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The daily dhikr of the Shadhili Tariqa – Wird ‘Amm

of Sayyiduna Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili
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The Murid should say in the morning and in the evening:

Wird ‘Amm – Den allmänna åkallan

av Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili
Svensk övers.: Kultursällskapet Damas © 2006

Den sökande säger morgon och kväll:

References

Recitation:
Sheikh Faisal Abdur-Razak – mp3

With reference to his noble lineage, it is: ‘Ali ibn ‘ Abd Allah ibn ‘ Abd al- Jabbar ibn Tamim ibn Hurmuz ibn Hatim ibn Qusay ibn Yusuf ibn Yusha ‘ ibn Ward ibn Battal ibn Idris ibn Muhammad ibn ‘lsa ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘ Ali ibn Abi Talib.

His birthplace was in Ghumara} He entered the city of Tunis when a young lad, turned toward the East, performed many pilgrimages, and went into lraq.

He related,
When I came to lraq, I met the Shaykh Abu al-Fath al-Wasiti, the like of whom I have not seen in Iraq. My quest was for the qutb. One of the saints said to me, “Are you searching for the qutb in lraq while he is in your country? Return to your land and you will find him.

So, he returned to the Maghrib where he met his teacher, who is my master the shaykh, the saint, the gnostic, the trustworthy, the qutb, the ghawth, Abu Muhammad ‘ Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish al-Sharif al-Hasani.

He related,
When I drew near him, while he was living in Ghumara in a lodge on the top of a mountain, I bathed at a spring by the base of that mountain, forsook all dependence on my own knowledge and works, and went up toward him as one in need. Just then he was coming down toward me, wearing a patched cloak, and on his head a cap of palm leaves. “Welcome to ‘ Ali ibn ‘ Abd Allah ibn ‘ Abd al-Jabbar:’ he said to me, and repeated my lineage down to the Apostle of God. Then he said to me, “O , Ali, you have come up to us destitute of your knowledge and works, so you will receive from us the riches of this world and the next:’

He (al-Shadhili) continued,
Awe of him seized me. so I remained with him for some days until God awakened my perception, and I saw that he possessed many supernatural powers (kharq al-‘adat). For example, one day as I sat before him while a young son of his played with him on his lap, it came into my mind to question him concerning the greatest name of God. The child came to me, threw his arms about my neck, and shook me, saying, “O Abu al-Hasan, you desired to question the master concerning the greatest name of God. It is not a matter of importance that you should ask about the greatest name of God. The important thing is that you should be the greatest name of God, that is to say, that the secret (sirr) of God should be lodged in your heart:’ When he had finished speaking, the shaykh (Ibn Mashish) smiled and said to me, ‘Such a one has answered you for me:

He was, then, the Qutb of that time.
Then he said to me, “O ‘Ali, depart to the Province Ifriqiya and dwell there in a place called Shadhila, for God will name you al-Shadhili. After that you will move to the city of Tunis where charges will be brought against you before the authorities. Then you will move to the East where you will inherit the rank of qutb:’

I said to him, “O my master, give me your spiritual bequest:’ So he replied, “0 ‘ Ali, God is God and men are men. Keep your tongue from the mention of them, and your heart from inclining before them, and be careful to guard the members (jawarih) and to fulfill the divine ordinances; thus the friendship (wilaya) of God is perfected in you. Have no remembrance of them except under obligation that duty to God imposes on you; thus your scrupulousness is perfected. Then say: 0 God, relieve me from remembrance of them and spare me disturbances from them. Save me from their evils, enable me to dispense with their good through Thy good, and as a special favour assume Thou care of me among them. Verily, Thou art mighty over all things:’

Meeting with al-Khidr (s)

He related,
When I entered the city of Tunis as a young man, I found there a great famine, and I came upon men dying in the market places. I said to myself, “Had I wherewith to buy bread for these hungry people, I would surely do it:’ Then I was instructed inwardly: “Take what is in your pocket:’ So I shook my pocket and, lo, there was silver money in it. So I went to a baker at Bab al-Manara and said to him, “Count up your loaves of bread:’ He counted them for me. Then I offered them to the people who took them greedily. I drew out the pieces of money and handed them to the baker. He found them to be spurious and said, “These are Moroccan, and you Moroccans practice alchemy:’ So I gave him my burus and small bag as a pawn on the price of the bread, and turned toward the gate. Right there by the gate stood a man who said to me, “O ‘ Ali, where are the pieces of money?” So I gave them to him, and he shook them in his hand, then returned them to me, saying, “Pay them to the baker, for they are genuine:’ So I paid them to the baker who accepted them from me, saying, “These are good:’ I took my burus and bag and then looked for the man, but did not find him.

Consequently, I remained for some days inwardly perplexed until, on Friday, I went into the Zaytuna mosque, near the reserved section on the east side of the mosque, and performed two cycles of the greeting of the mosque and pronounced the salutation. Suddenly, I saw a man on my right. I greeted him and he smiled at me, saying, “O ‘ Ali, you say, ‘Had I wherewith to feed these hungry people, I should surely do it: You would presume to be more generous than God toward His creatures. Had He willed it, He would surely have fed them, for He is more cognizant of their welfare than you:’

Then I said to him, “O my master, by God, who are you?” He replied, “I am Ahmad al-Khidr. I was in China and I was told, ‘Go and look for my saint ‘ Ali in Tunis: So I came hurriedly to you:’ When 1 had performed the Friday worship, I looked about for him, but did not find him.

I journeyed together with these two [Abu ‘Ali and al-Shadhilij in the service of Abu ‘Ali and, on reaching the city of Tripoli, the Shaykh al-Shadhili said, “Let me travel along the road of the interior!’ But the Shaykh Abu ‘Ali chose the coast road. The latter saw the Apostle of God who said to him, “Abu ‘Ali, you are a saint of God and Abu al-Masan is a saint of God, and God will never arbitrate between two saints in the matter of a road to follow. Take the road which you have chosen and let him proceed along the road which he has chosen:’ So we went our separate ways until we met on the road near Alexandria.

When we had performed the morning prayers, the Shaykh Abu ‘Ali approached the tent of the Shaykh Abu al-Hasan, we being in his company. He entered into his presence, sat down before him, and behaved toward him in a way which was not customary with him. He conversed with him in speech of which we understood not a word. When he was about to depart, he said, “0, my master, extend your hand so that I may kiss it!’ So he kissed his hand and departed weeping. We were amazed at his conduct with him.

When Abu ‘Ali was well on his way, he turned toward his companions and said, “0 Yunus, Abu al-Hajjaj al-Qusuri was in the land of Egypt and he was the Qutb of his time. Last night, he died and God caused him to be succeeded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili.”

So I went to al-Shadhili and gave allegiance to him as one possessing the office of Qutb. When we reached Alexandria, and the people came out to meet the party of travelers, I saw Abu ‘Ali strike with his hand the forepart of the saddle and say weeping, “0 people of this region, if you knew who it is who is advancing toward you in this caravan, you would kiss the feet of his camel, which, by God, have brought you the blessing!’

One in whom I have confidence related to me., In the year in which he went on pilgrimage there took place the movement of the Tararsu against Egypt. As the Sultan was occupied with operations against them, he did not prepare the military escort for the caravan of pilgrims. The shaykh sent out his tent to al-Birka (where the pilgrims make a halt outside of Cairo] and certain people followed him. So the people met with the jurist, judge, and Mufti ‘Izz al-Din ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, and questioned him regarding the journey. “The journey,” he replied, “undertaken presumptiously and lacking an escort, is not allowable!’ The people informed the shaykh of that. “Let me meet with him,” he responded. He met him in the mosque on Friday. A large crowd gathered around the two. “0 jurist,” he asked, “is it your opinion that, if a man had the whole world reduced to the size of a single step for him, he would be permitted to undertake a journey amidst dangers or not?” The judge replied, “If anyone should find himself in such a circumstance, he would be beyond the bounds of a legal pronouncement (fatwa) or anything of the sort?’ “By God, beside Whom there is no other god,” the shaykh said to him, “I am of those for whom the entire world has been made into the size of a single step. Whenever I see something that causes men to fear, I walk with them to a place of security. For you and me, there is no escape from standing before God (on the Day of Judgment] that He may question me concerning the truth of what I have told you?’ So al-Shadhili departed and many charismatic events attended him on the way. The following is one of them. Thieves would attack the caravan by night, and they would find a wall built around it, as if it were a city. At the break of dawn, they would come to him, inform him of their deeds, repent to God, and travel in the company of the shaykh on the pilgrimage to Mecca. The pilgrimage accomplished, he returned and entered Cairo the first of the people. His pilgrimage companions related to others the miracles he [Abu al-Hasan] had performed. Then the jurist ‘Izz al-Din went out to meet him at al-Birka, which is a place about six miles outside of Cairo. On entering into his presence, al-Shadihili said to him, “0 jurist, by God, were it not for the training that I have received with my ancestor the Apostle of God, I would have taken the caravan on the Day of ‘Arafa and I would have stepped over with it to ‘Arafat.” “I am resigned to God:’ the mufti exclaimed. Thereupon the shaykh added, “Look at the reality of that.” So everyone present looked at the Ka’ ba. The people cried out and the jurist lowered his head between his hands and said, “You are my shaykh from this very hour.” “Rather:’ the shaykh replied, “you are my brother, if God wills:’

The Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli had made it his custom that every other year he would travel to Mecca for the Pilgrimage. Likewise in the year 656 A.H./1258 C.E., the very year in which a few weeks earlier the Mongol ruler Hulugu Jenghiz Khan had sacked Baghdad, he made preparations to go on the Pilgrimage as usual. However, this time he asked that a pickaxe, shovel, and a shroud should be included in their baggage. As was his custom he set out on the southern route, known as the spice route, overland to Damanhur, then via Qahira, up the Nile to ‘Idfu in Upper Egypt. From there he would cross the Red Sea to Jiddah, and finally make the two-day camel ride to Mecca. At Damanhur, a young boy, who was a student of the Qur’an, begged his mother to let him go with the Shaykh and his party to make the Pilgrimage. His mother, who was a widow, earnestly requested the Shaykh for her son that he be allowed to travel with his party, to which he replied, “We will look after him as far as Humaythira.”

And so it happened. It was related that Abu al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy upon him, had said, “When I entered the land of Egypt and established my dwelling there, I prayed to Allah, the Most High, saying: Ya Rabb, have You caused me to dwell in the land of the Copts, to be buried amongst them, until my flesh becomes mingled with their flesh and my bones with theirs? A reply then came to me: No `Ali, you will be buried in a land which Allah has never oppressed.” It is also recorded that in the year of his death Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli was heard to say, “Once when I fell ill, I said: Allah, O Allah, when will the encounter with You take place? I was told: Ya `Ali, when you reach Humaythira, then the encounter will come.” He said, may Allah have mercy upon him, “I saw as if I were buried at the base of a mountain before a well containing a little salty water, which became more abundant and sweet.” And he said to his beloveds, “This year I shall perform the Pilgrimage of substitution (hajjat an-niyaba).

“One of Abu al-Hasan’s followers recorded what happened: Soon after entering the desert of `Aydhab, both the young boy and the Shaykh fell ill, the boy dying the day before we reached the watering-place of Humaythira. The followers wanted to bury the youth where he had died, but the Shaykh said, “Carry him to Humaythira.” When we arrived at this resting-place we washed the boy, and the Shaykh prayed over him before we buried him. That evening the Shaykh, who was also very sick, called his companions around him and spoke to us, counselling us to recite his Litany of the Sea (Hizb al-Bakhr) often, and he said, “Teach it to your children for the Greatest Name of Allah (al-ismu ‘l-`azam) is in it.” Then he talked privately to Sidi Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi, giving him his orders as his successor with his special blessing. He, may Allah have mercy upon him, said to his followers, “When I am dead, look to Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi for he is the Caliph (Khalifa) to come after me. He will have an exalted station amongst you for he is one of the Doors (abwab) of Allah, Praised and Exalted is He.” Later that evening he called for a jar of water to be filled from the well of Humaythira. When he was told, “Ya Sidi, its water is salty and bitter, but the water we have is fresh and sweet,” he replied, “Give me some of it for my intention is not what you think.” When we brought him the well-water he drank a little of it, rinsed his mouth with it and spat into the jar. Then he said, “Pour the water into the well.

“Immediately the well-water turned sweet and fresh to taste, and it was abundant enough to refresh all the travellers who stopped to replenish themselves at this place. His followers said, “The Shaykh passed the night in holy preparation and discourse with his Beloved God, continually mentioning His Name until the dawn came when he was still.”

Hans fullständiga namn är: Taqi al-Din Abul Hasan `Ali ibn `AbdAllah ibn `Abd al-Jabbar. Hans släkband går på fädernet tillbaka till Profeten Muhammads (s) dotterson al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib, och på mödernet till al-Husayn. Han har benämnts efter by Shadhila nära staden Tunis, dit hans läromästare Ibn Mashish sände honom för att förankra tariqan,

Imam Abul Hasan föddes i byn Gumara i Rif-området som ligger i Atlasbergen i Maghrib (dagens Marokko) år 593 H. Hans första lärare var `AbdAllah ibn Harazim (d. 633), som var elev till Abu Madyan. Som ung reste han österut för att söka sin läromästare. I Bagdad mötte han år 618 H en av den tidens störste andlige ledare, al-Sayyid Abu al-Fath al-Wasiti. Denne sade till honom: “Du har kommit hit för att söka al-Qutb – men han finns där du kommer ifrån – i Maghrib.” Så återvände och leddes till Ibn Mashish. Han klättrade upp för det berg där Ibn Mashish vistades, och fann där en brunn, där han tvättade sig ren från kroppslig och andlig smuts, och bad till Allah: “O Allah, jag har tvättat bort min kunskap och mina gårningar, så att jag inte har någon annan kunskap eller gärning än vad som kommer från denne Sheikh”. Därefter hälsade honom Ibn Mashish med orden: “Välkommen (och han nämnde hans namn och härkomst). Du kom till oss fattig på kunskap och gärning, och av oss tog du emot rikedomar från denna världen och nästa.”

Efter att ha vistats en tid i Ibn Mashish’s sällskap sände denne honom till Ifriqiya (Tunisien) ochg sade till honom: “Du kommer att bli denna tids qutb.” Abul Hasan drog sig tillbaka i en grotta i Zaghwan-beget nära byn Shadhila som ligger mellan Tunis och Qairwan. År 640 H. kom han sedan ned till staden Tunis. Han bosatte sig i al-Balad (vid “den kakelprydda moskén”) och började kalla människor till Allah. Han stannade i flera år i Tunis, och det var där han för första gången träffade den man som skulle bli hans efterträdare: Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi. Imam Abul Hasan sade om honom: “Denne Abul `Abbas – så länge han känt Allah, har det aldrig funnits någon slöja som skilt honom från Allah. Om han så hade bett om en slöja, skulle han inte funnit någon.”

År 646 lämnade Imam Abul Hasan Tunis och bosatte sig i Alexandria i Egypten, där han sedan tillbragte resten av sitt liv. Han stred år 648 H (1250), tillsammans med sina följeslagare och andra `ulema och awlia, i slaget vid al-Masura, till försvar mot den franske kungen Louis’ korståg mot Egypten. I ett stort torn som hörde till stadsmuren inredde han bostäder till sin familj och sina följeslagare, en moské, gästrum, och utrymmen för undervisning. Bland dem som tog tariqa av honom befann sig många av hans samtida stora lärda, som `Izz al-Din ibn `Abd al-Salam, Ibn Daqiq al-Id, Makin al-Din al-Asmar, `Abd Allah al-Laqqani och många andra. Sammanlagt fostrade han 40 murider till rättfärdiga och värdiga bärare av tariqan, främst bland dem Abul `Abbas al-Mursi.

Imam Abul Hasan brukade göra hajj vartannat år. År 656 H (1258), några veckor efter det att Hulugu Jengis Khan hade skövlat Baghdad, stadde han sig på sin årliga hajj-resa. Denna gång bad han att en spade och en likskrud skulle packas i hans bagage. Hajj-rutten gick genom Damanhur, via Kairo, uppför Nilen till `Idfui övre (södra) Egypten, varifrån man korsade Röda Havet till Jeddah. Och Imam Abul Hasan gick bort i Humaythira i `Aydhab-öknen – enligt ett löfte han fått från Allah på en plats som aldrig vederfarits förtryck.

I “Lataif al-Minan” återberättas från Imam Abul Hasans son och vår mästare, Shihab al-Din Ahmad: “Sheykhen sade då han dog: ‘Sannerligen, jag tillfört denna väg, något som ingen annan kommit med,’ ” Hans kropp tvättades i Humaythiras vatten, som därefter blev välsmakande och överflödande och räckt till alla släcka törsten hos alla de ressällskap som gjort halt där sedan dess. Abu `AbdAllah ibn al-Nu`man, som brukade skriva dikter till Imam Abul Hasans ära, antyder detta i några diktrader:

“Efter hans död bevittnade jag hans underverk
Som tydligt framstår mot dem som förnekar hans upplysthet.”

Sheikh ibn `Ata Allah säger i Lata’if al-Minan: “Hans tariqa härstammar från Sheikh `Abd al-Salam ibn al-Mashish, och Sheikh `Abd al-Salam har sin härstamning från `Abd al-Rahman Sheikh al-Madani, osv. led efter led fram till al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib, må allah finna behag i honom. Jag hörde vår Mästare Abu al-`Abbas säga: ‘Denna vår Väg härstammar inte fårn öster och inte från väster, utan den återförs led efter led till al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib, må allah finna behag i honom, som var den förste Qutben.’ ”

“Han brukade nämna sin Sheikh, och avstå från att framhålla sina egna meriter, till en dag en person sade till honom: ‘Mästere, vi hör dig säga: “Sheikhen sade”, och det är sällan du tillskirver dig själv något.’ Sheikhen [Abul Hasan] sade då till honom: ‘Om jag med varje andetag ville säga: “Allah sade”, skulle jag sagt “Allah sade”; och om jag med varje andetag ville säga: “Allah’s Sändebud sade”, skulle jag säga “Allah’s Sändebud sade”; och om jag med varje andetag ville säga: “Jag sade”, skulle jag säga “Jag sade”. Men jag säger “Sheikhen sade” och låter bli att nämna mig själv av adab gentemot honom.’ ”

Han efterlämnade inga skrifter – han brukade säga: “Mina följeslagare är min böcker” – men det finns ett stort antal brev från den korrespondens han upprätthöll med sina följeslagare i Tunis. Dessa brev är värdefulla dokument för den som vill förstå hans lära. De genomsyras av den kärlek han hyste för sin följeslagare – ja han såg det som sin uppgift som Sheikh att vara en fader och fostrare (rabib) för dem, han kände dem mycket nära och hyste en intim vänskap med dem var de än befann sig. En del av dessa brev sammanställdes av en av Imamens tunisiska följeslagare, Muhammad ibn al-Sabbagh, i boken “Durrat al-Asrar”.

Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn `Ayyad berättar [2/ Al-Mafakhir]:
Ett år då Sheikhen (Abul Hasan) stadde sig till Hajj-resa, var det uppror mot Kairos härskare, så denne var upptagen med att kväsa upprorsrörelsen och försåg inte (de hajj-resande) med några skyddstrupper. Sheikhen lämnade sitt tält och gav sig av, och folk följde honom. Folk samlades kring Qadin `Izz al-Din ibn `Abd al-Salam och frågade honom angående resan. Denne sade: Det är inte tillåtet att resa utan skyddstrupper när det råder fara. Sheikhen uderrättades om detta och sade då: Låt mig träffa (qadin), så ett möte anordnades i moskén samma fredag. (Sheikhen) sade till (qadin): “O faqih, om det finns någon, för vilken världen inte är mer än ett enda språng, anser du då att det är tillåtet för honom att resa trots faran eller ej?” (Qadin) sade: “Den som befinner sig på den nivån omfattas inte av fatwan.” Sheikhen sade då: “Vid Allah – ingen gud finns utom Han – jag tillhör dem, för vilka världen inte är mer än ett enda språng, och om jag ser något som utgör en fara för folk, för jag dem med ett steg till trygghet, Du vet lika väl som jag vilken ställning vi har inför Allah den Upphöjde, den Majestätiske. Du må därför be mig bekräfta sanningen i vad jag sagt.”

(Sheikhen) – må Allah finna behag i honom – reste, och på vägen framträdde många underverk. Ett av dem var t.ex. att tjuvar kom till karavanen under natten. När de befann sig mitt i karavanen reste sig runt omkring dem murar som hindrade dem från att komma ut, precis som om de befann sig i en befäst stad. På morgonen kom de til Sheikhen med ånger och omvände sig till Allah den Upphöjde.

Vid återkomsten till Cairo kom Qadin dem tillmötes och folk berättade om vad de hade sett av Allah’s underverk, Väl inne i staden avlade Qadi `Izz al-Din besök hos Sheikhen, och denne sade till honom: “O faqih, vore det inte av artighet inför min förfader, Allah’s Sändebud, välsignelser och fred vare med honom, skulle jag på `Arafat-dagen ha tagit karavanen till `Arafat-berget i ett enda språng.” Muftin svarade: “Jag tror på Allah.” Sheikehn fortsastte: “O faqih `Izz al-Din, se här bekräftelsen av det jag sagt.” Så sträckte han ut sin välsignade högra hand mot Qibla, och alla som var närvarande såg i denna stund Ka`ba framför sig, och folk ropade högt av häpnad. Qadin sänkte sitt huvud inför (Sheikhen ) och sade: “Min Mästare, från dendda stund är du min Sheikh.” Sheiken svarade honom: “Du är min broder, insha’Allah.” Må Allah den Upphöjde finna behag i dem.

I “Lata’if al-Minan” berättas förljande:

En gång när Sheikh Abul Hasan återvände till Kairo från en hajj-resa, besökte han Sheikh `Izz al-Din `Abd al-Salam, innan han gick till sitt eget hem, och sade till honom: “Allah’s Sändebud, välsignelser och fred vare med honom, hälsar dig.” Sheikh `Izz al-Din kände då sin egen ringhet och att han inte var värd en sådan hälsning. Några dagar senare besökte han Imam Abul Hasan och fann i hans sällskap bl.a. Sheikh al-`Alam Ya-Sin, en av eleverna till Shiekh Muhiy al-Din Ibn al-`Arabi, som sade: Vi är mycket glada över det vi fått höra. Det är inte många nuförtiden som hälsas av Allah’s Sändebud.” Sheikh `Izz al-Din sade: “Må Allah dra en slöja över oss.” Då sade al-`Alam Ya Sin: “Må Allah dra undan slöjan så att sanningen blir tydlig.”

Någon sade till Imam Abul Hasan: “Ingenslans på jordens ytan finner man en mera lysande cirkel för (studiet av) rättslära än Sheikh `Izz al-Din `Abd al-Salam’s, eller en mera lysande cirkel för att studiet av hadithkunskap soänSheikh Zaki al-Din `Abd al-`Azim’s, eller en mera lysande cirkel för att studiet av de (gudomliga) realiterna än din.” [Lata’if al-Minan]

Imam Abul Hasan brukade säga: “En Sheikh är inte den som leder till det som tröttar ut dig, utan den som leder dig till det som ger dig ro.” [Lata’if al-Minan]

Han sade: “Tecknet på att ens hjärta har befriats from kärlek till denna värld är att när han förvärvar jordiska egendomar, så använder han dem fritt, och när han förlorar dem upplever han en känsla av befrielse.” [Lata’if al-Minan]

He is the ocean of sciences and gnoses, the teacher of every gnostic and enraptured one [majdhub], the godly qutb and lordly colossus, our master Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. ‘isa al-Burnusi al-Fasi, known as Zarruq [1].

He — may Allah have mercy on him — was a scholar who applied his knowledge, an ascetic who was scrupulous in matters of the din. He authored many books, whose exact number cannot be ascertained. They include an exegesis of the Mighty Qur’an, and a commentary on the Risala of Ibn Abu Zayd al-Qayrawani. He also penned three commentaries on the scholarly text Al-Qurtubiyya, thirty commentaries on Al-Hikam ´Ata’iyya, an elucidation of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names, and a commentary on Dala’il al-Khayrat. Other works of his also include Al-Nasa’ih al-Kafiya, Qawa’id al-Sufiyya (also known as Qawa’id al-Tasawwuf), and Al-´Aqa’id al-Khams. He authored other writings on Sufism, and quite a number of precious tracts and epistles.

He lived until the age of sixty three. Biographers have ascribed to him a work of autobiography, covering his life from birth to death, wherein he was wont to jot down things in the latter part of every day. He was born on Thursday, 12 Muharram AH 846. His maternal grandmother took care of his upbringing. She was one of Allah’s Friends and a woman of righteousness and purity. When he reached four years of age, she had had him memorize the Qur’an. She thus brought him up through precept and the inculcation of perfection, until he grew up fond of worship and consistently recitating litanies.

