Imam Moulay Idriss: Founder of Western Islamdom

There are within Moroccan style of Islam three major types of legitimation: the Quran (including its extension by the Hadith –sayings of the Holy Prophet), the consensus of the community (Ummah), and the line of succession (wirata). The Quran is repository of the divine word, publicly available, not incarnated in any one person, group, institution, or policy, and hence capable of sitting in judgement on any one of them. Another important form of legitimation is the consensus of the community. In Islam, this approach has complemented rather than opposed the Quran. Legitimacy of the community was invoked only for the supplementing of divine truth by interpretation where interpretation was required, rather than as an independent and equally powerful source. In practise, the Quran required scholars (ulama) to read it and consensus to interpret it, and hence, concretely speaking, the authority of the ulama as religious scholars, and that of the community as interpreters of the Words, were in harmony.

But there is a third type of legitimation within Moroccan Islam, that of succession. Succession can be either physical or spiritual, and sometimes one genealogical line may employ both physical and spiritual links. Therefore, the aspect of sharifism concerns the relative valuation of ascribed (mawhub) versus acquired form of status (maksub); {Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt), and purify you with a perfect purification} (Quran 33:33). The belief that descent from the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) is a necessary and sufficient proof of religious or political authority was widely accepted by Muslims after his departure. This practice developed in Morocco as the result of the career of Imam Mawlana Idriss b. Sidna Abdellah al-Kamil b. Sidna al-Hassan al-Muthanna b. Sidna al-Hassan Sibt b. Sidna Ali ibn Abi Talib and Lalla Fatima Zahra. With the pledge of allegiance (al-bay’ah) to Imam Moulay Idriss in 172/413 in Zerhoun, successive sultans of Morocco considered themselves the caliphs of Western Islamdom with the title of the “commander of the faithful” (Emir al-Mouminin).

Caliphate of Ahl al-Bayt

Since the martyrdom of Imam Mawlana al-Hussein ibn Ali in 61/680 in Karbala, the authority of the Caliphate in the Muslim world had been compromised by Ahl al-Bayt. It was not until the era of Sidna Abdellah al-Kamil that there was a real constituted effort to reclaim the right to Caliphate. They were Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya (called “the pure soul”; 145/730), Sidna Ibrahim, Sidna Sulayman and Moulay Idriss. These sharifs rejected the Husseinid imamate advocated by later Ithna’a Ashari doctrine in favour of a specifically Hassanid form of leadership. Umayyad rule (al-Amawiyyin) was weakening. Ahl al-Bayt had been waiting for an opportunity to take their rightful place as Caliphs of the Muslim Ummah. They saw this as the right time. In 131/X, they gathered in Madinah to consult each other as to who should come forward to claim the right. Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya was eventually chosen, and the other brothers pledged allegiance (al-bay’ah) to him. Their cousin, al-Mansur, the future Abbasid Caliph, was present at the pledging of allegiance and supported Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya. However, al-Mansur went back on his oath when his family seized power. Al-Saffah al-Abbasi (d. 136/ 572) ascended the throne and the Muslim Ummah was forced to pledge allegiance to him. Abu Jaafar then took the title after his brother’s death. Imam Malik openly stated that Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya had more right to the title and testified to his merit. This led him suffering great affliction for his political stance.

Al-Mansur’s brother, al-Saffah was not bothered by the Hassanid uprisings, but al-Mansur was more concerned about their claims to Imamate (al-Imama). It reached him that Ahl al-Bayt and their supporters set out to oppose him. He heard of support for them rising up in Khurasan. In 140, he had grown frustrated by his governors’ lack of heart in arresting the Hassanid Sharifs. Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya and his brothers were living a time of great adventure and danger. They secretly went around gathering support for their cause. No one would turn them over because people’s hearts were inclined to them. Al-Mansur decided to kill two birds with one stone. He made the pilgrimage that year. He found some of the heads of the family, including their father, the Imam of Madinah, Sidna Abdellah al-Kamil, but they refused to reveal the whereabouts of his sons. Al-Mansur seized them and took them to Kufa, Iraq with him where they were thrown into a foul dungeon, treated most brutally and left to die in prison. Al-Mansur made the same move in 144/764. He seized still more of the Hassanid family and brought them back with him. However, Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya and his brother Sidna Ibrahim had escaped arrest. Sidna Aissa went to the Maghreb to collect support. Sidna Yahya had been sent to Khurasan.

In 144, al-Mansur finally found a man true to his heart in Riyah ibn Uthman. He appointed him governor of Madinah and he feverously continued the campaign to find Imam Nafs Zakiyya and his brothers. Riyah was saved the trouble, though. In 145/730, Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya appeared in Madinah and publicly denounced al-Mansur and called the people to pledge al-bay’ah to him. Riyah was taken completely by surprise. Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya had the opposition to his call arrested, including Riyah. He refused to have any blood spilled, though. At the time, the people came to Imam Malik to ask him what they should do as they had already pledged allegiance to the Abbasids, but they had done so against their will. Al-Mansur said they were bound to their pledge, defending his position with a fabricated prophetic tradition that he banned anyone from questioning. When asked about this tradition, Imam Malik did not hesitate to announce its fabrication. The people rushed to pledge their allegiance to Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya. Imam Malik was later flogged by al-Mansur for his actions. Imam Malik kept to his house throughout the uprising.

Al-Mansur was relieved to know that he finally knew Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya’s whereabouts. He sent a garrison of 4,000 men to reason with the Imam. The Imam built a trench around Madinah just like at the ‘Battle of the Trench’ (al-Khandaq). All the signs pointed to a re-enactment of the ‘Battle of the Trench’. He was advised to give up and flee Madinah, but he considered this an insult to the Sacred City. Some people in the city became dismayed and refused to fight on hearing the approach of al-Mansur’s troops. This did not perturb him, however. He drew out the sword of his grandfather, the Messenger of God (peace and blessing be upon him and his family), called the people to fight, and cried out the battle cry of Sidna al-Hussein when he was martyred. The art of single combat was revived and the Imam killed over seventy men that day alone. However, the forces of al-Mansur easily passed the trench. They placed doors over it and moved into the City. The Imam’s forces were weakened and he knew the battle was lost. He pulled out of the battle and joined Dhuhr and Asr prayers and burned the record of those who had pled al-bay’ah to him, so that their names would not be discovered. Then he proceeded to wash himself to prepare his body for burial. After, he went to the prison where he had held those who had opposed him and killed them. Finally, he headed back into battle and was martyred at Ahjaar al-Zait. His head was decapitated from his body and carried to the prison where his father Mawlana Abdellah al-Kamil was held. All this was prophesized by the Prophet, “A pure soul from my progeny will be killed at Ahjaar al-Zait.”

