https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/14/spains-moriscos-a-400-year-old-muslim-tragedy-is-a-story-for-today
PROYECTO BREVIARIO SUNNI
PROYECTO BREVIARIO SUNNI is an ongoing not-for-profit project founded in 1414 A.H. (2013 C.E.) whose primary aim is the publication (in WebZine format) of a "translation-in-progress" of the BREVIARIO SUNNI of Shaykh 'Isa of Segovia the mid-15th Century Alfaqui of the Moorish community of Segovia, Spain. The current WebZinebashi is Abdessamad Bey (abdessamadbey@gmail.com).
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Tragedy of the Moriscos
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/14/spains-moriscos-a-400-year-old-muslim-tragedy-is-a-story-for-today
Spread Light and Knowledge
786
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim
In these times of great confusion it is more critical to spread knowledge of traditional spirituality from all of the world's traditions in order to build bridges of peace and understanding. In the humble opinions of the authors of this blog, regarding the religion of Islam there can be no more highly-esteemed source than www.naqshbandi.org for detailed information on Islam and traditional Islamic spirituality, or Tasawwuf (Sufism). Let us spread knowledge and light, not ignorance and egoism.
-Abdessamad Bey
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Issue One: Author's Prologue to the Breviario Sunni
The
Breviario
Sunni
of
Shaykh 'Isā of Segovia
The
Spanish-Language Mudéjar
and Morisco
Manual of Islamic Doctrine and Practice
Attributed
to Shaykh 'Isā, the Alfaqui
of the Moorish Community of Segovia
Interpretive
English Translation by Abdessamad Bey
About
Proyecto
Breviario Sunni:
Proyecto Breviario Sunni
is an ongoing not-for-profit effort, founded in 1414 A.H. (2013 C.E.)
whose primary aim is the publication in “WebZine” format of an
ongoing translation-in-progress of the Breviario
Sunni (“Sunni
Breviary”) of Shaykh 'Isā of Segovia
(known variously throughout Spanish Islamic literature as Yça de
Segovia, Iça el-Gidelli, Hiçe de Xebir, Iça de Jedih, etc.), the
alfaqui
(Imam
or religious leader) of the Moorish community of Segovia, Spain.
It is the goal of
the Proyecto
to bring to a wider readership European Islamic works such as the
Breviario Sunni
and to promote the teachings of traditionalist and mainstream Ahl
as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah
Islamic scholarship across the Muslim world.
The
current WebZine-bashi
of the Proyecto
is Abdessamad Bey. Individuals wishing to contribute to the Proyecto
through academic and/or general contributions or comment, provided
demonstrated commitment to the Proyecto's
non-profit character and general aesthetic principles as outlined in
the Proyecto
Breviario Sunni Charter
(provided upon request) may reach Abdessamad Bey at
abdessamadbey@gmail.com
A
Note on Language:
The
Breviario Sunni
was composed and preserved in a unique language which was called by
those who spoke it Aljamía,
a word derived from the Arabic al-‘ajamiyyah,
or non-Arabic vernacular. According to the author it was the dominant
spoken language of the Moorish minority communities of Castilla by
the mid-Fifteenth century. This language was notable for being
essentially Castellano Spanish with the addition of several Arabic
vocabulary words of religious importance. Perhaps more infamously it
was also known for its tendancy to be transcribed using the letters
of the Arabic alphabet (the so-called “aljamiado” manuscripts,
etc.). In this way it resembled other Spanish dialects utilized by
minority communities of the period, for example the Ladino spoken by
the Iberian Jews with its use of the Hebrew alphabet. It has been
the desire of the translator to attempt to preserve something of the
flavor of the original Aljamía
text by preserving several of the unique renderings of significant
Arabic words and phrases that appear to have been part of the common
language of the Moorish Spanish speakers of the period.
Proyecto
Breviario Sunni
would like to humbly thank all of those who have contributed in any
manner whatsoever through their inspiration and gracious assistance,
such as Violeta Abitia, Ian Atallah, Julio Molina, Padre Angel and
G.A. Wiegers, and to the Naqshbandi shaykhs: the late Maulana Shaykh
Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (ﻕ)
and his representative in the Americas Maulana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham
al-Kabbani and all the men and women of the Most Distinguished
Naqshbandi Sufi Order, especially the members of the Naqshbandi
zawiya of
Orgiva,
without whose inspiration and guidance this work would never have
been possible.
A
Note Regarding Traditional Islamic Abbreviations Used Throughout This
Text:
Throughout
the course of this text it has been decided to follow traditional
Arabic convention with regards to the indication of salutations
following mention of certain important Islamic personages such as:
(ﺹ):
for sallallahu
'alayhi wa sallam
or “God's blessings and greetings of peace be upon him,”
following mention of the name of the Prophet Muhammad.
(ع):
for 'alayhissalam
or “may peace be upon him” when mentioning the names of other
prophets
(ﺭ):
for radhiyallahu
'anh or
rahmatullahi
'alayh for “may
God be pleased with him,” or “may the mercy of God be upon him,”
respectively, following mention of the name of a Companion (Sahabi)
of the Prophet Muhammad (ﺹ),
or mention of a respected Imam of the Islamic religion such as Imam
Mālik.
(ﻕ):
for qaddasallahu
sirruh or “may
God sanctify his secret” following mention of the name of an
Islamic saint (wali).
