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This now is something
of the story of the life and sayings of the Shaykh and Master Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli, whose full name was `Ali ibn `Abdullah ibn `Abdu ‘l-Jabbar,
who, on his father’s side, descended from the Fatimid-Hasanid line, and on
his mother’s side from the Fatimid-Husaynid line.
He was born in the year
593 A.H./1196 C.E., in the mountain village of Ghumara in the Rif area of
the northern Atlas mountains of the Maghrib. The Berber tribe to which he
belonged had virtually separated itself from the rest of the Maghrib by
refusing to accept the Religion of Islam, which was otherwise universally
followed in this region. Sidi Abu Madyan had tried to teach and guide this
tribe to the Truth, but they had preferred to live in their state of
spiritual ignorance, relying mostly upon witchcraft, magic and idols for
their form of worship.
There is little
recorded about the very early life of `Ali ibn `Abdu ‘l-Jabbar, but it is
assumed that whilst he was still very young he would have been taught the
basic rites of the Religion because he and his family were of the shurafa,
that is, people who are related in the body to the Prophet Muhammad,
prayers and peace be upon him. These are people who are untouched by the
desire for worldly power and office or for material gains. Therefore, it
could be expected that he would have studied, first of all, at the famous
madrasa of Qurrawiyyin in Fez (Fas) which had been founded by the great
grandson of Sayyidina al-Hasan, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad,
prayers and peace be upon him.
His first Shaykh and
Master was Sidi `Abdullah ibn Harazim, a follower of Sidi Abu Madyan, may
Allah have mercy on them both, through whose guidance he entered the Path
of Allah, the Way of Tasawwuf. It was also through him that he was later
moved to find the Qutb of his time.
It is known that in the
year 615 A.H., at the age of twenty-five, he travelled to the East and
notably to al-`Iraq, searching for the Master who possessed the complete
knowledge of the Path of the Truth of Allah, Praised and Exalted is He.
There he was led to the Shaykh Abu al-Fath al-Wasiti who was the inheritor
of the holy and renown Shaykh and waliy of Allah, Sidi Ahmad ar-Rifa’i, may
Allah be pleased with him, who had founded and guided one of the first and
largest tariq in the Way of Allah in the southern marshes of `Iraq.
Here `Ali `Abdu
‘l-Jabbar remained for a short time, until it became clear to the heart of
the Shaykh Abu al-Fath that this follower could only be satisfied by the
deepest Spring of the Knowledge (al-ma`rifa). Therefore he said to him,
“You have come here seeking for the Pole (Qutb) of Islam, but you have left
him in the Maghrib.”
In this way the murid
`Ali ibn `Abdu ‘l-Jabbar returned to his own country, until he was led to
his true Master, Sidi `Abdu ‘s-Salam ibn Mashish on the mountain of Jabal
`Alam in the Habt region of the Maghrib.
The account of the
first meeting between them has been given in the previous chapter in the
story of the life of `Abdu ‘s-Salam ibn Mashish, but one of the Knowers of
Allah, referring to such a meeting said:
“Know that in his
beginning, the first of what the seeker of this Path needs is that he casts
himself on the Shaykh who is a Knower of Allah, skilled in the journey of
descent and ascent. Before him he is like the corpse in the hands of the
one who is washing it. He does not resist the Shaykh when he understands
something to be lacking, even if it is not in the Law (ash-shari`a), as the
Shaykh Sidi `Abdu ‘l-Qadir al-Jilani, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
“If I am a rebel in the judgement of the shari`a, I am obedient in the
knowledge of the Reality.”
Therefore he must wash
himself of all other knowledge and actions, and turn in repentance (tawba)
from his bad deeds. As one of the Knowers of this Path said, “The tawba of
the act of rebellion is one tawba, but the tawba of the act of obedience is
a thousand.”
Another of the Knowers
said, “Make ablution with the Water of the Unseen, if you carry the Secret.
For with this he clings to him and keeps him company until the Shaykh is
dearer to him than himself, his property and his children. Until if he
commanded him to do the impossible, which cannot be thought of in the mind,
he would do it without weariness or turning away.”
In this way, everything
that Allah revealed to them of the outside and the inside knowledge passed
between the Shaykh `Abdu ‘s-Salam ibn Mashish and his follower, until `Ali
ibn Abdu’l-Jabbar became the true inheritor of his Master.
After a period of time,
as Allah willed, Sidi `Abdu as-Salam told his beloved son and follower to
proceed to Ifriqiya, now known as Tunisia, where he should settle in the
village of Shadhila until Allah would send His Order for him to move to the
city of Tunis, where he would meet with certain difficulty and opposition.
He was told nevertheless that he should remain in Tunis, until the coming
of an event which would permit him to leave this city and to travel to the
East where, as his Master said, “You will become the Qutb of your time.”
Before leaving Sidi
`Abdu ‘s-Salam’s presence, his young inheritor asked him for parting words
of guidance, so that he might receive from him his message of the Order
which Allah, Exalted is He, intended for him at that moment. His Master,
may Allah be pleased with him, said, “O `Ali, Allah is Allah, and the
people are the people. Therefore, let Allah’s remembrance live every moment
in your heart. Leave behind all dependence on people, and keep your heart
from inclining towards them. Perform your duties and Allah’s Guidance will
always be with you. Do not refer to people unless Allah, the All-Mighty,
orders you to do so. He has perfected for you your authority and friendship
(walaya) with Him. Say, “O Allah! I ask Your Mercy that I do not incline or
yearn for people. Protect me from their evils, and provide for me by not
seeking help from them. Set me apart from them, for Thou art powerful over
everything.”
Then `Ali ibn `Abdu
‘l-Jabbar set out for the village of Shadhila, between Qayrawan and Tunis
where, rather than looking for a place to lodge, he retreated to a cave on
the mountain of Jabal Zaghwan, accompanied by his spiritual brother and
companion, one of the Knowers of Allah (ahli al-kashf), `Abdullah ibn
Salama al- Habibi. Here they both lived for a period of time, as Allah, the
All-mighty, willed of them. `Ali ibn `Abdu ‘l-Jabbar chose this seclusion
because he had not yet received permission from Allah, Praised and Exalted
is He, to guide others, and he recognized that a period of retreat from the
world was necessary for him, so as to strengthen his heart.
He was shown that he
still needed to concentrate on the inner battle (jihad) with his self,
which he had embarked upon with his beloved holy Master Sidi `Abdu ‘s-Salam
ibn Mashish. This he must do until he was certain that he had emptied
himself entirely of everything that was not for Allah, and he had effaced
himself in Him.
It was a very holy
period of asceticism, seclusion and spiritual practices during which the
depth of his self-denial was accompanied by the manifestation of many
spiritual gifts (karamat) from Allah, some of which were recorded by his
companion, Abu Muhammad al-Habibi, who said, “One day on Mount Zaghwan, the
Shaykh was reciting from the surat al-An`am until he reached the Words of
Allah: ‘Remind hereby, lest a soul should be given up to destruction for what
it has earned. Apart from Allah it has no protector and no intercessor;
though it offer any equivalent it shall not be accepted from it.’ (6:69).