The Hassanid brothers had opened their campaign far too early. They had also underestimated the hesitancy of a lot of the Muslim community. Sidna Ibrahim kept up the resistance in Basra but was later martyred in Baghdad. In Khurasan, Sidna Yahya was to continue the struggle after his brothers’ death. The Abbasid Harun Rashid sent forces to extinguish the rebellion there, which later led to a truce. Sidna Yahya was convinced to return after Harun Rashid made an oath not to touch him. He was later poisoned and died. Sidna Musa, who was sent to Syria, was rejected; the people were afraid and wanted to see the result of the conflict in Madinah before they made any allegiances to Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya. It was a time of political and social instability. People were not spiritually ready to support an uprising against the Abbasids.

Later there was another attempt to overthrow Abbasid power in 169/786 on the eighth of Dhu al-Hijja. The descendent of Sidna al-Hussein b. Sidna Ali b. Sidna al-Hassan al-Muthallat b. Sidna al-Hassan al-Muthanna b. Sidna al-Hassan Sibt b. Sidna Ali ibn Abi Talib and Lalla Fatima Zahra (may Allah be pleased with them all) called people to follow him. Moulay Idriss pledged al-bay’ah to him. They fought the so-called ‘Battle of the Trap’ (Ma’arakat Fakh), 5 miles outside of Mecca, but were defeated. The survivors sneaked into the ranks of the pilgrims and escaped. They all went into hiding. Moulay Idriss, accompanied by his freedman Raachid al-Awarbi (who was said to be a Berber from the valley of Zerhoun), moved onto to Egypt, heading for Morocco.

Immigration of Moulay Idriss to Morocco

From Egypt, Moulay Idriss and Raachid moved on towards al-Qairawan. Throughout the journey, the two men exchanged clothing, so that people they passed would not suspect Moulay Idriss to be anyone of importance and Raachid acted as if he was his superior. They moved onto Tilimsan and then moved on up to Tangiers, Morocco. Moulay Idriss initially found asylum there but soon thereafter sought to establish himself among the remnants of the old Roman city of Walili (the ancient Roman capital of Volubilis). There he met with the Emir of Awraba tribe, Ishaq b. Mohammed, in the month of Rabee’ al-Awwal 172/757; an event that was to change the trajectory of Morocco forever. Emir Ishaq announced Moulay Idriss’ presence to the tribes and the major tribes pledged al-bay’ah to him on Friday the 4th of Ramadan. The local Berber tribes, passionate neophytes of Islam, were convinced of Moulay Idriss' power to lead as both king and imam and his exemplary conduct soon ensured his lordship over many of the Berber tribes.

But to understand this historical event whose influence in the Moroccan history is considerable and whose imprint can still be felt in the modern political system of Morocco, it is necessary to recall that the Arabs had came to Morocco decades before Moulay Idriss, bringing with them Islam and a dry style of reign. Sidna Uqba ibn Nafi’, the majestic Companion of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him and his family), had reached Tangiers in 67/518 spreading Islam to Spain and the South of Morocco with his Berber counterparts Tariq ibn Ziyad and Sidi Shiker (d. outside of Marrakech). The majority of people in Morocco had converted en masse, but had been left to themselves and rebelled against any Arab attempts to control them. In the year 155/740, they thrust all the Arabs out of Morocco, but they continued practicing Islam. The Umayyads ruled Spain at the time under the rule of Abderrahman and continued to rule Spain for 150 years.

When Moulay Idriss showed up, soon, all the major Berber tribes had pledged allegiance to him. However, a lot of Morocco was still non-Muslim. When Moulay Idriss has moved to the nearby valley of Zerhoun, where he founded his capital that is now called after his blessed name, the Imam assembled an army to combat the local rebel Berber tribes who were mostly Jewish and Christian. They were soon defeated and most of them converted to Islam. He took rest for a time and then headed out to conquer more of the surrounding tribes. They either became Muslim or were taken prisoner and some were killed. The battles stopped in 173/758 when Moulay Idriss made a visit to Tilimsan. The people there pledged al-bay’ah to him and a mosque was built. His name was carved into the pulpit there. Soon after, the whole Berber tribes fell under his cause. Tilimsan is to become the new capital of Idrissid Morocco before the Imam’s foundation of the great city of Fez in 213/789. According to popular imagination, Fez was named so after the Imam’s most authentic supplication, "O Allah! Make this city 'Faiza' (triumphed), 'Amina' (safe) and 'Salima' (healthy); abbreviating what becomes the city of Fas (ﻔﺎﺱ). Granted, Fez is the only city in the Muslim world founded by a member of Ahl al-Bayt.

It soon reached Harun ar-Rachid that the Imam’s influence and popularity were spreading east. As can be perceived from the Imam’s sermons, it was his plan to conquer the whole of the African continent. Harun ar-Rachid sent a cunning assassin named Shumakh ibn Sulayman to assassin him. He had promised him great wealth if he could carry out this task. Shumakh was sent to Ibrahim b. al-Aghlab in Tunisia where he was allowed protected passage into Morocco. Shumakh entered the court of Imam Idriss acting as if he had fled from Arabia. Any Arab that came fleeing from the Abbasids was protected and honoured by Moulay Idriss at the time. The Imam found Shumakh to be well educated and eloquent. Shumakh would compose magnificent poetry in praise of the Ahl al-Bayt whilst calling the Berbers to Moulay Idriss’ cause. The Imam was so impressed with him that he made him one of his closest men. However, his freedman Raachid al-Awarbi did not trust Shumakh. He was very careful not to leave Shumakh alone with the Imam.

