Shaykh al-Islam Abd al-Karim al-Fakun Da'iyat al-Salafiyya
- Author died
- 1435 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
Shaykh al-Islam Abd al-Karim al-Fakun: Da'iyat al-Salafiyya (Shaykh al-Islam Abd al-Karim al-Fakun: Preacher of Salafism) is a historical and biographical study by Algerian historian Abu al-Qasim Saad Allah (d. 1435 AH / 2013 CE), published in 1406 AH / 1986 CE . The book examines the life, intellectual environment, reformist thought, and written legacy of the seventeenth-century scholar and Shaykh al-Islam of Constantine, Abd al-Karim al-Fakun (988–1073 AH / 1580–1662 CE) .
Background and Composition
Saad Allah wrote the monograph based on extensive manuscript research and archival documentation gathered while working on the cultural history of Algeria . He drafted the study at the University of Michigan library and completed its preface in Algiers in February 1986 . In preparing the work, the author drew upon primary manuscripts provided by several scholars: a copy of al-Fakun's biographical and critical work Manshur al-Hidaya facilitated by al-Mahdi al-Bu'abdali and another copy from Abd al-Majid ibn Habba; a facsimile of al-Fakun's treatise against smoking, Muhaddad al-Sinan, obtained through Abd al-Jalil al-Tamimi from the Royal Library in Rabat; a manuscript of his grammatical treatise Fath al-Latif provided by Ali Amqran al-Sahnuni; and copies of al-Fakun's correspondence with Muhammad Taj al-Arifin al-Uthmani from the National Library of Tunisia provided by Salih Kharfi .
The book was published in a single volume by Dar al-Gharb al-Islami in Beirut in 1406 AH / 1986 CE .
Contents and Structure
The work begins with an introduction outlining the socioreligious state of the Islamic world during the Ottoman era in the seventeenth century CE (the eleventh century AH), characterizing al-Fakun as a scholar who commanded right and forbade wrong, promoted adherence to sound Islamic doctrine, and combated clerical pretenders and decadent Sufi practices . The main text is organized into four major chapters followed by source listings:
- Chapter One (His Era and Life): Examines the political development of Ottoman Constantine, local society, and cultural life . It traces the history of the al-Fakun family, al-Fakun's upbringing, his teachers, and the religious and public offices he held, including the leadership of the Hajj caravan (imarat rakb al-hajj), the imamate and sermon-giving (khitaba) at the Great Mosque of Constantine, and the title of Shaykh al-Islam .
- Chapter Two (Al-Fakun's Influence): Details his teaching career and students—including Isa al-Tha'alibi, Abu Salim al-Ayyashi, and Yahya al-Shawi—his scholarly correspondence, his Sufi orientation and opposition to religious innovations, his grammatical and literary activities, and his engagement with the controversies of his day .
- Chapter Three (His Writings): Presents a descriptive and analytical survey of al-Fakun's written corpus, giving special focus to Muhaddad al-Sinan fi Nuhur Ikhwan al-Dukhan (composed in 1025 AH), his poetic Diwan, Manshur al-Hidaya fi Kashf Hal Man Idda'a al-Ilm wa-l-Wilaya, and Fath al-Latif on morphology .
- Chapter Four (Primary Texts and Documents): Gathers historical source texts divided into prose, poetry, and official decrees :
- Prose: The introductions to Manshur al-Hidaya and Muhaddad al-Sinan, alongside al-Fakun's epistolary exchanges with Ahmad al-Maqqari and Muhammad Taj al-Arifin .
- Poetry: Four poems from al-Fakun's Diwan praising the Prophet ﷺ, his poetic debate with the Moroccan scholar Muhammad al-Susi, and a poem on the notables of Constantine .
- Documents: Four official appointments regarding the leadership of the Hajj caravan and related privileges .
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