1.9.6 - The Sufi Movement in Maghrib and Andalusia

Similarly, there is no doubt that Sufism in Andalusia began with the rising of the first dawn of Islam there, at the end of the first century AH, but as it is the case in the Orient, it did not take clear features at the beginning, apart from the natural Islamic approach that was naturally followed by some of the ascetics and worshipers.

Starting from the end of the third century AH, the beginning of the ninth century AD, we find that many Sufis appeared in Maghrib and Andalusia, with distinctive methods of asceticism, such as Abu Muhammad Ibn Abdullah al-Tahrati (died 313/905), who adopted the idea of love and unveiling, and in Cordoba we find Ahmed Ibn Makhlouf al-Masily, known as al-Khayat (died 393/1003), who adhered to the practical method based on insistence (murabata), and Abdullah Ibn Ziyadullah al-Tabani, in Cordoba also, (died 410/1011) [Knowing the Followers of the Doctrine of Malik, written by Judge Ayyad Ibn Mousa Ibn Ayyadh al-Sabti, edited by Muhammad Ibn Tawat al-Tanji, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs - Rabat, 1983: v. IV, p. 628], while Abu al-Qasim Abdul-Rahman al-Hamzani, known as al-Kharraz or al-Wahrani (died 411/1018) performed some scientific trips, for twenty years, visiting the environments of asceticism and mysticism such as Basra, Baghdad, Hijaz, Egypt, Kharasan and Nisabour then Andalusia, from which he developed a method which to combine the commitment to Sunnah and asceticism, as well as the constriction and science [Ibn Ayyad, v. IV, p. 690].

In Maghrib, we find Bakr Ibn Hammad Ibn Samak Ibn Ismail al-Zanati al-Tahrati (died 295/909), who was influenced by the mysticism of the East, as a result of his travel [Sufi Movement in Middle Maghrib During the Sixth and Seventh Centuries AH, Master Thesis by Bonapi Eltaher, University of Algiers, Department of History, 1999-2000, p. 20]. In al-Qayrawan, the ascetic and jurist Sahnoun Ibn Habib al-Tanukhi (died 240/845) was distinguished in worshiping and asceticism in accordance with Islamic law [Abu Zaid Abdul-Rahman al-Dabbagh, The Characteristics of Faith in the Knowledge of the Kairouan People, Investigation by Muhammad al-Ahmadi Abu-Nur and Muhammad Mansour, al-Khanji Library, Cairo, 1972: v. II, p. 481]. Also Ahmed Ibn Wafih benefited from his trips to the Levant in the fifth century and then returned to Bugia, where he had many discussions with the jurists there [Ibn Ayyad, v. IV, p. 445]. In the fourth century Abu Abdul Malik Marwan Ibn Mohammed al-Andalusi (died 440/1048) established a bond in which he studied science and classified many works [Ibn Ayyad, v. IV, p. 710].

As for the Sufi references and books on which the Andalusians and Moroccans relied, they are the famous books written by famous Sufis, such as:

The Revival of the Sciences of Religion, by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (died 505/1111).

The Care for the Rights of God, by Harith Ibn Asad al-Mahasibi (died 243/858).

The Strength of Hearts, by Abu Talib al-Makki (died 386/997).

The Treatise of Abul-Qasim al-Qusheiry (died 465/1072).

These books were widely in circulation in Maghrib and Andalusia, and they had been studied in the Tlemcen, Bugia and Qalaat Bani Hammad. The Sufi Abdul Salam al-Tunisi (died 486/1093) was also teaching in his institute in Tlemcen the book of Care (al-Riaya) by al-Mahasibi, and in the castle of Bani Hammad, the mystic Abu al-Fadl Ibn al-Nahawi (died 513/1119) used to teach the Revival of the al-Ghazali and finish it during the month of Ramadan [al-Tashawwuf for the Men of Sufism and the History of Abu Abbas al-Sabti, by Abu Yaqoub Yusuf Ibn Yahya al-Tadli (known as Ibn al-Zayat), investigation by Ahmed al-Tawfiq, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Rabat, 1984, p. 73, 92.]. In Bugia, Shaykh Abu Madian (d. 589/1185), one of the Shaykhs of Ibn al-Arabi, as we shall see in the following chapter, relies on the book of the Revival, in addition to the treatise by al-Qusheiry, to teach his students. He also informed them about the book of Care by al-Mahasibi [al-Tashawwuf: p. 58.].