At this point, he commenced seeking knowledge of the outward sciences, the pursuit of which occupied him until people pointed to him as an authority. He came to then teach these sciences, engage in circles of learning to admonish people, and deliver lessons. As a result, he became famous and scholars were drawn to him, basking in his pesence, and taking from his sciences and gnoses. After all this, Sufism became endeared to him, and he joined the path of the Sufis at the hand of the guide in spiritual wayfaring, our master ‘Abdullah al-Makki. From him he took the spiritual way, serving him continuously for some time.

While in his service, it so happened that one day when visiting his guide [‘Abdullah al-Makki] during the latter’s solitary retreat, he beheld two women of beautiful form in his guide’s company, one on his right and the other on his left. The wide appeared to turn now to this one and then to that one.

Upon seeing this, our master Zarruq whispered to himself: ‘This man is a heretic’, whereupon the teacher retorted: `Go away, you jew!’

Sidi Ahmad Zarruq thus went away, and it was as if his teacher had cast the descriptive attribute of a jew upon him. He wept on account of this, and beseeched Allah Most High, setting out for one of his beloved companions and requesting that he go to the teacher and seek to win his favour. His dear friend accompanied him to the teacher and tried to attract his sympathetic compassion back towards Zarruq. Al-Makki pardoned and accepted him, saying: ‘On condition you do not sit with us in a country where I happen to be in.’ Thereafter, al-Makki turned to him and said: ‘O Zarruq, the two women who appeared to be ambiguously unclear to you, and who resembled one another in your perception, are this world and the Next. This world desires my advancement towards it, and the Hereafter requires from me that I should approach it, but I do not turn attentively to the utterance of either of them.’

After this incident, our master Zarruq left the city of Fez and set out for Cairo, where he met up with our liege and master, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Hadrami. He took the path from him and received instruction in devotional recitations [awrad] from him. At his hand, a mighty spiritual illumination was bestowed upon him, so he too became a guide of spiritual instruction. He became affiliated to Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Hadrami and cleaved to his company. He was the only guide on whom he exclusively relied for journeying across the path.

When Egyptian scholars and pious men heard about his arrival, they paid visits to him in delegations, kept his company and attended his lessons. He took up a lecturing post at the noble institute of al-Azhar, his classes there being attended by approximately six thousand people from Cairo and the surrounding areas of Egypt.

He performed the functions of imam of the Malikiyya, becoming the main teacher of the portico allocated to their school in al-Azhar. They set up a tall chair for him, resting on firm pillars and with a strikingly original and well-constructed shape. He would seat on it, deliver his lectures and enrich the attendees by his knowledge. Both free men and slaves benefited from his presence. This chair still exists until the present time by the portico of the Moroccan masters in the noble institute of al-Azhar.

He exercised tremendous influence and authority over the Emirs of Egypt, while all Egyptians, the elite and commonality alike, accepted him.

After his time in Egypt, he relocated to Libya’s Tripoli, where he brought the signposts of the path to life and shed clear light on the actualization of ultimate reality. There, he lent fame to the Shadhili Path and turned their radiant luminaries into household names. Committed disciples yielded to him submissively, while the kings of the world were awe-struck by him. He gathered with the master of all Messengers ﷺ, and a path was ascribed to him when the lights of the folk of ultimate reality manifested on him. While holding his beard, he was instructed by his spiritual state to say about the arena of real men: ‘There is no shaykh after this beard.’

He was a man endowed with a mighty spiritual state, radiance, beauty and bravery. Allah Most High acquainted him with hidden realities, so he spoke in languages other than Arabic, no two people disagreeing about this fact, and no conflicting statements on this having issued forth from any two individuals. He possessed the greatest capacity of disposal in matters, and was the brightest succour of men.

Saintly miracles emanated from him, and he was gifted veracious states. Among his miracles is when he passed an Arab tribe of Tripoli, consisting of brigands and highway robbers, no caravan passing by them but that they would plunder it. They looted him and his companions, forcing them to cover their private parts with their hands (as everything had been seized and pilloried from them). A disciple looked at our master and found him in an unchanged state, and said to one of the bedouins who had plundered the group: ‘Look at that teacher, he has some gold in his trousers.’ The bedouin thus came up to our master and instructed him to remove his trousers, whereupon the shaykh replied: ‘Glory be to Allah! It is forbidden for us to lay bare our private parts.’ The bedouin repeated the order a second time, saying, ‘Take it off, or else I shall kill you!’ Our master admonished him, saying, ‘It is prohibited for us to expose our private parts.’ The bedouin advanced towards our master, who instructed the earth, saying ‘Swallow them!’ The earth seized all of the bedouins, so they began humbly imploring our master, saying, ‘We have turned (in repentance) to Allah.’ Our master then told the earth, ‘Release them, earth’, and it set them free from its clasp, whereupon they came out of it and proclaimed their repentance in unison. Thereafter, they kept our master’s company, all of them without exception, and became servants of the Zarruqiyya Zawiya. To this day, their descendants serve the zawiya, and they are called “the servants of the Zarruqiyya Zawiya”.

Among his sayings are these verses from his poem rhyming in ta’ [ta’iyyah]:

I have fled from creation, all without exception
Perchance I’ll see my heart’s Beloved with my eye.
I have ruled the Western world, no part of it excepted;
While all Eastern nations are in my grip seized
To my committed disciple, I gather his loose threads
Whenever oppressive times by my own force pounce down.
If you, then, are in grief; tightness or hardship,
Call out, ‘0 Zarruq! ‘ I’ll be there in a moment.
How many a sorrow is removed when our name is mentioned,
And how many a sorrow is removed by instants of my company.

He passed away — may Allah be pleased with him and benefit [us] through him — in AH 899 and was buried in Misurata, near Tripoli in Libya. A large mosque has been built over his remains, in which the Islamic rites are established, together with a shrine and mausoleum visited by people: no one directs himself to Allah there through him but that he attains what he hopes for.

Footnotes:
[1] See his biography in al-A’lam (1/91), Ibn Jadhwat al-Igtibas li Dhikr Man Halla min al-A’lam Madina Fas (p. 60), Ibn al-‘Imad’s Shadharat al-Dhahab (7/363), where he is named as Ismail b. Muhammad al-Burlusi, Mu’jam al-Matbu’at (p. 965), al-Khazanat al-Taymuriyya (3/121), Dar al-Kutub (1/269, 317, 376) and Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyyat al-Kubra by Muhyi al-Din al-Tu`mi (p. 136).

Reference:
Muhammad b. Qasim al-Kuhin(2016), Tabaqat Al-Shadhiliyyah Al-Kubra Biographies of Prominent Shadhilis, Visions of Reality Books.

Hans fullständiga namn Abû al-‘Abbâs Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isâ al-Barnûsî al-Fâsî, känd som al-Zarrûq. Han föddes 846 H. i Fas, och uppfostrades av sin mormor, som var en from och helig kvinna. Vid fyra års ålder började hon lära honom Koranen, och under hennes omvårdnad växte han upp med kärlek till ‘ibâda och regelbunden dhikr. Han studerade de religiösa vetenskaperna, tills han fick kallelsen att börja predika. Hans lektioner vann snabbt spridning, och både lärda och vanligt folk kom för att lyssna.

Hans första Sheikh i tasawwuf var Sheikh ‘Abd Allah al-Makki. En dag kom han in till honom i hans khalwa (privata bönerum) och fick syn på två vackra kvinnor som satt på varderaa sidan av Sheikhen, medan denne vände sig än till den ena och än till den andra. Imam al-Zarruq sade till sig själv: Den här mannen är en zindiq (gudlös person). Hans Sheikh vände sig då till honom och sade: Gå din väg, din jude! Han gick ut, gråtande över Sheikhens tilltal och bönföll Allah om förlåtelse. Sedan uppsökte han några vänner och bad dem göra förbön för honom inför Sheikhen. Sheikhen försonade sig med honom och omfamnade honom och kysste honom, men ställde som villkor att han måste lämna landet. Sedan sade han: O Zarruq, de två kvinnorna som du tyckte dig se i mitt sällskap var i själva verket denna världen (al-duniâ) och den nästkommande (al-âkhira). Denna världen ville att jag skulle ta emot henne, och den nästkommnade ville att jag skulle tillvända mig henne – men jag tog inte emot någon av dem.

Därefter lämnade Imam Zarruq Fas och reste till Egypten, där han mötte Sheikh Abu al-‘Abbas al-Hadrami, som blev hans slutgiltiga läromästare. Från honom antog han Shadhili-tariqan och lärde sig dess awrâd, och under honom nådde han stora andliga höjder. Han blev snart känd bland de egyptiska lärda, som började närvara vid hans lektioner och följa hans vägledning. Han blev mufti för Maliki-skolan, och fick stort inflytande bland landets ledare. Han undervisade vid Azhar-universitet, med ca. sextusen åhörare från Cairo och hela Egypten, och där byggdes en upphöjd stol som han kunde undervisa från (denna stol finns bevarad än idag).

Sedan reste han till Tripoli, där han spred Shadhili-tariqan och vägledde många murider. Många av landets ledare, som ägnade sig åt religiös kunskap, hade stor aktning för honom. Han dog i Tripoli år 899 H. En stor moské har upprättats i ansutning till hans begravningsplats.

Till hans skrifter hör:

– en Korankommentar
– en kommentar till Risâla Abî Zayd al-Qîrwânî
– tre olika kommentarer till Al-Matn al-Qurt?ûbiyya
– trettiosex olika kommentarer till Al-Hikam al-‘At?âiyya
– en komentar till Asmâ’ Allah al-husnâ
– en kommmentar till Dalâ’il al-Khayrât
– al-Nasâ’ih, Qawâ‘id al-Tasawwuf, Al-‘Aqâ’id al-Khams m.m.

———-

Ref: Tabaqât al-Shâdhiliyya av al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Kûhin al-Fâsî

1. From Kuhin ↓: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya View book | Download | Read chapter [33] online
2. From shazellia.com ↓

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Imam al-Jazuli
(d. 870/1465)

He is the godly imam, lordly qutb, and the solitary [fard]. He is the perfect man enamoured in the Divine Essence, and the realized gnostic who gathered the perfections of Muhammadan sanctity. He is the supporting foundation of instruction and guidance, and the mentor of disciples leading them to the path of the folk of lofty realities. He is the crème de la crème of the knowers of Allah, the model of those realized, the succour of saints, and the treasury of select mystics, by whose renown riding parties were set into motion, and whose fame spread across nations. He is our master and virtuous imam, the perfected gnostic who arrived at his destination, and the axis and unmatched pearl of his age. He is our liege, the noble scion from the Prophetic lineage, Abu’l ‘Abdullah Muhammad al-Jazuli al-Hasani al-Shadhili, son of our master ‘Abd al-Rahman, son of our master Abu Bakr al-Murtada, son of our master Sulayman, son of our master Sa’İd, son of our master Ya’la, son of our master Yakhluf, son of our master Musa, son of our master Yusuf, son of our master ‘Abdullah, son of our master Jundun, son of our master ‘Abd al-Rahman, son of our master Hassan, son of our master Isma’İl, son of our master Ja’far, son of our master ‘Abdullah, son of our master Abu Muhammad al-Hasan, the Prophet’s grandson and sweet basil. [1]

He passed away, having been poisoned, in Afughal, in the second prostration of the Dawn prayer’s first cycle, on 16 Rabi` I, AH 870 [2]. He was buried after the Midday prayer on the same day, in the middle of the mosque he had set up in that locality. I have read in someone’s handwriting that he left no son behind.

Seventy-seven years after his death, his remains were moved from Sus to Marrakech. They buried him in the ‘Arus Gardens and a mausoleum and shrine were built over his tomb. When they exhumed him from his noble grave in Sus, they found him in the same state in which he had died, so they decided not to throw any fresh earth over his corpse. Throughout the intervening time, his conditions were unaltered, and the trace of the shave on his head was exactly as it had been on the day of his death, as if it had only recently been shaved. One of those present placed his finger on his noble forehead, holding the skin back from what lay underneath, and when he lifted his finger the blood returned to the spot, as it would happen to a person who is still alive.

His tomb in Marrakech is enveloped by a tremendous majesty, a shining light, and a manifest force. People congregate around his noble grave and read the Dala’il al-Khayrat over it, while the fragrance of musk exuded from his tomb pervades the mosque entirely.

He spoke at length about Sufism, penned fine ghazals and was bestowed truthful spiritual states. He would say: ‘My Lord said to me, “My slave, I have preferred you over My entire creation by the abundance of your prayers over My Prophet.”‘ The author of Mumti’a al-Asma’ said, by way of clarification: ‘What is meant is His preference for him over His other creatures of his age’ Unequivocal signs, in fact, appeared in him.

He had the best of students whose number exceeded twenty thousand, and who transmitted Prophetic hadith and sayings about the spiritual path and Sufism from him.

He had taken the lofty Shadhili Path from his mentor, the knower of Allah Most High, our master Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad Amghar. He taught him facets of Sufism that would dazzle intellects and unlocked recondite and ambiguous aspects associated with it, as a result of which he became one of its luminaries.

Among the prominent disciples who took the path from him was the complete ghawth, the radiant proof, our liege and master Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abd al-Haqq known as al-Tabba`. He was a supreme succour who encompassed the secrets of the folk of ultimate reality. He was a notable scholar endowed with virtue and beneficence, and who made peculiar statements on the sciences and allusions of the Sufis.

A mausoleum that draws visiters was built over his remains, becoming hub for people of virtue and the spiritually elite. He is one of the seven axial saints buried in the city of Marrakech and from its spiritual fotresses. O Allah, benefit us through Your righteous Friends, and pour their spiritual sustentations over us at all the times, amin.

Footnotes:
[1] See his biography in al-A’lam (6/151), Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyyat al-Kubra by Muhyi al-Din al-Tu`mi (p. 193), al-Khazanat al-Taymuriyya (3/59), Shawariq al-Anwar, which names him as Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Sulayman, al-Qadi’s al-I’lam bi man Halla Marrakush wa Aghmat min al-A`lam (4/57-122), which reads: ‘Al-Jazuli or al-Juzuli with either the fath or the damm’, while al-Dhayl wa al-Takmila by lbn `Abd al-Malik al-Marrakushi refers to him al-Quzuli with a Qaf. It is said that in the Berber language it is pronounced Kuzuli. As for his other noun of ascription al-Simlali, it is an ascription to Simlala, one of Jazula’s tribal groupings.
[2] Muhammad b. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Abi’l-Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi reports various reports on the date and year of his passing in Mumti’a al-Asma’ fi Dhikr al-Jazuli wa al-Tabba’ wa Ma Lahuma min al-Atba’. According to one opinion, he passed away on 4 Dhu al-Qa`da AH 869.

Source: Muhammad b. Qasim al-Kuhin, Tabaqat Al-Shadhiliyyah Al-Kubra, translated by Ahmad Ali al-Adani as “Biographies of Prominent Shadhilis”

See also: Indepth article from dar-sirr Link to original | View

His full name is Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Suleiman Ibn Abi Bakr Al-Jazuli Al-Simlali and was a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, praise and veneration be upon him, via his grandson Hasan, son of Ali, may Allah be pleased with them. Al Jazuli belonged to the Berber tribe of Jazula that settled in the Sus area of Morocco which lies between the Atlantic ocean and the Atlas mountains.

The date of his death is uncertain, however it occurred between the years 869-873 AH as he offered an obligatory prayer. In the Encyclopedia of Islam, 1957 Leiden, it is reported that seventy-seven years after his death his body was exhumed for reburial in Marrakesh and that his body had not decomposed.

He a descendant of the Prophet, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him He belonged to the Berber tribe of Jazula which was settled in the Sus area of Morocco between the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains. He studied locally and then went to the Madrasat AS-Saffareen in Fez where his room is still pointed out to visitors. After setting a tribal feud he left the area and spent the next forty years in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. After this, he returned to Fez where he completed Dala’il al-Khayrat.

He was initiated into the Shadhili Tariqa by Sharif Abu Adullah Muhammad Ibn Amghar. He spent forteen years in Kbalwa (seclusion) and then went to Safi where he gathered around him many followers. The governor of Safi felt obliged to expel him and as a result, Imam Jazuli called down Allah’s wrath on the town and it subsequently fell into the hands of the Portugese for forty years According to a tradition, it was the governor of Safi who poisoned Jazuli and caused his death, whilst engaged in prayer, in 869 H (or 870 or 873) Seventy seven years after his death his body was exhumed for removal to Marrakesh and found to be uncorrupted (adapted from The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1957 Leiden).

It is said that the writer of Dala’il al-Khayrat once went on a journey , when in great need of water for making ablutions. he came upon a well but could not reach the water without a bucket and rope which he did not have. He became very worried . A young girl saw this and came to his assistance. She spat into the well whereupon the water rose to the top of its own accord. Seeing this miracle, he asked the girl ” And how is that possible?” The replied “I was able to do this through my asking for blessings upon the Prophet, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon the him.” Having thus seen the benefit of asking for blessings upon the Prophet, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him , he decided to write Dala’il al-Khayrat.

He is the imam who applied his knowledge, the perfect liege of exalted ambition, the pupil of the eye [insan ‘ayn] of the pious, and the source of men [ `ayn insan] who arrive at their spiritual destination. He is the devout worshipper, the ascetic, the jurist, the muhaddith, the mystic, and the educator steering travellers along the spiritual path. He is the axis of the circle of the firmament peopled by the god-fearing, and the exemplar of saints and gnostics. He is the matchless pearl of the religiously conscientious and from those who reached the Divine. He is the heir of the sciences of the Prophets and Messengers, the one arranged in the chain of the ‘scholars of my Umma are like the Prophets of the Children of Israel’. 198 He is the guide for mankind upon the straight path, and the one singled out for noble affections from the Ever-Relenting King. It is upon him that perfect mysteries and gnoses have been poured into directly from the All-Knowing and Ever-Giving. He is the pivot of the nobles, substitutes and axial mystics. He is the teacher of the folk of guidance and noble orientation along the path, in sense and meaning, and in virtue and lineage — without need of verification. He is the one endowed with two pure lineages, and gratified by direct witnessing of the Beauty of the two Presences. He is the crown of the din, the succour of Muslims, the teacher of those who dispose of matters in creation, and the shelter of the folk of stability. He is the one regaled with supreme sustentation and divine favour which cannot be encompassed. He is Abu’l-Mawahib199 Sharaf al-Din, our liege and master ‘Abd al-Wahhab, son of our master Ahmad, son of our master Shihab al-Din ‘Ali al-Sha’rani al-Ansari al-Shafi’i, al-Muhammadi (in essence and meaning), al-Shadhili (in terms of spiritual path and ultimate reality).200 He is the raiding warrior, the qutb of the Sha’rani [branch] of the Shadhili Order, and the springhead of the notables of exalted circles.

He was from the people of the supreme circles firmly realized in sanctity since the day of {Am I not your Lord?} [Sara al-A`raf: 172]. His inward and outward was Muhammadi; or you could say that he was Khidri and Nurani.

He grew up as an orphan under the care of Allah’s Prophet, our master al-Khidr and under the watchful eye of his grandfather, Sayyidi Shihab al-Din. He was thus born and grew up as a Friend of Allah Most High. When he reached the full bloom of his youth, the signs of surpassing noble-mindedness and sanctity manifested in him. He accordingly pursued knowledge, memorizing the Qur’an and some scholarly texts, and mastering sciences and branches of knowledge. He was veiled by jurisprudence until, when his mature guidance was completed and his fame spread widely, he busied himself with the spiritual path, whereupon the glad tidings of the accurate actualizers of truth shone upon him, and he turned into one of the relied upon pillars of the path. Allah established him as a mercy unto the world when he gathered with the master of Allah’s slaves [ﷺ]. He strove the way distinguished ones do until he became counted among the paragons of manly virtue.

He spent many years without ever lying down on the earth, whether in the daytime or at night. Nay, he would tie a rope from the ceiling of his solitary retreat to his neck at night so that he would not fall. He would go hungry for days, fast incessantly, and break the fast on a tiny piece of bread. He would gather tatters from garbage piles, and take them as threadbare clothes to cover himself. His turban was made with shreds taken from garbage piles and from torn strips.

This remained his habit until his spirituality was heightened, whereupon he could fly from the courtyard of the Ghamri Mosque to its roof. During his gathering, he would behold the Garden and the Fire, the Bridge [al-Sirat] , the Gathering [al-Hashr] and the Pool [al-Hawd]. As the veil was lifted from him, he witnessed astonishing matters, seeing what lay beyond Mount Oaf. He spoke in all the other languages. Wild beasts befriended him and he would utter words that dazzled intellects. Prominent imams attested to his surpassing virtue, while the necks of mankind lowered themselves to him and he was served by humans, jinn and wild animals from every hill. He became acquainted with the wonders of Allah’s creatures, and scrupulousness in the din and doing without superfluities reached their pinnacle in him. As a result, if he — may Allah have mercy on him — walked through the marketplaces, people enthusiastically darted forth in his direction, and all creatures had firm confidence in him, including Jews and Christians. Many of them, indeed, embraced Islam at his hand, while countless sinners turned back to Allah through him, and became part of his circle of dervishes, once he had nourished them through his spiritual aid. In his zawiya, one could hear, whether at night or during the day, a buzz like the buzz of bees from beyond the gates of Cairo.

He served shaykhs and saints, and in turn the inhabitants of both the earth and heaven served him, crawling towards him. Leaders yielded to him in spite of their pride. Requests for intercession would be directed by him to them, and they would accept them in self-abasement, putting right the affairs of such intercessors and granting them safety. He was granted acceptance of his supplications, and enjoyed vast renown. He was soft-mannered, smiled frequently, was humble and lived frugally. In his earlier days, he would wear expensive clothes, and sit with scholars whom he would treat kindly. He persistently adhered to the Muhammadan sunna, paying heed to the four schools of jurisprudence without discriminating between them. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, acquainted him with their stations, so he would say: ‘May Allah reward them on our behalf.’

He would divide his time between the different efforts of worship: writing and compiling, remembering Allah and reminding others of Him, sending prayers on the Bringer of glad tidings and the Warner [ﷺ], and educating people through precept and the inculcation of perfection.

He was made the spokeperson of the saints. Mystics sprouted forth from his courtyard as naturally and copiously as the earth brought out produce through rain from the sky.

He, was imbued with the character of Allah’s folk: preferring others to himself, being generous, lavishly gifts like kings, and spending on the poor and needy. Around one hundred paupers would gather with him in his zawiya, and he would see to their basic maintenance and clothing.

He was extremely awe-inspiring and highly venerable. Eminent leaders would come to his door, sometimes able to meet him and sometimes unable to do so.

He posssessed lofty spiritual ambition. A large book would reach him, and he would read it and then write annotating glosses on it, all in a single night. Nasir al-Din al-Laqqani201 once sent him the Mudawwana [on the legal school of] Imam Malik, through his representative [naqib], in order to ponder therein a single juristic issue [mas ‘ala] which had outwardly proved difficult for him. When the naqib brought him it, he handed it to him in the evening at his zawiya. As he was about to depart, Imam al-Sha’rani said to him, ‘You can stay the night with us, and take it back in the morning.’ The naqib thus slept over at his house, while Sayyidi ‘Abd al-Wahhab [al-Sha’rani] took the Mudawwana into his place of retreat. After a short while, he came out of his retreat and handed it back to the naqib. In the morning, [the latter] rose and headed for Sayyidi Nasir al-Din [al-Laqqani] with the copy of the Mudawwana he had come with. Sayyidi Nasir al-Din al-Laqqani opened it and found annotations and corrections penned it. He was astonished. He asked the naqib about this, and the latter replied, ‘All I know is that, when Sayyidi `Abd al-Wahhab took the book from me, he entered his place of retreat and then returned it to me after about twenty minutes. I did not open it myself, and brought it to you in the same state as he had handed it to me. I noticed, my master, that he neglected none of his regular litanies or optional night prayers.’

Rulers and the influential people would love him intensely and have deep trust in him on account of his excellence and scrupulousness in the din. Sultan al-Ghawri —may Allah have mercy on him — was deeply fond of him, and had resolute belief in him. Once he gifted him a prayer mat and a muslin, which was seven cubits wide and thirty cubits long. It had been a present for him from the Sultan of India who had given it to him inside the shell of a nut. Sayyidi ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha’rani gifted the muslin to his own brother, our master Sayyidi `Abd al-Qadir, and kept the prayer mat, though he never used it in his lifetime, without however returning it to the Sultan out of courtesy. This was his inveterate practice, and the wellspring of propriety from which he engaged with leaders and those under them. He paid heed to the sacrosanct honour of the rich and the poor, and the elders and the young. This is but a drop in the ocean of his virtues.

How can we possibly list all of his virtues? He is in fact the imam of all actualizers of the ultimate reality, the educator of committed disciples who brought them up through principles of stability. He is the unlocker of recondite meanings in the spiritual allusions of those truly realized, and the interpreter of symbols found in the ambiguous expressions of the gnostics. He is the intermediary of the spiritual wayfarers’ necklace, and the sweet basil of spiritual accomplishers’ existence: established by Divine Power, arrayed by Godly Solicitude and the breezes of the Most Merciful. He accordingly treaded the path of the Divine, following the Majestic Book and Muhammadan Sunna, and learning jurisprudence until he reached the ultimate goal in the school of Shafi’i masters — after this, Allah granted him lorldly and mystical openings.

