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Two Biographies of Ahmad Ibn Idris Al-Fasi (1760-1837) Author(s): John Voll Source: The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1973), pp. 633645 Published by: Boston University African Studies Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/217224 . Accessed: 06/11/2013 14:15
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NOTESAND DOCUMENTS

TWO BIOGRAPHIES OF AHMAD IBN IDRIS AL-FASI (1760-1837)

Translated and editedby John Voll

Ahmad ibn Idris has recently been described as one of the major inspirers of the spread of Islamic brotherhoods in Africa.' As a prominent teacher in Mecca early in the nineteenth century, he is credited with inspiring a number of men who subsequently established orders of importance to the modern history of African Islam. The best known of these is the Sanusi order. Western scholars writing in the late nineteenth century placed great emphasis on his role in. arousing an activist spirit in Islam. Le Chatelier, for example, called the group of orders resulting from Ahmad's teachings the most powerful school of modern Islam.2 However, scholars in the twentieth century tended to shift their attention to other groups and teachers. The dramatic revival of the Wahhabi movement in this century captured scholarly imagination, and much of the early modern Islamic activism came to be interpreted in terms of the Wahhabis and their impact. Recent scholarship, however, has begun to view Islamic revivalism in more comprehensive terms. Of particular importance to the study of African Islam has been a renewal of interest in Ahmad ibn Idris, as exemplified in the works of J. Spencer Trimingham.3
1 J. Spencer Trimingham, The Influence of Islam upon Africa (New York, 1968), 76.

2 A. Le Chatelier, Les Confreries Musulmanes du Hedjaz (Paris, 1887), 97. Similar evaluations can be found in 0. Depont and X. Coppolani, Les Confreries Religieuses Musulmanes (Alger, 1897), 176-177, and L. Rinn, Marabouts et Khouan (Alger, 1884), 403-407. 3 See, for example, The Sufi Orders in Islam (London, 1971), 114-121; Islam in the Sudan (London, 1965), 228-235; A History of Islam in West Africa (London, 1962), 159. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vi, 4 (1973) 633

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One of the difficulties in discussing the life and influence of Ahmad ibn Idris has been a lack of information about him. In this situation, the existence of short biographies written by two of Ahmad's students is of interest to, scholars. Unfortunately, these two sketches have not been generally available, being included in small collections of religious works by Ahmad. The two selections translated here are the biographies as they appear in al'iqd al-Nafis fi Nazhm Jawahir al-Tadris4 and Majmu'at Ahzab wa Awrad wa Rasa'il.5 These two works are "teacher biographies" of a type common in traditional Islamic literature. Their primary purpose is to describe the validity of the subject's religious and academic position rather than to present a picture of the man himself. As such they are a combination of eulogy and hagiography rather than academic historical studies. Taken for what they are, they can be of real value for the histolrian.The conventional forms of description used in the biographies can, provide some information for the historian of religion. For this reason, the basic structure o,f the phrases in the Arabic originals has largely been maintained in the translations,even though this results at times in awkward expressions in English. From al-'iqd al-Nafis: Biographyof the Imam and Sayyid Ahmad ibn Idris, God have mercy on him.6 His genealogy.He is, God be pleased with him,7 the remnant of the pious ancestorsand the pillar of the successors,the unique pole8 and most glorious individual,the Godly man of perfection and the eternal helper, unique in his time which did not have, in his era, a second like him, the seal of the examining ulama, whose tongue made glorious the springsof wisdom and the springsof truth overflowedfrom his gardens.
4 (Cairo, 1372/1953), 3-6. 5 (Cairo, 1359/1940), 201-205. 6The compiler of the whole book and the author of this biography is simply identified as "one of the students" of Ahmad. The collection was known to Rinn in 1884 but even by that time the collector of the items in the book was unknown by name. See Rinn, Marabouts, 405. 7 Traditional Islamic writers follow the mention of a notable person, especially one with religious prestige, with a variety of pious formulas such as this one. There is a conventional hierarchy illustrated by these formulas, so that "God bless him and grant him salvation" is reserved for the Prophet Muhammad. "God be pleased with him" is used for people of high religious prestige. 8 Pole here is the translation of qutb. This is a term out of the Sufi tradition and refers to a person whose mystic sanctity and spiritual attainments are such that he becomes a pole or axis around which the spiritual life of his age revolves.

