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Founder of the 'Aydarusiyya order; a Sufi regarded as one of the greatest saints of Yemen and as the spiritual protector of Aden. His full name was Fakhr al-Din Abu Bakr b. 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr Ba 'Alawi al-'Aydarus. The family name 'aydarus is one of the names given to the lion, in the sense of "seizing fiercely and overpowering with force"; with this quality in mind the name was also given to certain saints of high spiritual rank. Muhibbi recorded some thirty scholars and Sufis of this family, which is said to descend from the Saqqaf branch of the Ba 'Alawi and is known by titles such as "'Alawi", "Sayyid" and "Sharif".
He was the son of 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr al-'Aydarus (d. 865/1461), ancestor of the 'Aydarus family and a Sufi known as "the shaykh of Hadramawt". He was born in 851 (1447) in Tarim. He received his first learning there and later turned to Sufism.
He spent the last twenty-five years of his life in Aden and died there (914/1508).
His Circle of Influence — The 'Aydarusiyya, attributed to him, was carried to the Hijaz, Syria and Egypt by Sufis of the 'Aydarus family and became widespread in these regions. His disciple Muhammad b. 'Umar Bahraq collected his virtues in a hagiography entitled Mawahib al-quddus fi manaqib Ibn al-'Aydarus. The Ba 'Alawi scholar 'Abd Allah b. 'Alawi al-Haddad explained some of his Sufi poems in the conclusion of his work Ithaf al-sa'il.
His Poetry and Sufi Line — According to the source, the shaykhs of the 'Aydarusiyya attach very great importance to Ghazali's Ihya' 'ulum al-din while not neglecting to read Ibn al-'Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya and Fusus al-hikam; they take care to hold to the Qur'an and hadith and also give great importance to sama'. Authors such as Ghazzi and Ibn al-'Imad report that the drinking of coffee was first made a custom by him, so that disciples might perform the dhikr with more eagerness and attention. The Sufis of Yemen recommended coffee to their disciples in the night gatherings of dhikr to drive away sleep and dispel languor and heedlessness; coffee drunk for this purpose was called "Sufi coffee" or "spiritual coffee".
His Works — He has a Sufi work entitled al-Juz' al-latif fi 'ilm al-tahkim al-sharif and three litanies called "basit", "wasit" and "wajiz".
His Tomb and Complex — His tomb and the mosque beside it are among the greatest places of visitation in Aden. Every year, on 11-15 Rabi' al-Awwal, a commemoration is held there in his name.
Differing Scholarly Views
The affiliation of the order — The source gives three views on the origin of the 'Aydarusiyya: Zabidi presents it as the Yemeni branch of the Madyaniyya, attributed to Abu Madyan al-Maghribi; Hariri-zade states that its founder was 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr al-Sakran (d. 865/1461) and counts it a branch of the 'Alawiyya; and there are those who regard the 'Aydarusiyya as the Yemeni branch of the Kubrawiyya. The same source says that the founder of the order was Abu Bakr b. 'Abd Allah al-'Aydarus. The atlas makes no choice among these views.
The beginning of the coffee custom — While Ghazzi and Ibn al-'Imad state that he began the custom of drinking coffee, there are also reports that coffee was brought from Africa and introduced in Arabia by 'Ali b. 'Umar al-Shadhili (d. 821/1418) or by the jurist Muhammad b. Sa'id (d. 875/1471). The source holds it certain that coffee was widely used among the Sufis of Yemen, and especially among the 'Aydarusis. The atlas makes no choice as to who began it.
The location of the grave — The source says that his tomb and the mosque beside it are in Aden; it gives neither the name of the mosque nor its quarter in the city. The atlas marker shows the tomb in Aden; the quarter and exact position require confirmation from another source.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Süleyman Uludağ · vol. 4, pp. 232-234, entry “AYDERÛS”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Süleyman Uludağ · vol. 4, p. 234, entry “AYDERÛSİYYE”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) · vol. 14, pp. 551-553, entry “HADDÂD, Abdullah b. Alevî”
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