History of the Building

[Picture source: © 1987 Jean-Claude David]

The Zawiya al-Hilaliyya is situated almost in the center of the Jallum neighbourhood, in an alley that today is named after the zawiya. The early history of the place is yet to be illuminated. Most of the available information on the zawiya’s history is provided by the historians, al-Ghazzi and al-Tabbakh. A previous building, possibly a small mosque, might have been erected there around1000/1590. The oldest tomb in the courtyard (that of Shaykh Muhammad Hilal ar-Ramhamdani) dates from 1147/1734-35. Since then, all his successors were buried in the courtyard of the zawiya (Fig. 1). The first structural change we can identify was recorded in 1204/1789-90, when the governor of Aleppo Mustafa Basha connected the zawiya to the city’s water supply. This was an important improvement, since fresh water was essential for the ablutions preparing for the ritual prayers (salat). Shortly afterwards, in 1204/1790-91, Yusuf Agha ʿArabi Katibi enlarged it to its present state by integrating a neighbouring house into the structure. Yusuf Agha was in charge of the pilgrimage caravan from Mosul and became a disciple of the zawiya when passing through Aleppo [6]. Later changes probably took place in the adjoining rooms, but we cannot determine the exact date.

Figure 1: Az-Zawiya al-Hilaliyya, courtyard to the east. [Picture source: © 1991 Stefan Knost]

Footnotes

[6] Ghazzi, Nahr, 2:57; Tabbakh, Iʿlam, 7:126-127.