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He is the reviverof the guidepostsof the path afterthey had been studied, and the manifester of the tokens of unification9 after the setting of its suns and moons, the essence of the people of knowledge and assured in the spiritualstation of sanctifyingvirtue,10masterof knowledge and instruction,our master, al-SayyidAhmad ibn Idris, descendantof alHasan,l Maghribi by country. He is among the progeny of al-Imam Idris ibn 'Abdallah,the inciter of the Idrisi sayyids living in, the Maghrib.l2 They are the most famous among those whose reports are remembered. His birth and youth. He was born, God be pleased with him, in a village called Maysurnear the city of Fas. He grew up, God;be pleased with him, from his infancy with a propensityfor exertion in acquiring the sciences,with an elevated.concern and a satisfying,intelligent soul. He, God be pleased with him, studied the exoteric sciences13under the great people of his age and the brilliant scholarsof his time, until he became, even in the time of his youth, a leader in all of the exoteric sciences. Then, God be pleased with him, he took the devotional path from his shaykh,the knower of almighty God, Sidi 'Abd al-WahhabalTazi.l4 Similarly,he studied with Sidi Abi al-Qasimal-Wazir and other leadersof the age. He continuedin the steps of world renunciationuntil he was united with the masterof the law, God bless him and grant him salvation.15
He, God be pleased with him, said: I met with the Prophet, God bless

9 Unification here is the translation for al-tawhid. In the Islamic tradition, this refers to the affirmation of the unity and uniqueness of God. "In Sufis'm it sums up all levels of the knowledge of Unity." Titus Burckhardt, An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine, D. M. Matheson, trans. (Lahore, 1959), 154. 10 The Sufi pathl has a series of stations at which the religious man arrives. The maqam al-ihsan, or station of sanctifying virtue, is one of the high stations on this path. 11 AI-Hasan is the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. All descendants of the Prophet, frequently referred to as sayyids, trace their ancestry back either through al-Hasan or his brother, al-Husayn. 12 Idris ibn 'Abdallah fled from the Abbasid rulers after an unsuccessful revolt in 169/786 and established an independent state in Morocco. His descendants came to form an important part of the religious aristocracy of the Maghrib. See D. Eustache, "Idris I," and "Idrisids," in B. Lewis, J. Schacht, et al., eds., Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition (Leiden, 1970), III, 1031, 1035-1037. 13 Exoteric sciences refers here to the basic disciplines of religious studies that deal with the manifest or external aspects of studies and the faith. This is in contrast to the esoteric or mystic subjects. The basic exoteric studies of Ahmad ibn Idris appear to have been in Qur'anic commentary and Tradition. 14 For discussion of this teacher, see Rinn, Marabouts, 402-403, and Depont and Coppolani, Confreries, 541. 15 The meaning here is that Ahmad attained a. mystic meeting or union with the Prophet Muhammad, identified by the formula" God bless him and grant him salvation."

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VOLL

him and grant him salvation,in a visionarymeeting, and al-Khidr,l6on whom be peace, was with him. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him salvation,commandedal-Khidr,on whom be peace, to dictate the devotional prayersto me, which he did in his presence,God bless him and.grant him salvation.17 The rivalrywith him of the ulama of Mecca and elsewhere. God be pleased with him, he went to, Mecca in the year 1214 [1799-1800 A.D.]
and stayed there for fourteen years.'8 He, God be pleased with him, be-

gan to speak on the sciences of Qur'anic commentaryand Tradition, dazzling the intellects throughthe branchesof the sciences,and rhetoric
and' good explanation. 16 "Khidr, who is equivalentto, Elias in the Judaeo-Christian tradition,symbolizes esotericismin Islam." Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Ideals and Realities of Islam (London, role in mysof this belief, al-Khidrplays an important 1966), 59-60. In the framework tic visions, frequentlyacting as an intermediary between God and the Prophet on the one hand and the Sufi believeron the other. 17The form of the vision here is of some importance. that are given to The prayers; are those which form a basic part of the devotionalpath of his order.The imAhmbad heard the prayers that were portanceof this vision is that the ProphetMuhammad of them,giving propheticvalidity to the prayersof given to Ahmadand thus approved the order. 18There is some variation in the chronologies by the variousworks dealing presented with the life of Ahmad.At the presentstate of scholarship, however,most of these can be reconciled. Rinn and Depont and Coppolanigive the date for his arrivalin Mecca of Ahmad'sfamily that as 1797 and this is followed by the tradition of the branch! settled in the Sudan.This traditionis noted by the intelligenceofficersof the Sudan no date), INTEL of Islam"(typed manuscript, See "A Note on the Tarikas government. 2/32/261, Government Archives,Republic of Sudan [hereafter GARS]; C. Armine no' date), INTEL in the Sudan"(typed manuscript, Willis, "ReligiousConfraternities al-Ahdal,the secondone translated 2/32/270, GARS.The biography by Abd al-Rahman
here, says that Ahmad arrived in Cairo in 1213
oTr 1798-1799 A.D.

