In
Kitab al-Ibriz,
the faqih Sidi Ahmed ibn al-Mubarak reports that his Shaykh the Idrissid sharif
Sidi Abdellaziz Debbarh had him informed that the image of sainthood (wilaya)
that is found in the Sufi hagiographies reflects to a high extent the mystic
perspective of the saint on the account of his human character. For mystically
minded hagiographers, who usually ignore the humanity of Sufis, the saint’s
example had to conform to more widely accepted traditions and narratives. Sidi
Abdellaziz rejects this approach and confirms that sainthood is more importantly
a divine ascription free of any specific criteria.
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The spiritual
succession is often represented as a tree: as it grows from a sapling to fully
matured tree, it throws out branches, and these in turn sometimes develop still
other, lesser branches. The same hold true for Sufi orders, but as time goes by
the main...[More]
To consider
wilaya (sainthood) from the perspective of human experience, and not from
some doctrinal ideal, one must first of all acknowledge that wilaya is a
social phenomenon. In fact, the extraordinary is recognised in practice before
it is defined in theory...[More]
A
particularity of early Moroccan Sufism is a phenomenon called Maraboutism.
Within two generations after the death of Sidna al-Imam, Mawlana Idriss
al-Azhar (d. 213/798), Maliki Sufi jurists began systematically to introduce
Malikism in the Moroccan countryside, first instituted in Fez by the Maliki
ideologist Sidi Darras ibn Ismail (d. 357/942). This activity was part of a
concerted effort by the ulama of North Africa to Islamise areas that were
beyond the reach of the state and hence outside of the practical limits of the
Shari'a...[More]
To consider wilaya (sainthood)
from the perspective of human experience, and not from some doctrinal ideal,
one must first of all acknowledge that wilaya is a social phenomenon. In fact,
the extraordinary is recognised in practice before it is defined in theory. To
restate this point in the terms used by Moroccan Sufis: if the nature of
person's knowledge ('ilm) is revealed through one's actions ('amal), then the
nature of a person's sainthood will also be revealed through the actions of
the saint as experienced by others...[More]
Sufi doctrine emphasises that the reality (haqiqa)
that constitutes Islam issued from the inner meaning of the Quran and the inner
nature of the Prophet Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him), who is at
the origin of the silsila,
or the chain of spiritual descent of every Sufi order. Upon his death, the
prophetic function came to an end, but the saintly power (wilaya)
continued and was transmitted through Sidna Ali ibn Abi Talib...[More]
There are
within Moroccan style of Islam three major types of legitimation: the Quran
(including its extension by Hadith), the consensus of the community, and the
line of succession. The Holy Book is repository of the divine word, publicly
available, not incarnated in any one person, group, institution, or policy,
and hence capable of...[More]
There are some
of the zawiyas where the shaykhs resisted the invaders and did jihad with
weapons or the pen or the tongue. It is not our aim to examine all the
mujahidun Awliya here. We simply want to provide some evidence for those who
say that not all the Sufi orders submitted to colonialists. These are but a
few of the Sufi Shaykhs among those who liberated the Moroccan coasts...[More]
The Moroccan Sufi zawaya (lodges or headquarters) provided numerous services
for neighbouring communities. In times of political turmoil, for instance,
they served as communal granaries; peasants often left their crops in nearby
zawaya for safekeeping, to prevent their seizure by marauding nomads or
looters...[More]
The Moroccan Sufi zawaya (lodges or headquarters) provided numerous services
for neighbouring communities. In times of political turmoil, for instance,
they served as communal granaries; peasants often left their crops in nearby
zawaya for safekeeping, to prevent their seizure by marauding nomads or
looters...[More]
The fate of Moroccan Sufism has since the Almoravid era, been closely connected
to remarkable individuals whose achievements were praised
in
hagiographical literature.
The Sufi Master Sidi Waggag ibn Zallu al-Lamti (d. 445/1030), disciple of Sidi
Abu Imran al-Fasi (d. 430/1015)...[More]
The Qadiriya
Sufi Order, so named after Shaykh Moulay Abdellqadir Jilani (d. 561/1166),
occupies a pre-eminent place in Moroccan Sufism. Although its organisational
structure came into prominence several decades after the death of the Shaykh...[More]
Patron Saints of Morocco
The Pillars of Moroccan Sufism
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Al-Qutb al-Maktum,
al-Wali al-Mohammedi al-Ma'lum, al-Barzakh al-Makhtum,
Khatm al-Awliya, Mawlana,
Abul Abbas Ahmed Tijani
(d. 1230/1815)
|
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Founder of the Holy
City of Fez, Sayyid al-Shurafa, al Imam al-Qutb, Mawlana,
Moulay Idriss
al-Azhar
(d. 213/798)
|
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Shaykh Tariqa
al-Nuriya, Supporter of His Caller, al-Qutb al-Farid al-Abhar,
