Khwājagān (shortened/singular forms:

Khwaja Khawaja () is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and Mizrahi Jews—particularly Kurdish Jews. The name or title ...

, Khaja(h),

Khawaja Khawaja () is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and Mizrahi Jews—particularly Kurdish Jews. The name or title ...

or khuwaja) is a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

title for ''"the Masters"''. Khwajagan, as the plural for "Khwāja", is often used to refer to a network of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

s in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

from the 10th to the 16th century who are often incorporated into later

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

and

Khalwati The Khalwati order (also known as Khalwatiyya, Khalwatiya, or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey and Albania) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (''tariqa''). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi ...

hierarchies, as well as other Sufi groups, such as the Yasaviyya. In Firdowsi's Shahnama the word is used many times for some rulers and heroes of ancient

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

as well. The special

zikr (; ; ) is a form of Islam, Islamic ibadah, worship in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God in Islam, God. It plays a central role in Sufism, and each Sufi tariqa, order typically adopts a specific ...

of the Khwajagan is called 'Khatm Khajagan'. Interest in the Khwajagan was revived in the 20th century with the publication in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

of ''Hacegan Hanedanı'', by Hasan Lütfi Şuşud (pronounced Shushud),

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, 1958. His sources included: * Reşahat Ayn el-Hayat, compiled by Mevlana Ali Bin Huseyin Safi, A.H. 993. * Nefahat el-Uns min Hazerat el-Kuds, by Nuraddin Abdurrahman Jami, A.H. 881. * Risale-i Bahaiyye, by Rif'at Bey. * Semerat el-Fuad, by Sari Abdullah. * Enis ut-Talibin wa Iddet us-Salikin Makamat-i Muhammed Bahaeddin Nakshibend, by Salahaddin Ibn'i Mubarek al-Buhari, Istanbul, A.H. 1328. A short translation of Shushud's work by J. G. Bennett was published in '' Systematics – study of multi-term systems'' Volume 6, No. 4 March 1969, Muhtar Holland's full length translation ''Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia'' was published by Coombe Springs press in 1983. J. G. Bennett also wrote a full-length work loosely based on Shushud's original. Some authors such as

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; , , ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, Indries Shah, né Sayyid, Sayed Idries el-Hashemite, Hashimi (Arabic: ) and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghans, Afghan author, thinker and teacher in ...

and John Godolphin Bennett maintain that

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 19 ...

's '

Fourth Way The Fourth Way is spiritual teacher George Gurdjieff's approach to human spiritual growth, developed and systematised by him over years of travel in the East (c. 1890 – 1912), and taught to followers in subsequent years. Gurdjieff's students ...

' originated with the Khwajagan.

Prominent Khwajagan

Prominent Central Asian Khwajagan included: * Khwaja Ubaidullah Ahrar *

Yusuf Hamdani Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Hammandinā, best simply known as Yusuf Hammandina (born 1048 or 1049 / 440 AH - died 1140 / 535 AH), was a Persian Sufi of the Middle Ages. He was the first of the group of Central Asian Sufi teachers known simply as ' ...

* Khwaja Ahmad Yasavi * Abdul Khaliq Gujduvani *

Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari Baha' al-Din Naqshband (; 1318–1389) was the eponymous founder of what became one of the largest Sufi Sunni orders, the Naqshbandi. Early life Baha al-Din was born in March 1318 in the village of Qasr-i Hinduvan, near Bukhara. Like the maj ...

* Maulana Nur ad-Din Abd ar-Rahman Jami * Nur Chashme Khwajagan Sayyid Mir Jan

Bibliography

*
Beads of Dew from the Source of Life
' by Mawlana Ali ibn Husain Safi, * '' The Way of the Sufi'' by

, * ''Gurdjieff: A Very Great Enigma'' by J.G. Bennett, * ''Masters Of Wisdom: An Esoteric History of the Spiritual Unfolding of Life on This Planet'' by J.G. Bennett, * ''Masters Of Wisdom of Central Asia'' by Hasan Shusud, * ''

The Teachers of Gurdjieff ''The Teachers of Gurdjieff'' is a book by Rafael Lefort that describes a journey to the Middle East and central Asia in search of the sources of G. I. Gurdjieff's teaching, and culminates in the author's own spiritual awakening, by meeting and "op ...

'' by Rafael Lefort, * ''The Naqshbandi Sufi Way, History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain'' by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Kazi Publications, USA (1995),

External links

Online Copy of a short version of Shushud's ''Masters of Wisdom'', translated by J. G. Bennett and published in ''Systematics''

Sufi mystics * Sufi orders Fourth Way {{sufism-stub

Prominent Khwajagan

See also

Bibliography

External links