and then went on to

Mecca.Thus,the datesof 1797-1799probably the periodduringwhich he was represent in traveling to Mecca.The greatest variationfrom this was presentedby Trimingham Islam in the Sudan, 229. Here Triminghamstates that Ahmad taught in Cairo from 1214/1799 until 1234/1818, when he went to Mecca.In view of the fact that Ahmad was in Mecca long enough before 1818 to act as the major shiaykh for at least one Meccanstudent, Muhammad'Uthmanal-Mirghani,this chronology is doubtful. In a later work, Sufi Ordersin Islam, Triminghamopens the way for a reconciliationof chronologiesby emphasizingthat Ahmad went on pilgrimageand then returnedto Egypt,where he settled for a time near Luxor.The possibilityof movementback and betweenthe two forth betweenMeccaand Egyptalso helps to reconcilethe divergence biographiestranslatedhere, since this biographysays he stayed for fourteen years in al-Ahdalgives the length of his stay as aroundthirty Mecca,while 'Abd al-Rahman years. It is known from the biographiesof one of his students, Muhammad'Uthman that Ahmadspent some time in Egypt before 1818. See, for example,Mual-Mirghani, hammad'Uthmanal-Mirghani, KitabTaj al-Tafasir(Cairo,1375/1955), 2. Muhammad 'Uthmangives a ratherdetailedchronology of this period which can providea suitable between the variousaccounts.He says that Ahmad stayed in Mecca from compromise

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He, God be pleased with him, had powerful thinking in extracting and discoveringthe signs in The Book and the Sunnah.In his time there was no one close to him in memorizationand the talent of evocation. When al-ShaykhAhmad al-Sawicame to Mecca for the purpose of the pilgrimage, the people of Mecca urged him to question and examine Sidi Ahmad, because of their envy. When he came to him and questioned him, he, God.be pleased with him, answered everythingthat he asked, and then he said to him: "Oh Sawi, stop this and hurry o,n the trip to Medina, because your time is coming close." He stopped and to, the mercy of went, and when he reachedMedina,he was transported God. The ulamaof Mecca plotted against him. They collected for him connected,unconnected; sound, and weak traditionsand they mixed up their chainsiof authentification. They also collected for him questions from the arts of knowledge by which they could test him. When they came and'sat with him, he answeredevery one of the questions,and he returnedthe chains: of authentification to the right traditions.He spoke on knowledge with a sound discoursealmost going beyond the control of the intellect in a way that the brilliantulama were incapableof. It was mentioned in a biographyo,f him that he, God be pleasedwith him, held six sessions in three days, with two sessions each:day: one session after the afternoon prayeruntil sunset, and a session after the morningprayer,as long as:God willed, into the day. One of those present after the afternoon prayerasked him about God's saying: "Those who are foreordainedare rightly guided."There came from his sciences and secretsthat which heartswillingly concede and which gladdenedthe listeners.It is certainthat it was a spiritualinspiration.Then, the questioning man returnedon the morning of that n!ightand he repeatedthe question on that verse,sot he concludedthe session in anotherway, more splendid, more brilliant, more elevated, and more glorious than what had gone before. Then the man came after the afternoon prayer also, and he said, "OhSidi, 'Thosewho are foreordained are rightly guided."' So he, God be pleasedwith him, began with that which was strongestin influencingand occurringin hearts,in an astoundingmannerwhich had no equal among the wondrousmethods.The man did not cease asking him about that verse in the same way until the six sessions in three days were completed.Then he, God be pleased with him, said to him: "If your life were prolonged and you remainedas long as Noah, on whom
1211/1797 until 1228/1813 and then went to Egypt, where he stayed for about six to Meccawhere he stayeduntil 1243/1827-1828, at which time years.He then returned
he went to Yemen. This chronology provides for both the fourteen years noted in the above translation, and also gives the basis for 'Abd al-Rahman al-Ahdal's thirty years. This account by Muhammad 'Uthman appears in Majmu'at al-Nafahat al-Rabbaniyyah (Cairo,, 1370/1950), 9.