One day Raachid was held up somewhere. Shumakh took his opportunity. He presented the Imam with a gift of perfume. “This is a bottle of the finest perfume that I have with me, but I see that you are more deserving of it than I do.” Moulay Idriss thanked him and opened the bottle. He took one sniff and he fell to the ground. It was a deadly poison. Shumakh moved quickly to the stables and took his horse that he had been preparing for his escape. He mounted him and rushed back east. When Raachid came back, he found his master on the floor. He bent down and placed the Imam’s head on his lap. Moulay Idriss was opening his mouth to tell him something, but he could not speak. He stayed in this state until the afternoon and finally passed away. Raachid soon heard of Shumakh’s presence on the road east. Raachid set out to catch him with a band of Berbers. He soon caught up with him and was able to injure him, but Shumakh managed to escape and reach Baghdad. It was said he returned to Baghdad with one of his hands paralysed.

Imam Moulay Idriss died in Rabee’ al-Thani 177/762; he left behind his Berber wife, Lalla Kanza bint Uqba al-Awrabi, 7 months pregnant with his heir. Raachid prepared the body of his companion and buried him in the great mosque of Zerhoun so that people seek his blessing. Raachid advised they wait to see if Kanza would bear a boy.

“If it is a boy, we will raise him to the best of our ability until he reaches the age of manhood. Then we will bear allegiance to him out of respect for the progeny of the Messenger of God, and if it is a girl, then look amongst yourselves for a leader.”

The Berber chiefs agreed and placed Raachid as temporary leader. The child was born three months after Moulay Idriss’ death. However, Raachid had been killed two years before Moulay Idriss was issued a Caliph. Berbers who had been paid off by Ibrahim al-Aghlab, the ruler of Tunisia (Ifriqya) at the time, killed him. They carried his head to Tunisia. Harun Rachid had appointed Ibrahim al-Aghlab over Tunisia in 184/800.

Caliphate of Moulay Idriss II

Moulay Idriss II (said “al-Azhar”, the blossomed) was born on Monday the 13th of Rajab or the third 175/791 or 177/792. It was said that he was born with the declaration of Shahada, i.e. ‘There is no God but Allah (La-ilaha illa-Allah) and the saying of al-Hawqala, i.e. ‘There is no Strength or Might except through God’ (La-hawl-a wa-la quwwata-illa-bi-Allah) written between his shoulder blades. Raachid took him under his wing. He memorized the Quran by the age of eight. Raachid then taught him the sciences of Hadith, Islamic law, language, poetry, literature, horse riding, archery and other forms of the art of war. At the age of 11, he was ready to take up the responsibility of Imamate. The Berbers pledged al-bay’ah to him on Friday 7th Rabee’ al-Awwal 188/804-5. The Imam addressed the people with a powerful speech calling them to God and His obedience. The exclusivity of Ahl al-Bayt’s claim to the Caliphate continued in the admonition of Moulay Idriss al-Azhar when he pledged their allegiance to his Imamate:

Do not submit to anyone other than ourselves, for the establishment of God's truth (imamat al-Haqq) that you seek is only to found in us. 

Writing of Moulay Idriss II, the historian Rom Landau, says:

In the lore of the Moroccans, Idriss II, was a being of almost magical attributes. An exceptional young man he certainly must have been. At many points we are reminded of one of the greatest sages of Islam, Ibn Sina (Avicenna). At the age of four little Idriss apparently could read, at five write, at eight he knew the Quran by heart, and by then is said to have mastered the wisdom of all the outstanding savants. He was of real physical strength as well, and when he became officially sovereign at the age of thirteen, he had already accomplished feats of endurance that men twice his age could not emulate. His profound Islamic faith enhanced all these advantages and increased the veneration accorded him.

In 193/809, Moulay Idriss al-Azhar re-founded the city of Fez on the left bank of the river Fez. During the next nineteen years of his reign until his death in 213/829 at the age of 36, the Imam reunified Morocco, re-established its firm allegiance to Islam, and prepared the way for the Arabization of an amorphous and mainly tribal society. Doing so, he brought together in one faith and under one banner the kernel of a Sharifian state. For the next generations, the Idrissid concept of Imamate re-established especially by Moulay Idriss II maintained its hold in the political and spiritual system of Morocco.

The authority of the Idrissids is linked to a specifically Mohammedian tradition of leadership in accounts detailing the imamate of Moulay Idriss II. This is not to say that Moulay Idriss I did not believe that his status as a descendent of the Prophet was important to his claim of political legitimacy. However, Moulay Idriss II is more closely associated in the hagiographical and historical record with the innate and personal aspects of the Mohammedian Example (al-qudwa al-‘hasana). The theme of an inherited Mohammedian baraka (blessing), which was to become an important aspect of Moroccan Sufism, appears prominently in the works of Idrissid hagiography, such Nadhm ad-dur wal iqan by the Algerian chronicler Abu Abdellah Tanasi (d. 899/1484). In the following passage from this work, a companion of Moulay Idriss II named Dawud ibn al-Qacem is informed about the qualities which led his master to victory over the Kharajistes (al-Khawarij): 

I was amazed by what I saw of Moulay Idriss' bravery, strength, and firmness of resolve. Then he turned toward me and said, "O Dawud, why is it that I see you staring at me so much?" I said, "O Imam, I am amazed at the qualities in you that I have seen in no one else." "What are they?" he asked. "Your goodness, your beauty, the firmness of your intellect, the openness of your demeanour, and your determination in fighting the enemy," I answered. Then he said, "O Dawud, what you have seen in what we have inherited from the baraka of our ancestor the Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) and from his prayers for us and blessings upon us. This [baraka] has passed on as a legacy to our father, the Imam Ali (may God honour his face).