He enjoyed veneration in the hearts of leaders [sudur al-sudur] and reverence in the eyes of notables [ ‘uyun al-a’yan], until Allah Most High moved him unto the abode of His Noble Generosity in the year AH 973. He was buried in his zawiya between the two banks (of the Nile ). A huge number of scholars, jurists, leaders and dervishes attended his funeral. It was a well-attended day in Cairo. The funeral prayer for him was performed in the Noble Azhar Mosque, and his whole lineage was read out on the terraced bench. He was carried on shoulders to his burial place. The Friends of Allah, both living and dead, attended his funeral, together with members of the circles from both mankind and jinn, who inhabited the deserts, valleys and lands beyond the seas. Ultimately, no funeral like his was ever witnessed in Cairo. Birds uninterruptedly hovered above his bier, while inanimate objects wept over his departure and hearts were torn out of grief for him.

He — may Allah have mercy on him — left behind an enduring renown, and a pure and perfumed acclaim. After his death, beneficence cascaded onto his zawiya from everywhere. People established real estates and foundations as trusts, and built for him a mosque befitting his shrine, together with a mausoleum exclusively for him, surmounted by an arched dome and a closet, and arranged salaries for those looking after it. His mosque is regarded as one of Cairo’s most tremendous mosques, and his mausoleum as one of the most majestic mausoleums wherein supplications are answered. His spiritual succour flows upon Allah’s slaves there. It is a destination sought after by those in need or afflicted by hardships, who then stand before him and turn to Allah through his intercession so that their worries might be dispelled. No one has visited him save that he went back with his brooding mind set at ease.

He is the supporter of the weak in life and after death. People crowd around him, and make vows in his presence, carrying candles. No one has alighted at his courtyard except that an abundance of his spiritual succour is poured upon him, may Allah show mercy to him. Cairo’s inhabitants, of every religious orientation, set out for him, hoping to find abundant good therein. O Allah, nourish us through his overflowing aid, gather us in the Hereafter under his banner, and perpetuate his blessings for us, amin.

__________
Footnotes:
198 It has been reported by al-Fattani in Tadhkirat al-Mawdu’at (20), ‘Ali al-Qari in al-Asrar al-Marra fi al-Akhbar al-Mawdu’a (247), al-‘Ajluni in Kashf al-Khafa-(2/83), al-Sakhawi in al-Fawaid al-Majmu’a Li al-Ahadith al-Mawdu’a (786) and al-Suyuti in al-Durar al-Muntahira fi al-Ahaditbal-Mushtahira (113).
199 In al-A’lam (4/180), his patronymic (kunya) is said to be Abu Muhammad.
200 For his biography, see al-A’lam (4/180-1), Kutat Mubarak (14/109), Jurji Zaydan’s Adab al-Lughat al-Arabiyya (3/335), al-Fihris al-Tamhidi (393, 421), Majallat al-Kitab (2/344), al-Khazanat al-Taymuriyya (3/164), al-Kutubkhana (2/61, 65, 88, 103 and 104) and Tabaqat al-Shadhillyyat al-Kubra by Muhyi al-Din al-Tu`mi (p. 166).
201 Al-Nasir al-Laqqani is the polymath Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad b. al-Hasan. He died on Wednesday, 14 Sha`ban AH 958, at the age of 84. His biography can be found in Ahmad Baba al-Tinbukti’s Kifayat al-Muhtaj and in Badr al-Din al-Qarafi’s Tawshib al-Dibaj wa Hilyat al-Ibtihaj.

The path of the Sufis is built on the Koran and sunna

The path of the Sufis is built on the Koran and sunna, and is based upon living according to the morals of the prophets and purified ones. It may not be blamed unless it violates an explicit statement from the Koran, sunna, or scholarly consensus, exclusively. If it does not contravene one of these, the very most that one may say of it is that it is an understanding a Muslim man has been given, so let whoever wishes act upon it, and whoever does not refrain, this being as true of works as of understanding. So no pretext remains for condemning it except one’s own low opinion of others, or interpreting what they do as ostentation, which is unlawful.

Whoever carefully examines the branches of knowledge of the Folk of Allah Most High will find that none of them are beyond the pale of the Sacred Law. How should they lie beyond the pale of the Sacred Law when it is the law that connects the Sufis to Allah at every moment? Rather, the reason for the doubts of someone unfamiliar with the way of the Sufis that it is of the very essence of theSacred Law is the fact that such a person has not thoroughly mastered the knowledge of the law. This is why Junayd (Allah Most High have mercy on him) said, ‘This knowledge of ours is built of the Koran and sunna,’ in reply to those of his time or any other who imagine that it is beyond the pale of the Koran and sunna.

The Folk unanimously concur that none is fit to teach in the path of Allah Mighty and Majestic save someone with comprehensive mastery of the Sacred Law, who knows its explicit and implicit rulings, which of them are of general applicability and which are particular, which supersede others and which are superseded. He must also have a thorough grounding in Arabic, be familiar with its figurative modes and similes, and so forth. So every true Sufi is a scholar is Sacred Law, though the reverse is not necessarily true.

To summarize, no one denies the states of the Sufis except someone ignorant of the way they are. Qushayri says, ‘No era of the Islamic period has had a true sheikh of this group, save that the Imams of the scholars of that time deferred to him, showed humility towards him, and visited him for the benefit of his spiritual grace (baraka). If the Folk had no superiority or election, the matter would have been the other way around.

_______________________________
From al-Tabaqat al-kubra al-musamma bi Lawaqih al-anwar fi tabaqat al-akhyar (1374/1954) (Reprint, Beirut: dar al-fikr, n.d.) 1:4. In Reliance of the Traveller p. 863-864.

After that Allah proclaimed for him the spiritual opening and united him (Ash-Sha’rani) with al-Khawwas. Al-Khawwas was his mi’raj and his ladder by which he ascend to the doors of spiritual openings and heavens of bestowals and realms of light and inspirations. Their relationship is the manifest sign of the status of the Shaykh in the Path. It is the greatest sign of the status of divinely bestowed knowledge (العِلْم اللَّدنِّي) for al-Khawwas was unlettered while ash-Sha’rani was a scholar. But that was the external judgement, while the internal judgment says that al-Khawwas was the scholar while ash-Sha’rani was the unlettered one.

Ash-Sha’rani said: From the favours of Allah upon himself (ash-Sha’rani) was that his arrival and opening (in gnosis) was at the hands of an unlettered man who neither knew writing nor reading. He added in describing this unlettered man:

“A man who is totally hidden such that almost no one knew of his sainthood and knowledge except for the practicing scholars, for he is indeed a perfect man to us without any doubt! The perfect one is he whom when he reaches the station of the perfect men in knowledge of Allah (العرفان), he becomes a stranger in all the worlds.”

Ash-Sha’rani narrates to us his delightful spiritual experience of his arrival unto the ascending paths of divine illuminations at the hands of his Shaykh and the oceans of knowledge of his master :

My spiritual struggles at the hands of my master ‘Ali al-Khawwas were many and of various types. Amongst them, he would order me in the beginning to sell away all my books and to give away the money in charity, which I did. Those were precious books which could be sold for a high price. So I sold them and gave away the sales in charity but I became anguished at having to part with them as I had put much effort and had added notes and comments in them. It reached a point as if I was completely robbed of my knowledge. (At that time) he (al-Khawwas) said to me, “Strive to cut off your (heart’s) turning back (out of attachment) to them (the books) by much remembrance of Allah Exalted is He. Indeed they say, “One who turns back, does not arrive”. Thus, I strove in cutting off my attachment to them till I managed to free myself and praise be to Allah for that.

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مكتبة عبد الوهاب الشعراني
1- إرشاد الطالبين إلى مراتب العلماء العاملين ومعه عقيدة اكابر أهل السنة والجماعة
2- الأنوار القدسية فى معرفة قواعد الصوفية
3- الانوار القدسية في بيان آداب العبودية
4- الأنوار في آداب الصحبة عند الأخيار
5- الجوهر المصون والسر المرقوم فيما تنتجه الخلوة من الأسرار والعلوم
6- الدرر واللمع في بيان الصدق في الزهد والورع
7- القواعد الكشفية الموضحة لمعاني الصفات الإلهية
8- الكبريت الأحمر في بيان علوم الشيخ الأكبر
9- الكوكب الشاهق فى الفرق بين المريد الصادق وغير الصادق
10- اليواقيت و الجواهر في بيان عقائد الأكابر
11- تنبيه المغترين اوائل القرن العاشر علي ما خالفوا فيه سلفهم الطاهر
12- درر الغواص على فتاوى سيدي علي الخواص
13- لطائف المنن والأخلاق بوجوب التحدث بنعمة الله على الإطلاق
14- لواقح الأنوار القدسية في بيان العهود المحمدية
15- مختصر الإعتقاد للبيهقى
16- مختصر تذكرة السويدي في الطب
17- مختصر تذكرة القرطبي
18- منح المنة في التلبس بالسنة
19- الميزان الذرية المبينة لعقائد الفرق العلية
20- الطبقات الصغرى
21- موازين القاصدين من شيوخ ومريدين – المنح السنية على الوصية المتبولية
22- كشف الحجاب والران عن وجه أسئلة الجان
23- ردع الفقراء ودعوى الولاية الكبرى
24- البحر المورود في المواثیق و العهود
25- منهاج الوصول الى مقاصد علم الاصول
26- تطهير أهل الزوايا من خبائث الطوايا
27- كشف الغمة عن جميع الأمة:
http://archive.org/details/Kashfghoma
28- الطبقات الكبرى المسمى لواقح الأنوار القدسية في مناقب العلماء والصوفية :
https://archive.org/details/tabaqatekoubra
29- الميزان الكبرى:
http://archive.org/details/almizane
30- الأخلاق المتبولية المفاضة من الحضرة المحمدية:
http://archive.org/details/akhlaqmatboulia

“We know from our masters person having diverged the fact that Ibn Daqiq al-Eid renovator is the scientist sent to the seventh century, referred to in the prophetic hadith, and he was the master of his time by his knowledge and righteousness in religion.” – Sheikh Taqi al-Din al-Subki

t.b.d.

Ibn Daqiq al-Eid (1228-1302), is accounted as one of Islam’s great scholars in the fundamentals of Islamic law and belief, and was an authority in the Shafi’i legal school. Although Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id studied Shafi’i jurisprudence under Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, he was also proficient in Maliki fiqh. He served as chief qadi of the Shafi’i school in Egypt. Ibn Daqiq al-Eid taught hadith to al-Dhahabi and to many other leading scholars of the next generation. In his lifetime, Ibn-Daqiq wrote many books but his commentary on the Nawawi Forty Hadiths has become his most popular. In it he comments on the forty hadiths compiled by Yahya Al-Nawawi and known as the Nawawi Forty Hadiths. His commentary has become so popular that it is virtually impossible for any scholar to write a serious book about the forty hadiths without quoting Ibn Daqiq.

History

His namesake ‘ibn Daqiq al-Eid’ however was gained from his grandfather who was described as being fond of sporting a bright white turban, one as white as the flour used to make pastries during Eid celebrations. From that point on, the name was passed on to his son and later to Imam Taqiyy ad- Din Muhammad ibn` Ali Ibn Wahb who would often be addressed as Ibn Daqiq al-Eid.

After memorising the Quran as a child, he attended various halaqahs in the city of Qus and was initiated into the Maliki school of jurisprudence from his father. His quest for learning however later brought him to Sheikh Al-Baha ‘Al-Qifti, a disciple of his father. He also learnt the disciplines of Arabic with Sheikh Mohammad Abu Al-Fadl Al-Mursi. Further deepening his quest for knowledge, he later travelled to Cairo to study under the tutelage and guidance of Imam Al-`Izz Ibn `Abd As-Salam of whom was regarded as the ‘Sultanul Ulama”. He studied the laws and foundations of Shafi’i jurisprudence from the later and was under the guidance of Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam to the day he died in AH 660 (1262 AD). He later went on to Damascus to learn Hadith from Damascene scholars before finally returning to Egypt and settling down in the city of his childhood, Qus.

Upon his return to Qus at 37 years old, he was appointed as a judge according to the Maliki mazhab. His appointment however was shortlived as he found himself unfamiliar with the fame linked to the newly gained appointment. He soon found himself returning to Cairo to teach Prophetic Hadith in Darul Hadith Al- Kamiliyyah , a school built by Sultan Al-Kamil in A. H. 621 (1224 AD).

His proficiency in Hadith was soon recognised, earning him the title of ‘Sheikh of Darul Hadith’, the highest position in this specialized institution. He was known for his rigour and thoroughness, constantly researching on the chains between hadiths. The methodology he employed in the study of hadith can be read in Al- Iqtirah fi Ma’rifat Al- Istilah.

He later taught law at the Nasiriyyah School of Salahuddin Al-Ayubi, a school primarily catering to the Shafie Madhab and built in close proximity to the tomb of Imam Ash-Shafie. Given his mastery of two law schools, Shafi’i and Maliki, he was asked to teach at Madrasah Fadiliyyah, a prestigious institution which was also hosting Andalucian born Sheikh Abu Abdillah Muhammad bin Umar Al-Qurthubi.

Chief Justice of Egypt

Observing such a stance, he remained steadfast and did not bend under pressures for undue favour. In one instance, he rejected the testimony of Monkutmar, the Secretary of the Sultanate, in an inheritance case holding that he was not a reliable man. Montkumar fought back and sent a stream of messengers to convince Ibn Daqiq on his testimony. Unfazed by the move, Ibn Daqiq finally resigned at the insistence of Monkutmar.

He also pioneered a center responsible for the management and administration of property of orphans to preserve until they reached majority. The move was unprecedented in Egypt. Under such a move, a heir would only be granted of any inheritance should he be an adult. Otherwise, his fortune would be initially entrusted to the centre. He put a system in place in order to look at the welfare and well being of orphans.

Sheikh of Islam Taqiyy Ad- Din Abu Al -Fath Muhammad Ibn `Ali Ibn Wahb Ibn Mutî` ibn Abi Al- At- Tâ`ah Qushayri Al- Manfaluti was born in the month of Shaban 625 AH (1228) on the sea whilst his family were on the way to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. He is widely regarded as one of the most important scholar of Hadith. His path towards Islamic scholarship began with his father, Sheikh Majd Ad-Din Abu Al-Hasan `Ali Ibn Wahb who was himself a prominent scholar in Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence.

Following the death of Judge Ibn Bint Al-A`azz, Imam Ibn Daqiq was approached to assume the post of Chief Justice in 695 A. H. (1296 AD). Though he was initially hestitant, he finally relented to the request, exposing himself to influential individuals within Egypt. Under his leadership, he maintained the need for Islamic law to be applied scrupulously and fairly.

Ibn Daqiq al-`Id.RA:The Mujaddid of 7thCentury Hijra [702AH]: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Daqiq al-`Id, known in his his youth as Abu al-Fath al-Qushayri, later as Ibn Wahb: He is Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Wahab ibn Muti’ al-Qushayri, Abu al-Fatah, Taqiyudin, Popularly known, just like his father and grand father, as Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id. Born in Cairo in 625 where he initialy studied under his father who was a Maliki and then after finishing studeis there went on to Sultan al-‘Ullama ‘Izzu Din ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, who was a Shafi’ and therefore consequently Ibn Daqiq became a Shafi’i. He was known for his impeccable skills in memorizing and his desire to learn more.IT IS RELATED THAT WHEN a copy of Imam Abdul Karim ar- Rafi[ra]’s al-Sharh al-Kabir reached Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id and he left everything but the obligatory prayers in order to study it.He had met IBN TAYMIYYAH,AT THE TIME ,WHEN LATER’S DEVIANT THOUGHTS HAD NOT BECOME OBVIOUS &IS SAID TO HAVE SPOKEN FAVORABLY.

He became known as the Renewer[The MUJADDID] of the seventh Islamic century. He also studied under the great SHADHILI SUFI,Shaykh Ibn `Ata’ Allah al-Isakandari [qs] next to whom he was buried. That day the entire Egyptian army prayed over him.
One of his disciples in HADITH, HAFIZ AD DHAHABI,had quoted Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Daqiq al-`Id.RA’s WARNING to CRITIC OF SUFIS,as,:”Our Shaykh Ibn Wahb [= Ibn Daqiq al-`Id] said – may Allah have mercy on him: `Among the predicaments that mar the discipline of narrator-discreditation are the divergences that take place between the followers of tasawwuf (al-mutasawwifa) and the people of external knowledge (ahl al-`ilm al-zahir); animosity therefore arose between these two groups and necessitated mutual criticism.’

Now this [animosity against Sufis] is a plunge from which none escapes unscathed except one thoroughly knowledgeable with all the evidentiary proofs of the Law. Note that I do not limit such knowledge to the branches [of the Law]. For, concerning many of the states described by the people of truth (al-muhiqqin) among the Sufis, right cannot be told from wrong on the mere basis of knowledge of the branches. One must also possess firm knowledge of the principles of the Law and be able to tell apart the obligatory from the possible, as well as the rationally impossible from the customarily impossible.

It is, indeed, a position fraught with danger! For the critic of a true Sufi (muhiqq al-sufiyya) enters into the hadith: “Whosoever shows enmity to one of My Friends, I shall declare war upon him.”While one that abandons all condemnation for what is clearly wrong in what he hears from some of them, abandons the commanding of good and the forbidding of evil.[Al-Dhahabi, al-Muqiza (p. 88-90).]

Imam Ibn Daqiq al Eid said:

“The statement of the Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, “avoid new fallacies.” Be aware that novelties are divided into two. First: novelties that have no basis in sharia. Such novelties are null and void. Second: novelties that are based on other similar laws. Such novelties are not rejected. Novelties that contradict sunna and lead to misguidance are condemned. But not every novelty is a heresy. God, the Sublime, says, “Whenever novelties of the Qur’an from their Lord are revealed to them, they listen to them while playing.(Al-Anbiya :2)” ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, said, “What a nice novelty this is! (Referring to the tarawih.)”

The Imam also said:

On the other hand, deriving branches from principles that do not go outside the boundary of sunna is not heresy. Examples of this include writing the Holy Qur’an in books, doctrines by good jurisprudents who base their interpretations on the sayings of God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, and books about grammar, arithmetic, commandments, and other scholarly fields that are based on the teachings and commands of God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him. All those are outside the scope of this hadith.

Biografisk not över Imam Sharaf al-Din al-Busiri
Hans fullständiga namn är sheikh Imam Sharaf al-Dîn Abu `Abdallah Muhammad b. Sa`id al-Sanhaji al-Dalasi al-Busiri, må Allah den Upphöjde visa honom barmhärtighet. Han föddes i Egypten år 608 H. och gick bort någon gång mellan år 694-696 H. Hans grav är belägen i ett mausoleum i Alexandrias gamla stadsdel, nära den moské under vilken Imam Abul `Abbas al-Mursi (d. 686 H.) vilar.

Imam al-Busiri var elev till Imam Abul `Abbas al-Mursi, som i sin tur var elev till och företrädare (khalifa) för sufimästaren Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili, må Allah vara nöjd med dem alla. Han var känd som kalligraf och Koranrecitatör, och han innehade olika ämbeten inom det mamlukiska väldet. Han vistades längre perioder i Jerusalem, Mekka och Medina, där Mantelhymnen – Qasidat al-Burda – kom till. Han skrev den efter att ha att han drabbats av en förlamning, i avsikt att genom lovord till Allah’s Sändebud söka förlåtelse och bot:

Jag tjänar honom med lovord, varigenom jag söker tillgift

för en livstids synder i lovdikt och tjänst (åt andra)

säger han i det nionde avsnittet av Qasidat al-Burdah. Men med Mantelhymnen sökte han varken ära, berömmelse eller furstars gunst:

Jag söker inte de världens blomster som skördats

av Zuhayr’s händer för hans eloge till Harim.

Han läste upp den i ensamhet – den var inte avsedd för andra människors öron, utan uteslutande ägnad Allah’s Sändebud, fred och välsignelser vare med honom. Så en natt visade sig Profeten Muhammad för honom och lade sin mantel (burdah) över honom, varefter han reste sig helbrägdagjord. Enligt en berättelse möttes han morgonen därpå av en man som bad honom läsa upp sin qasidah.
“Vilken qasidah?”, frågade imamen. “Jag har skrivit många välkända qasdidor.”
“Jag menar den som slutar på bokstaven mim”, svarade mannen.
Imamen blev förvånad.
“Jag har inte berättat för någon om den. Hur har du fått höra om den?”
Mannen berättade att han i en dröm fått reda på allt som hänt imam al-Busiri, och på så sätt kom Qasidat al-Burdah till eftervärldens kännedom.

Qasidat al-Burdah
Qasidat al-Burdah är den mest kända av Imam al-Busiri’s qasidor – ja man kan nog utan överdrift påstå att den är den mest kända arabiska dikt som skrivits någonsin. Den är spridd i hela den muslimska världen och har översatts till en mängd olika språk. Dess verser smyckar väggarna i moskéer och andra offentliga byggnader. Barn lär sig att sjunga den som små och vuxna reciterar den vid dhikr-möten eller i samband med religiösa festligheter. Om den läses med uppriktighet och adab tjänar den till bot mot sjukdomar och till andligt framsteg. Och vare sig den framförs som litterärt verk eller som andlig sång rör den sina åhörare till förundran och tårar och frammanar mötet med “den bästa av Allah’s skapade varelser” – khairu khalqi Allahi kullihimi – fred och välsignelser vare med honom.

Dess fullständiga titel är “Strålande stjärnor till hyllning av mänsklighetens främste”8. Den består av 160 tudelade versrader som alla slutar på bokstaven mim (därför kallas den ibland även för “Al-Mimiyya”). Dess språk är, trots sin sparsamhet i ord, överflödande i retoriska finesser, som kom att bli stilbildande för många senare generationer. Den är fylld med anspelningar på Koranen och Profeten Muhammads sunna (fred och välsignelser vare med honom), och för den som förmår tränga in dess finare nyanser är den en andlig vägvisare.

Ref: B. Muhammad-Klingman: “Qasida Burda – en presentation av imam al-Busiri’s Mantelhymn”, Minaret 2006

From Kuhin: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya View book | Download | Read chapter [16] online

Links to Qasida al-Burda:

1. text, translation & audio (load audio-archive)
2. manuscripts & calligraphies (load picture archive)

Introdction
The Burda, or the Prophet’s Mantle is a qasida (hymn) composed by the great Sufi Shaykh Imam Sharafuddin Muhammad Al-Busiri Rahmatullahi ‘Alaih who was born in Misr (Egypt) in 608 A.H. (1212 C.E) and died in 695 A.H. (1296 C.E). He was a disciple of Imam Abu’l ‘Abbas al-Mursi Rahmatullahi ‘Alaih who was a Khalifa of Imam Abu’l Hasan ash-Shazili Rahmatullahi ‘Alaih.

He composed the Burda while suffering from a stroke which had paralysed half of his body. After praying to Allah Sub’hanahu wa Ta’ala to heal him, he fell asleep and in his dream recited this qasida to the Holy Prophet Sayyidina wa Mawlana Hadhrat Muhammad Mustafa Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam who touched the paralysed part of his body and threw his mantle (Burda) over him. On arising, he was miraculously cured, the news of which spread far and wide. Hence the qasida came to be called Qasida tu’l Burda and received veneration among all Muslims as a qasida especially approved by the beloved Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam. Its verses are often learned by heart and inscribed on the walls of public buildings. It is congregationally recited in the majalis (spiritual gatherings) of the Zaakireen (those who remember Allah Ta’ala) all over the world. It cures diseases as well as purifies hearts if recited with love and devotion.

More than 90 commentaries have been written on this qasida and it has been translated in Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Berber, Punjabi, English, French and German, among other languages.

The Burda is in 10 parts and has 160 verses all of which end in the Arabic letter Meem, hence it is a “Meemiyya”. The 10 parts of the Burda are about:

1. Love for Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam
2. A warning against the desires of the nafs
3. Praise of the beloved Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam
4. Events occuring on his birth
5. His miracles
6. Praise of the Glorious Qur’an
7. The “Isra” and “Mi’raj” of the noble Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam
8. His battles
9. Repentence, asking forgiveness of Allah Sub’hanahu wa Ta’ala and seeking intercession of the beloved Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam
10. Supplication to Allah Sub’hanahu wa Ta’ala

Ref: Siddiq Osman Noormuhammad, Iqra Islamic Publications

He was `Abd al-Salam ibn Sulayman, known as Ibn Mashish, whose lineage goes back to Sayyiduna Idris, the founder of the city of Fas and descended of Sayyiduna al-Hasan, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllah aleihi wa sallam)…

1. From Damas Cultural Society
2. From Kuhin: Tabaqat Al-Shadhiliyya
3. From dar-sirr.com

He was `Abd al-Salam ibn Sulayman, known as Ibn Mashish, whose lineage goes back to Sayyiduna Idris, the founder of the city of Fas and descended of Sayyiduna al-Hasan, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllah aleihi wa sallam). He was was born around 559 or 563 H. in a village on the `Alam mountain near Titwan, an ancient city in the region of Habt (Ghumara) in northern Maghrib, where one of his forefathers came to settle among the Berbers. He studied the Quran and Maliki law under the Idrisite sharifs of Banu Arus, in addition to prominent Sufi scholars such as Sidi Salem of Qabilat Bani Yusuf and sharif Sidi al-Hajj Ahmed Aqatran Asalani of Qabilat Bani Abraj, near modern Taza. He supported himself by the work of his own hands, tillign the earth. ² For some time he lived for some time in Sabta, teaching Quranic recitation to children. He and waged jihad , fighting with the Almohad army in al-Andalus. ³

His Lineage²
He was `Abd al-Salam b. Sulayman ibn Abi Bakr b. `Ali al-`Alami b. Buharma b. `Isa b. Salam al.-`Arus b. Ahmad Mazwâr b. `Ali Haydara b. Muhammad b. Idris al-Thani b. Idris al-Awwal b. `Abd Allah al-Kamil b. al-Hasan al.Muthanna b. al-Hasan al-Sibt b. `Ali b. Abi Talib and Fatima al-Zhara daughter of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad b. `Abd Allah – salllAllah `aleihi wa sallam.