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be peace, remainedwith his, people, I could speak on this noble verse in every session, even on the condition that I do'not repeat anything that was said before, without it being exhausted." He, God be pleasedwith,him, spoke in Zabid19in the presenceof its ulama,muftis, and men for twelve days,completelyfilling his time with commentaryon the saying of the Almighty: "Truly,Muslim men and women, and believing men and believing women," the verse from Surah al-Ahzab.20 They wrote his commentariesand conclusions and discussions on the verse, and it amounted to seventy notebooks.

He, God be pleased with hims was accompanied,in the Maghrib before he went to, Mecca,by many of the men of cultureand most learned ulama.There, by his hands, there was made manifest a group of kavramat21 that wo,uldtake too' long to mention. They knew his grace and his place among the teachersand sciences. In summary,the noble deeds of this, professorare innumerable and their extent is unlimited and impenetrable.He was a uniter of alShari'ahand al-Haqiqah,22 and had great proficiencyin all the sciences, with complete fame in the sciences of the Qur'anand Tradition, in understandingand reporting, in examining and investigating. The great and small submittedto his grace,and the most learnedulama and leaders of the age studied underhim. Some ulama who studied under him. Among those who' took from him and accompanied him was the token of perfectedculture,al-Sayyid Abd al-Rahmanibn Sulaymanal-Ahdal, the mufti of Zabid who, was among the notable ulama of his age and on whose great place in knowledge and work there is agreement.23 Also, there is the traditionistand
19 Zabid was a major town. in Yemen which was noted as a ceniterfor Islamic learning. Many of the great men of the time had either studied or taught there. 20 This is the first line of a long verse in Surah Thirty-Three, verse 35. It describes the people who are promised the blessings of God and paradise. 21 This is, the plural for karamah. The word is usually translated in this context as m.iracles, but it has a slightly different implication. Karamat are tokens of honor or favor, and when used in the discussion of a religious man the word refers to. those actions that God has allowed the man to; perform as a token of his piety. They can thus range from acts of miraculous healing or other contraventions of the "natural" order of things to, simply showing great wisdom or some other virtue. 22 In the Sufi tradition of Islamic interpretation, there developed the idea of a duality between the external and the internal, the exoteric and esoteric, meaning of the faith. The Law or Shariah came to, represent the legal or external aspect of the faith, and the internal truth was called al-Haqiqah. Ultimately there was no contradiction between the two aspects and important spiritual people who were learned both in the exoteric sciences and the mystic truths were said to be uniters of al-Shari'dh and al-Haqiqah. For the place of this distinction in Islamic thought, see Fazlur Rahman, Islam (Garden City, New York, 1968), ch. 6. 23 This is the author of the second biography- translated here.

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jurisprudent,famous for his influential great deeds, the shaykh of the ulama o,f his time in the city of Medina, ShaykhMuhammad'abid alcalled "The Fort for the Sindi, author of the list of authentifications on the Isnads of 'abid." Muhammad Alsol among them is the Helpless his of time the brilliant men of culture,the combinerof the sign among traditionaland rationalsciences, the knower of almighty God, al-Sayyid Muhammadal-Sanusi,24(who, was his student) although he, God be pleased with him, had taken the path from the most famous.saints of his time in the Maghrib.He had studied under the knower o!f almighty God, Sidi al-Shaykhal-'Arabial-Darqawi, and al-SayyidAbi al-Abbas Ahmadal-Tijani,God be pleasedwith both of them.25When he came to Mecca, he studied under Sidi Ahmad ibn Idris, God be pleased with him. He submitted completely to him, accompaniedhim, was attached to him, and directed by him. The fame of his grace and perfection is such that describinghis situation can be dispensed with. Among them also is the outstandingmark and leader, the knower of almighty God, instructorfor the seekers and guide for the travelers,the Sharif by the descent from al-Husayn,our master,al-SayyidMuhammad'Uthman alMirghanial-Makki.26 Among them also is the knower of almighty God, Sidi al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Madani,27 outstanding among the notables and leaders of Medina, God be pleased with him. When he returned from the Maghrib,he was a completedguide himself, with permission from his shaykh Sidi al-'Arabi al-Darqawi, God be pleased with him, but he met Sidi Ahmad,God be pleasedwith him, in Mecca and took the path from him and praised him with, beautiful eulogy. Among them also is al-Shaykh Muhammadal-Majdhubal-Suwakini, from the saintsoif the Sudan,who was famous in his time among men for true revelationand unusualkaramat.He studied under him and ac24 AI-Sanusi is perhaps the best known of Ahmad's students. Discussions of his life can be found in Nicola A. Ziadeh, Sanusiyah (Leiden, 1968), and Muhammad Fu'ad Shukri, al-Sanusiyyah Din wa Dawlah (Cairo, 1948). He was born in Algeria in 1787 and died at the center lodge of his order in Libya in 1859. 25 The Darqawiyyah and the Tijaniyyah, which were established by these two teachers, are important orders in North Africa. Further information can be found in R. Le Tourneau, "Darkawa," Encyclopaedia of Islam, II, 160, and Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, The Tijaniyya (.London, 1965). 26 This man established the Khatmiyyah Tariqah, which later became important in the Nilotic Sudan. For a discussion of his life, see John Voll, "A History of the Khatmiyyah Tariqah in the Sudan" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1969). 27This man was a major figure in the development of the Madaniyyah Tariqah, which became important in the pan-Islamic movement during the late nineteenth century. See E. Montet, "Religious Orders, Muslim," in J. Hastings, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (New York, 1908-1926), X, 723.

