Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Mahdaoui Critical Edition of his Sufi Work

Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Mahdaoui was one of the greatest sufi heritage figures by the end of the twelveth and the eve of the thirteenth century in the Christian era.
According to some historians and specialists in the art of critical edition, Sheikh Mahdaoui gave rise to the cognitive spheres of Tunis city. His influential knowledge spread across the Arab world after catching the attention of the field’s specialists who thought he was worthy of belonging to the sufi teaching school just like Mohieddine Ibn Arabi. Indeed, the author of «Al-foutouhat al-Makkiyya» thinks that Mahdaoui’s writings account for the first cornerstone of sufi heritage in the Islamic Maghreb during the medieval era. Unfortunately, in spite of his fame as being the pioneer in his field in the Maghreb, Mahdaoui did not arouse researchers’ interest, according to Hichem Abid who has just published his book. It is for these reasons that Beit al-Hikma decided to do justice to this sufi figure whose knowledge and meditations were references to the great sufi Ibn Arabi. The latter revealed in his letters to Mahdaoui the influence he had on him (see his letter entitled Rouh al-Qoudos, the Holy Spirit). Hichem Abid said that «Mahdaoui was well-known for his varied knowledge and learning, he was also a link between the orient’s sufi movement and that of the Maghreb countries and Andalusia».