Sidi Ali Sanhaji Dawar (d. 950/1535)
In addition to the Shadhilite line of spiritual masters who expounded Sufi doctrine with logical precision, there were always spiritual personalities who broke every rational framework, as they incorporated some secret essence of the doctrine which transcended ordinary reason. One such was the majdhub Sidi Ali Sanhaji al-Fasi (the famous "ad-Dawar"). The concepts of Jadhb and malama imply different applications. The Jadhb (foulness in Allah) is contrary to suluk (walking to Allah). The stations are both described in the Quran: "Allah chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him) (42:13). Walking Sufis, however, may conceal their sainthood in the manifestation of blame (malama; those who intentionally draws people's criticism on themselves). Established by Sidi Hamdun al-Qassar Nisaburi (d.271/884) who states, "Avoid impressing human beings at all times and avoid seeing their pleasure in any type of characteristic or behaviour. If you do not, you will soon be blamed for what God agency has caused you to possess," the malamatiya entered to Morocco at the hand of Sidi Abul Hassan Ali ibn Harzihim (d. 544/1129).
In Moroccan Sufi traditions, the malamatis are holy men who deliberately led an outrageous life in order to conceal their spiritual achievements. The are hardly found any respite from their admirers. The same can be said about the majdhubs. Many mystics lived in a state of ecstasy for shorter or longer periods, but some never regained cerebral stability. Just as there were no external criterion by which to judge a true Sufi or by which to distinguish him from a charlatan, so it was difficult to distinguish a majdoub from a malamati. In the popular mind, however, majdoubs were supernatural beings who could perform incredible miracles, and all the Sufi brotherhoods vied with one another in exhibiting devotion to them. In all decades and in all centuries, there was no dearth of majdoubs in Morocco. Preposterous stories are told about their spiritual achievements. Moroccan Biographical notes on some of them are available in even sober hagiological literature, but none could surpass Sidi Ali Sanhaji, who lived in Fez in the first half of the tenth/sixteenth century. Sidi Ali Sanhaji, was known as the 'roamer', which can be understood in either a physical or physical sense. He was the disciple of a Shadhili mystic from Zerhoun called Sidi Ibrahim al-Fahham (d. 939/1524), who was himself a partisan of the great scholar Sidi Ahmed Zarruq al-Fasi (d. 899/1484). For the people of Fez Sidi Ali Sanhaji's holiness was as apparent as the sunrise. He possessed neither home nor family.
With his capacity for revealing what is hidden Sidi Ali Sanhaji could entirely see through those whom he met. He cared for neither praise neither blame. Thus he sometimes entered the houses of the Marinids, where women and children would crowd him and kiss his hands and feet, without paying attention to anyone. They heaped on him costly clothes and jewellery, and the Sultan himself gave him garments of distinction. But he would go out and give away everything that he had received, and, in his fine garments, he would brush past the shops of oil merchants, so that they would become spotted with oil. During his constant roaming he increasing invoked the name Allah. No one knew where he lived. When he died, people swarmed to his funeral, and divided amongst themselves the planks from his bier, his prayer mat, and his clothes. He was buried outside the Futuh gate. Even the Sultan and scholars were present at his burial.
Amongst the miracles that people ascribe to him as mentioned in Salwat al-anfas is the following: one day he stopped in front of a house, held up the lintel of the door with his hand, and shouted: 'O inhabitants of this house, come out, come out!' when all those who were inside had come out, he withdrew his hand, and the wall fell down. On one occasion he suddenly entered the inner courtyard of a house, where a completely naked woman was washing her clothes. But he stretched out his arm, and caught a child who at that moment fell down from the roof. "This is why I came in," he said to the frightened woman, gave her child and left. Once a Fasi merchant, who was entering the al-Qarawiyyine mosque for the Subh prayer, saw him sitting on the threshold of the mosque eating cucumbers. It was market day (Thursday) and, as he performed his prayer, the merchant considered how much he would offer for a donkey that he wished to buy. When he came out of the mosque he saw Moulay Ali still sitting on the threshold eating cucumbers. The merchant thought to himself, " e would do better if, instead of eating cucumbers, he would perform the Subh prayer,' whereupon the Shaykh cried out to him: 'Better a cucumber breakfast than a donkey prayer!'
Sidi Ali Sanhaji's tradition was revived by his student Moulay Abderrahman al-Majdoub (d. 976/1561 in Meknes), who had the noted walking saint Sidi Abul Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi (d. 1013/1598) as a successor. Shaykh Moulay Abderrahman al-Majdoub was born in Tit al-Fitr, located on the Atlantic coast some eight kilometres south of the modern city of El Jadida. In addition to his premier master (Sidi Ali Sanhaji) the Shaykh took Sufism from various Jazoulite masters such as Sidi Abdellah ibn Hussein al-Amghari (d. 977/1562) of the Ghazwaniya, Sidi Abu Ruwayin ibn al-Mahjub (d. before 960/1553) of the Isawiya order, Sidi Abu Zakariyya Yahya Ibn Allal, Sidi Abu Abdellah Ja'arn (student of Sidi Mohammed ibn Mansour Sufyani), and Sidi Omar al-Khattab of the Tabba’aiya (d. ca. 943/1536). The latter addressed to Moulay Abderrahman, "There is no fool but the Majdhub" (mabqa madhub illa al-majdub), a nickname that permanently passed to him.
Sidi Ali Sanhaji is the origin of the most important twig of the Zarruqite branch. Throughout the ramifications of this line, from Moulay Abderrahman to Shaykh Abul Mahasin al-Fasi down to the board layers of the laymen followers, divine grace was restored in Fez. Al-Fasi’s order attracted the cream of ulama, sharifs, and intellectuals. Abul Mahasin was succeeded by his brother, the al-Qarawiyyine legend, Sidi Abderrahman al-Fasi (d. 1027/1612), who headquartered himself in the zawiya of the Qlaqliyyine district. Sidi Abderrahman was succeeded by his cousin shaykh al-jama'a Sidi Abdellqadir al-Fasi (d. 1091/1676) and the sober mystic Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdellah Ma'in al-Andalusi (d. 1062/1647): the manufacturer of Sidi Qasim Khassasi (d. 1083/1668), himself the teacher of al-Qutb Sidi Ahmed ibn Abdellah al-Fasi al-Andalusi (d. 1129/1714).
The qutbaniya of the latter was inherited by al-Shaykh al-Rabbani, al-Fard al-Samadani, Mawlana Abdellaziz b. Masoud Debbarh ("Dabbagh"; d. 1132/1717) on whom the faqih Sidi Ahmed Ibn Moubarak al-Lamti (d. 1156/1741) wrote Kitab al-Ibriz (The pure gold in the sayings of Sidi Abdellaziz). In his first journey to Fez (1171/1756), Sidna Shaykh al-Qutb al-Maktum Mawlana Abul Abbas Tijani (d. 1230/1815) came into contact with the venerated Shaykh Sidi Abdellah b. Sidi al-Arbi b. al-Qutb Sidi Ahmed b. ibn Abdellah (d. 1188/1778). They talked on various issues and before they had bidden each other farewell, Sidna Shaykh prayed to God to award him the good things of this world and the hereafter. The final words from the Shaykh Sidi Abdellah were, "May Allah stand by you", spoken thrice".
قائمة المؤلفات مرآة المحاسن من أخبار الشيخ أبي المحاسن سلوة الأنفاس ومحادثة الأكياس بذكر من أقبر من العلماء والصلحاء بمدينة فاس
