Kenani School

A Brief History

The word Kenani  is a derivative of Ken'an.  Ken'an Rifai was a great teacher and well known Sufi saint of the 20th century.  He lived in Istanbul, Turkey and taught in a Rifai dergah in Fatih, a municipality of Istanbul.

The role of the traditional dergahs was to provide teaching, training and counselling to the faithful seeker.  They were once the meeting and teaching houses of the Sufis.  But in today's world they are no longer able to serve the needs of the modern seeker and as a result have become obsolete.  In their time, dergahs had a very important place in Middle Eastern and Eastern European societies. Through sophisticated teaching systems, they provided the students with the necessary tools to gain self-knowledge, to find and recognise God, to replace religious fear with love, and to cleanse the inner being.  Unfortunately these institutions lost their importance and became more and more outdated.

And it is for this reason that the members of the Institute of Sufi Studies (Canada) decided to establish the Kenani School under the guidance of Mr. Cemil B. Aksoy, the grandson of Ken'an Rifai.  Its foundation is based on extensive studies done on several Tarikas (Sufi orders), in particular, the Rifaiyeh, Kadiriyeh, Mewleviyeh, Shazeliyeh, Sayyadiyyeh, Sadiyeh, Badeviyeh and Cerrahiyeh, but mostly on the principles of Ken'an Rifai himself and the guidelines of his teachings.

"Rifaiyeh" - A Sufi order founded by Sayyed Ahmed al-Rifai. He was born in November of 1118 and died on September 23, 1183 in Basra (Iraq). 

"Kadiriyeh" - Founded by Sayyed (an attribution given to the descendents of the Prophet) Abd al-Kadir al-Geylani (1077-1166).  He was born in Geylania, a suburb of Basra, in present day Iraq.  He was educated in Baghdad where he founded this order.

"Mewleviyeh" - Known in the West as the "Whirling Dervishes" was founded in Konya (Turkey) by Sultan Veled, the son of the famous author of the Mathnawi, Mewlana Jalalu'ddin Rumi (He was born in Belkh, Afghanistan in 1207.  He died in Konya, on December 17, 1273).

"Shazeliyeh" - Founded by Sayyed al-Shazeli al-Weli.  He was born in a suburb of Baghdad in 1195 and died in Nasiriyeh (Baghdad).

"Sayyadiyeh" - Founded by Sayyed Ahmed Izzeddin al-Sayyad.  He was the nephew of Sayyed Ahmed al-Rifai.  This order is an offshoot of the Rifaiyeh order.

"Sadiyeh" - Founded by Sayyed Sadettin al-Jibavi.  He was born in 1113 in Havran (Egypt) and died in 1224 in Jiba (a suburb of Damascus, Syria).

"Badeviyeh" - Founded by Sayyed Ahmed al-Badevi.  He was born in Fez (Northern Africa) in 1200.  He moved to Tanta (Egypt) in 1239 and died there in 1276.  The reason behind the pseudonym "Badevi" was that when he went out he wore a scarf to cover his nose and mouth, like the Bedouins.

"Cerrahiyeh" - (pronounced Jarrahiyeh) An offshoot of the Khalvetiyeh order (a highly ramified and widespread Sufi order), it was founded by Nureddin al-Cerrahi (1678-1721), who was born in a well known part of the city of Istanbul called Cerrah-Pasha.  He preached and died in the same city.

INSTITUTE OF SUFI STUDIES 

250 FERRIER STREET, UNIT C   MARKHAM, ONT.  L3R 2Z5  TEL: (905) 947 4322   

  E-MAIL: cigdem.coskun@sympatico.ca