Idrisiyya

The Idrisiyya order (Arabic: الطريقة الإدريسية, romanized: al-Ṭarīqa al-ʾIdrīsiyya) is a Sufi tariqa of Sunni Islam founded by Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi. It is also called the Tariqa Muhammadiyya, and it rejects following any of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence (taqlid),^[2][3] adopting the same methodology as Ismail Dehlavi, who remarked that the agenda of the new order known as Tariqa Muhammadiyya was to purify Islam and reject what they deemed to be bid'ah or shirk.^[4][5]

381 A, Shah Rukne Alam Colony, Multan, where the Idrisiyya are centred in Pakistan.^[1]

It is not a tariqa in the sense of an organized Sufi order, but rather a methodology, consisting of a set of beliefs and practices, which according to the order's members, aimed at nurturing the spiritual link between the disciple and Muhammad directly.^[6][7]

Spread and influence

Originally based in Mecca, this tariqa was spread widely in Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Yemen, the Levant (Syria and Lebanon) and South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei). It also has followers elsewhere, such as in Pakistan as well as Italy and the United Kingdom.^[8]

Among the paths adhering to the Idrisiyya methodology include the Khatmiyya, Dandarawiyya, the Ja'fariyya, and the Salihiyya.^[9] The order has a great deal of overlap with the Deobandis and Ahl al-Hadith of India,^[2] but is opposed to the Wahhabi belief of affirming corporeality for God.^[2]

The litanies and prayers of Ibn Idris in particular gained universal acceptance among Sufi orders and has been incorporated into the litanies and collections of many paths unrelated to the Idrisiyya that reject the order's methodology.^[10]

Members

• Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi, the founder of the Idrisiyya order.^[5]
• Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim, founder of the Khatmiyya path in Sudan and Eritrea.^[9]
• Mowlana Abd al-Rahman Nurow. A Somali disciple of ibn Idris who spread the Tariqa Muhammadiyya in Somalia.^[11]
• Abu'l 'Abbas Al Dandarawi, Egyptian Sufi and founder of the Dandarawiyya path in Saudi Arabia.^[9]
• Salih al-Ja'fari. He edited and published the works of Ibn Idris and revived his order. He founded the Ja'fariyya path.^[12]
• Muhammad Abdullah Hasan, follower of the Salihiyya path which rejects seeking intercession from Saints in one's invocation of God, which it labels as Shirk.^[13]
• Shaikh Muhammad Said al-Linggi, who introduced a path of this order into Singapore by the followers of al-Linggi.^[1]
• Shaikh Hafiz Muhammad Amin bin Abdul Rehman from Multan.^[1][14] Idrisiyya was introduced in Pakistan by him.^[1][14]

Opposition

The order's methodology has been opposed by al-Ahbash, who have declared that the Dandarawiyya path have fallen into blasphemy and no longer follow the Quran despite reading it.^[15] Unsurprisingly, the Idrisiyya has also been opposed by Barelvis, who see their methodology as being heretical, and similar to Deobandis and Ahl al-Hadith.^[16]