Al-Bahr al-Madeed fi Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Majeed ( ar, البحر المديد في تفسير القرآن المجيد, lit=The Vast Sea in the Interpretation of the Glorious Qur'an) or shortly named al-Baḥr al-Madīd ( en, The Immense Ocean), better known as Tafsir Ibn 'Ajiba ( ar, تفسير ابن عجيبة), is a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

work, authored by the

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the ...

scholar

Ahmad ibn 'Ajiba Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAjība al-Ḥasanī (; 1747–1809) was an influential 18th-century Moroccan scholar and poet in the Darqawa Sufi Sunni Islamic lineage. Biography He was born of a sharif family in the Anjra tribe that ranges from Ta ...

(d. 1224/1809), who was following the

Shadhili The Shadhili Order ( ar, الطريقة الشاذلية) is a tariqah or Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") ...

Darqawi The Darqawiyya or Darqawi Sufi order is a revivalist branch of the Shadhiliyah brotherhood which originated in Morocco. The Darqawa comprised the followers of Sheikh Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823) of Morocco. The movement, which became ...

order. It is the only traditional Qur'anic commentary which gives both

exoteric Exoteric refers to knowledge that is outside and independent from a person's experience and can be ascertained by anyone (related to common sense). The word is derived from the comparative form of Greek ἔξω ''eksô'', "from, out of, outside". ...

exegesis and mystical, spiritual esoteric allusion (ishara) for each verse of the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

, combines traditional exegesis with spiritual contemplation, exploring the outer and inner meanings of the sacred text. The reader will find commentary, both exoteric and esoteric, on most verses of the Qur'anic text, and will discover the depths at which Qur'anic discourse has been understood by the Sufis over the centuries and up to the author's era. Ibn Ajiba's tafsir was written in about five years.

Background

Ibn 'Ajiba relied on several earlier sources for his interpretation, as he himself mentioned at the end of his tafsir, including the following: * ''

Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta'wil ''Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil'' ( ar, أنوار التنزيل وأسرار التأويل, lit=The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation), better known as ''Tafsir al-Baydawi'' ( ar, تفسير البيضاوي), is o ...

'' by

Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi Qadi Baydawi (also known as Naṣir ad-Din al-Bayḍawi, also spelled Baidawi, Bayzawi and Beyzavi; d. June 1319, Tabriz) was a Persian jurist, theologian, and Quran commentator. He lived during the post-Seljuk and early Mongol era. Many commenta ...

(d. 685/1286). * ''Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim ila Mazaya al-Kitab al-Karim'' by

Ebussuud Efendi Ebussuud Efendi ( tr, Mehmed Ebüssuûd Efendi, 30 December 1490 – 23 August 1574)İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, ''Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı'', Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971, p. 114. was a Hanafi Maturidi Ottoman jurist and Qur'an exegete, w ...

(d. 982/1574). * ''

Hashiya A gloss is a brief notation, especially a marginal one or an interlinear one, of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text or in the reader's language if that is different. A collection of glosses is a ''g ...

(footnote) on Tafsir al-Jalalayn'' by

Abu Zayd 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fasi Abu Zaid Abd al-Rahman Abu Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Fasi (; c. 1631–1685) was a Moroccan writer in the field of law, history, astronomy and music. He wrote some 170 books and has been called the Suyuti of his time. He was born in the promin ...

(d. 1096/1685). * '' Al-Tashil li-'Ulum al-Tanzil'' by Ibn Juzayy (d. 741/1340). * ''

Al-Kashf wa al-Bayan ''Al-Kashf wa-l-bayān ʿan tafsīr al-Qurʾān'' ( ar, الكشف والبيان عن تفسير القرآن), commonly known as the ''Tafsir al-Thalabi'', is a classical Sunni ''tafsir'', or commentary on the Quran, by eleventh-century Islamic s ...

'' by

Abu Ishaq al-Tha'labi Al-Tha''ʿ''labi (''Abū Isḥāḳ Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nīsābūrī al-Thaʿlabī'' ; died November 1035) was an eleventh-century Islamic scholar of Persian origin. He was accorded a high rank by Sunni scholars. In ''Tabaqa ...

(d. 427/1035). * '' Lata'if al-Isharat'' by Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 465/1074). As for his

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

sources, they are the six major Hadith collections (

al-Kutub al-Sittah The ''Kutub al-Sittah'' ( ar-at, ٱلْكُتُب ٱلسِّتَّة, al-Kutub as-Sittah, lit=the six books) are six (originally five) books containing collections of ''hadith'' (sayings or acts of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) compiled by six ...

