Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari

A Sufi known for his work al-Hikam al-'Ata'iyya; the third great figure of the Shadhiliyya order after its founder Abu'l-Hasan al-Shadhili and his deputy Abu'l-'Abbas al-Mursi. His full name is Abu'l-'Abbas (Abu'l-Fadl) Taj al-Din Ahmad b. Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karim b. 'Ata' Allah al-Shadhili al-Iskandari.

He was born in Alexandria. He belonged to the Banu Judham tribe, which had settled there after the conquest of Egypt. His grandfather 'Abd al-Karim was a well-known Maliki jurist of Alexandria and, as appears from Ibn 'Ata' Allah's statements in Lata'if al-minan, a fierce opponent of Sufism; Ibn Farhun says that he abridged Zamakhshari's al-Mufassal and al-Tahdhib and wrote a seven-volume commentary on the second. From statements in the same work it appears that his father met Abu'l-Hasan al-Shadhili.

He studied jurisprudence with Nasir al-Din Ibn al-Munayyir, grammar with Muhyi al-Din al-Mazuni, hadith with Sharaf al-Din 'Abd al-Mu'min al-Dimyati, and philosophy, logic and theology with Muhammad b. Mahmud al-Isfahani.

In these years, when he was known as a jurist and was opposed to Sufism, he met Abu'l-'Abbas al-Mursi, deputy of Abu'l-Hasan al-Shadhili, founder of the Shadhiliyya, and began to attend his gatherings.

He settled in Cairo, where he had gone to preach and guide, probably with his shaykh's permission. There a large congregation formed around him, which the father of Subki, author of Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya, also attended. In the same years intense disputes broke out between him and his disciples and Ibn Taymiyya, who was then in Egypt (details under Multiple Perspectives). When his master Abu'l-'Abbas al-Mursi died (686/1287) he was in Cairo, and he spent the rest of his life there.

He died in Cairo, at the Madrasa al-Mansuriyya, on 13 Jumada I 709 (19 October 1309), and was buried in the Qarafa Cemetery.

His Circle of Influence — He is known for an oratory that deeply moved the masses, and for his sermons and gatherings; these qualities are reflected in his works too, above all in the Hikam. Like those of Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-'Arabi and Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, his ideas influenced Sufi circles. His works are known in all Islamic lands, above all in North Africa. More than fifty Sufis have translated and commented on the Hikam; among its commentators are Sufis of almost every order. The contemporary Egyptian scholar Abu'l-Wafa al-Taftazani prepared a work treating him in all his aspects.

His Poetry and Sufi Line — According to the source, in expressing his ideas he did not touch on the controversial statements of the Sufis of the unity of being, and very carefully preserved the balance between the unity of being (wahdat al-wujud) and the unity of witnessing (wahdat al-shuhud). Worship and obedience free of ostentation and fame, reliance on God, surrender, hope and expectation are the basic concepts of his mystical thought; his words are kneaded not with the ardour of love and rapture but with the subtleties of reflection. For him deeds and acts of worship are a set of forms and shapes; their spirit is the secret of sincerity (ikhlas) that must dwell in the worshipper's heart. He insists on the state of neediness towards God called faqr or iftiqar, and regards knowledge accompanied by awe as the best knowledge. The influence of al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, Sulami, Harith al-Muhasibi, Abu Talib al-Makki, 'Abd al-Karim al-Qushayri and Ghazali can be seen in his thought. The sources give some specimens of his poetry; a qasida of sixty-two couplets appears at the end of the editions of Lata'if al-minan, and another of twenty-two couplets at the end of the editions of al-Tanwir.

His Works — ① al-Hikam al-'Ata'iyya: a work of about 300 wise sayings reflecting his views on almost all the basic subjects of Sufism (Beirut 1972); it has many commentaries and translations. ② Lata'if al-minan: it consists of a long introduction setting out his views on various mystical subjects and ten chapters relating the lives and legends of Abu'l-'Abbas al-Mursi and Abu'l-Hasan al-Shadhili; it is the oldest work on the Shadhiliyya. ③ al-Tanwir fi isqat al-tadbir: it deals with reliance on God and surrender; Muttaqi al-Hindi translated it into Persian as Risala-yi Kifayat-i ahl-i yaqin. ④ Miftah al-falah wa misbah al-arwah: it covers such subjects as remembrance, retreat, divine unity and gnosis. ⑤ Taj al-'arus al-hawi li-tahdhib al-nufus: made up of his sermons and his counsels to his disciples on the proprieties of the path. ⑥ al-Qasd al-mujarrad fi ma'rifat al-ism al-mufrad: written in theological style on the word Allah and on God's essence, attributes, names and acts; Maurice Gloton translated it into French (Paris 1981). ⑦ 'Unwan al-tawfiq fi adab al-tariq: a commentary on the poem of Abu Madyan al-Maghribi that opens with the couplet meaning “The delight of life is companionship with the dervishes”. ⑧ al-Munajat al-'Ata'iyya: an intimate prayer of thirty-six couplets on reliance and surrender. ⑨ al-Wasiyya ila'l-ikhwan bi'l-Iskandariyya: the testament he sent in 694 (1295) from Cairo to his disciples in Alexandria. The source also lists Risala fi'l-qawa'id al-diniyya, Mawa'iz, Hizb al-najat, Risala fi'l-tasawwuf and Hizb al-nur wa tamam al-surur; al-Muraqqa ila'l-Quds al-abqa, Mukhtasar Tahdhib al-Mudawwana and Usul muqaddimat al-wusul have not come down to us.

His Tomb and Complex — He was buried in the Qarafa Cemetery in Cairo.