Sidi Al-Imam Al-Sayyid al-Badawi Tanta Egypt Saint

Sidi Ahmed al-Badawi al-Fasi (d. 675 Higri/1260)

 

 

The second most widespread Sufi order in Egypt after the Shadhiliya order, founded by the Moroccan sharifian ShaykhSidi Abul Hassan Shadhili (d. 656/1241), is that of the Badawiya Brotherhood, founded by another Moroccan, the most popular luminary in Egyptian Sufism, the Rifaite master Sidi Ahmed Badawi al-Fasi. His disciples in Egypt

number in hundreds of thousands, and the main religious festival (mawlid) held in his honour each year in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, where he lived and died, attracts more than two million Egyptians. It is worth noting that the words “Tanta” and “al-Sayyid al-Badawi” are used synonymously in many different contexts in everyday life. The grand Sufi leader al-Badawi, the master of travelers (sayyid al-salikın) who never married or had any descendants, succeeded in establishing mystical links and spiritual genealogies located in different parts of Egypt. Sidi Ahmed Badawi, whose family had emigrated from Fez to the East, spent his youth in Mecca among the bedouin and won a reputation as a daring horseman and courageous knight. While still a young man, he experienced a spiritual transformation, devoting himself to the transformation and to meditation. Sidi Ahmed al-Fasi travelled to southern Iraq, where he received training in the way of the Rifaiya (named after the Hassanid sharif Sidi Ahmed Rifai; d. 678/1236) at the hand of Sidi Ahmed ibn Ali Rifai. Upon the death of the Rifaiya muqaddam in Egypt, Al-Sayyid al-Badawi was sent to Egypt by his master. One of al-Badawi’s companions, born and raised in Fao village in Upper Egypt, was Sidi Omar al-Ashath,the patron saint and founder of the Shinnawiya al-Ahmediya branch. The story goes that, when Sidi Omar heard that al-Sayyid al-Badawi had arrived in Egypt, he went to meet him in Tanteda, accompanied by his partner, Sidi Hassan al-Sa’igh, so as to make the pledge or covenant (al-‘ahad) directly and personally with him. Al-Sayyid al-Badawi advised Hassan al-Sa’igh to go to the village of Ikhnaway (where he is now buried) and establish himself there as a religious leader. Meanwhile, he advised Omar to stay with him on the roof of the house of Ibn Shuhayt,where he experienced the spiritual path and learned important religious and Sufi lessons. Sidi Omar stayed with Sidi al-Badawi for three years and was then advised by al-Badawi to go to a village (subsequently referred to as the village of Shinnu)to initiate people to the Tariqa.Through the spiritual connection with his master, Sidi Omar established a spiritual genealogy refracted in some of his male descendants, who maintained the biological genealogy and transformed it into spiritual genealogy.

Al-Sayyid al-Badawi settled in Tanta eventually quickly acquiring a large following that ranged from vast numbers of ordinary Egyptians to Mamluk amirs. The Mamluks were the newly empowered slave rulers of Egypt, who were to reign in Cairo and serve as patrons and protectors of one of the most glorious phases of Islamic civilisation for more than four hundred years. The Mamluks almost invariably allied themselves as a ruling establishment to the Sufi orders as institutions out of personal conviction and a quest for legitimacy. Sufism was not simply a popular religious attitude to be supported, but I many cases a spiritual discipline to be persuaded personally. Sidi Ahmed al-Fasi lived in Tanta for forty-one years, during which time he received divine permission (idhn) to establish his own order independent of the Rifaiya. Many miracles have been attributed to him, before and after his death, as a vehicle for God's grace (fadl), and he is viewed as one who may intercede in heaven for the ordinary

Suggestions.

The Mawlid festival should be much happier one if there were horse rider processions raising Islamic flags, wearing nice decorated colored customs and accompanied with music instruments and Religious chants.

http://newtanta.blogspot.com/2010/09/al-shaykh-al-sayyid-ahmad-al-badawi.html