Literally, baraka means blessing, in the sense of divine favour. In broadest terms, baraka is not as it has so often been represented, a paraphysical force, a kind of spiritual electricity—a view which though not entirely without basis, simplifies it beyond recognition. Like the notion of al-qudwa al-hasana, it is a conception of the form in which the divine reaches into the world. Implicit, uncriticized, and far more systematic, it too is a “doctrine”. More exactly, it is a form of interpreting— emotionally, morally, intellectually— human experience, a cultural lustre on life. Rather than electricity, the best signal for baraka is personal presence, force of character, moral vividness. Saints have baraka in the way men have strength, courage, dignity, skill, beauty, or intelligence. It is a gift which some men have in greater degree than others, and which sharifian saints have in superlative degree.  

Idrissism in Moroccan Sufism

Upon the death of 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 ibn Mohammed, a grandson of Moulay Idriss II, received the bay’ah 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 b. 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 and his family) 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. Around the year 530/1135, a child named Slimane, 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, Slimane 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 (d. 622/1207), who would become the first patron saint of Moroccan Sufism. His sole student, the Moroccan sharif, al-Qutb Sidi Abul Hassan Shadhili (d. 656/1241) was gifted to present abroad the first version of Moroccan Sufism under the banner of Shadhiliya Sufi order. 

Among Moulay Idriss’ offspring who had achieved a great and powerful status in Moroccan Sufism the names of:

1. From Sidna Mohammad b. Moulay Idriss (d. 221/797 in Fez; successor of Moulay Idriss II, the head of 31 sharifian prominent families): Moulay Abdessalam ibn Mashish (d. 622/1207), Sidi Abd an-Nur Amrani (b. 685/1270), Sidi Ali ibn Maymun al-Fasi (d. 917/1502), Moulay Abdellah Sharif Yalmahi Wazzani and his offspring (d. 1089/1674), Sidi Abderrahman Ben Raysoun and his offspring (d. 950/1535), Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdewahid Kattani and his offspring (d. 1289/1874), Sidi Qacem ibn Rahmun (d. 1249/1834), Sidi Qaddur Alami (d. 1265/1850), Sidi Ali ibn Ahmed Shaqur Alami (d. before 1345/1930), Sidi Ali ben Hamdush Alami (d. 1131/1716), Sidi Ahmed Alami Rahouni ("Tijani"; d. 1373/1958), Sidi Mohammed al-Harraq (d. 1261/1846), Sidi Mohammad Ahmed Rkibi Wali, Sidi Abderrahman Mshashti, Sidi Maymun Mahaji, Sidi Jaafar Chibani, Sidi Abu Siba'a ibn Hariz Maashi, Sidi Yahya Azami, Sidi Lamfadal Jarmouni, Sidi Abdellqadir Harakat Kandri, Sidi Mohammed ibn Maluk Kandari (d. 1316/1901), Moulay Abdellah b. Idriss Bedrawi (“Tijani”, d. 1310/1895), Sidi Ahmed Rguibi al-Sahrawi (d. 1074/1665 in Wadi al-Saqiya al-Hamra), Sidi Ahmed al-'Arusi (d. 1002/1587 in Wadi al-Saqiya al-Hamra);

2. From Sidna al-Qacem b. Moulay Idriss (d. in Tahdart, close to Atlantic Asila; the head of the of 11 sharifian prominent families): Sidi Ali al-Jamal Amrani (d. 1193/1778), Sidi Ahmed Shabih Jouti, Sidi Aissa Wakili Makhoukhi, Sidi Mohammed Wakili al-Karmati (d. 1347/1932), Sidi Abdelhafidh Amrani Jouti, Sidi Abul Hassan Ali Manouni, Sidi Mhammad Janati, Sidi Mohammed Ben al-Khayyat Ruq’i (d. 1115/1700), Sidi Ibrahim Ben al-Khayyat (d. 1241/1826);

3. From Sidna Aissa b. Moulay Idriss (d. in Tadla; the head of 10 sharifian prominent families): Moulay Abdellaziz ibn Masoud Debbarh (d. 1132/1717), Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdelhafid Debbarh (d. 1291/1876), Sidi Abdelwahid ibn Allal Debbarh (d. 1271/1856), Sidi Omar ibn Mohamed Debbarh (“Tijani”; d. after 1230/1815), Sidi Mohammed Bu-Tarbush Debbarh (d. 1285/1870), Sidi Abdellaziz ibn Ahmed Debbarh (“Hazz”, d. 1321/1906), Sidi Mohammed ibn Masoud Debbarh (d. 1340/1925), Sidi Abdulmajid Manali Zbadi, Sidi Mohammed Bouzidi (d. 1229/1814 in Teouan), Sidi Mohammed Bouzidi (d. 1328/1913 in Tilimsan), Sidi Omar Amrawi Sanwi, Sidi Sharif Yacoubi;

4. From Sidna Omar b. Moulay Idriss (the head of 12 sharifian prominent families): Sidi Abul Hassan Shadhili (d. 656/1241), and Sidi Mohammad al-‘Hadri, Sidi Mohammed ibn Ahmed Ghiyati (d. 1318/1903);

5. From Sidna Ahmed b. Moulay Idriss (the head of 8 sharifian prominent families): Sidi Ahmed b. Yusuf Genoun, Sidi Mhammed b. Mohammed Genoun (d. 1326/1911), Sidi Mohammed ibn Mansur Sefyani (d. after 914/1499), Sidi Mohammed al-Hadi ben Aissa Sefyani (d. 933/1518), Moulay al-Arbi Darqawi and his offspring (d. 1239/1824), Sidi Ahmed ibn Ajiba (d. 1224/1809), Sidi Mhammed Kardoudi, Sidi al-Hassan ibn Rahou Laghnimi;

6. From Sidna Abdullah b. Moulay Idriss (the father of 11 sharifian prominent families): Sidi Moulay Ismail Amghar and his offspring, Sidi Abdullah ibn Mansour al-‘Huti, Sidi Mohammed al-Hadi ben Aissa al-Siba'i al-Sufyani (d. 933/1518), Sidi Mohammad Dawa' al-Sbai, Sidi al-Makki ibn Abdellah al-Sbai (d. 1372/1953), Sidi Mohammed ibn al-Mishri Sbai ("Tijani"; d. 1224/1809 in Ain Madhi), Sidi Abu Ali Amrou Sharghrushni, Sidi Abdurrahman Sharif Lajjai, Moulay Abdullah ibn A'hsis;

