Le samā‘ dans les milieux soufis du Maghreb (VIIe-Xe/XIIIe-XVIe siècles) : pratiques, tensions et codification

Abstract

The present article deals with the visibility of samā‘ in manāqib literature, biographical dictionaries, Sufis manuals and juridical production of the Maghreb from the 7th/13th to the 10th/16th century. It examines attested forms of this practice, in the madyanī, šāḏilī, rifā‘ī and ‘Arūsiyya-Salāmiyya circles in Tunis, Kairouan, Ifrqiyan littoral and Tripoli’s area. It explores the great variety of jurist’s positions about this practice and the Sufis authorities attempts to elucidate the scriptural, doctrinal and ethical foundations, which punctuate the codification process of both dhikr and samā‘. Despite the suspicion created by “innovations” considered as blameful and stigmatized by some cheikhs who recommended a suspension of this practice, yet the intention is to regulate, to avert, more than forbid such practices. Samā‘, beyond the words used to designate it, seams to be a practice endowed with a great capacity of resistance: its importance attests its resonance in sanctity experiences in the Maghreb all along the Middle Ages