Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al-Ansari (1126-1198) was a Sufi teacher, scholar and writer and poet. He is the single most important founder of Sufism in the Maghreb and Andalusia. He was born in Cantillama in the region of Sevilla and died in Tlemcen. He was the teacher of Abdeslam Ben Mchich and through Ben Mchich of Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili. Still young Abu Madyan moved to Morocco where he lived in Ceuta, Tanger and Marrakech. He received his religious education in Fes, where he underwent the influence of the teachings of Al-Jilani, Abu Yaza and Al-Ghazali (through Ibn Hirzihim et Abu Bakr Ibn al Arabi]], master of Abu Yaza. after his pilgrimage to Mecca and studies in the Middle East, he returned to teach in Bougie (now Algeria). He is the patron saint of Tlemcen. His mausoleum and the nearby mosque in that city are masterpieces of Merinid art. Ibn Arabi called Abu Madyan 'the teacher of teachers'.

References

• Cornell, V.J. (editor and translator), The Way of Abu Madyan: Doctrinal and Poetic Works of Abu Madyan Shu’ayb al-Husayn al-Ansāri, Cambridge, RU The Islamic Texts Society, Golden Palm Series, 1996

Proverbs and poems by Abu Madyan:

• Bidayat al Mouridin, Ms 938, Bibliot. Nat. Alger.
• Ouns al Wahid, Ms 2-105 (8) fol. 337-343, Bibliot. Nat. Paris, ed. in Cairo 1301-1884, with a commentary by Ahmed Bâ'chan.
• Tahfat al Arib, pub. et trad. in Latin par F. de Dombay, Vindobonae, Ebn Médirai Mauri Fessani Sentenciae quaedam arabicae, 1805
• Diwan, (collection of his poems) édit. Chaouar of Tlemcen, Damascus, 1938.
• See also : Bibliothèque Nationale Paris, Ms Arabes 1230, 3410, 4585, 5320. Bibliothèque Nat. Alger. Mss 59, 376, 1859.
• Medersa de Tlemcen, Mss. 28, 84.

Publications on Abu Madyan:

• Addas, C., "Abu Madyan and Ibn ‘Arabi", in Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi: A Commemorative Volume, ed. S. Hirtenstein y M. Tiernan, Shaftsbury, Dorset, 1993
• Miguel Asín Palacios, Šâdilîes y alumbrados, Libros Hiperión, Madrid, 1990, págs. 30-37
• Terry Graham, "Abu Madian: Un sufí español representante de la gnosis del Jorâsân", in: Sufí nº 3, Editorial Nur, Madrid, primavera de 2002, pp. 34-41. (Nota de la Redacción)
• Abu l-Abbas Ahmad Ibn Qunfud, Uns al-Faqir wa Izz al-Haqir, Rabat, Université Mohammed V, 1965,
• Text in Arabic, ed. by Mohammed El Fassi and Adolphe Faure with an introduction in French: Enquête sur la vie, les maîtres et les disciples de Sidi Bu-Madian et voyages à travers le Maroc. Contribution à l'étude de l'Histoire religieuse du Maroc. (Levi-Provençal " les Manuscrits arabes de Rabat N° 385 et E.I. - III - 867 )
• Un saint de première grandeur, Sidi Abou Madian, Edition Sekkal
• Mohamed Souheil Dib, La nourriture de la passion, sur la pensée de l'œuvre d'Abû Madian, (Essai) - Éditions Âl-Ouns, Paris, 2003

External links

• Revista Sufi, numero 3, Terry Graham, "Abu Madian, Un sufí español representante de la gnosis del Jorāsān", (in Spanish) rtr. 05-07-08
• "The spiritual succession of Abu Madyan", (excerpt from: Titus Burckhardt, Fez, City of Islam, ed. by The Islamic Texts Society, 1992, ISBN 0946621 retr. 05-07-08