Zawiyet Sidi Brahim Boushaki () or Zawiyet

Thénia Thénia (), sometimes written as Thenia, with around 40,000 inhabitants, is the chief town in the ''daïra'' of the same name, in the ''wilaya'' of Boumerdès, in northern Algeria. Historically, the name is a contraction of "Theniet Beni Aicha" (� ...

is a zawiya of the

Rahmaniyya The Raḥmâniyya (Arabic: الرحمانية) is an Algerian Sufi order (tariqa or brotherhood) founded by Kabyle religious scholar Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Azhari Bu Qabrayn in the 1770s. It was initially a branch of the Khalwat ...

Sufi brotherhood located at

Boumerdès Province Boumerdès (, Kabyle language, Kabyle: Tanebḍit n Bumerdas) is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') of northern Algeria, located in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès ...

, in the lower Kabylia region of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Construction

The zawiya of

Soumâa Soumâa or Thala Oufella is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene River and Isser River, and also the town of Thenia in the Khachna mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Boush ...

was built in 1442 at

Col des Beni Aïcha A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

in the south-eastern heights of the current town of

Boumerdès Boumerdès (; ; formerly ''Rocher Noir'') is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 15,000 in 1987 and 28,500 in 1998. Boumerdès is a seaside city located in the north o ...

Kabylia Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is ...

. The founder of this

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

school was the great scholar Sidi Brahim bin Faïd al-Boushaki (1394–1453), who established this zawiya for the purpose of education, so as to serve as a beacon for the people of the Khachna mountains, thus its scientific light rays extending to every corner of those lands.

Missions

The zawiya of Sidi Brahim Boushaki at

Thala Oufella Thala may refer to: Places * Thala Hills, Antarctica * Thala Island, Antarctica * Thala Rock, Antarctica * Thala, Tunisia, a town in Kasserine Governorate Other uses * ''Thala'' (2025 film), an Indian Telugu-language film * ''Thala'' (g ...

(Soumâa) village was considered a prominent place of religious teaching, for the memorization of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and for the teaching of its basic rulings to young people there, thus providing the various mosques of lower Kabylia region, each year during the holy month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, with a preservation of the Muslim holy book that was useful for performing the

Tarawih Tarawih (), also spelled Taraweeh, refers to special Sunnah prayers performed exclusively during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The prayers involve the recitation of long portions of the Quran, consist of any number of even rak'a (cycles of p ...

prayers, which are characteristic of that very month, and during which the

is recited with the

Warsh Abu Sa'id Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qebṭi, better known as Warsh (110-197AH), was a significant figure in the history of Quranic recitation (''qira'at''), the canonical methods of reciting the Qur'an. Alongside Qalun, he was one of the two prima ...

. This zawiya, which opened its doors for the first time in 1442, enjoyed an important ranking in the field of religious formation, as it annually graduated several

Huffaz In Islam, a Hafiz (; , pl. ''ḥuffāẓ'' , f. ''ḥāfiẓa'' ) is a person who has memorized the Quran. Hafiza is the female equivalent. A hafiz is highly respected by the community. A hafiz or hafiza are given titles such as "Hafiz Sahb" ...

of the Quran, who were also well-learned of both the latter's rulings and the science of

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

, and who were crucial in framing the various mosques scattered across the region of the

Meraldene river The Oued Meraldene or Oued Merabtene, also called Oued Bourdine, is a river of Algeria located in Kabylia within the framework of the Province of Boumerdès. Presentation The ''Meraldène'' stream is one of the main tributaries of the Boumerdè ...

. It was a place to study and teach the Quran, as well as to provide aid for the needy and for those who were about to get married, and also to organize circumcision ceremonies. It was one of the Algerian Zawiyas that played a prominent role in the social life of the

region, and was also considered a Sufi zawiya, as it was based on the traditional way of teaching the Quran and the Sunnah. The learner (

talibe A talibé (also spelled ''talibe'', plural ''talibés''; , 'student'; pl. ) is a boy, usually from Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mali or Mauritania, who studies the Quran at a daara (West African equivalent of madrasa). This ...

