on Failaka Island off the coast of Kuwait, and in
Sri Lanka at Kataragama, Bosra (Syria), Jerusalem,
Iraq, and Samarkand (Uzbekistan). Not all Mus-
lims accept Khadir as a saint or prophet, however.
Sayyid qUtb (d. 1966), chief ideologist of militant
Islam, argued that the connection between Kha-
dir and the “servant” mentioned in the Quran
was mere conjecture, and that the figure was to
be understood in the literal sense as a righteous
(salih) man, not a prophet or saint.
See also batin; boat; Folklore; prophets and
prophecy.
Further reading: Gordon Darnell Newby, The Making
of the Last Prophet: A Reconstruction of the Earliest Biog-
raphy of Muhammad (Columbia: University of South
Carolina Press, 1989), 182–188; John Renard, All the
King’s Falcons: Rumi on Prophets and Revelation (New
York: State University of New York Press, 1994), 83–86;
Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Thalabi, Arais al-majalis fi
qisas al-anbiya, or “Lives of the Prophets.” Translated by
William M. Brinner, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2002), 361–382.
Khan, Inayat (1882–1927) first Sufi leader to
spread Sufism in America and Europe; founder of the
Sufi Order of the West
Inayat Khan was born in india and grew up in a
musical family. At the age of 12 he left home to pur-
sue a life of mUsic and devotion, traveling around
India and working in various environments, such
as serving as the court musician for the Nizam, or
ruler, of Hyderabad. From there Khan was initiated
into the Nizami branch of the chisti sUFi order,
a very popular order of Muslim mystics in India.
Khan blended Hindu and Muslim philosophy,
working under masters from both traditions. He
was instructed to spread Sufism in the Americas
and Europe, where he spent most of his adult years,
and he left for New York in 1910. In his travels he
aimed to bring universal harmony between East
and West by introducing Sufi concepts.
Khan lectured for some time at Columbia Uni-
versity and then traveled across America attract-
ing initiates. In New York he met Ora Ray Baker,
whom he would marry in 1913 after moving to
England. In 1916 Khan founded the Sufi Order
in London and shortly after began a quarterly
magazine, Sufism. In the 1920s Khan visited the
United states several times to tour the country,
lecture, and continue to attract initiates. He died
in 1927 in India. Following his death, Khan’s
son, Vilayat Khan (1916–2004), still a youth, was
appointed leader of the order. However some initi-
ates decided to accept the mentorship of the Sufi
leader, Meher Baba (1894–1969). In the 1960s
Vilayat Khan actively took over leadership of the
Sufi Order of the West in America. The order
sponsors a variety of activities, including heal-
ing seminars, retreats, and psychotherapy. Inayat
Khan’s teachings are available in several collec-
tions that bring together his essays and lectures,
such as The Heart of Sufism: Essential Writings of
Hazrat Inayat Khan.
See also eUrope; nizam al-din aWliya; sUFism.
Mehnaz SahibzadaFurther reading: Wil van Beek, Hazrat Inayat Khan:
Master of Life, Modern Sufi Mystic (New York: Vantage
Press, 1983); Inayat Khan, The Heart of Sufism: Essen-
tial Writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan (Boston: Shambhala
Publications, 1999); Franklin Lewis, Rumi Past and
Present, East and West: The Life, Teaching and Poetry
of Jalal-al-Din Rumi (Boston: Oneworld Publications,
2000); Jane I. Smith, Islam in America (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1999).kharaj (Arabic)
The kharaj was a tax levied by the Islamicate
state, generally on the land, as opposed to a poll
tax, or jizya. It was once thought that the distinc-
tion between the land tax and poll tax was clear
cut and absolute; however, numerous historical
studies have shown conclusively that, throughout
Islamic history, the terms kharaj and jizya were
used interchangeably. As it is formulated in theK 430 Khan, Inayat