7. From Sidna Dawud b. Moulay Idriss (the head of 4 sharifian prominent families): Sidi Abu Bakr ibn Ataillah Bouanani, Moulay Abdullah Bouazza Qassari;

8. From Sidna Hamza b. Moulay Idriss (the the head of 5 sharifian prominent families): Sidi al-Haj Ali al-Baqqal Aghsawi (d. 980/1565), Sidi Mohammed Shahid Baqqali (d. 1018/1603), Sidi al-Haj Bouarraqiya Baqqali (d. 1130/1715), Sidi al-Arbi Baqqali, Sidi Abdellah al-Haj Titwani, Sidi Mohammed Haskuri Baqali, Moulay Boutayyb Missouri;

9. From Sidi Imran b. Moulay Idriss (the head of 4 sharifian prominent families): Sidi Mohammed al-Mahdi ibn Tumart (d. 524/1130), Sidi Mohammed ibn Ali al-Khattani Sanusi (d. 1274/1859), Sidi Ahmed Abarkan.

Amid the prominent Sharifian Sufis of Morocco who descends from the nephews of Imam Moulay Idriss ibn Mawlana Abdellah al-Kamil;

1. From Sidna Ahmed b. Mohamed Nafs Zakiyya: The Seal of Saints, al-Qutb al-Maktum Mawlana Ahmed ibn Mohammed Tijani (d. 1230/1815) and his offspring:  Sidi Mohammed Lakbir Tijani (d. 1238/1823), Sidi Mohammed al-Habib Tijani (d. 1269/1854), Sidi Allal Tijani (d. 1334/1919), Sidi Mohammed al-Kabir Tijani (d. 1931), Sidi Mahmud b. al-Bashir Tijani (d. 1349/1934), Sidi Mohammed Budali b. Allal Tijani (d. 1382/1967), Sidi Tayyeb b. Allal Tijani (d. 1388/1973), Sidi Ali b. Mahmud Tijani (d. 1405/1990), Sidi Abdeljabbar b. Budali Tijani (d. 1431/2006);

2. From Sidna al-Qacem b. Sidna Nafs Zakiyya: Moulay Ali Shrif Alawi (d. 847/1432), Mawlana Sultan Sulayman Alawi (“Disicple of al-Katm Sidi Ahmed Tijani”; d. 1238/1823), Sidi Abdessalam ibn Mawlana Sultan Sulayman Alawi (“Disicple of al-Katm Sidi Ahmed Tijani”), Sultan Sidi Abdellhafid Alawi (“Disciple of Sidi Ahmed Skirej Tijani”; d. 1366/1940), Sidi Mohammed ibn Abi Nasr Alawi (d. 1273/1858), Sidi al-Arbi Alawi Lamdaghri (d. 1309/1894), Sidi Ahmed Alawi Dbiza (d. after 1230/1815), Moulay Taher ibn Mutawakkil Alawi (d. 1300/1885) , Sidi Abdelmalik Alawi Darir (d. 1318/1903), Sidi Hachimi ibn Abdellqadir Alawi (d. 1280/1865), Sidi Ibrahim Mohammed Yazidi Alawi (d. 1322/1907).

3. From Sidna Musa al-June b. Abdellah al-Kamil: Sidi Mohammed ibn Mawlana Abdellqadir al-Jilani (d. in Fez), Sidi Mohammed ibn Mohammed Qadiri al-Andalusi (d. 950/1535 in Fez), Sidi Ahmed Qadiri Yamani (“Shaykh of Sidi Ahmed ibn Abdellah Ma'in; d. 1113/1689 in Fez), Sidi Mohammed ibn Idriss Qadiri (“Disicple of Shaykh Ma’ al-Aynayn”, d. 1350/1937 in Tangier).

Among the early influential advocates of the cult of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) was the Maliki jurisprudent, Sidi Abul Fadl Iyad al-Yahsubi (d. 544/1149 in Marrakech), the premier Hadith scholar of the late Almoravid period and qadi al-jama'a of the cities of Granada and Sabta (Occupied Ceuta). His most famous work, Kitab as-shifa bita'rif huquq al-mustapha (The Antidote in knowing the rights of Chosen Prophet), is a tradition based treatise that promotes the veneration of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him and his family), as the universal archetype of humanity. Al-Qadi Iyad asserts that perfection in the imitation of the Prophet is proven by the necessity to love him and his Family.

Know that someone who loves a person prefers them and prefers what they like. Otherwise, he is a pretender, insincere in his love. Someone who has true love of the Prophet will (…) love those who love the Prophet and his Family (…) for his sake. Such a person will also be hostile to those who hate them and curse them. Whoever loves anyone, loves those he loves.  The Prophet said about al-Hassan and al-Hussein, "O Allah, I love them, so love them." In al-Hassan's variant, "O Allah, I love him, so love the one who loves him." He also said, "Whoever loves them loves me. Whoever loves me loves Allah. Whoever hates them hates me. Whoever hates me hates Allah." (al-Bukhari) (…) He said about Fatima, "She is a part of me. Whoever hates her hates me." (al-Bukhari)

Early Moroccan saints such as Sidi Darras ibn Ismail (d. 357/942), Sidi Boujida al-Yazghi (d. 365/950), Sidi Abu Imran al-Fasi (d. 430/1015) and Sidi Ali ibn Harzihim (d. 559/1116), are mostly remembered for their work to introduce the two most important features of Moroccan Islam, the Maliki school of jurisprudence and Sufism. However, it was the sharifian saints who had stronger tendency to regard themselves as the natural heirs of the mission carried by their ancestor, the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him and his family). They have also acted, like other saints, as intermediaries among the segmented tribal peoples by establishing themselves as legitimate imams. Another feature of sharifian saints is their extended migration to the regions surrounding and beyond the Atlas mountains and Saharan oases, where their presence and activities are strongly felt even in remote vicinities. Among the Berbers, sharifian saints are the real bearers of the Islamic tradition, so that the role of the sharifian saints must have seemed to them like a sudden actualisation of blessing that inheres in all the posterity of the Prophet, and as a confirmation of the genuineness of their descent. Good breeding and education were favourable for the spiritual succession, but they were not always enough.

