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Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī

Savant

Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Shādhilī was born in 593 AH (1196) in the Ghumāra region, near Ceuta, in northern Morocco. He died in 656 AH (1258) at Ḥumaythirā, in the eastern desert of Egypt, while on his way to pilgrimage. His tomb is still visited there. The quest for a master After studying fiqh, he left for the East in search of a spiritual guide. In Iraq, a master told him that the one he was looking for was in his own country. Returning to Morocco, he met ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Mashīsh, retired to Jabal ʿAlam, who became his master. Tunisia and Egypt He then settled near the village of Shādhila, in Tunisia, from which it takes its name, then in Tunis. Around 1244, he left for Alexandria, where he taught until his death. Its assemblies brought together great scholars of his time. His teaching Al-Shādhilī did not ask his disciples to leave the world or wear any particular clothing. He emphasized gratitude to God, trust, strict adherence to the Sunnah and remembering God. He left few writings, but his prayers and litanies (aḥzāb), like the Ḥizb al-baḥr, are recited to this day. His spiritual descendants His disciple Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Mursī succeeded him, then Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh al-Iskandarī, author of the famous Ḥikam, who wrote down the teachings of the two masters. Shādhiliyya, with its many branches, is one of the most widespread spiritual paths in the Maghreb, Egypt and Africa. Photo: calligraphed leaf from al-Shādhilī’s Ḥizb al-baḥr (Walters Art Museum).