Sidi Ahmed al-Badawi al-Fasi (d. 675/1260)

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. It is worth noting that the words “Tanta” and “al-Sayyid al-Badawi” are used synonymously in many different contexts in everyday life. The grand Sufi leader al-Badawi, the master of travelers (sayyid al-salikın) who never married or had any descendants, succeeded in establishing mystical links and spiritual genealogies located in different parts of Egypt. Sidi Ahmed Badawi, 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 Sidi Ahmed ibn Ali Rifai.

Upon the death of the Rifaiya muqaddam in Egypt, Al-Sayyid al-Badawi was sent to Egypt by his master. One of al-Badawi’s companions, born and raised in Fao village in Upper Egypt, was Sidi Omar al-Ashath, the patron saint and founder of the Shinnawiya al-Ahmediya branch.  The story goes that, when Sidi Omar heard that al-Sayyid al-Badawi had arrived in Egypt, he went to meet him in Tanteda, accompanied by his partner, Sidi Hassan al-Sa’igh, so as to make the pledge or covenant (al-‘ahad) directly and personally with him. Al-Sayyid al-Badawi advised Hassan al-Sa’igh to go to the village of Ikhnaway (where he is now buried) and establish himself there as a religious leader. Meanwhile, he advised Omar to stay with him on the roof of the house of Ibn Shuhayt, where he experienced the spiritual path and learned important religious and Sufi lessons. Sidi Omar stayed with Sidi al-Badawi for three years and was then advised by al-Badawi to go to a village (subsequently referred to as the village of Shinnu) to initiate people to the Tariqa. Through the spiritual connection with his master, Sidi Omar established a spiritual genealogy refracted in some of his male descendants, who maintained the biological genealogy and transformed it into spiritual genealogy.

Al-Sayyid al-Badawi settled in Tanta eventually quickly acquiring 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. 

Shaykh Mohammed al-Shinnawi (1430-1526), the revered spiritual Sufi leader and distinguished scholar, taught religious and Sufi courses to students who resided permanently in the rooms connected to his mosque. He helped the Shaykh Sidi Abdellwahhab al-Sha’rani, another renowned Muslim scholar, to become a Sufi and introduced him to al-Badawi. The following narration tells how Shaykh Mohammed established a brotherly and spiritual tie with Shaykh al-Sha’rani who proclaimed, “my master, Shaykh Mohammed al-Shinnawi, taught me the Sufi path and was the shaykh who granted me permission to teach and train new Sufi disciples.”

One day while he was entering a mosque, al-Sha’rani observed a humble man with unkempt clothes braiding palm leaves. He ordered the mosque keeper not to permit the disheveled and illiterate man in the mosque. When he found the same man on the following day, he questioned the guard who recounted that the man (named Sidi Ali al-Khawwas) was a wali and a man of baraka. When al-Sha’rani dismissed the idea that he was a wali, the man whispered some words that made al-Sha’rani rethink the matter. The man’s words indicated that he had knowledge of the private life of al-Sha’rani as related to an incident that happened between al-Sha’rani and his wife the previous night. The lesson implicit in this narrative is that people should not be judged based on appearance, and that mystic knowledge should be respected and never dismissed. It is also interesting to note that an unlettered man became a spiritual leader of such a renowned scholar as al-Sha’rani. Thus, the aforementioned antithesis between scriptural and mystical religious experiences, at least from the Sufis’ point of view, is rendered impractical.

Al-Sha’rani asked al-Khawwas to teach him the “way” of mystic knowledge. Al-Khawwas advised him to meet with Sidi Mohammed al-Shinnawi in Mahalat Ruh, near Tanta. When al-Sha’rani searched for Mohammed al-Shinnawi, the latter recognized him and told him about the incident of al-Khawwas. Impressed with their illumination, al-Sha’rani asked al-Shinnawi to teach him the Sufi path. Al-Shinnawi recommended that they go together to the shrine of Sidi al-Badawi to make the pledge. When al-Sha’rani was making the Sufi pledge, al-Badawi, dead in his tomb, extended his hand from the window of his shrine and shook the hand of al-Sha’rani. This karama, enabling the spiritual bond to be physically witnessed, would not have occurred if Sidi Mohammed al-Shinnawi had not introduced al-Sha’rani to Saint al-Badawi.