(It, referring to the self of the human being.) At this point the Shaykh
became absent as he repeated this aya again and again until his whole body
was shaken by the Word of his Lord, and as often as he leaned to one side,
so the mountain leaned in like manner, and this continued until his Spirit
returned to his body, when the mountain also became still.”
This same companion
also recorded: After forty days of his keeping company with Sidi `Ali ibn
`Abdu ‘l-Jabbar, feeding on nothing but herbs of the fields and laurel
leaves until the sides of his two cheeks began to pain him, he, may Allah
be pleased with him, said to him, “O `Abdullah, is it that you wish for
food?” He replied, “O my Master, my looking at you enables me to do without
it.” The Shaykh then said, “Tomorrow, if Allah wills, we shall go down to
Shadhila and some Gift from Allah will come to us on our way.”
`Abdullah al-Habibi
continued: So the next morning we descended, and while we were walking
through a valley the Shaykh said to me, “O `Abdullah, if I should leave
this road do not follow me.” Then he became absent from the world, and he
left the way until he was some distance from me. Then I saw four birds,
about the size of a stork, come down from the sky and fly over his head.
Each one of them came and spoke with him and then flew away.
Amongst them were birds
about the size of swallows which surrounded him between the earth and the
horizon, hovering in circles about him. When they had disappeared from
sight, he returned to me saying, “O `Abdullah, did you see anything.” I
told him of what I had seen and he said, “The four birds were some of the
angels of the fourth Heaven who came to question me about Knowledge, and
about this I spoke with them. The birds resembling swallows were the
spirits of the Saints which came to receive a blessing from our arrival.”
It is recorded that
Sidi `Ali ibn `Abdu ‘l-Jabbar said: In the beginning of my travelling with
the Path of Allah I was wont to pursue the science of alchemy, and I would
make petition to Allah about it. I was told, “Alchemy is in your urine. Put
into it whatever you wish and it will become what you desire.” So I heated
a pickaxe, quenched it therewith, and it turned to gold. Then my presence
of mind came back to me and I said, “O lord, I asked Thee for a certain
thing but I did not attain it except by the use of unclean devices, and
this is not lawful.” Then I was told, “O `Ali, the world is full of
impurity, and if you desire it, you will not attain it except by impurity.”
I replied, “O my Lord, deliver me from it.” I was told, “Heat the pickaxe
and it will return to iron.” I heated it, and it returned to iron.”
After that he learnt
that the basis of the search for, and the realization of the Truth of the
knowledge of all sciences coming from Allah, Most High, lies in the
truthfulness of the seeker’s intention. About this he, may Allah be pleased
with him, told the following story: While I was in the Maghrib, a certain
man came to me and said, “I have been told that you possess a knowledge of
alchemy–so teach me.” He replied, “I will teach it to you without omitting
a single particle, if you are able to receive it.”
“By Allah I am able to
receive it,” the man replied. So I said to him, “Eliminate creatures from
your heart, and stop desiring that your Lord give you other than what He
had previously ordained for you.” He replied, “I am not able to do that.” I
said, “Did I not tell you that you would not be able to receive it?” Then
he left me.
He, may Allah be
pleased with him, told of another story: While I was wandering one night in
the beginning of my travelling on the Path, I slept in a place where there
were many wild animals. These began to growl at me, so I went and sat down
on a high hill and said, by Allah, I will pray to His Prophet, prayers and
peace be upon him, for has he not said, “Whoever sends blessings upon me,
by that act the blessing of Allah, the All-Mighty, will be upon him
tenfold, and if the blessing of Allah is upon me, I shall pass the night
under His Protection.”
So I did this and
feared nothing. When the dawn appeared, I went to a pool of water to make
the ablution for the morning prayer (al-fajr), and there was a mass of
reeds from which partridges broke forth with a great fluttering of wings.
Fright overtook me and I turned back. Then I heard a voice say, “O `Ali,
when you passed the night under the Care of Allah amongst the growling
animals, you did not fear, but when you arose today under your own care,
the fluttering of partridge feathers has made you afraid.”
It was at this time
that he was given his title (nisba) of ash-Shadhdhuli. He was shown that
this name was not due to the fact that he was an inhabitant of the village
of Shadhila, but that Allah, Praised and Exalted is He, said to him, “O
`Ali, you are ash-Shadhdhuli with a tashdid on the dhal, meaning one who is
set apart (shadhdhu-li) for Me.”
Shortly after this the
Order came to his heart, “Go down to the people. They will benefit by you.”
When he heard these words he said, “O my Lord and Sustainer, relieve me of
their company.” Then he was told, “Go down `Ali. Peace will be with you.”
He said, “Will You leave me to the people to eat from their money?” He was
told, “Spend as you like, O `Ali, for I am your Financier. Spend as you
like from your pocket, or from the Unseen.”
So it was that about
the year 640 A.H./1242 C.E., the Shaykh ash-Shadhdhuli went down to Tunisa
and found lodgings near the al-Balat (the Tiled Mosque) where he began
calling people to Allah, and teaching them His religion, receiving help and
support from the Sultan Abu Zakariyya.
The Shadhdhuliyya Order
was first founded there around forty of his students who were known as the
forty friends (al-awliya’ al-arba’un), and soon a great number of people
from all walks of life began to come to him for inspiration and guidance,
as the word spread of the great learning, purity of heart and wisdom of the
holy Shaykh.
Tunis in those days was
a big city and a centre of commerce and trade as well as a gathering place
for those seeking both religious and secular learning. Many people who were
already following the religion of Islam were seeking something purer, more
complete, and at the same time, simpler than what was being taught in the
institutions of religious learning. They were also looking for a message
which would speak to the hearts of city-dwellers whose everyday life and
occupations were an important matter for them. Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli’s Teachings gave these people exactly what everybody was
looking for.
Someone has said,
looking at the outside of Sidi Abu al-Hasan’s message, and referring to
some of his letters to his followers, “This correspondence shows not only
that Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhiuli had a deep knowledge of the Sufi Teaching
of the eastern doctors, but also a personal experience of spiritual
realities. If he knew how to inspire his followers it was not so much that
he taught them a simple Sufism, but because he had the qualities of a
spiritual Master as is revealed in his letters. He certainly formed no
intellectual system, but he had qualities of spiritual discernment, and he
knew how to extract from his own experiences what was valuable for others.”
In the same manner,
another person has said, “It is a fact of basic importance that the
Shadhdhuliyya was born out of an urban surrounding, not necessarily in
revolt against it, but as an outcome of the existing patterns of political,
religious and economic life.”
It was also Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli’s message to his followers to encourage them,
unlike many of the shaykhs before him and after his time, not to abandon
their professions and trades which they had been following before coming to
the Path, and to dress themselves in the same way as all the people with
whom he, may Allah be pleased with him, taught them to mix. It is said, in
fact, that he did not like to take any student into his Way who did not
have a trade or profession. This was from the outer face of his Way, and it
was as though it was the outer key to the door of his Path which attracted
many of those who would have turned away from a more obviously ascetic
Master.
