A ''khalwa'' (also "''bayt al-khalwa''", literally "place of seclusion"), is an

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic solitary space or cell ('' zawiya'') set aside as a place for retreat and spiritual exercise. A considerable number of small ''khalwa'' structures were built on the esplanade of Al-Aqsa from 956 onwards, many founded by local Ottoman dignitaries and echoing a similar vaulted form supporting one or two domed chambers. The underground prayer chambers in the traditional mosques of central Arabia (

Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...

) are also called ''khalwa'', while among the

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

, a prayer house is known as a Khalwat al-Bayada.

References

{{islam-stub Islamic architecture Islamic terminology