The Chapters of Mary & Taha

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The Chapters of Mary & Taha : New,
'Surah Maryam & Surah Ta Ha'
from al-Bahr al-Madid fi Tafsir al-Qur'an,
[A5] Paperback - 239 pages,
by Ahmad ibn Ajiba [d.1224h]
Translation & Annotation ~
by Mohamed Fouad Aresmouk &
by Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald,
Published by Fons Vitae, USA.

Description :

Surah Maryam & Surah Ta Ha from al-Bahr al-Madid.

The Chapters of Mary and Ta Ha center on the key figures of Islam’s two sister monotheisms, Mary, mother of Jesus [Isa] and Moses [Musa], peace be upon them. Shaykh Ibn ‘Ajiba’s, may Allah be pleased with him, commentaries on these two surahs give reader access not only to the traditional Islamic view of these Prophetic figures, but also on metaphors and symbols to be found in their stories that can of use to anyone following an inner path to God. The Chapter of Mary, in particular, give readers access to the story of Jesus through the perspective of the woman who was chosen to bear him. The Immense Ocean from which this is an excerpt, is a prime example of writing from the North African sufic tradition.

Al-Baḥr al-Madīd, from which this translation is an excerpt, is the only traditional Qu'ranic commentary in existence which gives both exoteric exegesis and mystical “spiritual allusion” for each verse of the Sacred Book.

Since the completion of its publication in 2002, the Arabic version of al-Baḥr al-Madīd, which existed only in manuscript form before a small excerpt was printed in the 1950s, has sold out three editions. This is a testimony both to its popularity and to a revival of interest in Sufic thought throughout the Muslim world.

This book would be of interest to anyone studying, either from a personal or academic standpoint, the mystical dimension of religion in general and Islam in particular. Because it deals with important figures from its sister monotheisms, it may also be inspiring to those who wish to engage with inter-faith dialogue but on a deeper level comparing on form to another.

Shaykh Ahmad ibn ‘Ajiba :

Ahmad ibn ‘Ajiba al-Shadhili, al-Hasani, may Allah have mercy upon him, (1747–1809) was an 18th-century Moroccan Shaykh in the Darqawa Sufi order. He was born of a Hasani sharif family in the Anjra tribe that ranges from Tangiers to Tetouan along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. As a child he developed a love of knowledge, memorising the Qur’an and studying subjects ranging from Classical Arabic grammar, religious ethics, poetry, Qur’anic recitation and tafsir.

When he reached the age of eighteen he left home and studied in Qasr al-Kabir under the supervision of Sidi Muhammad as-Susi as-Samlali. It was here that he was introduced to studies in the sciences, art, philosophy, law and Qur’anic exegesis in depth. He went to Fes to study with Ibn Suda, Bennani, and al-Warzazi, and joined the new Darqawiyya in 1208 AH (1793), of which he was the representative in the northern part of the Jbala region. He spent his entire life in and around Tetouan, and died of the plague in 1224 AH (1809). He is the author of a considerable number of works and a Fahrasa which provides interesting information concerning the intellectual center that Tetouan had become by the beginning of the 19th century.