Abu al-Abbas as-Sabti
Encyclopedia
Sidi Bel Abbas or Sidi Ahmed abu al-Abbas al-Khazraji as-Sabti (Ceuta
1129 - Marrakesh 1204) is the patron saint of Marrakesh. He is also one of the "Seven Saints" (Sabʿatou Rijal) of the city. His festival was founded by Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi
at the instigation of Moulay Ismael.
Al-Abbas 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 of al-Abbas. 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 al-Abbas he made a point of behaving in a humble manner and acting "as a servant"..
To al-Abbas, every act of human mercy (rahma) evoked a merciful response from the all-merciful God (ar-Rahim). Al-Abbas summed up his theory of reciprocity with the maxim: "[Divine] Being is actualised by generosity" (al-wujud yanfa ilu bi'l-jud). The Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd visited al-Abbas several times in Marrakesh.
When al-Abbas died in 1204, he was buried at the graveyard of Sidi Marouk, near Bab Taghzout. In 1605, the Saadian sultan Abu Faris
erected a mausoleum for al-Abbas, hoping that the saint's power would help him recover from his epilepsy. In 1998, sultan Hassan II improved the sanctuary. It is also the place of his zawiyya
.
Al-Abbas's hagiography, Akhbar Abi'l-Abbas as-Sabti, written by Abu Ya’qub Yusuf ibn Yahya at-Tadili
, was in part composed by al-Abbas himself and contains many autobiographical passages.
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
1129 - Marrakesh 1204) is the patron saint of Marrakesh. He is also one of the "Seven Saints" (Sabʿatou Rijal) of the city. His festival was founded by Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi
Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi
Abu Ali al-Hassan ibn Masud al-Yusi was a Moroccan Sufi writer. He is considered to be the greatest Moroccan scholar of the seventeenth century and was a close associate of the first Alaouite sultan Rashid. Al-Yusi was born in a Berber tribe, the Ait Yusi, in the Middle Atlas mountains. He was...
at the instigation of Moulay Ismael.
Al-Abbas was born in Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, but moved to Marrakesh in 1145-6, during the final weeks of the Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
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
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
sultan Yaqub al-Mansur was a disciple of al-Abbas. 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 al-Abbas he made a point of behaving in a humble manner and acting "as a servant"..
To al-Abbas, every act of human mercy (rahma) evoked a merciful response from the all-merciful God (ar-Rahim). Al-Abbas summed up his theory of reciprocity with the maxim: "[Divine] Being is actualised by generosity" (al-wujud yanfa ilu bi'l-jud). The Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd visited al-Abbas several times in Marrakesh.
When al-Abbas died in 1204, he was buried at the graveyard of Sidi Marouk, near Bab Taghzout. In 1605, the Saadian sultan Abu Faris
Abou Fares Abdallah
Abou Fares Abdallah was a ruler of the Saadi dynasty. He was one of the three sons of Ahmad al-Mansur and reigned in different parts of the country , the South, Marrakesh and Fez. He especially fought his brother Zidan Abu Maali ....
erected a mausoleum for al-Abbas, hoping that the saint's power would help him recover from his epilepsy. In 1998, sultan Hassan II improved the sanctuary. It is also the place of his zawiyya
Zawiyya
The word zawiyya can refer to a sufi brotherhood or the shrine of a saint. Zawiyyas used to be very common in especially North Africa and Iran.-References:...
.
Al-Abbas's hagiography, Akhbar Abi'l-Abbas as-Sabti, written by Abu Ya’qub Yusuf ibn Yahya at-Tadili
Yusuf al-Tadili
Abu Yaqub Yusuf Ibn Yahya ibn al-Zayyat al-Tadili was a sufi mystic, influential jurist and hagiographer from Morocco. He is the biographer of many sufi saints. His best known publication is the at-Tashawwuf ila rijal at-tasawwuf , ed. Ahmed Tawfiq...
, was in part composed by al-Abbas himself and contains many autobiographical passages.