Shaykh Abdulhassan Pushanji’s Khanqah in Pushanj Desert in Darab County

(The Relationship between the Gnosis Center of Nishabur with Darabgard Province in the 3rd and 4th Centuries AH)

Mirza Mohammad Hassani1

The city of Nishabur was the gathering place of Sufis in Khorasan during the early Islamic centuries and, particularly, in the 3rd and 4th centuries and enjoyed great fame. According to historical texts, in addition to the Sufis of Khorasan, a large group of immigrant Sufis from the state of Fars and its different cities and regions resided in Nishabur. During the 3rd and 4th centuries AH, several travelers from Darabgard (one of the fivefold provinces of Fars) and its cities, such as Darabgard, Tamestan, Madavan, and Fasa created a community in the suburbs of this city called Darabgard Borough. Seemingly, between 3rd and 5th centuries AH, there was a bilateral relationship between the gnosis center of Nishabur and Darabgard Province. Relying on historical documents and architectural proofs, this paper examines a ruined chahartaq (an architectural unit consisting of four barrel vaults and a dome) in Pushanj desert of Darab, known as the Mausoleum of Shaykh Abdulhassan Pushanji as a khanqah and a piece of evidence testifying to the truth of this bilateral relationship. Available proofs indicate that, apparently, towards the end of the 4th century AH and in the early 5th century AH, one of the three Pushanji Sufis, known as Abdulhassan, who lived in Nishabur, traveled to Darabgard and built a khanqah in the suburbs of Darab. Then he became involved in promoting Shafi’ite jurisprudence.

Key Terms

DarabgardT. Darab. Nishabur. Shaykh Abdulhassan Pushanji. Pushanj desert in Darab. Sufis

1 PhD in History of Ancient Iran, Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University, Shahroud Branch, [email protected]