Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi


Sidi Abdul-Rahman al-Tha'alibi was born near the town of Isser 86 km south east of Algiers. He was raised in a very spiritual environment with high Islamic values and ethics. He had great interpersonal skills and devoted his entire life in service of the most deprived, to dhikr of Allah, and to writing of over 100 books and treatises.
He has become a symbol of Algiers, which has become known as the "city of sidi Abder Rahman."

Birth and Lineage

Sidi Abdul-Rahman al-Tha'alibi was born in the year 1384 /785 in Isser in modern-day Boumerdès Province into a pious family with a lineage going back to Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. His Arab Maqillian tribe, Tha'aliba, had long governed several regions of Algeria from 1204 CE to 1515 CE. In 1378 CE, their reign had fallen into the hands of Abu Hammu II, the Sultan of the Kingdom of Tlemcen.
His full lineage is Abu Zaid Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad bin Makhlouf bin Talha bin Amer bin Noufal bin Amer bin Mussour bin Muhammad bin Saba'a bin Makki bin Thalabah bin Musa bin Saeed bin Mufaddal bin Abdul Bar bin Fisi bin Hilal bin Amer bin Hassan bin Muhammad bin Ja'far ibn Abi Talib.

Biography

When 15 years old, Sidi Abdul-Rahman, with his father Sidi Mohamed Ben Makhlouf, went to Morocco for studies where he met the Muslim scholar Sidi Mohamed Ibn Marzoug Al Adrissi. In 1392, he made another trip to Bejaia seeking knowledge where his father died. He stayed in Bejaia for 7 years studying Islamic sciences. There he learned from disciples of Abdurrahman El-Waghlissi, such as Abû al-Husayn al-Mangalâtî.
Then 24 years old, he travelled to Tunis in 1406 where he stayed for eight years. He met the sheikhs Mohammed Ibn Khalf al-Ubay and Abû al-Mahdi al-Ghabrînî who introduced him to Sufism and tafsir.
He then traveled to Cairo in 1414 where he stayed with Walî Eddîn al-'Irâqî. Then he traveled to Bursa in Turkey, where he was well received and a shrine was erected in his honour which remains an endowment for this saintly man.
He returned to Tunisia once again, where he always received a warm welcome. Here he wrote: "I noticed in those times, by the grace of God, there was no one in Tunisia who could be higher than me in the sciences of hadith. If I happened to speak, everyone listened to me attentively and accepted what I reported to them, out of modesty on their part and because they were people who knew how to recognize the truth. Some Moroccans once confessed to me: 'seeing you coming from the last of the East, by the grace of God, some saw in you the sign of tradition.' And despite that, whenever I heard of an assembly where hadith were taught, I hastened to attend. May God make this act done only to satisfy Him, and may He keep us from vanity and ostentation."
From Tunisia at the age of 32, Sidi Abdul-Rahman went to perform Hajj to Mecca, ending his initial travels in search of knowledge. After the Hajj he returned to his native Algeria after 20 years. It is said that while walking the streets of the Casbah of Algiers, he heard a young man recite verse 34:15 of the Qur'an: "...Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land , and a forgiving Lord." He said "this is a beautiful omen!" And he resolved to settle there permanently in Algiers for the rest of his life.
He was entrusted the title of Supreme Magistracy by the authorities, but he preferred to abandon all honors and devote himself to asceticism and Sufism. He said "there are signs which show that if someone's love for the prophet of God is sincere, then it is necessary for them to give up the pleasures of this low world, to choose poverty, and to live it." He also said that one night he saw a dream of the prophet Muhammad standing and offering food to the poor. He gave a large part of it to Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi and then said, "when the prophet gives food to someone, shouldn't he immediately vomit it up?" He replied, "should I vomit?" The prophet bowed down and said "this is not what I meant!" After this dream which left him perplexed, he came to understand its interpretation that he was simply commanded to "devote himself into initiating people into the path of God."
He taught in the Djamaa el Kebir mosque until he died on the Friday of 23rd of Ramadan 875 AH, the 15th of March 1479 after dedicating 95 years of his life to serve Islam and Muslims. His funeral was attended by many prominent scholars and political leaders, including Ahmad Zarruq. He was buried in Bab El Oued next to his sheikh sidi Abi Djamaa Al Maknassi in the heart of Algiers.

Zawiya

The zawiya contains his tomb, though it is a misnomer since it does not contain any Sufi order in the building. Currently the location houses the tombs of several Algerian historical figures. The first construction dates to 1611 CE and has gone through several changes and additions since, with little left of the original today. In 1696 Dey al-Hadj Ahmed al-Euldji decided to turn it into a funeral mosque. More tombs have been added over the years. Today the mausoleum is often visited by locals of Algiers, especially on Fridays and religious holidays.

Legacy

He left a legacy of more than 100 books, among which the most important was Al Jawahir Al hassān fi Tafsir Al Koran.
In his lifetime the region was split into three states whose legal schools stood out: Tunis, Tlemcen and Fez. The city of Algiers offered little in comparison in terms of religious and cultural pull. It had very few religious schools for teaching the Qur'an, hadith, and legal texts. Economically it also waned in comparison to other cities in the region. Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi's founding of the Tha'alibiyya school attracted many students from all over the world. Families moved into the surrounding area which turned into a place of religious education and training. From then on, Algiers became known as "The city of Sidi Abd al-Rahman."
He is not to be confused with Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Thalabi.

Works

His works cover nearly every aspect of the Islamic sciences.

Exegesis">tafsir">Exegesis and Qur'anic sciences (al-tafsîr wa al-qirâ'ât)

  1. The brilliant jewels in the exegesis of the Koran
  2. The stories of the Koran
  3. The precious gold in the strange verses of the noble Koran
  4. The chosen sources

    [Islamic Law] ([fiqh])

  5. The Book of Rites
  6. The great compilation
  7. The Garden of Lights
  8. The Garden of Lights and the Walk of the Righteous
  9. Commentary of Ibn Hadjeb's breviary
  10. Commentary of Ibn Khalîl's breviary.
  11. Commentary by Ibn Haroun
  12. Commentary on the main questions of Mudawwana

    [Hadith]

  13. The selected sources
  14. The Forty Hadiths of Morality
  15. Commentary on the wisdoms of Ibn Arafa

    [Sufism]

  16. Truths about Sufism
  17. The Gardens of the Pious
  18. The gardens of the company in the science of subtleties and the journey of people of truth
  19. The direction of the traveler

    Theology ([Aqida])

  20. The noble sciences in the states of the other world
  21. The Book of Dreams

    Morals (al-wa'z)

  22. The Direction for the Interest of the People
  23. The compilation of wisdoms.
  24. The book of advice

    Sira and History

  25. The lights in the signs and miracles of the chosen Prophet
  26. The summary of the stories of the nations
  27. The journey to Allah

    Arabic Language

  28. The embellishment of the brothers in the conjugation of verses from the Koran.
  29. The lexicon and its summary

    Prayers and litanies ([Dua])

  30. The precious jewel.
  31. The very precious oath
  32. The compilation of benefits.