A takya^{[lower-alpha 1]} (from Classical Persian: تَکْیه, romanized: takya;^[1] modern Iranian Persian: تَکْیه, romanized: takye;^[2] Azerbaijani: təkyə;^[3] Ottoman Turkish: تَکْیه, romanized: tekye^[4] [modern Turkish: tekke]; Panjabi: تَکْیہ, romanized: takya;^[5] Urdu: تَکْیہ, romanized: takya;^[6] Uzbek: takya; Arabic: تَكِيَّة, romanized: takiyya, plural تَكَايَا takāyā) or takyakhana (from Classical Persian: تَکْیه‌خانه, romanized: takya-khāna; Uzbek: takyaxona) was originally a type of building or complex for Sufi gatherings in the Islamic world (which could also provide shelter to pilgrims); under this sense, takyas functioned much like khanqahs, which had appeared earlier.

In the Ottoman Empire, many takyas or tekyes/tekkes were built, most notably for use as Mawlawī khānas (Ottoman Turkish: مولوی خانه‌لر, romanized: Mevlevi haneler, i.e. houses of the Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya)^[7] (see § Ottoman Empire, below).

In South Asia as well, the word takya has been used as a synonym of khanqah (like the Takya of Baba Shah Musafir^{[8][9][10][11][12][lower-alpha 2]} at Aurangabad), but also to refer to the cemetery or graveyard of Sufis^{[14][5][15][16]} (see § South Asia).

In Iran, however, takyas found a different usage. Following the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, existing takyas became used as husayniyyas^[17] (buildings where Shia Muslims gather to mourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the month of Muharram) (see § Iran).

The Classical Persian word تَکْیه takya at its core meant "support"; also "cushion" or "pillow"^[1] (this meaning has become widespread in South Asian languages which borrowed this word, including Hindustani, Bangali, Gujarati, Panjabi^[5] and Sindhi^{[lower-alpha 3]}). The word was also borrowed in Ottoman Turkish as تَكْیه tekye,^[4] eventually making its way into Arabic as تَكِيَّة takiyya and in languages of the Balkans.

Other words were derived from تَکْیه takya in Classical Persian, such as تکیه‌نشین takya-nishīn and تکیه‌دار takya-dār both meaning a Sufi.

Many takyas (or tekkeler in Turkish; Ottoman Turkish: تَكْیه‌لر, romanized: tekyeler) have been built in Turkey and in the countries which came under Ottoman rule. By the 20th century, Istanbul itself counted many takyas. Some were dedicated to certain Muslim communities (for example, the Uzbeks' Takya^{[lower-alpha 4]} or the Indians' Takya^{[lower-alpha 5]}) which symbolized a certain recognition of these communities by the Ottomans.^[21] Iranians in Istanbul in the 1870s also attempted to establish a "Takya Ḥosayniya"^[22] (Turkish: Hüseyniye Tekkesi),^[22] which was meant to be used as a husayniyya like the takyas of Iran (see § Iran, below).

Ottoman takyas can be found in Albania, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Cyprus, in Egypt, in Greece and in Syria.

• The Sulaymaniyya Takiyya in Damascus, Syria
• The Takya of Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• The Uzbeks' Takya in Istanbul

In South Asia, the word takya in the religious sense has been used as a synonym of khanqah (like the Takya of Baba Shah Musafir^{[8][9][10][11][12][lower-alpha 2]} at Aurangabad) alongside the words jamāʿat-khāna (Urdu: جماعت خانہ), dargāh (Urdu: درگاہ, lit. 'royal court'), langar (Urdu: لنگر, lit. 'refectory'^{[lower-alpha 6]}) and sometimes ʿimārat (Urdu: عمارت, lit. 'building').^[23]

In Hindustani and Panjabi, the word takya has also referred to the cemetery or graveyard of Sufis.^{[14][5][15][16]}

Following the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, existing takyas in Iran became used as husayniyyas^[17] (buildings where Shia Muslims gather to mourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the month of Muharram). This is one of the reasons why the words "takyeh" and "hoseyniyeh" are often used interchangeably in modern Iran.^[24] The majority of takyehs built in Iran since Iran's conversion have been built to be used as husayniyyas, although some of them also include a zaynabiyya (in honor of Husayn's sister Zaynab bint Ali)^[25] or an abbasiyya (in honor of Husayn's paternal half-brother Abbas ibn Ali), like the Takyeh Moaven-ol-Molk.^[26] Famous takyas or takyehs in Iran include the Takyeh of Mir Chakhmaq in Yazd (built in the 15th century), the Takyeh Beyglarbeygi and the Takyeh Moaven-ol-Molk in Kermanshah, and the former Takyeh Dowlat built by Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in Tehran, all of which have been used as husayniyyas.

In Azerbaijan, examples of takyas (or təkyələr in Azerbaijani) include the Takya in the Old City of Baku.