Sheikh Dr.Aziz El Kobaiti Idrissi Al-Hassani
President of the International Academic Center for Sufi and Aesthetic Studies (IACSAS)
Academic path
PhD in Islamic Thought and Sufism from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University (Fez) and Loyola University (Chicago, USA), with advanced graduate diplomas in Arabic and English Literature.
In 2017, awarded the Excellence in Islamic Sciences prize, granted by Fulbright and AMIDEAST, in recognition of his research on Islamic sciences in the modern Western context.
Recipient of several international research grants, including the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange grant, the Fulbright postdoctoral grant, and the EU-funded Jean Monnet Action grant for distinguished researchers.
Director General of the Fez International Sufi Conference, held annually in Morocco. He has organised and supervised numerous academic conferences and symposia worldwide: Morocco, Algeria, Spain, France, England, Scotland, USA, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, South Africa, and others.
International memberships
- 01General Secretary of the World Sufi Union, Indonesia
- 02Representative for North Africa at the Caucasus Muslims Office
- 03President of the International Certification Council, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 04General Secretary of the World Sufi Parliament
- 05Member of several international religious bodies
Lineage
The Sheikh's path began with his father (may God have mercy on him), a muqaddam in the Tijani order, whom he accompanied from a young age until his father passed away when the Sheikh was not yet ten. During his secondary studies he was academically dedicated to the religious sciences. God then granted him the companionship of Sheikh Hamza al-Qadiri (master of the Qadiri Boudshishi order) for 17 years. In 2013 he accompanied Sheikh Ahmad Wahid Nawaz al-Dabbagh (master of the Muhammadi order) until 2016, when he received permission to guide people on the Path of Gratitude.
Methodology
The Sheikh's way is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā'ah, on the school of Imam Mālik in jurisprudence and Imam al-Ash'arī in creed. His chain in the sciences of tazkiyah and guidance is connected to the Messenger of God ﷺ. He also holds a blood lineage to the Messenger ﷺ — both lineages meet in him.
Works and writings
The Sheikh has authored more than thirty published books across the various sciences and arts: Sufism, sīrah, shamā'il, wisdom, spiritual healing, prophetic medicine, creed and thought. Among them:
- 01Al-Manhaj al-Farīd fī Kashf Ḥujub al-Murīd
- 02The Prophetic Way: The Path of Gratitude
- 03The Science of Tazkiyah: The Path of Success
- 04Islamic Sufism in the United States of America
- 05Etiquettes of Discipleship
- 06The Forty in Wisdom and Prophetic Medicine
- 07Wisdoms of al-Mannān in Reforming the Kingdom of Man
His works have been translated into several international languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Urdu and Malay.
Impact
The Sheikh has thousands of murids and students of knowledge spread across the five continents — fitting for a way that is universal and a Center whose name is 'International'. The Sheikh trains his murids by the balance of Truth and Sacred Law, never separating the discipline of education from the subtleties of the spirit, walking with the seeker to God in both outward and inward through the path of tazkiyah: "He has succeeded who purifies himself, and remembers the name of his Lord and prays." Thus the murid walks to God through companionship of the Sheikh in this triad: tazkiyah, dhikr, prayer — along a practical, applied methodology. Those educated by the Sheikh are distinguished in their adherence to the Sacred Law, in their purity, the elevation of their spirituality and the balance of their being. The Sheikh's way is a path to building the human and protecting community and nation.