Ahmad al-Alawi

Sheikh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-Alawi (1869–14 July 1934), ( _ar. أحمد بن مصطفى العلاوي), was the founder of a popular modern Sufi order, the Darqawiyya Alawiyya, a branch of the Shadhiliyya.

Biography

order

In 1894, he traveled to Morocco, and followed for fifteen years the Darqawi shaykh Muhammad al-Buzidi. After al-Buzidi's death in 1909, Sheikh Al-Alawi returned to Mostaganem, where he first spread the Darqawiyya, and then (in 1914) established his own order, called the Alawiyya in honor of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, who appeared to him in a vision and gave him that name for his new order.

pread of the Alawiyya

The Alawiyya spread throughout Algeria, as well as in other parts of North Africa, as a result of Sheikh al-Alawi's travels, preaching and writing, and through the activities of his "muqaddams" (representatives). By the time of Sheikh al-Alawi's death in 1934, he had become one of the best known and most celebrated shaykhs of the century.

The Alawiyya was one of the first Sufi orders to establish a presence in Europe, notably among Algerians in France and Yemenis in Wales. Sheikh Al-Alawi himself traveled to France in 1926, and led the first communal prayer to inaugurate the newly built Paris Mosque in the presence of the French president. Sheikh Al-Alawi understood French well, though he was reluctant to speak it.

The Alawiyya branch also spread as far as Damascus , Syria where an authorization was given to Muhammad al-Hashimi who spread the Alawi branch all throughout the lands of the Levant.

Teachings of Sheikh al-Alawi

Sheikh Al-Alawi was a Sufi shaykh in the classic Darqawi Shadhili tradition, though his order differed somewhat from the norm in its use of the systmatic practice of khalwa and in laying especial emphasis on the invocation of the Supreme Name [of God] .

In addition to being a classic Sufi shaykh, Sheikh al-Alawi addressed the problems of modern Algerians using modern methods. As well as writing poetry and books on established Sufi topics, he founded and directed two weekly newspapers, the short-lived "Lisan al-Din" (Language of Faith) in 1912, and the longer-lived "Al-balagh al-jazairi" (Algerian Messenger) in 1926.

In his preaching and his writings, Sheikh al-Alawi attempted to reconcile Islam and modernity. On the one hand, he criticized Westernization, both at a symbolic level (by discouraging the adoption of Western costumes that lead to ego attachment) and at a practical level (by attacking the growing consumption of alcohol among Algerian Muslims). On the other hand, he encouraged his followers to send their children to school to learn French, and even favored the translation of the Koran into French and Berber for the sake of making it more accessible, a position that was at that time most controversial.

Although Sheikh al-Alawi showed unusual respect for Christians, and was in some ways an early practitioner of inter-religious dialogue, the centerpiece of his message to Christians was that if only they would abandon the doctrines of the trinity and of incarnation "nothing would then separate us."

The great size of his following may be explained by the combination of classic Sufism with engagement in contemporary issues, combined with his own personal charisma, to which many sources, both Algerian and French, speak. Sheikh Al-Alawi's French physician, Marcel Carret, wrote of his first meeting with Sheikh al-Alawi "What immediately struck me was his resemblance to the face which is generally used to represent Christ."

Books about and by Sheikh Ahmad al-Alawi

*Two Who Attained : Twentieth-Century Sufi Saints: Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi & Fatima al-Yashrutiyya, Selections translated from Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi's The Divine Graces and a Treatise on the Invocation, ISBN 1887752692 by Leslie Cadavid (translator) and Seyyed Hossein Nasr (introduction), ed. Fons Vitae (2006)

*On the Unique Name and on 'The Treasury of Truths' of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn al-Habib, ISBN 978-9799668806, IB Madinah Press (January 31, 2001)
* [http://www.lotetree.co.uk/sufi-saint-of-the-twentieth-century-8-p.asp Lings, Martin, "A Sufi saint of the twentieth century: Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi, his spiritual heritage and legacy" There is a short anthology of Ahmad al-'Alawi's poetry appended to the book as the final chapter (12)] ISBN 0-946621-50-0

ee also

Further reading

*cite book | last =Cartigny | first =Johan | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Le Cheikh al-Alawi: témoignages et documents | publisher =Editions Les Amis de l'Islam | year =1984 | language=French
location =Drancy, France | pages = | url = | doi = | id =OCLC|22709995
* Lings, Martin, "A Sufi saint of the twentieth century: Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi, his spiritual heritage and legacy" ISBN 0-946621-50-0
* Jossot, Abdul'karim , "Les sentiers d'Allah"
* Khelifa, Salah, "Alawisme et Madanisme, des origines immédiates aux années 50." Doctoral thesis, Université Jean Moulin Lyon III.
* Ahmad al-Alawî, "Lettre ouverte à celui qui critique le soufisme", Éditions La Caravane, St-Gaudens, 2001, ISBN 2-9516476-0-3
* Cheikh al-Alawî, "Sagesse céleste - Traité de soufisme", Éditions La Caravane, Cugnaux, 2007, ISBN 2-9516476-2-X

External links

* [http://www.aisa-net.com Website of Association Internationale Soufie Alawiya]
* [http://www.tasawuf.ws/en/ Website of the Alawiyya Order] (in English and Arabic)
* [http://www.shadhilitariqa.com/ Sheikh Nuh Keller's website of the Shadhili (Darqawi, Alawi) Tariqa] en icon
* [http://al.alawi.1934.free.fr/ Les Amis du Cheikh Ahmed al-Alawi] fr icon
* [http://www.tasawuf.ws/biography/hayat_arabic.htm Life of al-Alawi] (in Arabic)
* [http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/A/alAlawiAhmad/Layla.htm "Layla," poem] en icon
* [http://tasawf.blogspot.com/ Tariqa Shadiliya Darqawiya Alawiya] es icon
* [http://lacaravane.weebly.com Editions La Caravane] fr icon