Abdalqadir as-Sufi

Abdalqadir as-Sufi
Abdalqadir as-Sufi
Born	Ian Dallas 1930 (age 85–86) Ayr, Scotland
Occupation	Shaykh of Instruction
Title	Shaykh
Religion	Islam (Sufism)
Website	shaykhabdalqadir.com

Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Dallas in Ayr, Scotland in 1930) is a Shaykh of Instruction, leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa, founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam, Sufism (Tasawwuf) and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he accepted Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Masjid al-Qarawiyyin (Qarawiyyin Mosque) in Fes, Morocco.^[1]

Abdalqadir as-Sufi has worked in spreading Islam since that time and has students in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. He continues to write. Among his latest publications are The Book of Tawhid, The Book of Hubb, The Book of 'Amal and The Book of Safar, and as Ian Dallas Ian Dallas Collected Works, The Time of the Bedouin – on the politics of power, Political Renewal and The Interim is Mine. His commentary on current events and issues affecting Muslims in different parts of the world can be found on his website.

Early life

In 1930 Ian Dallas was born in Scotland of a Highland family. Educated at Ayr Academy, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the University of London, where he was tutored in Elizabethan social history by Muriel St Clare Byrne. On leaving RADA he wrote his first play, A Masque of Summer, which was presented at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre. His second play was first presented at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and then at RADA's Vanburgh Theatre with Albert Finney in the lead. This led to a BBC TV presentation with Peter Cushing and Mary Morris. Contracted to BBC TV Drama, there followed a series of plays and dramatisations. His adaptation of Conrad's Secret Agent starred Sir Alan Bates, and that of O'Neill's Strange Interlude starred Diane Cilento. With Constance Cox he initiated the first BBC TV classical series with Jane Eyre and Vanity Fair. His original plays on TV included Statue of David with Jill Bennet and Light from a Star with Isa Miranda. After this he travelled extensively in Greece, France and Italy.^[2] In 1963 he acted in Federico Fellini's film 8½ as "Il partner della telepata".^[3]

Conversion

As-Sufi converted to Islam in 1967 in Fes, Morocco as Abdalqadir, witnessed by Abdalkarim Daudi, the Imam Khatib of the Qarawiyyin Mosque, and Alal al-Fasi. He then joined the Darqawi order as a student of Muhammad ibn al-Habib,.^[4] He travelled Morocco and Algeria with his Shaykh and was further instructed in Sufism by Sidi Hamud ibn al-Bashir of Blida and Sidi Fudul al-Huwari as-Sufi of Fes.^[2]

Teaching

Abdalqadir as-Sufi advocates adherence to the original legal school of Islam, the tradition of the people of Medina^[5] as recorded by Malik ibn Anas, since, as discussed at length in his seminal work Root Islamic Education,^[6] he considers this the primal formulation of Islamic society and a necessity for the re-establishment of Islam in the current age. Within this he further advocates and teaches the theology of the Ash'arites and the Tasawwuf of Imam Junayd Baghdadi.

Abdalqadir has been responsible for the establishment of three mosques,

• Ihsan Mosque, Norwich, England^[7]
• The Great Mosque of Granada^[8]
• The Jumu'a Mosque of Cape Town^[9]

Abdalqadir as-Sufi teaches that suicide-terrorism is forbidden under Islamic law, that its psychological pattern stems from Nihilism,^[10] and that it "draws attention away from the fact that capitalism has failed." He has stated that Britain is on "the edge of terminal decline" and that only Britain's Muslim population can "revitalise this ancient realm".^[11] He has written extensively on the importance of monarchy and personal rule.^[12] He also regards the face-veil (or Niqab) of Muslim women as unislamic,^[13] describing it as an "evil hinduisation of women,"^[14] which as-Sufi views as contrary to the position of any Maliki jurist (past and present) and contrary to any of the other three schools of jurisprudence. This position whilst may challenge traditional immigrant Muslims in Europe, deeply reflects the importance of Urf, the categorisation in Maliki Fiqh that respects and forms rulings based on cultural practises and norms of the land, as a prerequisite for effective Dawah.