Functions of Sharifian Saints in Morocco   Religious functions: -          Disseminating of Islamic doctrine among groups and tribes living in areas that were not conquered by Muslims; -          Disseminating of Islamic teachings among tribes whose knowledge of -          Islam did not go beyond the mere statement of belief; -          Organizing religious gatherings for the benefit of society; -          Organizing the national struggle at crucial times, particularly when the nation comes under foreign threat, -          The organization of pilgrimages to Islam's Holy sites.   Educational and cultural Functions: -          Teaching the Quran to the community; -          Building and managing learning centres; -          Building of libraries; -          Providing incentives to authors; -          Disseminating oral culture.   Social functions: -          Strengthening social solidarity by providing food and shelter to the needy, particularly during famine; -          Provision for the safety of thoroughfares; -          Protection of provinces in case of abuse by unfair governors; -          Regional economic balance by providing assistance to poorer communities; -          Monitoring peaceful arrangements between neighbouring communities involved in a potential conflict; -          Removing obstacles that may divide tribes; -          Social integration for misfits and foreigners; -          Disseminating information and improving communication.   Some economic functions:  -          Crop development; -          Tree planting; -          Rise spring water; -          Trade and craft organization in the cities; -          Security in marketplaces; -          Harmonization of regional cooperation; -          Protection of Saharan trade caravans.   Some political functions:  -          Urging for allegiance to the Imam, -          Cooperation with the makhzen, -          Constructive meditation between rulers and citizens.

Literally, baraka means blessing, in the sense of divine favour. In broadest terms, baraka is not as it has so often been represented, a paraphysical force, a kind of spiritual electricity—a view which though not entirely without basis, simplifies it beyond recognition. Like the notion of al-qudwa al-hasana, it is a conception of the form in which the divine reaches into the world. Implicit, uncriticized, and far more systematic, it too is a “doctrine”. More exactly, it is a form of interpreting— emotionally, morally, intellectually— human experience, a cultural lustre on life. Rather than electricity, the best signal for baraka is personal presence, force of character, moral vividness. Saints have baraka in the way men have strength, courage, dignity, skill, beauty, or intelligence. It is a gift which some men have in greater degree than others, and which sharifian saints have in superlative degree.

Idrissism and Eid Mawlid's celebrations 

Supporting the Idrissids in creating a sharifian paradigm for sainthood and religious authority in Morocco were the legists (fukaha) of Sabta, who used the celebration of Prophet's birthday (Eid al-Mawlid an-Nabawi) as means of promoting the cult of Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him and his family). Although the origins of the festival go back to the Shiite Fatimids, who celebrated the birthdays of the "Five Impeccable Ones" (al-khamsa al-ma'sumin) –the Prophet, Sidna Ali, Lalla Fatima Zahra, Sidna al-Hassan and Sidna al-Hussein –the mawlid was supported by the Sunni elite of Sabta because they thought it would lessen the influence of Christianity on uneducated Muslims and new converts.

The most influential proponents of this feast was Sidi Ahmed al-Azafi (d. 633-1236) -author of Kitab Di'amat al-yaqin fi za'amat al-muttaqin (The Pillar of certainty in the leadership of the God-conscious), a sacred biography of the Berber saint Sidi Abu Yaaza Yalnour (d. 572/1157). In his Kitab ad-dhur al-munazzam fi mawlid an-nabi al-mu'adham, al-Azafi advocates the celebration of the Prophet as an antidote to the Andalusian practice of observing non-Muslim holidays such as Christmas, Nawruz, and Mehrejan. Using the Maliki concept of maslaha (public interest) as a justification for this innovation, he primarily view the mawlid as an opportunity for spiritual consciousness raising. Its central ritual in Sabta was a procession of parents, who would visit all of the Quranic schools of the city in turn, singing songs in praise of the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him and his family, and bearing gifts for their children.

In 648/1259, the mawlid was made an official holiday in Sabta by al-Azafi's son the "Supreme Jurist" (al-faqih al-a'dham) Sidi Abul Qacem al-Azafi. To promote it further he sent a copy of his father's book to the Almohad caliph Omar al-Murtada (d. 665/1266), who ordered the mawlid to be celebrated in Marrakech as well. These efforts were supported by another scholar from Sabta, Sidi Abu Ali ar-Rahuni who composed a poem of 6300 verses, Nadm ad- durar bi-ay Ahmed ajall al-bashar (The Arrangement of pearls in the Quranic verses about Ahmed, the greatest of human beings). This work received its first public recitation at the Marrakech mawlid in 661/1263.  In 691/1292, Sidi Abul Qacem al-Azafi's son Abu Talib decreed that the mawlid be celebrated throughout the Rif region (northern Morocco). He also convinced the Marinid sultan Abu Yacoub Yusuf an-Nasir to order its celebration in Fez.

The mawlid was particularly popular among members of the Majiriya Sufi order of Sidi Abu Mohammed Salih Majiri Dukkali (d. 631/1234) in Ribat Safi, who spread it along the pilgrimage routes between Morocco and Egypt in the second half of the fifth/thirteen century. A member of this order, Sidi Abu Marwan al-Yuhanisi (d. 667/1268-9), introduced the celebration in Spain. Sidi al-Yuhanisi's biographer Ahmed al-Qashtali reports that by the time this Sufi left his native city of Guadix to take up residence in Sabta, the mawlid at his ribat attracted more than 10,000 participants. By the sixth/fourteenth century, al-mawlid an-nabawi had become an institution among Sufis of the Maghreb in general. In 769/1368, the hagiographer Ibn Qunfudh was a present at a mawlid in Dukkala that was sponsored by  Banu Amghar, the sharifian saints of Ribat Tit al-Fitr (eleven kilometres from current El Jadida). Saying that so many Sufis attended this celebration that his eyes "went out of focus", Ibn Qunfudh states that just the grapes provided for the disciples filled ninety large baskets and cost thirty gold dinars.

