Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ash-Shadhili ق, the Regulator of the Scholars and Saints
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ash Shadhili ق whose full name is Sidi Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Isa Zarruq al-Fasi ash-Shadhili (1442–1493 CE) was a Sunni, Ashari, Maliki Muslim scholar and saint from Fes, Morocco. Although being one of the most prominent scholars in the late Maliki school , he is better known as a Shadhili Shaykh and founder of the Zarruqi branch of the Shadhili Sufi order. He was a contemporary of Imam Muhammad ibn Sulaiman al-Jazuli ق. He is considered one of the most prominent and accomplished hadith, legal, theological, and spiritual scholars in Islamic history, and is thought by some to have been the mujaddid (renewer) of his time. He was also the first to be given the honorific title “Muhtasib al-‘ulama’ wa al-awliya’" (Regulator of the Scholars and Saints). He took the name 'Zarruq' (meaning 'blue') due to his blue eyes. His link to the noble Prophetic linage is attested and acknowledged up to present. However, he humbly refused to draw people’s attention to that fact. For him, it was taqwa that mattered, and true lineage was in his view the one founded on noble action.
The Azzaza Plague
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق was born at sunrise 7 June 1442CE (22nd Muharram 846H) in a village in the region of Tiliwan, a mountain area of Morocco, between Fes and Taza. He was of Arab stock mixed with Berber blood and belonged to the tribe of Banu Waryaghl, originally from a mountainous country side in the north of Morocco. His paternal grandfather was 53 and passed away 7 days before his birth. His mother was 23 when she passed away after his birth and his father passed away 6 days after his birth. His maternal grandmother, Umm al-Banin Fatima, migrated to Fez with the infant Ahmad after his native village had been ravaged by a plague, known as “Azzaza Plague” by the people of Fez, which exterminated most of its inhabitants. Most of the people on whom Young Zarruq ق relied for his education, care and guardianship, died. Allah shaped his strong character by making him cope positively with these hardships, thereby strengthening his submission to Him and his contentment with his lot.
Swallowing the hair of the Prophet ﷺ
His family had inherited, generation after generation, one strand of hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, which was kept in a silver case. The family custom, motivated by the quest for blessing was that whenever they were gifted a newborn child, they would take that piece of hair and run it against the toddler’s gums, for his saliva to be associated with a remnant of the Prophet ﷺ before anything else. When young Zarruq ق was born, the hair was swallowed by him. They inferred from this event that his would be a very lofty rank and that he would excel his predecessors from the family in knowledge scrupulousness about the Din and nearness to Allah
His Father’s Will
When his father was close to death, he bequested 1/3 of his estate of muazzins of a mosque. In his father’s words, “I have made my bequest to secure an Abode I need more than [my son] does, I have built with it a palace in Paradise. The remainder I have left to my mother. As for this son of mine, I entrust him to Allah.” This bequest bespeaks his love for the Din of Allah, together with his deliberately entrusting his own son to Allah’s exclusive solicitude. The reliance on Allah displayed by his father was born of a sincere desire to attain nearness to Allah, not disabling poverty and compulsion.
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق did not abase himself or beg from anyone. No poverty has ever befallen him and money came readily available from a lawful source to him. It was customary to combine the pursuit of learning with material self-sufficiency through trade. As Umm al-Banin explained to him: “Knowledge is for worship, and a profession is for earning livelihood.” and “One must learn the Qur’an for din and a trade to earn a livelihood.” Reliance on Him did not prevent Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق from taking lawful intermediate means (asbab), rather than stripping himself of outward means (tajrid). His grandmother would take him to learn a trade on Thursday and Fridays, and also on Mondays once he left school. After his grandmother’s death, he pursued a gainful occupation as a shoemaker. While in the city, he worked as a teacher and a copyist of manuscripts. Every friend of Allah is hidden by a veil, some characteristic or circumstance that conceals their true status from ordinary people; and his veil consisted in his working for his livelihood.
His First Teacher
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq’s ق maternal grandmother Umm al-Banin was an accomplished jurist and righteous woman under the Marinid dynasty. She taught him prayer and ordered him to perform it when he was five which he did consistently from then. She raised him and was his first teacher, who taught him the basics of doctrine (aqidah), acts of worship (ibadah), and ascetism (zuhud).
She also taught him Tawakkul (Reliance of Allah) by an amazing method. On some days she would prepare a meal for him. When he came back from school for breakfast, she would tell him: “I have nothing, but all provision is the Lord’s storehouses, so sit down and seek it from Allah.” She would raise her hands and he would do the same, so they would both supplicate for a while. At the end of the supplication, she would say: “ Look around, Allah might have put something in a corner of the house: sustenance is a hidden gift.” Both of them would get up and search around. When he came across that food he felt great joy about it, and in Allah who had produced it. Then she would tell him: “Come, let us thank Allah. Then we can eat straight away, so that our Lord may give us more. So they would raise their hands in praise and thankfulness for a while, and then partake of that food. She never ceased to do this, time after time, until he reached the age of discernment. It was a remarkable and effective method of spiritual training, which gradually led the young Ahmad onto the path of spiritual ascension, moving steadily from reliance onto hope, and from wholehearted satisfaction - a contented heart - to thankfulness.