From the inner face of
his Way, and for those who were searching with the inner Eye, Abu
al-Hasan’s presence and Teachings carried a certain power of the Spirit
which was the Gift which Allah, Praised and Exalted is He, had bestowed
upon him, and which came to him as the inheritor of the Spirit of his
Father, the Guide Sidi `Abdu ‘s-Salam ibn Mashish, Allah’s mercy upon him.
It was known that the Love from his eyes was enough to bring the wandering
perplexed seeker into the Net of Allah.
This was a special Gift
from Allah, Most High, for His beloved slave. It is the same Gift of the
bestowing of the Essence of the deep Secret Love of Allah coming from the
Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, and which has been passed
down through this Shadhdhuliyya Line to this moment. May Allah be praised
and thanked in everything.
It was this
relationship, springing from the deep Secret Love of the Essence, which
revealed to the orthodox Muslims the elite bond between the Master and his
followers–the Shaykh with his beloveds. Although it had always existed, it
was through Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, may Allah protect his secret, that
it took on a new spiritual depth. This added depth came from the tasting of
the true meaning of the annihilation (fana’) in the Shaykh, who is the
living Spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, in
his time. It is he who guides Allah’s lover from his perfect annihilation
of himself in himself, to the perfect annihilation of himself in Allah,
Most High, followed by the perfect subsistence (baqa’) in his Spirit.
Abu al-Hasan, may Allah
be pleased with him, said, “Real truthfulness (sidq) and piety (taqwa) are
experiencing with the Master what you desire. Allah Praised and Exalted is
He has said, “He who comes with the Truth and believes it to be the Truth,
they are the godfearing. They have with their Lord what they
desire.”(39:34). This can be found only with the true Master, he who gives
the right intention to the student’s heart. The real intention means the
absence of everything except the act intended upon undertaking, and its
perfection is a holding fast to it until its completion.”
This teaching and its
practices seemed to the orthodox believers to threaten the whole structure
of Islam as they knew it. But Sidi Abu al-Hasan, like his Master Sidi ibn
Mashish and his Master Muhyi-id-din ibn al-`Arabi before him, considered
that only the knowledge acquired through tasting could be true Knowledge.
In this way he was indicating that the knowledge of the inner Sufi Path was
of a degree above that of the jurists and the people of the outside Law
(ash-shari`a).
In fact a certain
person of the government of the Maghrib went to Sidi Abu al-Hasan and said
to him, “I do not see that you perform any great religious works. So tell
me how it is that you have reached such an elevated place amongst the
people that they regard you so highly?”
He, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, “I have a single work
that Allah, the All-Mighty, has prescribed to His People, and to which I
cleave.” “What is that?” he asked.
I replied, “Withdrawal
from you, and your world. Allah, Most High, has said: So turn thou from him
who turns away from Our remembrance and desires only the present life.”
(53:29).
Sidi Abu al-Hasan then
said, “Vision of the Truth came upon me and would not leave me, and it was
stronger than I could bear, so I asked Allah, the All-Mighty, to set a veil
between me and It. Then a voice called out to me saying, ‘If you besought
Him as only His Prophets and Saints and Muhammad His Beloved know how to
beseech Him, yet would He not veil you from It. But ask Him to strengthen
you for It.’ So I asked for strength, and He strengthened me, Praise be to
Allah.”
One day when one of his
followers asked him, may Allah be pleased with him, to speak about Union
and Separation, he said, “My son, when you want that in which there is no
censure, Union is witnessed in your Secret, and Separation exists in your
tongue.”
In other words, the
beloved of Allah is he who travels through things, recognizing them and
their Orders, and seeing the Face of Allah in everything. The knower, as
Sidi Abu al-Hasan indicated, is he who travels joyfully and happily
obtaining the good of all things, and because he trusts in Allah, the evil
of things passes him by. But he who does not know and does not trust,
travels through things fearfully, anxious, restrained and imprisoned, and
so he attracts their evils, and their good misses him.” Has not Allah,
Praised and Exalted is He, said, “Are they equal, those who know and those
who do not know?”(39:9).
Sidi Abu al-Hasan said,
“Know that the Secret of all the ranks is gathered together in a rank, and
it is the noblest, the highest, the greatest and the most immense. It is
that your inward is truly with Allah and your outward with the Creation by
Allah. When your outward is with the Creation and your inward is with
Allah, then all your states are pure, from the side of the outward. So the
Creation does not reject you. From the inward side there is no intermediary
between you and Allah.”
For that he, may Allah
be pleased with him, said, “Make us Your slaves in all states, and teach us
knowledge from You by which we may become perfect both in our life and in
our death.”
Again and again he, may
Allah hallow his secret, returned to this Truth of the relationship between
the Knowledge of Allah and the state of being His slave. He said, “Allah,
Praised and Mighty is He, has said, “Only those of His servants who have
knowledge fear Allah.”(35:28).
Then Sidi Abu al-Hasan
also said, “The slave of this world is a prisoner, the slave of the
Hereafter is a hireling, but the slave of Allah is an `amir.”
He, may Allah be
pleased with him, counselled his beloveds as he said to them, “If you
desire to look towards Allah with the eyes of faith and firm belief at all
times, then be thankful for His favors, and be content with His Decrees.
Whatever favor you have is from Allah. Then, whenever evil touches you,
call upon Him. If you desire it to turn away from you, or yourself to turn
away from it, worship Allah lovingly, not bargaining with Him, but
knowingly, with due respect and modesty.”
A Knower who understood
Sidi Abu al-Hasan’s Secret said: “Allah made selves incline to freedom and
to love it, and He made them flee from bondsmanship and hate it. Whoever is
a knower and who entrusts himself to a Knower, only finds ease in
bondsmanship. He who is ignorant, or who entrusts himself to one who is
ignorant, only finds ease in freedom.” For which he said, “Only the giving
of the Perfect is perfect.”
It was in this way that
Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli taught his followers and students and
always reminded them, “Whatever Allah has willed will be, and whatever He
has not willed is not. There is no strength and power except with Allah.”
However the Master’s
presence, and his continually growing influence amongst all manner of
people in Tunis, began to stir up envy and apprehension in the heart of a
certain lawyer (faqih) known as Abu ‘l-Qasim ibn Bara. This person tried to
bring legal charges against him, and when this proved unsuccessful, he then
sought to get the Sultan Abu Zakariyya’s ear by declaring that Abu al-Hasan
was a fraud and an imposter who claimed to be of the Fatimid line. He also
charged Sidi Abu al-Hasan of being a potential agitator who was stirring up
trouble amongst the people against Abu Zakariyya’s rule and authority.
Although the Sultan was
generally speaking a just man, the charge of possible insurrection to his
rule brought apprehension to his heart, so he called a gathering of the
`ulama and fuqaha to question the Shaykh about his belief and intentions,
while he himself sat listening, but hidden from sight behind a screen. The
outcome of this meeting was that none of the charges brought by Ibn
al-Bara’ were in any way proved to exist, and the Sultan said to him, “This
man is one of the greatest Saints, and you have no power over him.” He
therefore dismissed all those who had been gathered together to question
Abu al-Hasan, except the Shaykh himself whom he still retained in his
presence.
