Aga KhanAga Khan (آقاخان, آغا خان; also transliterated as Aqa Khan and Agha Khan) is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV (b. 1936). Aga Khans claim descent from Muhammad, the last prophet according to the doctrine of Islam. The title is made up of the titles "agha" and "khan". The Turkish "agha" is "aqa" (Āqā) in Persian. The word "agha" comes from the Old Turkic and Mongolian "aqa", meaning "elder men", and means something like "master" or "lord.
KhidrAl-Khidr (ˈxɪdər) (al-Khaḍir; also transcribed as al-Khadir, Khader, Khidr, Hidr, Khizr, Kathir, Khazer, Khadr, Khedher, Khizir, Khizar, Khilr) is a figure described but not mentioned by name in the Quran as a righteous servant of God possessing great wisdom or mystic knowledge. In various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions, Khidr is described as an angel, prophet, or wali, who guards the sea, teaches secret knowledge and aids those in distress. He prominently figures as patron of the Islamic saint ibn Arabi.
ZiyaratIn Islam, ziyara(h) (زِيَارَة ziyārah, "visit") or ziyarat (, ziyārat, "pilgrimage") is a form of pilgrimage to sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants (including the Shī'ī Imāms), his companions and other venerated figures in Islam such as the prophets, Sufi auliya, and Islamic scholars. Sites of pilgrimage include mosques, maqams, battlefields, mountains, and caves. Ziyārat can also refer to a form of supplication made by the Shia, in which they send salutations and greetings to Muhammad and his family.
Khalwati orderThe Khalwati order (also known as Khalwatiyya, Khalwatiya, or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (tariqa). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. The order takes its name from the Arabic word khalwa, meaning “method of withdrawal or isolation from the world for mystical purposes.” The order was founded by Umar al-Khalwati in the city of Herat in medieval Khorasan (now located in western Afghanistan).
SulaymaniThe Sulaymani branch of Tayyibi Isma'ilism is an Islamic community, of which around 70,000 members reside in Yemen, while a few thousand Sulaymani Bohras can be found in India. The Sulaymanis are sometimes headed by a Da'i al-Mutlaq from the Makrami family. It is not correct that this branch is headed by one from the Makrami family always as the D'ai al Mutlaq could be from other families and communities. Examples: the first Da'i was Dhuayb Bin Mousa (Hamdan), Dawud Bin Ajab Shah(Indian), Sulayman Bin Al Hassan (Indian) and some of his brothers and sons were Indians.
ShaykhismShaykhism (الشيخية) is a Shi'a Islamic school founded by Shaykh Ahmad in early 19th-century Qajar Iran. While grounded in traditional Twelver Shiʻi doctrine, Shaykhism diverged from the Usuli school in its interpretation of key ideas such as the nature of the end times and the day of resurrection, the source of jurisprudential authority, and the proper hermeneutic to be employed in interpreting prophecy through the mystical writings of the Twelver Imams. These divergences resulted in controversy and ongoing accusations of heresy from Usulis and Akhbaris.
Fuzuli (poet)Muhammad bin Suleyman (Məhəmməd Süleyman oğlu, مَحمد سلیمان اوغلی; 1483–1556), better known by his pen name Fuzuli (Füzuli, فضولی), was a 16th-century poet who composed works in his native Azerbaijani, as well as Persian and Arabic. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets of Turkic literature and a prominent figure in both Azerbaijani and Ottoman literature. Fuzuli's work was widely known and admired throughout the Turkic cultural landscape from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with his fame reaching as far as Central Asia and India.
IshikismIshik or Ishik Alevism (Işık Aleviliği), also known as Chinarism (Çınarcılık), is a new syncretic religious movement among Alevis who have developed an alternative understanding of Alevism and its history. These alternative interpretations and beliefs were inspired by Turkish writer Erdoğan Çınar with the publication of his book Aleviliğin Gizli Tarihi (The Secret History of Alevism) in 2004.
AlevilerAleviler is an idiom, being used synonymously in Turkish language with Shi'ites, to characterize the Zaydids of Tabaristan, Daylam and Gilan; the Bātinī-Ismāʿīlīs of Pamir Mountains in Turkestan and the Non-Ja'fari Twelver-Shi'ites in Turkey.
Arba'eenArbaeen (al-Arba‘īn), Chehellom (چهلم, "the fortieth day") is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, who was martyred on the 10th day of the month of Muharram. Imam Hussain ibn Ali and 71 of his companions were martyred by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's army under the governance of Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). Arbaeen or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions.
