Brief Biography of Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shadzili (q.s.)
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a brief biography of Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ). On his father’s side, he is descended from the Fatimid-Hasanid line, and on his mother’s side from the Fatimid-Husaynid line. He was born in the year 593 AH / 1196 CE, in the mountain village of Ghumara, in the Rif area of the northern Atlas mountains of the Maghrib. The Berber tribe which he belonged to had virtually separated itself from the rest of the Maghrib by refusing to accept Islam, which was otherwise universally followed in this region. Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( q.s. ) had tried to guide this tribe to the Truth, but they had preferred to live in their state of spiritual ignorance, relying mostly upon witchcraft, magic and idols for their form of worship. There is little recorded about the very early life of Imam Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ), but it is assumed that whilst...