Rifaʽi

Records indicate Ahmad al-Rifa{{ayin}}i inherited his maternal uncle's, Mansur al-Bata'ihi, position of headship to his religious community in 1145-6 C.E. At this time many followed his activities in and around the village of Umm 'Ubayda.{{sfn|Margoliouth|1997|pp= 38-39}} In the Lower Iraq marshlands, the Rifa{{ayin}}i order developed and gained notice throughout the 12th century C.E. due to its extravagant practices. Rifa{{ayin}}i expanded into Egypt and Syria.

In 1268 C.E., Abu Muhammad {{ayin}}Ali al-Hariri formed the Syrian branch of the order which became known as the Haririya.{{sfn|Trimingham|1998|p=39}} The Rifa{{ayin}}i gained further popularity in Egypt and Turkey. In the 15th century C.E., its popularity waned and the popularity of the Qadiriyya order rose.{{sfn|Trimingham|1998|p=40}} Subsequently, interest in the Rifa{{ayin}}i order centered within Arab lands.{{sfn|Godlas|1996|p=437}}

The order has a presence in Syria and Egypt and plays a noticeable role in BosniaThe Rifa{{ayin}}i Tariqa blends worship styles or ideas with those of other orders that predominate in the local area. For example, the group established by Ken{{ayin}}an Rifa{{ayin}}i in Istanbul that reflects elements of the Mevlevi Order.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

The order spread into Anatolia during the 14th and 15th Centuries and ibn Battuta noted Rifa{{ayin}}i 'tekkes' in central Anatolia.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} The order however, began to make progress in Turkey during the 17th to 19th centuries when tekkes began to be found in Istanbul.

The Rifa{{ayin}}i order may have had a presence in the Balkans since at least the 17th century but it didn't begin actively gaining followers until the early 19th century. The order soon spread throughout the region, including North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Bosnia.{{Cite book |last=Biegman |first=Nicolaas H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6yHuAAAACAAJ |title=God's Lovers: A Sufi Community in Macedonia |date=2007 |publisher=Kegan Paul |isbn=978-0-7103-1191-7 |pages=10 |language=en}}

In the United States and Canada tekkes (lodges) are found in Staten Island and Toronto that were under the guidance of the late Shaykh Xhemali Shehu (d.2004) of Prizren, Kosovo. Each of these orders is ultimately Turkish in origin.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

During heightened states of Rifa{{ayin}}i Ratib, Rifa{{ayin}}i followers were noted to have eaten live snakes, entered ovens filled with fire and ridden on lions.{{sfn|Trimingham|1998|p=38}} Followers were also noted to have practiced charming snakes and thrusting iron spikes and glass into their bodies.{{sfn|Bosworth|1997}}

It is uncertain whether or not Ahmed ar-Rifa{{ayin}}i instituted the practices that helped solidify the Rifa{{ayin}}i order's massive popularity. While some scholars attribute these practices to al-Rifa{{ayin}}i,{{sfn|Trimingham|1998|p=37}} other scholars contend he was unaware of these practices and that these were introduced after the Mongol invasion.{{sfn|Margoliouth|1997}}

• Samiha Ayverdi
• Agah Oktay Güner{{cite journal|author=Niyazi Öktem|title=Religion in Turkey|journal=BYU Law Review|year=2002|issue=2

|page=371|url=https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol2002/iss2/10}}

• Cemalnur Sargut
• Osama al-Rifai

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|first=Clifford Edmund |last=Bosworth|title=Rifa{{ayin}}iyya|work=The Encyclopaedia of Islam|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=w2IYAQAAIAAJ}}|year=1997|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10422-8}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last=Godlas |first=Alan A. |title=Rifa{{ayin}}iyah |date=1996 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World |volume=3 |pages=437–439 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-509614-2}}
• {{cite book|editor-first=Clifford Edmund |editor-last=Bosworth |work= The Encyclopaedia of Islam|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=w2IYAQAAIAAJ}}|year=1997|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10422-8|last=Margoliouth |first=D.S |title=al-Rifa{{ayin}}i b. {{ayin}}Ali, Abu'l-Abbas}}
• {{cite book|first=Beirut J. Spencer |last=Trimingham |title=The Sufi Orders in Islam|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=NhXqWLd_AMQC}}|date=19 May 1998|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-802823-9}}

• {{official website|http://www.rifai.org/}}

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