Encyclopedia of Islam

Shabazz, el-Hajj Malik el-

  See m

alcolm

 X.

Shadhili Sufi Order

The Shadhili Sufi Order is one of the oldest Sufi 

orders, known for promoting orthodoxy and propri-

ety as the means to achieve an internal union with 

the divine. This important strand of Sufi thought 

is attributed to the Moroccan mystic Abu al-Hasan 

Ali al-Shadhili (d. 1258) who lived and taught in 

t

Unisia

 and e

gypt

. No writings from al-Shadhili 

survive and it was his immediate successors, espe-

cially Ahmad ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari (d. 1309) 

who recorded his teachings. Though considered to 

be a Sufi way, or 

tariqa

, the Shadhiliyya Sufis never 

formed a centralized organization; rather, through-

out its history many branches have emerged with 

weak links to one another, but all claiming spiritual 

descent from the founder and adhering to his teach-

ings. Around the turn of the 13th century 

sUFism

increasingly began to be practiced in institutional 

settings, which emphasized establishing life-long 

relationships to a single master. It is in this context 

that the Shadhiliyya movement arose and spread.

In contrast with other more emotional and 

ascetic strands of Sufi thought, al-Shadhili taught 

that each member of the tariqa could best achieve 

mystical and spiritual fulfillment through living an 

exemplary, but ordinary life. The individual should 

seek complete devotion and gratitude to God by 

transforming his heart through performing ritual