His Spiritual Path
He took the spiritual sciences from `Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Husayn al-`Attar, a spice merchant from the city of Sabta, who was called “az-Zayyat” or “al-Madani” because he resided in the oil sellers’ quarter of Medina (where his tomb is still found). His first encounter with Sheikh `Abd al-Rahman al-`Attar took place when he was at the age of seven. He was in a state of jadhb (spriritual attraction) when the Sheikh came to him, dsiplaying the signs of the people of Allah, and said to him: “I am your Sheikh”. He fortold him of his rank, his spiritual states, and mentioned each of his maqams one by one. Then he said: “I am your intermediary (wâsita) in every state and maqam”. ¹

The last twenty years of his life Sayyidi Ibn Mashish devoted to worship and contemplation on the heights of Jabal al-`Alam (Flag Mountain), a period which culminated in his encounter with his only disciple, the fellow Idrisite Imam Abul Hasan Shadhili (d. 656 H.)

From him the al-Salat al-Mashishiyya, on which the Wazhifa of Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili is based.

His Passing
He died as a martyr year 622 H., when he Spanish, led by their missionary Ibn Abi Tawajin Laktami, headed to Jabal al-Alam and killed the Shaykh in the very place where he initiated Imam Abul Hassan Shadhili. He was buried on the moutain.

Sources

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Updated 2008, 2010 — Latest update: 2017-05-19
Original page: damas-original.nur.nu

t.b.d.

Upon the death of Sidna al-Imam Moulay Idriss II, he left twelve sons, who were sent throughout Morocco by their grandmother Kanza to proliferate the Idrissi-Hassanid sharifism. One Idrissite imam, however, became through his descendents an important figure in the development of the sharifian paradigm of sainthood. Moulay Ali ‘Haydara, a grandson of Moulay Idriss II, received the bay’a as Imam and ruler of Fez in 221/836. When he failed to designate his infant son Moulay Ahmed Mizwar as his successor before his own death in 234/849, the Idrissite imamate passed into the hands of his cousins, the descendents of Moulay Omar ibn Moulay Idriss II, who lived in the regions of Habt and Ghumara in northern Morocco.

After being passed over for the imamate, Moulay Ahmed Mizwar became disenchanted with politics and devoted himself to a life of worship and asceticism. Sometime before the turn of the tenth century, or just before the Idrissite state became a bone of connection between the Fatimids of Ifriqiya and the Umayyads of Spain, he moved from Fez to northern Morocco and established himself at Hajar an-Nasr (Escarpment of the Eagle), a fortes situated in the Habt region among the Sanhaja Berber tribes of Ahl Sarif, Banu Yusuf, and Sumata. As his nickname, Mizwar (Berber. lion or leader) implies, this great grandson of Moulay Idriss II was adopted as a spiritual leader by the tribes who lived near his mountaintop stronghold. According to local tradition, when the chiefs of these tribes asked Moulay Ahmed Mizwar to delegate a member of his family to join them and favour them with the baraka of the Prophet Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) he chose his son Abdessalam (known locally as “Sidi Sellam”). As a means of honouring the young sharif, who had recently married, the tribesman renamed themselves “Banu Arus” (Sons of the Bridegroom), the appellation by which they are known today. For the next seven generations, the descendents of Sidi Sellam established themselves among the Berbers of Banu Arus while maintaining a reputation for holiness that was based almost exclusively on their Hassanid descent.

Birth and childhood Moulaya Abdus-Salam Ibn Mashish
Around the year 530/1135-6, a child named Sulayman, but later named “Mashish” (Ber. Little Cat”), was born to a sharif of the Bani Arus known as Abu Bakr ibn Ali. Upon reaching maturity, Sulayman Mashish withdrew from the world as an ascetic and built a hermitage that still stands among the ruins of his natal village of Aghyul.

In either 559/1146 or 563/1148, he sired a son named Moulay Abdessalam, who would become the patron saint of Moroccan Sufism. According to sources, Moulay Abdessalam became a Fool of God (Majdoub) at the age of 7, when a man, with righteousness on his face, entered on him to a cave and said: “I am your master who initiate you (amudduka)”.

His life
Mawlana Abu Mohammed Moulay Abdessalam Ibn Mashish lived for sixty-three years, the same lifespan as of the prophet Sidna Mohammed, peace and blessing be upon him. During this period, his career passed through three distinct faces. First, he was a scholar and studied the Quran and Maliki jurisprudence under the Idrissite sharifs of Banu Arus in addition to prominent Sufi-scholars such as Sidi Salem of Qabilat Bani Yusuf and sharif Sidi al-Hajj Ahmed Aqatran Asalani of Qabilat Bani Abraj, near modern Taza. Later, he was a mujahid, a defender of the faith, and lived in Sabta, where he supported himself by teaching Quranic recitation to children and fought with the Almohad army in al-Andalus. Finally, after embracing Sufism, he devoted the last twenty years of his life to worship and contemplation on the heights of Jabal al-Alam (Flag Mountain), a period which culminated in his encounter with his only disciple, the fellow Idrissite and founder of the Shadhiliya Sufi order, Sidi Abul Hassan Shadhili (d. 656/1241). Moulay Abdessalam was martyred in 622/1207 after the Spanish, led by their missionary Ibn Abi Tawajin Laktami, headed to Jabal al-Alam and killed the Shaykh in the very place where he initiated Abul Hassan Shadhili. His tomb on Jabal al-Alam is the first visited shrine in Northern Morocco.

The Mine of Light – معدن الأنوار →
The secrets of the Mashishiyya Prayer – أسرار الصلاة المشيشية
The Virtues of Moulay AbdusSalam Ibn Mashish – مولاي عبد السلام ابن مشيش

The Mashishi Prayer

t.b.d.

From dar-sirr.com³

Photos from Jabal ´Alam: Noor Lesley Petrie

Jabal ´Alam – The well a the foot of the mountain where Sayyiduna Imam Abul Hasan washed before meeting Sayyiduna Ibn Mashish

Biography

t.b.d.
From Kuhin: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya

Ref: Hasan b. Muhmmad al-Kuhan al-Fasi: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya al-Kubra

From ghrib.net

Letters

From ghrib.net and others

From aljounaid.ma

Sayings

From shadiliamashishia

From karkariya
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Mawlana `Abd al-`Aziz al-Dabbagh (d. 1131 H. / 1718 CE)
From Kuhin: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya

He is the perfect Friend of Allah, the succour of superabounding concern, the dazzling Sufi, and the radiant star of gnosis. He is the one endowed with lofty inspirations, resplendent expressions, pure realities, Muhammadan effulgences, lordly secrets and Throne-inspired aspirations. He is the tracer of the signposts of the path after their footprints had become hidden, and the discloser of the signposts of ultimate realities after their lights had become extinguished. He is the noble descendant from the Prophetic lineage boasting laudable ancestral feats, the highborn notable, regaled with two pure lineages, a physical and a spiritual one, two agreeable progenies, in both the visible and the invisible worlds, and two noble friendships with Allah, in the realm of bodies and in the realm of souls and spirits. He is Muhammadi, ‘Alawi, and Hasani. He is the qutb of wayfarers, the carrier of the banner of gnostics, our guide, liege and master Sayyidi `Abd al-‘Aziz, son of our liege and master Mas’ud al-Dabbagh, son of our liege and master Ahmad, son of our liege and master Muhammad, son of our liege and master Muhammad, son of Mawlay Ahmad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman, son of Qasim b. Ahmad b. Muhammad, son of our liege and master Qasim b. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Rahim b. `Abd al-‘Aziz b. Harun b. Funun b. `Alush b. Mandil b. `Abd al-Rahman b. Isa b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. ‘Isa b. Mawlay Idris al-Azhar b. Mawlay Idris I b. ‘Abdullah al-Kamil b. al-Hasan II, son of our master al-Hasan the Grandson, son of our liege and master ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with all of them. [1]

He — may Allah sanctify his secret — was born in Fez. Prior to his birth, Sayyidi Mawlay al-‘Arabi al-Fishtali had bequeathed a trust to his parents, saying to them, ”Abd al-‘Aziz will grow under your care, so give him this trust’, which consisted in a woollen skullcap and a pair of shoes. They thus guarded these items until his noble mother fell pregnant with him. After his mother conceived him and he was born, he grew up under their custody until he attained the age of discretion [sinn al-rushd]. He began fasting from that year, after which Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, inspired his mother to hand him the trust which Mawlay al-Arabi had bequeathed unto him.

He — may Allah sanctify his secret — narrated the episode thus: ‘I took possession of the trust, so I wore the skullcap and the shoes. As a result, an intense heat seized me, until I shed tears, and I realized what Sayyidi al-Arabi was hinting at, coming to understand his allusion, praise to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Since I wore them, a spiritual illumination was granted to me, and Allah cast into my heart expectant longing for sincere slavehood. I then began an irrepressible quest for that slavehood. I heard about none whom people took as a guide but that I went to him and followed his guidance. Eventually, an illumination was perfected for me at the hands of our master al-Khidr who instructed me in the recitation of a regular litany [ wird] by the consecrated lotus tree in the mausoleum of the pious Friend of Allah, ‘Ali b. Hirzihim. I completed what he instructed me to do in three days, whereupon I gathered with the Master of Mankind, on him be the choicest prayers of blessings and peace. After that, I began to see him both awake and during sleep. Prior to this, I kept the company of Sidi ‘Abdullah al-Barnawi, may Allah sanctify his secret. He said to me after my spiritual opening: ‘O ‘Abd al-Aziz, before this day I would fear for you, but today, seeing that Allah has gathered you with His Mercy, may He be Exalted, and with the Master of Existence It, my heart feels safe and my mind is set at rest. I thus entrust you to Allah’s care, Mighty and Majestic is He. Go then to your country and leave me.’

He — may Allah sanctify his secret — said: ‘Among the guides I met was Sidi Muhammad al-Lahwaj, by his locality near Tetouan, Sidi ‘Abdullah al-Bannawi, Sidi Mansur, and Sidi ‘Umar, the caretaker of the orchard. I have inherited the secrets of all of them, praise be to Allah.
Sidi al-Dabbagh — may Allah sanctify his secret — gathered a second time with a group of Allah’s Friends. Among them was Sidi Ahmad b. ‘Abdullah, who was a member of the circle of saints and the assembly [diwan]. By virtue of keeping his company, Allah Most High made Sidi al-Dabbagh become acquainted with the secrets of the Qur’an, so much so that he unlocked its intricacies and fathomed the mysteries of its verses. He also spoke about matters of the unseen, witnessed secrets of the realm of souls and spirits [al-malakut], while its spirit roamed about the arena of the realm of His Names and Attributes [al-jabarut].

One of his saintly miracles — may Allah sanctify his secret — was the impact that his words would have on the hearts of people. One day, a jurist came to him and said, ‘Sayyidi, supplicate Allah on my behalf to remove misgivings [wasawis] from my heart.’ Sidi al-Dabbagh — may Allah sanctify his secret — replied, ‘A misgiving only occurs when one is ignorant of the path. If one, in fact, were to set out for a given city while being unaware of the road leading to it, conflicting thoughts would vie for his attention. One thought would tell him “here is the road”, so he would proceed along it, while another one would push him towards another direction. Because of this, he would be confused and unable to decide where to go. As for the one who knows the road, he is at ease, and his heart is safe from that evil. The path of this world and the Next is Allah, may He be Exalted. Whoever knows that will earn the good of both this world and the Next, and Allah will gift him a pleasant life. As for the one who does not know thus, his state will be the opposite of the former.’ The jurist then said, ‘When I heard this speech, Allah had mercy on me. When, in fact, a person’s thought is directed at having his wish fulfilled from other than Him, Exalted is He, a puller from other than Him will pull him and revert him to Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He.’

His saintly miracles — may Allah sanctify his secret — are innumerable. He is in fact the overflowing sea, the scintillating secret, the talismanic treasure, the unique succour, and the luminary. Indeed, his disciple has made exhaustive mention of his saintly miracles in the Ibriz. The reader who wishes to know more can take a look at it, whereupon he will earn the Mighty King’s solicitude.
He — may Allah sanctify his secret — would say to his disciple Sayyidi Ibn al-Mubarak, ‘O son of al-Mubarak, if Ibrahim al-Dusuqi had lived from his age until our day and age, he would not catch up with your master ‘Abdu’l-Aziz from the morning till now.’

Even though Allah’s Friends have a lofty rank, they are still above what we might comprehend, especially since this knowledge of theirs is not encompassed by thinking and it does not befit the intellect to conceptualize it. Rather, this knowledge of theirs lies beyond the intellect. It has, in fact, been established by the scholars of this discipline that there are stages beyond the intellect, stages beneath which sciences and secrets — being the sciences of the elite — are folded. That being so, it is incumbent on us to surrender their knowledge to them. They have said: ‘Surrender is sanctity (wilaya)’ , meaning by this the lesser sanctity. In the same vein is the poet’s statement:

If you can’t see the crescent, submit
To people who with their eyes have sighted it.

The like of this statement subtracts no worth from the knower of Allah, Sayyidi Ibrahim ad-Dusuqi. The sciences of the like of these people are obscure to us, and which we are unable to fathom. Also, they sometimes speak with the tongue of their spiritual state. Every Friend of Allah has his own peculiar ecstatic utterances and contemplations. You only need to look at the books of the Sufis, our masters, and you will find them replete with these kind of utterances. May Allah benefit us by them and gift us surrender to their deeds and sayings, amin.

The death of our master (Abd al-‘Aziz al-Dabbagh — may Allah sanctify his secret — took place in AH 1131, when he was thirty six years old.

He — may Allah sanctify his secret — was unlettered: unable to read or write. Whoever wishes to know about his noble spiritual state, the peculiarities of his secret and his immense station, should read the Ibriz: His aforesaid student gathered his virtues and superior merits in it, though in truth it is merely a drop from the vast sea of his meritorious qualities.

The mausoleum of our master (Abd al-‘Aziz in the city of Fez, is among the most tremendous and esteemed mausoleums. His shrine in Morocco is like the shrine of the greatest mausoleum in Egypt: people travel thereto from the farthest regions, and Allah’s slaves crowd around it, hoping to reap abundant good there. Lights shine upon his mausoleum. He pays heed to his visitors and supports them with spiritual breezes.
O Allah, gather us among his party, and cause us to die with love for him and love for his followers, amin.

Footnotes:
[1] For his biography, see al-A’lam (4/28), Nashr al-Mathani li Ahl al-Qarn al-Hadi ‘Ashar wa al-Thani by Muhammad b. al-Tayyib Qadiri (2/118), Maktutat Rabat (2/217) and Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyyat al-Kubra by Muhyi al-Din al-Tu`mi (p. 157).

From: Kuhin, Tabaqat Al-Shadhiliyyah Al-Kubra, translated by Ahmad Ali al-Adani as “Biographies of Prominent Shadhilis”

Abū l-Mawāhib al-Shādhilī, Muḥammad b. Zaghdān (820–82/1417–77), was an Egyptian author and Ṣūfī. Born in Tunis, he studied the Malikī school of Islamic law and Islamic sciences at Jāmiʿ al-Zaytūna, the celebrated mosque-university in Tunis. At the age of twenty-two, he settled in Cairo in the vicinity of al-Azhar, where he studied ḥadīth with Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (773–852/1372–1449) and adopted Ṣūfism as a shaykh of the Wafāʾī lineage, which is the Cairene branch of the Shādhiliyya order (ṭarīqa). This ṭarīqa has as eponymous master the Moroccan Abū l-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī …

He is the shaykh of two groups, the springhead of two secrets, and the qutb attached to the Divine Essence. He is the possessor of spiritual allusions and glad tidings, our master Abu Hamid, our liege Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad Abu’l-Mawahib al-Tunusi al-Wafa’i, may his lofty secret be sanctified [1].

He was — may Allah Most High have mercy on him — from the graceful, illustrious members of the spiritually elite, and of the active doers of good among scholars deeply rooted in knowledge. He was — may Allah show mercy to him — gifted the expressiveness of our master ‘Ali Abu’l-Wafa’, who penned divinely inspired lyrical verses [muwashshahat] and books, which were of striking quality. Among his exquisite writings is al-Qanun on the sciences of the spiritual path, the full title of which is Qawanin Hikam al-Ishraq fi Qawa’id ‘ala al-Itlaq [2]. It is a unique work of its kind, and attests to the author’s perfected spiritual experience [dhawq]. He also penned a commentary on Al-Hikam al-´Ata’iyya, wherein he unlocked recondite aspects of its hidden treasures, and an anthology of poetry based on the figurative language of the Sufis.

He — may Allah have mercy on him — lived near the Azhar Mosque. He would hold a solitary retreat by the minaret of its roof, which had been built for him by Sultan al-Ghuri. A state of intoxication would be prevalent in him, whereupon he would come down from his retreat, sauntering and leaning on a side of the Azhar Mosque.

His poems and sayings were sung during mawlids, gatherings and in mosques in the presence of scholars and pious people, who would sway from the sheer delight of their sweetness.

He — may Allah show mercy to him — often dreamt of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . He said: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ donned me in the mantle of Sufism.’ He also said: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in a dream, and he said to me: “Say when retiring to sleep,

‘I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan’
أعذو بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
five times;

‘In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful’
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
five times;

‘O Allah, by the right of Muhammad, show me the face of Muhammad now and in the Hereafter.’
اللَّهُمَّ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ أرَنِي وَجْهَ مُحَمَّدٍ خَالاً وَمآلاً

If you say that when you go to sleep, I will come to you, without staying away from you in the least.” What a fine method this is, bearing a splendid meaning for the one who confirms its truthfulness.’

This formula is one of the most potent supplications for seeing the Prophet A in a dream, yet among the lightest on the tongue, as it does not take long [to make]. Many people, including myself, have put it to the test. I have passed it on to some of my brothers in God — may Allah multiply their number and increase them in their spiritual sustentation — who have tried it according to the said manner and beheld the Prophet ﷺ.

Personally, I added the requirement of being in a state of minor ritual purity [wudu’], and reciting it on the night of Jumu`a (i.e. on Thursday night.) This is because of the virtues transmitted about [this night]. I beheld him ﷺ in the last third of Ramadan, and by God, I saw him put the full moon to shame in beauty. He was wearing a silk dress and lying down on his back. His hair was loose and his middle incisors shone brightly, enveloped by such a powerful light that it almost blinded one. When I saw him, I was engaged in reciting my daily litany [wird], whereupon he summoned me, saying: `Draw close to me.’ When I did, he gave me glad tidings. {That is Allah’s favour which He confers on whoever He wills. Allah is endowed with the immense favour’} [Sura al-Hadid: 21]. O Allah, delight us and our brothers by gazing at Your Face and at his noble face ﷺ, and perpetuate for us our contemplation thereof, 0 Most Merciful, 0 Compassionate.

Sayyidi Abu’l-Mawahib said: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah who said: `You will intercede on behalf of one hundred thousand people.’ I asked, ‘What makes me deserve it, 0 Messenger of Allah’, so he replied: ‘Because you have gifted me the reward of your prayers on me.’

He would say: ‘One day I rushed through my sending of blessings on him ﷺ which numbered one thousand, in order to complete my regular daily litany [wird], so he ﷺ said to me: ‘Do you not know that haste is from the Shaytan?’ He followed that up by saying: ‘Say, “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad” in a slow and measured rhythm.’

He would also say: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said to me: “Your guide Abu Sa’id al-Safuri sends the complete salutation of blessings upon me, and makes abundant recitation of it. Tell him then that when he seals his sending of blessings, he should [also] praise Allah, Mighty and Majestic.’ The “complete salutation of blessings” referred to here is the prayer on the Prophet during the last tashahhud of the prayer. It has virtues, prerogatives and secrets, and has had numerous ahadith come done concerning it through continuous multiple transmissions. We have mentioned the specifities of this prayer and what pertains to its merits in our book Tuhfat al-Salawat, whose complete title is Mi’raj al-Wusul ila Nafahat al-Rasul ﷺ. If you so wish, you could take a look at it and find what is going to delight you, Allah willing.

Sayyidi Abu’l-Mawahib passed away sometime after AH 850, and was buried by the graveyards of the Shadhili masters in the great Qarafa Cemetery [in Cairo], inside a shrine made especially for him and surmounted by a large dome. Every year, a celebration is held in his honour, attended by members of the Shadhili Order, who bring its nights alive by remembrance of Allah and the recitation of the Qur’an. O Allah, nourish us through his spiritual sustentation, amin.

Footnotes:
[1] He is known as Ibn Zaghdan. See his translation in Isma’il Basha al-Baghdadi’s Hadiyyat sl-‘Arifin (6/209) and Idah al-Maknun (4/244), where it is mentioned that he died in All 881.
[2] In Idah al-Maknun Isma`il Basha al-Baghdadi gives its title as Qawanin Hikam al-‘Ishraq ila Kaffat al-Sufiyya fi Jami’ al-‘Afaq.

أبو المواهب الشاذلي : كتاب قوانين حكم الإشق
Same style as al-Hikam. Benefits the murshids and the Awliya

A Poem

His full name was Shihāb al-Dīn A$mad ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Alī al-Khazraji al-Balansi whose noble lineage is traced back to the great companion Sa’ad ibn ‘Ubadā al-’An.arī. He was known by the agnomen Abu’l‘Abbās and by the nickname al-Mursī after the place he was born – Mursia. His grandfather was Qays ibn Sa’ad, the leader of Egypt before our master Imam ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib in 36H. Our master Abu’l ‘Abbās al-Mursī was born in the city of Mursia in Andalusia in the Islamic year 616H [1219 AD]. His father worked there and sent his son to a teacher to study the Majestic Qur’ān and to understand the commands of the religion. Abu’l‘Abbās memorised the entire Quran in one year and went on to study the principles of Jurisprudence, reading and writing. …

He was one of the greatest knowers of Allah. He was the only one to inherit the [complete] knowledge of al-Shadhili, and the most esteemed disciple to have taken the path from him.

Al-Mursi did not bequeath any books, saying: ‘The sciences of this group are sciences of realization, and these sciences are not grasped by the intellects of the commonality among creation.’ His own guide, Abul-Hasan al-Shadhili — may his secret be sanctified — would say: ‘My companions are my books’. He also said:

Al-Shadhili would exhort Zaki al-Din al-Aswani with the words, ‘O Zaki al-Din, you must stick to Abul-Abbas. By Allah, there is no Friend of Allah save that Allah has manifested him to Abul-Abbas. OZaki, Abul-Abbas is the perfected man!’ Ustadh

Abul-Abbas would say about himself: ‘By Allah, the saints and the substitutes [abdal] travel around Mount Qaf² until they meet someone like us. When they meet him, he enriches them.’

He would teach other sciences and say: ‘We have participated in the disciplines of the jurists, yet they have not participated in what we [the Sufis] are engaged in.’

He was the pivot of gnoses and secrets, and their illumining sun. Had you heard his speech you would have said, ‘This is the speech of someone whose homeland is nothing but Allah’s invisible reality. He is more knowledgeable about news of the celestials than the news of the terrestials.’

He would only speak about the Greatest Intellect, the Supreme Name and its four branches, the Names, the Letters, the Circles of Saints, the stations of those endowed with certainty and the possessions of the ones brought near the Throne, the sciences of secrets, the spiritual help of formulas of remembrance, the Day of the Decrees, the matter of self-direction [tadbir], the science of the beginning, the science of volition [mashi’ a], the matter of the divine grasp [qabda] and the men singled out for that, the sciences of segregated devotion [ifrad], and Allah’s acts vis-à-vis His slaves set to occur on the Day of Rising.

He would say: ‘By Allah, were it not for the weakness of intellects, I would inform you of what is going to take place tomorrow by God’s mercy.’

He would grab his beard and say, ‘By Allah, if the people of Iraq and the Levant knew what lay beneath these hairs, they would come crawling to it.’

He would say:
“For forty years I have not been veiled from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ even for the blinking of an eye, and had that occurred I would not have counted myself from the Muslims.”

