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[Yemen Update 39(1997):21-24]
Introduction
Sufism in many areas of Yemen today has beendriven underground because of recent and past economic, political andreligious opposition. As a result, Sufi orders, ideas and practicesare hidden but alive throughout Yemen. Adherents of these orders andnon-Sufi Muslims who practice Sufi rituals are declining in number.There are three main reasons for the decline. First, Zaydism &emdash;an important Shiite group in the Northern Highlands &emdash; and therecently formed, and extremely powerful, Islamic political party ofIslah, along with the extremist Muslim sect of the Salafis, all viewSufi ideas and practices as unIslamic, sometimes violently opposingsaint veneration and other Sufi rituals. Second, Sufi orders are notproducing great leaders to propagate their teachings. Third, youngpeople living under current economic hardships are attracted topolitical Islamic movements which promise outward action and materialbenefits. The apolitical, inward turning teachings of Sufi orders andpractices which promise closeness (qurb) to God, beauty(ihsan) of character, and sincerity (ikhlas) inreligion hold little economic promise for many youngYemenis.
However, while the fires of Sufism and Sufipractice are in some places being put out by lack of both interest inthe youth or strong leadership among the elders, its flames are stillburning bright within the hearts of impassioned adherents in smallpockets throughout Yemen. One can still find non-Sufi Yemenis who arelovers of saints (muhibbin) carrying out Sufi devotionsprivately and at the tombs of deceased holy men and women. Thecurrent situation of the Shadhiliya/'Alawiya Sufi order of Sanaa is atypical case in point of the problems facing Sufi orders in Yemenwhere covert but commanding devotion to the saints and Sufi shaykhsof Yemen can still be found.
Before going any further it is important tosay something about the usage of the English word "saint." It hasbeen common practice in Islamic studies to use the English word"saint" to render the Koranic awliya' Allah. However, thisexpression is more literally translated as "friends of God," and bothSufi masters and holy people (salihin) are called God'sfriends. Many Yemenis claim that they venerate living Sufi mastersand dead saints in order to obtain God's blessings. Some ask thesaints to intercede with God on their behalf. The assumption is thatGod is more likely to listen to someone close to him, his friends,than to someone who is not. Such friends act as channels for divinehelp through sincere supplication.
The research for this paper was carried outfrom September 1995 to March 1996. The bulk of this time was spent asa participant observer among the Shadhiliya/'Alawiya Sufi order ofSanaa, Yemen. During that time I attended the twice weekly gatheringsof this order, tape recorded the religious lessons and rituals thatwent on during these sessions, accompanied the members on a dozenvisitations (sing., ziyara) to saints' tombs, and attended tencelebrations of saints' day ceremonies (sing., mawlid). Fortymembers of this order were informally interviewed; twenty weresemi-structured interviews during which life histories andinterpretations of Islamic and Sufi teachings wererecorded.
In November 1995, three of the advanceddisciples of this Sufi order volunteered to accompany me on a onemonth survey of Sufi orders and saints' day celebrations in thefollowing Shafi'i areas of Yemen: the Red Sea coastal district calledthe Tihama, the city of Aden, and the southern mountains of theHighland region which includes the city of Ta'izz and its surroundingdistricts of Mount Sabr and al-Hujjariya. We visited five Sufimasters (masha'ikh; sing., shaykh) and a dozen advanceddisciples (muqaddamun), and we located the tombs of numeroushighly venerated saints (awliya', sing.wali).
The members of the Shadhiliya order wereextremely helpful in my research enabling me to make the necessarycontacts and gain access to the mosques and saint tombs. Withouttheir influence, I would not have been allowed to enter the places ofworship nor meet the many people I did during the survey.
