Abdeslam ibn Mchich Alami

Abdeslam ibn Mchich Alami (Arabic: عبد السلام بن مشيش العلمي) (also spelled Ben Mshish) was a Sufi saint who lived during the reign of the Almohad dynasty. He was born in the region of Beni Aross near Tanger and lived from 1140 to 1227 AD. At one point in his life he withdrew to jbel Al Alam, near Larache, where his mausoleum now is situated.

In the beginning of every July the shorfa Alamiyyin celebrate the moussem of Abdeslam ben Mchich who is also known as the sultan of the Jbala, protector of the valley. Abdeslam ben Mchich was also the one who inititated Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili to sufism. He is said to be a descendant of the Idrisids. His teacher was the great Abu Madyan. He is the ancestor of sharif mulay Ali ibn Rashid, founder of Chefchaouen.

He is the author of a collection of reflections about religious and political life in his time and of a famous eulogy of the prophet Mohammed (taslya) on which a commentary was written by Ahmad ibn Ajiba. He also wrote a metaphysical paraphrase of a widely known prayer, in which the believer calls on God to bless the Prophet to thank him for having received Islam through him. It is called As-Salatul-Mashishiyyah. Ibn Mchich sees in the prophet Muhammad an expression of the one Spirit from which all revelation comes and which is the eternal mediator between the ungraspable Godhead and the world.

References

*Muhammad Bennani, Mulay Abd Es Selam El Machich, ed. by África Española – Madrid, 1913 (In Spanish)
*Titus Burckhardt, "The Prayer of Ibn Mashish", "Studies in Comparative Religion", Winter-Spring, 1978, Pates Manor, Bedfont, Middlesex
*Titus Burckhardt, "The Prayer of Ibn Mashish (As-Salat al-Mashishiyah)", Translation and commentary, "Islamic Quarterly", London, 1978, vol. 20-21-22, no3, pp. 68-75

External links

* The Prayer Of Ben Abdeslam Mchich - As-Salatul-Mashishiyyah Arabic - English (near the bottom of the page) [http://www.deenislam.co.uk/dua.htm]
* Monte Alem, the Arabic section [http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%84_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85] جبل العلم