Khalwati order

The Khalwati Sufi order (or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (tariqa). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. It was founded by Pir Umar Khalwati in the city of Herat in medieval Khorasan (now located in western Afghanistan).

The order spread mostly by wandering Dervishes in vast area, now being part of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. It originally attracted the attention of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt and Syria who by and large supported the Sufi orders and gave a great deal of reverence to wandering Dervishes. From their centers of worship (so called tekkes) in these areas, the order began to spread to the urban centers of the Islamic world.

The order grew in popularity during Ottoman times and spread from its origins in the Middle East to the Balkans (especially in southern Greece and Macedonia, to Egypt (where it was a popular Sufi order amongst many of the Sheikhs of al-Azhar University),^{[citation needed]} Sudan and almost all corners of the Ottoman Empire.

The Khalwati order had many tekkes in Istanbul, the most famous being the Jerrahi, Ussaki, Sunbuli, Ramazaniyye 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.

The Khalwati order however, still remains strong in Egypt where the Sufi orders do receive a degree of support from the government. The Khalwati order also remains strong in the Sudan.

The Nigerian Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio, although a Qadiri, was initiated into the Khalwati order along with the Naqshbandi order, and Shaykh Ahmed at-Tijani was also originally a Khalwati.^{[citation needed]}

The name of the order is derived from the term "khalwa", which refers to a spiritual retreat.

Khalwati sub-orders

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