Ahmed ben Arous, ''full name: Abu al-Abbas Ahmed Ben Abdallah ben Abu Bakr al-Houari'', aeb, أحمد بن عروس; (c. 1376–21 October 1436) was a Tunisian

Wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

, religious leader and founder of the Arousia

Tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

Life

He was born in Tunis, to a father from the

Houara Hawwara ( Berber: ''Ihuwwaren'', ), also spelled Huwwara, Howwara, Hewwara or Houara, is a large tribal confederation of Berbers and Arabized Berbers spread widely in the Maghreb, with descendants in Upper Egypt and Sudan. Hawwara are amongst th ...

tribe and a mother originally from

Misrata Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With ...

, and was a follower of the Zawiya of

Sidi Mahrez Sidi Mahrez ben Khalaf or Abu Mohamed Mahrez ben Khalaf ben Zayn ( ar, سيدي محرز بن خلف; 951–1022) was a Tunisian Wali, scholar of the Maliki school of jurisprudence and a Qadi. He is considered to be the patron-saint of the city of ...

. He later went to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

where he studied 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 ...

and

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

. Upon his return to Tunis, he lived in seclusion for a while then worked as

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

. His Tariqa was influenced by 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") ...

order. He was known for his sympathy for the poor, the strangers and the animals. His teachings were revived by his disciple Abdessalam al-Asmar and an extended biography of him was written by Omar al-Jazairi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Arous, Ahmed Berber Tunisians People from Tunis Tunisian religious leaders 15th-century people of Ifriqiya 14th-century people of Ifriqiya Tunisian Sufis Tunisian people of Libyan descent Tunisian expatriates in Morocco University of al-Qarawiyyin alumni 1376 births 1436 deaths