Volume Two
Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj by Hamza Yusuf
Pre-orders of the 9-Volume Boxset ship at the end of June
For orders from UK please contact photos@petersanders.com
Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj (1913-2018) was a Mauritanian ascetic scholar-saint who would almost certainly have lived out his life in complete obscurity in the remote deserts of Mauritania were it not for a young Muslim convert from California who was guided in a dream to visit him, live in his tent with him, and learn at his feet. The young man was Hamza Yusuf Hanson, who later achieved worldwide fame as the most influential Islamic scholar in North America. Of his experience with his teacher, he wrote: “A great secret of Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj is his presence. He gives God his complete being in prayer, and he gives his studies his complete being during the lesson, and he gives his guest his complete being during his stay. His own presence forces those around him into a state of presence. He has removed himself from the trance-like state that most of humanity is in through a constant state of awareness with his Lord. I can honestly say I have never seen anyone before or after him like him.” Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has brought his close relationship and years of study with the Shaykh to bear in an immaculately crafted and moving biography of one of the hidden treasures of our time, illustrated with the unique photography of Peter Sanders.
“A salient characteristic of Murabit al-Hajj’s life was what some traditions refer to as ‘sacred monotony.’ The word in Arabic for monotony, ratabah, is related to the word ratib, used by scholars to refer to the daily devotional prayers and incantations. For Murrabit al-Hajj, this monotony was his daily practice, a constant working on his presence with God, because if one is present with God, one is present with His creation. Muslim masters, mystics, and men of letters have always embraced the monotony, the sameness, the daily routine—expressed in Arabic with the proverb, “How similar tonight is to last night!”—because it becomes an opportunity to hone the soul and perfect the heart so that one arrives prepared on that final day, the day that ‘avails none save the one who brings to God a sound heart’(Qur’an 26:89).”
From Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj: The Ascetic
By Hamza Yusuf