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The last of them who,took the companiedhim for an extended! period.28 is the knower master of of karamatand support, alpath almightyGod, Ibrahim al-Rashid.29 He, God be pleased with him, had an unShaykh countable numberof people other than those mentioned who,were khalifahs30and followers,God be pleased with them and with us through them. In summary, what I have mentioned to you in this introductionis just a drop in the overflowing sea. Concerninghim, speak without restraint. The greatnessof his power and place is not concealed, from those who read his prayers, especially this book, which is suitable to write with the water of springs, when there is conveyed in it the pearls of the questionsthat most writers have given up on. God be pleasedwith him and give us benefit by him and give to us and all Muslims from the greatnessof his blessedness.Amen. His passing,God be pleasedwith him. His passing,GodlAlmighty be pleased with him, was in the land of al-Yamanin a village called Sabya. That was on the evening o,f Saturday the morning and he was buriedo~n of that day,which was 21 Rajab in the year 1253 after the hijrahof the lord of the messengers.May God rain down upon his tomb lights and clouds of mercy and co,ntentment. From Majmu'at Ahzab: A ShortPiece on the Life of Sidi Ahmad ibn Idris, God,be pleasedwith him, condensedfrom the pe'n oif the Mufti of mankind and;shaykhof Islam, his student, al-Sayyid 'Abd al-Rahmanibn Sulayman al-Ahdal, Mufti of Zabid in al-Yaman,God Almighty have mercy on him.31
28 This man, was; a member of an important religious family in the Sudan. When he returned from the Hejaz, he revitalized the family order and it became an important facto'r in the Sudanese religious scene. Subsequently it played a part in the Mahdist movement as it spread to the eastern Sudan. See Trimingham, Islam in the Sudan, 224226, for information about this student of Ahmad and his order. 29 Ibrahim al-Rashid (died 1874) became very influential among pilgrims to Mecca and established his own order, the Rashidiyyah. Branches of this order were important in the development of Islamic revivalism and activism in the Somali area. See Le Chatelier, Confreries, 94-96, and Trimingham, Sufi Orders in Islam, 121. 30 The term khalifah means successor. Ho'wever, in the context of tariqah organization, it refers to a person who has been granted permission by Sufi leader to, transmit his tariqah to others. In this sense the khalifah is the spiritual successor of his teacher in the chain, of authorities for the transmission of the devotional exercises of the order. The khalifah also acts as the agent of the teacher in various areas. 31'Abd al-Rahman al-Ahdal (1179/1776-1250/1835) was born and died in Zabid in Yemen. He was a member o'f a prominent religious family in south Arabia. See Khayr al-Din al-Zarikli, al-A'lam Qamus Tarajim (Cairo, no date), IV, 79. In view of the fact that al-Ahdal predeceased his teacher, this biography cannot be solely drawn from al-Ahdal's work. This is further emphasized by the fact that much o'f the infor-

