Rifai Tradition

I. The Pîr

Born in the marshlands of southern Iraq in 512/1118, a Shāfiʿī scholar and Sufi master who called himself “poor little Ahmad” — Miskîn Ahmedcik.

He fed the hungry, visited every sick person, good or bad, walked with his eyes on the ground and greeted others first. Nearly nine centuries later his path is kept in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Türkiye, the Balkans, South Asia and the Americas.

II. The Path

All practices

What each practice is and what it means in the tradition. Practices are taken up under the guidance of a teacher; this site explains, it does not instruct.

أدبAdab“The whole path is adab” — conduct as the way itself ذكرDhikr · ZikirRemembrance, in the heart and in gathering وردWird · EvrâdThe litanies of the Pîr and his line صحبةSohbet · IlahiCompanionship, conversation and sacred song

III. Lineages and masters

All branches

One root, many branches. Each line's chain is shown as that line gives it; where records differ, both versions stand side by side.

IV. Calligraphy and sacred arts

Enter the gallery

Works by Rifāʿī calligraphers and the inscriptions of Rifāʿī lodges.

The Basmala written in the shape of a pear, signed Şeyh Aziz Rifâî — **Hattat Aziz Efendi**The Basmala as a pear, signed “Şeyh Aziz Rifâî” · student of Kenan Rifâî

يا حضرت پیر السيد أحمد الرفاعي

“Yâ Hazret-i Pîr es-Seyyid Ahmed er-Rıfâî”A panel calling on the Pîr, by Mahmud Cemaleddin Efendi

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ

The Rifâî Âsitânesi, ÜsküdarTa‘līq inscription and naskh panels by the lodge dervish İsmâil Dede

V. Living tradition

The teacher who inspired this siteSheikh Sherif Baba Çatalkaya

The communities that keep the path today — from Türkiye and the Balkans to Egypt, Sri Lanka and the Americas — with their lodges, teachers and gatherings, and how to find them.

Branches around the world · Find a community · The worldwide report

VI. Texts and library

The works attributed to the Pîr, a glossary of the words of the path, and books for further reading.

Texts · Library · Glossary