) intended to write the

Quranic verses The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

by himself using the traditional ink, which was a special ink that the learner made out of sheep's wool, where he melted it on fire until it became black, and then mixed it with water; the characteristic specific to this ink being that it did not disappear from the written tablet except by rubbing it with clay and water.

Location

This zawiya was located on a mountain top of the

Tell Atlas The Tell Atlas (, Latn, ar, al-ʾaṭlas al-tlī) is a mountain chain over in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching mainly across northern Algeria, ending in north-eastern Morocco and north-western Tunisia. ...

, where the village of

is also found, at an altitude of 410 meters, in

. It is thus perched in the northeast of the

Khachna Massif The Khachna Range (, ''Jibal Khashna''; Berber ''Adrar n Kheshna'') is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located in Kabylie, Algeria. Geography The ''Khachna'' is a massif made up of two differentiate ...

which overhangs Oued Meraldene and

Oued Isser The Oued Isser is a river of Algeria. It begins in Médéa Province, is the main river, with Oued Sébaou of the Medea, which runs through the Lower Kabylie of Djurdjura (or the current province of Boumerdès) Wilaya of Bouira, then flows in ...

in the lower Kabylia, and is located to the east of the plain of

Issers Isser, formerly spelled Issers (, ) is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 27,990. As of the latest census it has 32,580 residents. Isser is located on the ...

Sufism

The

Talibe A talibé (also spelled ''talibe'', plural ''talibés''; , 'student'; pl. ) is a boy, usually from Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mali or Mauritania, who studies the Quran at a daara (West African equivalent of madrasa). This ...

who intended to be initiated in the ascetic and transcendent way of this

zawiya had to follow a spiritual path based on the

Dhikr (; ; ) is a form of Islamic worship in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God. It plays a central role in Sufism, and each Sufi order typically adopts a specific ''dhikr'', accompanied by specific ...

, the

Wird The wird (plural: awrād) is a regular litany and a mystical invocation practiced by , and in Islamic sufism. Presentation In Sufism, the murid's transformation and salvation is done by the practice of special disciplines such as performanc ...

, and the

Wazifa In Sufism, the wazifa ( ; ''plural: wazaïf'') is a regular litany practiced by followers and comprising Quranic Ayah, verses, hadiths of supplication and various Duas. Presentation It is recorded in the various rituals of the Sufis that one of t ...

in order to follow the path of the

Murid In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...

s and the

Salik A sālik is a follower of Sufism, from the verb ''salaka'' which means to travel or follow, related to ''sulūk'' "pathway". ''Sulūk'' here specifically refers to a spiritual path, i.e. the combination of the two "paths" that can be followed ...

s. The

Marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

s and

Muqaddam () is an Arabic title, adopted in other Islamic or Islamicate cultures, for various civil or religious officials. As per the Persian records of medieval India, muqaddams, along with khots and chowdhurys, acted as hereditary rural intermediaries ...

s who oversaw this Zawiya worked to initiate each Hafiz and Qari frequenting this institution in order for the latter two to become Wasils and Rabbanis.

Teachings

Several Islamic sciences were taught in this zawiya of the

brotherhood, for instance the science of

as it is taught according to the

Al-Muwatta ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

, compiled by Imam

Malik ibn Anas Malik ibn Anas (; –795) also known as Imam Malik was an Arab Islamic scholar and traditionalist who is the eponym of the Maliki school, one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.Schacht, J., "Mālik b. Anas", in: ''E ...

. The

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

was taught according to the

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

Madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

, and it was observed in the courts of this zawiya according to the Mukhtasar Khalil, written by

Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi (died ), also known as ''Sidi'' Khalil, was an Egyptian jurisprudent in Maliki Islamic law who taught in Medina and Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governor ...

. Another book of the Maliki Fiqh taught in this zawiya was the Risala Al-Fiqhiya, written by

Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani Ibn Abī Zayd () (922–996), fully Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Zayd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nafzawī ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawanī, was a Maliki scholar from Kairouan in Tunisia and was also an active proponent of Ash'ari thought.Herbert J ...

