Saints and Tombs of Marrakesh

Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli

The author of the Dalâ'il al-khayrât ; the founder of the Jazûliyya branch of the Shâdhiliyya and one of the seven saints of Marrakesh. His full name was Abû 'Abdillâh Muhammad b. Sulaymân al-Jazûlî . He was born in the village of Simlâl in the region of Jazûla in the valley of Sûs in southern Morocco; although he came of a Berber family of the Jazûla tribe, he is held to be a sharîf. He studied the religious sciences and Arabic at the Madrasat al-Saffârîn near the Qarawiyyîn mosque at Fez; it was probably there that he met the Shâdhilî shaykh Ahmad Zarrûq. When a quarrel within his tribe obliged him to leave his country he went to Tangier, and then to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem; he returned to Morocco after forty years. He entered the Shâdhiliyya at the lodge of the Banû Amghâr at Azemmour at the hand of Shaykh Abû 'Abdullâh Muhammad al-Sharîf. In those years he composed his famous litany, the Dalâ'il al-khayrât ; thereafter he withdrew into seclusion for fourteen years. When he came out of his retreat and settled at Asfi, more than 10.000 disciples gathered about him. The governor of the region, alarmed at such a crowd, banished him to the village of Afûghâl in the district of Shiyâzima. He died on 6 November 1465, while in prostration. His Circle of Influence — The Jazûliyya he founded became the most widespread branch of the Shâdhiliyya in North Africa, and out of it arose the Tabbâ'iyya, 'Îsâwiyya, Wazzâniyya and Hansaliyya orders. In the hagiographic tradition that recounts the seven saints buried at Marrakesh (the sab'atu rijâl ) he is named as one of those seven. His Works — The Dalâ'il al-khayrât is a litany gathering together the blessings upon the Prophet, and it has been read very widely in every part of the Islamic world; the well known Turkish commentary known as Kara Dâvud was written upon this book. He also has the litanies Hizb al-falâh , Hizb al-Jazûlî and Hizb subhân al-dâ'im lâ yazâl . His Tomb and Complex — His body remained at first at Afûghâl; his disciple 'Umar b. Sulaymân al-Sayyâf carried it with him for a long time. When Abu'l-'Abbâs Ahmad al-A'raj entered Marrakesh seventy-seven years later, he transferred the body of al-Jazûlî, together with that of his own father who was buried in the same place, to a tomb at Marrakesh.