His worldly abstinence [zuhd] reached such an extent that he spent thirty six years in Alexandria without ever seeing the face of its governor or sending him any message. One day, the governor of the city sought to have a meeting with him, but al-Mursi refused, saying, ‘By Allah, I will meet Allah without seeing him.’ It was as he stated. Rulers and kings would come to visit him, but spiritual contraction [qabd] would seize him and he would not find respite while in their company.

He would say:
“By Allah, nothing unlawful ever entered my stomach.’ If he happened to stretch a hand towards something of dubious lawfulness, sixty of his veins would throb and his fingers would emit a light.”

He was gifted the ability to speak in foreign languages and dialects. He would reside in the Muqassam district in Cairo. Every night he would go to Alexandria, listen to the lesson of Abul-Hasan [al-Shadhili], and then return to Cairo.’³ He would say: ‘Allah caused me to witness the angels prostrating to Adam, peace upon him, so I took my share (of knowledge) from that, and so I have declaimed:

He has — may Allah have mercy on him — many sayings, which have been presented in Lata’if al-Minan. O Allah, sustain us and our dear ones by his spiritual help [madad], and benefit us by his blessings, Amin.

His death — may Allah have mercy on him — took place in AH 686. He was buried in his mosque in Alexandria. His tomb is famous among Egyptians, young and old. Both leaders and paupers seek intercession through him. O Allah, benefit us through him, amin.

Footnotes:

Sheikh Abul ´Abbas Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn `Umar al-Ansari al-Mursi var efterträdare till Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili. Trots att han till det yttre inte liknade sin Sheikh, liknande han honom till sitt sätt och till sitt beteende till den grad att folk inte kunde skilja mellan honom och Imam Abul Hasan.

Sheikh Abul `Abbas al Mursi sade:

“Imam Abul Hasan sade till mig: ‘Abul `Abbas, jag har tagit dig till min lärjunge endast för att du ska bli jag och jag du.’ ” [1/ p. 116]

Hans efterträdare var sedan Ibn `Ata Allah al-Sakandari, som skrivit många kända böcker, t.ex. Al-Hikam (Visdomsord). Han var den förste som dokumenterade sina föregångares liv och uttalanden. Nedan några utdrag ur hans bok Lata’if al-Minan.

Hur Sheikh Abul `Abbas al-Mursi mötte sin Mästare Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili

Shaikh Abu al Abbas berättade för Ibn `Ata Allah, enligt Lata’if al-Minan :
“När jag var i Tunisien, sedan jag kommit från Murcia – jag var då en ung man – hörde jag talas om Sheikh Abul Hasan al-Shadhili. En man sade till mig: ‘Vill du komma med mig för att träffa honom?’ Jag svarade: ‘När jag sökt Allah’s vägledning i denna sak.’ När jag sov den natten, såg jag mig själv i en vision, där jag steg upp mot en bergstopp. När jag nådde toppen såg jag där en man klädd i en grön burnus. Han satt med en man på sin högra sida och en annan på sin vänstra. Jag såg på honom och han sade: ‘Du har funnit denna tids khalifa.’ Jag vaknade, och sedan jag bett morgonbönen kom mannen som bjudit in mig för att besöka Sheikhen och jag gick med honom. När vi kom in för att träffa Sheikhen, fann jag honom till min förundran sittande på samma bänk som jag sett honom på på bergstoppen. Sheikhen sade till mig: ‘Du har funnit denna tids khalifa. vad heter du?’ Jag nämnde mitt namn och min härstamning för honom, och han sade till mig: ‘Du lyftes upp till mig för tio år sedan’.” [1/ p. 97]

Abul `Abbas al-Mursi berättar om hur Allah gav Imam Abul Hasan befäl över havet

Sheikh Abu al Abbas berättade:
“Jag var med Sheiken på `Idhab-sjön. Vi ansattes av hårda vindar och båten hade fått en läcka. Sheikhen sade då:´’Jag såg himlarna öppna och två änglar som steg ned. En av dem sade: “Moses är mer kunnig än al-Khidr,” medan den andres sade “Al-Khird är mer kunnig än Moses,” ytterligare en ängel nedsteg och sade: “Sannerligen, det al-Khidr vet mer än Moses är inte mer än det härågeln känner till av Solomos kunskap då han sade: ‘Jag har fått reda på sådant du inte fått reda på.” ‘ Jag förstod då att Allah skulle föra oss säkert till vårt mål, eftersom Han gett Moses befäl över havet. ” [1/ p. 100]

Sheikh Abul `Abbas berättar [för Sheikh Ibn `Ata Allah, i Lataif al-Minan] :
“Vi var på en resa tillsammans med Sheihen [Abul Hasan] det år han dog. När vi kom till Khanim, sade Sheiken till mig: Jag såg mig själv i en häftig storm på havet. Vinden piskade, vågorna hävde sig, båten sprang läck och vi var nära att dränkas. Jag närmade mig då båtens reling och sade: ´”O hav, om du har befallts att lyssna och lyda mig – all nåd tillhör Allah, den All-Hörande, den All-Vetande. Men om du befallts något annat, så ligger domslutet hos Allah, den Allsmäktige, den Vise ” Jag hörde då havet säga: “Jag lyssnar och jag lyder.” – Sheikhen dog och vi begravde honom i Humaythira i `Idhab-öknen. Efter det begav jag mig på en annan resa. Vi befann oss mitt i en häftig storm, vi var långt ute till havs, Vinden piskade, vågorna hävde sig, båten sprang läck och vi var nära att dränkas. Vid den tiden hade jag glömt Sheikhens ord, men när situationen blev allvarlig mindes jag dem. Jag närmade mig då båtens reling och sade: ´’O hav, om du har befallts att lyssna och lyda Allah’s Vänner – all nåd tillhör Allah, den All-Hörande, den All-Vetande. (Jag sade inte: lyssna och lyda mig, som Sheikhen sagt.) Men om du befallts något annat, så ligger domslutet hos Allah, den Allsmäktige, den Vise.’ Jag hörde då havet säga: ‘Jag lyssnar och jag lyder.’ Havet blev då stilla och den återstående resan var behaglig.” [1/ p. 99]

——–
Referenser & källtexter
[1] Lata’if al-Minan

Şeyh Ebu’l Abbas el-Mursi Hazretleri (-h.686)
Referans: Tabakat el-Şaziliyye el-Kubra, Muhammed bin Kasım el-Kuhin

Tahkik ehlinin imamı, ruhlarını saflaştırmışların kutbu, evliyanın hazinesi, Allah’a yakınlaşmış olanların önde gelenlerindendir. Açık kerametlerin ve apaçık ali marifetin sahibi, muhakkik rehber Şeyh Ebu’l Abbas el-Mursî el-Ensârî eş-Şâzîlî Hazretleri, Allah Teala ondan razı olsun ve bizi onun ilmi ile faydalandırsın, Amin.

O (r.ah) ariflerin büyüklerindendi. Ondan başka Ebu’l Hasan Şazili Hazretleri’nin (r.ah)  ilmini miras alan yoktur. O, Şazili Hazretleri’nden tarikatı alanların en seçkinidir.

Şeyh, herhangi bir kitap kaleme almamıştır. Derdi ki: “Bu taifenin bilgileri tahkik ilmidir ve avam kişilerin akılları bu bilgileri kavrayamaz.” Aynı şekilde şeyhi Ebu’l Hasan Şazili Hazretleri de (kuddise sırruh): “Benim kitaplarım, ashabımdır.” demiştir.

Şazili Hazretleri, Şeyh Ebu’l Abbas el-Mursi hakkında şöyle söylemiştir:

“Gerçekten o Şazili ilminin varisidir

O kutuptur ki onu iyi tanıyın, O biriciktir”

Şazili Hazretleri, Şeyh Zekiyyuddin el-Asvani’ye şöyle öğütlemiştir: “Ey Zekiyuddin, Ebu’l Abbas’a sıkıca yapış. Zira Allah’a yemin olsun, Allah’ın hiçbir velisi yoktur ki, Allah mutlaka onu Ebu’l Abbas’a bildirmesin. Ey Zeki, Ebu’l Abbas kamil bir zâttır.”

Şeyh Ebu’l Abbas Hazretleri kendisi hakkında şöyle derdi: “Allah’a yemin olsun ki, Allah dostları ve abdallar bize benzeyen biri ile karşılaşana dek Kaf Dağı’ndan Kaf Dağı’na yolculuk ederler! Böyle kimse ile karşılaştıklarında, o zat onları manevi hazineleri ile zengin eder.”

Ebu’l Abbas Hazretleri diğer ilimler konusunda da söz sahibi idi ve şöyle derdi: “Bizler fıkıh alimlerine ilimlerinde ortak olduk; fakat onlar bizim ilmimizde bize ortak olamadılar.”

O, marifet ve sırlar ilminin dayanağı ve parlayan güneşiydi. Onun konuşmalarını dinlediğinde: “Bu ilmin vatanı Allah’ın gaybi hakikatinden başka bir şey olamaz. Şeyh, göktekilerin haberlerini, yeryüzündekilerin haberlerinden daha iyi biliyor.” derdin.

Konuştuğu zaman sadece Akl-ı Ekber, İsm-i Azam ve onun dört şubesi, İsimler, Harfler, Evliya Daireleri, yakin sahiplerinin ve arşa yakınlaşanların makamları, sırlar ilmi, zikirlerin manevi yardımı, Hüküm Günü, tedbir mevzusu, başlangıç ilmi, Allah’ın iradesini konu alan ilim, ilahi kabza ve onun ricaline dair mevzular, ifrad ilmi ve kıyamet gününde Allah Teala’nın kullarıyla olacak olan münasebeti hakkında konuşurdu.

Ve şöyle derdi: “Allah’a yemin ederim ki, akıllar zayıf olmamış olsaydı Allah’ın rahmetiyle yarın nelerin olup meydana geleceğini anlatırdım.”

Ebu’l Abbas el-Mursi Hazretleri sakalını tutup şöyle buyururdu: “Allah’a yemin olsun, Irak ve Şam alimleri bu sakalın altında ne olduğunu bilmiş olsalardı yüzüstü sürünerek de olsa yanımıza gelirlerdi.”

Ebu’l Abbas el-Mursi Hazretleri yine şöyle buyurmuşlardır: “Kırk sene boyunca Rasulullah (sallallahu aleyhi ve sellem) ile arama bir an olsun perde girmemiştir. Eğer göz kırpacak kadar Rasulullah’tan ayrılmış olsam, kendimi Müslümanlardan saymazdım.”

Onun zühdü çok ileri bir düzeye ulaşmıştı, öyle ki otuz altı sene İskenderiye’de yaşadığı halde bir kere olsun şehrin valisinin yüzünü görmedi ve hiç kimseyi de ona göndermedi. Bir gün vali onunla buluşmak istemişti fakat o bunu geri çevirdi. Ve şöyle demişti: “Allah’a yemin olsun onu görmeden Allah ile buluşacağım.” Bu onun makamıydı. Emir ve sultanlar ona ziyaret maksadıyla gelirlerdi ancak onu bir kabz hali bürür ve onların aralarında genişlik bulamazdı.

Şeyh Hazretleri şöyle söylerdi: “Allah’a yemin olsun ki mideme hiç haram lokma girmedi.” Şüpheli bir şeye elini uzatacak olsa altmış damarı titreyip hareket eder ve parmaklarının arasından ışık parıldardı.

Kendisine pek çok farklı dilde konuşma becerisi verilmişti. Kahire’de Mukassem bölgesinde oturuyordu. Her gece İskenderiye’ye gelir, hocası Şeyh Ebu’l Hasan’ın dersini dinler sonra Kahire’ye geri dönerdi.

Şeyh şöyle demiştir: “Allah bana Hz. Adem (a.s)’e secde eden melekleri müşahede ettirdi. Ben de o (ilimden) payıma düşeni aldım. Bir de baktım ki şu kasideyi okuyorum:

“Suretim eridi, fena halimin sıdkı tamam olduğunda

Semamın güneşi tecelli etti sırlarda

Alemlere indim ve olundu ifşa

Saklanmış olan o Sıfatlarda bendekilerden sonra”

Şeyhin buna benzer birçok sözü “Letâifu’l Minen” adlı eserde yer almaktadır.

Ey Allah’ım, bize ve sevdiklerimize onun mededi ile imdad eyle ve onun bereketi ile bize fayda ver… Amin.

Şeyh Hazretleri Hicri 686 senesinde vefat etmiştir. İskenderiye’deki camisine defnedilmiştir. Makamı Mısır halkı arasında meşhur olmuştur, büyük-küçük herkes onu bilir ve hükümdarı da fakiri de onunla Allah’a tevessül eder.

Allah’ım onun yoluyla bize fayda ver. Amin.

Biographical note from dar-sirr.com
The second most widespread Sufi order in Egypt after the Shadhiliya order, founded by the Moroccan sharifian Shaykh Sidi Abul Hassan Shadhili (d. 656/1241), is that of the Badawiya Brotherhood, founded by another Moroccan, the most popular luminary in Egyptian Sufism, the Rifaite master Sidi Ahmed Badawi al-Fasi. His disciples in Egypt number in hundreds of thousands, and the main religious festival (mawlid) held in his honour each year in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, where he lived and died, attracts more than two million Egyptians. Shaykh Sidi Ahmed Badawi al-Fasi, whose family had emigrated from Fez to the East, spent his youth in Mecca among the bedouin and won a reputation as a daring horseman and courageous knight. While still a young man, he experienced a spiritual transformation, devoting himself to the transformation and to meditation. Sidi Ahmed al-Fasi travelled to southern Iraq, where he received training in the way of the Rifaiya, named after the Hassanid sharif Sidi Ahmed Rifai (d. 678/1236), at the hand of great master Sidi Ahmed ibn Ali Rifai. Sent to Egypt by his master upon the death of the Rifaiya representative in Egypt, Sidi Ahmed al-Fasi settled in Tanta and quickly acquired a large following that ranged from vast numbers of ordinary Egyptians to Mamluk amirs. The Mamluks were the newly empowered slave rulers of Egypt, who were to reign in Cairo and serve as patrons and protectors of one of the most glorious phases of Islamic civilisation for more than four hundred years. The Mamluks almost invariably allied themselves as a ruling establishment to the Sufi orders as institutions out of personal conviction and a quest for legitimacy. Sufism was not simply a popular religious attitude to be supported, but I many cases a spiritual discipline to be persuaded personally. Sidi Ahmed al-Fasi lived in Tanta for forty-one years, during which time he received divine permission (idhn) to establish his own order independent of the Rifaiya. Many miracles have been attributed to him, before and after his death, as a vehicle for God’s grace (fadl), and he is viewed as one who may intercede in heaven for the ordinary believer.

He is the noble scion and inheritor of tremendous feats. He is the axis of the circle of greatest sainthood, the springhead of secrets of the folk of ultimate reality, the shaykh of the two paths, and the supporting pillar of the two groups. He is the supreme saint and the illustrious succour, our liege and master Ahmad b. ‘Ajiba al-Hasani al-Idrisi al-Shadhili al-Fasi. [1]

He was one of the masters of stability, who in the beginning of his affair, received instruction in the sciences of sacred law. He would wear fine clothes and inclined towards the Sufi Path. He scooped the lights of the path and received the secrets of ultimate spiritual reality from his teacher, the unparalleled gem of the Sufis, Sayyidi Muhammad al-Buzaydi. He taught him the covenants, litanies and formulas of remembrance, and said to him, ‘O Ahmad, 0 my, son, the conditions of the spiritual path with us are truthfulness and love.’ Ibn `Ajiba relates that he said to him, ‘O my master, we would love you to write this down on a piece of paper.’ His teacher did this. `So when I was alone’, Ibn ‘Ajiba continues, ‘I looked at the piece of paper and read what was on it, whereupon a spiritual illumination descended upon me at once, and I became one of the folk of ultimate realities and stability.’

He — may Allah be pleased with him and may He please him — reached the station of gnostics by his truthfulness and love. When the doors of illumination were opened for him, he removed his fine clothes that he was previously accustomed to wear. The summoner of lovers called him out, saying, ‘What is this state, Ibn ‘Ajiba?’ Lights were thus poured over him, and he donned a tattered garment and a waistcloth, hanging a rosary [subha] and a scabbard around his neck, as was the custom of the spiritually elite. He began to roam about the markets with his scabbard hung on his neck, wearing his tatters and subha, while loudly crying, ‘Allah, Allah, what strangeness is this?’ If knowledge would have made him dispense with the spiritual state, Ibn ‘Ajiba would not have hung the scabbard.

His state remained unchanged until he attained what was decreed for him. He spoke about the secrets of the beneficiaries of spiritual perfection and bared unusual sciences and wonderful secrets. The people of the Maghrib concurred on the fact that he was one of Allah’s Friends, and sought his blessing by kissing his hand. Delegations paid him visits. His glance — may Allah sanctify his secret — was an elixir. If someone he knew came to him or met with him, he would raise him on to the arena of ‘the good actions of the active doers of good are the evildoings of those brought near to Allah’ [2],until he gained plentiful followers and disciples.

Whoever peruses his commentary on the Hikam (Iqaz al-Himam fi Sharh al-Hikam) will realize his worth and status with his Lord. He authored this commentary on al-Hikam al-Ata’iyya pursuant to an instruction by someone who could not be opposed in his request, namely, the unique exemplar of the Shadhili Order, his teacher who successfully convoyed him to the chain of lights, Sayyidi Muhammad al-Buzaydi. Sayyidi Ibn ‘Ajiba — may his secret be sanctified — said: ‘The bulk of this commentary which I have written down consists in nothing but divine gifts. I would, in fact, write down a given aphorism without knowing how to comment on it. I would then pause in need of Allah’s knowledge to inspire my pen.’

He penned several original works and commentaries. Among them is Qawa`id al-Tashawwuf fi Haqa’iq al-Tasawwuf. He also wrote an exegesis of the apparent and hidden meanings of the Qur’an (al-Bahr al-Madid fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Majid). He — may Allah sanctify his secret — said in its regard: ‘When I wanted to say something about its exegesis or something else, I would exposit some words and then become absent from my self. I would feel as if the words came forth from me involuntarily, as if they were a cloud. As a result, sciences and wisdoms issued forth from me. One day, an elderly man was in our company and heard that, so he remarked, “By Allah, I have attended the gatherings of both scholars and virtuous people, but by Allah, I have never witnessed the like of these jewels and pearls I see coming from Sayyidi Ahmad b. ‘Ajiba.” This was all due to the blessing of keeping the company of our spiritual guides. May Allah reward them splendidly on our behalf!’

In his commentary on the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, {Indeed, Allah and His angels bless the Prophet…} [Sura al-Ahzab: 56], he writes:

As for the prayer on him ﷺ taking the place of a spiritual guide and leading the disciple to the stations of annihilation [fana’] and subsistence [baqa’], until his reality and practice of the sacred law are congruent, this is not the case. This is because the frivolities of the ego, in fact, are not severed except by an exernal issuer of commands and prohibitions and by someone who has knowledge of the machinations and treachery of the ego. The extent of what be attained through prayers on Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, if one cannot get of a guide, is to become annihilated in the Attributes, and attain the station of supreme virtue. Extraordinary events and saintly miracles manifest at the hands of such a person, and he becomes a possessor of spiritual states. If, however, he does reach the station of annihilation, his devotion to the sacred law will be greater than his spiritual reality.

That is what we have experientially tasted and heard from our guides, and this is the path we have seen them resorting to and which we have taken from them. According to this way, they instruct the committed disciple whom they deem eligible for spiritual training to invoke the Supreme Name and become annihilated in it, until all his worlds vanish away. If his annihilation is actualized, and he becomes absent from his self and outward form, they return him to the station of subsistence, at which stage they instruct him to send prayers on the Prophet ﷺ so that his prayers on him ﷺ might be complete: praying upon his ﷺ spirit and secret without any veil, and beholding him at every moment, just as he beholds His Lord.

This is why the beginning of the Shadhili Path is the end of other spiritual paths, and its end is actualization of the truth; so understand.
His books — may Allah sanctify his secret and benefit us by him — outwardly exhibit the effusions of the perfected people of gnosis. He was in fact gifted the capacity to express the secrets of Allah’s people and reached the stations of the knowers of their Lord, until he was deemed to be the qutb of his age and the matchless star thereof.

His words — may Allah sanctify his secret — are of a sublime nature. He unravelled the obscure matters of the Sufis, exposited those aspects of their secrets which were hard to fathom, and uttered things which dazzled intellects.

He — may Allah sanctify his secret — died in the middle of the thirteenth century H. [3] His mausoleum in Morocco is well-known. People turn to Allah through him, seeking the fulfilment of their needs and relief from their griefs. May Allah nourish us by his spiritual sustentation, benefit us through him and make us follow in his footsteps, amin.

Footnotes:
[1] For his biography, see al-Yawaqith al-Thamina, according to which he died around AH 1266, whereas the correct date is Shawwal AH 1224. In Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyyat al-Kubra by Muhyi al-Din al-Tu`mi, he is named as Ahmad b. Muhammad b. al-Mahdi Ibn ‘Ajiba.
[2] Reported by ‘Ali al-Qari in al-Asrar al-Marfu’a, al-Shawkani in al-Fawa’id al-Majmu’a and al-Ajluni in Kashf al-Khafa’.
[3] In Tabaqat al-Shidhiliyyat al-Kubra by Muhyi al-Din al-Tu`mi (p. 41), it is said that he passed away among the Moroccan tribe of Banu Salman, in the house of his guide al-Buzidi, during the latter’s lifetime, in AH 1224, and was buried in Zammij among the Anjariyya tribe.

Source: Muhammad b. Qasim al-Kuhin, Tabaqat Al-Shadhiliyyah Al-Kubra, translated by Ahmad Ali al-Adani as “Biographies of Prominent Shadhilis”

Location Imam Ibn ‘Ajiba is buried in one of his two zawiyyas, located between Tangier and Tetouan, located not far from the road between Tangier and Tetouan, on the way to a modern day town called Melousa, in a village called Az-Zameej.

View of the village, with
the minaret of the zawiya

Zawiya courtyard

Tomb

مكتبة ابن عجيبة الحسني
1- الفتوحات الإلهية في شرح المباحث الأصلية
2- الفهرسة
3- إيقاظ الهمم فى شرح الحكم
4- خلاصة شرح ابن عجيبة على متن الأجرومية في التصوف – عبد القادر الكوهيني
5- شرح صلاة القطب ابن مشيش و رسائل أخرى
6- معراج التشوف إلى حقائق التصوف و يليه كتاب كشف النقاب عن سر لب الألباب
7- الجواهير العجيبة من تآليف سيدي أحمد بن عجيبة – عبد السلام العمراني
8- تقييدان في وحدة الوجود
9- البحر المديد في تفسير القرآن المجيد: https://archive.org/details/ba7r-madid

He is the proof of gnostics, the shaykh of those who have arrived, the imam of instruction, and the mentor of worshippers and ascetics. He is the qutb and ghawth who was endowed with the faculty of disposal in matters, the member of the supreme circle, the imam of imams, and the succour of this Community. He is the great saint and renowned luminary, Sidi Taj ad-Din Abu’l-´Abbas Ahmad b. ´Uqba al-Hadrami al-Yamani al-Wafa’i, may Allah Most High purify his lofty secret.

He conjoined between law and ultimate reality, and was a person of tremendous spiritual unveiling [kashf]. Magnificent wonders and splendid norm-breaking occurances came to pass for him. He was from the folk of the impregnable secret and the ghawth of his age, disposing over all existent.

His birth took place in the land of Hadramawt. He moved to Cairo in Egypt and took it up as his place of residence. He acquired knowledge of the Sufi path and received the lights of ultimate reality from his guide and mentor Sidi Mawlay al-Sharif Abu al-Siyadat Yahya al-Qadiri b. Wafa b. Sayyidi Shihab al-Din Ahmad b. Wafa, the son of the great qutb Sidi Abu’l-Tadani Muhammad Wafa.

Sayyidi Yahya, the noble scion [sharif] was from those regaled with divine bounty in abundance, and enjoyed acceptance by the elite and the commonality, clearly articulating and making plain what lay in the loci of intellection and comprehension. He was endowed with a Muhammadi station. Sayyidi Yahya — may Allah be pleased with him and may He please him — passed away on Wednesday, 8 Rabi’ II 857 H., and was buried next to his brother in the section reserved for his ancestors, our masters Banu al-Wafa. O Allah, benefit us by them and make us actualize the truth by following them submissively.

After Sidi Abu’l-´Abbas had taken the path from his spiritual guide, a mystical illumination was granted to him. As a result, people approached him and sought blessing by sitting in his presence. His followers multiplied and his benefit spread.

He was wont to attend the circles of knowledge of scholars, and they, in turn, attended his, until he became the peerless savant of his age, in knowledge and action, and in Word and spiritual state alike.

