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Sidi Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | Al-Sayyid Burhan al-Din Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani 1924 |
Died | 1979 (aged 55) |
Resting place | Sidi Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani Mosque (until 2019) |
Religion | Islam |
Era | 20th century CE |
Region | Northeast Africa |
Denomination | Sunni |
Jurisprudence | Maliki |
Creed | Ash'ari |
Movement | Sufism |
Tariqa | Shadhili |
Al-Sayyid Burhan al-Din Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani (1924–1979) shortly known as Sidi Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani ( Arabic: سيدي أبو الإخلاص الزرقاني) was a 20th-century Sufi mystic who lived in Egypt. He was part of the Shadhili order of Sufis, and his Mawlid feast is still celebrated annually.
Al-Sayyid Burhan al-Din Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani was born in 1924, in a village located in the Gharbia Governorate of Egypt. [1] [2] [3] In his youth, Abu al-Ikhlas lived in Cairo with his extended family but later returned to his hometown in the Gharbia Governorate, before returning again to pursue a scholarship at Al Azhar University on recommendation of his uncle, a renowned Muslim scholar who had taught him the basics of religion ever since he was a young child. [1] [2] [3] In his adulthood, Abu al-Ikhlas went on a spiritual tour to Sudan, Morocco, Yemen, Jerusalem and Medina. [1] [2] [3] Upon his return to Egypt, he started an ascetic lifestyle, later building a small zawiya for himself in Alexandria; he would eventually die in 1979 and be entombed in his zawiya. [1] [3]
In 1979, Abu al-Ikhlas died and he was buried in his zawiya next to his sister, Umm Muhammad. [1] [4] The zawiya was incorporated into a larger religious complex in 1985 which was attached to a mosque known as the Sidi Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani Mosque. [1] In 2019, the mosque and the adjoining complex was demolished by the Egyptian authorities as it stood in the way of the construction of a large integrated traffic axis that leads to El Mahmoudiyah. [4] [5] [6] The remains of Abu al-Ikhlas and his sister were exhumed and then reinterred in a new mausoleum, also located in Alexandria. [6] [7] The actions of the government did not have much negativity from the Sufi communities, who accepted the decision to demolish the mosque and religious complex without any frustrations. [5] [6]
Amongst locals, Al-Sayyid Burhan al-Din Abu al-Ikhlas al-Zarqani is known for his mystical powers, known as karamat. [8] Additionally, the Mawlid feast for his birthday is still celebrated every year in the month of October, and it lasts for almost one week. [2] During his lifetime, Abu al-Ikhlas was also the founder of a Sufi order, or tariqa, known as the Ikhlasiyya which was a subsect of the Shadhili order. [3]