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AHMAD IBN IDRIS AL-FASI

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He is our lord and our master,our glory, our refuge, our support, and o,ur treasure,al-SayyidAhmad ibn Idris, God be pleased with him. He is of the Idrisi sayyids who are famous in the Maghrib,and a Hasani sharif among the descendantsof our lord and our master,al-Hasanibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God honor him and be pleased with him. His birth was in the town of 'Arayishon the coasts of the western ocean in the regions of the city of Fas. Early in his life he worked for a period of years in acquiring knowledge of the exoteric sciences until he excelled in them in the city o,f Fas. He was given permission to teach by his most skillful professors, so he began to teach what God willed. Among the group that attended his studies occasionallywas the man who was to, become his shaykh, al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Tazi. LaterSidi 'Abd al-Wahhabsaid to Sidi Ahmad, when he devoted himself to him and completed his guidance by attending him: "Where is that worthlessman, oh Ahmad?"By that he was;referring to, the worthless man of instruction. The knower of God, al-SayyidMuhammad al-Sanusi,in his book "alManhalal-Rawial-Ra'iq fi asanid al-'ulumwa usul al-tara'iq," called his God be with and him, pleased al-muhammadiyyah,32 tariqah, al-tariqat he said: Al-tariqatal-muhammadiyyah is passed on from the highest of its aspectsin what I took from our shaykh,the pole of the knowersand the leader of the inquirers,o,ur lord al-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Idris, who took it from his shaykh,the knower of God, al-Sayyid'Abd al-Wahhab al-Tazi, reporting from his shaykh,the knower of God, al-Sayyid'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Mas'udal-Dabbagh al-Fasi,33 reporting from our lord and our master,Abi al-Abbasal-Khidr,on whom be peace, reporting from the Prophet,God bless him and grant him salvation. This is among the most elevatedof the rare,existing chains of authority.34 This is because mation in the biography alto be drawnfroma workwrittenby Muhammad appears Sanusi. As a resultthis biographical is a compilation of material drawnfrom sketch the worksof two of Ahmad ibn Idris's fromits value students. This does not detract to the historian, butit should be keptin mindthatit is not solelytheworkof al-Ahdal. 32The concept of al-tariqat or a tariqah directvalidaal-muhammadiyyah, claiming tion fromthe Prophet, was not unique It seems to Ahmad ibn Idrisandhis students. rather to,havebeenthe waythata number of prominent in the eighleaders religious teenthand nineteenth centuries viewedtheirorders. As a nameit was used by the Wahhabis andthemovement of Ahmad Brelwiin Indiaas well as the orders connected with Ahmad ibn Idris.Forcomments of this see Rahman, on the generalimportance
Islam, 253-254.

33Al-Dabbagh wasbornaround leader in Mo1683andwas an important religious 34Thedevotional of thevarious exercises andteachings Sufiorders aregivenauthen-

rocco. See Rinn, Marabouts, 399-402, and Depont and Coppolani,Confreries,539-541.

ticity in traditional Islamic thought by the chain of teachers who have passed them on. The orders theoretically trace themselves back to the Prophet and his teachings and thus, the shorter the chain of authorities~,the more reliable the content of the tariqah.

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of the meeting of al-Khidr, on whom be peace, with the Prophet, God

bless him and grant him salvation,during his lifetime, similar to all of the Companionswho took directly from him, and al-Sayyid'Abd al'Aziz took from him in the way that all of the second generationof followers took from the establishedcompanionswho were contemporaries of the Prophet,God bless him and grant him salvation,and so on down the line. In this way, the intermediariesbetween us and the Prophet, God bless him and grant him salvation,are four in number.To, God be praise and thanks.35 In terms of meeting with and learning from the Prophet after his death, each of the three supporting shaykhs had this occur to, them, both while asleep and while awake. Even more, in the later part of their lives, each of the shaykhsrelied only on him and had recourseto none
except him, God bless him and grant him salvation. Also, in it36 is that o,ur shaykh, Aba al-Abbas al-'Ara'ishi,37learned early in his, life from his shaykh, Abi al-Muwahib al-Tazi. He taught him: There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God, and he informed him that the messenger of God, God bless him and grant him salvation, had taught it to, him, saying, "Nothing is more beneficial to' the worshiper than 'There is no' god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.'" Also in it is that our shaykh Aba al-Abbas al-'Ara'ishi had the token of meeting with him, God bless him and grant him salvation, with firm precedence, like his shaykh Aba al-Muwahib al-Tazi, and the shaykh of his shaykh, al-Dabbagh. A full explanation of his conditions with him, God bless him and grant him salvation, is, not possible, since not only at the end o,f his life 'but also at the beginning and the middle, he relied only on him and had recourse only to him, God, bless him and grant him salvation. As for the tariqah's model, it is the model of the Shadhiliyyah Tariqah,38 God be pleased with its masters, because their
Here the word elevated is a translation for a word that contains both the meaning of being lofty in content and also, higher, meaning shorter and closer tol the Prophet. In the conventional chains of authority the Companions of the Prophet were thus high authorities, having received their teaching directly from the Prophet. As is done here with, Ahmad's tariqah, it became common to, circumvent the long chain of authorities by claiming direct contact with the Prophet through visions. 35 It is interesting to note that the author here: shortens the chain of authorities between Ahmad and al-Dabbagh. Depont and Coppolani, Confreries, 539-541, and Rinn, Marabouts, 399-402, give another name in the chain of sfhaykhs, and do' not say that al-Tazi was the immediate successor to al-Dabbagh. 36 The meaning here is ambiguous, but it probably means that the following information also appears in the book by al-Sanusi. 37 This is simply an honorific way of referring to Ahmad ibn Idris. 3s The Shadhiliyyah Tariqahis very widespreadin tie world of Islam, having its origins in North Africa as early as the thirteenth century. It was the basis for a great many orders and tends to represent more of a school of thought within Sufism repre-