She emphasised on the Dawn Prayer. When young Ahmad approached the age of discernment, Umm al-Banin would have one silver coin ready for him every day he woke up at dawn to pray. Never would he open his eyes without it being there, resting on his pillows. She would say “Pray the dawn prayer”, “Come and take it” and “This dirham helps him to perform the prayer, keeps him away from corruption, and guards him against seeing people with lustful desires.”
Umm al-Banin also used to tell young Ahmad stories of the righteous and of those who entrusted themselves to Allah entirely, and other tales that strengthen one’s faith. Rather than trivialities, she would recount only stories of the miracles, battles and supernatural feats of the Prophet ﷺ; and people who had devoted their lives to Allah.
His Learning from young
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق grew up in the city of Fez. From young, Allah’s way in his regard was that he never lapsed into a sin for the first time without being punished at once, or without his punishment being repeated if he lapsed again. He finished memorising the Qur’an at 10 years old with his maternal uncle, al-Fishtali, in the primary school for Qur’an run by him. He recited the Qur’an with a number of teachers such al-Rahuni, al-Majasi and al-Sughayyir. After Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق turned 16, He read the Risala, a primer of Sunni doctrine and Maliki fiqh by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani with Shaykh as-Shatti and ‘Abd Allah al-Fakhkhar. He learned works of Kalam (theology): al-Risala al-Qudsiyya and Qawa’id al-‘Aqa’id (a summation of ‘Ashari Theology) of Imam al-Ghazali Abu Hamid al-Tusi under Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Majduli. Young Zarruq ق came from a household marked by erudition and virtue, both inwardly and outwardly.
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق kept the company of many blessed people - too many to enumerate from faqihs (jurists) to faqirs (Sufis):
Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Fishtali, his maternal uncle, the righteous jurist, known as Nur Allah who recited the whole Qur’an every 3 days. He performed tahnik for young Zarruq ق . His last words in this world were: “Our Lord, let not out hearts swerve aside after You have guided us. Give us Mercy from You. You are the Ever-Giving.” [Qur’an 3:8]
Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Musa al-’Abdusi, the righteous spiritual guide and jurist, who was the Mufti of Fez. He eradicated many innovations which had emerged in Morocco, upheld the penalties prescribed by Allah, and enforced people’s rights. Whenever he memorized five out of every fifty Hadiths in Muslim’s collection, his father would give him one silver coin. He died people from nothing in his estate apart from two garments to cover the back and stomach, two ihram garments, and two loose outer garments with sleeves. He never let the Shama’il of at-Tirmidhi our of his hand, as he always acted on its contents.
Abu al-Abbas Ahmad Ibn al-’Ijl al-Wazarwali who was the judge of al-Madinat al-Bayda and deputy of the judge of Old Fez. Every week, he used to complete a full recitation of the Qur’an.
Shaykh Abu al-’Abbas Ahmad ibn Sa’id al-Miknasi who was the preacher at the Qarawiyyin Mosque.
Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Anfasi, who was the preacher and imam of the al-Andalus mosque who led the prayer for rain, and by the time people returned from the prayer ground it was raining.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad, known as Ibn Amlal, who was the shaykh and prominent jurist, a distinguished scholar and Mufti of Muslims
Abu ‘Ali al-Hasan Ibn Mandil al-Maghili, who was a learned shaykh and jurist, judge, teacher and Hafiz (Hadith expert) and an imam at the Inaniyya Madrasa.
Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad known as al-’Attar who spent 21 days at the maqam of Shaykh Abu Ya’azza and dreamt of Shaykh Abu Ya’azza giving him knowledge directly.
Abu al-alAbbas ibn Ali ibn Salih, known as al-Filali, the virtuous and exemplary jurist, the Sufi who mentioned “To have a good opinion of Allah i more fitting than a bad opinion of Him.”
Sidi Abu Zakariyya, the chief of al-Zahra, the virtuous shaykh through whom blessing is sought. He was well-known, the object of people’s gratitude and wore clothes to make himself pass unnoticed.
Learning under Official Mufti of Fez
Under al-Qawri, the official Mufti of Fez, he read the Qur’an, Hadith and learnt both fiqh and Sufism from him. Young Zarruq ق used to vist al-Qawri at his home and ask him questions. The direct access he gave young Zarruq ق shows his recognition of the latter’s brilliant potential. For hadith, he learnt from him Sahih al-Buhari and al-Tirmidhi’s al-Jami al-Sahih. For fiqh, he learnt al-Ahkam al-sughra, al-Ahkam al-wusta and al-Ahkam al-Kubra. For Sufism, he learnt al-Tanwir fi isqat al-tadbir (The Illumination on the Abandonment of Self-Administration) of Shaykh Ibn Ata ‘illah, one of the master pieces of Sufi literature, which expounds with immense power and eloquence the principle, basic to the Shadhili Sufi path, of dropping self-centred planning and living, and trusting instead in the providence of Allah.
