Sidi Mustafa Bassir ash-Shadhili ق
It was in the afternoon of the day of his passing. After his check-up at the clinic, he got out of the car, walked into his room, took out his clothes, sat facing qibla and started reading the Shahadah. His daughter saw his behaviour and said, “Please don’t die now!” and started to cry. He gently replied, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave me! It’s my time now. I must go.” He laid down facing the qibla reciting the Shahadah as the house slowly filled with his family. Sometime late in the evening, he passed from this world with a smile on his mouth. He is Sidi Mustafa Bassir ash-Shadhili ق.
His Life
Sidi Muhammad al-Mustafa Basir ibn Sayyid Ibrahim ibn Sayyid Imbarak al-Basiri al-Hasani al-Maghribi al-Susi al-Muqri’ al-Maliki al-Shadhili al-Darqawi (1940-2006 CE) memorised the Holy Qur’an at the Zawiyah school after which he went to the school at Ibn Karim. He also studied in the Islamic Academy at Tardant, and entered the University of Ibn Yusuf at Marrakesh where, in 1962, he obtained his primary and secondary degrees. He then became a primary school teacher in Casablanca. He had a close relationship with his Shaykh and sought to remain near him so he became a teacher in the Tanfarda school at Beni Ayat near to the lodge. After an attempt on his life in 1978 which gave him his heavy limp and scarred leg, he retired.
“There is Allah”
In 1978, a deranged man showed up gun in hand in the school in which Sidi Mustafa was teaching. People took to their heels but Sidi Mustafa did not budge. The man faced him and said: ‘Who will protect you from me?’ Sidi Mustafa famously replied: ‘Between you and me, there is Allah.’ The man then shot him and kept shooting until the gun was empty but by the grace of Allah, he survived.
The Zawiyah
Sidi Mustafa Bassir ق then devoted himself to teaching in the Qur’anic school at his father’s Zawiyah, and authored a number of books introducing his father’s Zawiyah, its history and the virtues of its people. After his brother’s death he took over the running of the Zawiyah. He soon undertook to expand and rebuild the mosque of the Zawiyah as well as the student and guest accommodation for both men and women. He planted trees and decorated the lodge with plants, and asked the director of the Zawiyah to open branches in other cities and places. He built a large library in the Zawiyah and furnished it with valuable books and manuscripts from all over the world.
His Guidance
As a spiritual guide, Sidi Mustafa Bassir ق had many students and followers in different places including France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, South Africa, and elsewhere. The least benefit of being with him is that he stripped one bare of such amounts of pretense that if one were a tree one might muse whether one consists exclusively of dead bark. He peered into the spiritual states of people and could diagnose their needs before they even voiced them.
His Character
One of Sidi Mustafa Bassir’s ق favorite repartees in his exchanges after enquiring after the health of his friends was: “Bi-khayr, wa-fi khayr, wa-`ala khayr!” He was known for his great love for our Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and he wrote a book of prayers for invoking blessings and salutations on our Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He smiled often in his friendly, unassuming manner. His Visits
When Sidi Mustafa Bassir ق visited to Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn `Arabi’s grave in Damascus, men and women flocked to him for advice and help but he said to them: “The Shaykh [Shaykh ibn ‘Arabi] is here so there is no need for me.” In a a visit to Shaykh Nazim in Cyprus, Shaykh Nazim vested Sidi Mustafa with his jubba.
Another time, after the Hadra of Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani in Jami` al-Ward, as people took their seats and tea was distributed, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani gave Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn `Arabi’s book of Wasaya to Sidi Mustafa and asked him extemporaneously to give the dars for him. Smile for smile, Sidi Mustafa Bassir obliged. A commentary on the wasiyya that he gave was that one should not sleep before washing mouth and hands after eating lest we feed our shaytan: “The point is not to strengthen your shaytan but to weaken it.”
Another time, Sidi Mustafa Bassir visited Shaykh Nuh Keller at his zawiya, gifted him his works and led the hadra.
His Passing
Shaykh Mustafa Bassir ق passed away in his zawiya in Bani A`yaat (Middle Atlas region of Morocco) on the night of mid-Sha`ban 1427 (night of 7 September 2006), at the age of 67. 6 weeks before he passed on in Morocco, he looked thinner but his behaviour had not changed enormously. He was still very active. He still travelled to cities all over Morocco, went to huge gatherings of dhikr and very much alive.
He is survived by many sons and daughters and countless murids. His eldest son, Sidi Isma`il, continues to be in charge of running the affairs of the zawiya which is heavily frequented by the Fuqara and the Bearers of the Qur’an at all times of the year.
May Allah al-Lateef grant us to follow the ways of the Awliya like Sidi Mustafa Bassir ق. May we be of the Folk who witness Allāh! Having an overflowing gratitude and intense love for Him in all our movements, stillness, speech, thoughts and intentions! Ameen!