For close to a thousand years Yemen has beenreligiously divided into two regions: the Shiite Northern Highlandareas of Zaydism and Ismailism and a Sunni Shafi'i region consistingof the Red Sea coast, the southern mountains of the Highlands, Aden,and the ùa¶ramawt. Sufi practices, ideas, and social organizationshave found the soil of the Shafi'is &endash; who follow Asharidogmatic theology (kalam) &endash; more fertile than therational Zaydi Highlands &endash; where Mu'tazilite theology isfollowed. A well-known contemporary Yemeni historian, 'Abd Allahal-Hibshi, has traced the existence of Sufi ascetic practices inYemen as far back as the first century of Islam and has listed majorSufi orders in both regions existing since that time. Some ordersthat al-ùibshõ mentions and that we found during our survey areBa-'Alawi, Idrisiya, Hassaniya, Qadiriya, Naqshbandiya, Tijjaniya,Rifa'iya, Burhaniya, and Dandarawiya.
In general, Zaydi scholars have found Sufiideas absurd. Sufi notions such as journeying (suluk) to Godand the ability to obtain divine knowledge (ma'rifa) directlyin one's heart (qalb) are illogical to Mu'tazilism.Mu'tazilite theology maintains that God is totally incomparable(tanzih) with the world and would argue that the human rationalfaculty ('aql) is the only reliable means of obtaining knowledge fromdivine revelations. Hence, while Sufi shaykhs and disciples haveexisted in and around Zaydi regions, such as Sanaa, they have alwaysbeen few compared with the Shafi'i areas.
In addition to Zaydi disagreements withSufism, we find a new adversary in the recently formed politicalparty of Islah which consists of various factions some followingWahhabism, others the teachings of the Muslim Brothers. Islah isinfluential in both Zaydi and Shafi'i regions of the country. Mostfactions within this political party promote anti-Sufiinterpretations of Islamic teachings. Different groups within Islahhave varying levels of anti-Sufi aggression. Those who forcefullyopposed such beliefs and practices are usually the followers of theSaudi-based Wahhabism. Those more moderate against Sufism take theirteachings from the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood. Some Islahishave called Sufi ideas and practice a form of unbelief (kufr)or associating others with God (shirk). This later accusationis the most serious sin a Muslim could commit because God does notforgive shirk. Certain groups within the Islah party havecondoned and encouraged the most extremist Muslim organization inYemen, the Salafis, to use violence in opposition to Sufipractices.
Although the situation of theShadhiliya/'Alawiya Sufi order under consideration is typical ofYemen's Sufi orders, it is also unique in that it has experiencedboth Zaydi and Islahi opposition. This double adversity exists mainlybecause the order is situated in Sanaa which is both a center ofZaydi learning and home to important Islahi leaders. This antagonismcaused the shaykh of the order to leave Yemen, the head disciple tobe removed from his post as an imam of a mosque, and the closing oftheir meeting place in Sanaa.
The Sufis of the Shadhiliya/'Alawiya Sufiorder of Sanaa consist of about 50 Shafi'i males ranging in age from15 to 80 years old, all of whose place of birth is Ta'izz, a majorcity south of Sanaa and the surrounding regions of al-Hujjariya andMount Sabr. None are Zaydi. These fifty are among the 100,000 males,dispersed throughout the Shafi'i regions of the country, which theshaykh of this order claims are his disciples.
I was unable to determine the relationshipbetween women and the Sufi orders in Yemen because of the stringentseparation between male and female domains, especially in Sanaa. Theonly female disciples of the Shadhiliya order in Sanaa are threewives of the members. They have no separate gatherings in the city,and inquiring about female participation in the order was consideredshameful. According to the men, the shaykh has only a handful offemale disciples, and they did not know of female shaykhs or femaleorders in their villages.
These members met twice weekly in thediwan of a private home of one of the wealthier disciples tocarry out religious lessons and rituals. They gathered on Thursdayand Friday afternoons for about five hours to chew qat leaves&endash; an endemic social and private custom among Yemenis. Duringthese sessions informal lessons on law (shari'a) andtheoretical Sufism were conducted, and group religious rituals suchas the dhikr &endash; the group repetition of divine names &endash;and sama' &emdash; the group singing of Sufi poetry &endash;were performed. In August 1996, the shaykh ended these meetingsbecause local Zaydis and Islahis were disrupting thesessions.
