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(1200?-1276) Is THE STORY OF EL-SAYYID AHMAD EL-BADAWI WITH FATMA Hasan U. El-Shamy Indiana University El-Sayyid Ahmad El-Badawi (1200?-1276) is one of the most powerful saints in Egypt, with a cult that comprises large segments of the Egyptian population as well as people outside ~gypt.~This cult derives much of its power from Sufi (mystic) philosophy and rituals, which lead to ecstatic experiences and rhetorical poetic expressions. Of all the saints venerated in Egypt, and particularly the axes or arch-saints who support the earth, Ahmad is the only one whose deeds are ~ecountedin three major traditional poems which may be called epics.3 Writings which date back to the lhth and 15th centuries record the life history of El-Sayyid Ahmad ~l-~adawi.' These sources authored mainly by his followers, trace the geneology of Ahmad through twenty-seven links to 'Aali Ibn Abi Talib, a paternal cousin of Prophet Mohammad and the fourth Caliph. The title "El- Sayyid" denotes this kinship to the prophet's family. Like many nomads, especi- ally Berbers in North Africa, Ahmad wore a veil which allowed only the area around his eyes to be seen. The title "El-Badawi" refers to this characteristic After the assasination of Aali by the Kharijite rebels, and the defeat of his followers (the 'Aalawites) by the Omayyads, many members of Ahmad's family fled to remote areas to avoid persecution. A branch of the family resided in North Africa, where its members intermarried with local Berber groups. Ahmad was born in the town of Fez in the year 1200 A.D. (597 A.H.). He was the sixth child in his family; two older brothers and three (sometimes four) sisters of Ahmad are usually mentioned. He wore the red Sufi mantle in his childhood, red being the characteristic color for Ahmad's followers. When Ahmad was seven his father decided to move back to Mecca. On their way the family stopped in Egypt, where they stayed from three to five years. In Mecca Ahmad led a life of chivalry at first; that phase of his life was characterized by courage and piety. He therefore earned the title of "al-'~aftab," i.e., the one who causes damage to the enemy. Ahmad refused to marry and rebuked his older brother Hasan (who became the head of the family after the death of their father and middle brother) for his suggestion that he should do so. Following this early phase Ahmad turned to austere living and worshipped in solitude in a cabe outside Mecca. About the year 1237, Ahmad persuaded his brother Hasan, also a Sufi, to accompany him to Iraq where two major Sufis had founded philosophical schools of mysticism and impressive organized brotherhoods. These were Ahmad al-Rifa'Ai (d.1175 A.D.) and 'Aabdul-Qadir a1 Jeelani (d.1166). The two brothers toured Iraq. In the north they were received in a hostile manner by rugged Kurdish mountain tribesmen. Some written sources cite his battle with Fatma Bint-Birry in the context of describing this trip.5 The brothers returned to southern Iraq where Hasan, the older brother, decided to return to his family in Mecca while the younger Ahmad decided to return to the north; however, Ahmad did return to Mecca soon afterwards, in the year 1238. Ahmad's life, according to these sources, was motivated by manams, i.e. instructive dreams of a religious nature. A manamadvised his mother of his birth and future greatness; another instructed his father to move to Mecca, while a third urged Ahmad to travel to Iraq. A short while after his return to Mecca, Ahmad received through another mrninstructions to travel tokdata, a small village in the Nile Delta in Egypt. He obeyed the instructions and left Mecca, taking with him the book of his genealogy and another book of "stories." His trip to Egypt started in the year 1238, the same year he returned from Iraq. Ahmad arrived at Tandafa about a year later, where he headed directly to a specific house where he was well received. Ahmad resided on the top of the house,where he met with his early followers. This group of early Sufis was referred to as"Sutuhiyyah," i.e., the "House-Toppers," a title for one of the brotherhoods which is organized around Ahmad's person and teachings. The reports of Ahmad's karamit (miraculous manifestations) are numerous. Even after his death, he has been continuously reported to have performed outstanding supernatural deeds. According to these accounts, which are esoteric in nature, both Ahmad and his family were motivated by man&. In contrast to this viewpoint, a contemporary Egyptian historian, SdAeed '~xshour,reviewed Ahmad El-Badawi's life history from an objective perspective.6 In a bold and painstaking analysis, 'Aashur correlated the movements of Ahmad's family from North Africa to Hejaz with political and religious changes. The new conditions would have affected the family adversely. 