Sufis ’ Centers as Scientific and Educational Institutions by Reference to the Manuscripts Transcribed There

Sufism is an ascetic way among Muslims based on comportment for purifying the self and avoiding the world for reaching God and completing the soul. Sufis established several independent religious-military centers under different names, such as Khāngāh, Zawiya, Mazār, Takya, Rebaţ, Madrasa, Şawmi’a and so on in order to teach, meet, worship and discuss, publicize and live in. They had libraries where Sufism-related or other books were collected.


Sufism in Islam
Sufism is an ascetic way among Muslims based on comportment for purifying the self and avoiding the world for reaching God and completing the soul.Sufism in Arabic (taşawwuf) means wearing woolen clothes as Sufis were wearing woolen clothes as a sign of asceticism and inner behavior.Despite its various definitions, Sufism is based on a main principle: knowing the creator of the world and discovering the reality of the creation and the human-reality connection Sufis in this century had no established social institution and certain thought school.In other words, in the centuries 2 nd and 3 rd A. H., Sufism had not any practical and theoretical schools in these centuries and their meeting places (Sufis' centers) was not still formed as khāngāhs.

Scientists and Scholars' Transcription Centers
In the fields of knowledge and speech and among scribes and authors, there were some customs they followed.These customs were formed in the centers other than those of court and concentrated on learning and educating circles.Scientists and scholars in the Islamic world could produce thousands of fine and valuable manuscripts in scientific fields with their own independent attempts and exercises.Some motivations including educational, learning and religious ones were at work for writing and transcribing in the Islamic world.As a result, transcription in part was done in educational centers such as schools (for example Image 1), masques (for example Image 2 & Image 3), Khānqāhs (so-called monasteries) and Niżāmiyyas 1 as well as in scientific-research centers such as observatories (Khawandmir, 1305).Students and graduates of these centers abridged, commented, explained and interpreted their selected books.Such a tradition that began from 3 th and 4 th AH (9 th and 10 th ) centuries continued up to later centuries (Fadā'īĪrāqī, 2007: p. 13).

Sufis' Centers
About 14 th century A. H., some certain places were established for Sufis' meetings.These places were named ribaţ and zawiya in Arab countries and north-western Iran and khānqāh in other places located in Iran.There was no difference of meaning between these words.So Sufis established several independent religious-military centers under different names such as Khāngāh, Zawiya, Mazār, Takya, Robaţ, Madrasa, Şawmi'a and so on in order to teach, meet, worship and discuss, publicize and live in (Kiyani, 1369: p. 17 Sufis were gradually organized in these places.In these multi-purposed places, teaching Sufi students and providing social services were organized and the setting was prepared for writing and compiling Sufism literature.Sufism elders compiled the main principles of the Sufism in these centers where education and training was focused on.

Khāngāh
As a Sufis' center, khānghāh had several uses such as instruction, gathering and life.There is no detailed information on the first khānghāhs.Many researchers related the formation of primary khānghāhs to Karrāmīān.The word khānghāh first appeared in the works by authors living in the 4 th century A. H.The anonymous author of Ħudūd al-'Ālam 2 (authored around the 4 th century A. H.) described Mānavian'skhānghāh in detail.
Khāngāh was completely known in the middle of the 4 th century A. H. and it can be said that with the establishment of Sufism in the 3 rd century A. H., some especial centers were developed for Sufis' gatherings and instruction and were expanded during the 4 th and 5 th centuries A. H. (Maqdisī,p. 41).From the 5 th century A. H., the number of organized khāngāhs increased and as noted by Ibn Baţţūţa in his travel literature (Ībn Baţţūţa, 1987), khāngāhs were increased in all Islamic countries in the 7 th and 8 th centuries and changed into main centers for Sufis, pilgrims and tourists (Dastgheib, 1376: p. 268).
In the Īlkhānid dynasty, many khāngāhs were established and many Sufis were active in them.Seljuks were supporters of khānghāhs, too.With emergence of the Safavid dynasty and development of Shiat sect and under domination of fuqaha and "ulamā" (religion scientists), the sheikhs of Sufism were weakend.As a result, many Sufism groups tended to immigrate and many Khāngāhs were closed.In spite of their re-establishing in the Qājārid dynasty, khāngāhs remained under fluctuating situations due to religious-political movements in the next periods (for example Image 4).

Rebāţs
In its primary use, rebāţs was a word used for naming boundary military centers formed for protecting the Islamic area.Some centers in the boundaries of Syria, Africa and Khurāsān had such centers (Iștakhrī, p. 55).Changing in their applications, rebaţs converted into worship and instruction centers.With the same meaning as khāngāh, rebaţs were common in Baghdad and Iraq.In the Abbasid dynasty, it referred back to a home for the poor and developed as a benevolent fund within and outside Baghdad (Ālūsī, 1398: pp. 113-120).Rebaţ was selected to name such centers due to its political brand and was used in Egypt, too (Muşţafā, 2006(Muşţafā, : p. 1007).Different from khāngāhs, rebaţs were the centers for educating followers (Trimingham, 1971: p. 168).