Then Abu al-Hasan asked
of him only to be allowed to have a jug of water to make ablution, a carpet
for praying, and to be able to speak to one of his muridun who was
anxiously waiting outside. He, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the
Sultan, “By Allah, were it not that my Way teaches us to act in accordance
with the Law (ash-shari`a) I would surely walk out from here, or there.” As
he said this, he pointed to one wall of the room, and then another which
immediately opened for him. He told his student to inform all his followers
that he would be absent from them for that day, but that, if Allah willed,
he would pray the night prayer together with them.
After he had finished
his prayer, Abu al-Hasan was about to make a du`a to Allah, the All-Mighty,
asking him to bring some judgement upon Ibn al-Bara’ and the Sultan for
their opposition to him, but then he heard the words. “Truly Allah will not
be pleased with you if you ask Him in anger towards a fellow creature.” So
he offered up the following du`a, which later became a part of his
well-known Invocation of the Earth (Hizb al-Barr): “O You Whose Throne is
spread over the heavens and the earth, the preservation of which is no
burden, the Sublime, the All-Mighty (2:256), I ask You for faith in Your
Care, a faith by which my heart will remain undisturbed from anxiety for my
sustenance, and from fear of creatures.
Draw me near to You in
a way that tears away the veils as You did with Ibrahim, Your Friend and
Messenger, who spoke to You and thereby did not need to ask You, for You
kept him safe from the fire of his enemy. How can anyone be in need of a
veil to shroud him from the harm of his enemies when You have made him not
to be in need of the help of Friends? I pray that You will conceal me in
Your Nearness until I cannot see or feel the nearness nor the distance of
any other thing. You have the power over everything.” (2:19).
One of Sidi Abu
al-Hasan’s students told about a certain incident relating to this lawyer,
Ibn al-Bara: One day the Shaykh met Ibn al-Bara and greeted him, but he
turned away from him and did not return his salutation. Shortly afterwards
the canon lawyer, Abu `Abdullah ibn Abi ‘l-Husayn, the Sultan’s
chamberlain, passed by. When he saw the Shaykh, he dismounted from his
she-mule and hastened towards him greeting him by kissing his hands,
weeping and begging him for his intercession on his behalf. So the Shaykh
interceded for him and then continued on his way.
When Abu al-Hasan
entered his house he said, “Allah, Praised and Exalted is He, has just
revealed to me concerning these two men, for I have been told, ‘O `Ali, the
marking (wasm) of a person (`abd) with ill-fortune is in accordance with
the fore-knowledge of Allah, and he is blind to it, though he be very
learned, and the marking of a person with good fortune is according to the
fore-knowledge of Allah, and it comes to him, do what he may.’”
On another occasion he,
may Allah be pleased with him, told of an incident, once more involving
iIbn al-Bara’, which he recounted saying: I came upon a group of jurists
among the companions of the Chief Qadi of Tunis, Ibn al-Bara, a man with
whom Allah, the All-Mighty, was not well-pleased, and I greeted them and
they turned away from me. That was a painful experience. Then I heard the
voice saying to me:
“O`Ali, indeed you have
exaggerated your own importance and overestimated your worth, since you
were sensitive to their turning away from you. But who are they when they
turn towards you, and how is it when they turn their back? If you were one
helped by Allah, you would be distracted through your turning to Allah from
their turning away from you. If you were under right guidance, you would be
distracted through Allah’s turning to you from your turning towards Him.”
In His Wisdom, Allah,
the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, sent ibn al-Bara as a deep blessing for Abu
al-Hasan at a time when he, may Allah be pleased with him, was testing him
and teaching him the deep Knowledge of His Path. He said, I heard someone
say, “He who is sensitive to the first shock of misfortune is not patient.
He who burdens himself with trouble has not resigned his affair to Allah.
He who asks is not content with Allah. He who manages his own affairs has
not committed them to Allah. He who calls for help has not trusted. These
are five things, and how great is your need to be attentive to these five!”
Say: “My Lord, I stand in need of the good that You have sent down to me.
So increase for me Your Bounty and Beneficence, and make me one of those
who are thankful for Your Favors.”
Shortly after this, Abu
al-Hasan decided to leave Tunis to make the Pilgrimage (Hajj ) if Allah
willed, and for this purpose he set out with his followers to the East.
When the Sultan Zakariyya heard of this he was very troubled and sent a
message begging the Shaykh to remain in Tunis. But he, may Allah be pleased
with him, said to him. “I am not leaving except with the intention of
making the Hajj if Allah, Exalted is He, wills, but when He, Most High,
will have fulfilled for me my intention I shall, if He wills, return
again.”
Accordingly, Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, together with some of his followers, journeyed to
Egypt, arriving in Iskandariya (Alexandria) where they were greeted with
being detained in the military camp by an order of the Sultan of Egypt.
This was because Ibn al-Bara had sent a message warning the Sultan that the
Shaykh was a dangerous man who would stir up trouble in his country.
However, Allah, the All-Mighty, intervened, bringing proof to him and all
those around him, that the Shaykh, far from being a troublemaker, was a
person of great spiritual power, intent only to make peace for all the
people wherever Allah, the All-Mighty, sent him to be.
One of his students who
was accompanying Abu al-Hasan said that he did not hear the Shaykh pray
against Ibn al-Bara, and he did not even mention him in any way until they
were by `Arafat, and this was on the Pilgrimage after leaving Egypt, when
he said, “Say Amin to my du`a, for just now I have been commanded to pray
against Ibn al-Bara.” Then he said, “O Allah, lengthen his life, make his
knowledge to be of no avail to him. Bring him tribulation through his
offspring. Assign him, at the end of his life, to be a slave of
oppression.” And to Allah belongs the Order before and after (30:4).
Then after a few days
Sidi Abu al-Hasan was able to leave Egypt with his followers, and to
fulfill the Pilgrimage, after which he returned to Tunis. There he remained
for a number of years until one day Allah, Praised and Exalted is He,
brought him the young man who was to become his successor and the inheritor
of his station and his holy line. This was Abu ‘l-`Abbas al-Mursi. As soon
as the Shaykh looked at the face of this young man from Spain, he said,
“Truly no one has brought me back to Tunis except this person.”
Soon after this, Abu
al-Hasan was given the Order to move to Egypt, which would be his final
home, about which he, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
I saw the Prophet,
prayers and peace be upon him in a dream and he said to me, “Ya `Ali, go to
Egypt and raise up forty true followers (siddiqun) there.” It was summer
time and intensely hot and I said, “Ya Rasul Allah, the heat is very
great.” He said, “Lo, the clouds will give you shade.” I said, “I fear
thirst.” He replied, “Lo, the sky will rain for you every day.” He promised
me many miraculous gifts (karamat) on my journey. So I instructed my
followers to prepare to depart to Egypt.”
One of the gifts which
he had been promised and was shown was that he had become the Qutb of his
time.
So it was that in the
year 646 A.H./1246 C.E., when he was fifty years old, Sidi Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli entered Egypt and took up his residence in al-Iskandariya
where he lived for the rest of his life. He set himself up with his family
and followers in one of the great towers rising from the walls surrounding
the city. The tower was well equipped for this purpose since it comprised
several stories which provided accommodation for his family, a Mosque, a
zawiya for his students where the Shaykh gave teachings, and rooms for
other guests.
