Abd al-Ramn b. Muammad al-Fs al-Fihr (d.1036 I.E.

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Sd Abd al-Raman was born on Sunday 19th Muarram 972 I.E. in al-Qar al-Kabr1. His father died when he was still being weaned from his mother. He was raised in the home of his elder brother Sd Yusf. He entered the Qurnic School with his cousin Ab alAbbs Amad and they both studied the basics of Islamic Law and Grammar at an early age alongside their memorisation of the Holy Quran. In 968 I.E., his brother Sd Yusf sent both boys to Fez to study under the scholars of their time. They both benefited hugely from their time there. Sd Abd al-Raman never left the side of a scholar named al-Qar until he was given a general permission to teach all the sciences he had studied under him. His teacher used to speak of him highly. He also studied many disciplines with his elder brother Sd Yusf such as Qurnic exegesis, Prophetic Traditions and Sufism. Sd Yusf opened up his brothers soul to the inner realties and connected him to his Lord. After he had tasted the fruits of the path, he gave up his time to the study of Sufism alone. He was a true erudite having mastered grammar, language, jurisprudence and its principles, theology, logic and much more. He was known to say, When reading the book of Bukhr, Muslim or Muwaa, I have no need to refer to any other source but Qd Iys Mashriq al-Anwr (a book used to clarify vague and rare words in hadth literature). As far as the meaning of any of the prophetic traditions, I have need of no-one. He spent all his time in Fez teaching the exegesis of Quran and the sound books of prophetic traditions. Muammad b. Abd Allh would read aloud the book in his lessons. Then after he had passed away, his brothers grandson Abd al-Qdir al-Fs2 took over the responsibility. He produced many beneficial works such as his commentary on Jallayn, Bukhr, Sansiyyah, al-Mukhtaar of Khall, Dalil al-Khayrt, al-izb al-Kabr of Imm ashShdhil, and Srah al-Ftiah. When he was young he met Sd Abd al-Ramn al-Majdb and he sat him on his thigh and fed him a piece of meat. He also took from Sid Riwn al-Jinw.3 He was the one to inherit the teachings of his brother as testified to by Sd Muammad b. Abd Allh. He
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A city in the central-north of Morocco still present today Abd al-Qdir al-Fs (d. 1091) One of the greatest scholars of his time. Born and raised in al-Qar al-Kabir, he studied Qurn, Arabic, Law and the Science of Prophetic Tradition with his father at a very young age. Later on he moved to Fez and stayed in the Madrasha Mibiyyah facing the Qarawiyyn where he was to study for years to come with some of the greatest scholars of his time such as the famed Abd al-Wid ibn shir. After his studies he set off to return back to his home city but soon on the road he was robbed by thieves. When he returned, his uncle told him that this was a sign that he should stay in Fez. From then on, students from all over Morocco would come to sit at his feet and take from his knowledge. He was a man of great abstinence. He refused to accept the gifts of people and he made his living writing out copies of Sai al-Bukhr and selling them to the people. He took the order from his great uncle Abd arRamn but when he passed away he took from his successor Muammad b. Abd Allh. He is most wellknown for his answers to various questions related to Islamic Law (al-Asilah a-ughr wa al-Kubr) He is buried in the zwiyah and mosque where he used to teach in the Raf District of Fez.

was called the Junayd of his time by other scholars. He was the first to establish the recitation of Quran after the Sub and Maghrib prayers on 29th Raman 1015 I.E. in the mosque adjacent to his house in the Qalqaliyyn District. Then in 1017 I.E., his zwiyah was built where Sd Abd al-Qdir is buried today, which the Sultan Moulay Ishml later had restored and extended. One day a man stood up in his presence whilst he was relating stories of the righteous and said, Sd, where are they today? He replied back, O my boy, here I am, one of them. God all-mighty said: and you see them looking towards you yet they do not see4 Some of his sayings: If some of our mysteries were shown to creation, there would not be enough room for them in these lands and the earth would become confined by the on pour of the Divine knowledge. The Faqr is like musk; the more you try to cover him up the more fragrance he produces. I see the Prophet a wake and in my sleep. Between here and Tunisia there is no one like us. His teacher Sd Yusf said about him: If it werent for the fact that he had his spiritual mentors (behind him) he would be of those who urinates down his legs (i.e. he wouldnt be able to control himself due to the powerful states that would come to him) He passed away on a Wednesday night, the 17th of Rab al-Awwal 1036 I.E. at the age of sixty-four. He is buried in front of the door of his brothers shrine.

Sd Riwn al-Jinw (d. 991 I.E.) He is originally from Jinwah, Spain. His father, who was a Christian, accepted Islm and then migrated to Morocco. There he married a Jewish woman who had converted to Islm. He used to say, I came from between filth and blood, pure milk, sweet to drinkers (Qurn: 16/66). He was born in Fez and memorized the Book of God and studied knowledge in both Fez and Marrakesh. He kept the company of Sd Abd Allh al-Ghazwn (the successor to Sd Tubb, who was the successor to Imm al-Jazl) in Fez. When his teacher moved to Marrakesh he yearned to be by his side and so moved when he was old enough to be with him. After his teachers death he took from his successor Sd Muammad a-lib, Sd Amad Zarrq, Sd Muammad ash-Shuayb from the region of Ban Zarwl, and Sd Muammad b. Al al-Kharb from Algeria. After taking from these masters, he took up the mantle of teaching disciples himself. He was known for his incessant weeping. One of his teachers of the Islamic sciences used to call him Riwn the Weeper. He is buried in the graveyard outside the Gate al-Fut where there is a shrine over his grave. 4 Qurn: 7/197