, and a third Maliki Fiqh book taught there was the

Matn Ibn Ashir ''Matn Ibn Ashir'' or ''Al-Murshid al-Mu'een'' is a Maliki fiqh book written by Ibn Ashir (1582 – 1631 CE) for learning Islam in North Africa. Presentation Abd al-Wahid ibn Ashir summarizes in verses the three sciences of Islam, Iman and ...

, written by Abdul Wahid Ibn Ashir. The

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

was taught in the zawiya on the basis of the text of the Al-Alfiyya of Ibn Malik, composed by

Ibn Malik Abu 'Abd Allāh Jamāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Abd Allāh ibn Mālik al-Tā'i al-Jayyāni () ( 600 AH – 672 AH / 1203-4 or 1204-5 – 21 February 1274) was an Arab grammarian born in Jaén. After leaving al-Andalus for the Near East, and taug ...

, and the

syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...

of the Arabic language was taught there on the basis of the text of the

Al-Ajurrumiyya ''al-Ājurrūmiyyah'' () in full ' is a 13th-century book of Arabic grammar (). Very concise for easy memorization, it formed the foundation of a beginner's education in Classical Arabic learning in Arab societies at the time and was one of the ...

, composed by

Ibn Adjurrum Ibn Ādjurrūm (; Berber: Ageṛṛom or Agerrum) and his full name: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd al-Ṣanhādjī (). (1273–1323) was a Moroccan grammarian and Islamic Scholar and master of Quranic Recitation from Fe ...

. The teaching of this very syntax was based on the text of Qatr al-Nada, composed by Ibn Hisham al-Ansari. File:Mowata.jpg,

Muwatta Imam Malik ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

File:مختصر خليل.jpg, Mukhtasar Khalil File:Ajārūmīya book cover.jpg,

File:شرح ألفية ابن مالك.jpg, Al-Alfiyya of Ibn Malik

French conquest of Algeria

Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki played a crucial role in the resistance movement of the Kabyles of this area against the French invasion of Algeria since the latter started in 1830, and the zawiya's

s took part in several decisive battles, including: * Shipwreck of Dellys (1830) * Raid on Reghaïa (1837) *

Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1837) The Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha or Battle of Thenia, which broke out on 19 April 1871, was a battle of the Mokrani Revolt between the Algerian rebels, and the France, which was the colonial power in the region since 1830. Presentation Afte ...

* Battle of Boudouaou (1837) * Battle of the Issers (1837) *

Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1846) The Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1846) or Battle of Thénia (1846), which broke out on 3 February 1846, was a battle of the French conquest of Algeria between the Algerian rebels, and the France, which was the colonial power in the region s ...

Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1871) The Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha or Battle of Thenia, which broke out on 19 April 1871, was a battle of the Mokrani Revolt between the Algerian rebels, and the France, which was the colonial power in the region since 1830. Presentation Afte ...

* Battle of Boudouaou (1871)

Visit of Emir Abdelkader

During the visit of the

Emir Abdelkader Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of ...

in 1839 to

, he made a stay in

Dellys Dellys (, Berber: Delles) is a small Mediterranean town in northern Algeria's coastal Boumerdès Province, almost due north of Tizi-Ouzou and just east of the Sebaou River. It is the district seat of the daïra of Dellys. The town is 45 ...

, where he went to visit the

Zawiyet Sidi Amar Cherif Zawiyet Sidi Amar Cherif (), or Zawiyet Sidi Daoud, is a Zawiya (institution), zawiya school located in Boumerdès Province in Algeria. Construction The zawiya was built in 1745 in the eastern heights of the current town of Boumerdès in the Kab ...

on the mountain of Bouberrak, and had lunch there before going to spend the night with the

tribe. During this visit to the Issers, the Emir also went to

Zawiyet Sidi Boumerdassi Zawiyet Sidi Boumerdassi () or Zawiyet Ouled Boumerdès is a Zawiya (institution), zawiya located within Boumerdès Province in Algeria. Construction The zawiya of Ouled Boumerdès was built in 1714 in the southern heights of the current town of ...

near El-Djebil, and then continued his journey until he stopped at

, where he was warmly received by the Marabouts of Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki. He was well received by the descendants of the theologian

Sidi Boushaki Sidi Boushaki or Ibrahim Ibn Faïd Ez-Zaouaoui () (1394 CE/796 AH – 1453 CE/857 AH) was a Maliki theologian born near the town of Thenia, east of Algiers. He was raised in a very spiritual environment with high Islamic values and ethics with ...