In 2006, he issued a fatwa, following a visit and speech given by then Pope Benedict XVI in Germany. In his Fatwa Concerning the Deliberations of Pope Benedict XVI in Germany, he stated that "in my opinion, Pope Benedict XVI is guilty of insulting the Messenger of Allah".^[15] He was an early mentor of American Sufi scholar, Hamza Yusuf.^[16]

Murabitun World Movement

In the early 1980s Abdalqadir founded the Murabitun World Movement, whose aim is to work towards re-establishment of Islam in its totality. Primary emphasis is placed upon the pillar of Zakat (Islam's obligatory tax on standing wealth) which, as Abdalqadir argues, has been abolished, since being changed beyond recognition by the acceptance of the dominant, non-Islamic financial and political practices. He had argued that the restoration of Zakat necessitates a restoration of the authentic Shari'ah currency, the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham, in the weights and measures used at the time of Muhammad and recorded by Umar Ibn al-Khatab, the second Caliph of the Muslims, but in February 2014 he distanced himself from the dinar and dirham movement, saying, "So, I now dis-associate myself from all activity involving the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham".^[17] The other major condition of a correct Zakat, he argues, is the existence of personal rule, or Amirate, since Zakat is, by Qur'anic injunction, accepted rulings and established practice, taken by the leader, not given as a voluntary sadaqa.^[18]

Controversies

The Daily Telegraph has written that Abdalqadir believes that the Islamic world will conquer the "Jewish dominated" West with a hardline interpretation of Islamic law. Controversial beliefs he is alleged to hold include the claim that movies and football "degrade the proletariat", advocating a Middle Eastern-style monarchical rule in Britain supported by a moral body of Muslims, and his belief in various conspiracy theories that the U.S. and Western government have staged terrorist acts in order to blame Muslims deflect from the "failure of capitalism".^[19]

Dallas College

Abdalqadir founded Dallas College in Cape Town in 2004 as a centre for the education of Muslim leaders.

The College deals primarily with language, geopolitics, technology and jurisprudence. It involves 'being-in-the-world' in the broadest sense, meaning the understanding of the event of the creation itself in which we are taking part.

Authorship

In 2001, the Universiti Sains Malaysia conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate of Literature for his life's writings.

The books he has written over the past 30 years include:

• The Book of Strangers, (State Univ of New York Press, 1972, ISBN 978-0-88706-990-1)
• The Way of Muhammad,^[20] an existential exposition of the pillars of Islam from the perspective of Sufism (Diwan Press, 1975, OCLC 16373203)
• Indications From Signs, (Diwan Press, June 1980, ISBN 978-0-906512-12-8)
• The Hundred Steps, a classic work on key steps in the path of Sufism (Portobello Press, ISBN 978-1-874216-04-9)
• Qur'anic Tawhid, (Diwan Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0-906512-14-2)
• Letter to An African Muslim, (Diwan Press, 1981, ISBN 0-906512-13-1)
• Kufr – An Islamic Critique, (Diwan Press, 1982, ASIN: B0007C6U32)
• Root Islamic Education,^[21] written on the school of the people of Madinah under the leadership of Imam Malik (Madinah Press, June 1993, ISBN 978-1-874216-05-6)
• Oedipus and Dionysus (Freiburg Verlag, 1992, ISBN 1-874216-02-9)
• The Sign of the Sword, an examination on the judgements on jihād in the light of classical works of fiqh, particularly al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyyah of Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi, relating it to the contemporary situation and the global dominance of world banking and usury finance. (Diwan Press, 1984, ISBN 978-1-871207-26-2)
• The Return of the Khalifate, a historical work on the Ottomans, their demise and its causes and an exposition of a route to the recovery of the khalifate (Madinah Press, 1996, ISBN 978-1-874216-21-6)
• The Technique of the Coup de Banque^[22] on the modern age since its inception in the French Revolution. (Kutubia Mayurqa, 2000, ISBN 84-930515-6-X)
• The New Wagnerian (Budgate Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-620-46755-1)
• Letter to an Arab Muslim (Editorial Kutubia Mayorqa, 2001, ISBN 84-930515-9-4)
• Sultaniyya^[23] is a modern statement on leadership in Islam. Abdalqadir surveys Islam under the chapter headings Deen, Dawla (polity), Waqf, Trade, the Sultan – personal rule – and Tasawwuf. (Madinah Press, Cape Town, 2002, OCLC: 50875888)
• Commentary on Surat al-Waqi’a (Madinah Press, 2004, ISBN 0-620-31921-6)
• Collected Works (Budgate Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-620-34379-4)
• The Book of Tawhid (Madinah Press, 2006, ISBN 0-620-36126-3)
• The Time of the Bedouin (Budgate Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0620465120)
• The Book of Hubb (Madinah Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-620-39911-1)
• The Book of 'Amal (Madinah Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-620-40463-1)
• The Book of Safar (Madinah Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-620-44110-0)
• Political Renewal (The End of the Political Class/The House of Commons and Monarchy) (Budgate Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-620-44573-3)
• The Muslim Prince (Madinah Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-620-43455-3)
• The Interim is Mine (Budgate Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0620486187)
• Three Plays (Budgate Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-620-469463)
• Ten Symphonies of Gorka König (Budgate Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0620465137)
• Discourses (Madinah Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0620469302)
• The Engines of the Broken World (Budgate Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0620532501)
• Commentaries (Madinah Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0620523820)

