al-Hasan al-Yusi

al-Hasan al-Yusi (1040–1102 AH / 1630–1691 CE) was a Moroccan Maliki jurist, theologian, and man of letters al-Alam lil-Zirikli.

Lineage and Early Life

He was Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Mas'ud ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn 'Amr ibn Yahya ibn Yusuf, with additional recorded kunyas including Abu al-Mawahib, Abu al-Su'ud, and Abu Muhammad al-Muhadarat fi al-Lugha …. He was also known by the honorific title Nur al-Din al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. His nisba derives from the Berber tribe of Ait Yusi (Banu Yusi), belonging to the Ait Buhaddu branch in the Moulouya region of Morocco al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1. He was born in 1040 AH (1630 CE) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Education and Scholarly Career

Al-Yusi received much of his early education at the Zawiya of Dila and traveled widely across Moroccan regions, studying under scholars in Sijilmasa, Draa, Sous, Marrakesh, and Doukkala al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1. Among his prominent teachers were Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Dar'i—from whom he took the Sufi path—as well as Abd Allah al-Tajammu'ti and Abd al-Qadir al-Fasi al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

He resided and taught at the Zawiya of Dila until the Alawite Sultan Moulay al-Rashid subdued the lodge and relocated him to Fez al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1. There, he held teaching circles at the University of al-Qarawiyyin, attracting large numbers of students al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …. In Marrakesh, he sat to teach Quranic exegesis at the Mosque of the Ashrāf, where he reportedly lectured on Surat al-Fatiha for nearly three months al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. He also traveled to the East to perform the Hajj, spending four months in Egypt al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…. Following his travels, he settled in the countryside among his tribe, dedicating himself to teaching religious and literary disciplines al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1.

His prominent students included the Quranic commentator Ahmad ibn Mubarak, Abu Salim al-Ayyashi, Abu al-Hasan al-Nuri, Abu Abd Allah al-Tazi, and Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Masnawi al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. Among his writings are the literary and autobiographical anthology al-Muhadarat fi al-Lugha wa al-Adab, the paremiographical compilation Zahr al-Akam fi al-Amthal wa al-Hikam, and Qanun Ahkam al-Ilm al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1.

Scholarly Standing

Al-Yusi achieved widespread acclaim across North Africa and was described by Muhammad Makhluf as the undisputed foremost shaykh of Morocco whose learning and righteousness commanded broad consensus al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…. He was frequently referred to as the "al-Ghazali of his age," and some contemporary scholars regarded him as the renewer (mujaddid) of the eleventh Islamic century al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. His contemporary Abu Salim al-Ayyashi praised him in verse, writing:

Whoever missed accompanying al-Hasan al-Basri,
let him accompany al-Hasan al-Yusi, and he will suffice him al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1.

After his return from the East, al-Yusi critically remarked that no scholar remained in the eastern lands for whom one would undertake a journey to seek knowledge, a claim that drew a rebuttal from the later Moroccan traditionist Abd al-Hayy al-Kattani al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….

Death

Al-Yusi died shortly after returning from the Hajj, on Monday, 15 Dhu al-Hijjah 1102 AH (1691 CE); reports placing his death in 1111 AH or 1107 AH are also noted, though the former has been described as an error al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. He died in his tribal area and was buried beside his home in Tamazrat (also vocalized as Tamzizzayt) near Sefrou in the Mazdigha region al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.