Post-sharifian dynasties in Morocco

Although sharifism attained its own glory under the rule of Moulay Idriss II, the Idrissid dynasty did not stay in power for long (788-974). As a result Morocco entered into ciaos and rule of shattered states notably the ones of Barghwata, Maghrawa and Bani Yafran. The age of the Berber dynasties was soon to be launched. The heyday of Moroccan history corresponds to the rule of the three Berber dynasties that succeeded to the throne from the fifth/eleventh to the eighth/fourteenth centuries: the Almoravids (“al-Murabitun”; 1061-1147), the Almohads (“al-Muwahhidun”; 1130-1269), and the Marinids (“al-Mariniyun”; 1244-1398) corresponding to the three major Berber tribes Sanhaja, Masmuda, and Zenata. Political authority of these dynasties were characterised by three main factors: religious allegiance and fervour, group feelings (‘asabiyya), and a strong royal power. The consolidation of ‘asabiyya contributes to the rise to a new civilization, and their subsequent diffusion into a more general civilization gives way for the rise of a new ‘asabiyya and ultimately a new civilization. After the demise of the Marinid dynasty at the end of the eight/fourteenth century, Sufi masters appeared on the political scene to compensate for the absence of a central government, decline of the cultural influence of the cities and moral uncertainties. This period spanned the entire ninth/fifteenth century and is generally referred to as the maraboutic crisis. 

Reign of the Idrissid dynasty (788-974) Moulay Idriss I ibn Abdellah al-Kamil 788-791 Moulay Idriss II ibn Idriss I 804-828 Sidna Mohammed ibn Idriss II 828-836 Sidna Ali I ‘Haydara ibn Mohammed 836-848 Sidna Yahya I ibn Mohammed 849-863 Sidna Yahya II ibn Yahya 863-866 Sidna Ali II ibn Omar 866-? Sidna Yahya III ibn al-Qacem ?-905 Sidna Yahya VI ibn Idriss Ben Omar 905-920 Sidna al-Hassan al-Hajjam ibn Mohamed ibn al-Qacem 925-927 Sidna al-Qacem Genoun ibn Mohammed ibn al-Qacem 937-948 Sidna Abul-'Aich Ahmed ibn al-Qacem Genoun 948-954 Sidna al-Hassan ibn al-Qacem Genoun 954-974

Reputation is not gained through possessions or sons. Instead, reputation comes from one's repute before the Lord of Lords. One is not great because of the glory of wealth and children. Rather, one is great because of the glory of God and His attributes. One is not great because of the greatness of his tribe or his love of high rank. Instead, one is great because of the greatness of nobility (sharaf) and lineage (nasab). I am noble in lineage (ana sharifun fi-n nasab). My ancestor is the Messenger of God (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) and I am nearer to him than all of God's creation. My reputation is eternal, dyed in gold and silver. O you who desire gold and silver, follow us, for he who follows us dwells in the heights of 'illiyyun in this world and the Hereafter! Past nations (umam) have asked to be included in our polity (dawlatuna). Yet no one can be included in it unless he has already attained salvation (sa'ada). Our polity is the state (dawla) of those who strive (mujtahidin) and struggle (mujahidin) in the path of Allah—fighters against the enemy of Allah. The sultans of the earth are in my hands and under my feet!

Tell our lords the sharifs, as well as their legal scholars and fuqara: We love you with all of our heart and soul, and desire to look upon your faces… May God maintain ourselves and you in the manifest way of His Awliya —through the axial sainthood that is the legacy of your ancestor Moulay Abdessalam ibn Mashish, the path of honour (tariqat al-ikram) of Sidi Abul Hassan Shadhili, who chose it for our lord (sayyidina) and source of grace (barakatina) Sidi Mohammed Jazouli, out of all the Sufi paths. He inspired us with the truth and passed it on to us as a legacy from the lord of the God-fearing and the people of his age, the force of truth in all of God's manifestations, Sidi Abdellaziz Tabba'a. These Shaykhs are our true means to God and our exemplars in loving the Messenger of God, our Prophet Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him and his family), both outwardly and inwardly.

However, although the Jazouliya played an important part in the victory of the Saadian sharifian ruler Mohammed Shaykh (d. 910/1495), its aftermath proved to be a bitter disappointment for the masters of the Sufi Shaykhs and Marabuts. No sooner had Mohammed Shaykh seized power in Fez in 876/1471 than the Sufis of Morocco realised that they had been outdone by a monster of their own making. In 958/1552 Saadian suspicion fell on the followers of Sidi Mohammed al-Jazouli’s famous disciples Sidi Abdelkarim al-Fallah (d. 933/1518) and Sidi Abdelmoumin al-Hahi (indirect master of Sidi Ahmed ibn Achir (d. 764/1349), who were accused of withholding from the state the valuable entrusted to them by the Wattasid officials. Many of the Jazoulite figures were either executed by the Saadians or driven out of Morocco on the pretext of heresy. The ruler Mohammed Shaykh's persecution of the masters of the Jazouliya prompted a remarkable letter to the Shaykh Sidi Moussa ibn Ali Wazzani (d. 970/1562), a disciple of the Jazoulite Sidi Abdellah Habti (d. 963/1548). This response to the actions of the Saadian autocrat provides a fitting symbolic epitaph to the Jazouliya's involvement in Moroccan political life. It also illustrates the role that pertains when both Sufi saint and sharif lay maintain to the same Prophetic Inheritance.

