Şêx Ebdurehman

General Information

Also Known As

Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman shrine, Şêx Ebdurehman shrine, Ziyareta Şêx Ebdurehman, Ebdurrehman, Ebdurrehman shrine, Ebdurehman bin Ewf, Sheikh Abdulrahman, الشيخ عبد الرحمن

Type

Ziyareta

Nahiya (Subdistrict)

Cindires

Village or Nearby Villages

Kanî Gewrkê, Til Ĥemo

Religious Affiliation

Yezidi, Muslim, Christian

Şêx Ebdurehman is a shrine of Kanî Gewrkê and Til Ĥemo in the Cindires sub-district. The village of Kanî Gewrkê is now known by the shrine's name, Şêx Ebdurehman.1

Several shrines in the Afrin region carry similar names, each tied to its own village by its own source. This one is separate from Ebdirehman at Qujûma, Ebdurehman at Xelîl, and Ebdurrehman bin Awf at Aşkê Şerqî, which is also attributed to Abd al-Rahman bin Awf.

Map and Location

Coordinates: 36.446458, 36.763293

Source: https://akmckeever.substack.com/

Physical & Landscape Features

The shrine stands about a kilometre from Kanî Gewrkê, on the edge of the village to its north, with the valley Geliyê Şêx Ebdurehman to the west.2 An archaeological mound and an old cemetery sit beside it, with a plentiful freshwater spring to its north. The building is spacious and divided into two sections. The western room contains a tomb, beside which is an ancient stone with an Ottoman inscription naming Abd al-Rahman bin Awf.3 The site is three kilometres from the Afrin-Jindires highway.9 The tomb is covered with green cloth, and during a renovation in 1965 the Ottoman-inscribed stone was removed from the building's facade and replaced with a stone carrying the Arabic words "This is the maqam of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf."10

Dedicated Figure & Historical Roots

The shrine is named after the companion of the Prophet, Abd al-Rahman bin Awf. A local speaker explains that Abd al-Rahman's burial is in Medina, while this shrine marks his station and the place where his blood was spilled.4 It is cared for by the Şêx Rabo family, who came from Çolaqa. The names recalled among them include Şêx Heyder, Şêx Rabo, Mihemedê Şêx Rabo, and Şêx Mehmûd.5 A guardian of the shrine gave the same account to Dr. Mihemed Ebdo Elî, the historian and geographer of the Afrin region, saying the companion was wounded at this spot and the maqam, the memorial shrine marking a holy figure's station, was raised for him. Elî notes that the historical sources do not speak of this companion reaching these parts or fighting battles in them.11

Ritual Practices & Beliefs

Yezidis, Muslims, Christians, Kurds, and Arabs are all described as coming to the shrine, from Afrin, Jindires, the surrounding villages, and outside the region. People from the surrounding areas offer sacrifices so their hopes and wishes may be fulfilled, and Yezidis visit it for their festival.6 The shrine is also visited for healing. Sick, blind, and paralyzed people were said to come there and get better.7 Villagers who once visited the nearby Şêx Berkêt shrine now come here, since a checkpoint blocked access to it.8

The shrine was long a place of worship and blessing where sacrifices were offered both communally and individually at set times of the year, and farmers came to it to pray for rain when the rains were late.12 It was especially famous for infertility. Women hoping to conceive offered a sacrifice at its threshold, sought blessing from the green cover of the tomb, and ate a little of its blessed soil.13 Visitors seeking a wish pressed a small stone against the shrine's wall. A stone that stuck meant the wish would be fulfilled.14 Visiting has declined with the spread of modern medicine, but weekly group visits on Fridays and the offering of sacrifices have continued.15

Transcripts

Kanî Gewrkê (Ax û Welat – Episode 1311):

  • 05:11 – The village is now known by the shrine's name, Şêx Ebdurehman, about a kilometre away.
  • 13:28 – The Şêx Rabo family, from Çolaqa, who serve the shrine.
  • 15:15 – Abd al-Rahman bin Awf, his burial in Medina, and the shrine as his station.
  • 16:52 – Healing visits to the shrine.
  • 21:02 – The Şêx Rabo family serve the shrine, and surrounding-area visitors offer sacrifices there.

Videography

Kanî Gewrkê (Ax û Welat – Episode 1311): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIpw_lJ8waw

Bibliography

References

  1. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311 (village Kanî Gewrkê), YouTube video, at 05:11–09:07, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIpw_lJ8waw. Kurdish quote: "Bi navê zaretê kirin, gundê me, Şêx Ebdurehman e. Zaret kîlometreyekê ji gund dûr e, nêzîk e, qeraxê gund e." English translation: "They named our village after the shrine; it is Şêx Ebdurehman. The shrine is about a kilometre from the village, it is close, on the edge of the village." Kurdish quote: "Li bakurê gund ziyaretek heye bi navê Şêx Ebdurehman... Û li rojava, geliyê Şêx Ebdurehman." English translation: "To the north of the village there is a shrine called Şêx Ebdurehman... and to the west, the valley of Şêx Ebdurehman." ↩

  2. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311, at 05:11–09:07. Kurdish quote: "Zaret kîlometreyekê ji gund dûr e, nêzîk e, qeraxê gund e." English translation: "The shrine is about a kilometre from the village, it is close, on the edge of the village." Kurdish quote: "Li bakurê gund ziyaretek heye bi navê Şêx Ebdurehman... Û li rojava, geliyê Şêx Ebdurehman." English translation: "To the north of the village there is a shrine called Şêx Ebdurehman... and to the west, the valley of Şêx Ebdurehman." ↩

  3. TirejAfrin, "المزارات الرئيسية في منطقة عفرين" [Major Shrines in the Afrin Region], www.tirejafrin.com/site/mazarat.htm, English translation "Major Shrines in the Efrîn Region." Quote: "This well-known shrine is located north of the village of Şêx Ebdurrehman. An archaeological mound sits adjacent to the shrine, alongside an old cemetery, with a plentiful freshwater spring to its north. The shrine building is spacious and composed of two sections; the western room contains a tomb, next to which is an ancient stone with an Ottoman inscription reading: '...Shrine of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf...' in honor of the prominent companion of the Prophet." English translation: as quoted. ↩

  4. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311. Quote (English transcript): "His tomb... is in Medina Al-Munawwarah"; "Here his battle, here it was, his blood was spilled here"; "It's his station," and the speaker answers, "Yes." ↩

  5. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311. Quote (English transcript): "The Shrine of Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Awf, and members of the Sheikh Rabo family stay here to serve him." Kurdish quote: "Em xizmetkarê Şêx Rabo... Şêx Heyder, eslê me Çolaqa ye... Şêx Mehmûd, birayê Mihemedê Şêx Rabo ye." English translation: "We are the servants of Şêx Rabo... Şêx Heyder, our origin is Çolaqa... Şêx Mehmûd, the brother of Mihemedê Şêx Rabo." ↩

  6. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311. Quote (English transcript): "our Yazidi people come here, our Muslim people come here. And Kurds and Arabs, all people come here"; "Muslims, Christians, put locks on, they descend, they believe"; "They come from Afrin, they come from Jindires. From the surrounding villages... And they also come from outside the region." English translation: as quoted. ↩

  7. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311. Quote (English transcript): "People from surrounding areas come to offer sacrifices with the aim of fulfilling their hopes and wishes"; "sick people, blind and paralyzed, they came and got better." ↩

  8. Ax û Welat, "Kanî Gewrkê," Episode 1311. Kurdish quote: "Berê em çûn ziyareta Şêx Berkêt. E niha nekin em naçîn... noqete lê dan e, em naçîn." English translation: "Before, we used to go to the Şêx Berkêt shrine, but now we do not go... they set up a checkpoint there, we do not go." ↩

  9. Nidal Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'.. أشهر مزارات 'عفرين'" [Abd al-Rahman bin Awf: The Most Famous of Afrin's Shrines], eSyria, December 12, 2009, https://www.esyria.sy/2009/12/عبد-الرحمن-بن-عوف-أشهر-مزارات-عفرين. Arabic quote: "تقع هذه الزيارة الشهيرة إلى الشمال من قرية 'شيخ عبد الرحمن' التابعة لمنطقة 'عفرين' وتبعد عن الطريق العام 'عفرين' -'جنديرس' مسافة /3/ كم، وبجانبها تل أثري كما توجد في جهتها الجنوبية مقبرة قديمة وفي شمالها نبع ماء غزير." English translation: "This famous shrine is north of the village of Sheikh Abd al-Rahman in the Afrin region, three kilometres from the Afrin-Jindires highway; beside it is an archaeological mound, in its southern direction an old cemetery, and to its north a plentiful spring of water." ↩

