Ibn Ata Allah

Tāj al-Dīn Abū'l-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn ʿAṭā Allāh al-Iskandarī al-Shādhilī was an Egyptian Malikite jurist, muhaddith and the third murshid (spiritual "guide" or "master") of the Shadhili Sufi order. He was born in Alexandria and taught at both the al-Azhar Mosque and the Mansuriyyah madrasa in Cairo. He was responsible for systematizing Shādhilī doctrines and recording the biographies of the order's founder, Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili, and his successor, Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi. He is credited with having authored the first systematic treatise on dhikr, The Key to Salvation (Miftāḥ al-Falāḥ), but is mostly known for his compilation of aphorisms, the Ḥikam al-ʿAtā‘iyya. Commentaries on the Ḥikam have been made by some of the most famous masters of the Shadhili order such as Ibn Abbad al-Rundi, Ahmad Zarruq and Ahmad ibn Ajiba as well as non-Shadhilis like the Indian Chishti Sufi ʿAbd Allah Gangohi and the Syrian Islamic law Professor Sa'id Ramadan al-Bouti. A modern English translation of Ḥikam by Muhammed Nafih Wafy was published under the title The Book of Aphorism by Islamic Book Trust in Malaysia in 2010.[4]

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The wide circulation of Ibn ʿAṭā Allāh's written works led to the spread of the Shādhilī order in North Africa, where the order's founder had been rejected in earlier attempts. The Wafai Sufi order was also derived from his works. He died in 1309 while in Cairo. Over the past 700 years the teachings of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah have been repeatedly studied, commented on, reiterated, and have spread to the point where they are available across the globe, having been translated into almost every major language.[5]

Ibn ʿAṭā Allāh was one of those who confronted the controversial theologian Ibn Taymiyya, who was jailed several times for his views on religious issues and for his excesses in attacking the Sufis.[6] His confrontations with Ibn Taymiyya saw Ibn ʿAṭā Allāh leading a procession of some 200 Sufis against Ibn Taymiyya as well as confronting him on issues.