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 The Judham () was a large Arab tribe that inhabited the southern Levant and northwestern Arabia during the late antique and early Islamic eras (5th–8th centuries). Under the Byzantine Empire, the tribe was nominally Christian and fought against ...

al-Iskandarī al-Shādhilī was an Egyptian

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

te jurist,

muhaddith A muhaddith () is a scholar specialized in the study, collection, and interpretation of hadiths, which are the recorded sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The role of a muhaddith is central to the science of hadith (ʻilm a ...

and the third

murshid ''Murshid'' () is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the root ''r-sh-d'', with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature. Particularly in Sufism it refers to a Spiritual director, spiritual guide. The term is freque ...

(spiritual "guide" or "master") of the

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

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

order.

Life

He was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and taught at both the al-Azhar Mosque and the Mansuriyyah

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He was responsible for systematizing Shādhilī doctrines and recording the biographies of the order's founder,

Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili () (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) was an influential Moroccan Islamic ...

, and his successor,

Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Al-Mursi Abu'l-'Abbas (1219 in Murcia – 1287 CE) () was a saint from Al-Andalus during the Nasrid period and who later in his life moved to Alexandria in Egypt. His complete name is Shahab al-Din Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmad ibn 'Umar ibn Mohammad al- ...

. He is credited with having authored the first systematic treatise on

dhikr (; ; ) is a form of Islamic worship in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God. It plays a central role in Sufism, and each Sufi order typically adopts a specific ''dhikr'', accompanied by specific ...

, ''The Key to Salvation'' (''Miftāḥ al-Falāḥ''), but is mostly known for his compilation of

aphorisms An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

, the '' Ḥikam al-ʿAtā‘iyya''. Ibn ʿAṭā Allāh was one of those who confronted the controversial theologian

Ibn Taymiyya Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim schola ...

, who was jailed several times for his views on religious issues and for his perceived excesses in attacking the Sufis. His confrontations with Ibn Taymiyya saw Ibn ʿAṭā Allāh leading a procession of some 200 Sufis against Ibn Taymiyya as well as confronting him on issues.

Works

Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah’s works include: *''Kitab al-Hikam'' (The Book of Wisdom) *''Kitab al-Lata’if fi manaqib Abi l-‘Abbas al-Mursi wa Shaykhihi Abi l Hasan'' (The Subtle Blessings in the Saintly Lives of Abu l-‘Abbas al-Mursi and His Master Abu l-Hassan) *''Miftah al-falah wa misbah al-anwah'' (The Key of Success and the Lamps of Spirits). *''Kitab al-Tanwir fi isqat al-Tadbir'' (The Illumination on Abandoning Self-Direction) *''Al-Qasd al-mujarrad fi ma’rifat al-Ism al-Mufrad'' (The Pure Goal Concerning Knowledge of the Unique Name) *''Taj al-arus al-hawi li-tahdhib an-nufus'' (The Bride’s Crown Containing the Discipline of Souls) *''Unwan at-tawfiq fi adab at-tariq'' (The Sign of Success Concerning the Discipline of the Path)

Death and legacy

He died in 1309 while in

. The wide circulation of Ibn ʿAṭā Allāh's written works led to the spread of the Shādhilī order in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, where the order's founder had been rejected in earlier attempts. Commentaries on the ''Ḥikam'' have been made by some of the most famous masters of the

order such as

Ibn Abbad al-Rundi Ibn Abbad al-Rundi () (in full, Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim An-nafzi Al-himyari Ar-rundi) (1333–1390) was one of the leading Sufi theologians of his time who was born in Ronda. Attracted to Morocco by the famous madrasahs, Ib ...

Ahmad Zarruq Ahmad Zarruq () also known as Imam az-Zarrūq ash Shadhili (Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn 'Īsa) (1442–1493 CE) was a 15th-century Moroccan Shadhili Sufi, jurist and saint from Fes. He is considered one of the most prominent and acco ...

and

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

as well as non-Shadhilis like the Syrian Islamic law Professor Sa'id Ramadan al-Bouti. A modern English translation of ''Ḥikam'' by Muhammed Nafih Wafy was published under the title "The Book of Aphorism" by Islamic Book Trust in Malaysia in 2010.The Book of Aphorisms – Islamic Book Trust Online Bookstore https://ibtbooks.com/shop/the-book-of-aphorisms/

References

External links

*''The Key to Salvation: A Sufi Manual of Invocation (Miftah al-Falah)'
chosen excerpt here
Translated by Mary Ann Koury Danner *''The Key to Salvation'

by Ayesha Bewley.
Ibn 'Ata' Allah, Muslim Sufi Saint and Gift of Heaven
by Abu Bakr Sirajuddin Cook. *
The Illumination on Abandoning Self-Direction
' (''Al-Tanwir Fi Isqat Al-Tadbir'') Translated by Omer Siddique *
The Book of Aphorism
' (''KItab al-Hikam'') Translated by Muhammad Nifih Wafy * ''Hikam'' (maxims or aphorisms), partiall

by Ayesha Bewley.
Commentary by Ibn Abbad
in English.
Hikam in English and Arabic PDFs, and links to audio recordings.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Ata Allah 1309 deaths 13th-century Arab people 14th-century Arab people Asharis Mujaddid Egyptian Maliki scholars Egyptian Sufis Shadhili order Sufi mystics Sunni fiqh scholars Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Egyptian writers 13th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 13th-century jurists 14th-century jurists Banu Judham Supporters of Ibn Arabi