) of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

and their valuable commentaries. His linguistic sources are: Al-Alfiyya, al-Kafiyya al-Shafiyya by

Ibn Malik Abu 'Abd Allah Jamal al-Din Muḥammad ibn Abd Allāh ibn Malik al-Ta'i al-Jayyani ( ar, ابو عبدالله جمال الدين محمد بن عبدالله بن محمد بن عبدالله بن مالك الطائي الجياني النحو ...

, al-Tasheel by

Ibn Hisham Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām ibn Ayyūb al-Ḥimyarī al-Muʿāfirī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو محمد عبدالملك بن هشام ابن أيوب الحميري المعافري البصري; died 7 May 833), or Ibn Hisham, e ...

; and the books of Qur'an meanings, such as Ma'ani al-Qur'an by

al-Farra' Al-Farrā (), he was Abū Zakarīyā Yaḥyā ibn Ziyād ibn Abd Allāh ibn Manṣūr al-Daylamī al-Farrā (), was a Daylamite scholar and the principal pupil of al-Kisā’ī (). He is the most brilliant of the Kūfan scholars. Muḥammad ib ...

and al-Zajjaj; and also the dictionaries/lexicons books, such as ''al-Sihah'' by al-Jawhari, and '' Asas al-Balagha'' by

al-Zamakhshari Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar al-Zamakhshari (; 1074 –1143) was a medieval Muslim scholar of Iranian descent. He travelled to Makkah and settled there for five years and has been known since then as Jar Allah ‘God's Neighbor’. He was a Mu't ...

. Most of the Sufi sources of his tafsir are from

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

, or

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He quotes from scholars such as

al-Junayd Junayd of Baghdad (; 830–910) was a Persian mystic and one of the most famous of the early Islamic saints. He is a central figure in the spiritual lineage of many Sufi orders. Junayd taught in Baghdad throughout his lifetime and was an impo ...

, al-Qushayri,

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...

al-Shadhili Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili ( ar, أبو الحسن الشاذلي) (full name: Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār al-Ḥasanī wal-Ḥusaynī al-Shādhilī) also known as Sheikh al-Shadhili (593–656 AH) (1196–1258 AD ...

, al-Mursi, al-Sakandari, al-Darqawi, Muhammad al-Buzidi,

al-Jili Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī, or Abdul Karim Jili (Arabic:عبدالكريم جيلى) was a Muslim Sufi saint and Mysticism, mystic who was born in 1365, in what is modern day Iraq, possibly in the neighborhood of Jil in Baghdad. He is known in Muslim ...

al-Shushtari Sayyid Nurullah ibn Sharif al-Mar'ashi al-Shustari, commonly known as Qazi Nurullah Shushtari (1549–1610), also known as ''Shahid-e-Salis'' (third martyr) was an eminent Shia faqih (jurist) and alim (scholar) of the Mughal period. He may also ...

, al-Bistami, Zarruq and

Ruzbihan al-Baqli Abu Muhammad Sheikh Ruzbehan Baqli (1128–1209) was a Persian poet, mystic, teacher and sufi master. He wrote about his own life as well as published commentaries on Sufi poets and ideas. Baqli's most renowned work was his autobiography ''Un ...

. Ibn 'Ajiba's quotations from Ruzbihan have hitherto gone unnoticed, because Ibn 'Ajiba referred to him as “al-Wartajbi” ( ar, الورتجبي).

About the author

Ahmad ibn 'Ajiba was a

shaykh who wrote over 30 Islamic

books. He was born in a village near Tetouan to a sharifian family, who originated from an

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

n mountain village called 'Ayn al-Rumman (“the Spring of Pomegranates”). He showed from an early age an aptitude for the religious sciences and became a traditional

'alim In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

. His orientation changed when he read ' (the wisdoms or aphorisms of

Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Sakandari Tāj al-Dīn Abū'l-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Isa ibn Hussein ibn ʿAṭā Allāh al-Judhami al-Iskandarī al-Shādhilī was an Egyptian Malikite jurist, muhaddith and the th ...

) with the commentary by Ibn 'Abbad al-Rundi (d. 792 AH/1390 CE), who contributed to the spread of the

Shadhiliyya The Shadhili Order ( ar, الطريقة الشاذلية) is a tariqah or Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") ...

order in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

(northwest Africa).

Notes

References

External links

Tafsir Ibn 'Ajiba

Surat al-Kawthar: Sufi Tafsir: ibn 'Ajiba

Note From The Translator: Ibn 'Ajiba's Tafsir of Verses 1-5 of Surat al-Kahf

Divine Love in the Moroccan Sufi Tradition: Ibn 'Ajība (d. 1224/1809) and His Oceanic Exegesis of the Qur'ān

The Philosophical Method in the Sufi Qur'anic commentaries
{{Authority control Ibn Ajiba Sufi literature Quranic exegesis Ibn Ajiba

Background

About the author

Notes

See also

References

Further reading

External links