What occured to his disciple, Sidi Ahmad Zarruq, is an example of the momentuous events and intuitions that transpired fort he shaykh. It took place when Sidi Ahmad Zarruq arrived from Morocco. Our master Abu’l-‘Abbas said to his students, ‘Let us go to Bulaq [1] to meet your Moroccan brother’, to which they then set out and arrived at marina. There, they saw Ustadh Ahmad Zarruq alighting from the boat he had travelled on, and who then met with our master Abu’l-‘Abbas. He informed the latter of what had occured to him in the company pf ‘Abdullah al-Makki. [2] Our master Abu’l-‘Abbas said to him: ‘What you received from him was fine; there is no harm in that.’ He then took Sidi Ahmad Zarruq with him to Cairo, instructed him in knowledge of Sufi covenants and litanies, and entered him into the solitary retreat [khalwa]. Sidi Ahmad remained therein for a number of days until our master Abu’l-‘Abbas, while sitting in a circle of instruction with his disciples, stretched our his hand and screamed. He then instructed his students, saying, ‘Go to your Moroccan brother, since the blind serpent has caused the solitary retreat to crush down on him.’ (He said this is a reference to ‘Abdullah al-Makki, who was a blind man.) His students hastened to the place our master Zarruq’s retreat, and found the debris [of the building] upon him. They took him out safely from under the building, with nothing harmful befalling him by the permission of Allah Most High. The hand of our master Abu’l-‘Abbas, however, broke in the process. He said to Zarruq, ‘Allah rescued you from this blind bane, and he no longer has any authority ober you.’ Our master ‘Abdullah al-Makki had in fact stretched out his hand to dispose of our master Ahamad Zarruq from the city of Fez, out of his jealous attachment [ghayra] to him, and consequently wrecked the solitary retreat for him. Allah, however, delivered him through the blessing of our liege Abu’l-‘Abbas, and guarded him from his former guide.

Many other saintly miracles and astonishing spiritual unveilings sprung forth from him.

Our master Abu’l-´Abbas al-Hadrami – may Allah be well satisfied with him – died in Cairo sometime after AH 800, and was laid to rest in the greater Shadhili graveyard. O Allah, support us and our dear ones by his spiritual sustentation and benefit us through him and his secrets, amin.

1. From Kuhin: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya View book | Download | Read chapter [31] online

2. From msobieh.com

Book by Imam Ahmad Zarruq: Manaqib al-Hadrami
about his Shaikh, Sayyidi Ahmad b. ‘Uqbah al-Hadrami
Series: السلسلة الزروقية؛ 4.
Publisher: القاهرة: دارة الكرز، 2008
Edition: ط1.
Description: 95ص؛ 24×17سم.
ISBN: 978-977-462-016-4.
Ref: Bookinfo | Darat al-Karaz, Twitter

He is the succour of the elect, the qutb of saints, the great imam, and the illustrious scholar. He is the spiritual guide who trained novices and guided wayfarers to the Presence of the Divine. He is Sidi Sharaf al-Din Abu Sulayman Dawud b. Makhila al-Iskandari al-Shadhili, also known as al-Bakhili. [1]

He was a scholar steeped in knowledge and was among those with far-reaching impact on matters. He had the upper hand when it came to disposal of affairs in creation.

Despite being unlettered, he possessed mastery in both the outward and inward sciences. He authored extraordinary books, elucidating Sufi states, secrets, sciences and stations. They include ‘Uyun al-Haqa’iq and al-Latifat al-Mardiyya fi Sharh al-Du’a’ al-Shadhiliyya. He also wrote a commentary on Imam al-Shadhili’s Hizb al-Barr (also known as Al-Hizb al-Kabir – The Grand Invocation), and Hizb al-Bahr.

At the beginning of his affair, he was a police officer who served at the governor’s residence in Alexandria. Sitting opposite the governor, the shaykh would share a gesture with him so he may infer the accused’s guilt or innocence. If he hinted that the accused was innocent, the governor would acquit him and pardon him, but if he hinted the opposite, the governor would exact retaliation against the accused and treat him accordingly.

He was an ascetic who applied scrupulousness in matters of the din. Saints blossomed in his courtyard the way crops sprout forth from the earth. It should suffice us as an indicator to his virtues that his student was Sidi Muhammad Wafa al-Shadhili. Had nothing else been recorded in his favour, this would have been enough.

He died in Alexandria in about AH 730 [2] His mausoleum attracts visitors. The daily prayers take place in his mosque.

0 Allah, benefit us by love for him, and make us tread his spiritual path, amin.

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Brief Biography

Ibn Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari was born in the middle of the 7th century AH/13th century CE and grew up in Alexandria during the Mamluk era. Although not much is known about his life, he had the best teachers in all branches of traditional sciences and became known as a great master of Islamic law of the Maliki School. His lifetime witnessed the great flourishing of several Sufi brotherhoods, including the Shadhiliyya, the Mawlawiyya, the Chishtiyya and the Ahmadiyya. His father was a student of Imam al-Shadhili, though it is unlikely he ever met him. Initially Ibn Ata’Allah was not so drawn to the Sufi path, preferring to concentrate his energies on jurisprudence. Yet, in spite of his early antipathies, he did become a disciple of Shaykh Abu ‘l-Abbas al-Mursi, (d. 686/1288). As his most important and principal work, the Hikam, attests, he had become a Sufi master in his own right, and was already a shaykh when al-Mursi died. He became the third great master of the Shadhiliyya order, which grew from Morocco and spread throughout North Africa and beyond. With his career as a scholar in Cairo under the Mamluks in full flourish, he died at around 60 years of age in 709 AH/ 1309 CE and was buried there in the Qarafa cemetery.

Biographical sketch of Ibn `Ata Allah al-Sakandari taken from the introduction to Ann Koury Danner’s translation of ‘The Key To Salvation’

Taj ad-Din Abu’l-Fadl Ahmad b.Muhammad b. Abd al-Karim b. Ata’illah as Sakandari, al-Judhami ash-Shadhili, known simply as Ibn Ata’illah as-Sakandari, was born in Alexandria, Egypt, as his family tree (nisbah) indicates, about the middle of the seventh [AH] /thirteenth [CE] century. His family were renowned Maliki scholars from the Banu Judham tribe, originally from Arabia. His grandfather, Abd al-Karim (d. 612 AH/1216 AD) had distinguished himself as an expert in Fiqh, usul (principles of jurisprudence), and Arabic, having studied under the famous Abu’l-Hasan al-Abyari. He had written several books, among which were al-Bayin wa’t-Taqrib fi Sharh at-Tahdhib, Mukhtasar at-Tahdhib, and Mukhtasar al-Mufassal, and had been very hostile to Sufism.

On the other hand, Ibn Ata’illah’s father Muhammad (death date unknown) seems to have been of a different mind and although a Faqih (scholar), he was also the disciple of the great Sufi Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan ash-Shadhili (593-656AH/1197-1258AD), the founder of the Shadhili Sufi order.

As a youth, Ibn Ata’illah received a traditional Islamic education in such disciplines as Qur’anic recitation, Hadith (Prophetic tradition), Tafsir (Qur’anic commentary), grammar, usul, philosophy, belles-lettres, and Fiqh (jurisprudence) under some of the best and most illustrious teachers of Alexandria, in addition no doubt, to the instruction given him by his own family.

Ironically, in spite of his father’s attachment to the Shadhili master Abu’l-Hasan, Ibn Ata’illah was initially rather hostile to Sufism much like his grandfather, as he himself admits in his book Lata’if al-Minan, but not for any definite reason. In fact, what precipitated his meeting with Shaykh Abu’l-Abbas al-Mursi, the successor of Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan was an argument with one of al-Mursi’s disciples. Consequently, Ibn Ata’illah decided to see for himself who this man was after all, ‘a man of Truth has certain signs that cannot be hidden’. He found him holding forth on such lofty spiritual matters that he was dazzled. Ibn Ata’illah states that at that moment GOD removed whatever objections he previously had. Something had obviously touched his heart and mind, so he went home to be alone and reflect.

That was apparently the turning point for him, for shortly thereafter Ibn Ata’illah returned to visit Shaykh Abu’l-Abbas al-Mursi who received him so warmly that he was embarrassed and humbled. Ibn Ata’illah states, ‘The first thing that I said to him was “O Master, by GOD, I love you”. Then he answered, “May GOD love you as you love me”. Then Ibn Ata’illah told him of various worries and sadness he had, so the Shaykh told him: There are four states of the servant, not five: blessings, trials, obedience, and disobedience. If you are blessed, then what GOD requires of you is thankfulness. If you are tried, then what GOD requires of you is patience. If you are obedient, then what GOD requires of you is the witnessing of His blessings upon you. If you are disobedient, then what GOD requires of you is asking forgiveness.

After leaving Shaykh al-Mursi, he mentions that he felt that his worries and his sadness were like a garment that had been removed. From that time in 674 AH/ 1276 AD when Ibn Ata’illah was initiated into the Shadhili order until the death of Shaykh al-Mursi twelve years later, he became his devoted disciple and says that in all those years he never heard his Shaykh say anything that contradicted the Shari’a.

What spiritual fruits he must have received cannot be known, but his development into a Sufi master capable of guiding and teaching others took place within the lifetime of his Shaykh, i.e., well within e twelve-year period before 686 AH/1288 AD. His discipline and progress in the path coupled with his great learning made him renowned as a religious authority.

Ibn Ata’illah’s virtue, majestic presence, eloquence, and spiritual insights were such that he had many followers. He even performed miracles, some of which have been recorded, such as speaking from his grave to one Kamal ad-Din b. al-Hamam who had gone to the Shaykh’s tomb to recite Surat Hud. As a result, Ibn al-Hamam was counselled to be buried there. Another miracle attributed to Shaykh Ibn Ata’illah is his having been seen in Mecca at three different places by one of his disciples who had gone on Pilgrimage. When the latter returned, he asked if the Shaykh had left the country in his absence and was told no. Then he went to see him and Ibn Ata’illah asked him, ‘Whom did you see on this trip of yours?’ The disciple answered, ‘O Master, I saw you’. So he smiled and said, ‘The realized sage fills the universe. If he summoned the Qutb (Spiritual Pole), verily he would answer.’

Still another miracle recorded is the story of three men on their way to attend Shaykh Ibn Ata’illah’s public lecture (majlis). One said, ‘If I were free from the family, I would become an ascetic’; the second one said, ‘I pray and fast but I do not see a speck of benefit’; and the third said, ‘Indeed, my prayers do not please me so how can they please my Lord?’ After arriving, they heard Ibn Ata’illah discourse and in their presence he said, ‘There are among people those who say…’ and he repeated their words exactly.

Ibn Ata’illah taught at both the al-Azhar Mosque and the Mansuriyyah Madrasah in Cairo as well as privately to his disciples. However, it is not known where his Zawiyah was located.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah died at around sixty years of age in the middle of Jumada II 709 AH/November 1309 AD. As befitting an eminent and learned teacher, he died in the Mansuriyyah Madrasah. His funeral procession was witnessed by hundreds of people and he was buried in the Qarafah Cemetery in Cairo in what is today called the City of the Dead, at the foot of Jabal al-Muqattam. His tomb became famous as the site of homage, visitation, prayer, and miraculous occurrences. To this day this is still the case.

This pious and extraordinary contemplative figure left behind a spiritual legacy no less impressive than those of his own beloved Shaykh, and the eminent founder Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan ash-Shadhili. All the biographers refer to Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah with illustrious titles and reverence and mention how marvellously he spoke and how uplifting his words were. In spite of the fact that he followed the Maliki madhbab, the Shafi’is laid claim to him, most probably because some of his earlier teachers had been Shafi’i scholars, not to mention some of his students.

Hence, his disciples could only be all the more devoted in their attachment to and love for him. Of the untold numbers of followers that Shaykh Ibn Ata’ Allah had, both in Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere, only very few names are known. That is, doubtless, due to the fact that the Shadhilis did not advocate withdrawing from the world or wearing special clothing to distinguish themselves. They were ‘in the world but not of the world’, so to speak.

● Al-Hikam – The Aphorisms – الحكم العطائية على لسان أهل الطريقة – on this site

● Lata’if al-Minan – لطائف المنن – on this site
Lata’if fi manaqib Abi al-`Abbas al-Mursi wa shaykhihi Abi al-Hasan (translated as “The subtle blessings in the saintly lives of Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi and his master Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili”)

● Kitab al-Tanwir – on this site

● Taj al-‘Arus – تاج العروس – Arabic – on this site
Taj al-`arus al-hawi li tadhhib al-nufus (“The bride’s crown containing the discipline of souls”)

● Miftah al-Falah – مفتاح الفلاح – The key to success – on this site

● Al Qasd al-Mujarrad – القصد المجرد في الاسم المفرد – Arabic Maktaba Madbuli
Al-Qasd al-mujarrad fi ma`rifat al-ism al-mufrad (“The pure goal concerning knowledge of the Unique Name”)

● ‘Unwan al-Tawfiq – عنوان التوفيق في آداب الطريق – Arabic View PDF
`Unwan al-tawfiq fi adab al-tariq (“The sign of success concerning the discipline of the path”)

● and many others.

1. From Kuhin: Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya Read chapter [15] online

His lineage
Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ya`qoubi (d. 1985/1406 H.) descends from a scholarly family whose lineage goes back to the Prophet, salla Allahu ‘alayhi sallam, through his grandson Sayyiduna al-Hasan, radiya Allahu ‘anhu. His lineage goes back to Mawlay Idris al-Anwar who built the city of Fes. Mawlay Idris’ lineage is as follows: he is the son of Mawlay Idris the Great; who is the son of Sayyiduna Abdullah al-Kamil; who is the son of Sayyiduna al-Hasan, the Second; who is the son of Sayyiduna al-Hasan, radiya Allah ‘anhu; who is the grandson of the Prophet, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Early Life and Seeking of Knowledge
Sh. Ibrahim was born in Damascus on the night of Eid al-Adha in the year 1343 Hijri and was raised under the supervision of his father who taught him whilst he was still young the fundamentals of Aqidah and the Quran in the recitation of Warsh.

He began the study of various sciences firstly in the ‘Maktab’ of Sh. Mustafa al-Jazairi, then he was moved after some months by his father to the ‘Maktab’ of Sh. Muhammad Ali al-Hijazi al-Kaylani where he remained for around six years the duration of which he memorized most of the Quran.

He studied with the spiritual guide Sh. Muhammad al-Hashimi, the Sheikh of the Shadhili order, who resided nearby to the home of Sh. Ibrahims father. Sh. Ibrahim would accompany Sh. al-Hashimi to the Jami al-Baridi, Jami Nur al-Dinal-Shahid and the Madrassa al-Shamiyah wherein would take place circles of dhikr and learning. He memorized with him during this time ‘Nadhm Aqidah Ahl al-Sunnah’ and a portion of ‘Diwan al-Mustaghnami’. He studied with him the ‘Sharh al-Risalah’ of al-Sharnubi and al-Zarqani, and ‘Bulghah al-Salik’ in Maliki fiqh, ‘Sharh Nadhm Aqidah Ahl al-Sunnah’, ‘Miftah al-Jannah’ and ‘Risalah al-Qushayriyyah’ which took place at private lessons in his home.

He studied with him in the Umayyad mosque and other places the commentary of ‘Ibn Ashir’
by Sh. Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Kafi called ‘Al-Murshid al-Mueen’, ‘Tafsir Ibn Ajibah’, ‘Sharh al-Hikam’ of Ibn Ajibah, ‘Sharh al-Bayquniyyah’ of al-Zarqani, ‘Awarif al-Maarif’ of al-Suhrawardi, ‘Nawadir al-Usul’, ‘Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah’, ‘Al-Hikam al-Ataiyah’ and the two Sahihs.

He was granted a general ijazah by him on the 24th of Shawwal 1379 Hijri in the rational and transmitted sciences, aswell as the litanies of the Shadhili order.

He attended with his father whilst young the lessons of the Muhaddith Sh. Muhammad Badr al-Din al-Hasani, aswell as regularly visiting and benefitting from the lessons of his uncle Sh. Muhammad al-Sharif al-Yaqubi, whose public lessons he attended in the prayer niche (mihrab) of the Maliki’s in the Umayyad mosque and his home.

He also studied with his uncle Sh. Muhammad al-Arabi al-Yaqubi in the prayer niche of the Malikis in the Umayyad mosque.

He studied the fourth volume of the work ‘Al-Durus al-Nahwiyah’ of Hisni Nasif with Sh. Muhammad Ali al-Qattan and kept the company of Sh. Hussein al-Baghjati from whom he benefitted from in the sciences of calligraphy, recitation (tajwid) and Prophetic biography (sirah).

He attended during this period of time the public lessons which would take place in the Sinaniyyah mosque by Sh. Ali al-Daqr, Sh. Hashim al-Khatib, Sh. Muhammad Shakir al-Misri better known as al-Himsi, Sh. Abd al-Majid al-Tarabishi with whom he studied ‘Multaqa al Abhur’ and ‘Maraqi al-Falah’. He studied with Sh. Abd al-Hamid al-Qabuni ‘Hidayah al-Mustafid’ and the text of ‘Ghayah wa al-Taqrib’.

He also studied with Sh. Abd al-Qadir al-Iskandari and Sh. Muhammad Barakat.

His father Sh. Ismail was his first spiritual guide and the most important of his teachers during his life. He took from the Shadhili path and benefitted from his instructions and training. He likewise took from him the Qadiri and Khalwati orders aswell, and was authorised in a number of them by him.

He benefitted from the lessons of Sh. Muhammad al-Makki al-Kattani, he studied with him in his home. He read with him the ‘Al-Arbain al-Ajluniyyah’, the ‘Sharh al-Bukhari’ of al-Qastallani, ‘Lataif al-Minan’ and ‘Ruh al-Quds’. He took from him the Shadhili Qadiri path. He also narrated from him the pattern chained narrations (musalsal) of mercy (rahmah), interlacing fingers, shaking hands and the hadith of Muadh Ibn Jabal. He was granted a lengthy ijazah by him in his handwriting in on the 24th of Shaban 1378.

He took from Sh. Muhammad al-Arabi al-Azuzi in Damascus when he came from Beirut, and
hosted him a number of times. He read with him the ‘Al-Arabin al-Ajluniyyah’ in one sitting, a number of treatise on some sciences of tasawwuf and was granted a general ijazah by him dated the 8th of Shawwal 1381.

He attended the lessons of Sh. Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Yallas al-Tilmisani at his home. He read with him ‘Subul al-Salam Sharh Bulugh al-Maram’, ‘Sharh al-Hikam’ of Ibn Ajibah, ‘Taysir al-Wusul ila Jami al-Usul’, ‘Hashiyah al-Arusi ala Sharh al-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah, ‘Sunan Ibn Majah’, ‘Idah al-Maqsud fi Mana Wahdah al-Wujud’ of Sh. Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi. He likewise attended the lessons which would take place in peoples homes in which he read ‘Dalil al-Falihin’ and ‘Al-Futuhat al-Rabbaniyyah’. He attended in his Zawiyah al-Samadiyah many of his circles of dhikr, and studied the ‘Hashiyah al-Bajuri’ on the Shamail of al-Tirmidhi and ‘Ghaliyah al-Mawaiz’. From him he took the Shadhili way and was granted an ijazah verbally.

He studied with Sh. Muhammad Salih al-Farfur ‘Tafsir al-Nasafi’ from the beginning up to Yasin. ‘Sharh Ibn Aqil’ on the Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik, ‘Sharh al-Manar’ of Ibn Malik, ‘Sharh al-Sirajiyyah’, ‘Jawahir al-Balaghah’, ‘Asrar al-Balaghah’, ‘Al-Kamil’ of al-Mubrad, ‘Tadrib al-Rawi’, ‘Risalah al-Qushayriyyah’ and attended his morning lessons on the ‘Hashiyah Ibn Abidin’, ‘Sahih al-Tirmidhi’, ‘Al-Minan al-Kubra’, ‘Sharh al-Hikam’ of Ibn Ajibah, ‘Al-Yawaqit wal-Jawahir’ and around 8 volumes from ‘Umdah al-Qari’ of al-Aini. In addition he attended his evening lessons on ‘Sharh al-Qutb al-Razi ala al-Shamsiyyah’ on logic (mantiq) by Najm al-Din al-Katibi, ‘Hashiyah al-Adawi ala Khulasah al-Hisab’ of al-Amili, ‘Hashiyah al-Bajuri ala al-Jawharah’ a number of times, ‘Sharh al-Musayarah’ of Ibn Abi Sharif. He attended after after the Asr prayer in his home the ‘Tafsir al-Kashaf’ of al-Zamakhshari and ‘Dalail al-Ijaz’ and was granted a written ijazah by him.

He studied with Sh. Abd al-Wahab al-Hafidh better known as Dibs Wazit the text ‘Multaqa al-Abhur’ in the Umayyad mosque, and attended his public lessons in the month of Ramadan. He sought an ijazah from him and was authorised with one verbally a number of times and promised a written one, but passed away before he could write it. Sh. Abd al-Wahab would say: If you wish to ask regarding a ruling in the hanafi madhab and do not find me, then ask Sh. Ibrahim al-Yaqubi in the prayer niche (mihrab) of the Malikis in the Jami al-Umawi’.

He visited Sh. Ahmad al-Harun a number of times, was given ijazah in his specific litanies.

He attended some of Sh. Muhammad Saeed al-Burhani’s lessons in the Umayyad mosque for the books ‘Al-Minan al-Kubra’ and ‘Al-Warif wal Maarif’ and took the the Shadhili path from him, and there was between both of them a close relationship.

He attended some of Sh. Muhammad Abi al-Khair al-Maydanis lessons in Dar al-Hadith for the book ‘Sharh al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah’ of al-Zarqani, and heard from him the hadith of mercy, and took the Naqshbandi path from him. He read to him the beginning of ‘Al-Jami al-Saghir’ of al-Suyuti and was given a general ijazah by him and was promised a written one.

He studied with Sh. Nuh al-Albani at him home the ‘Risalah al-Sibt al-Mardini fi Amal bi al-Rub al-Mujib’.

He read to the Quran recitor Sh. Muhammad Sadiq Alwan the whole Quran, and read the ‘Sharh al-Jazariyyah’ and ‘Manar al-Huda’ of al-Ashmuni to him.

He studied with Sh. Muhammad Abi Yusr Abidin in a private gathering some of the treatise of Ibn Abidin and who said: My successor in fiqh and usul is Sh. Ibrahim al-Yaqubi.

He obtained numerous ijazahs other than the ones mentioned, amongst them being the ijazah from Sh. Abd al-Karim al-Saqli, Sh. Zayn al-Abidin al-Tunisi and Sh. Ali al-Boudilimi.

Memory
He memorized a large number of texts, their sum total exceeding 25,000 lines of poetry. He would cite much of them during his lessons, such as the ‘Al-Kafiyah al-Shafiyah’ of Ibn Malik and his ‘Al-Alfiyyah’. Likewise ‘Ghayah al-Maani’ of al-Baytushi, ‘Nadhm Mughni al-Labib’, ‘Lamiyah al-Afal’, ‘Muthalathath Qatrab’, ‘Nadhm Mukhtasar al-Manar’, Al-Kawakabiyah’ in Usul, ‘Maunah al-Rahman’ in Hanafi fiqh, ‘Matn Ibn Ashir’, ‘Tuhfah al-Hukkam’ better known as ‘Al-Asimiyyah’ in Maliki fiqh.

He memorized ‘Matn al-Zubad’, ‘Nadhm Matn Ghayah wal-Taqrib’ in Shafi fiqh.

He memorized ‘Al-Jawharah’, ‘Al-Shaybaniyyah’ and ‘Bad al-Amali’ in Tawhid.

In hadith terminology he memorized ‘Al-Bayquniyyah’, ‘Nadhm Nukhbah al-Fikr’ and close to half of al-Iraqi’s ‘Al-Alfiyyah’.

In Balaghah he memorized ‘Al-Jawhar al-Maknun’ of al-Akhdari and in logic (mantiq) ‘Al-Sullam’, ‘Nadhm al-Shamsiyah’ and ‘Nadh Adaab al-Bahth’ of al-Marsafi.

In inhertiance law he memorized ‘Al-Rahabiyyah’ and ‘Lamiyyah al-Jabari’, and in recitation (tajwid) ‘Al-Jazariyyah’ and ‘Tuhfah al-Atfal’.

In literature he memorized the ‘Diwan al-Hamasah’ and portions of ‘Al-Mufadalliyat’, ‘Al-Muallaqat al-Ashr’ and many of the well known odes (qasaid).

From the texts written as prose he memorized ‘Al-Risalah’and ‘Matn al-Khalil’ in Maliki fiqh. In grammar ‘Qatar al-Nada’ and ‘Shudhur al-Dhahab’. Likewise ‘Al-Sanusiyyah’, ‘Matn Nur al-Idah’, ‘Al-Manar’, ‘Aqidah al-Sheikh Arsalan’ and ‘Al-Hikam al-Ataiyyah’.

Teaching

He began teaching before reaching the age of 20 in the Jami al-Sinan Pasha. And was appointed as a teacher in the Jami Darwish Pasha in the year 1376 Hijri. Before this in 1373 he was appointed Imam in Jami al-Zaytuna and then the Jami al-Baridi and then the Umayyad mosque in the prayer niche (mihrab) of the Malikis and then the Hanafis, until the year 1390 Hijri.