'Aashour also pointed out that Ahmad's trip to Iraq influenced him in two basic ways: it filled him with admiration for the Sufi cult of al-Rifa'Ai, which made him aspire to a similar status, and it led him to realize that it was impossible for him to occupy any place of prominence in Iraq. His trip took place only twenty years before the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols, a period which was characterized by confusion, decadance, and an ugly sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shiite Moslems. Moreover, Iraq already had its Sufi masters (agtab, i.e., axes). Ahmad could only be a follower. His trip to northern Iraq, where heas confronted by hostile Kurdish mountain tribesmen, strengthened his conviction that if he were to have his own way, it had to be elsewhere. 'Aashour suggests, among other possibilities, that young Ahmad's stay in the Nile Delta during his trip through Egypt must have made a strong impression on him. This explains his heading to Tandata and to a specific house there. Sha'Aban argues convincingly that Ahmad chose this location for a number of well calculated reasons: its central position as a crossroads to populated areas; the docile nature of its peasant population; its relative isolation from the seat of political power, which might have stifled his organization before it grew; and the fact that there were no prominent saints in the area. In this strategic location Ahmad's cult was born; it grew and spread to become one of the most powerful cults in Egypt, if not in the entire Middle Eastern area. Ahmad seems not to have left Tandata or the top of the house where he stayed until his death in August 1276. 'Aashour attributes the "fabrication and propagation of Ahmad's miraculous manifesta- tions" to a group of "beneficiarie~."~These followers gained vast political, religious, social and above all, economic power from maintaining the cult and enhancing its causes. Transformation of Character Scholars of various persuasions agree that saints' cults in Egypt date back to ancient times.9 The transition from an ancient polytheistic religion to Christianity and then to Islam did not radically alter the basic religious beliefs and practices of the native Egyptian peasant. The present versified story of El-Sayyid Ahmad El-Badawi is a strong proof for this argument. The majority of Egyptians, especially in rural areas, live according to three separate temporal systems. The oldestof these is the ancient solar system known as the Coptic Calendar, which is used exclusively in agricultural and related activities.1° The second is the more recent lunar system, which begins with the year of prophet Mohammad's Hegira (flight) from Mecca in the year 622 A.D., was introduced with Islam during the first half of the 7th century A.D. (first century A.H.). The third and most recent system is the European Christian solar calendar, which was introduced only during the French Campaign (1798-1801). Currently, Egyptian folk groups reckon ancient agricultural occasions according to the Coptic, Islamic religious occasions according to the Islamic, and governmental formal occasions according to the European Christian system. It has been observed tha celebrating Ahmad's birt- Grpllid) is linked only to the agricultural calendar. I Ahmad's festivals are generweld around theirst half of October (after the cotton harvest) and around April (aft- wheat and bean harvest) ; a third and lesser festival is held on 17 or 18 January but seems to have diminished. A number of scholars consider a belief in trees, wells, and animals to be a survival from ancient religious systems .I2 The effect of ancient religious beliefs , however, seems to have been much greater than merely isolated concepts, practices, and calendar festivals. We may propose here that in Tandata the cult of Ahmad El-Badawi was transformed from that of a Sufi fakir to a cult of an Ancient Egyptian deity. This transformation involved Ahmad's physical appearance and functions, as well as his overall character. Early sources describe Ahmad as follows: "He was thick legged, long armed, large faced, black eyed, tall, wheat colored [i.e., coppertone skin]. There were three smallpox marks on his face, one on his right cheek and two on the left. His nose was aquiline. It had two moles on it--one on each side; each [mole] was smaller than a lintile seed. Between his eyes was a razor-blade wound caused by the son of his brother al-Husayn . while he was in Mecca and still young . ."I3 Another source describes Ahmad as having "thin skin, straight slender flesh and a lean body.
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