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As mentioned in the introduction, the Wafå’iyya order is a derivative of the Shådhiliyya order. In chapters 4 and 5 it will be seen in detail the ways by which >Al• and Mu˙ammad Wafå’carried on, or diverged from, Ab¥ al-Óasan alSh ådhil•’s teachings on sainthood. The task of the chapter at hand is to explore these original Shådhilite teachings. Our exploration will touch first on the Shådhiliyya order itself, its main proponents, and its primary literature. Further, an attempt will be made to outline what might be called a “Shådhiliyya-specific” doctrine of walåya. Of course it must be remembered that in speaking of the “doctrine” of this sufi order, we are not necessarily describing teachings that are exclusive to the Shådhiliyya or that are wholly consistent with all other writings produced within the order. It must be remembered, too, that the saintly founder was not a full-time theologian, and his teachings are not necessarily systematic. These and other teachings of the order often elude any systematization on the part of researchers not only because of the oral (and often anecdotal ) nature of the record of the words of al-Shådhil•, but also because these teachings are elaborated upon by later leaders of the order. This dilemma is the same for many schools of thought, mystical or not, where a charismatic founder is held up as the fountainhead of a movement, when in fact subsequent minds have contributed much. This challenge to discern the primary teaching of a founder (e.g., founder of a legal school, a sectarian leader, etc.) as distinct from later elaborations is important. Yet of greater significance is the understanding of the amalgam of ideas that is produced by this process. For example, academic research on the historical Jesus is often fascinating, but this information does not tell us much about Christian thought, doctrine, or even the early church. The point here is simply that any discussion of the teachings of the Chapter 2 The Early Shådhiliyya and Sanctity Shådhiliyya order will be necessarily a fuzzy delineation of doctrine. Also, it will not suffice to only reproduce the hagiographical record of the saint’s pronouncements on walåya; the contributions of the writings of the recognized leaders of the order after him must also be taken into consideration. The roots of the Shådhiliyya are to be found in the Maghreb. It is here that the founder, Ab¥ al-Óasan al-Shådhil•, was born of a sharifan family and established himself as a leader. Having come originally from the tribal area of Ghumåra in Morocco (south of Ceuta), born around 583/1187,1 al-Shådhil• probably moved to Tunis as a boy. The events of his early life are obscure, but it is clear that he was educated and that he came to nurture contacts with established shaykhs in Tunis.2 The young Shådhil• relates that his search for the “qu†b of the age”3 took him to Iraq, where he was told by the saintly figure Ab¥ al-Fat˙ al-Wåsi†• (d. 632/1234) to return to his native Ghumåra. Here alSh ådhil• became the follower of >Abd al-Salåm Ibn Mash•sh (or Bash•sh) (d. 622/1225).4 Ibn Mash•sh himself had been the student of the greatest Maghrebi saint, Ab¥ Madyan (d. 595/1198).5 At an undetermined point in time al-Shådhil• came to be associated with the village of al-Shådhila, some seventy kilometers south of Tunis. This association was due to his frequent retreats to a nearby cave in Jabal Zaghwån.6 Having established a following in Tunis, al-Shådhil• traveled to Egypt, in 642/1244.7 It is in Egypt that the Shådhiliyya order saw its greatest flowering. Here many important figures came to the order, both in Alexandria and Cairo. Before discussing these figures, however, let us take a moment to survey the literature written by and about these individuals. Literature and History of the Shådhiliyya The Shådhiliyya order was for the first seventy years or so after its founder’s death headed by a recognized inheritor of leadership, or khal•fa. The succession line descended from al-Shådhil• (d. 658/1259) to al-Murs• (d. 686/1287) to Ibn >A†å’ Allåh al-Iskandar• (d. 709/1309) and to Då’¥d Ibn Båkhil...

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