There is no formal organization to thisorder. Membership is based solely on becoming a disciple of theshaykh. There are no lists of members and no central office normeeting place specifically built for the order. As for the weeklymeetings, attendance would vary from 10 to 50 participants. AnyYemeni could attend the sessions and participate freely in thereligious rituals. As a non-Muslim I was allowed to participate inthe rituals without due concern.
As mentioned, the current shaykh of thisorder left Yemen in 1995 because of local opposition to histeachings. He now resides in Dubai and works in the Ministry ofAwqaf. He tried to establish a Sufi order in Dubai, but met with nosuccess. He has five disciples there and no funding or time toestablish a meeting place. During an interview there, he told me thathe does not expect to return to Yemen soon because of the currentanti-Sufi bias and the poor economic situation. If such resistancesubsides and the economy improves he plans to return to his countryand establish a large, well-organized institution. His disciples inSanaa eagerly await his return; some believe that under hisleadership there will be a major revival of Sufism throughout thecountry.
This shaykh took over from the previousspiritual master who died in 1990. In addition, this shaykh professesthe shaykhood of two other late Yemeni Sufi masters, one from thesame order, the other from the Hadrami order of Ba-'Alawi. Hence, hedeclares to have inherited the 100,000 followers of the former threeshaykhs. Disputes have arisen over his claim, especially among thedisciples of the deceased masters. Presently three youngmuqaddams &endash; representatives of the shaykh &endash; arein Yemen, one in Sanaa, one in Ta'izz, and one in al-Hujjariya. Eachmuqaddam has about fifty disciples; therefore of the supposed100,000 men only about 150 are actually accountable to thisshaykh.
The core group of people that met in Sanaaremain closely attached to their home villages in and around the cityof Ta'izz. They do not consider themselves "tribal" (qabili)like the Northern Highlanders, and they do not identify themselvesstrongly in terms of their family lineages. The lack of concern forfamily name may be twofold: firstly, their life in the urban centerof Sanaa does not require them to identify themselves in terms oftheir family name, but rather only in terms of their home region;second, the teachings of the order mitigate against such kin-tiedself identity, where self worth is seen more in purity of heart thanfamily origins.
The common reasons given for moving to urbancenters such as Sanaa and Ta'izz are for greater education andbusiness opportunities. Most say their families in the villages arefarmers, merchants and craftsmen. A strong attachment to theirvillages does remain as almost all members return to their villagesat least once a year, at which time they are expected to bring moneyto their extended families.
While members of this Sufi order in Sanaahave similar origins, their current means of employment varies. Someare government employees in the Ministry of Finance and thePresident's office, some are self-employed merchants and a handfulare professionals such as medical doctors, engineers, lawyers,college professors, plumbers and auto-mechanics. The young peopleattend the state run high schools and universities. Many find itdifficult to make ends meet, so under the shaykh's instructions thewealthier disciples are providing financial aid to the poorerones.
The status hierarchy within the order isdetermined by four factors: the shaykh's prerogative, length of timein the order, knowledge of the religion and age. What is interestingto note is that the muqaddam of the order is only 29 years old, yetwhen there is a gathering he sits in the most honored seat as wouldbe expected for his position but not his age. The reason for thisdistinction is because the shaykh has appointed him as hisrepresentative, so most treat him as though he were the shaykhhimself. During the weekly sessions, the young muqaddam leads theprayers and the religious rituals, despite the presense of olderYemenis and those with many years in the order. Being a member of theProphet Muhammad's family does not automatically give anyone a highstatus in the order, but rather emphasis is placed on religiousvocation.
Religious education differs among members.Most have gained their basic knowledge of Islam through theirfamilies, Koran schools, and the mandatory government run schoolswhich have classes on elementary law and belief (i'tiqad). Noone has a formal degree in Islamic studies from a university. Theiradvanced religious education comes from informal learning sessions atmosques and private homes. Their interpretations of Islamic teachingsand practices have been prominently determined by the instructions ofthe shaykh, the reading of classical Sufi texts and the practice ofSufi rituals.
