Championing Sufism Through Qur’anic Exegesis in Late Eighteenth Century Morocco : The Significance of Ibn ʿAjība’s (D. 1224/1809) Tafsīr Al-Fātiḥa Al-Kabīr

This thesis examines the Moroccan scholar Ibn ʿAjība’s (d. 1224/1809) arguments for and defense of Sufi approaches to the Qur’an. His complete Qur'an commentary, al-Baḥr al-Madīd fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-Majīd, has been examined by some researchers. There is not, however, a detailed explanation of a set of principles of his Sufi interpretation, which he outlines in his earlier work, Tafsīr al-Fātiḥa al-Kabīr. As the title suggests, Ibn ʿAjība devotes this particular work to extensively interpreting the first sūra of the Qur'an. Nevertheless, he begins the work by defending the authority and legitimacy of the Sufi interpretation of the Qur'an and proceeds to delineate his hermeneutics. This work is important for comprehending Ibn ʿAjība's views on exegesis of the Qur'an. Situating Ibn ʿAjība in his historical context of the eighteenth century tells us why he commenced his Qur'an commentary by his attempt to justify the authority of Sufi approaches to the Islamic scripture.

This century witnessed a serious objection against Sufi doctrines and practices, especially by the religious movements inspired by Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (d. 1206/1792), first appearing in Hijaz, and then spreading beyond the region. As his autobiography recounts, Ibn ʿAjība and his Sufi fellows had faced some forms of verbal and physical persecution, illustrating that in this era, polemics against Sufism clouded the atmosphere. This study particularly asks how Ibn ʿAjība defends and argues for the Sufi interpretation in his Tafsīr al-Fātiḥa al-Kabīr. Furthermore, this thesis will take Ibn ʿAjība’s case to understand the broader issue concerning Sufis and their opponents in the eighteenth-century Muslim world.