Shaykh Mawlay al-Arabi ad-Darqawi [d.1823]

Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823) was a Moroccan Sufi leader of the Shadhili tariqa and the author of letters concerning the dhikr he preached and instructions for daily life. He stressed non-involvement in worldly affairs (Dunya) and spoke against other Sufi orders exploiting claims of barakah (blessings). He was imprisoned by the Moroccan ruler Mulay Slimane (r.1792-1822) for supporting revolts against the throne, but was released by Abder-Rahmane (r.1822-1859).

A branch of the Shadhili order, the Darqawa, was organised around his teachings after his death, with members coming from a wide range of social groups. Though the Darqawa was once the most important tariqah in Morocco, its power waned as it spread throughout North Africa. Al-Darqawi was descended from a Hasanid/Idrissid sherif family that lived amongst the Beni Zerwal, in the hills to the north-east of Fez. His tomb is in the zawiya Beni Brih also in the Rif.

Page Last Updated : 24th November 2011

The Way of Muhammad                     by Shaykh Abd 'al-Qadir as-Sufi

Paperback - 284 pages

''This book is dedicated to the Masters of the Habibiyya-Shadilliyya-Tariqa''

Preface: It was with a certain reluctance that I agreed to a new edition of this early work of mine, and this only after some minor editing to remove errors which I can now perceive. The original intention of the work was to show that it was possible to grasp the meaning of Islam in terms of the European existential tradition. Indeed, it is of course the culmination of it. Ironically, the effect of the book was not in the main to open Europeans to Islam, but to restore to those who had gone out of the Deen, especially Arabs, a sense of respect and discovery in relation to Islam.

The book is simply a meditation of the five pillars of Islam as viewed by someone who has taken them on and is savouring their meanings. However, now with a lifetime of Islam to contemplate I would want to express the whole matter differently without denying the basic personal truths I tried to indicate in this text. Today the enemies of Islam all explain that the danger of it is that it is not merely a metaphysical construct but is something that affects the whole of life. Yet, after a quarter of millennium of western occupation of Muslim lands, first in colonialism and then by the ethos of technology it can be shown that, tragically, we have abandoned Deen in its totality.

The response of the free-acting people of this age will be to obey the order of Allah, glory be to him, in Qur'an: "Enter Islam in its totality." (Qur'an 2.206). It can also be translated: "Enter Islam all together."---by Shaykh Abd 'al-Qadir as-Sufi

Contents:

Preface, 
Affirmation,
The Science of the Self,
The Science of the Sunna,
The Science of States,
The Science of Qur'an,
The Science of Bewilderment,
The Science of the Moment

The translations of 'Ibn 'Arabi and Mawlay al'Arabi ad-Darqawi are used throughout are by Aisha Abdarrahman at-Tarjumana Bewley.

 
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 Letters of a Sufi Master:                                 The Shaykh ad-Darqawi  
 Paperback - 78 pages

Shaykh al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi;

 Translated by: Titus Burckhardt  | Preface by Martin Lings
 

This precious translation of selections from the letters of Shaikh ad-Darqawi, the founder of a major branch of the Shadhiliyyah Order in North Africa in the 13th/19th century, belongs to a class of Sufi literature that has not as yet received enough attention outside of the Islamic world.  

Each letter is a precious gem of wisdom, an indispensable key to open certain doors which stand before every traveller upon the Path. Almost all the letters concern the method and the operative aspects of the Way based on the central techniques of the invocation or dhikr.

In this domain they must be considered among the most direct instructions given on Sufic method to be found in all Sufi literature, where generally masters have preferred to refer to the actual spiritual techniques through allusion. Occasionally, however, fundamental facets of Sufi doctrine are also discussed.

"The sickness that is afflicting your heart is one of those things which strike men whom God loves, for 'of all men the most sorely tried are the Prophets, after them the saints, then those who resemble them, closely or remotely.' So do not be downcast, since this happens most often to men full of sincerity and love, to cause them to go forward towards their Lord.

By this suffering their hearts are purified and transformed into pure substance. Lacking such encounters with reality, nobody would reach the knowledge of God, far from it, for 'if there were no arenas for souls, the runners would not be able to run their course' as it is said in Ibn 'Ata-Illah'sHikam, in which he also says: 'In the variety of signs and changing states I came to recognize Thine intention in regard to me, that of showing me all things, so that there might be nothing in which I would not know Thee.'

In the same sense, the initiates have said: 'It is in times of upheaval that men stand out from amongst men.' In the Koran it is said : Do the people then reckon that they will be left in peace because they say 'we believe,' and that they will not be tried? (XXIX,1)."

In making available these letters in English, Titus Burckhardt has rendered a service to those seeking spiritual instruction. He has also enriched Sufi literature in Western languages and made available one more document of extraordinary power and beauty belonging to the recent past.

"During his early years in Morocco, Titus Burckhardt immersed himself in the Arabic language and assimilated the classics of Sufism in their original form. In later years, through his translations, he was to share these treasures with a wider public. One of his most important works of translation was of the spiritual letters of the renowned 18th-century Moroccan Shaikh Mulay al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi. These letters manifest a deep and lively insight into timeless metaphysical truths and, at the same time, are a precious document of practical spiritual counsel."  ---William Stoddart
 
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The Darqawi Way                                   by Mawlay al Arabi ad Darqawi

Paperback - 330 pages

Translated into English by: Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley

Letters from the Shaykh to the Fuqara

 
Letters from one of the greatest shaykhs of sufism to his pupils, a constant source of renewal and inspiration to the wayfarer. Man is helped by books while he does not see the Beloved. When he sees the Beloved, books are helped by him. 

Describing his form of practice Shaykh Mawlay al Arabi Ad Darqawi, the student of Shaykh ‘Ali al-Jamal said:

“ Whoever does Dhikr as we have prescribed and pays close attention to its conditions as we have said, Allah will lift the veil between Himself and them in three weeks or less.

Whoever does this dhikr as we have described and does it for more than seven weeks and Allah has still not lifted the veil between Himself and them, they have no intention, no true sincerity, no love, no resolution and no certainty and  Allah is the authority for what we say.” --- Excerpt from one of the Letters of The Darqawi Way.

 
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