Meanwhile in Ifriqiya
his Spirit was kept alive by a small group of his students with whom he
kept up correspondence. Two of them wrote a book about the life of their
Master. One of these two students, Muhammad ibn as-Sabbagh was the author
of The Pearl of the Secrets and the Treasure of the Righteous (Durrat
al-Asrar wa Tuhafat al Abrar), the source book for the greater part of the
life and sayings of his Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli.
Sidi Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli, may Allah have mercy upon him, was the founder of what
became a great Sufi Order, and which is still one of the biggest of the
Sufi Orders to this day. Yet he left no manual of instruction for his
students, no handbook of practices, and no treatise to follow. He used to
say, “My companions are my books.”
What do exist however
are several Litanies which he composed including his Litany of the Ocean
(Hizb al-Bahr), Litany of the Light (Hizb an-Nur) and Litany of Victory
(Hizb al-Fath) which he used to like to recite, and which he urged his
students to learn by heart, and to make their recitation a regular part of
their spiritual practices. In the same way as the Wazifa of Sidi `Abdu
‘s-Salam ibn Mashish is known to carry many unseen blessings, so are the
Litanies of Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli.
It is recommended by
our Shaykh, Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal ar-Rifa`i, that these should be read and
recited by his followers in this holy Way, so that our souls may be
purified by them, and that our spirits may find inspiration and benefit
from them, with the lifting of veils from our hearts. One of the Knowers of
Allah said about the Way which our Master Abu al-Hasan set out for his
followers:
This Path of ours is
the pure Shadhdhuli Path. Its seeker must be based on its ’Imam. He is the
Pole of the Poles (Qutb al-Aqtab), Abu al-Hasan who when he first met his
Shaykh said, “O Allah! I have washed myself of my knowledge and my actions
so that I do not possess any knowledge or action except what comes to me
from this Shaykh.”
This example became a
condition for the follower of the Path, that he should leave his own
knowledge of existence, and judge by that of the existence of the Shaykh,
without turning away or dissatisfaction.” It was also said, “One of this
Shadhdhuli Path is approached, and he does not go to anyone.
He is needed and does
not need anyone. He is always desired by everyone but does not desire
anyone, except the One, the Unique, the Self-Subsisting (samad).” Another
of them said about the Way of Abu al-Hasan, “Know that this annihilation
(fana’) to which the people of the Shadhdhuli Path refer, is like death, no
more no less. The dead, annihilated one in Allah, only dies by the self
which emerges and enters by the mouth, and no more, because he is like a corpse
in the Essence without Attributes.”
And this is what our
Master Sidi `Abdu ‘s-Salam ibn Mashish, may Allah have mercy upon him,
said, “Drown me in the Spring of the Sea of Oneness, until I only see, only
hear, only find and only feel by It.” Abu al-Hasan said, “When Allah wishes
him to reach Him, He eases it in this way: He makes manifest to him some of
the Sublime Attributes and Holy Qualities whose Divine Nature hid his own
attributes and qualities from the soul of the slave. This serves as a sign
that Allah loves him, as the Prophet, may prayers and peace be upon him,
said in the hadith al-qudsi from his Lord: When I love him I am the hearing
by which he hears, and the sight by which he sees, and the hand by which he
strikes, and the foot whereon he walks.”
For he, may Allah have
mercy upon him said, “If He did not love you, He would not make you to
witness the Unity. The sign of His Love for His beloveds is that He puts
the love of His remembrance in our hearts.” Then Abu al-Hasan said, in
speaking about the meaning of the quality of dhikr, “It is that you are
making mention with the tongue and gazing with the heart.”
The remembrance of
Allah (dhikr), as he, may Allah be pleased with him, said, is one of the
essential means of walking with success and fulfillment on His Path.
Therefore he counselled his students:
“Know that it is
important for the student of the Sufi Path for reaching the goal of
attaining Union (wusul) with Allah, to ask Allah’s help, and to sit upon
the carpet of truthfulness (sidq), contemplating him by truthful dhikr.
Also one’s heart must be bound to the practice of pure bondsmanship
(`ubudiya) so as to reach the knowledge of Allah (ma`rifa). Then continue
in remembrance, thankfulness, watchfulness (muraqab), repentance and seeking
forgiveness.” When Sidi Abu al-Hasan spoke about his Path, the
Shadhdhuliyya Way, he said, “Its confirmation is Sainthood (wilaya).”
By this he meant the
witnessing of the knowledge of the Love of the Essence, through tasting and
sincerity (ikhlas). And he said, “The People of this Path seek the benefit
of evil just as they seek the benefit of good.” In the same way he said,
and may Allah protect his secret, “O Allah! People are sentenced to
abasement until they become mighty, and they are sentenced to loss until
they find. The one who has no abasement becomes the one who has no might,
and the one who has no loss becomes the one who does not find. The one who
lays claim to finding without loss is a liar.”
In one of the prayers
which he, may Allah be pleased with him, liked to use, he said: “My God, if
I ask You for help, I have asked for something beside You. If I ask for
what You have guaranteed me, I show suspicion of You. If my heart rests in
anything but You, I have been guilty Of the sin of associating something
with You. Your Attributes in their Majesty are above contingency. How then
can I be with You? They are beyond the reach of causes, How then can I be
near You? They are exalted beyond the dust of earth, How then can my stay
be other than You?” He, may Allah be pleased with him, also said that so
long as the seeker stops with his own attributes, he is still with his self
(nafs), and one of the attributes of the self is the desire to have vision
and eye-witnessing of Allah. He said, “The desire for Union with God is one
of the things that most effectually separates from Him.” And he said,
“Scrupulousness has to do with what goes out and enters here (he pointed to
his mouth) and with the heart, that there should enter it nothing except
what Allah and His Messenger love.”
Then he followed that,
and said, “Whenever the spirit is abundantly watered with the showers of
sciences, and the self (nafs) is firmly rooted in good works, then all good
results. But whenever the self has power over the spirit, then drought and
sterility result, the Order is overturned and every evil befalls. So take
heed of the guidance of the Book of Allah and the healing words of His
Messenger, prayers and peace be upon him, for you will never cease to enjoy
the good as long as you love these two the most. But evil has already come
to him who turns away from them.” The People of the Truth upon hearing vain
talk, turn from it (28:55), and upon hearing the Truth welcome it. Allah,
Praised and Exalted is He, says, “Whoever performs a good deed, for him
will We increase it with goodness.” (42:23). Then he, may Allah be pleased
with him, added to that, “Make us Your slaves in all Your Revelations
(tajalliyat) so that we do not become too proud for Your bondsmanship
(`ibada) in Your Revelations.” One of his followers said about the nature
of Sidi Abu al-Hasan’s Teachings: Listen to these words of a Discourse
coming from Allah in the Unseen through our Shaykh: “The Cup of Allah is
full of the knowledge (ma`rifa) of the Truth (al-Haqq), whose clear Water
is given to whom He wishes of His chosen slaves amongst the Creation.
