Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Jazūlī’s Islamic Thought

Theological Thought and Preaching to the People

Abstract

Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Jazūlī (d. 869/1465) is a prominent Sufi in 15th century Morocco. Contemporary sources on al-Jazūlī are scarce, and previous studies have depicted him based only on biographical accounts written more than two centuries after his death. Researchers have claimed that he was influenced by Shiite thought or that he was a leader of the jihad against Portugal, without referring to his multiple works. Although recent studies have reconsidered some aspects of his character, the examination of al-Jazūlī’s writings is still insufficient. In this study, I aim to shed light on his being a theologian, an aspect which has been neglected until now, and then reconstruct his personality through an examination of his theological works. First, by comparing his understanding of God’s attributes in Taʾlīf fī al-tawḥīd and ʿAqīda fī al-tawḥīd with that of Umm al-barāhīn by al-Sanūsī (d. 895/1490), a representative theologian of the Ashʿarī school of the same period, I show that al-Jazūlī’s theological thought was not influenced by Shiite thought and that he was a follower of the Ashʿarī school, which was the Sunnite majority in the Maghrib. Next, from the descriptions of ʿAqīda al-walī al-ṣāliḥ Sīdī Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Jazūlī, it becomes clear that, while al-Jazūlī’s writings do not show hostility towards Christians and any intention to lead a jihad as alleged by previous studies, he thought the decadence of Islam in Moroccan society at that time was a grave problem and thus tried to provide basic Islamic education for the people to improve the situation. His enthusiasm for preaching the people is vital in clarifying the formation process and activities of the Jazūlite Sufi Order after the 16th century.