Abu al-Abbas as-Sabti

Sidi Bel Abbas or Sidi Ahmed abu al-Abbas al-Khazraji as-Sabti ( Ceuta 1129 - Marrakesh 1204) is the patron saint of Marrakesh and also one of the seven saints (sabaatou ridjal) of the city whose festival was founded by Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi at the instigation of Moulay Ismael.

To As-Sabti, every act of human mercy (rahma) evoked a merciful response from the All-merciful God (ar-Rahim). As-Sabti summed up his theory of reciprocity with the mazim: " [Divine] Being is actualised by generosity" (al-wujud yanfa ilu bi'l-jud). The Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd visited as-Sabti several times in Marrakesh. [Vincent J. Cornell, "Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism", p. 91]

He was born in Ceuta, but moved to Marrakesh in 1145-6, during the final weeks of the Almohad siege of the city. For a number of years he lived in a cave on the hill of Igilliz outside Marrakesh, only coming into town on Fridays for the communal prayer.

The Almohad sultan Yaqub al-Mansur was a disciple as-Sabti. He asked him to come and live in the city and provided him a house, a hostel for his disciples as well as a madrasa for study. Teaching was maintained by the sultan's own funds. Whenever Yaqub al-Mansur visited Sidi Abu al- Abbas he made a point of behaving in a humble manner and acted "as a servant" in the saints presence.

When Sidi Abu al-Abbas died in 1204, he was buried at the grave-yard of Sidi Marouk, near Bab Taghzout. [http://www.dar-sirr.com/sultans.html "Moroccan Sultans and Sufis" retrieved 04-24-2008,] In 1605 the Saadian sultan Abu Faris erected a mausoleum for as-Sabti in the hope to recover from his epilepsy. In 1998 sultan Hassan II improved the sanctuary. It is also the place of his zawiyya.

As-Sabti's hagiography, "Akhbar Abi'l-Abbas as-Sabti", written by Abu Ya’qub Yusuf ibn Yahya at-Tadili (d. 627/1229-30), is in part composed by As-Sabti himself and contains many autobiographical passages.

References

*Vincent J. Cornell. "Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism". Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1998, "The Power of Compassion: The Imitanda of Abu'l-Abbas as-Sabti", p. 79 ff