Sometimes it is in a material image, sometimes as meaning (ma1nawiya),
sometimes as knowledge (`ilmiya).
In its material picture
it is bestowed for bodies and selves (anfus). In the form of meaning it is
for hearts and minds, and in the form of knowledge it is for spirits
(arhah) and for the Secret of the Secret Selves (asrar). Sometimes a group
of Lovers will come together and they are given to drink from a single Cup,
or it may be that they are given to drink from many Cups. Sometimes a
person is given to drink from a Cup, and more than one Cup. It may be that
the drinks will vary according to the number of Cups. Or it may be that the
drinking from any one Cup will vary, even though a great number of lovers
drink from the same Cup.” When he, may Allah have mercy upon him, was
questioned another time about Love he said, “Love is granted by Allah to
the heart of His slave, and it is that which distracts him from everything
else other than Him, so that he will see his Spirit enfolded in His
Presence, and his Secret Heart overwhelmed in contemplation of Him. Thus
the slave asks for more, and more is given, so that he enters into the
sweetest of joys in the Union of his spirit with Him. He is dressed in
garments fitting for him who sits in proximity to him, and he reaches to
the knowledge of the Hidden Reality and the Revealed faces of Allah.”
For that reason, it is
said that the Saints are the Brides of Allah. The same questioner said to
the Shaykh, “Now that I have come to know of Love, tell me what the Drink
(sharab) of Love is, what the Cup of Love is, who is the Bearer of the Cup
(saqi), what the meaning of tasting (dhawq) is, what the drinking (shurb)
is, what the quenching of thirst (riyy) is, what intoxication (sukr) is and
what sobriety (sahw) is?” He, may Allah hallow his Secret, replied, “The
Drink is the Light radiating from the Beauty of the Beloved. The Cup is the
Essence of the Subtlety of the Mercy which is in the tasting of the heart.
The Cupbearer is he who is the Friend of the Greatest of the Chosen Ones
and the Righteous among His slaves.
He is Allah, the One
Who knows the capacities and capabilities of His Friends. If that Beauty is
revealed to a person, and he enjoys it even for one breath or two, and then
the veil covers it again, he becomes the yearning taster. If he continues
drinking for an hour or more, he is the drinker. If this state continues
and lasts until his very veins and all his members become filled with the
treasures of the Lights of Allah, then this is known as the quenching of
thirst. When a person is absent from his senses and his mind has left him,
so that he does not know what he says or what is said, that is known as
intoxication. Sometimes when the Cups go round, the states differ, and the
knower is returned back to remembrance (dhikr) and religious duties of the
Law (ash-shari`a), or to subsistence (baqa’) after intoxication, and that
is the time of their sobriety. This is when their vision is strengthened
and enlarged and their actions are increased.” Allah Praised and Exalted is
He, has said, “These are of the Party of Allah ... and lo, is it not those
of the Party of Allah who are the victorious ones.” (58:22).
When Abu al-Hasan, may
Allah have mercy upon him, once became ill in Qayrawan, as he said: The
Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, came to me in a dream and said,
“Cleanse your garments of all impurities and then with every breath you
breathe you will enjoy Allah’s Help.” I asked, “What are my garments, Oh
Rasul Allah?” He said, “Allah has clothed you with the robe of knowledge
(ma`rifa), with the robe of Love (mahabba), with the robe of Unity
(tawhid), with the robe of Faith (iman), and with the robe of Surrender
(islam). Whoever has spiritual knowledge, for him everything becomes of
little importance. Whoever loves Allah, for him all things become easy.
Whoever affirms the Oneness of Allah, nothing is associated with Him.
Whoever has faith in Allah is safe (amina) from everything. Whoever is
surrendered to Allah does not disobey Him, and if he does so, he returns
repentant, asking to be forgiven, and finding forgiveness.” As he, may
Allah be pleased with him, said: I knew then the meaning of the Words of
Allah, “Your robe, cleanse.” (74:4). Another time he, may Allah be pleased
with him, was explaining the meaning of the Prophet’s saying, prayers and
peace be upon him, Prayer is the link of union (silsila) of the slave to
his Lord, and he said: “The sign of Union is the outpouring of Mercy with
the manifestations of Love.
The manifestations of
Love are the removal of the Veil and the happiness in communion.” On
another occasion he said: I saw Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased
with him, in a dream and he asked me, “Do you know what the sign is for the
love of the world leaving the heart?” I replied, “No.” He said, “Forsaking
it upon finding it, and finding relief upon losing it.” He, may Allah be
pleased with him, then said, “The practices (awrad) of the faithful (saddiqun)
are fasting, prayer, recitation of dhikr, reading of Qur’an, guarding of
the private parts, the turning of the lower self from desires, enjoining
what is halal, and forbidding what is prohibited, according to four
principles, which are: abstinence from worldly things, trust in Allah,
submission to Allah’s Decrees, and patience in His testing. Sincere love is
built on four corner-stones, the first one being faith, then comes the
belief in the Oneness of Allah, thirdly comes right intention, and fourthly
high himma. Also if a person does not have four virtues in himself, let him
abandon hope of happiness, these virtues being: knowledge (ilm),
scrupulousness (wara), fear of Allah (hayba), and humility towards the
slaves of Allah. The principles, corner-stones and virtues are all
necessary for the seeker.
” Sidi Abu al-Hasan
also said, “The bondsmanship (`ibada) of those who are trustworthy consists
of twenty things: eat, drink, clothe yourselves, travel, marry, settle
down, do everything that Allah has commanded. Do not be neglectful but
serve Allah. Do not associate anyone or anything with Him. Be thankful to
Him. Avoid injuring others, and spend generously. This is one-half. The
other is performing prescribed duties, avoiding what is unlawful and being
content with whatever Allah decrees. Truly serving Him consists in
reflecting upon His Orders and thoroughly understanding the Religion
(ad-din). The best kind of service is asceticism towards the world which
comes from an absolute trust in Allah. This is the bondsmanship of the best
of the believers. If you are ill, seek for a remedy. Listen carefully to
the Knowers and choose the holy ones from amongst them, the true Guides,
who put their trust in Allah.”
When Sidi Abu al-Hasan
had once asked his own Master, Sidi Ibn Mashish, concerning the Well, or
Spring (wird) of the People of the Reality, he said that Sidi `Abdu
‘s-Salam, may Allah be pleased with him, had replied, “It is essential for
you to have destroyed passion and desires (hawa) and to love the Friend of
Allah (al-waliy). The sure sign of Love is that the lover is occupied with
nothing except his Beloved.” By this question he, Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli was in truth asking about the holy bond between Master and
student. The answer came to him, without any doubt, that only in the total
surrender of the student’s complete being could he receive the perfect
blessings which Allah had set aside for him. Therefore Sidi Abu al-Hasan
himself said, “If anyone is satisfied by his possessions he is poor; if
anyone is satisfied by his high reputation he is to be despised, if anyone
is satisfied with his kinsmen he is worthy of contempt and if anyone is
satisfied with Allah he is truly rich.” Then he, may Allah be pleased with
him, added, “The sign of commitment (tafwid) is a lack of distress when
distasteful things befall.”