Sidi Abu Yaaza Yalnour
(d. 572/1157)
|
|
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Patron Saint of Asfi, al-Murabit
al-Kamil, al-'Arif al-Zahid, al-Wali al-Fadil,
Sidi Abu Salih Majiri
(d. 631/1216)
|
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Patron Saint of Marrakech, al-Baraka al-Nasik al-Amjad, al-Qutb al-Salik
al-Asad,
(d. 869/1454)
|
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Patron Saint of Lybia, al-Qudwa al-'Udhma, Sayyid al-Taifa al-'Ulya,
Sidi Ahmed Zarruq al-Fasi
(d. 899/1484)
|
|
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Patron
Saint of Meknes, al-Sharif al-Anwar, al-Qutb al-Azhar, Mawlana,
Sidi Mohammed al-Hadi ben Aissa
(d. 933/1518)
|
|
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The Baraka
of Fez, al-Wali al-Shahir, al-Qudwa al-Kabir, al-Allama al-Fahhama,
Sidi Abul
Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi
(d. 1013/1598)
|
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Patron
Saint of
Dar'a, Founder of the Nasiriya Order, Mawlana al-Qutb,
Sidi Mhammed
b. Nasir Dar'i
(d. 1085/1670)
|
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Patron
Saint of
Wazzan,
Founder of the Wazzaniya
Order, Qutb
'Dar Dmana',
Moulay Abdellah Sharif al-Wazzani
(d. 1089/1674)
|
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Patron
Saint of
Wazzan,
Master of the Wazzaniya order,
Qutb 'Dar Dmana',
Sidi Mohammed
b. Abdellah Wazzani (d. 1120/1705)
|
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The
Baraka of Fez, al-Ghawt al-Kabir, al-Qutb
Shahir, Sahib al-Sadr al-Salim,
Sidi Ahmed b. Abdellah al-Andalusi
(d. 112o/17o5)
|
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Qutb
Wazzan, al-'Alim al-'Amil,
al-'Arif al-Wasil,
al-Sharif
al-Kamil, Mawlana,
Sidi Tuhami b. Mohammed Wazzani
(d. 1127/1712)
|
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The Baraka
of Fez, al-Qutb al-Wasil, al-Ghawt al-Kamil, al-Shaykh al-Rabbani,
Moulay Abdellaziz Debbarh
(d. 1132/1717)
|
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The Baraka
of Fez, al-Qutb al-Samadani, al-Fard al-Rabbani,al-Sharif
al-Hussayni,
Moulay Ahmed Sqalli
(d. 1177/1762)
|
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Qutb
Wazzan,
al-'Arif al-Kabir, al- Wali al-Shahir, al-Badr al-Munir, Mawlana,
Sidi Tayyeb b. Mohammed al-Wazzani
(d. 1181/1766)
|
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Al-Wasita al-'Udhma, Sahib
al-Siyada al-Kubra, al-Sharif al-Hassani al-Aqdas,
Sidi
Mohammed b. al-Arabi Tazi
d. 1210/1795)
|
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Patron
Saint of Anjra, al-Wali al-Salih, al-Shaykh al-Nasih,
the Prolific Writer,
Sidi Ahmed b. Ajiba al-Hassani
(d.
1224/1809)
|
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Patron
Saint of Bani Zarwal,
Founder of the Darqawiya order, al-Wali al-Asma,
Moulay al-Arbi Darqawi
(d. 1239/1824)
|
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Al-Khalifa al-Ashraf, al-Qudwa
al-Ashhar, Dhu al-Fath al-Akbar, al-Fard,
Sidi Mohammed al-Ghali Boutaleb
(d. 1244/1829)
|
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Patron
Saint of
Yemen,
al-Fadil al-Amjad, al-Kawkab al-As'ad, al-Baraka al-Akmal,
Sidi Ahmed b. Idriss al-Fasi
(d. 1252/1837)
|
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The Baraka of Fez, al-Muqaddam
az-Zaki, al-Nasik al-Shakir, Mawlana,
Sidi Abdelwahhab b. 'Ahmar al-Fasi
(d. 1269/1854)
|
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Patron
Saint of Tetouan,
al-Sharif al-Manif, Shaykh
Tariqa Darqawiya,
Sidi Mohammed al-Harraq
(d. 1261/1846)
|
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The Baraka
of Fez, al-Yaquta al-Farida, Sahib al-Qutbaniya al-'Udhma,
Sidi Mohammed b. Abi Nasr Alawi
(d. 1273/1858)
|
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Patron Saint of
Marrakech, al-Qutb al-Jami'a, al-Wazir al-Bahir, al-Sharif,
Sidi Mohammed
b. Ahmed Akansus
(d. 1294/1879)
|
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Patron
Saint of
Rabat,
Shaykh Tariqa Tijaniya, al-Qutb al-Ghawt,
al-Faqih,
Sidi Mohammed al-Arbi b. Sayeh
(d. 1309/1894)
|
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Patron
Saint of Tiznit,
Shaykh Tariqa, Manba'a al-'Haqiqa, al-Sharif al-Manif,
Sidi Mohammed Maa' al-Aynayn
(d. 1325/1910)
|
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Patron Saint of Tiznit, Qutb
al-Aqtab, al-Muqaddam al-Kabir, al-Faqih al-Adib,
Sidi al-Hussein al-Ifrani al-Hassani
(d. 1328/1913)
|
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Patron
Saint of Marrakech,
al-Khalifa al-Akram, al-Fard al-Asqam,
al-Faqih,
Sidi Abul Abbas Ahmed Skirej al-Fasi
(d. 1366/1940)
|
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Patron
Saint of Marrakech,
al-Qutb al-Rabbani, al-Salik al-Malamati,
al-Faqih,
Sidi Mohammed b. Abdelwahid Nadhifi
(d. 1370/1951)
|
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Shams al-Sa'ada, Qutb ad-Daira, Sahib as-Siyada, al-Ghawt al-Jami'a,
al-Faqih,
Sidi al-Hassan al-Baaqili al-Hassani
(d.
1363/1948)
|
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Patron Saint of Damnat, Nuqtat
ad-Daira, al-Qutb al-Rabbani, al-Faqih,
Sidi Mohammed al-'Hajuji al-Fasi
(d. 1371/1952)
|
(d. 935/1520)
