Ahmed Sijilmasi

Aḥmad ibn Mubārak al-Sijilmāsī (1679–1742) was a Moroccan Islamic scholar of the Maliki school from Sijilmasa. Living the rest of his life in Fez, Al-Sijilmasi was a student and close companion of the Sufi mystic Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh, compiling narrations and lectures from his teacher into the work Al-Ibrīz min Kalām.

Biography

Aḥmad ibn Mubārak ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Sijilmāsī was born in 1679, with his epithet indicating that he was born in the town of Sijilmasa.[1][2][3] Along with his family, he moved to the city of Fez in 1698, mainly to further his education. There, he studied under five scholars in the University of al-Qarawiyyin, adopting the Maliki school of thought and receiving an ijazah, certifying him as a legitimate scholar of Fez.[2][3] Al-Sijilmasi retreated to the outskirts of the city, meeting with the Sufi mystic Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh, becoming a disciple and student of the mystic and learning the doctrines and disciplines of Sufism under him.[2][4] Between 1718–1719, Al-Dabbagh died and so Al-Sijilmasi wrote the Al-Ibrīz min Kalām, a compilation of lectures and narrations from Al-Dabbagh that he found to be beneficial to the Muslim community.[2][5] He also transmitted stories about the miracles he had witnessed from Al-Dabbagh.[6]

Living an ascetic life towards his final years, Al-Sijilmasi was very critical towards worldy life as well as rulers.[7] He died in 1742 and was buried in the cemetery of Bab al-Futuh in eastern Fez, next to Al-Dabbagh. A pyramidal roofed mausoleum was erected over there tombs which became a popular spot for pilgrimage and religious visits.[8]

Works

Al-Sijilmasi's most well-known written work is the Al-Ibrīz min Kalām al-‘Ārif bi-Allāh Sayyidī ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Dabbāgh (The Pure Gold in the Words of Sayyidi Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh).[9] It compiles lectures, narrations and advice from the titular figure, delving into esoteric interpretations of hadiths and mystical themes in Qur'anic exegesis.[9] His work was influential in Indonesia and was adapted into the Tafsir al-Ibrīz, a commentary on the Qur'an for Javanese audiences.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nuwayhiḍ, ʿĀdil (1988). Muʿjam al-Mufassirīn min Ṣadr al-Islām wa-ḥattā al-ʿAṣr al-Ḥāḍir, [Dictionary of Commentators: From the Dawn of Islam to the Present Day] (in Arabic). Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Beirut, Lebanon: Muʾassasat Nuwayhiḍ al-Thaqāfiyyah lil-Taʾlīf wa-al-Tarjamah wa-al-Nashr. p. 57.
  2. 1 2 3 4 al-Madanī, Muhammad (2005). Al-Tafsīr wa-al-Mufassirūn fī Gharb Afrīqiyā [Interpretation and Interpreters in West Africa] (in Arabic) (Revised ed.). Saudi Arabia: Dār Ibn al-Jawzī li-l-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī. pp. 172–173 – via Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela.
  3. 1 2 Makhlūf, Muhammad bin Muhammad (2003). Khayyālī, ‘Abdulmajīd (ed.). Shajarat al-Nūr al-Zakiyyah fī Tabaqāt al-Mālikiyyah [The Pure Tree of Light in the Classes of the Malikis] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah. pp. 506–507 – via Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela.
  4. ↑ al-Kūhin, Muḥammad. ʿAlī, Mursī (ed.). Tabaqāt al-Sādah al-Kubrā al-Musammā Jāmi‘ al-Karāmāt al-‘Aliyyah fī Tabaqāt al-Sādah al-Shādhiliyyah [The Collector of Noble Miracles regarding the Generations of the Shadhili Masters] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah. p. 44. ISBN 9782745132949.
  5. ↑ al-Sijilmāsī, Aḥmad. Al-Ibrīz min Kalām Sīdī ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Dabbāgh [The Pure Gold in the Words of Sayyidi Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh] (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah. ISBN 9782745122056.
  6. ↑ Al-Zirikli (2002). Al-A'lām [Eminent Personalities] (in Arabic). Vol. 4 (15 ed.). Lebanon: Dar al-'Ilm lil-Malayin. p. 28.
  7. ↑ al-Sijilmāsī, Ibn Zaydān (2008). ‘Umar, ‘Alī (ed.). Ithāf A‘lām al-Nās bi-Jamāl Akhbār Hādirat Miknās [The Gifting of Eminent People with the Beautiful Chronicles of the Capital City of Meknes] (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt: Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīniyyah. pp. 424–425 – via Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela.
  8. ↑ Choudhary, Zara. "Visiting Bab al-Futuh: Garden of the Saints". Sacred Footsteps. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 Honerkamp, Kenneth L. (2011). "Review of Pure Gold from the Words of Sayyidī ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh (al-Dha[h]ab al-Ibrīz min Kalām Sayyidī ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh)". Journal of Islamic Studies. 22 (2): 237–242. ISSN 0955-2340.
  10. ↑ Anjani I'anatul Maula; Azzurin Nisa' Salsabila Syafitri Inayah; Aris Fathur Rohman (2024-03-30). "Analyzing the Characteristics and Uniqueness of Tafsir Al-Ibriz by KH. Bisri Mustofa". Al-Karim: International Journal of Quranic and Islamic Studies. 2 (1): 73–92. doi:10.33367/al-karim.v2i1.4677. ISSN 2986-9366.


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