Sidi Abderrahman el Majdoub (, March 150626May 1568), also transcribed as Mejdub, full name al-Shaykh Abu Zayd Abderrahman al-Majdoub ibn Ayyad ibn Yaacub ibn Salama ibn Khashan al-Sanhaji al-Dukkali, was a Moroccan poet,

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

and mystic. Many lines of his poems are known throughout the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

, and his work is the source of many proverbs (e.g. "doubt is the beginning of wisdom").

Biography

Abderrahman was born in March 1506 in the Tit village near

Azemmour Azemmour or Azammur () is a Moroccan city, lying at the Atlantic ocean coast, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca. Etymology The word Azemmour comes from the Berber word ''Azemmur'' ("wild olive tree" ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He was of

Sanhaja The Sanhaja (, or زناگة ''Znāga''; , pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen) were once one of the largest Berbers, Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata, Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Libya ...

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

origin. In 1508, he moved with his father to Irgan near the town of

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

. He was brought up in a Sufi environment, his father studied under Ibrahim Afham al-Zarhuni, a student of

Ahmad Zarruq Ahmad Zarruq () also known as Imam az-Zarrūq ash Shadhili (Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn 'Īsa) (1442–1493 CE) was a 15th-century Moroccan Shadhili Sufi, jurist and saint from Fes. He is considered one of the most prominent and acco ...

. Abderrahman studied first in Meknes, then he went to Fez to continue his studies. He studied in Meknes under teachers such as Abu Ruwayin, Ahmad al-Shabih, Said ibn Abi Bakr al-Mishnaza'i, Abd al-Haqq al-Zalliji, Ja'ran as-Sfyani and the ''

qutb The term () means 'axis', 'pivot', or 'pole'. Qutb can refer to celestial movements and be used as an astronomical term or a spiritual symbol. In Sufism, a is the perfect human being, ''al-Insān al-Kāmil'' ('The Universal Man'), who leads ...

'' Umar al-Khattab al-Zarhuni. It was Umar al-Khattab al-Zarhuni who told him to settle in the '' habt'' region. He studied in Fez under teachers such as Ali ibn Ahmad al-Sanhaji. He memorised the entire Quran and the 10 different ways of recitation. He lived during the rise of the

Saadi dynasty The Saadi Sultanate (), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (), was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of Northwest Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Sharifism, Sharifian dynasty. ...

under the reign of

Mohammed ash-Sheikh ''Mawlay'' Mohammed al-Shaykh al-Sharif al-Hassani (), known as Mohammed al-Shaykh () (b. 1490 – d. 23 October 1557), was the first sultan of the Saadian dynasty of Morocco (1544–1557). He was particularly successful in expelling the Portugue ...

and

Abdallah al-Ghalib Abdallah al-Ghalib Billah (; b. 1517 – d. 22 January 1574, 1557–1574) was the second Saadian sultan of Morocco. He succeeded his father Mohammed al-Shaykh as Sultan of Morocco. Biography Early life With his first wife Sayyida Rabia, ...

. This period also saw the rise of the Ottoman Empire in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

.Scott Alan Kugle, ''Sufis & saints' bodies: mysticism, corporeality, & sacred power in Islam'', p. 115-117

His poetry

For Abderrahman poetry was about political, moral and social issues. All his poems were collected in a Diwan that provided his mystical views on love, death, emotions, woman, science, education, religion and more. His poetry has become the source of many of the daily proverbs used in Moroccan society. Abderrahman died on 26 May 1568 in the Marshaqa village in the ''habt'' region. As requested by his will, he was buried in

on 29 May 1568, near the Aissa gate, where later the

mausoleum of Moulay Ismail The Mausoleum of Moulay Isma'il () is a historic Islamic funerary complex in Meknes, Morocco. It contains the tomb of Sultan Moulay Isma'il, who ruled Morocco from 1672 until his death in 1727, and is located inside his former Kasbah (citadel) ...

was built. The dome above his tomb was built by his student

Abu l-Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf ibn Mohammed Yusuf al-Fasi () (1530/1531 in Ksar-el-Kebir, Morocco – 14 August 1604 in Fes, Morocco) was a major figure of Moroccan Sufism and the founder of the Zawiya al-Fassiya in Fes. He belonged to the ''al-Fasi'' ...

. The tomb attracts many visitors every day.

References

Sources

* *

External links

* Play by

Tayeb Seddiki Tayeb Saddiki (; 5 January 1939 – 5 February 2016) was a Moroccan theatre director and one of the most iconic and prominent Arab artists, and is considered among the foremost Arab dramatists of the twentieth century. Trained in classical Wes ...

on Majdub (French

* Mausoleum of Mulay Isma‘il (near the burial site of Sidi Abderrahman El Majdou

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majdoub, Abderrahman 1506 births 1568 deaths 16th-century Berber people 16th-century Moroccan poets Berber poets Saadi dynasty Sanhaja Shadhili order