A historical incident related to Sidi Mohammed al-Shinnawi further highlights the great impact of Sufi saints’ experiences on people’s everyday life. During the Ottoman rule, officials were enslaving people and forcing them to uproot their barley crop. Sidi Mohammed wanted to travel to Istanbul, to ask the sultan to issue a decree banning slavery and the mistreatment of people. He paid a visit to the shrine of al-Badawi, who informed him that he “would not have to travel.” That night the sultan dreamt that he saw Shaykh Mohammed al-Shinnawi riding his donkey in the grand court of Istanbul entreating, “O Sultan, please, send a decree to stop enslaving people and uprooting the barley in Egypt.” The sultan, influenced by the dream, ordered the decree. This example shows the Sufi’s spiritual diplomacy of using dialogue and negotiation, even in dreams, to solve political and economic problems.

If the Nile geographically and physically connects Upper and Lower Egypt, the saints connect all of regions of Egypt. In the anniversary celebration of al-Badawi, for instance, members of various Sufi orders as well as ordinary people come from the north from cities such as Cairo (where the mosques of Imam al-Hussayn and Sayyida Zaynab) and Alexandria (where the sanctuary of Sidi Abul Abbas al-Mursi is located) and Dasuq (where the sanctuary of Sidi Ibrahim al-Dasuqi can be found), from the south or from cities such as Qina (where that of Sidi Ahmed al-Qinawi as-Sabti al-Hussayni is located) and Luxor (where that of Sidi Abu Hajjaj can be found), to celebrate Al-Sayyid al-Badawi and recite the fatiha. Both men and women participate in these religious festivals.

Al-Sayyid al-Badawi established the spiritual ties that keep his followers distinct from different Sufi orders. The spirituality and divine blessing (baraka) of Sidi al- Badawi have sacralized the space. The proximity of the shrine of al-Badawi to villages and towns bestows meaning and importance to those places. Shrines set symbolic boundaries within the region. Put differently, Tanta encompasses a connected chain of saints and sanctuaries located within the sacred regional network of al-Badawi that extends beyond the city to include nearby towns and villages. All bear testimony to the question of belonging and localization as reflected expressions of spiritual territory.

Similarly, the Shinnawiya, essentially one of eighteen Sufi branches belonging to and having their roots in the Grand Ahmediya Sufi order of al-Badawi, has attracted both elites and ordinary people and created new sacralized spaces in Tanta as well as in adjacent villages. Interestingly, these Sufi orders are dispersed in different regions in Egypt. The Sufi branches of al-Salamiya and al-Maraziqa, although now independent, were originally related to the al-Shinnawiya.

Because their property and economic resources depend on their spiritual and symbolic capital, religious leaders strive to translate religious understandings and beliefs into social images, cultural symbols, and rituals to attract adherents and supporters. Initially, Sidi Omar lacked the necessary resources to support his family, Sufi order, and teachings. The following story indicates how the piece of land that subsequently became the small village of Rizqa (literally translated as “livelihood”) was originally allocated to Sidi Omar as a gift from the governor of Egypt. According to local narratives, because of his karama, the governor had given Shaykh Omar a piece of land adjacent to the village assigned to him by al-Badawi. While visiting the shaykh, the governor asked him to express his wish. Sidi Omar said that he wanted a piece of land whose allocation would be determined by his donkey. Surprised, the governor granted him his request. The donkey, after rolling on the soil, walked steadily through many arable feddans, which were then awarded to the shaykh as his property. This land (now the village of Rizqat al-Shinnawi) was used for sustaining his family and Sufi order. It also became known as the Basin of the Donkey.