In addition to his
verbal Teachings Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli also kept an extensive
correspondence going with his followers, especially those who had remained
behind in Tunis. In particular, many letters passed between him and Shaykh
Abu al-Hasan as-Saqalli, and also with his companion and friend of the cave
of Jabal Zaghwan, the Shaykh `Abdu ‘s-Salama al-Habibi, who had remained in
Ifriqiyya keeping up a zawiya for the muridun of the village of Masruqin.
As was said, “These letters are considered to be of great importance for an
understanding of his Way, since his love and compassion for all his
followers was well-known. He considered it to be a duty for the Shaykh, as
the Father (rabib), to know his beloveds intimately, and to help them
wherever they might be.”
Abu al-Hasan’s
follower, Ibn Sabbagh, recorded many stories about the karamat (gifts or
spiritual attainment) of Sidi Abu al-Hasan, a number of them having been
related to him by the follower, Abu ‘l-`Aza’im Madi who kept company with
the Master in the latter part of his life in Egypt. One such story is as
follows, as Abu ‘l-`Azaim Madi said: The Shaykh sent me from Iskandariyya
to Dumyat for something that he needed. There was a man with us of the
people of Dumyat who asked the Shaykh’s permission to accompany me and to
travel with me, and permission was granted him for this. On approaching the
Gate of the Lotus Tree (one of the Gates of Iskandariyya), the man took out
some money to buy bread and condiments. I said to him, “You do not need
anything.” He said to me, “We shall find the shop of a certain person in
the desert.” He mentioned the shop of a man from Halwan in Iskandariyya. I
said to him, “It is better, if Allah wills, to do as I say.” Now I had been
accustomed, whenever I travelled, to take no provision of food with me, but
when I became hungry I would hear the voice of the Shaykh saying to me, “O
Madi, go over to your right and you will find something to eat.”
In like manner, when I
was thirsty I would find fresh water and cooked food. We left Iskandariyya
and walked, hastening on our journey until the day was well advanced. Then
my travelling companion said, “O Madi, give me something to eat for I am
hungry.” Immediately I heard the Shaykh’s voice saying to me, “O Madi, your
guest is hungry. Go over to your right and you will find wherewith to feed
him.” I went over to the right-hand side of the road and we found a pot
full of sweet cakes perfumed with musk and rose-water, and we ate them
until we were filled. The man was amazed and wept at what he saw. I asked
him, “Which of the two is more tasty, this food or that in the shop of the
man from Halwan of whom you spoke?” The man said, “By Allah, I have
certainly not seen the like of this before, and such as this has never been
made in the palace of a king.” The man wanted to gather up the remnants of
the holy food, but I prevented him from doing this, and I left them as they
were. When we had walked on a short distance we became thirsty. Instantly
my beloved Shaykh’s voice came to me saying, “O Madi, go over to your
right-hand and you will find water.”
Thereupon we found in
the sand a pool of fresh water, from which we drank, and beside which we
rested for a while. On arising we found not a drop of water to be seen.
Thereupon the man said, “Where is the water which was here in this place?”
I said, “I know nothing about it.” Then the man said, “By Allah, this
Shaykh is truly endowed with great powers. By Allah, I will not return to
my people until I shall have obtained what this Master has obtained, or I
will die in Allah.” So he left his fur-lined cloak with me and walked off
into the desert exclaiming, Allah! Allah! Abu ‘l-`Azaim Madi continued:
When I had finished my journey and returned to my Master, he said to me, “O
Madi, you have lost your guest.” I said to him, “You are the one who has
lost him whom you fed with the sweet cakes in the desert, and whose thirst
you quenched with the water in the sand.” Then he, may Allah be pleased
with him, said to me, “He has passed along with those who are betaking
themselves to Allah.” Abu ‘l-`Aza’im Madi also related: One day the Shaykh
was talking to his assembly of followers on the subject of asceticism
(az-zuhd) regarding worldly goods.
In the group assembled
to listen to him was a poor man wearing worn out clothes while his teacher
wore fine-looking garments. The poor man said, “How is it that the Shaykh
talks about asceticim while wearing these clothes? I am the ascetic with
regard to worldly goods.” Our Master Abu al-Hasan said, “O you disputer,
your clothes are the garments of worldly desire (raghba ad-dunya) which are
crying out with the tongue of effort and poverty, but our garments cry out
with the tongue of abstinence (ta`affuf) and sufficiency (ghina). As soon
as he heard these words, the poor man stood up before all those assembled,
and said, “I, by Allah, the Mighty, am the one who says likewise in my
heart, and I ask for forgiveness of Allah, and turn to Him in repentance.”
Then the Master told Madi to clothe the poor man in fine garments. It was
related that when Sidi Abu ‘l-`Abbas’ son, who was called Ahmad
Shahabu-id-din, reached puberty, his mother said to Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash
-Shadhdhuli, “O my Master, my son Ahmad has come to manhood.
”Then he, may Allah be
pleased with him, said to her, “Bring him to me so that I may give him my
final injunction, and teach him those rights of Allah which are required of
him.” So his mother brought her son to the Shaykh’s presence. He, may Allah
be pleased with him, looked intently at the young boy, for a moment, then
he turned his eyes away from him. Then he said to him, “Arise, O my son,
may Allah always guide you”, and he made du`a to Allah for him. When the
youth had left the Shaykh’s presence, his mother said to the Master, “Sidi,
indeed I did not hear you give him your final message, or even address a
word to him.” He, may Allah be pleased with him, said to her, “When he was
sitting in front of me, Allah allowed me to see the outcome of his life,
and I found nothing in his actions against which to warn or counsel him, so
I felt ashamed before Allah to speak to him.
”There is also a story
about the Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, which was related by a man
named Abu `Ali `Umar whose father told him that two of his friends had told
him of how Sidi Abu al-Hasan had drawn near to them one night while they
were in a small fort. Abu `Ali `Umar said: We had ten sheep which we had
received on credit for the purpose of making a profit from them. We had
killed one of the choicest of our small flock for the Shaykh, who asked us,
“Why have you done this?” We said to him, “This is for the blessing, if
Allah wills.
” One of the two men
said to the Shaykh, “By it (the blessing) will a thousand measures of grain
be stored up for us?” He said, “And by it a thousand measures of grain, if
Allah wills.” They then told of how, after only a short time, they had
acquired a thousand sheep and had stored up a thousand measures of grain.
Abu Ali `Umar added: I was present at the time of their counting, and I ate
of their offspring. Finally, many stories are told about the Battle of
al-Mansurah in the year 1250 C.E., when the Crusader King Louis of France
invaded Egypt, and in which the Shaykh took part fighting in the front line
with his followers. When Sidi Abu al-Hasan and many of his beloveds, as
well as his friends amongst the `ulama and the awliya, heard that the
Muslim community was under attack, they immediately made their way to
al-Mansurah to join in the battle for Victory or Paradise (an-nasr aw
al-janna), knowing full well that Paradise is under the shadow of the
sword. On the day of the battle the Shaykh mounted his best horse, one of
his followers then handing him his sword.
