ash-Shaʿrānī

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ash-Shaʿrānī

Islamic mystic

Also known as: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Aḥmad

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 1, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: ʿabd Al-wahhāb Ibn Aḥmad

Born:: 1492, Cairo

Died:: 1565, Cairo (aged 73)

Founder:: ash-Shaʿrawīyah

Subjects Of Study:: ash-Shaʿrawīyah

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ash-Shaʿrānī (born 1492, Cairo—died 1565, Cairo) was an Egyptian scholar and mystic who founded an Islamic order of Ṣūfism. Throughout his life Shaʿrānī was influenced by the pattern of his education. His introduction and exposure to Islāmic learning were limited; his formal education was concerned with the ʿulūm al-wahb (“gifted knowledge of the mystic”), as opposed to a traditional and rigorous study of Islāmic sciences. He attempted to seek the middle ground between the rigid learning and legalism of the ʿulamāʾ (the theologians of Islām) and the mystics’ pantheism and pursuit of spirituality. He consistently ignored distinctions and niceties within ...(100 of 410 words)

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