Sidi Mawlay al-Hassan al-Karkari

Mawlay al-Hassan al-Karkari was the educator master and spiritual father of Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari, founder of the Karkariya Sufi Order. A son of Mawlay at-Tahir, he became, after the death of his own master, the spiritual heir of the family transmission. He lived in the Tamsaman region, in the eastern Rif, and remained very discreet about his role all his life.

Family and birth

Mawlay al-Hassan was born around 1936 (1358 AH according to the family tradition), in the Tamsaman region. He was the son of Mawlay at-Tahir al-Karkari, grandson of Mawlay Muhammad al-Fardi, great-grandson of Mawlay at-Tayyib and a descendant, in the fifth generation, of Muhammad ibn Qaddour al-Wakili, from whom the whole family descends. Through this ancestry he belongs to the line of the Idrisid sharifs of the Rif.

He received his religious education from both his parents and, from childhood, attended the recitation gatherings and teachings held in his father's zawiya, which was frequented by many disciples.

Entering the path

His early years were not marked by any particular commitment. The turning point came from his brother, Sidi Ahmad, who had just completed a long spiritual retreat (khalwa). Seeing the state in which he had emerged from it, Mawlay al-Hassan decided to commit himself in turn. He withdrew near the zawiya, to an area of caves, and devoted himself for about a month to repeating the divine name “Allah”. On his return, his father had him perform in turn the ritual retreat of the order.

A patient apprenticeship

While he was working in Algeria, he regularly went back to his father in Tamsaman, at the cost of long journeys, to put his questions to him and report his experiences, then left again at once. He often found him at the market, beside his stall. These journeys, made at a time when the roads were unsafe, show the place this apprenticeship held for him.

His father's spiritual heir

When Mawlay at-Tahir died in 1976, Mawlay al-Hassan became his spiritual heir and the educator master of the zawiya's disciples. The transmission took place at his father's deathbed, before some thirty witnesses, among them Sidi as-Sayid, one of Mawlay at-Tahir's main students.

Mawlay al-Hassan was not at the head of a separate order: the Karkariya Sufi Order was founded later by his disciple, Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari. He exercised his role as educator master without publicity, and few people outside his close disciples knew the extent of his role.

A story handed down in the family illustrates this discretion: when Mawlay at-Tahir died, a visitor sent by the head of another order came to Tamsaman to meet him. Learning of his death, he spoke with Mawlay al-Hassan without realising he was speaking to his heir, and went away.

Character and daily life

The accounts of those close to him describe a generous man, simple in manner, who welcomed guests and people in need into his home without distinction. It is said that when he came back from the market he gave away in alms everything he had on him. He dressed in whatever he found, sat in the first free place and spoke to children with the same attention as to adults. He was known for forgiving easily, while knowing how to be firm when the situation required it.

The master of Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi

Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari was his disciple and stayed with him for two consecutive years. He is his spiritual heir. He founded the Karkariya Sufi Order, which he leads today.

His death

Mawlay al-Hassan died in 1428 AH (2006-2007), at home, after the evening prayer performed in a group. According to those close to him, he repeated the name “Allah” until his last moments and gave his final instructions to his children before passing away. He was buried at the place he had chosen himself.