Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi

Abdul-Rahman al-Tha'alibi was born in the year 1384 CE/785 AH in Isser in modern-day Boumerdès Province into a pious family with a lineage going back to Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. His Arab Maqillian Bedouin tribe, the Tha'aliba[2] · [3] · ,[4] had long dominated several regions of Algeria from 1204 CE to 1515 CE. In 1378 CE, their nomadic dominance had been broken up by Abu Hammu II, the Sultan of the Kingdom of Tlemcen.

His full lineage is Abu Zaid Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad bin Makhlouf bin Talha bin Amer bin Noufal bin Amer bin Mussour bin Muhammad bin Saba'a bin Makki bin Thalabah bin Musa bin Saeed bin Mufaddal bin Abdul Bar bin Fisi bin Hilal bin Amer bin Hassan bin Muhammad bin Ja'far ibn Abi Talib.

When 15 years old, Abdul-Rahman, with his father Mohamed Ben Makhlouf, went to Morocco for studies where he met the Muslim scholar Mohamed Ibn Marzoug Al Adrissi. In 1392, he made another trip to Bejaia (200 km east of Algiers) seeking knowledge where his father died. He stayed in Bejaia for 7 years studying Islamic sciences. There he learned from disciples of Abdurrahman El-Waghlissi (d. 1383 CE), such as Abû al-Husayn al-Mangalâtî.

Then 24 years old, he travelled to Tunis in 1406 where he stayed for eight years. He met the sheikhs Mohammed Ibn Khalf al-Ubay and Abû al-Mahdi al-Ghabrînî (d. 1413 CE) who introduced him to Sufism and tafsir.

He then traveled to Cairo in 1414 where he stayed with Walî Eddîn al-'Irâqî (d. 1422 CE). Then he traveled to Bursa in Turkey, where he was well received and a shrine was erected in his honour which remains an endowment for this saintly man.

He returned to Tunisia once again, where he always received a warm welcome. Here he wrote: "I noticed in those times, by the grace of God, there was no one in Tunisia who could be higher than me in the sciences of hadith ('ilm al-hadith). If I happened to speak, everyone listened to me attentively and accepted what I reported to them, out of modesty on their part and because they were people who knew how to recognize the truth. Some Moroccans once confessed to me: 'seeing you coming from the last of the East, by the grace of God, some saw in you the sign of tradition (ayat al-hadith).' And despite that, whenever I heard of an assembly where hadith were taught, I hastened to attend. May God make this act done only to satisfy Him, and may He keep us from vanity and ostentation."

From Tunisia at the age of 32, Abdul-Rahman went to perform Hajj to Mecca, ending his initial travels in search of knowledge. After the Hajj he returned to his native Algeria after 20 years. It is said that while walking the streets of the Casbah of Algiers, he heard a young man recite verse 34:15 of the Qur'an: "...Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord." He said "this is a beautiful omen!" And he resolved to settle there permanently in Algiers for the rest of his life.

He was entrusted the title of Supreme Magistracy (qadi) by the authorities, but he preferred to abandon all honors and devote himself to asceticism and Sufism. He said "there are signs which show that if someone's love for the prophet of God is sincere, then it is necessary for them to give up the pleasures of this low world, to choose poverty, and to live it." He also said that one night he saw a dream of the prophet Muhammad standing and offering food to the poor. He gave a large part of it to Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi and then said, "when the prophet gives food to someone, shouldn't he immediately vomit it up?" He replied, "should I vomit?" The prophet bowed down and said "this is not what I meant!" After this dream which left him perplexed, he came to understand its interpretation that he was simply commanded to "devote himself into initiating people into the path of God."

He taught in the Djamaa el Kebir mosque until he died on the Friday of 23rd of Ramadan 875 AH, the 15th of March 1479 after dedicating 95 years of his life to serve Islam and Muslims. His funeral was attended by many prominent scholars and political leaders, including Ahmad Zarruq and Ahmed Zouaoui. He was buried in Thaalibia Cemetery next to his sheikh Abi Djamaa Al Maknassi in the Casbah of Algiers.[5]

Abdul-Rahman taught several murids and tolbas in Algiers, as:

Zawiya (shrine) of Sidi Abder Rahman, in the Casbah of Algiers

The zawiya contains his tomb, though it is a misnomer since it does not contain any Sufi order in the building. Currently the location houses the tombs of several Algerian historical figures. The first construction dates to 1611 CE and has gone through several changes and additions since, with little left of the original today. In 1696 Dey al-Hadj Ahmed al-Euldji decided to turn it into a funeral mosque. More tombs have been added over the years. Today the mausoleum is often visited by locals of Algiers, especially on Fridays and religious holidays.[22]

He left a legacy of more than 100 books, among which the most important was Al Jawahir Al hassān fi Tafsir Al Koran (the fine pearls in the exegesis of the Koran).

In his lifetime (1384-1479 CE) the region was split into three states whose legal schools stood out: Tunis, Tlemcen and Fez. The city of Algiers offered little in comparison in terms of religious and cultural pull. It had very few religious schools for teaching the Qur'an, hadith, and legal texts. Economically it also waned in comparison to other cities in the region. Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi's founding of the Tha'alibiyya school attracted many students from all over the world. Families moved into the surrounding area which turned into a place of religious education and training. From then on, Algiers became known as "The city of Sidi Abd al-Rahman."[5]

He is not to be confused with Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Thalabi.

Haqaiq at-Tawhid (Realities of Oneness) by sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'libi

His works cover nearly every aspect of the Islamic sciences.[23]

• List of Sufis
• List of Ash'aris and Maturidis
• List of Muslim theologians
• List of Algerians
• List of people from Boumerdès Province
• Algerian Islamic reference
• Muftis in Algiers
• Lists of mosques
• List of mosques in Africa
• List of mosques in Algeria

• French and Arabic resource on the scholar
• Zawiya Sidi Abd al-Rahman