He was appointed a teacher linked to the fatwa administration in the year 1378 Hijri.

He taught in the Jami al-Uthman, Shariah Secondary school, Mahad Fath al-Islami, Mahad Isaf Tullab Ulum al-Shariyyah, Madrassa al-Ghazali lil Ahdath and Madrassa Sijn Qilah Dimashq.

He performed the obligatory Hajj in the year 1392 via the land route, and this was his only Hajj.

Knowlede

Sh. Ibrahim al-Yaqubi was an expert in a number of the Islamic sciences, and firmly grounded in both the Hanafi and Maliki schools, both of which he taught. It is said that he had memorized the ‘Hashiyah Ibn Abidin’.

His lessons on Usul where those of a Mujtahid due to his vast knowledge the principles of the madhahib and their evidences. He taught ‘Al-Talwih’ a number of times, and ‘Hawashi al-Mirat’ in Usul, also ‘Al-Muwafiqat’ of al-Shatibi a number fo times and the ‘Mustasfa’ of al-Ghazali amongst other works.

His expertise in the Arabic language was evident from his teaching of ‘Mughni al-Labib’ of Ibn Hisham a number of times, likewise ‘Sharh al-Rida ala al-Kafiyah’ of Ibn al-Hajib and the commentaries of ‘Al-Alfiyah and the ‘Kitab al-Sibaway’.
.
Sh. Ibrahim also taught logic and philosophy, he taught ‘Shuruh al-Shamsiyah’, ‘Sharh al-Tahdhib’, ‘Al-Basair al-Nasiriyah’, ‘Sharh al-Maqawulat’, ‘Sharh al-Isharat’ of al-Tusi, ‘Shuruh al-Sullam’ of al-Isaghawji.

Personal Traits
He possessed an illuminating face which attracted people towards him. The humility of the scholars was evident on him, he was softly spoken and would not distinguish himself from others. He would pay his full attention to those who visited him, they would enjoy his conversation and he would not tire of them nor their questions. He would answer them clearly and in detail in the manner of a precise learned scholar. Despite this he loved solitude, he said: If it was not for knowledge and seeking it I would not have met any of the people’. Also saying that the most beloved moments to him were in a lesson where he would taste the enjoyment of the knowledge and time spent in the rememberance of Allah.

He did not seek fame nor did desire to gain it, and did not teach for worldly gain. If he taught and gave a sermon would do so seeking the pleasure of is Lord. He lived a life full of modesty and suffered hardship as he had made it all an endowment to knowledge and serving others.

He bore with patience the personal difficulties he experienced and was content with that which Allah had apportioned for him. One of his young sons died on the morning of a lesson which had been arranged in his home. He welcomed the students, taught them the lesson from ‘Al-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah’ as was his habit and treated them as a guest should be treated. When he finished the lesson he informed them of the death of his son.

He would make much rememberance of Allah in solitude and would busy himself in spiritual retreats. He would guide and train those around him with his state and actions. To him real tasawwuf was not empty words and hollow zikr, therefore he would say: Tasawwuf is acting on knowledge, Tasawwuf is good character (akhlaq), whomsoever surpasses you in akhlaq has surpassed you in tasawwuf…

He would speak for a number of hours in a clear precise manner. His way of explaining was such that he would take the most complex of issues and would present them in way which they were clearly understood, this is why his lessons were beloved to people.

He kept up to date with current schools of thought and matters which were of concern to those in the Muslim world. He would not discuss any school of thought without first studying it. He studied the Torah and Bible, the discussions and books authored in critique of other religions. He would keep up to date with the publishing of new books and new ideas.

His teachers with whom he studied honoured, loved and respected him. And would ask his view on difficult matters.

Passing Away
Sh. Ibrahim had informed his family of his death 6 months before his passing away, and he then informed them again 3 days before his death that he would be meeting his Lord on the night before the day of Jumah. He instructed them to pray over him on the Asr of Friday and asked to be buried next to his mother, and that they not do anything against the sunnah nor anything unlawful during the preparation and performance of his funeral and burial. He also asked his debts to be paid and the trusts left with him to be returned to their owners.

Sh. Ibrahim al-Yaqubi passed away on the night before the day of Jumah on the 26th of Rabi al-Awwal in the year 1406 Hijri. His eldest son Sh. Muhammad Abu al-Huda lead his funeral prayer in the grand Umayyad mosque. A large funeral procession followed respectfully to the cemetery of Bab al-Saghir where he was lowered in to his grave by his student Dr Muhammad Abd al-Latif Farfur.

A few weeks after his passing away a gathering was held in rememberance of him in the Jami al-Uthman in Damascus which was attended by numerous people of knowledge from cities all over Syria.

May Allah (the Exalted) have mercy on Sh. Ibrahim al-Yaqubi, all the scholars mentioned in this article, Sh. Ibrahims students and all of the Muslims.

_____________________________

Adapted from ‘Nathar al-Jawahir wal-Durar’
Reproduced by Courtesy of Dar al-Hadith blog
See also thefinalbrick.blogspot

What the `ulama said about Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ya`qubiqaddasa Allah sirrahu
Extracted from:
Biography written by `Ali ibn Muhamad Amin Qasibati at Ma`had al-Fath, 2004

His teacher Sheikh Muhammad `Arabi al-`Azuzi, Chief of Fatwa in Libanon, used to write letters to him, in which he addressed him wordings such as:

and:

Sheikh Muhammad al-Hashimi referred to him in his ijaza to him as:

His teacher Sheikh Abul Yusr `Abidin said:

Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhab al-Hafizh (known as “Dibs wa Zayt”, and “The younger Abu Hanifa”) said about him:

Sheikh Adib al-Kilas said about him:

Sheikh Ahmad Samadiyya said about him:

Sheikh al-Fatih al-Kettani said about him:

Sheikh Sabhi al-`Aduli said about him:

Sheikh `Abd al-Wakil al-Jakhdar said about him:

Notes:
[1] – Ref: bmk notes on Qawa`id al-tasawwuf, Damascus 2005

He left behind a number of treatise on the sciences of: Balaghah, al-urud, al-Wad’, Ilghaz and Usul al-Fiqh. He also has notes on a number of works.

Critical Editions
He edited a number of manuscripts, amongst them being:

-Qawaid al-Tasawwuf of Sh. Ahmad Zarruq
-Al-Hikam al-Ataiyyah which was published fpr the first time in in 1384
-Al-Anwar fi Shamail al-Nabi al-Mukhtar of al-Baghawi
-Al-Muntakhab fi Usul al-Madhab by al-Akhsekti
-Badi al-Nadham fi Usul al-Fiqh of Ibn Saati (not complete)
-Hadiyyah Ibn Imad fi Ahkam al-Salah
-Al-Haiyah al-Sanniyah fo al-Haiyyah al-Sunniyah of al-Suyuti
-Al-Fath al-Rahmani fi Fatawa al-Sayyid Thabit Abi al-Maani (second volume).

t.b.d.
 

From sama3ro7i.wordpress.com

Upbringing and studies
He grew up under his father’s tutalage. Together with him he came to Damascus year 1263, in the first of a series of emmigration waves caused by the French colonial war. This was a group of about five hundred families, lead by his maternal grandfather Sheikh Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Saklawi.

As a young boy, he memorzied the Holy Quran perfectly, and learnt calligraphic hand-writing. In 1269, his father, Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib al-Kabir – rahimahu Allah – passed away, and Sheikh al-Saklawi, took him under his wing and raised him in the Khalwati tariqa.

He  learnt many sciences and skills under Sheikh al-Tantawi and other Maliki scholars, who gave him general ijaza. He also studied the religious sciences under many other Shuyukh – maybe the most famous of them was al-Sheikh al-Amir `Abd al-Qadir al Jaza’iri, from whom he took Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya of al-Sheikh al-Akbar, and other books on tasawwuf. [Al-Amir `Abd al-Qadir settled in Damascus in 1272. He met Sheikh Muhammad al-Fasi in Makka year 1279, and took the the Shadhili tariqa from him.]

Taking the Shadhili Path
When Sheikh Muhammad al-Fasi came to Damascus in 1282, Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib took the Shadhili tariqa from him. He devoted himself to it for a long time, after which he was given permission from Sheikh Muhamamd al-Fasi to deliver admonition and guidance to others.

In 1287, he was sent with al-Amir Sheikh `Abd Al-Qadir, together with Sheikh Muhammad al-Tantawi and some other people, to the city of Konya in Turkey, in order to compare with their copy of “Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya” with a hand-writing of its author that existed there. The two Sheikhs recited the entire book twice, and then returned and recited it again to al-Amir `Abd Al-Qadir.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib excelled in intelligence, good memory and fluency of the tongue. He was agreeable in his way of dealing with people, mild-tempered, abstaining from worldly things, content with litle and very generous. He was respected an accepted, and he understood the language of common people. His meetings attracted many lovers, he was always enquiring about the brothers, and encouraging them to marry. For some time, he earned his living as a book binder, until he received the permission of Sheikh Muhammad al-Fasi to devote himself to spreading the Path. Through him, the tariqa was spread and the adhkar where established, and many wayfarers entered this Path.

His main center was in the Khaydariyya zawiya, where the adhkar were regularly recited and hadras performed. After the passing of Sheikh al-Mahdi al-Saklawi – his grandfather, Sheikh and tutor, rahimahu Allah – in 1278, Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib took his place as a lecturer in Dar al-Quran al-KhayDariyya, located in the old city in Damascus, near Dar al-Hadith. He continued teaching in this Madrasa until he passed away, and his office was handed over to his brother, Sheikh Muhammad al-Mubarak. Besides this, he also had another center in Mazza, near the maqam of the sahabi sayyiduna Dihya al-Kalbi, and a third one in Zakya, one of the villages of Qura Hawran.

His successor in the Shadhili Tariqa was his brother, Sheikh Muhammad al-Mubarak, through whom it has been passed down to the Ya`qubi family.

His miracles
The people of Sham relate many of his miracles, among which are the following:

Once he was walking, together with some companions, in one of the market places of Damascus, and their presence drew the attention of people. One man then said to himself: “If it is not due to tricks and cunning crafts that this Sheikh possesses, why would these people gather around him?!” That very moment, the Sheikh turned straight towards him saying: (* Inna ba`da al-zhanni ithm*) (Certainly, some assumptions are sinful, Q).

On one of the occasions when Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib was performing hajj, he was accompanied by the Sheikh and Reciter `Abd al-Rahim al-Dibs wa al-Zayt. Sheikh `Abd al-Rahim’s camel got lost, and with it an amount of money entrusted it to him by other people for conducting trade on their behalf. Sheikh `Abd al-Rahman was exasperated – he feared the people would accuse him of having wrongfully taken their money and means of subsistance. He went to Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib and told him what had happened, and the Sheikh supplicated for him with the following words:  “May Allah give you something better in return”. However, Sheikh `Abd al-Rahim insisted that he supplicate ardently for him, saying: This is people’s money. Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib then felt sympathy for his situation, and turned towards Allah making tawassul by His Messenger – peace be upon him and his family – by reciting the famous qasida which begins with these lines:

He then turned towards  Sheikh `Abd al-Rahim and said to him: “You found your camel”, and within a very short while, two Arabs came and brought him the lost camel.

His poetry
His most famous qasida is

“Suluwi `an al-Ahbab”
– “Would I neglect those I love”
<< link >>

His passing and place of burial
He passed away on a Monday, the 26th of Sha`ban year 1313, and was buried near his home in Damascus

His tomb is located on the hillside of Mazza near the maqam sayyiduna Dihya al-Kalbi. It is in a private home near what is tday Jami` al-Ra’is in Mazza, next to what was previously a mosque named after him, where he used to teach. The original mosque was demolished to give way to presidential buildings for the Asad family.

With him is buried one of his students.

Tomb stone of al-Sayyid al-Sheykh Muhammad al-Tayyib – qaddasa Allahu sirrahu – in Mazza.
(Photo: JK/Ziarat 2006)

Tomb of al-Sayyid al-Sheykh Muhammad al-Tayyib – qaddasa Allahu sirrahu – in Mazza.
(Photo: OZ/Ziarat 2006)

© Damas Cultural Society — Latest aupdate: 2007-07-11
Original site: damas-original.nur.nu

More Bio’s:
remembrancepublications.co.uk

Sheikh al-Yaqoubi was born in Damascus and was trained in Islamic studies by his father, who was an Imam and instructor at the Grand Umayyad Mosque. Sheikh al-Yaqoubi followed in his father’s footsteps teaching in the same mosque, and becoming a world renowned Islamic scholar of theology, jurisprudence, and Hadith. He is widely-recognised as one of the reliable authorities for the issuing of fatwas in Islam. He was one of the first scholars to speak against DA’ISH, denouncing its atrocities and showing that its actions are unIslamic. His book Refuting ISIS has become essential reading. His criticism of the Syrian government’s response to protests made his stay in Syrian untenable, and so he had to flee the country. As a teacher, he has trained several hundred Imams and teachers who work in the Arab World, the West, in the Far East and South Africa. As a spiritual guide he focuses on the spiritual well-being of Muslims and gives personal spiritual instruction to his disciples, of which he has a significant following in the UK and USA. He is a charismatic public speaker in both Arabic and English, and one of the most vocal moderate voices of Islam making a huge positive impact via his public talks, writings and numerous media appearances worldwide.

Al-Allamah Shaykh as-Sayyid Muhammad al-Yaqoubi is one of the greatest scholars in the world today. In Syria, and particularly in his home city of Damascus, the Shaykh rose to great prominence in recent times for defending the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and being one of the first from amongst the ulema to courageously condemn the brutal Syrian government at the start of the popular uprising. In the West, he is an extremely eminent and distinguished preacher amongst Muslim minorities, and a caller to Islam, thousands having embraced the religion through his powerful and uncompromising lectures, wise words and charismatic approach. For several years running, the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute has included him as one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world.

Shaykh Muhammad descends from a scholarly family that traces its roots back to Morocco, and lineage to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace). He is both a sufi and jurist, continuing the glorious legacy of his late father, the Imam of the famous Grand Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the gnostic, and polymath of Syria, Sayyid Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi (Allah show him mercy), as well as his grandfather, the erudite Imam, gnostic and ascetic, Shaykh Ismail al-Yaqoubi (Allah show him mercy). Prior to being forced into exile in 2011, Shaykh Muhammad was teaching regularly at the Umayyad Mosque, as well as being the weekly Friday speaker at the Hassan Mosque in the Abu Rumana district of Damascus. He also taught regular classes at the Mosque of Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddeen Ibn ‘Arabi.

From an early age, Sayyid Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi supervised Shaykh Muhammad’s upbringing and tutelage, ensuring that every aspect of his son’s life was developed with the most detailed care under the guidance of the Sharia. For over 20 years, Shaykh Muhammad studied over 500 books with his father, in the sciences of the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, Mantiq and many other fields. His father gave him full authority to narrate Hadith, to teach and issue fatwa. He also received many other ijazas from the most prominent scholars of Syria, including Mufti Abul Yusr ‘Abidin and Shaykh Makki al-Kittani (Allah show them mercy), granting him some of the shortest isnads on the face of the Earth. The Shaykh is fluent in several languages including Arabic, English, and Swedish, and has trained several hundreds of scholars, imams and preachers both in Syria and the West. He is the author of a number of books in Arabic, as well as several poems in both Arabic and English. He has travelled the world extensively and participated in conferences, lectures and taught several intensive programmes from Finland to South Africa, and Indonesia to the West coast of the USA.

The Shaykh currently resides in Morocco with his wife and 3 children, and continues to teach the sacred sciences to scholars and students.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Ya`qoubi descends from a scholarly family whose lineage goes back to the Prophet, salla Allahu ‘alayhi sallam, through his grandson Sayyiduna al-Hasan, radiya Allahu ‘anhu. His lineage goes back to Mawlay Idris al-Anwar who built the city of Fes. Mawlay Idris’ lineage is as follows: he is the son of Mawlay Idris the Great; who is the son of Sayyiduna Abdullah al-Kamil; who is the son of Sayyiduna al-Hasan, the Second; who is the son of Sayyiduna al-Hasan, radiya Allah ‘anhu; who is the grandson of the Prophet, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Ya’qoubi’s ancestors also include some of the greatest scholars of Syria: Shaykh Sharif al-Ya’qoubi (d. 1943/1362 H.) was his father’s uncle, and Shaykh Muhammad ‘Arabi al-Ya’qoubi (d. 1965/1384 H.) was his father’s maternal uncle; both were the Malikite Imams of the Omayyad mosque. Shaykh Siddiq al-Ya’qoubi (d. 1889/1307 H.) was his paternal great-grandfather, and Shaykh Isma’il al-Ya’qoubi (d. 1960/1380 H.), a great Waliy known for his miracles, was his own grandfather. His father, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ya’qoubi (d. 1985/1406 H.), was one of the greatest scholars Syria saw in the past 50 years; he was also the Imam and teacher of the Omayyad Mosque.

Shaykh Muhammad was born in Damascus on the 13th of DhulHijja in 1382 H. As a little boy, he crawled in the Grand Omayyad Mosque and the Darwishiyya Mosque, where his father was an instructor for 40 years, and sat in the laps of some of the greatest scholars. Since he was four-years-old, Shaykh Muhammad accompanied his father in all of his visits, gatherings, and classes, both public and private, as well as at home and outside. His father took care of him and was both his teacher and spiritual master. Under his tutelage, Shaykh Muhammad followed a solid traditional curriculum since the age of four, studying, step-by-step, the major classical works on the various disciplines of the Shari’ah as well as the instrumental disciplines. Shaykh Muhammad dutifully studied with his father over 500 books in the course of 20 years, some of them from cover-to-cover and others in portions; some are multi-volumes, and others are small concise works.

Some of the books Shaykh Muhammad studied under his father are as follows: most of the six books of Hadith, al-Muwatta of Yahya al- Laythi, most of al-Muwatta of Imam Muhammad with Sharh al-Laknawi, most of al-Muwaafaqaat of ash-Shaatibi, the first volume and other sections (of the five volumes) of al-Hashiya of Ibn ‘Abideen, Ihya ‘Ulum ad-Deen, al-Hidaya of al-Marghinani, Mughni al-Labeeb of Ibn Hisham, Parts of Kitab Seebawayhi, Miyar al-Ilm of al-Ghazali, several volumes of Sharh Sahih Muslim of an-Nawawi, several volumes of Irshad as-Saari of al-Qastallaani, half of Madarik at-Taweel of an-Nasafi, Hashiyat as-Saawi on Tafseer al-Jalaalayn, three volumes of Mu’jam Maqaayiis al-Lugha of Ibn Faaris, al-Bayaan wat-Tabyeen of al-Jaahiz, several volumes of Wafayaat al-Ayaan of Ibn Khallikaan, and Tabaqat ash-Shafi’iyya al-Kubraa of Ibn as-Subki, Maqamaat al-Hariri. In fact, Shaykh Muhammad wrote a thabat (detailed list) of the names of the books he studied under his father entitled, The Concealed Pearls. This book is a testament to his father’s labor of love and of the expenditure of his energy in passing on his knowledge and experience to his children, a rarity in our modern times.

Throughout the years of his study, Shaykh Muhammad went through spiritual training in the Sufi path under his father, who was a great Waliy and Murshid known for his righteousness and asceticism. Shaykh Muhammad studied the major works of Tasawwuf under him, accompanied him, and was his servant, the bearer of his shoes, which he considers the key to the opening he received. The company of his father exposed him to a wealth of light, wisdom, and knowledge, an experience that was far beyond what one may attain from books or from occasional meetings with teachers.

In the summer of 1973, at the age of eleven, Shaykh Muhammad started teaching at the Darwishiyya Mosque where he taught a regular Qur’an and Tajwid class composed of a group of boys. He began giving public speeches in Ramadan after ‘Asr prayer in the same mosque at the age of twelve. At the age of fourteen and a half, he made his debut as Friday speaker in the mosque known as as-Saadaat, where Sayyiduna Mu’aadh ibn Jabal is buried.

Shaykh Muhammad memorized Jawharat at-Tawhid when he was five-years-old, al-Arba’in an-Nawawiyya when he was six, and, later on, dozens of famous didactic odes and poems along with most of the Qur’an al-Karim. He also memorized considerable parts of al-Mufaddaliyyaaat and al-Hamaasah of Abi Tammaam. The first poem he wrote was at the age of thirteen, and it was a plea to the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. His collection of poetry is growing, and a few poems in English have been added to it.

Amongst the scholars who gave him ijaza (the authority to narrate Hadith through their chains) were the Malikite Mufti of Syria, Sayyid Makki al-Kittan; Shaykh Muhammad Abul-Yusr ‘Abideen, the previous Mufti of Syria; the great Murshid, Shaykh Ali al-Boudaylimi of Tlemsan; Shaykh Zayn al-‘Abideen at-Tounisi; Shaykh ‘Abdul’Aziz ‘Uyun as-Soud; Shaykh Muhammad Wafa al-Qassaab; and several others. Shaykh Muhammad’s father, may Allah shower him with His Mercy, also wrote several ijazas for him, giving him full authority to narrate Hadith. His father also issued for him ijazas qualifying him to teach the Shari’ah and to be a Murshid in the Sufi path. This was affirmed by several shaykhs of the path, the last of whom is Shaykh AbdurRahman ash-Shaghouri in Damascus, may Allah extend his life.

Shaykh Muhammad published his first article when he was seventeen-years-old in al-Majalla al-‘Arabiyya in Riyadh and his first book when he was 23. At the age of 20, some of his Friday speeches were broadcast live through the Syrian Radio station. Three of his books in Arabic have been published besides several articles in Arabic, English, and Swedish. The list of his unpublished books contains more than 20 works in Arabic.

Shaykh Muhammad was formally appointed as Friday speaker (khatib) in 1981 in central Damascus. Two years later, in 1983, he was appointed as Imam and was commissioned to teach the Sacred Knowledge. In early 1986, upon the demise of his father (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh Muhammad was given his father’s post as an instructor in the Fatwa Administration. That same year, he began teaching Maliki fiqh at the Institute of the Students of Sacred Knowledge (which is now the Institute of Sheikh BadrudDeen al-Hasani).

While in Damascus, in addition to teaching native Syrians, Shaykh Muhammad taught students from various parts of the world; many of them are now Imams and teachers in Malaysia, the Philippines, Algeria, Mali, Gambia, and other countries. Amongst the books he taught, partially or completely, are Sahih al-Bukhari (which he taught twice), Sahih Muslim, al-Muwatta (which he also taught twice), ash-Shama’il al-Muhammadiyya (which he taught four times), the commentary of al-Bajuri on al-Jawhara, an-Nasafi’s Madarik at-Tawil, Jawahir al-Iklil Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil, al-Kaafi of Ibn AbdulBarr, al-Hikam of Imam ibn Attaa Allah, Sharh ar-Risala of Imam al-Qushayri, al-Marghinani’s al-Hidaya, Sharh al-Bayqouniyya, Sharh ar-Rahabiyya, Sharh al-Jazariya, ash -Shifa of Qadi ‘Iyaad, and Ibn Hisham’s commentary on the Alfiyya of ibn Malik.

Besides serving as a Friday speaker and instructor until 1990, Shaykh Muhammad pursued his academic studies at the University of Damascus, Faculty of Shari’ah, where he frequented some lectures and benefited from several professors between 1982-1985. He also received a degree in Arabic literature in 1987 and completed a two-year study of philosophy at the Arab University of Beirut. In 1991, Shaykh Muhammad joined the PhD program of linguistics at Gothenburg University in Sweden, Department of Oriental Studies, where he also worked as a researcher and a teacher of classical Arabic literature for a few years until 1996.

Shaykh Muhammad worked in Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah in Kuwait in 1990 as Research Editor, and, between 1998-1999, as Assistant Director for Research and Studies, a position he was awarded due to his keen interest in the studies of ancient Arabic manuscripts and paleography. He eventually resigned to devote his time to the Sacred Knowledge and to serve its students in teaching and writing.

While in school, Shaykh Muhammad studied French as a second language. It was in 1988 that he began learning the basics of English and German. At the age of 30, upon traveling to Sweden, he realized how vital is the English language in the work for Islam, so he moved to England at that time and completed the FCE, CAE, CCS, and CPE Cambridge courses in English within a year before returning to Sweden where he continued his studies in Swedish.

In Sweden, Shaykh Muhammad served the Muslim community of Gothenburg as Imam, where he struggled for the establishment of Islam in the country. His work there was documented in several newspaper articles and interviews; it included teaching Muslims, giving presentations about Islam, and engaging in multi-religious dialogues and debates on political and social issues, such as European-Islamic dialogue, atheism, etc.. Shaykh Muhammad was hosted by all of the major Swedish universities and Institutions and was co-founder of the Nordic Center for Inter-religious dialogue (NCID) in Gothenburg. He represented Swedish Muslims in several international conferences until he returned to Syria towards the end of 1996. In 1999, the Swedish Islamic society in Stockholm (SIS) chose him as the Mufti of Sweden, forwarding to him the burning issues of fiqh that concern Swedish Muslims. In the year 2000, SIS elected him as a permanent founding member of the Swedish Islamic Academy in Stockholm in recognition of his work in Sweden to which he continues to commit through lectures and classes during his visits to Scandinavia.

