View source for Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi

{{short description|Moroccan Sufi leader (1760–1823)}}
{{sources|date=December 2021}}
Abu Abdullah '''Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi''' ({{Langx|ar|محمد العربي الدرقاوي}}; 1760–1823) was a [[Morocco|Moroccan]] [[Sufi]] leader of the [[Shadhili]] tariqa and the author of letters concerning the [[dhikr]] he preached and instructions for daily life. He stressed noninvolvement in worldly affairs (''[[Dunya]]'') and spoke against other Sufi orders exploiting claims of ''[[barakah]]'' (blessings).<ref>''E. J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936'', Volume 2, p. 946</ref> He was imprisoned by the [[Morocco|Moroccan]] ruler [[Slimane of Morocco|Mulay Slimane]] (r. 1792–1822) for supporting revolts against the throne, but was released by [[Abderrahmane of Morocco|Abderrahmane]] (r. 1822–1859). 

A branch of the Shadhili order, the [[Darqawa]], was organized around his teachings after his death, with members coming from a wide range of social groups. Though the Darqawa was once the most important ''[[tariqah]]'' in [[Morocco]], its power waned as it spread throughout North Africa.<ref>John Esposito, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', Oxford University Press 2003</ref>
His tomb is in the [[Zawiya (institution)|Zawiya]] Bou Brih also in the [[Rif]].

==His Letters==
Almost all of the letters concern the method based on the central techniques of invocation or [[dhikr]], not usually discussed openly by [[Sufi]] masters.<ref>Bewley, Aisha. ''The Darqawi Way''. Tran. Mawlay al-Arabi ad-Darqawi: ''Letters from the Shaykh to the fuqara''. Norwich: Diwan Press, 1981</ref> The letters were compiled by al-`Arabi al-Darqawi himself, copied by his disciples and printed many times in [[Fes, Morocco|Fez]], in [[lithograph]]ed script. [[Titus Burckhardt]] has made this translation on the basis of two nineteenth-century manuscripts as well as the [[lithograph]]ed edition.

==See also==
* [[Ahmad ibn Ajiba]]
* [[Muhammad al-Yaqoubi|Muhammad Abul-Huda al-Yaqoubi]]

==References==
<references/>
* Al 'Arbi Al Darqawi, ''Majmu'at Rasa'il'' (Letters from Al Darqawi to his disciples), [[Casablanca]], 1999
* ''The Darqawi Way'' (The Letters of Al-Arabi al-Darqawi translated by Aisha Bewley), Diwan Press, Norwich UK, 1980, {{ISBN|0-906512-06-9}}
* ''Letters of a Sufi Master, The Shaykh ad-Darqawi, Shaykh al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi'', Translated by [[Titus Burckhardt]], Preface by Martin Lings, Fons Vitae (1998) {{ISBN|1-887752-16-1}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|Islam|Morocco}}
{{Sufi}}
{{Ash'ari}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Darqawi, Muhammad Al-Arabi}}

[[Category:Sunni Sufis]]
[[Category:Darqawi]]
[[Category:Shadhili order]]
[[Category:Founders of Sufi orders]]
[[Category:Asharis]]
[[Category:Sunni imams]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Moroccan Sufi writers]]
[[Category:Moroccan letter writers]]
[[Category:Moroccan religious leaders]]
[[Category:Religious leaders from Fez, Morocco]]
[[Category:18th-century Moroccan writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Moroccan people]]
[[Category:1760 births]]
[[Category:1823 deaths]]