The
Author's Prologue to the Breviario Sunni
ﺑﺴﻢ
ﷲ
ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ
ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ
In
the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
ﻭ
ﺻﻠﻰ
ﺍﷲ
ﻋﻠﻰ
ﺳﻴﺪﻧﺎ
ﻣﺤﻤﺪ
ﺍﻟﻜﻴﻢ
ﻭ
ﻋﻠﻰ
ﺃﻟﻪ
May
the blessings of Allah be upon our noble master Muhammad and upon his
family1
This
work is a compilation of the principle commandments and obligations
of our Holy Law and Açunnah.2
We
begin in the name of Allah, our only Creator, who is without
beginning, nor middle, nor end, Who created the world from nothing,
and by Whose means and holy Providence sent his Prophets in
succession, one after another, in conclusion sending His chosen and
blessed Annabi3
Muhammad (ﺹ),
the best of all creation.
Said
the honored wise mufti
and alfaqui4
of the Moorish community of the noble and loyal city of Segovia whose
name is 'Isā de Jābir:
Compendious
causes moved me to interpret the Divine Grace of the Arabic Holy
Qur'an into Aljamía,5
regarding which some Cardinals told me that we used to keep it (i.e.
the Holy Qur'an) hidden away as something we dare not share with
outsiders, For it was
not without great cause that I left my homeland for a time to go to
parts of the East, for which I set about the task of rendering it in
Aljamía,
moved by that high authority that anyone who knows something of the
Law ought to teach it to everyone in the world in a language that
they can understand if possible, and in order to avoid the dishonor
of that which is abhorrent placed against us, may God grant me his
Divine Aid through His Immense Mercy and Divine Grace. Having the
Holy Qur'an in front of me, for those amongst us who may be ignorant
of Arabic, and those who are abroad, and indeed for greater
declaration I shall make a translation of the articles which are in
the Holy Qur'an and a summary of the judgments, ends and events which
it describes, by whose governance so many great princes and
innumerable lords and nations live in liberty in the Promised Land
and the Holy House6
where is maintained truth and justice.
And
because the Muslims of Spain have been placed under great
subjugation, taxation, hardship and toil they have declined in wealth
and lost their schools of Arabic, regarding the restoration of which
many of my friends have enjoined upon me, especially the noble
Repartidores,7
who with so much clemency enjoined me to compose a book in Spanish,
instructing in our Law and Açunnah
that which every good Muslim ought to know and practice. Regarding
this I could not excuse myself from fulfilling the request, trusting
indeed in the good Sovereign Lord Who is the aid of good intentions
and knowing the difficulty of bringing forth works of divine ends, I
seriously considered and thought about the instruction of those who
are coming and our successors; regarding all this I brought to mind
the articles and principal explanations and commandments of our
faith, not forgetting the soon end of this present age, declaring in
chapters how one ought to and must fulfill the obligations of our Law
and Açunnah,
how great the need is. Because prolixity should
not be an excuse for those who would listen, nor should it exhaust
the three capacities of the soul, and also because grandiose writings
are for those who posses security of resources, and those days have
come to an end here amongst the Muslims of Spain. And in order that
I should be as brief as possible I have omitted listing
in this prologue the books upon which this work will be based upon in
order to avoid citing them all the time; in them noble scholars will
find the authorities for what shall be said in this book,
and they are the
following: thirteen books of our Law and Açunnah
from which I gathered together and compiled sixty chapters in which I
summarized the Faith and the works which every man must observe,
following that which was revealed to the blessed Annabi
Muhammad (ص).
The name which I shall consider titling this book is “Breviario
Sunni”8
to which I shall
sign my name, in order that I shall be blamed where there is fault to
be found, as I am nothing compared to the masters of our Holy Law and
Açunnah,
to whom I implore to correct my work, on the condition that it is
brief correction and amendments that are added, and I pray to our
Lord to grant me His Grace and days in order to complete other good
works in His holy service and be granted the blessing of everlasting
glory. Amin ya
rabbil-'alamina.9
1 These
traditional invocations of Basmala and Salawāt
are found on
Fol. 1 of the J1 manuscript of the Breviario
Sunni
in the CSIC collection.
2 Arabic:
Sunnah, the word from which the
title of the work is derived, i.e. authenticated traditions of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (ص).
For detailed explanation regarding traditionalist see Encyclopedia
of Islamic Doctrine Vol. I-VII (As-Sunnah Foundation of America,
1998) by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham al-Kabbani.
3 “Prophet”
4 Mufti
and alfaqui are religious titles from Arabic, indicating one
authorized to issue fatwa or legal verdicts according to Holy Law,
and one who is trained in fiqh (from al-fāqih)
or Islamic jurisprudence, respectively, however, alfaqui may
have taken on the more general meaning of Imam or religious
leader of a Moorish community.
5 Aljamía:
Romance dialects used by the Moors with the import of certain Arabic
vocabulary or even the same dialect written using the letters of the
Arabic alphabet, also known as the
Aljamiado literature.
6 Las
tierras de promisión in the original Aljamía.
7 See
Islamic Literature in Spanish and Aljamiado: Yça
of Segovia (fl. 1450) and His Antecedents and Successors (Brill,
1994) by G.A. Wiegers. Wiegers suggests
that the Repartidores mentioned were likely the tax
collecting officials appointed amongst the Mudéjares
by the Spanish crown.
8 Literally:
“A Sunni Breviary,” an interesting blend of Spanish and Arabic.
9“Amen,
Oh Lord of all the worlds,” a traditional Arabic invocation.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Tariqat ash-Shadhiliyya in the Americas
A lovely site featuring the Shadhiliyya Sufi Order of Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Sa'id al-Jamal ar-Rifa'i ash-Shadhuli (q.s.) and activities in the Americas...
http://suficenter.org/
http://suficenter.org/
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