Ibn al-Arif
Encyclopedia
Ibn al-Arif or Abul Abbas Ahmad Ibn Mohammed Ibn Musa Ibn Ata Allah al-Mariyyi al-Sanhaji, also known as Al-Urruf (born July 23 1088 in Almeria
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...

 and died 1141 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...

) was a famous Sufi. His father came from Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...

 and his family belonged to the Berber tribe of the Sanhaja
Sanhaja
The Sanhaja or Senhaja were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda...

. He is especially well-known as the founder of a Sufi school or tariqa, which was based on the teachings of Ibn Masarrah, and as the author of Mahasin al-Majalis (The Attractions of Mystical Sessions).

Ibn al-Arif was born, and spent most of his life, in Almeria in Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...

 at the height of the Almoravid power. Almeria was a center of Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 at that time. He and Ibn Barrajan
Ibn Barrajan
Abu-l-Hakam Abd-as-Salam Ibn-Abd-ar-Rahman Ibn-Mohammed Ibn Barrajan was one of the greatest Sufi figures of Al-Andalus and a hadith scholar. He spread his teachings in the first half of the 12th century. He wrote a two-volume commentary on the names of Allah, a famous tafseer, and Ida al-hikma...

, another Andalusian Sufi based in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, gathered around themselves a large number of followers, which attracted the attention of the Almoravid authorities. In 1141 both men were called to Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...

 by the sultan Ali ibn Yusuf
Ali ibn Yusuf
Ali ibn Yusuf was the 5th Almoravid king he reigned 1106–1143.-Biography:Ali was recognized as the heir of his father Yusuf ibn Tashfin in 1102. He succeeded his father upon his death in 1106. Ali ruled from Morocco and appointed his brother Tamin ibn Yusuf as governor of Al-Andalus...

, where they were accused of "professing heterodox doctrines." Ibn al-Arif defended himself and was released, but died shortly after. According to Ibn al-Abbar
Ibn al-Abbar
Ibn al-Abbar, in full Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn al-Abbar was a well-known poet, diplomat, theologian and scholar from al-Andalus and perhaps the most famous man of letters produced by the city of Valencia during the Middle Ages.Ibn al-Abbar began his official career as a secretary to the Muslim...

, either "the sultan was convinced of Ibn al-Arif's excellence and piety and ordered him to be released and escorted to Ceuta" where he died of an illness, or "Ibn al-Arif was poisoned on his return journey, while making the sea crossing." His tomb is in Marrakech.

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