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cleansingis with saying "Thereis no god but God,"and prayersfor the messengerof God, God bless him and grant him salvation, and asking for pardon, and praying, and various verses including "taking refuge" and "becomingpoor,"and supplication,and the requirement,as he, God bless him and grant him salvationlhas said: "Prayeris the essence of The tariqah of our master Ahmad ibn worship, prayer is, worship."39 Idris is like that. Our shaykh,God be pleased with him, has called it the Ahmadiyyah, referring to, his essence, God sanctify his secrets, when he had distinguished him, God bless him and grant him salvation, with it, and with
its; extensive sayings and prayers and its wide inclinations. Thus he said,

God sanctify his secrets, as we have heard it from our shaykh many times, "Not one of you knows the scope of my tariqah,unless his eye is obscured from men who despise him." He, GCd be pleased with him, would say, "Eachprophet has an answered prayer,and each saint has with his Prophet, God bless him and grant him salvation, an accepted him, God bless him and grant him request.When its time came, I asked! salvation, to grant my companionshis special essence in support. He said, 'Do not give any guardianshipbut mine to him who is associated with you, nor any guarantee,becauseI am his guardianand his guarantor."' He expanded on this saying and mentioned it to the disciples when they questionedhim, saying, "We have transformed you into him who is better than us, since the assignmentis accepted.So turn to him and show your questionsand needs to him." He would alsolsay, "In my
tariqah is the essence of eternity, first here and secondly with God."

Here there is a familiarity with what al-Shaykhal-Sha'rani40 said about his shaykh,'Ali al-Khawwas, in his saying,"All the doors of saintship were removed with locks and nothing now remains open except the door of the messengerof God, God bless him and. grant him salvation. So reduceall distressesthat happen to you through him, God bless him and grant him salvation."Among his sayings is: "The poverty is not completed in the gate of the followers of the messenger of God, God bless him and grant him salvation,until he becomes a witness for him in every permissibleact and asks his permission in all of his affairs in eating and clothes, and gathering,and going out and coming in. He
sentedby a cluster of orders. ratherthan being a specifictariqahitself. See Trimingham, Sufi Ordersin Islam, 47-51. 39 These variousphrasesand acts refer to specificacts within the devotionalexercises of the tariqah. 40'Abd al-Wahhabibn Ahmad al-Sha'rani(897/1492-973/1565) was a prominent Sufi writer whose works are often quotedby later Sufis. He was a teacherwithin the traditionand spentmost of his life in Egypt.See Trimingham, Shadhiliyyah Sufi Orders in Islam, 220225.

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who does that participatesin companionship in the real meaning of God be companionship."Similar toi it is the saying of al-Shadhili,41 to that with to witness him: truth of is "The bear pleased following in word and act." following every As for the story of his meeting with him, God be pleased with the two,of them, and his studyingunder him, it is that Sidi Ahmad had an establishedshaykh from among the ulamaof Shinqit,42 who was famous as al-'Alamahal-Majidri.He went to,the city of Fas from time to time. When he stayed in Fas, Sidi Ahmad, God be pleased.with him, penetrated under his;direction some detailed books. I think that they were among the books o,f Traditions and Faith which were not prevailing there.One time he wanted to returnto Shinqit but there remainedsome of the books whose commentarieshe had not completed.He said toihim,
"Oh my master, if you would grant me permissioln to travel with you,

