Chain of transmission
Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi
1530 – 1604 · Ksar el-Kebir and Fez · founder of the Zawiya Fassiya
Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi is the founder of the Zawiya Fassiya of Fez and the first of a line of scholars who left a mark on Morocco's intellectual history. A disciple of ʿAbd ar-Rahman al-Majdhub, he also took part in the political life of his time.
Birth and family
Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Fasi was born in 1530 or 1531 in Ksar el-Kebir. His family descended from emigrants from al-Andalus who had settled in Morocco. He established himself in Fez, where his reputation as a teacher attracted many students.
The disciple of al-Majdhub
He was the disciple of ʿAbd ar-Rahman al-Majdhub, poet and Sufi master of Meknes. Tradition reports that he had the dome of his tomb built. The teaching of his zawiya belonged to the line of al-Jazuli, issued from the Shadhili way, and of al-Majdhub.
The Battle of the Three Kings
In 1578 he took part, by sending fighters, in the battle of Ksar el-Kebir (the “Battle of the Three Kings”), a Moroccan victory over Portugal. His commitment earned him the favour of the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur.
The Zawiya Fassiya
In Fez he founded the Zawiya Fassiya, which became a centre of teaching and religious life radiating across north-west Africa.
Descendants
His son Muhammad al-ʿArbi al-Fasi (1580-1642) wrote the Mir'at al-Mahasin (1636), which tells his life. His descendant ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Fasi (1599-1680) was the father of ʿAbd ar-Rahman al-Fasi (1631-1685), author of about 170 works. The Fasi family thus numbered among the intellectual elites of seventeenth-century Morocco.
Death
He died in Fez on 14 August 1604 and was buried at the Zawiya Fassiya.