Zāwiyas
Stemming from an Arabic word meaning isolation, zāwīya is a place where one isolates themselves and reads the Koran and praises Allah (Dickie, 1984;Walī, 1988).In many regions, including Africa, this word was used for naming khāngāhs.In Sufism terminology, it sometimes referred back to the room where a Sufi isolated himself.This room sometimes placed in a mosque as that in which Īmām Muħħamad Ghazzāli started to isolate himself in the Masque of Damascus (Ibn, 1984: p. 240).Based on Ibn Baţţūţa (1987, Vol. 1. p. 380), one of Mongol emirs established 40 zāwiyas in Ghazni.

Buq'a/Maqbara
Named variously as maqbara, ārāmgah, marqad and mazār, buq'as were the graves of Sufis, scientists and scholars and places for pilgrims.Emerging from the 5 th century A. H., buq'as were developed in the Siljuk dynasty.Shaykh Şafī al-Dīn Ardabīlī'sbuq'a was one of the famous ones functioned as his khāngāh and madrasa for teaching his followers and is his grave, too.Sometimes, Sufism sheikhs' graves functioned as a center for publicizing their teachings and sometimes, khāngāhs were built after building the maqbara, such as that of Shaykh Şafī al-Dīn Bukharī (in the 8 th century).Maqbaras and Zaw[yas found important placement after the decline of khāngāhs.
Kashmir: The khāngāhs in this region were built in the period of MīrSayyid 'AlīĦamazanī (d.875 A. H.) of Kabrūyas under the name of Imam Ali (pbuh) .These centers were for teaching, worshiping and living in (Dihlawī 'Abd-al-Ħaqq, p. 168).

The Educational Role of Sufis Centers
The performance of khāngāhs and other related centers has been change based on different historical contexts.In addition to presenting religious programs and guidance, these centers converted to main centers for theoretical debates on educating followers in the 4 th century A. H. (Karamustafa, 2007: p. 116).These living homes of Sufis became gradually a place for ethical education in many Islamic countries.Sufis' adaptation with other sects tended them to affect other people from different races and social groups.This adaptation resulted in their great role in teaching Islamic sciences and due to competing the scientists of madrasas, their educational procedures had some hierarchy and order.Fiqh and Hadith trends make them teach Sufis Islamic knowledge, such as Koran interpretation, hadith narration, astronomy, literature and philosophy.Sufis tried to explain the religious aspects of Sufism in their teachings (Debāshī, 2005: p. 183).
With increasing the educational performance of khāngāhs, a group of scientists tended to read the books by Sufis and started to write Sufism books.For example, a group of scientists were reading and interpreting the books by Imām Muħammad Ghazzālī.Some scientists were reading and writing in the library of the khāngāh built by Shaykh Aħmad Jām in Jām city.The khangāh built by an Iranian Sufi, "Alla" al-Dawla Simnani had a library where many famous Sufis were reading and writing for about 100 years after his death (Homayoonfarokh, 1374: pp. 36-94).
In the introduction or the end of some manuscripts written by Sufis, there is a passage indicating it was written in a certain khāngāh (Image 4).This can be seen in the case of transcribing some manuscripts.It can be concluded that khāngāhs and similar centers functioned as main centers for writing books and transcribing manuscripts.

Educational Performance of Sufis' Centers
In their first periods of their establishment, khānqāhs and other Sufis' centers were places for staying and feeding Sufis as well as teaching social principle and human rights (Kiyani, 1369: p. 63) and the tradition of feeding guests, Sufis and travellers was so wide that Ibn Baţţūţa (1987, p. 281) , vol. 1, p. 645).This caused Sufis to immigrate to other places and closing most khānqāhs.Since Sufis started to develop their activities in the early days of Qajar period, Shia scientists again criticized them seriously (Rajabi, 1381: p. 394).As Mīrzā Āghāsī had tendency to Sufism, Sufis were empowered again, but in short period of his governance as a vizier.However, Sufis continued to write, compile and transcribe (Persian Encyclopedia, under the entry "Sufism", vol. 1, p. 645).ĦājMīrzā Muħammad ĦasanIsfahānī, known as Safi Alī Shāh (1251-1316 A. H.) was of Sufism elders in Qajar period that established a khānqāh in Tehran in the name of himself (Rajabi, 1381: p. 394).

Results of the Study Manuscripts Transcribed in the Sufis' Centers
In total, 68 manuscripts included at least one of the keywords.The writing place of 8 manuscripts and transcription place of 60 ones belonged to one certain Sufis' center.It is probable that many copies were transcribed in different centers.The lack of information on transcription place caused them not to be identified.
The details associated with these 60 manuscripts include: 1) Diversity of Transcribing in Sufi's centers a) Khāngāhs Studying 60 manuscripts, it can be said that there were various Sufi's centers.
Of them, Khāngāhs (with 31) and Zawiyas and Mazārs (with 7 in each) were in the higher rank, respectively.Under general name as Khāngāh, they were dispersed in various countries and cities as shown in Table 1.The frequencies of manuscripts in Keshmir (with 8), Iran (with 7) and Egypt (with 4) are in higher ranks, respectively.

b) Other Centers
In other centers of Sufis, not including Khāngās, transcription was common.
Table 2 shows the transcription center name and frequencies of transcribed manuscripts in Sufi's centers other than Khāngāhs.Zawiyas (with 7 centers) and Mazārs (with 3 centers) had the higher ranks, respectively.