I could complete those books."He said to, him, "Be patient until I request my shaykhfor permissionfor you,"and he said to him, "Do you have a shaykh?" He said, "Yes, he is. Sidi 'Abd al-Wahhabal-Tazi, God be pleasedwith him." Sidi Ahmad was surprisedby his being a shaykh for him because he, God be pleased with him, was obscure and most people did not know his spiritualstation.Then al-Majidriansweredhim after a little, "The shaykhdoes not give me permission but he said to bring him to me and I will unite him with the messenger of God, God bless him and grant him salvation."The astonishmentincreased with that. Sidi Ahmad went with al-Majidrito Sidi 'Abd al-Wahhaband he took that tariqahfrom him and devoted himself to him, was attachedto him, and completely dedicatedhimself to him. Then, after a short period passed, he said to him, "I think that your shaykh,al-Majidri,has passedointo the mercy o,f God Almighty."So he said to, him, "Oh Sidi, how do you know that?" He said to him, "The guiding shaykh has times which he specifies for turning to his disciples for their spirits. As long as they are alive, he does not simply lay upon them one coindition. No, he sometimes gives them lights and sometimes darkness,in accord with their traveling on the path and their obedience, sometimes closer tolGod and sometimes farther.Now, for a period of days there remains with him the condition which I left on him, and the place which I promised." This al-'Alamahal-Majidriis the one from whom Sidi Ahmad ibn Idris, God be pleased with him, received al-Hizb al-Sayfi43with his re41 This probably refersto Abu al-Hasanal-Shadhili(died 656/1258).

is the area to the south of Morocco,roughly equivalentto, present-day 42Sh~inqit

Mauritania.
43 Al-Hizb al-Sayfiis a devotionalprayerthat is especiallywidely used in the Shadhili tradition.

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pole of al-Jann,from our master'Ali, God honor porting from al-Qaqa'i, him. When the caravanfrom Shinqit was met, they brought news,of the death.of al-Majidri,God have mercy on him, and the matterwas.as Sidi 'Abd al-Wahhabhad mentioned.The tariqahof this Sidi 'Abd al-Wahhab is, firstly,ShadhiliyyahNasiriyyah,44 and his shaykh was Sidi MuhammadZayyan al-Quandusi,from his shaykh,Sidi Mubarakibn 'Adi al-Ghaylani, reporting from Sidi.Muhammadibn Nasir al-Dar'i,reporting from the shaykh of shaykhs,Sidi Abi al-Qasimal-Ghazi, who died in the year 991 (1583 A.D.), and whose famous chain of authoritygoes back to the shaykh of shaykhs,Sidi Ahmad Zaruq,and to al-Shadhili, God be pleasedwith him. The tariqahof our masters,the Bani al-Nasir, is the most famous,of the Shadhiliyyahtariqahsiin the west. They permitted into it only ulama who had many authorizationsin most of the tariqahs from the shaykhs of their time. Then he, God be pleasedwith him, attachedhimself to Sidi 'Abd al-Wahhabfor a period of yearsuntil he, God be pleasedwith him, died early in the tenth decade of the twelfth [Islamic] century.Then he, God be pleased with him, went to the easternlands with Meccaas his goal. He reachedEgypt in the thirteenth year of the thirteenth century,4'5 and then arrived in Mecca,where he stayedfor aroundthirtyyears.He went to,Upper Egypt one or two'times,as brothersof that period mentiotn, and also,to'Medina and al-Ta'if a numberof times. Then he, God be pleasedwith him, was commandedto go to, al-Yamanin the year 1244 [1828-1829 A.D.]. He stayed in Zabid for a time and passed throughMukha and other places in al-Yaman.Then he settled in Sabya,a famous village by Abi 'Arish. He stayedtherefor about nine yearsand there he passedon to!the mercy of God Almighty and his delight in the year 1253 [1837 A.D.] in the thirteenthcentury.Even now he has pious descendantsin it. In summary,he was a uniter of the exoteric and esoteric sciencesand had great proficiencyin them. He had understanding and great fame in the sciences of the Qur'anand Traditions,both transmittingand knowing, searchingand investigating.The great and small submitted to his grace,and the most learnedscholars and noble teacherslearnedfrom him. God grant him wide mercy and extend in his tariqah that which millio'ns, follow. Amen. Completed.
southernpart of Morocco.It was both a secularand a religious power in that region and was noted for its supportof learning.It was foundedby Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Dar'i,who died in 1085/1674. It is worth noting that Ahmad al-Tij,ani, the founder of the revivalist Tijaniyyahorder, was initiated into the Nasiriyyahwhile he was studyingin,Fas at about the same time as Ahmadibn Idris.
45 1213 is 1798-1799 A.D.

44The Nasiriyyah was an important orderin Morocco, centered in Dar'a,in the

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