SUFI WISDOM

The Murabitun is a worldwide Islamic movement founded by Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir al-Murabit,leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa, a Scottish convert to Islam,with communities in around 20 different countries.One of the first books that Shaykh Abdalqadir wrote was The Book of Strangers, which he authored under the name Ian Dallas. For a brief anecdote of Shaykh Abdalqadir in the early 1970s.

Its principle objectives include the restoration of Zakat, Da’wa, the practice of Bayat (allegiance) to an Amir, the re-introduction of the Islamic currency of Gold Dinar and Silver Dirham, and the establishment of the ‘Amal Ahl al-Madinah.

"The Attasiyah Order is a branch of the Alawi Order. It is centered in Yemen but also has centeres in Pakistan, India, and Myanmar. The 'Alawiya order in Yemen has recently been studied by the anthropologist David Buchman. In his article "The Underground Friends of God and Their Adversaries: A Case Study and Survey of Sufism in Contemporary Yemen", Professor Buchman summarizes the results of his six month period of fieldwork in Yemen.The article was originally published in the journal Yemen Update, vol. 39 (1997), pp. 21-24

The Maryamiyya branch of the Shadhiliyya Order was founded by Shaykh 'Isa Nur al-Din Ahmad or Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998), a European disciple of Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi, who established the Order in Europe and North America. Some of Schuon's most eminent students include, Titus Burckhardt (1908-1984) and Martin Lings (1909-2005), author of the aforementioned text, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century and the universally acclaimed biography of the Prophet, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. Schuon also wrote several outstanding books on Islam including, Understanding Islam, Dimensions of Islam, and Sufism: Veil and Quintessence, as well as a number of books on the Perennial Philosophy

The Shadhili Tariqa is a Sufi order founded by Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili. Followers (murids Arabic: seekers) of the Shadhiliya are often known as Shadhilis.

It has historically been of importance and influence in North Africa and Egypt with many contributions to Islamic literature. Among the figures most known for their literary and intellectual contributions are Ibn 'Ata Allah, author of the Hikam, and Shaykh Ahmed Zarruq, author of numerous commentaries and works, and Sheikh ibn Ajibah who also wrote numerous commentaries and works. In poetry expressing love of Muhammad, there have been the notable contributions of al-Jazuli, author of the "Dala'il al-Khayrat", and Busiri, author of the famous poem, the Poem of the Mantle. Many of the head lecturers of al-Azhar University in Cairo have also been followers of this tariqa.

Of the various branches of the Shadhili tariqa are the Fassiyatush, found largely in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. The Darqawi branch is found mostly in Morocco and the Alawiyya (no connection to the Turkish or Syrian Alawi or Alevi groups) which originated in Algeria is now found the world over, particularly in Syria, Jordan, France and among many English-speaking communities. British scholar, Martin Lings wrote an extensive biography of the founder of this branch, Shaykh Ahmad al-Alawi, entitled 'A Sufi Saint of the 20th century'.

The Swedish impressionist painter and Sufi scholar Ivan Aguéli (1869-1917) was the first official Moqaddam (representative) of the Shadhili Order in Western Europe. Aguéli initiated René Guénon (1886-1951) into the Shadhili tariqa. Guénon went on to write a number of influential books on tradition and modernity.

The Spiritual Chain

The silsila of the Shadhili order is as follows

• Muhammad the Messenger of Allah
• Ali ibn Abi Talib
• Hasan al-Basri
• Habib al-‘Ajami
• Dawud al-Ta’i
• Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi
• Sari al-Saqati
• Abul Qasim al-Junayd
• Abu Bakr al-Shibli
• Abu Faraj ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Tamimi
• Abul Faraj al-Tartusi
• Abul Hasan ibn ‘Ali Yusuf
• Sa‘id al-Mubarak
• Abdul-Qadir Gilani
• al-Ghawth Abu Madyan
• ‘Abd al-Rahman al-‘Attar al-Zayyat
• Abdeslam Ben Mshish
• Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili

The Darqawiyya, a Moroccan branch of the Shadhili order, was founded in the late 18th century CE by Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi. Selections from the Letters of Shaykh al-Darqawi have been translated by the Shadhili initiate Titus Burckhardt, and also by the scholar Ayesha Bewley.

One of the first tariqas to be established in the West was the 'Alawiya' branch of the Darqawiyya, which was named after Shaykh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-'Alawi al-Mustaghanimi, popularly known as Shaykh al-Alawi. "A significant book about him, written by Martin Lings, is A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century"

The Alawiyya spread throughout Algeria, as well as in other parts of North Africa, as a result of Sheikh al-Alawi's travels, preaching and writing, and through the activities of his muqaddams (representatives). By the time of Sheikh al-Alawi's death in 1934, he had become one of the best known and most celebrated shaykhs of the century and was visited by many.

The Alawiyya was one of the first Sufi orders to establish a presence in Europe, notably among Algerians in France and Yemenis in Wales. Sheikh Al-Alawi himself traveled to France in 1926, and led the first communal prayer to inaugurate the newly built Paris Mosque in the presence of the French president. Sheikh Al-Alawi understood French well, though he was reluctant to speak it.

The Alawiyya branch also spread as far as Damascus , Syria where an authorization was given to Muhammad al-Hashimi who spread the Alawi branch all throughout the lands of the Levant. During the year of 1930, Sheikh Al-Alawi met with Sheikh Sidi Abu Madyan of the Qadiri Boutchichi Tariqah in Mostaganem. They currently have the shortest chain back to Sheikh Al-Alawi. The current Sheikh of the Boutchichi's is Sheikh Sidi Hamza al Qadiri al boutchichi.

Sheikh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-Alawi (1869–14 July 1934), was the founder of a popular modern Sufi order, the Darqawiyya Alawiyya, a branch of the Shadhiliyya.

Sheikh Ahmad al-Alawi was born in Mostaganem, Algeria, in 1869. He was first educated at home by his father. From the time of his father's death in 1886 until 1894, he worked in Mostaganem and followed the Aissawiyya order

In 1894, he traveled to Morocco, and followed for fifteen years the Darqawi shaykh Muhammad al-Buzidi. After al-Buzidi's death in 1909, Sheikh Al-Alawi returned to Mostaganem, where he first spread the Darqawiyya, and then (in 1914) established his own order, called the Alawiyya in honor of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, who appeared to him in a vision and gave him that name for his new order.