Khalwa (structure)

{{Short description|Small prayer space or mosque in Islamic tradition}}

A khalwa (also "bayt al-khalwa", literally "place of seclusion"),{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/khalwa-SIM_4178 |title=Khalwa |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |edition=2 |publisher=Brill}} is an Islamic solitary space or cell (zawiya) set aside as a place for retreat and spiritual exercise.{{cite web |url=http://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D224748/2012/2012_HAMILTONM.pdf |publisher=Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture |title=The Development of al-Haram ai-Sharif during Ottoman Rule |date=2012 |first=Michael Hamilton |last=Burgoyne |series=Proceedings of the International Congress on al-Quds during the Ottoman Era, Damascus, 22-25 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525165807/http://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D224748/2012/2012_HAMILTONM.pdf |archive-date=2022-05-25 }}

A considerable number of small khalwa structures were built on the esplanade of Al-Aqsa from 956 onwards, many founded by local Ottoman dignitaries and echoing a similar vaulted form supporting one or two domed chambers.

The underground prayer chambers in the traditional mosques of central Arabia (Najd) are also called khalwa,{{cite journal |author=Alnaim, M. M. |date=2023 |title=The Architecture of Mosque Integration of Decoration, Functionality, and Spirituality: An Overview of Najd Region Mosque Architecture |journal=Journal of Engineering Research |issn=2307-1877 |doi=10.36909/jer.ICMA.20217

|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }} while among the Druze, a prayer house is known as a Khalwat al-Bayada.{{cite book|author1=Samy S. Swayd|title=The A to Z of the Druzes|date=2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-6836-6|page=xxxix}}