Wednesday, March 29, 2023

ʿAbd al-Rahman ʿIllaysh

 

A contact in Egypt has found this photograph of ʿAbd al-Rahman ʿIllaysh (1840–1921), the Sufi and expert on Muhyiddin ibn ʿArabi who taught Ivan Aguéli much of what he knew about Sufism. Since Guénon took his initial understanding of Sufism, and probably also of the relationship between the esoteric and the exoteric, from Aguéli, the ultimate global impact of ʿAbd al-Rahman ʿIllaysh was considerable. Good to see what he looked like.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interessting.

Martin van Bruinessen said...

The name is so familiar ... I don't have my notes at hand, but perhaps you have also looked into his teachers and (born) Muslim disciples? Did `Illaysh or any of his disciples write any major works?
Martin van Bruinessen

Mark Sedgwick said...

ʿAbd al-Rahman ʿIllaysh was the son of Muḥammad ʿIllaysh (1802-1882), Maliki mufti, Sufi, author of Fatḥ al-ʿalī ’l-mālik fi’l-fatwā ʿalā madhhab al-Imām Mālik. See entry by Fred De Jong in EI2.