Thaalibia" relates to Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufism in Algeria</span>

Sufism is considered as an essential part of Islam In Algeria. Sufism was fought and oppressed by the Salafists, and now is again regaining its importance as it was there before Algerian Civil War. Sufis have a considerable influence on both urban and rural society of Algeria. Sufism is the part of Algeria as long as 1400 years ago, so recognised as "Home of Sufi Marabouts". Most of the people in Algeria are the followers and murids of Sufism. Sufism has shaped Algerian society and politics for much of the country's history. Today, very few are aware of this legacy. Might the Sufis now provide an important contribution to the stability of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zawiyet Sidi Boumerdassi</span> Building in Algeria

Zawiyet Sidi Boumerdassi or Zawiyet Ouled Boumerdès is a zawiya located within Boumerdès Province in Algeria.

Zawiyet Sidi Brahim Boushaki or Zawiyet Thénia is a zawiya of the Rahmaniyya Sufi brotherhood located at Boumerdès Province, in the lower Kabylia region of Algeria.

Brahim Boushaki was an Algerian Scholar, Imam and Sufi Sheikh. He was born in the village of Soumâa near the town of Thénia 53 km east of Algiers. He was raised in a very spiritual environment within Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki with high Islamic values and ethics. He had great interpersonal skills and devoted his entire life in service of Islam and Algeria according to the Algerian Islamic reference.

Mohamed Rahmoune, commonly known as Si Rabah or simply as Rahmoune, was a prominent revolutionary leader during the Algerian war of independence as a member of the Front de Libération Nationale that launched an armed revolt throughout Algeria and issued a proclamation calling for a sovereign Algerian state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muqarrab (Sufism)</span> Concept of Sufism

The Muqarrab is a major spiritual stage (maqām) that the murids and saliks reach in their ascetic quest within Islamic Sufism.

References

  1. ↑ "وزارة الشؤون الدينية والأوقاف". www.marw.dz. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  2. ↑ قيدار ،الدكتور, قويدر (1 January 2020). دينامية النص الصوفي - بحوث ودراسات في التصوف الإسلامي. Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. ISBN   9782745192875. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Les confréries religieuses en Algérie". Quintessences. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Sadki, Aziz. "L'état algérien, les zâwiyya et les turûq". HISTOIRE DE L'ALGERIE. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  5. ↑ Émerit, Marcel (25 February 1954). "L'état intellectuel et moral de l'Algérie en 1830". Revue d'Histoire Moderne & Contemporaine. 1 (3): 199–212. doi:10.3406/rhmc.1954.2576. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via www.persee.fr.
  6. ↑ "Soufisme et zaouïa en Algérie". ELAyam-2. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Ces kabyles par qui jure Alger (2). (Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine)". 30 December 2012. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "Histoire Jijel : ulema-djidjelli". jijel-archeo.123.fr. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  9. ↑ Zineb, Abbès (15 May 2011). "Conférence à Adrar sur les zaouïas du Touat et l'importance des manuscrits". www.algerie1.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Organisation des confréries au sein des zaouias - Tifrit n'Ath Oumalek | 2021". www.tifrit.info. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Les Confréries du Sud Algerien". kenadsa.e-monsite.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Fkir, Wah (14 April 2014). "Reflexions et Commentaires.: Algérie : La Zaouia Pilier Historique De La Nation Dans Le Collimateur De La CIA Et Du MOSSAD !". Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  13. ↑ hasnaoui, hakim. "Le soufisme algérien à l'époque coloniale". Ethnopolis. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  14. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  15. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  16. ↑ "صدور أول موسوعة للصوفية بالجزائر". www.aljazeera.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "ملتقى الطريقة الصوفية العلاوية: مستغانم عاصمة للتراث الروحي و الفكر الإصلاحي". جزايرس. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "ص275 - كتاب تاريخ الجزائر الثقافي - الشابية - المكتبة الشاملة الحديثة". al-maktaba.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  19. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  20. ↑ مفتاح, عبد الباقي (1 January 2009). أضواء على الطريقة الرحمانية الخلوتية. Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. ISBN   9782745161079. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  21. ↑ بن معمر, محمد (30 June 2004). "مدينة وهران من خلال مخطوط الرحلة الحبيبية الوهرانية". Insaniyat / إنسانيات. Revue algérienne d'anthropologie et de sciences sociales (23–24): 47–60. doi:10.4000/insaniyat.5515. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via journals.openedition.org.
  22. ↑ الجزائري, الدكتور محمد حاج عيسى. "نبذة عن تاريخ الطرق الصوفية في الجزائر". islahway.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  23. ↑ "ص84 - كتاب تاريخ الجزائر الثقافي - الطريقة العيساوية - المكتبة الشاملة الحديثة". al-maktaba.org. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  24. ↑ "ص88 - كتاب تاريخ الجزائر الثقافي - الكرزازية الأحمدية والزيانية - المكتبة الشاملة الحديثة". al-maktaba.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  25. ↑ الكوثري, محمد زاهد (1 January 2004). البحوث السنية عن بعض رجال أسانيد الطريقة الخلوتية. Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. ISBN   9782745143426. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  26. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  27. ↑ "الطريقة الناصرية الزيانية بشمال الجزائر – الناصرية". www.naciriya.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  28. 1 2 بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  29. ↑ "بذة عن تاريخ الطّرق الصّوفية في الجزائر". essalihine.yoo7.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  30. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  31. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  32. ↑ "محمد بن علي السنوسي.. شيخ الصوفية الذي غيّبه العقيد". جزايرس. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  33. ↑ مفتاح, عبد الباقي (1 January 2009). أضواء على الشيخ أحمد التجاني وأتباعه. Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. ISBN   9782745160584. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  34. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  35. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  36. ↑ "- نبذة عن تاريخ الطّرق الصّوفية في الجزائر (2)". www.nebrasselhaq.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  37. ↑ بليل, عبد الكريم; الاكاديمي, مركز الكتاب (1 January 2018). التصوف والطرق الصوفية. مركز الكتاب الأكاديمي. ISBN   9789957353346. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via Google Books.
  38. ↑ طيب, جاب الله ، (25 December 2014). "الطرق الصوفية والزوايا في المجتمع الجزائري : قراءة في سوسيولوجيا الروحانيات الصوفية". Majallat al-Ḥikmah lil-Dirāsāt al-Islāmīyah. 224 (5570): 88–106. doi:10.12816/0043331. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021– via platform.almanhal.com.
  39. ↑ "الطرق الصوفية في الجزائر: بين التأييد والمعارضة". الشروق أونلاين. 27 August 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  40. ↑ "الوجه الحقيقي للزوايا والطرق الصوفية في الجزائر". جزايرس. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.