poem 2 Sheekhi Imaamu aḻ-Ghazaali—O Sheikh Imam al-Ghazālī

Introduction

This poem is entirely devoted to Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al- Ghazālī (c. 1058–1111), the great theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic who brought orthodox Islam in conversation with Sufism and wrote over seventy books. Abastide hails him as “her sheikh,” whom she loves above all others, and asks for his intercession (stanzas 1 and 11–12). She also gives some details about the miraculous events that marked his life and death (stanzas 18–19 and 30–32). The poem reveals the wide range of Abastide’s reading, which goes well beyond what we could expect of a woman living in a small port-city of East Africa. She mentions and praises three works by al-Ghazālī, the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn (passim), the Bidāyat al-Hidāyah (stanza 13), and the Minhāj al-ʿĀbidīn (stanza 18). She also mentions that she studied al-Durar al-Bahiyyah, a book on fiqh written by Sayyid Abū Bakr b. Muḥammad Shaṭṭā al-Dimyāṭī (stanza 10), and refers to al-Sanūsī as a scholar who helped her understand the Oneness of God (stanza 9).1 The poet thanks God for guiding her onto the path of Sufism and implores Him and al-Ghazālī to fulfill her aspiration to be counted among the Sufis (stanzas 8 and 44). She advises her audience not to oppose or belittle religious scholars, but to benefit from their ʿilm without imitating any objectionable behaviour (stanzas 40–43). Whether she herself ever encountered criticism from people who may have resented the exhortations of the ulama is unknown, but this could be the context for her reference to wrongdoers bestowing curses on her (stanzas 48–50). It is also in this poem that we find the strongest expression of praise for ʿilm, the “inner eyes” that allow human beings to avoid errors, save them from perdi- tion, and benefit them even when they enter the grave at their death (stanzas 24–28). Abastide makes a clear distinction between ʿilm that is useful, such as that found in the works of al-Ghazālī, and false and irrelevant knowledge, such

1 This is the fifteenth-century ʿālim Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Sanūsī (died 1489), author of the theological treatise Umm al-Barāhīn.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/9789004365957_061 o sheikh imam al-ghazālī 769 as the science of divination (stanzas 28–29). As for herself, she regards the ʿilm she has acquired from al-Ghazālī as “the rope” that ties her firmly to her Sheikh and will help her overcome her enemies and reach Paradise (stanzas 45–48).

Metre: The poem consists of fifty stanzas, each formed of four hemistichs of eight syllables, with rhyme in the utenzi metre.

Sources: M.10.17, T.2.2.