Abdalqadir as-Sufi

infobox person
name = Abdalqadir as-Sufi
residence = Cape Town, South Africa


image_size = 150px
caption = Abdalqadir as-Sufi
birth_name = Ian Dallas
birth_date = 1930
birth_place = Ayr, Scotland
occupation = Shaikh of Instruction
title = Shaykh
religion = Sunni Islam
website = http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com/

Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born 1930 Ian Dallas in Ayr, Scotland) is a Shaykh of Sunni Tarbiyah (Instruction), leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa, founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam, Sufism (Tasawwuf) and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he accepted Islam in 1963 with the Imam of the Masjid al-Qarawiyyin (Qarawiyyin Mosque) in Fes, Morocco.

Abdalqadir as-Sufi has been actively spreading Islam since that time and has students all over the world in both Muslim and non-Muslim lands. He continues to write; among his latest publications are "The Book of Tawhid", "Ian Dallas Collected Works" and "The Time of the Bedouin – on the politics of power" (as Ian Dallas). His commentary on current events and issues affecting Muslims in different parts of the world can be found on his website. He currently resides in Cape Town, South Africa, where he holds regular gatherings of Dhikr and instruction in the Islamic sciences.

Early life

In 1930 Ian Dallas was born in Scotland of a Highland family whose history dates back to 1279. Educated at Scotland's oldest school, 'Ayr Academy' (founded 1233, Royal Charter 1798), he went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (R.A.D.A) and the University of London, where he was tutored in Elizabethan social history by Muriel St. Clare Byrne. On leaving R.A.D.A. he wrote his first play, "A Masque of Summer", which was presented at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre. His second play was first presented at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and then at R.A.D.A.'s Vanburgh Theatre with Albert Finney in the lead. This led to a BBC TV presentation with Peter Cushing and Mary Morris. Contracted to BBC TV Drama, there followed a series of plays and dramatisations. His adaptation of Conrad's 'Secret Agent' starred Sir Alan Bates, and that of O'Neill's 'Strange Interlude' starred Diane Cilento. With Constance Cox he initiated the first ever BBC TV classical series with 'Jane Eyre' and 'Vanity Fair'. His original plays on TV included 'Statue of David' with Jill Bennet and 'Light from a Star' with Isa Miranda. After this he travelled extensively in Greece, France and Italy.From 'The Collected Works' by Ian Dallas] In 1963 he starred in Federico Fellini's film 8½ as "Il partner della telepata" [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0198037/ IMDB Filmography] ] .

Conversion

As-Sufi converted to Islam in 1963 in Fes, Morocco as "Abdalqadir", witnessed by Shaykh Abdalkarim Daudi, the Imam Khatib of the Qarawiyyin Mosque, and Alal al-Fasi. He then joined the Darqawi order as a student of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, [ [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/habib.html Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib al-Filâlî] ] who conferred on him the title of as-Sufi. He travelled Morocco and Algeria with his Shaykh and was further instructed in Sufism by Sidi Hamud ibn al-Bashir of Blida and Sidi Fudul al-Huwari "as-Sufi" of Fes.

Tariqa

His Idhn (authorization) for the Darqawi Tariqa comes through two Shaykhs: Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib of Morocco, who was his first Shaykh and who made him his Muqaddem (representative), and Shaykh Muhammad al-Fayturi Hamudah. After returning to Europe from Morocco, he was ordered to Benghazi, Libya, by Shaykh al-Fayturi, who was a direct inheritor from Shaykh Mustafa al-Alawi. There he was put into Khalwa (retreat). Some time after this, Abdalqadir as-Sufi announced his leadership of the Darqawa.

In this initial period he oversaw an important set of translations of Islamic texts for the first time in English, including Malik ibn Anas's "al-Muwatta", Qadi Iyad's "ash-Shifa", as well as the Diwans of his two Shaykhs and Ahmad ibn 'Ajiba's "Basic Research".

