PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Sidi 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Umrani 'al-Jamal' (1090-1194 AH, 1675-1779 CE) was a great 'arif from Fes who lived to be over a hundred (either reaching 104 or 105). He earned the kunya (honorific teknonym) 'al-Jamal' (the camel) from the exclamations made by onlookers who saw him lifting a camel from the middle of the road and placing it to the side: 'He is indeed the camel!' Hagiography adds, in a play on this name, that he was known by the angels of Allah as al-Jamal (Divine Beauty). During his long life, he served the Moroccan government administration before travelling to Tunisia where he learnt from the Sufi masters there. He later returned to Morocco to study further under other masters, among them the most notable being Sidi al-'Arabi ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abdullah al-Andalusi, with whom he remained for 16 years. After his passing al-Jamal built his zawiya in Fes. He was the teacher of Moulay Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (d. 1823 CE), and it was from him that the Shadhiliyya-Darqawiyya takes its name. Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri is the author of many acclaimed books on Islam, the Qur'an and Sufism. From early on in his life he sought knowledge about the nature of existence, Reality and Truth. Much guidance and indications in this quest came to him through Qur'an and the Sufi paths. Having felt a special affinity with the teachings of Sidi 'Ali al-Jamal, as well as those of other Shadhili/Darqawi Masters, Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri wanted to share their insights with sincere seekers. Born in Baghdad in 1934, Shaykh Hosam Raouf studied electrical engineering in the U.K. then worked in the oil industry in Iraq and later as a consultant in the UAE. His abiding interest in the religious and spiritual heritage of Islam and a natural orientation towards Sufism led him to delve deeper into the path to higher consciousness. A long-lived friendship with Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri has led to many collaborations in teaching and research. He lives in Wales with his family.