Besides working in Syria and Sweden, Shaykh Muhammad participated in conferences, delivered lectures, and gave Friday speeches in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, England, Canada, and the United States. His first tour to the US took place in the spring of 1997. Since then, he has been frequenting North America and is now hosted by Zaytuna Institute in California where he has been teaching since the past year. In his efforts to revive the Tradition, he has taught Hadith, including the Muwatta’ and Sahih al-Bukhari, and he intends to finish all six books in the coming terms in sha Allah. Shaykh Muhammad is married and has three children, Aicha, who is four; Ibrahim, who is two; and Ismael, who is four-months-old.

Others besides Shaykh Muhammad have seen many of the miracles of his father, but for those who have not seen them, Shaykh Muhammad says, “This is one of the miracles of my father that everyone can see. It was his du’ah for me, his blessing, and his company that opened the way for me to be where I am now.”

Between 1992 and 2001, he worked in Kuwait, Sweden and USA; and traveled across the world teaching the sacred knowledge and calling people to Allah. He toured many countries in North America and Europe, the Far East and Arab World. Thousands of people took shahada at his hands and many repented after listening to him. He now resides in Damascus and teaches in the Masjid of Shaykh Muhyiddeen Ibn ‘Arabi, and in his home; while several of his students are spreading the sacred knowledge and reviving the way of the Ulema around the world. He is married with three children.

http://farooqm.blogspot.com/2005/04/shaykh-muhammad-al-yaqoubi.html
Saturday, April 02, 2005>

shaykh muhammad al ya’qoubi.
a gem.
a genius.
he was 35 when i met him. he began learning english at the age of 30. and he was busting out shakespearean sonnets on us…schooling us on the subtleties of english and arabic grammar.
he speaks ~7 languages.
he once gave us a 2.5 hour dars on “bismillah hir rahman nir ra heem”
just a fountain of knowledge. like.

Damas Cultural Society 2006

Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi compte parmi les plus grands savants de notre époque. D’origine chérifienne (Shaykh Muhammad est un descendant direct du Prophète béni [‘alayhi salatu wassalam], par l’intermédiaire de Sayyiduna al-Hasan fils de ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib), sa famille émigra de l’Algérie vers la Syrie il y a plusieurs générations.

Dès son plus jeune âge, Shaykh Muhammad fréquenta la Grande Mosquée des Omeyyades à Damas, Syrie – où son père enseigna pendant 40 ans – et put s’asseoir sur les genoux de certains des plus grands savants de l’époque. Sous la tutelle de son père, il suivit, dès l’âge de quatre ans, un solide cursus de sciences traditionnelles, comprenant l’étude des grandes œuvres classiques traitant de la Shari’a et des disciplines connexes (grammaire, rhétorique etc..). Il reçut des ijazas (certificats d’autorisations) en sciences du hadith, de la main des plus grands mouhaddithoune de Syrie.

Shaykh Muhammad poursuit ensuite ses études universitaires au département de Shari’a de l’Université de Damas. Après avoir obtenu une licence en littérature arabe en 1987, il étudie la philosophie pendant deux ans à l’Université arabe de Beyrouth, avant d’intégrer, en 1991, le programme doctoral de linguistique du département d’études orientales de l’Université de Göteborg en Suède, où il fut par ailleurs chargé de recherche et enseigna les lettres classiques de la langue arabe. Le Shaykh dirigea également le pôle d’étude et de recherche de la maison d’édition Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah au Koweït en 1990.

Après avoir été Imam à Göteborg et œuvré sans relâche pour l’Islam en Suède, la société islamique suédoise de Stockholm le désigna mufti pour la Suède en 1999.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi donne fréquemment des Khoutbas et des conférences au Moyen-Orient, en Europe, au Canada et aux Etats-Unis, et enseigne la ‘aqida, le tafsir, le hadith, le fiqh, le usul al fiqh, et encore bien d’autres disciplines. Le Shaykh est une autorité éminente dans le domaine du hadith, ses lignes de transmission (isnads) étant parmi les plus fiables du moment. Jusqu’à aujourd’hui, le

Shaykh al-Yaqoubi a enseigné, entre autres :

– Tafsir al-Nasafi
– Sahih al-Bukhari (19 fois)
– Sahih Muslim,
– Al-Muwatta (6 fois)
– Al Shama’il de l’Imam al-Tirmidhi (17 fois)
– Sharh al-fiqh al-Akbar, al-Tahawiyya (plus de 20 fois)
– Sharh al-‘Aqaa’id al-Nasafiyyah,
– Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din,
– Al-Hikam d’Ibn’ Atta’illah,
– Al-Shifa du Qadi ‘Iyaad,
– Al-Qudouri,
– Al-Hidayah,
– Maqaamt al-Hariri,
– Mughni al-Labeeb
– Etc..

Des étudiants et des savants affluaient du monde entier en Syrie pour lui rendre visite, ainsi qu’au cours de ses voyages, pour entendre la malsalslaat* ou obtenir une autorisation (ijaza) de narration d’un hadith.

(* note : dans la traduction (de l’anglais) il est écrit malsalslaat mais il semble que ce serait plutôt des ahadiths mousalsal bi al mousafaha ou autres, voir : http://www.aslama point com/forums/showthr…q%C3%BBb%C3%AE )

Les gens qui ont embrassé l’Islam ou qui se sont repentis par sa cause (en écoutant ses discours) se comptent par milliers, et aujourd’hui, un grand nombre de ses étudiants parcourent le monde pour diffuser la Loi sacrée et revivifier le curriculum des Ulémas.

On notera par ailleurs que le Cheikh commença à enseigner le tajweed (récitation coranique) à l’âge de onze ans, prononça son premier discours public un an plus tard, et délivra sa première khutba (prêche du vendredi) à l’âge de quatorze ans et demi, et son père l’autorisa à enseigner la Loi sacrée de l’Islam quand il eut atteint sa vingtième année.

Shaykh Muhammad est père de trois enfants et réside depuis plusieurs années à Rabat, au Maroc.

Shaykh al-Sayyid Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi

Född den 5 maj, 1963 i Damaskus, Syrien.
Må Allah bevara honom
Sammanställt av md för rahma.se

BAKGRUND

   Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi är en världsberömd islamisk lärd, tänkare och visionär med en encyklopedisk kunskap. Han kommer från en familj av religiöst lärda, som migrerade till Damakus efter motståndet mot den franska kolonisationen i Algeriet. Familjen Yaqoubis släktträd går tillbaka till Profeten, salla Allahu aleihi wa sallam, genom hans barnbarn Sayyiduna al-Hassan, radhiya Allahu ‘anhu. Deras anor går också tillbaka till Mawlay Idris al-Anwar som byggde staden Fes i Marocko.

   Från denna familjen kom Syrien att få se några av dess mest prominenta lärda; Shaykh Sharif al-Yaqoubi (d. 1943) som var hans fars farbror, och Shaykh Muhammad ‘Arabi al-Yaqoubi  (d.1965) som var hans fars morbror – Båda erhöll positionen som imamer representerade den malikitiska rättsskolan i den berömda Umayyad moskén. Hans egne far, och lärare, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi var en av de mest framstående lärda i de religiösa vetenskaperna som Syrien frambringat de senaste femtio åren – även han var verksam som imam och lärare vid Umayyad moskén.

   Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi föddes i Damaskus den 13:de Dhul-Hijjah 1382 H. (5 maj, 1963). Från de allra tidigaste åren i hans barndom gjorde han sin far sällskap under samtliga av hans föreläsningar och olika sammankomster – både offentliga och privata sådana, i hemmet och utanför.

 
IJAZAT

   Shaykh al-Yaqoubi innehar flera ijazat (tillstånd) att lära ut andlig och religiös kunskap, att återberätta och utfärda juridiska utlåtanden under islamsk lag (Shariah).

• – Efter att Shaykh al-Yaqoubis far tränat honom i den andliga vägen (Tasawwuf)   fick han  tillstånd att verka som murshid (andlig vägledare).
• – Shaykhen erhöll dessutom flera ijazat i att lära ut de religiösa vetenskaperna av sin far.
• – Shaykh al-Yaqoubi har även tilldelats ijazat av flera framstående lärde i Syrien, inklusive: den malikitiske muftin av Syrien Sayyid Makki al-Kittani och den hanafitiske muftin av Syrien Muhammad Abdul Yusr Abidin, den store murshid Ali al-Boudaylimi från Tlemcen, Abdul Aziz Uyun al-Sud och Salih al-Khatib.

 
UTBILDNING

   Från 4-årsåldern fick Shaykhen genomgå en gedigen traditionell utbildning i de religiösa vetenskaperna (Hadith, fiqh, ‘aqidah, m.m.), som varade i 20 år. Under denna period studerade Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi de stora klassiska verken för Shariahs discipliner med sin far, tillsammans gick de igenom över 500 böcker – somliga från pärm till pärm, andra partiellt (somliga verk låg på flera volymer). Utöver den religiösa utbildningen har Shaykhen också avslutat andra högre studier:

• – En examen i arabisk litteratur och en avslutad 2-årig utbildning I filosofi på Beirut Arab University (1987)
• – År 1991 skrev Shaykhen in sig på det lingivistiska fil.dr-programmet på Göteborgs universitet, där han också arbetade som forskare och lärare i klassisk arabisk litteratur.

   Shaykhens kunskapsområde vad beträffar de traditionella religiösa vetenskaperna omfattar bl.a. teologi, Koran- och Hadith-kunskap, fiqh (jurispundens) och usul (metodologi) och arabisk grammatik.

 
VERKSAMHET

   Vid 11-årsåldern började Shaykhen undervisa i Koranstudier på Darwishiyya moskén i Damaskus; hans första fredagspredikant höll han som 14-åring i al-Sadaat moskén. När han blev 17 år gammal erhöll positionen som imam och fredagspredikant – tre år senare blev han lärare i islamska studier.

   Mellan år 1991 och 2001 har Shaykh al-Yaqoubi arbetat i Kuwait, USA och Sverige. Vidare har han rest runt om i världen för att lära ut religiös kunskap, föreläsa och informera om Islam; han har besökt flera platser i Nordamerika, Europa, Fjärran östern och andra delar av den arabiska världen. Han har också arbetat för intereligiösa dialoger och deltagit i debatten om olika politiska och sociala förhållanden och orättvisor. I Kuwait arbetade Shaykhen som forskningsredaktör på Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, och mellan år 1998-1999 som biträdande direktör för forskning och studier.

   Shaykhen var bland de första [bland de islamska lärde] att tala ut om den syriska regimen (20011) och har intagit en ledande roll i framtidens Syrien. Utrikesministrar, dignitärer och politiska tankesmedjor från världens alla hörn har sökt hans råd och vägledning. Den nobla Shaykhen har deltagit i den global insatsen som propagerar för en fredfull övergång till demokrati och stabilitet genom regelbundna intervjuer med ledande TV-presentatörer, organisationer och journalister. Shaykh Muhammads huvudfråga och främsta fokus under år 2013 har varit den pågående, växande humanitära krisen i Syrien.

   Shaykhen undervisar på några av Damaskus mest framstående institutioner, där han också har sitt residens. Han lär ut ‘Aqidah (teologi) i Umayyad moskén, innehar positionen som Jumu’a Khatib (fredagspredikant) på Jami’ al-Hassan moskén, Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, och undervisar epistlet al-Risalah av Imam al-Qushayri och den berömda al-Shama’il al-Muhammadiyyah av Imam al-Tirmidhi.

 
ELEVER

   Några av vår tids lärda har studerat under Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi. Till hans elever hör bl.a.:

• – Shaykh Faisal Abdur-Razzak
• – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
• – Shaykh Dr. Gibril F. Haddad
• – Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar
• – Shaykh Munawwar Ateeq Rizwi

 
SKT-WELFARE

   SKT-Welfare är en ideell välgörenhetsorganisation, som arbetar under vägledning av Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi. Med sin djupa insikt i den syriska saken kan han förmedla det syriska folkets behov och interna situation till välgörenheten.

Läs mer om välgörenheten och deras verksamhet här:  http://sktwelfare.org/

 
ÖRVIGT
 
   År 2012 listades Shaykhen bland De 500 mest inflytesrika muslimerna av Georgetown universitets Prince Alwaleed Bin-Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding och Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre.

   Han har studerat och talar ~7 språk, bl.a. engelska, franska, tyska och svenska. 

His biography is found in the Futuhat¹ of Sayyidi Sheikh Muhammad ibn Mas´ud al-Fasi, where he says:

I took the Shadhili tariqa from my Master and Teacher, who reared murids by himma and hal and brought them to the stage of realization by particular stages of progression, the Pole of the Circle, the Channel of provisions (al-Maddad al-Ghauth), the Unique Uniter (al-Jami´ al-Fard),the Sheikh, my Master Muhammad ibn Hamza al-Zhafir al-Madani – may his great secret be sanctified – year 1242 H., after the passing of his teacher [Sheikh Muhammad ´Arabi al-Darqawi d. 1239 H.] and his return from the Marokko to Tripoli. Then Allah joined me with him, and I took from his essential lights and his impelling knowledge – that is I took from the lights that poured down on him from the Presence of the Impellor (al-Jabbar) – for about eighteen years, and Allah made me benefit therefrom.

He – may Allah be pleased with him – was bringing forth saints in his court yard, as the earth brings forth plants when rain pours down on it. His character was the character of the Prophets, and his state was  that of the most elect of the elect of the saints and the pure. He – may Allah be pleased with him – was a Qutb, from whose lights the Qutbs are provided, and from whose oceans the noblest take provisions. Whoever looked at him was enriched, whoever knew him would not desire anyone else. He had wonderful states and strange secrets. He strove in the science of interactions (mu´amalat) until he reached the highest level, and he served the saints – until the most elect of the elect from amongst the saints and the pure ones served him. He traveled along this path for some twenty-five years in the far Maghrib (Morocco), until he reached the shores of ´ Ain Hamiyya, while serving by his own hands the Sheikhs and the righteous ones, while seeking the the settlement of Layla – until he found her people in Ha’it Layla, which is the name of a place where our Master Sheikh al-´Arabi [al-Darqawi] resided.

He – may his secret be sanctified – passed away in 1262 H. [^*] and was buried in his zawiya. His maqam there is visited from by travellers from all places.

Allah, makes us benefit from him, and gather us under his flag. Amin.

Seyyiduna Muhammed bin Hasan bin Hamza Zafir el-Medeni
Muhammed el-Fâsî Efendimiz (Allah Teâlâ ondan razı olsun), (tarikatı) şeyhi, büyük kutub, meşhur önder, Muhammed bin Hamza Zâfir el-Medenî Efendimizden (Allah Teâlâ ondan razı olsun) almıştır. Nitekim “Fütühât”ında ondan bahsetmiştir ve şöyle demiştir:

Şâziliyye tarikatını; H.1242 senesinde, hocasının (Şeyh Muhammed ‘Arabi al-Dirqawi v.1239) vefatından ve Mağrip’ten Batı Trablus’a dönüşünden sonra efendim, üstadım, müridleri himmeti ve hali ile terbiye eden, onları farklı ilerleyiş mertebeleriyle tahkik makamına ulaştıran, dâirenin kutbu (bir tasavvufi terim: Adn Cennetin’de, Hakkı görmek üzere insanların bir araya gelip toplanmış halde bulunuşuna verilen isim), medet ve yardım kanalı, Efendim Şeyh Muhammed b. Hamza Zâfir el-Medenî’den (Allah Teala aziz ruhunu takdis etsin) aldım. Allah Teala beni onunla buluşturdu ve ona has nurlarından ve ceberuta dair marifetlerini öğrendim. Böylece Cebbar olanın huzurunda onun ruhunun üzerine dolup taşan bu nurlardan takriben on sekiz sene iktibas etmiş oldum ve Allah Teala beni onunla faydalandırdı.

Allah ondan razı olsun, üzerine yağmur yağdığında toprağın yeşillikler bitirmesi gibi etrafında Allah dostları biterdi. Ahlakı enbiyanın ahlakıydı ve evliya ve esfiyadan hâs olanlara özgü halleri vardı. Sırları takdis edilsin kutup idi. Kutup zatlara uzanan nurları ve soylu kişilere ulaşan okyanusları vardı. Kim ona bakarsa o kişiyi zengin ederdi. Kim onu tanırsa ondan başkasını istemezdi. Ve harikulade hallere ve acayip sırlara sahipti. Yüksek makamlara ulaşana kadar muamelât ilminde gayret gösterdi. Evliyanın ve esfiyanın en seçilmiş olanlar ona hizmet edene kadar evliyaya hizmet etti. Bu tarik üzere, yaklaşık 25 sene ‘Ayn Hamiye sahillerine varana kadar Uzak Mağrip topraklarında dolaştı, Şeyhlere ve salih kimselere bizzat kendisi hizmet ederek ve Leylâ’nın yerini arayarak. Ta ki “Hâitu Leyla’da (Leyla’nın Duvarında)” onun ehlini bulana kadar. Hâitu Leyla, Efendimiz Şeyh el-Arabi’nin ebedi istirahat ettiği yer için (kullanılan) mekanın adıdır.

Sırrı takdis edilsin, H.1262* senesinde vefat etti. Ve Mısrata’daki zaviyesine defnedildi. Makamı Mısrata’tadır. Makamı her yerden ziyaretçi alır. Ey Allah’ım bizi onunla faydalanmayı nasip et ve bizi onun sancağı altında haşret. Amin.

(*) Dar al-Bayruti’nin 2000 yılına ait nüshasında yıl 1242 olarak belirtilmiştir, ancak Futuhat-ı Rabbaniyye’de 1262 olarak belirtilmiştir. /bmk

Referans: Tabakat el-Şaziliyye el-Kubra, El-Hasan el-Kuhin

Notes on turuq:

Damas Cultural Society © 2017
Damas Cultural Society © 2007

See seaprate entry on his son
Sayyidi Shaykh Muhammad Zhafir” target=”_blank”>
b. 1244 in Misrata – d. 1321 H. in Istanbul (1829 – 1903 CE)

Through Sheikh Muhammad ibn Mas`ud al-Fasi we received al-Yaqutiyya, the powerful wird upon the Prophet, which he received directly from him (salllAlllah `aleihi wa sallam), while sitting in al-Rawda al-Sharifa in Madina.

1- His upbringing and studies
He was born in al-Maghrib al-Aqsa (Marokko today) in the city of Fas. His date of birth is unknown, however it can be inferred from the date when he met his Sheikh, Sayyidi Muhammad ibn Hamza Zhafir al-Madani (who was in turn a student of Sayyidi Imam Muhammad al-`Arabi al-Darqawi), in 1242 H. Assuming that he was at that time around thirty yeras old, his date of birth an be estimated to the beginning of  1210’s.

He studied the Quran and the religious sciences in Fas under its greatest teachers. In the the Maliki madhhab, he studied the book al-Khalil, and its commentaries by al-Kharashi and `Abd al-Baqi under the faqih al-Qadi al-`Abbas Abu Sauda ibn Murra al-Fasi al-Maliki. He studied  tafsir, and hadith and its terminology under the great muhaddith Sheikh `Abd al-Salam al-Bar`i, a member of the leage of `ulama, who was amazed at his capacity of memorization and intellectual and spiritual gifts. With Sheikh al-`Arabi al-Zarhuni al-Fasi, he studied books of hadith, history and sira such as: al-Kala`i, al-Waqidi, al-Harifash, al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib [books specified in the footnote of Tabaqat]. He studied Arabic literature, grammar and logic with Sheikh `Abd al-Salam ibn Musa al-Andalusi. And he read the Qursheyri Risala and other tasawwuf books with Sheikh al-Tihami ibn Hamadi.

2- Years of mujahada and khidma
After completing his Shari`a studies, he secluded  himself to worship his Lord, and spent day and night doing salutations upon the Prophet sall Allah `aleihi wa sallam. He used to recite the entire book of Dala’il al-Khayrat twentyone times every day, apart from other devotions such as the fard, sunna and mustahabb of salat, Quranic recital and adhkar. He often visited the awlia, the dead and the living. He was virtuous, abstaining from what Allah ta`ala has forbidden and turning down his glance fron what He dislikes. He left dunia behind him, and was engrossed in the love of Allah ta`ala.

At this time, he used to serve the brothers, cutting wood for them, and providing for them the things they liked. One of the miracles told of him occurred in this time: One day, four thieves came to steel from him. He pointed at them with his hand, and Allah made them blind to him, so that they could not see him, and they said to each other: “Where did he go? He was with us just now!” All this time he was with them, hearing what they said. [Cf. a similar story about Sayyidi Imam Abul Hasan.]

One of the men of Allah, known as al-Sharif Ahmad al-Ghiran, used to give him the tidings of wilaya. He was a man of gnosis and elevated states, whom nobody could approach, but when he met our Master, while in one of these states, he regained sobriety, hugged him and said to him: Hell my Master ibn `Ata Allah – this was how he would always address him.

3- Finding his Sheikh, and opening at his hands
He travelled to Tarablus al-Gharb (Tripoli), in search for a spiritual guide, and  in 1242 H. he was led to Sheikh Sayyidi Muhammad ibn Hamza Zhafir al-Madani (d. 1264 H), who had in turn taken the Shadhili tariqa from Sayyidi al-Sharif al-`Arabi ibn Ahmad al-Darqawi (d. 1239/1240 H). As soon as he met him, he realized that this was the guide that Allah ta`ala had chosen for him, and his heart became instantly attached to him. With him he stayed for eighteen years. Through him he received openings and became firmly established on the Path, of which he testtifies as follows:

“Allah gave me knowledge like the knowledge He gave to the predessors before (man sabaqa min al-Awwalin), and what al-Haqq gave me has room only in my breast.”

And: “By Allah, if it was not that I am bound by the Shari`a, I would disclose the most strange of strange things.”

And: “I have at this time received the permission from Allah and His Messenger to say: This my foot is above the neck of every living saint. I said this, while in the Diwan of the Awlia of Allah ta`ala, and some of the awlia that were present wanted to utter these words, but I said to him: By Allah’s Highness and Majesty, if you utter them, I will remove you from the Diwan and stripp you off your sainthood. So he remained silent and did not utter them.”

4- His travels and his passing away
He was given permission by his Sheikh to guide seekers while the latter was still alive. In 1260, he left al-Maghrib and spent twenty-nine years travelling through the lands of Hijaz, Hind, Yemen, Sham, Misr, calling to Allah and His Mesesenger, and spreading the Shadhili tariqa, and he founded countless zawiyas of dhikr circles. He came to Misr in 1289. That same year he went to Makka al-Mukarrama, where he passed away, and was buried in al-Ma`la.

5- Among his miracles are the following:
During one of his travels, he was staying in a town in the province of Tarablis (Tripolis). As its people saw on him the signs of rightousness, they gathered around him, crying, complaining, and begging him to help them against the oppression they suffered from their ruler, until the Sheikh – may Allah preserve his secret – was crying with them. Then he said: By Allah, other them Who there is no deity, He will not remain as a ruler over you more than this month, either he will be removed or he will die. No more than three days passed after this utterance, before this ruler was removed from power, and faced with accusations which led to his death sentence.

While on one of his travels, he suffered difficulties and weariness that made hes feet swollen, and something inappropriate concerning his teacher came to his mind, and he made the intention to go to al-Makka al-Mukarrama, to search for a perfect Sheikh. That night, he saw al-Haqq, high and majestic is He, in a dream. He ordered that he be whipped twice as a corrective, then he said: My God, I repent to you. Then Allah ta`ala said: Release him! Then He made him stand in front of Him and said: Ask Me! He said: My God, I ask from You protection (from sin – `isma). He said: I do not give you protection (from sin), this is not for anyone except for the Prophets. Then (the Sheikh) said: My God, i ask from You to be preserved (al-hifzh). He said: It is yours. Then he awoke from sleep.

In his book “al-Futuhat al-Rabbaniyya” (The Lordly Openings) [3], Sheikh Muhammad al-Fasi describes his sheikh and his silsila, and puts forth twentyfive reasons for the superiority of the Shadhili silsila. Some of this is reproduced in Tabaqat al-Shadhiliyya [1]

Poetry
In a Qasida, consisting of seventy verses, he mentions Allah’s favors on him, some of which are quoted below:

One day he was sitting in the mosque of the Prophet, sall Allah `aleihi wa sallam in Madina, recitng the Shadhili awrad, then continuing with salawat upon the Prophet, when he heard him, sall Allah `aleihi wa sallam, saying to him: “Do more salawat, o Fasi!” He asked: “What should I say, O Messenger of Allah?” Then he, sall Allah `aleihi wa `ala alihi wa sallam, said: “Say:

(* Allah and His Angels send blessings over the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings over him, and salutations. *) O Allah, send blessings and salutations over the one for whose sake You unfolded Your secrets of imposing Power, and made Your lights of Mercifulness break through. (Etc. to the end).”

In Sham, he had two successors: