حضرة ابو بكر سلطنتیں

Mehrez Ben Khalaf Al-Tunisi ⁽¹⁾: Mehrez Ben Khalaf Ben Razine Ben Yarbouh Ben Hanthala Ben Isma’il Ben Abdel-Rahman Ben Abi Bakr Al-Siddiq (also known as Abu Mahfouth and Abu Hamad) was from the tribe of Taym, a sub-clan of the Quraysh, and a descendant of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq. He was a renowned sheikh, scholar, teacher, and prominent ascetic. Born in Tunisia in 340 AH (951 AD), Mehrez Ben Khalaf grew up in a family known for its asceticism, and people used to flock to him in order to gain his blessings and listen to him speak.

During his youth, Mehrez Ben Khalaf taught the Qur’an in Aryanah. He lived in Marsa Al-Rum (near Kairouan) and then settled in Tunis, where he taught the Qur’an, hadith, and fiqh (jurisprudence). He died there in 413 AH (1022 AD) when he was over 70 years old.

Mehrez Ben Khalaf followed the ways of the salaf (righteous predecessors). When he once heard a man cursing the salaf in one of Cairo’s markets, he grabbed a portion of his thobe and shouted: “O people, this is unacceptable to me!” Upon hearing this, they attacked the man, tearing apart his flesh with their bare hands while saying: “Mehrez said this is unacceptable to me!”

Mehrez Ben Khalaf was educated in Egypt under the tutelage of some of its scholars, including Al-Abhari. He devoted himself to teaching and had a role in promulgating the Maliki school of thought, as he taught the book Risalat Ibn Abi Zayd Al- Qayrawani, a prominent source of Maliki jurisprudence. He was also responsible for developing the area around Bab Souika. He obtained a level of prestige that prompted Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani to say: “If Mehrez Ben Khalaf had lived at the time of the salaf, he would have been the fifth of the four.” Abu Al-Hasan Al-Qabisi said: “The pillars of the religion with which Allah is holding together the earth are four, and Mehrez Ben Khalaf is one of them.” 

Mehrez Ben Khalaf was an eloquent speaker who did not ever make grammatical errors, and some poetry is attributed to him as well. He was the first person in Africa (specifically in Tunisia) to establish the tradition of reciting the Qur’an after the dawn prayer instead of dhikr. The country’s seamen had deep-rooted faith in him. If they happened to pass by his grave, they would take a little of the soil found around it. Then whenever the ocean swelled up, they would throw some of the soil in it and ask Allah to calm it down. He was the person responsible for inciting the killing of the Ubaidis in Tunisia in 406 AH.

Abu Al-Tahir Muhammad Bin Al-Husayn Al-Farisi compiled a book of Mehrez Ben Khalaf’s merits. His tomb is a shrine located in the heart of the city of Tunis. As for his zawaya (school of thought), it did not become well known until the Hafsid era during the reign of Abi Umar Uthman. Today, his tomb remains in the center of the capital city of Tunis, and the people of Tunisia call him the “sultan” of the city.

Source: Kitab Al-Sulala Al-Bakria As-Siddiqia – Part II, by Ahmed Farghal Al-De’abassi Al-Bakri

Date of Publication

1 Ramadan 1438 AH / May 26, 2017 AD

(1) Al-A’lam, by Al-Zarkali 5/284, Al-Hulal Al-Sundusiyah fi Al-Akhbar al-Tunisiyah, by Muhammad Wazir 1/ 747, Khizanat Al-Turath – Manuscripts Catalogue of King Faisal Center 93/ 866