2) Historical Periods
The Sufi's transcription centers were active 7 -13 centuries A. H.As Shown in

3) Subject Dispersion
Many subjects were included in the manuscripts transcribed in Sufi's centers.
As Table 4 shows, the higher ranked subjects were Sufism (with 17 manuscripts) and Poet and philosophy and logic (with 10 manuscripts in each).
and Sufi Orders: God's Spiritual Paths/Adaptation and Renewal in the Context of Modernization/Hassan Abu Hanieh/December 2011/Published in 2011 by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.Amman Of_ce/P.O.Box 926238, Amman/Jordan.Some of the topics discussed:Islamic Sufism's Historical Formation/The Sufi Approach: Wisal and Wusul/Sufi Orders in Jordan.4) The Origin and Evolution of Sufism/Dr.Farida Khanam/Al-Idah 2011 The Origin and Evolution of Sufism 21.Some of the topics discussed:The Beginnings of Sufism/Sufi links with Orthodoxy/The Sufi way (^arīqah)/.5) Educational Characteristics of Sufi Brotherhoods/Muhammad Faisal &Pauzi.Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Character Education Batam, 23 August 2015.Some of the topics discussed: Educational Institution of Sufi/Forms and Functions of Sufis Educational Institutions/Educational Characteristics of Sufis Brotherhoods.6) The Origin of Mysticism and Sufism in Hadith/Seyyed Muhammad Rastgoo Far & Mahdi Dasht Bozorgi/Religious Inquiries Vol. 2, No. 3, Winter and Spring 2013, 103-117.Some of the topics discussed: The Connection between Mysticism and Piety/Some Examples of Mystic Principles and Their Relation to Hadiths.7) Sufism an Introduction/Farida khanam First published in 2006/Reprinted 2007/First revised edition 2009/Printed in India.Some of the topics discussed: The Origin and Evolution of Sufism/Towards Mysticism/The Sufi Concept of Meditation/Tasawwuf Today.8) Introduction to Sufi Doctrine/Titus Burckhardt Foreword by: William C. Chittick Printed on acid-free paper in Canada./Forinformation address World Wisdom, Inc./P.O.Box 2682, Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2682.Some of the topics discussed: Part 1: The Nature of Sufism/Part 2: The Doctrinal Foundations /Part 3: Spiritual Realization.

1
Nizāmiyyas were a group of the medieval institutions of higher education established by Khaja Nizām al-Mulk in Iran.
It was transcribed in a Sulţānī mosque.Image 3. It was transcribed in a Jāmi' (central) mosque.

2
Ħudūd al-'Alammin al-Mashriqwa al-Maghrib (The limits of the world From the east and west).By Manuchehr Sotoodeh.Tehran: Tehran University.Image 4. It was transcribed in Khānqāh.
focused on it in his travel account.People conceived of some of these places as holy places.Some of them were centers of manifesting Iranian-Islamic music, art and poetry.Combining Sufism with training Islamic sciences, some of these centers had a main role in Islamic knowledge and its education, development and dissemination.The following examples are some historical evidences of this role: 1) Next to or inside of some khānqāhs, there was a madrasa for teaching Islamic sciences.Madrasa of khānqāh established by Husayn ibn Ya'qūb al-Nishabūrī in 4 th century A. H. was an example (Hākim Nīshabūrī, 1375).Advances in Historical Studies scientists were empowered.Sufis became weaker and Shia scientists and elders started to criticize Sufism tradition in their books and lectures (Persian Encyclopedia, under the entry "Sufism" Rebaţ in Arab regions and the south-western Iran for such centers.

Geographical Distribution of Sufis' Centers Iran
: Organized khāngāhs were formed in the 5 th century and in the 7 th and 8 th centuries A. H., khāngāhs and Zawiyas were the gathering units in various cities in Iran.Different khāngāhs were established in the Ilkhanid and Timurid dynasties.Many khāngāhs were closed in the Sfavid dynasty and many Sufis immigrated to other countries.However, their activities re-started in the Qajarid period(Persian Encyclopedia, vol. 1, p. 645).Iraq: Baghdad was one of the main centers of Sufism teachings and various Islamic sects and scientific debates.The first rebāţ was built for Zahid al-Bașrī in the 4 th century and the number of these centers reached 35 ones in Baghdad at the end of the 7 th century.

Table 2 .
Transcription center name and frequencies of transcribed manuscripts in Sufi's centers.

Table 4 .
Subjects were included in the manuscripts transcribed in Sufi's centers.