  10. Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." Arabic quote: "يتألف مبنى المزار الواسع من قسمين وفي غرفته الغربية ضريح على هيئة قبر مغطاة بالقماش الأخضر يتبرك به الناس وبجواره حجر قديم كُتب عليه اسم المزار وصفاته وذلك باللغة العثمانية القديمة وقد أزيل الحجر من واجهة المبنى أثناء ترميمه في العام /1965/ ميلادية و/ 1385/ هجرية ووضع بدلاً عنه حجراً مكتوباً عليه باللغة العربية ما يلي: 'هذا مقام "عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." English translation: "The spacious shrine building consists of two sections, and in its western room is a tomb in the form of a grave covered with green cloth, by which people seek blessing. Beside it was an old stone on which the shrine's name and attributes were written in old Ottoman script; the stone was removed from the building's facade during its renovation in 1965 AD (1385 AH), and in its place was set a stone with the following written in Arabic: 'This is the maqam of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf.'" ↩

  11. Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." Arabic quote: "أثناء زيارتي للمزار منذ حوالي العشر سنوات سألت حارسه عن المزار فقال لي بأنّ الصحابي 'عبد الرحمن بن عوف' جُرح في هذا المكان فتمت إقامة هذا المقام له، ولكن المصادر التاريخية لا تتحدث عن وصول ذلك الصحابي إلى هذه الأنحاء أو خاض معارك فيها." English translation: "During my visit to the shrine about ten years ago I asked its guardian about it, and he told me that the companion Abd al-Rahman bin Awf was wounded in this place, so this maqam was raised for him; but the historical sources do not speak of that companion reaching these parts or fighting battles in them." ↩

  12. Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." Arabic quote: "لقد كان المزار منذ القدم مكاناً للعبادة والتبرك حيث كانت تُقدّم عنده القرابين والذبائح سواءً بشكل جماعي أو إفرادي وفي أوقات معينة من السنة، وكان الزوّار يأتون لزيارة المزار بهدف استجداء العلاج والشفاء من الأمراض أو طلب تحقيق الأماني المعينة وكذلك كان المزارعون يأتون لطلب هطول الأمطار بعد تأخرها طويلاً وتأثيرات ذلك على المواسم." English translation: "From of old the shrine was a place of worship and blessing where offerings and sacrifices were presented, whether communally or individually, at particular times of the year. Visitors came to the shrine to plead for treatment and healing from illnesses or to ask for particular wishes, and farmers likewise came to ask for rainfall after it was long delayed and affected the seasons." ↩

  13. Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." Arabic quote: "كان لمزار 'عبد الرحمن' شهرة كبيرة في مجال العقم وتأخر الحمل لدى النساء ولذلك كان على النسوة زيارة المزار وتقديم قربان 'ذبيحة' عند أعتابه والرجاء بأن يساعده في عملية الحمل مع التبرك بغطاء الضريح الأخضر وأخذ قليل من تربته المباركة وتناولها وكانت معظم النساء تحمل بعد هذه العملية." English translation: "The Abd al-Rahman shrine had a great reputation in the matter of infertility and delayed pregnancy among women. For this reason women would visit the shrine, present a sacrifice at its threshold, and plead for help in conceiving, while seeking blessing from the green cover of the tomb and taking a little of its blessed soil and eating it; most women became pregnant after this procedure." ↩

  14. Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." Arabic quote: "ويُضاف إلى ذلك أنّ الكثير من الناس كانوا يزورون المزار لطلب تحقيق أمنية معينة والبحث عن حظهم وكان ذلك يتم بمحاولة لصق حجر صغير على حائط المزار فإن تم ذلك كانت الأمنية ستحقق بمساعدة المزار وإن لم تُلصق الحجرة فإنّ أمنيته لن تتحقق." English translation: "In addition, many people visited the shrine to ask for a particular wish and to seek their fortune. This was done by trying to stick a small stone onto the shrine's wall; if it held, the wish would be fulfilled with the shrine's help, and if the stone did not stick, the wish would not come true." ↩

  15. Yousef, "'عبد الرحمن بن عوف'." Arabic quote: "في الحقيقة لقد تراجعت دور المزارات بشكل عام في حياة الناس ولم يبق الإقبال على زيارتها مثل القديم وذلك بسبب التقدم الطبي والعلمي في بلدنا ومع ذلك ما زالت الكثير من الطقوس تُمارس لدى زيارة مزار 'عبد الرحمن' حتى اليوم مثل زيارته كل يوم جمعة بشكل جماعي من قبل بعض الناس وتقديم الذبائح والقرابين." English translation: "In truth, the role of shrines in people's lives has declined in general, and visiting them is no longer as popular as before because of the medical and scientific progress in our country. Even so, many rituals are still practised at the Abd al-Rahman shrine to this day, such as the weekly group visit every Friday by some people and the presentation of sacrifices and offerings." ↩