Teaching

Abdalqadir as-Sufi advocates adherence to the original legal school of Islam, the Amal of Ahl-ul-Madinah [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/ Aisha Bewley's Islamic Home Page] ] as recorded by Malik ibn Anas, since, as discussed at length in his seminal work "Root Islamic Education" [ [http://bewley.virtualave.net/Root.html Root Islamic Education] ] , he considers this the primal formulation of Islamic society and a necessity for the re-establishment of Islam in the current age. Within this he further advocates and teaches the 'Aqidah of Ash'ari and the Tasawwuf of Imam Junayd Baghdadi.

Abdalqadir has been responsible for the establishment of three mosques,
*Ihsan Mosque, Norwich, England [ [http://www.muslimsofnorwich.org.uk Ihsan Mosque, Norwich, UK] ]
*The Great Mosque of Granada [ [http://www.granadamosque.com Mosque of Granada] , Spain]
*The Jumu'a Mosque of Cape Town, South Africa.

His students are encouraged to recite the Wird [ [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/wird.html A litany of verses of the Holy Qur'an and other invocations or dhikr that is given to a student by a Shaykh to be recited on a regular basis.] ] of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib and the instructional Qasidas from the Diwans of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib and Shaykh Muhammad al-Fayturi.

Murabitun World Movement

In the early 1980s Abdalqadir founded the Murabitun Worldwide Movement, whose aim is to work towards re-establishment of Islam in its totality. Primary emphasis is placed upon the pillar of Zakat (Islam's obligatory tax on standing wealth) which, as Abdalqadir argues, has been abolished, since being changed beyond recognition by the acceptance of the dominant, non-Islamic financial and political practices. He has argued that the restoration of Zakat necessitates a restoration of the authentic Shari'ah currency, the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham, in the weights and measures used at the time of Muhammad and recorded by Umar Ibn al-Khatab, the second Caliph of the Muslims. The other major condition of a correct Zakat, he argues, is the existence of personal rule, or Amirate, since Zakat is, by Qur'anic injunction, accepted rulings and established practice, taken by the leader, not given as a voluntary sadaqa. [Refer to the following articles on his website, [http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com/content/articles/Art035_02022005.html Ta Sin Mim - Today] , [http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com/content/articles/Art048_30102005.html A Ramadan Message to His Majesty King Abdullah] ]

His position on the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham has been expanded upon at length using the sources in the Fiqh, and formulated for modern-day application, by his student Umar Ibrahim Vadillo. [PDFlink|A fatwa on the permissibility of banking and investments in Islam by Umar Ibrahim Vadillo is available here, [http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com/content/articles/FatwaOnBanking.pdf Fatwa on Banking] |257 KiB ]

Dallas College

Abdalqadir founded Dallas College in Cape Town in 2004 as a centre for the education of Muslim leaders. [ [http://www.dallascollege.net Dallas College Website] ]

Authorship

In 2001, the Universiti Sains Malaysia conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate of Literature for his life’s writings.

The books he has written over the past 30 years include:

*"The Book of Strangers", SUNY Press 1972 ISBN 0887069916
*"The Way of Muhammad", [ [http://www.bewley.virtualave.net/Way.html The Way of Muhammad] ] an existential exposition of the pillars of Islam from the perspective of Sufism (Diwan Press, 1975, ASIN: B0000D74TC)
*"Indications From Signs", Diwan Press, June 1980, ISBN 0906512123
*"The Hundred Steps", a classic work on key steps in the path of Sufism (Portobello Press, ISBN 1874216045)
*"Qur'anic Tawhid", ISBN 9838994294
*"Letter to An African Muslim", Diwan Press, 1981, ISBN 0906512131
*"Kufr - An Islamic Critique", Diwan Press, 1982, ASIN: B0007C6U32
*"Root Islamic Education", [ [http://www.bewley.virtualave.net/Root.html Root Islamic Education] ] written on the school of the people of Madinah under the leadership of Imam Malik (Madina Press, June 1993, ISBN 1874216053)
*" The Sign of the Sword" (Norwich: Diwan Press, 1984), In which he promotes the violent overthrow of the western banking system through coordinated violence, such as bank robbery, and the execution on nuns. [See Sufism in the West By Jamal Malik, John R. Hinnells (Routledge 2006), p. 46]
*"The Return of the Khalifate", a historical work on the Ottomans, their demise and its causes and an exposition of a route to the recovery of the khalifate (Madinah Press, 1996, ISBN 1874216215)
*"The Technique of the Coup de Banque" [PDFlink| [http://66.49.205.6/books/Coupdebanque.pdf The Technique of the Coup de Banque] |336 KiB ] on the modern age since its inception in the French Revolution. (Kutubia Mayurqa, 2000, ISBN 849305156X)
*"Sultaniyya" [PDFlink| [http://66.49.205.6/books/Sultaniyya.pdf Sultaniyya] |33.7 MiB ] is a modern statement on leadership in Islam. Abdalqadir surveys Islam under the chapter headings Deen, Dawla (polity), Waqf, Trade, the Sultan — personal rule — and Tasawwuf. (Madinah Press, Cape Town, 2002, OCLC: 50875888)
*"The Time of the Bedouin" ( Bulgate Press, 2007, ISBN 0-620-37366-0 )

