Bektaşı Tekke in Meshed: An Examination on The Bektashi Sect's Connectıons wıth Imam Rıza and The Tomb
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Abstract
Adherents of the Bektashi Order have built convents (tekkeler) in Mashhad and other cities near to the burial places and shrines of Shi’i Imams. Often, little is known about these convents, and the knowledge on the Bektashi group of dervishes settled in these places remains fragmented. To date, there is no comprehensive study concerning the connections between dervishes and shrines and between dervishes and worshippers visiting the sacred sites. This study aims to shed light on the Bektashi dervishes in the shrine of Imam Riza and their convent and explore their associations with local institutions, including Astan Quds Razavi, which the official organization is charged with shrine patronage. The aim is to do so by using historical narrations and archival documents and other records preserved in the Archive Center of this organization, hoping that these unprocessed documents will enrich the related literature.
According to some historians, Hacı Bektaş, the eponym of the Bektashi Order, was born in Nishabur of Khorasan and is a biological descendant of Imam Riza, known as Seyyid. Dervishes and Bektashi Order affiliates were devout followers of the Imams; therefore, they had an special reverence and devotion to Imam Riza. During the reign of Shah Tahmasb I, when a group of them came to visit Imam Reza, they settled in a house known as the Bektashi Tekke in the Safavid period and is located in the middle of a sacred cemetery called Katlgâh or Ghusulgah, to the north of the Imam's tomb.
This convent stood until the Pahlavi period, and Astan-i Quds-i Razavi financially supported the dervishes. They received aid from the religious endowments and charitable donations (waqf). Moreover, Astan-i Quds-i Razavi and shrine’s custodian provided other Bektashi dervishes visiting local Shiʿi pilgrimage sites with rest houses and necessary subsistence. It is believed that the Suffa and Hutba ceremonies, which started in the Safavid period and continue today, originated primarily from the rituals and observances performed by Bektashis in their convent next to the tomb.
Keywords: Imam Riza, Astan Quds Razavi, Bektashi Dervishes, Convents, Tekke.
According to some historians, Hacı Bektaş, the eponym of the Bektashi Order, was born in Nishabur of Khorasan and is a biological descendant of Imam Riza, known as Seyyid. Dervishes and Bektashi Order affiliates were devout followers of the Imams; therefore, they had an special reverence and devotion to Imam Riza. During the reign of Shah Tahmasb I, when a group of them came to visit Imam Reza, they settled in a house known as the Bektashi Tekke in the Safavid period and is located in the middle of a sacred cemetery called Katlgâh or Ghusulgah, to the north of the Imam's tomb.
This convent stood until the Pahlavi period, and Astan-i Quds-i Razavi financially supported the dervishes. They received aid from the religious endowments and charitable donations (waqf). Moreover, Astan-i Quds-i Razavi and shrine’s custodian provided other Bektashi dervishes visiting local Shiʿi pilgrimage sites with rest houses and necessary subsistence. It is believed that the Suffa and Hutba ceremonies, which started in the Safavid period and continue today, originated primarily from the rituals and observances performed by Bektashis in their convent next to the tomb.
Keywords: Imam Riza, Astan Quds Razavi, Bektashi Dervishes, Convents, Tekke.