Abu Salim al-Ayyashi


Abu Salim 'Abd Allah ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr al-'Ayyashi was a well-known travel writer, poet, lawyer, and Sufi scholar from Morocco.

Biography

Abu Salim al-'Ayyashi was born on 4 May 1628 in the Berber tribe of ait Ayyash living in the Middle Moroccan Atlas. His father was the head of a zawiyya. Al-Ayyashi lived and studied in Fez and joined the Sufi order of the Nasiriyya in Tamegroute. He travelled three times to the Hejaz in 1649, 1653 and 1661 and stayed for long periods in Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Cairo.

Works

He wrote a two volume rihla about his journeys: Ma’ al-Mawa’id. Al-'Ayyashi is, moreover, the author of several further works: