Throughout the History of Islam, scholars led reforms of our institutions and the community to keep reviving the spirit of Islam. One such scholar named Abdullah al-Habti who was active in the region of Shafshawen between the city of Fez and the Rif mountains in northern Morocco.

Habti’s reform project brought together Sufism, jurisprudence, and dogma, and depended on a thorough knowledge of local cultures. He planned his project with his friend and former classmate Abu al-Qasim ibn Khajju who was a judge for the Banu Hassan clan of Sharifs (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through the line of al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali). Habti and Ibn Khajju sat down and mapped out a program of social and religious reform for Shafshawen and its surrounding region as one would map out a political campaign today. The third member of their team was Habti’s wife Aminah, Ibn Khajju’s sister, who was a fully trained legist in her own right. Aminah bint Khajju presided over a Sufi zawiyya next to that of her husband, where she taught the same curriculum to the women of Shafshawen that her husband taught to the men.

Habti’s critiques of local society and suggestions for reform are preserved in a remarkable poem entitled al-Alfiyya as-saniyya fi tanbih al- ‘amma wa al-khassa ‘ala ma awqa’a min at-taghyir fi al-milla al-Islamiyya (The Exalted Thousand Verses Awakening the Masses and the Elites to the Deviations that have Occurred in the Islamic Community).

Habti believed that the cause of the social ills besetting his country was a general loss of faith. This was exacerbated by ignorance and illiteracy, frequent contact with Portuguese soldiers and merchants, and excessive loyalty to tradition (taqlid or ‘ada). In particular, Habti castigates the religious and political elites of Shafshawen for their lack of concern about the moral decay surrounding them. The worst offenders are the official scholars and jurists. Habti calls some of them “rabbis” (ahbar) because of their concern for the letter of the law instead of its spirit. Others he calls “priests” (rahban), because their main concern is their sense of entitlement to government sinecures.

Habti was a strong advocate of the education of women. He was concerned that mothers were unprepared to instill an adequate understanding of Islam in their offspring. However, rather than blaming women for their ignorance, he instead focused on their husbands and fathers, accusing them of shirking their responsibilities. According to Habti, each married man is responsible for the moral and intellectual upbringing of his family. The family is an Islamic community in miniature, and the father is the Imam of his community. Uneducated family members are burdens on the community. Ignorant mothers produce ignorant children, and ignorant children become sinful adults. The sinfulness of adults undermines the moral basis of society, and the circle of ignorance begins again. To ensure that mothers were properly equipped to teach their children moral values, some of Habti’s disciples even went so far as to make brides pass exams in Islamic dogma before witnessing their marriage contracts.22

Habti’s educational program for both men and women emphasized instruction in the Shari’a and a reading knowledge of the Arabic language. As an initial step, he and Ibn Khajju would go to a village or tribal encampment and convince its leaders of the need for change. Later, they would assemble the inhabitants of the village and quiz them on what they knew about the teachings of Islam. Subjects that were stressed in these question-and-answer sessions included Islamic history, the concept of monotheism, the Five Pillars of Islam, bodily hygiene and purification, and rules pertaining to the monthly periods of women and the waiting period (‘idda) after a divorce or the death of a husband. Habti and Ibn Khajju would remain in a locality until its leaders or elders signed a formal contract, swearing that they would forbid usury, encourage daily prayers, and follow the Sunna. If a mosque did not exist in the village, Habti would supervise its construction. If alcohol were sold, he would convince its purveyors to leave or go into another line of business. Although Habti focused most of his attention on social and educational reform, he did not overlook the jihad against the Portuguese, who controlled much of Morocco in the first half of the sixteenth century. He and Ibn Khajju traveled widely, calling for Muslim unity in the face of the Iberian threat.

They also sent letters to rulers, jurists, students of the law, and official notaries encouraging them to support jihad for the preservation of Islam.

---