Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Idrīs al-Kattānī (), born in

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

in 1858 and died in Fes in 1927 was a Moroccan

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from the 19th century.

Bibliography

Al-Kattānī came from a family of Islamic scholars in Fes, the Kattānīyya brotherhood, strongly marked by the religious tradition of

Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...

. His father, Ja'far bin Idris, was

Shaykh al-Islām Shaykh al-Islām ( ar, شيخ الإسلام, Šayḫ al-Islām; fa, شِیخُ‌الاسلام ''Sheykh-ol-Eslām''; ota, شیخ‌ الاسلام, Şhaykḫu-l-İslām or ''Sheiklı ul-Islam''; tr, Şeyhülislam) was used in the classical e ...

and advisor to Sultan Hassan ben Mohammed (from 1873 to 1894). He devoted his first works to Islamic jurisprudence and local history, writing in particular an imposing historical-biographical dictionary of local personalities, the ''Salwat al-anfās'', which inspired many similar works elsewhere 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, ...

. Opposed to the French occupation of Morocco, he denounced the compromises of Sultan Abd al-Hafid and settled in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

in 1907, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, where he met intellectuals from all over the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

. He returned to Morocco to join the revolt of the Sultan's brother, a movement supported by his cousin Mohamed bin Abd al-Kabir al-Kattani. After the failure of this uprising, he returned to

in 1910.In uncertain circumstances, he left to settle in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he took part in the struggles against the

French mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...

and, while remaining faithful, took an interest in

pan-Islamism Pan-Islamism ( ar, الوحدة الإسلامية) is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Pan-Islamism was ...

and the renewal of Islam, the only means, according to him, to allow

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

to free themselves from the Christians. He contacted Emir Ahmed Sharif al-Senussi, who encouraged him to fight against the colonisers. A French report from 1923 notes: “''Sheik Kattani began by recruiting members in all the major Syrian centers. Most of the 'ulama' in Syrian cities have joined the sect and have led, ipso facto, to the great Muslim religious and philanthropic societies whose influence over the masses are unquestionable.''". He also supported the revolts of the Sennusids against the Italian occupation of Libya. At the end of his life, he returned to Morocco where he was taught at the

University of al-Qarawiyyin The University of al-Qarawiyyin ( ar, جامعة القرويين; ber, ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵍⵇⴰⵕⴰⵡⵉⵢⵉⵏ; french: Université Al Quaraouiyine), also written Al-Karaouine or Al Quaraouiyine, is a university located in ...

Works

His best known book is the famous ''Saints from Fes'' (''Salwa al-Anfās''), or ''Kitāb salwat al-anfās wa-muḥadatha al-akiyas mi-man uqbira min al-ʿulamā wa al-ṣulaḥa bi-Fās'',

lithographed Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

edition originally 1898. He also wrote ''al- Azhār al-ʻāṭirat al-anfās bi-dhikr baʻḍ maḥāsin quṭb al-Maghrib wa-tāj madīnat Fās'' ().

Notes

References

* Fernando Rodríguez Mediano, ''Santos arrebatados: Algunos ejemplos de Maydub en la Salwat al-anfäs de Muhammad al-Kattani'', 1992 * Bettina Dennerlein, “Asserting Authority”, in: Gudrun Krämer,

Sabine Schmidtke Sabine Schmidtke is a German academic, historian, and scholar of Islamic studies. She is Professor of Islamic Intellectual History at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Schmidtke was elected Member to the American Philosophical Societ ...

, ''Speaking for Islam: religious authorities in Muslim societies'', BRILL, 2006, p. 128 ff, Online Google book

(retrieved January 6, 2011) * A. Knysh, dans Julie Scott Meisami et Paul Starkey (dir.), vol. 2, Londres et New York, Routledge, 1998 () {{DEFAULTSORT:Kettani, Mohammed Ibn Jaafar 1858 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Moroccan historians 20th-century Moroccan historians Moroccan jurists Moroccan scholars Moroccan writers People from Fez, Morocco