التصوف والطرق الصوفية في حمص ٩_a .. كتاب حمص

The emergence of the Rifa’i order in Homs:

In the manuscript of Muhammad al-Makki ibn al-Khanqah, which was verified by Mr. Omar Najib al-Omar, and includes the events of the years (1100-1135 AH = 1688-1722 AD) in Homs, we do not find any mention of the Rifa’i order, but it is mentioned in the events of 1122 AH: The Jandaliyah sheikhs went out and conveyed them to our master Khaled, and Sheikh Abd al-Quddus went to On the side of Al-Asi, and they descended after the afternoon, at Al-Jandaliyya. They went to Jaafar Al-Tabbar, may God be pleased with him, and Abd al-Quddus went down to Medina. He did not mention the path to which Sheikh Abd al-Quddus belonged, nor did he mention the name of “Sheikh of al-Jandaliyya,” but the author of the book explained the word al-Jandaliyya in the footnote. No. / 256 / that they are followers of the Sa’diyyah al-Jabbawiyya order, which is attributed to Saad al-Din al-Jibbawi, the founder of the order. This is wrong because it is known in Homs that the Jandaliyah is in the Rifa’iyyah order, and they are not followers of the Saadiyyah order.

The oldest of the Rifa'i sheikhs in Homs that we know of is: Sheikh Ahmad Al-Kayyali Al-Rifai, known as Al-Sawah Al-Thani, born in the village of Wasit in Iraq in 1725 AD and a resident of Homs / 1183 AH = 1764 AD. He married a righteous woman in Homs, and traveled to Istanbul during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III 1757- 1774 AD. The Sultan granted him 395 dunams and a farm from the lands of the village of Modan (3). A royal decree was issued relieving his family of princely funds according to a firman preserved by it. When Ibrahim Pasha occupied Syria, the content of the firman was kept in effect and the family preserved its privileges. To Sheikh Ahmed Al-Kayyal Al-Rifai it goes back. Credit for establishing the Rifaiyya order in Homs and spreading it there.

The Rifa’i order in Homs in the late nineteenth century had a corner located at the site of Bab al-Sbaa’, at the eastern foot of the citadel, built by Sayyed Ahmed al-Rifai, the grandson of Davin Modan, and the father of Sheikh Suleiman, who chronicled its construction with three verses of poetry:

He hopes for victory over the Prophet of History, as well as through Al-Rifai = 1305 AH = 88/1887 AD. If we add to it the Al-Tarqah / Al-Rifa’iyya in Bab Al-Darib and its two gates, the House of the Writer in the back of the cave and the corner of Sheikh Hamam south of Bab Hud, the Rifa’i Order will have four corners, one of which was demolished in Bab Al-Sbaa’ and the rest turned into real estate:, Two houses and a warehouse.

Its branches: its oldest branch is the Jandaliyah, and Sheikh Saad al-Din al-Jabbawi believes in the manuscript (Masamara al-Jaalis in the History of (Al-Khamis)) that the Jandalahs came to Homs from the village of Maarat Bani al-Rifai, and their relatives, the Banu Jandal, were still there until Sheikh Jandal took the road seventy years ago from one of his relatives. And they settled in Homs / 23 / As for the branch of the writer’s house, it is mentioned about him (The sheikh came to the writer from the north with a Rifa’i license in his hand, and he claimed honor. He came to Homs in approximately 1225 and took the method of following the janadalah, then he died and was buried in his corner, and he followed Sheikh Arslan, and he was characterized by knowledge, intelligence, and humor, p. 25/ Then He says on page 27: Sheikh Raslan went to Istanbul and advised his children: You are not similar to those sheikhs, and God granted him wealth in Istanbul. Then after him, Sheikh Muhammad Saeed settled in Istanbul, and obtained the building of the corner, and they abandoned the car altogether. That is, they did not participate in the Thursday processions of the sheikhs. After him came Sheikh Sharif, one of the children of Al-Sawah, buried in the village of Modan / 000. He came from Modan and lived in Homs, and every year, after the passage of the sheikhs, he came out in three shifts and three sanjaks, passing by Baba Amr / and going to Modan, p. / 27 / and in the year 1305 AH = 1887 AD. / 88 Sheikh Ahmed Hamam, who was a resident of Douma, from Damascus, took the tariqa from its sheikhs and came in the car to Homs, p. 41, bringing with him his approval from his sheikh, Ahmed bin Suwayd al-Rifai, as stated in the sequence of his tariqa dated 1282 AH = 1865/66 AD. He is (Ahmed Abu Al-Sha’ar bin Ibrahim Hamam).

Here we must talk about the most prominent sheikh of this order from a cultural standpoint, who is Sheikh Suleiman Al-Kayyali: known as the lame sheikh to his contemporaries, Ahmed Al-Kayyali because he was lame in his leg. He is: Suleiman Hibatullah Ahmad bin Suleiman bin Al-Rifai, known as / Al-Sawah Al-Thani / Dafin Qaryah / Modan / As we experienced before. Sheikh Suleiman was born in 1263 AH = 47/1846 AD, in Homs. He grew up under his father’s care and received religious knowledge from him. When he grew up, he wore the Rifa’iya kayali rag from his father, so his father allowed him to wear the silk Rifa’iya rag on the authority of his cousin, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hariri Al-Hamwi, and he learned his knowledge from many scholars. In his time, among them was the Mufti of Homs, the scholar Muhammad al-Atassi, and Yahya al-Zahrawi, the head of the nobles in his time, and among them was the guide of the pilgrims, the sheikh of the Qadiriyya carpet, Sayyed Muhammad Saeed bin Sheikh Bakkar al-Zoubi al-Kilani, and Sheikh Muhammad Salim Safi, the guide of behavior in the Naqshbandi order, and many of them were mentioned at the end of the book al-Lali al-Duriya fi Manaqib Rabi’a. Al-Adawiya, and he was known for the quality of his calligraphy, so much so that his book was the destination of those wishing to learn good calligraphy. In addition, he was a poet and used to teach in the Maqam of Raba’a Al-Adawiya.

He made two trips, the first in 1319 AH = 1893 AD to Istanbul, where he met Sheikh Abu Al-Huda Al-Sayyadi, who honored him and bestowed blessings upon him. The second time he went to Idlib in 1322 AH = 1904 AD. At the invitation of the Kayyali family, he took with him his son, Muhammad Najeeb, and stayed with them for two months in honor and honor, and visited the grave of their great grandfather, one of Ismail Al-Kayyali Al-Rifai, buried in the village of Al-Tarnbah, Aamal, Sarmin, in Idlib Governorate now. He is the most prolific sheikh of his time, and he has authored a book. Al-Ahmadiyyah good news regarding the conduct of the Rifa’iyya method, poetry regarding the preciousness of poetry, and advising the nation in learning and teaching important matters. The flowing nectar is in the lineage of the Sayyids (Qutb Al-Kayyal), and Al-Lali Al-Duriyya is in the virtues of Raba’a Al-Adawiya, and all of them are still in manuscript, as he wrote them in his beautiful handwriting. In 1333 AH = 1914 AD, he passed his fateful death and was buried in the grave of his uncle Sheikh Sharif, west of Bab Al-Turkman.