Students

Some of Abdalqadir's students both past and present and notable people influenced by him include:

• Ahmad Thomson
• Umar Vadillo

Translations undertaken by his students

• The Noble Qur'an: a New Rendering of its Meanings in English, by Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley (Bookwork, Norwich, UK, ISBN 1-874216-36-3)
• The Muwatta of Imam Malik ^[24] translated by Aisha Bewley and Ya'qub Johnson (Bookwork, Norwich, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-906512-17-4, ISBN 0-7103-0361-0)
• Ash-Shifa by Qadi Iyad (published as Muhammad – Messenger of Allah) translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, 1992, ISBN 978-1-874216-00-1)
• The Letters of Shaykh Moulay Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (published as The Darqawi Way) translated by Aisha Bewley (Diwan Press Norwich, UK, 1980, ISBN 0-906512-06-9).
• The Foundations of Islam^[25] by Qadi 'Iyad. (ISBN 979-95486-3-2)
• The Seals of Wisdom^[26] by Muhyiddin ibn al-Arabi translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, Cape Town 2005, ISBN 978-0-9651209-3-7)
• Sufis and Sufism: A Defence^[27] by 'Abdu'l-Hayy al-'Amrawi and Abdu'l-Karim Murad translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, Cape Town 2004, ISBN 0-620-31920-8)
• A Madinan View: on the Sunnah, courtesy, wisdom, battles and history by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani translated by Abdassamad Clarke (Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd, London 1999, ISBN 1-897940-84-X)

Gallery

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Notes

1. Henderson, Barney (20 February 2010). "Radical Muslim leader has past in swinging London". Telegraph. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
2. From 'The Collected Works' by Ian Dallas
3. IMDB Filmography
4. "Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib al-Filâlî". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 8 November 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
5. "Aisha Bewley's Islamic Home Page". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
6. "Root Islamic Education". Bewley.virtualave.net. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
7. "Ihsan Mosque, Norwich, UK". Muslimsofnorwich.org.uk. 9 March 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
8. The Great Mosque of Granada, Spain
9. The Jumu'a Mosque of Cape Town, South Africa
10. Fatwa on Suicide as a Tactic, [Madinah Press] 2004.
11. Radical Muslim leader has past in swinging London, The Telegraph 21 February 2010.
12. Political Renewal, [Budgate Press] 2009.
13. "Lifting the Veil on the Veil Issue By Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi". Shaykhabdalqadir.com. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
14. "The End of an Age by Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi". Shaykhabdalqadir.com. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
16. Grewal, Zareena "Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority" December 2013
17. "THE ISLAMIC DINAR – A WAY-STAGE PASSED" Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi
18. Refer to the following articles on his website, Ta Sin Mim – Today, A Ramadan Message to His Majesty King Abdullah
19. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/7271752/Radical-Muslim-leader-has-past-in-swinging-London.html
20. "The Way of Muhammad". Bewley.virtualave.net. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
21. "Root Islamic Education". Bewley.virtualave.net. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
22. The Technique of the Coup de Banque PDF (336 KB)
23. Sultaniyya PDF (33.7 MB)
24. "The Muwatta of Imam Malik". Bewley.virtualave.net. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
25. The Foundations of Islam  PDF (715 KB)
26. "The Seals of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam)". Bewley.virtualave.net. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
27. This rebuttal by two prominent ulema of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes was written in response to the slander against Sayyid Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki in a book called Kitab al-Hiwar,

References

• The Collected Works by Ian Dallas, Budgate Press, 2005, ISBN 0-620-34379-6

External links

• Abdalqadir as-Sufi's Official Website
• Dallas College