, and gunshots were fired as a sign of rejoicing for his reassuring presence, then a meal of hospitality for distinguished guests was prepared for him, as his hosts thought that he was going to spend the night at the zawiya, but at nightfall he left to sleep elsewhere, so as to trick the possible spies that colonial France might have deployed there. Before leaving the village of

, the Emir Abdelkader had announced to the inhabitants that peace with the French was fragile and would soon be broken at any time.

Algerian Revolution

During the Algerian independence revolution, the zawiya was fully involved in the struggle for the freedom of the country, with the

Shahid ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acq ...

Yahia Boushaki (1935-1960) being one of the emblematic leaders of the revolution in the Fourth Historic Wilaya. The zawiya continued to supervise the

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s in the villages of the

area, providing them with

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

s so as to maintain the practice of Islamic worship (

Ibadah ''Ibadah'' (, ''‘ibādah'', also spelled ''ibada'') is an Arabic word meaning service or servitude. In Islam, ''ibadah'' is usually translated as “worship”, and ''ibadat''—the plural of ''ibadah''—refers to Islamic jurisprudence ( ...

) in such warlike circumstances. This is how the mosque in the village of Aït Hamadouche had previously been framed by an Imam of the zawiya, and the same occurred with the villages of Djenah, Fekhara, Itoubal and Zaatra, until after the Soummam conference of 20 August 1956, when the entire region was devastated by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in reprisal for the former's participation in the resistance. The village of

was destroyed by French colonial artillery in April 1957, and the zawiya was razed by a shell fire that buried several

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

who had taken refuge in it. Several

s of this zawiya were caught up and held in the torture center of Ferme Gauthier, near

, where some of them suffered the most horrific torments and others died.

Notable people

(1394-1453) * Ali Boushaki (1855-1965) *

Mohamed Seghir Boushaki Mohamed Seghir Boushaki (), (born 27 November 1869 in Thénia, Boumerdès Province, Kabylie, Algeria; died 1959 in Thenia, Algeria) was an Algerian Kabyles, Kabyle politician after the French conquest of Algeria. Presentation Mohamed Segh ...

(1869-1959) *

Abderrahmane Boushaki Abdelrahman or Abd al-Rahman or Abdul Rahman or Abdurrahman or Abdrrahman ( or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman'') is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' ...

(1896-1985) *

Brahim Boushaki Brahim Boushaki ( ''Ibrahim ibn Ali al-Boushaki'') (1912 CE/1330 Hijri year, AH – 1997 CE/1418 Hijri year, AH) was an Algerian people, Algerian Scholar, Imam and Sufism, Sufi Sheikh (Sufism), Sheikh. He was born in the village of Soumâa near ...

(1912-1997) * Yahia Boushaki (1935-1960) *

Mohamed Rahmoune Mohamed Rahmoune (1940 – 4 February 2022), commonly known as Si Rabah or simply as Rahmoune, was a prominent revolutionary leader during the Algerian War of Independence, Algerian war of independence as a member of the National Liberation Fro ...

(1940-2022) * Cheikh Ali Boushaki (1812-1846) * Cheikh Mohamed Boushaki (1834-1884) * * * *

Gallery

File:Dam of Meraldene, Barrage de Merabtene, Thenia, Kabylie.jpg,

Meraldene Meraldene or Merabtene is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene River, the Meraldene Dam and the town of Thénia in the Khachna mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Boushak ...

Valley

External links

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidi Boushaki, Zawiyet 1442 establishments Sufism in Algeria Zawiyas in Algeria Buildings and structures in Boumerdès Province 15th-century establishments in Africa Boushaki family Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki Islamic architecture in Africa Educational organisations based in Algeria