In his letter, Shaykh Moussa Wazzani uses the metaphor of the tree of life to describe the relationship between the Sufi saint and state. He begins by quoting the Qadirite Shaykh Sidi Mohammed ibn Yajbash Tazi (d. 920/1505), who stated that, "The obedience of a land and its people depends on a leader to whom they can turn in all affairs." According to Shaykh Wazzani, the leader referred to by Ibn Yajbash is the Qutb—the Pole, the very person whom Mohammed Shaykh and his advisers most feared as a potential rival. Rather than fearing the Qutb, he responds, the just Islamic ruler should welcome this saint and cleave to him. Comparing the state to a tree, Shaykh Wazzani argues that the Qutb is the water that brings the state to life. Were it is not for the water, the soil around the tree would not soften, thus preventing the tree from taking nourishment. Were it is not for the life-giving soil, the tree's roots would not remain fixed and its branches would not grow. Were it is not for the branches, the tree would produce no fruit. In this way every part of the tree acts in concert with the other members to maintain the life of the tree as a whole.

Thus, says Shaykh Wazzani, the place of the Qutb in the overall scheme of things is not to inform the state its outward form, but rather to provide its life giving essence. Every leader, concludes Shaykh Wazzani, is a Qutb, a pole figure for those who depend on him. For this reason, it is fully proper to consider the Awliya and Sufi masters who sustain Morocco with their baraka as the Aqtab as-Dawla (poles of the state). The same is true of the major Sufi orders such as the Jazouliya, which provide the means by which the Awliya circulate their baraka to others.

Rather than been enemies to the state, the Sufi orders help sustain and preserve it by keeping its political leaders on the right path, so that the state may benefit the land and its people for generations. The greatest source of this spiritual sustenance is Qutb az-Zaman —the Pole of the Age— who derives his powers alchemically from the light of the Prophet Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him and his family).  Next to prophecy itself, there is no other light that can illuminate the face of earth.

Sharifian Alawid Morocco

It is significant for the strength and political relevance of the Jazouli order in Morocco at that time that the dominant power centre in the state before the rise of the Alawid sharifs (after the Qutb Moulay Ali Shrif b. al-Hassan b. Mohammed b. al-Hassan al-Qadim; d. 847/1432) was based on the Dilaiya headquarters in central Atlas. Founded in the late tenth/sixteenth century by the Qutb Sidi Abu Bakr Majjati Dilai (d. 1021/1620), this was the centre of an order based on the Jazouliya order, and exclusively concentrated among the Sanhaja Berbers.  When succeeded by his son Sidi Mohammed ibn Abi Bakr (d. 1046/1631), the Dilai Zawiya became more politically-motivated. From around 1640 to the late 1660's it controlled most of northern Morocco, including Fez, with which it had an ambivalent relationship. However, the might of Dilai rulers did not last. Their power was impaired by been neither sharifs nor even Arabs, like the Saadians and Wattasis they replaced. At the end of 1660's, the Alawi Imam and admirable warrior Moulay Rachid I ibn Mohammed II (d. 1087/1672) was able to seize power. He completed the conquest of the major part of today's Morocco and Mauritania and the Eastern Desert of today’s Algeria (including Tuwat) and organised the administration of this immense empire after he raised the Jazoulite headquarters of Dilaiya and that of Tazrerwalt headed by Sidi Ahmed ou Moussa in 1668 and 1670 respectively. He also repeatedly threatened the prominent Sufi Sidi Ahmed Ben Nasir Dar'i  (d. 1129/1714), though he did not live long enough to carry out these threats.

Being a sharif in the sharifian Alawid State entitled one to tax immunities, justice by one's peers, and in the chase of certain prominent sharifian families, made one eligible for pensions and grants of the usufruct of land or buildings by the authorities (makhzen). Idrissid sharifs also received an annual share in the offerings made at the sanctuaries of the Moulay Idriss I, Moulay Idriss II, and other sanctuaries. Moulay Rachid, for instance, who is himself buried in the Fez shrine of Sidi Ali ibn Harzihim has issued the Idrissid Debbarhs the attributes of this shrine (King Moulay El Hassan II ibn Mohammed V (d. 1414/1999) has his son, the current king of Morocco, Mawlana Emir al-Muminin Mohammed VI, circumcised in the shrine of Sidi Ali ibn Harzihim. In 1422/2007 Mawlana Emir al-Muminin circumcised his Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan in the shrine of Moulay Idriss II). Yet there were also beggar sharifs, and sharifism was no guarantee to wealth, power, or high status.

Sharifian pedigree of women was no doubt considered to be a positive asset when a man asks for a woman’s hand in marriage. Yet Alawid sultans forbad this tradition and even punished marriage of sharifian women from non-sharifs. Successive sultans issued decrees (dahirs) to the leaders of sharifian families (naqibs) that authenticated their sharif pedigree. These facts indicate that the sharif pedigree in Morocco was an important basis for the symbolic system of authority that was closely linked to the interrelationships among various political powers. This typical Moroccan phenomenon is best perceived in the following dramatic event between Sidi Ahmed Ben Nasir’s disciple, the Idrissid sharif, Sidi al-Hassan ibn Masoud al-Yusi (d. 1102/1687) and the sultan Moulay Ismail (1672-1727), the second king of the Alawite dynasty and founder of the city of Meknes, who extended the borders of the Moroccan empire south to Ivory Coast, during which it is often reported that during his reign a woman or a Jew could travel alone from the farthest south of the country to its farthest north without being in fear about his/her safety. The scene occurred while the sultan was busying himself with the construction of his new city’s wall,

When al-Yusi (…) arrived in Meknes, Moulay Ismail received him as an honored guest, fed him and housed him, and brought him into his court as his spiritual advisor. The Sultan was at the time building a large wall around the city, and the people working on it, slaves and others were being treated cruelly. One day a man fell ill while working and was sealed into the wall where he fell. Some of the workers came secretly to al-Yusi to tell him of this and to complain of their treatment generally. Al-Yusi said nothing to Moulay Ismail, but when his supper was brought to his chamber he proceeded to break all the dishes, one by one, and he continued to do this, night after night, until all the dishes in the palace had been destroyed. When the sultan then asked what had happened to all his dishes, the palace slaves said, “that man who is our guest breaks them when we bring his food.” (…) The Sultan ordered al-Yusi to be brought to him:
- “Salam ‘Alykum.”
- “‘Alykum Salam.”
- “My Lord, we have been treating you like the guest of God, and you have been breaking all our dishes.”
- “Well, which is better—the pottery of Allah or