tudents

Some of Abdalqadir's students both past and present and notable people influenced by him include:
*Abdalhaqq Bewley
*Aisha Bewley
*Umar Ibrahim Vadillo
*Yasin Dutton
*Asadallah Yate
*Abdalhasib Castiñeira
*Shaykh Ali Laraki
*Shaykh Muhammad Qasbi, Imam of the Great Mosque of Granada
*Mawlana Muhammad Wazani
*Abdassamad Clarke
*Ahmed Thomson
*Anas Coburn
*Abdelghani Melara
*Abdullah Luongo
*Abdus Samad Nana
*Fazlin Khalid [ [http://www.ifees.org.uk Fazlin Khalid] ]
*Abdalbasir Ojembarrena
*Ali Azzali
*Hamza Yusuf

Translations undertaken by his students

* "The Noble Qur'an: a New Rendering of its Meanings in English", by Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley (Bookwork, Norwich, UK, ISBN 1-874216-36-3)
* "The Muwatta of Imam Malik" [ [http://www.bewley.virtualave.net/muwcont.html The Muwatta of Imam Malik] ] translated by Aisha Bewley and Ya'qub Johnson (Bookwork, Norwich, UK, 2001, ISBN 0906512174, ISBN 0710303610)
* "Ash-Shifa by Qadi Iyad" (published as "Muhammad – Messenger of Allah") translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, 1992, ISBN 1 874 216 262)
* The Letters of Shaykh Moulay Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (published as "The Darqawi Way") translated by Aisha Bewley (Diwan Press Norwich, UK, 1980, ISBN 0906512069).
* "The Foundations of Islam" [PDFlink| [http://66.49.205.6/books/Foundations.pdf The Foundations of Islam ] |715 KiB ] by Qadi 'Iyad. (ISBN 979-95486-3-2)
*"The Seals Of Wisdom" [ [http://bewley.virtualave.net/fusus.html The Seals Of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam)] ] by Muhyiddin ibn al-Arabi translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, Cape Town 2005, ISBN 09-651209-3)
*"Sufis and Sufism: A Defence" [This rebuttal by two prominent ulema of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes was written in response to the slander against Sayyid Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki in a book called Kitab al-Hiwar,] by Shaykh 'Abdu'l-Hayy al-'Amrawi and Shaykh Abdu'l-Karim Murad translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, Cape Town 2004, ISBN 0-620-31920-8)
*"A Madinan View: on the Sunnah, courtesy, wisdom, battles and history" by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani translated by Abdassamad Clarke (Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd, London 1999, ISBN 1-897940-84-X)

Chain of transmission

Gallery

Notes

References

*"The Collected Works" by Ian Dallas, Budgate Press, 2005, ISBN 0-620-34379-6
* [http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com Website of Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi]

External links

* [http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com/content/index.html Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi's Official Website]
* [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/saq.html The Recovery of True Islamic Fiqh: An introduction to the work of Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi by Abdalhaqq Bewley]