The Hilaliyya Zawiya in Aleppo

The Hilaliyya Zawiya is a Qadiri Sufi lodge in the eastern part of Al-Jalloum, a quarter of Aleppo’s Old City. The present building was rebuilt in 1790 to hold the tomb of Sheikh Muhammad Hilal al-Ramhamdani. It matters less as a monument than as a school: for centuries the qudud and muwashshahat of Aleppo, the city’s classical song forms, passed from one generation to the next in its dhikr gatherings. Reports from 2025 and 2026 show the zawiya is still active; whether it receives visitors is not documented.

Where it is

Al-Jalloum is an Old City quarter that also takes in the Al-Madina Souq and the area around Khan al-Wazir. The zawiya lies on its eastern side, and Arabic sources list it among the quarter’s major buildings. The building’s own position could not be confirmed by two independent sources, so the page has no map.

What a zawiya is for

A zawiya is a small lodge where a Sufi order meets for dhikr, the repeated remembrance of God, and for spiritual retreat. The Hilaliyya is known as a meeting place of the Qadiri order, and people came here to withdraw and pray. Leadership of the zawiya has stayed in the Hilali family since its founding: after the founder, Sheikh Ali al-Hilali, it passed in turn to Sheikh Muhammad Hilal al-Ramhamdani, Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Hilali, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Hilali and Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Hilali. According to a report from October 2025, Sheikh Jamal al-Din al-Hilali heads it today.

Its link to the qudud of Aleppo

Aleppo’s Sufi lodges fed the city’s song tradition through the hymns sung in dhikr circles. In October 2025 the Syrian daily Al-Watan described the Hilaliyya as a house of that tradition for four centuries. The names it produced include Mustafa Bishnak in the 18th century, then Muhammad Aqil, Ahmad Rahhal, Subhi al-Hariri, Abd al-Latif Tenekeci and Fuad Khantumani.

In 2021 UNESCO added the qudud of Aleppo to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The tradition became known on stage and on record, but it grew up in gatherings like these.

Muhammad Masoud Khayyata

In recent decades the zawiya’s lead munshid, the head of its hymn singers, was Sheikh Muhammad Masoud Khayyata. In 2006, the year Aleppo was named a capital of Islamic culture, he founded the Aleppo Heritage Ensemble (al-Firqa al-Turathiyya al-Halabiyya) to keep old muwashshahat and hymns from disappearing. He wrote a book on dhikr practice and the muwashshah in the Levant, al-Durr al-Mukhtar fi Fann Inshad al-Adhkar. He died in Istanbul on 25 May 2026, aged 75.

Can you visit

Not verified. Dated sources show the zawiya is still in use, but nothing documents whether it admits visitors or on which days and at what times the dhikr gatherings are held. Ask for permission at the door, and ask in the quarter which days the gatherings take place.

What most people miss

The tomb, if you are allowed inside. The zawiya took its present form in 1790 to house the grave of Sheikh Muhammad Hilal al-Ramhamdani, and that tomb is what shaped the building.