Moulay Boushayb Sarya (d. 561/1166)

The saint who actually "merged the horizons" of Sanhaja and Masmuda Sufism within the Nuriya tradition was Sidi Abu Shuayb ibn Said Sanhaji ("Moulay Boushayb"; d. 561/1166). Although he was born to a prominent family of Sanhaja Azammour pastoralists on the banks of the Umm Rabi' rive, Sidi Abu Shuayb avoided the Sanhaja spiritual master Moulay Abu Abdellah Amghar until late in his life, proffering instead to the study at the feet of Masmuda spiritual masters who were associated with Ribat Sidi Shiker. The first of Moulay Boushayb's Masmuda teachers was a disciple of Sidi Bannour ibn al-Mashanzai (d. 550/1135). It was perhaps of Sidi Bannour's reputation for baraka that Moulay Boushayb sought guidance from Sidi Bannour instead of the Sanhaja murabit of Tit al-Fitr. Moulay Boushayb spent most of his youth at Iliskawen, where he could be seen leaning on his walking stick and teaching the Quran to the children of the ribat.  Because he would remain in one place for hours at a time, his colleagues called him as-Sarya (Moroccan Arabic. The Support, Pillar), an appellation that was to become even more meaningful when he was called upon to represent the people of Azammour before government officials.  

While at Iliskawen, Moulay Boushayb displayed the ethical hypersensitivity towards the Shari'a that was a hallmark of the Nuriya tradition. Upon finding his cow eating from a neighbour's garden, he run toward it, stuck his hand into its mouth, and forcibly pulled out all of the undigested material that he found inside. In order to make symbolic restitution for what his cow had eaten, he kept the animal out for three days (until all of his food had been digested) and gave its meal to the poor. On another occasion, he told Sidi Abdelkhaliq ibn Yassin Daghoughi, that he would never eat raisins grown on vines that were watered by a shared canal, since if the land over which the water flowed had been obtained unlawfully, it would pollute lawfully acquired land downstream. 

After the death of Sidi Bannour, Moulay Boushayb moved to Aghmat, where he completed his discipleship under Sidi Abdelljalil ibn Wayhan. Later he headed to Tit al-Fitr to take the Amghariya tradition from Moulay Abu Abdellah. In confirmation of his role as a bridge between the traditions of Sanhaja and Masmuda Sufism, he presided over ribats in both Azammour (a Sanhaja town) and Aghmat (a Masmuda town) after Sidi Abdelljalil passed away. His position as the patron saint of both localities is confirmed by ibn Qunfudh, who reports that Moulay Boushayb once led the 'Id al-Adha prayer (celebrating the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca) at Aghmat and then returned to Azammour four days later to find its inhabitants still waiting for him to officiate at their own prayer and sacrifice. It is also reported that while supervising the 'Id ritual at Azammour in later years, he would feel the people of Aghmat praying behind him.  

Like his teachers, Moulay Boushayb was noted for his social activism.  His initial opponents were the Almoravids, who religious leaders disapproved of Sufism and subjected the pastoralists and merchants of Dukkala to unpopular and onerous taxes. According to a widely reported account, when the Almoravid governor of Azammour wanted to execute a group of tax rebels Moulay Boushayb went to him in order to plead their case. When the haughty Saharan imashagh noticed the Shaykh's dark brown complexion, he considered him to be of low status and rebuffed him. After roughly ordering Moulay Boushayb to leave his presence, the governor was stricken by severe stomach cramps. "The man you have just sent away is Moulay Boushayb," someone told him. "He is one of the Awliya" and he is angry at you for rebuffing him." The governor quickly apologised to the Shaykh and allowed him to intercede for those he had condemned to death. Henceforth, whenever this particular governor heard that Moulay Boushayb was coming, he would release all of his Sanhaja prisoners before the Shaykh arrived. 

Despite his dislike for the Almoravids, Moulay Boushayb never forgot his sense of justice. This caused him to speak  out against the massacres of Veiled Sanhaja that were carried out by the Almohads after their conquest of Marrakech. The Shaykh's interference resulted in his arrest at the order of the Almohad caliph Abdelmumin. Rather than defending his actions, Moulay Boushayb boldly used his trial as a pretext to intercede for the wives and concubines of the Almoravid ruling family: 

[Moulay Boushayb] went to Marrakech in the year 541, brought there at the order of Abdelmumin ibn Ali. But when the ]Almohad caliph] saw his colourless countenance, he took pity upon him. He wanted to interrogate him, but feared him because of the powers of clairvoyance that he perceived in him. So he delegated the questioning to a merchant who was a companion of Imam al-Mahdi [ibn Tumart]. He first asked the Shaykh about the doctrine of divine unity (tawhid), which had a particular definition among [the Almohads]. The Shaykh answered [the questions] with the answers of the as-Salaf as-Salih, using verses from the Quran.

It is related that when he was asked [about tawhid] Moulay Boushayb answered [with the Quranic verse]: "God. There is no God but He, the Living, the Eternal…" to the end of the verse. Then [Ibn Tumart's companion] u-Asnar (Wasnar) asked again, "What is tawhid?" and Moulay Boushayb answered: "I [hope that] God will not cause to die because of this!" Abdelmumin was shocked by this response and knew that Moulay Boushayb's curse would certainly strike [u-Asnar]. After some time, he questioned him [again], saying, "What is tawhid oh Shaykh?" So [Moulay Boushayb] said to him: "God bears witness that there is no god but He and the angles and the foremost in knowledge…" until "the Glorious, the Most Wise" then the Shaykh repeated the curse against him and sought protection in God. After some time he said [again], "What is tawhid oh Shaykh?" and Moulay Boushayb said to him: "God, the Exalted, the Almighty, said: 'Say: He is Allah the One, Allah the Incomparable'…" to the end of the sura. He repeated the first answer, and the Shaykh reaffirmed his course.

Suddenly, a great tremor shook Abdelmumin's palace. He blanched at this and knew that it could not have taken place except for the Shaykh. So he praised Moulay Boushayb profusely and commanded that he be the object of ziyara [ritual visiting] and all of his needs be fulfilled. But the Shaykh said, "I have no need for anything, except that you allow me to intercede for the wives of Ali ibn Yusuf [b. Tashfin] and the wives of his sons, and [that you] allow them to go wherever they wish."