When he clasped it in
his right hand he asked for another, and with one in each hand he rode out
into battle. When he was asked afterwards how he could fight so
marvelously, because at that time his eyesight was very weak, he pointed to
his heart saying, “If the Eye of the heart sees clearly, what is the need
for the eyes of the body?” The Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli had made
it his custom that every other year he would travel to Mecca for the
Pilgrimage. Likewise in the year 656 A.H./1258 C.E., the very year in which
a few weeks earlier the Mongol ruler Hulugu Jenghiz Khan had sacked
Baghdad, he made preparations to go on the Pilgrimage as usual. However,
this time he asked that a pickaxe, shovel, and a shroud should be included
in their baggage. As was his custom he set out on the southern route, known
as the spice route, overland to Damanhur, then via Qahira, up the Nile to
‘Idfu in Upper Egypt. From there he would cross the Red Sea to Jiddah, and
finally make the two-day camel ride to Mecca. At Damanhur, a young boy, who
was a student of the Qur’an, begged his mother to let him go with the
Shaykh and his party to make the Pilgrimage. His mother, who was a widow,
earnestly requested the Shaykh for her son that he be allowed to travel
with his party, to which he replied, “We will look after him as far as
Humaythira.”
And so it happened. It
was related that Abu al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy upon him, had said,
“When I entered the land of Egypt and established my dwelling there, I
prayed to Allah, the Most High, saying: Ya Rabb, have You caused me to
dwell in the land of the Copts, to be buried amongst them, until my flesh
becomes mingled with their flesh and my bones with theirs? A reply then
came to me: No `Ali, you will be buried in a land which Allah has never oppressed.”
It is also recorded that in the year of his death Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli was heard to say, “Once when I fell ill, I said: Allah, O
Allah, when will the encounter with You take place? I was told: Ya `Ali,
when you reach Humaythira, then the encounter will come.” He said, may
Allah have mercy upon him, “I saw as if I were buried at the base of a
mountain before a well containing a little salty water, which became more
abundant and sweet.” And he said to his beloveds, “This year I shall
perform the Pilgrimage of substitution (hajjat an-niyaba).
” One of Abu al-Hasan’s
followers recorded what happened: Soon after entering the desert of
`Aydhab, both the young boy and the Shaykh fell ill, the boy dying the day
before we reached the watering-place of Humaythira. The followers wanted to
bury the youth where he had died, but the Shaykh said, “Carry him to
Humaythira.” When we arrived at this resting-place we washed the boy, and
the Shaykh prayed over him before we buried him. That evening the Shaykh, who
was also very sick, called his companions around him and spoke to us,
counselling us to recite his Litany of the Sea (Hizb al-Bahr) often, and he
said, “Teach it to your children for the Greatest Name of Allah
(al-ismul-`adham) is in it.”
Then he talked
privately to Sidi Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi, giving him his orders as his
successor with his special blessing. He, may Allah have mercy upon him,
said to his followers, “When I am dead, look to Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi for
he is the Caliph (Khalifa) to come after me. He will have an exalted
station amongst you for he is one of the Doors (abwab) of Allah, Praised
and Exalted is He.” Later that evening he called for a jar of water to be
filled from the well of Humaythira. When he was told, “Ya Sidi, its water is
salty and bitter, but the water we have is fresh and sweet,” he replied,
“Give me some of it for my intention is not what you think.” When we
brought him the well-water he drank a little of it, rinsed his mouth with
it and spat into the jar. Then he said, “Pour the water into the well.
” Immediately the
well-water turned sweet and fresh to taste, and it was abundant enough to
refresh all the travellers who stopped to replenish themselves at this
place. His followers said, “The Shaykh passed the night in holy preparation
and discourse with his Beloved God, continually mentioning His Name until
the dawn came when he was still.” Thus the words of Sidi Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli became true, because he had said, “This year I shall perform
the Pilgrimage of substitution.”
By this he informed his followers of the
hadith of the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, “If anyone leaves his
home for the purpose of performing the Pilgrimage and dies before
accomplishing it, Allah deputizes an angel to take his place in performing
the Hajj each year until the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyama).” Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, the Beloved and Friend of Allah, had asked Him to
allow him to die in a place without sin, and in this Allah, Praised and
Exalted is He, granted him his wish. He, may Allah have mercy upon him, had
told his son-in-law and successor, Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi, that he should
give his body to a veiled man on horseback who would appear, wash him and
bury him, leaving then by a path up a steep hill where Abu al-`Abbas should
not follow him. Everything happened as Abu al-Hasan, may Allah protect his
secret, had said.
However, Abu al-`Abbas
did follow the veiled horseman up the hill, and he saw his face, which was
that of Abu al-Hasan himself, who told him to return to the valley again.
Then the veiled man disappeared. From this sign Abu al-`Abbas understood
that, in fact, it was the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him,
himself who had appeared in the face of his Master. There is now said to be
a handsome Mosque at the tomb which is visited by pilgrims every year going
and returning from Mecca. From the hill above the Mosque the beloveds of
the Way of Allah can see the light shining from the tomb of the Prophet,
may prayers and peace be upon him, lying to the East across the Red Sea.
Our Shaykh and Master, `Ali ibn `Abdullah Abu al-Hasan, the founder of this
great Shadhdhuliyya Way, left behind him, as he did for many people of his
time, so also for us today, a spiritual Path within the Religion of Islam,
which gives to those who follow it in sincerity and humility, deep meaning
and purpose to our lives in this material world. It is the Straight Path to
God, so that the Order which he founded still lives and flourishes in many
parts of the world, and especially in the West. There is the well-known
saying amongst the People of Allah, “The Last Days will fall on the
Shadhdhuliyya Path.
” Above everything
else, the Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli left the transmission of the
Highest Essence (ad-dhat al-1aliya) to all his successors, the Guides who
inherit from him, and who have kept the Spirit of the Prophet Muhammad,
prayers and peace be upon him, alive in every time. With the complete and
perfect annihilation (fana’), and the complete and perfect return to
subsistence (baqa’) in and through the presence of the Master, the follower
of this Path can receive the knowledge of this highest Essence, which is
that of the Spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him,
the Last of Allah’s Messengers for the world. None of the deep meaning of
this holy knowledge can be passed on through learned treatises, nor does it
live in any books, except in the Book of Allah, Praised and Exalted is He,
the Holy Qur’an. It is only through the Good Pleasure and Grace of Allah
and for the fulfillment of His Order that He bestows this blessing upon
whom He wills of His slaves.
He, the Most High,
said, “The People of the Book know that they have no power over anything of
the Bounty of Allah, and that the Bounty is in the Hand of Allah, and He
gives it to whomsoever He wills, and Allah is of Mighty Bounty.” (57:29).
May Allah, the All-Mighty, cause the blessing of our Master to be repeated,
and may He gather us together with him in the assembly of our Prophet, our
Mediator, our Intercessor, our Beloved Muhammad, may prayers and peace be
upon him. May Allah bless him and give him abundant peace so long as the
Sovereignty of Allah shall endure.” All Praise is to Allah the Lord of all
the Worlds.
http://www.sufimaster.org/abu.htm
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