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A Sufi shrine or dargah ( dargâh or درگه dargah, Turkish language: dergâh, Hindustani: dargāh दरगाह درگاہ, dôrgah) is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a wali or dervish. often visit the shrine for ziyarat, a term associated with religious visitation and pilgrimages. Dargahs are often associated with Sufi eating and meeting rooms and hostels, called khanqah or hospices. They usually include a mosque, meeting rooms, Islamic religious schools (madrassas), residences for a teacher or caretaker, hospitals, and other buildings for community purposes.
The same structure, carrying the same social meanings and sites of the same kinds of ritual practices, is called maqam in the Arabic-speaking world.
Dargah today is considered to be a place where saints prayed and mediated (their spiritual residence). The shrine is modern day building which encompasses of actual dargah as well but not always.
Over time, musical offerings of dervishes and sheikhs in the presence of the devout at these shrines, usually impromptu or on the occasion of Urs, gave rise to musical genres like Qawwali and Kafi, wherein Sufi poetry is accompanied by music and sung as an offering to a murshid, a type of Sufi spiritual instructor. Today they have become a popular form of music and entertainment throughout South Asia, with exponents like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen taking their music to various parts of the world. Kafi South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, by Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills. Taylor & Francis, 2003. . p. 317. Kafi Crossing boundaries, by Geeti Sen. Orient Blackswan, 1998. . p. 133.
In South Africa, the term is used to describe shrines in the Durban area where there is a strong Indian presence, while the term keramat is more commonly used in Cape Town, where there is a strong Cape Malay culture. (2025). 9789814818858, ISEAS. ISBN 9789814818858
In South Asia, dargahs are often the site of festivals ( milad) held in honor of the deceased saint on the anniversary of his death ( urs). The shrine is illuminated with candles or strings of electric lights at this time. (2004). 9788185026657, Marg Publications. ISBN 9788185026657 Dargahs in South Asia, have historically been a place for all faiths since the medieval times; for example, the Ajmer Sharif Dargah was a meeting place for Hindus and Muslims to pay respect and even to the revered Saint Mu'in al-Din Chishti.
In China, the term gongbei is usually used for shrine complexes centered around a Sufi saint's tomb.
To construct a building, shelter or edifice around the graves of the Wali (Friends of Allah) and Scholars of Islam or nearby is proven to be permissible from the Quran and practice and rulings of the Sahaba.
Narrating the incident of the People of the Cave Ashaab-e-Kahf),
Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi explains the above Quran verse in his famous Tafsir al-Razi, "And when Allah said 'Those who prevailed over their affair' this refers to the Muslim ruler or the friends of Ashaab al Kahf (i.e. believers) or the leaders of town. 'We will surely build a Mosque over them' so that we can worship Allah in it and preserve the relics of companions of the cave due to this mosque" Tafsir.
Imam Abu al-Walid al-Baji, quotes in his book Al-Muntaqa Sharh al-Muwatta (commentary of Muwatta Imam Malik), "Hadrat Umar built a dome over the grave of Hadrat Zainab bint Jahsh, and Sayyidah Aisha on the grave of her brother Hadrat Abdur-Rahman and Hadrat Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya on the grave of Hadrat Ibn Abbas. So Whoever has classified building domes to be disliked (Makrooh) has said so if they are built in order to show off." (Imam Badr al-Din al-Ayni, also writes the same in his book Umdat al-Qari - commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari)
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