Service to a Blind and paralysed Sufi of the Qadiri Path
From the beginning of 1465 CE, Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق at 23 years old was at the service of Sidi Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah known as al-Zaytuni. He was a Qadiri Sufi. He was blind and paralysed, had a sharp character. The elite and commonality held him in awe and his supplication to Allah were regularly answered. He used to give Young Zarruq ق insights to matters. al-Zaytuni died while performing the dawn prayer in his prostration. Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق served the spiritual wayfarers at his zawiya and also met followers of Imam al-Jazuli here.
Self-Exile
Young Zarruq ق had an influential role in Fez scholarly and civic life thanks to the prestige of his association with learning and with learned authorities. He also studiously avoided the aides of the Sultan and the rest of the politically influential elite. However, with his innate sagacity, he was adverse to the idea of revolting against the established Islamic authority, albeit a despotic one, and favoured the preservation of united ranks in the Ummah. Young Zarruq’s wise judgement was that rulers reflected the societies they presided over, so the more astute policy was to try and improve the state of the people rather tan count on the wonder-working skills of prospective leaders. He was opposed to the deposition of the Sultan. This consigned him the ire of Moroccans to the point of deadly allegations of being a Jew, spy and informer. He was thus compelled to leave Fez to protect himself from the mounting turbulence and to safeguard his life. He traveled to Tlemcen.
His journey exposed Young Zarruq ق to pillage, forceful despoliation of property, multiple threats to his life, estrangement, fear, agitation, hardships of various kinds, and potential lethal accusations. He almost drowned while crossing the river Malwiyya and was accused of espionage. When he was questioned: “Are you walking alone”. His reply would be “I have with me Allah, the One, the All-Subduing”. He took advantage of his travels to mature inwardly, mix and request scholarly authorisations (ijazat) from the scholars of Tlemcen, deepen his knowledge, and visit the maqam of Sidi Abu Madyan al-Ghawth ق which gave him spiritual breakthroughs (fath). During this period, he produced his first book, an explanatory gloss on the Hikam of Shaykh Ibn Ata illah as-Sakandari ق, together with a concise but elegant treatise on Sufism entitled Tuhfat al-murid.
Hajj
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق performed his first hajj at a cost of 170 gold dinars. On the day he resolved to perform it, he did not have a single silver dirham. On the day he set out from his hometown, he had only a donkey. On his way, he stopped in Cairo to learn from Imam Muhammad al-Sakhawi, one of the foremost disciples of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and also learned from the great Shadhili-Qadiri Sufi Shaykh Ahmad ibn ‘Uqba al-Hadrami.
On his second Hajj, he had nothing but a donkey and some books which did not help in least to pay for his expenses. He performed Hajj seven times.
Visit to the Maqam of Shaykh Abu Ya’azza
Late in the year 1466 CE, when Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق was at 24 years old, he visited the tomb of Shaykh Abu Ya’azza with Shaykh al-Zaytuni. One of Morocco’s most famous spiritual guides and friends of Allah, Abu Ya’azza Illanur ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Dukkali al-Gharbi (D1166 CE) lived to the age of 130. He was illiterate and only knew the Fatiha and the last three short surahs of the book but would nevertheless correct the errors of anyone who recited some Qur’an in his presence. People used to pray behind him in the prayer for rain and be granted relief through rainfall.
In Sidi Ahmad’s Zarruq’s ق own words “We took this path of ours from Abu Ya’azza through his line of transmission trace back to al-Junayd and through him to Hassan al-Basri, ‘Ali and the Prophet ﷺ”.
Marriages
He married 5 women, all of them purely on the basis of a spiritual inspiration from first to last. An incalculable amount of material provisions flowed to many people from his hand. None of his five marital unions were planned in advance. Consequently, he never deliberately searched for a dowry to give any of his prospective spouses. It was his friends and loving associates who urged him and recommend him to approach their guardians for permission to marry them. Gifts came along his way, along with sudden material openings from all kinds of sources, so that he was able to fulfill those demands. All of Sidi Ahmad Zarruq’s ق children survived him and died childless apart from Ahmad who inherited leadership of his father’s Sufi school, the Zarruqiyya Madrasa.
His Works
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق wrote extensively on a number of subjects. His most famous works are first of all his Qawa’id al-Tasawwuf (The Principles of Sufism), his commentaries on Maliki jurisprudence and his commentary upon the Hikam of Shaykh ibn 'Ata Aillah as-Sakandari ash-Shadhili ق.
The Counsel of Sidi Ahmad Zarruq in Agenda to Change Our Condition
While certain masters of the inward go to the extremes in warning against engrossment in outward sciences, Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ق maintained that keeping a balance between outward knowledge and inward purification is essential. In an age like ours, where outward correctness is so difficult to maintain, no inward cleansing is conceivable without righting the outward. In this sense, Sidi Ahmad Zarruq’s ق approach to Sufism can be said to be altogether “contemporary”.
He traveled East to Mecca in Tihamah and to Egypt before taking up residence in Misrata, Libya where he died in 899 (1493). He was buried in Misrata, Libya.
