Ali Abu'l-Wafa

Ali ibn Muhammad Wafa (Ali Wafa al-Shādhilī, d. 807/1405) was the son of Muhammad Wafa, founder of the Wafā'iyya order, and was himself a Sufi master and poet. Born in Cairo in 759/1358, he was only a small child when his father died and assumed leadership of the order in adulthood. In his final years he made his house in the Rawda district of Cairo the center of the order, leading Friday prayers for his disciples and giving them private discourses. Known for his Divan and works such as al-Waṣāyā and Mafātīḥ al-khazāʾin al-ʿaliyya, he is regarded as a powerful mystical poet whose verses were compared to those of Ibn al-Fāriḍ; the doctrine of the seal of sainthood and the cyclical theory he developed with his father are seen as turning points in the Akbarian tradition. Like his father he was buried in the shrine-mosque of the Sādāt al-Wafā'iyya in Cairo. Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi ("Ali Vefâ eş-Şâzelî"), Richard McGregor, Sanctity and Mysticism in Medieval Egypt (SUNY Press, 2004).