As aforementioned, Sidi Ahmed al-Badawi assigned a village to Shaykh Omar, who taught al-Ahmediya principles to the village inhabitants. The name of this new tarıqa is al-Shinnawiya al-Ahmediya. The surname “al-Shinnawi” was added to Sidi Omar after his death for the following reason. According to the narration, when relatives and friends were washing the corpse of Sidi Omar, they found a large burned spot that halted their cleansing process. They wanted to know the appropriate way to handle the damaged part of the body. While discussing whether they should wash it with water or clean it with a cloth, they heard a mystical call (hatif) saying “shinnu” (sprinkle it with water). Since then, Sidi Omar has been named “Shinnawi ” or “the sprinkled,” and the village in which he was buried was named “Shinnu.” The title of al-Shinnawiya as designating a new Sufi order has been bequeathed through the line of Sidi Omar al-Shinnawi’s descendants. A grand mosque, in which Sidi Omar is buried, was built in Shinnu.

It has been a custom that, on the night of the last Wednesday of the seven-day celebration (mawlid) of al-Badawi, members of al-Shinnawiya order perform a distinctive form of ritual for honoring certain saints, some of whom are spiritually, not biologically, related to the Shinnawi family. The patron shaykh of the Shinnawiya order or his deputy, accompanied by members of the order, spend the night in the shrine of Sidi Mohammed al-Shinnawi at the village of Mahalat Ruh (where the shrine of Sidi Mohammed al-Shinnawi is located). Then, on the morning of the next day (Thursday) he rides a donkey leading the mawkab (public procession) toward the Mosque of al-Badawi at Tanta. However, on the way to Tanta, the procession goes to the village of Shibshir al-Hissa, where the participants stay until noon at the mosque of Sidi al-Imari (who is not biologically related to the family of al-Shinnawi). After the noon prayer, the procession goes to al-Rajdiya, where they rest for a while at the mosque of Sidi Marzuq (who is also not a Shinnawi descendant) and where they recite the fatih. a. Then, the spiritual procession moves toward Ikhnaway (where the shrine of Sidi Hassan al-Sa’igh, a Sufi brother or friend of Sidi Omar is located). In addition, Ikhnaway people from the al-Shinnawiya branch, called Ghubbashiya, receive the followers and join them heading to Tanta.

While chanting the dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and the madih (religious songs) praising the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), participants carry red banners (associated with the Grand Ahmediya of al-Badawi) decorated with calligraphic phrases praising Allah and his prophet along with name of the al-Shinnawiya al-Ahmediya order. Both young men and the elderly partake in the procession. Loudspeakers carried by young men spread the chants of the procession over the places they pass through. Tents for the followers of the Sufi order as well as for visitors are set up. Inside and outside the tents rugs, carpets, mats, and sheets are stretched on the ground for people to sit and relax. Inside the mosque of al-Badawi, as well as other mosques with shrines, visitors, using either one (their right) or both hands, touch the cloth that covers the shrine as well as the pillars and walls inside the shrine saying, “Support us, O people of grace” (madad ya ahl al-baraka). Tales of wonders and exceptional deeds of the saints are repeatedly narrated by followers and visitors. Food and sweets among other gifts (nafaha) are given to the needy and visitors as signs of blessing, unifying people together in this unique congregation.

What is curious here is that all participants walk from Ikhnaway to Tanta barefoot and bareheaded, a custom established by the founder of the tarıqa (Sidi Omar) as a sign of humility and respect to the prominent pole (qutb), al-Badawi. When they arrive at Tanta, the representative of the al-Badawi order receives them honorably and fraternally. Then, they visit the al-Badawi shrine, recite the fatiha, and pray the afternoon prayer. Finally, they rest in their assigned tents at Sijar (a traditional quarter in Tanta, west of al-Badawi mosque). It is through this bodily ritual that they both sacralize the territory by walking on it and maintain the relationship between the Grand Sufi Order of al-Badawi and the fraternal order of al-Shinnawiya.