As mentioned, a survey was conducted inNovember 1995 in the Tihama, Ta'izz and Aden, in order to establishthe general status of Sufism in these regions. A number of tentativeconclusions were reached.
During our travels we found daily, weekly,monthly and yearly gatherings of non-Sufi Yemenis performing as leastone of the following four rituals important to Sufi practice: dhikr,the repetition of divine names; sama', the singing of Sufipeotry in groups; mawlid, the celebration of the birth and/or deathof a prophet or saint; and ziyara, the visitation to the tombsof saints. Most Yemenis we spoke to agreed that these practices areperformed less today than in the past. Young people, we were told,are reluctant to continue these rituals.
Our travels confirmed their statements."Al-Hujjariya is sewn together by the saints," said a caretaker of asaint's tomb in Turba, the judicial and administrative capital of thedistrict of the al-Hujjariya. Indeed, you can not pass a villagewithout seeing a white dome of a saint's tomb. However, we found thatmany of the practices at these smaller tombs are not being continuedby the younger Yemenis. The caretaker in Turba, who was an advanceddisciple, alluded to the loss of Sufis by responding to my questionabout the number of people at his Sufi gatherings, saying that, "Ifthere are five people saying the group dhikr sincerely, it is likefive thousand."
While daily veneration practices at tombs donot attract many people, yearly saints' day celebrations of highlyvenerated Sufis could attract whole villages to gravesites. Forexample, last year thousands of Yemenis attended the two-daymawlid ceremony at the tomb/school (madrasa) complexbuilt around the grave of the great medieval Yemeni Sufi poet AþmadIbn 'Alwan (d. 1267AD/ 665 AH) in Yafrus, near Ta'izz.
What is interesting to note is that most ofthe devotees to saints are not in Sufi orders. Most attendees tomawlids are known as lovers of the saints (muhibbin). They seethese celebrations as a cardinal means to ask the saint to intercedewith God on their behalf for blessings. Veneration of saints is anessential aspect of their Islamic belief and practice, but to followa Sufi shaykh is not.
As mentioned, the Sufi orders we encounteredwere extremely low key, loosely organized, and fragmented throughoutSanaa and the region surveyed. Like the Shadhiliya/'Alawiya order ofSanaa, the Sufi orders in the areas surveyed are serious in theirfaith and practice, but they are also extremely cautious inadvertising themselves to non-Sufi Yemenis. For example, we met threeSufi shaykhs who did not claim leadership of a Sufi order, yet hadfollowers and weekly gatherings.
Tentative reasons for the present state ofthe Sufi orders could be the following. Most of the powerful shaykhshave either died or left the country. When a great shaykh passes awaywithout appointing someone to take over his duties, which is commonamong the Sufi orders we encountered, fragmentation occurs among hisdisciples. No one person is strong enough to bring together thedisagreeing factions on leadership issues. Smaller gatherings formunder the authority of the advanced disciples of the late shaykh. Toconserve peaceful relations among members, these advanced disciplesdo not claim the shaykhhood for themselves, but rather keep theirassertions hidden from those not belonging in their group.
Another reason for the decline andelusiveness of Sufi orders and ideas is due to the spread of thereligious doctrines of the political party of Islah, which find Sufipractices and beliefs unIslamic. In cities and villages, youngYemenis are not interested in Sufi shaykhs, saints' tombs and theapolitical stance and loose organization of the orders. Rather, theyprefer politicized religious organizations such as the newly createdIslah party. For many Yemenis, Islamic teachings and practices aresupposed to guide their behavior in life and to answer basicquestions on the meaning of existence. However, many know only therudiments of Islamic law and faith and are uneducated in the otherdimensions, interpretations, and aspects of basic religiousteachings.
Simultaneously Yemen is experiencingeconomic difficulties. During the Gulf War a flood of Yemeniemigrants returned home thereby cutting off an important source offoreign remittances. As a result, Yemeni currency has been devalued,unemployment has risen, and the level of government salaries makes itdifficult to support families. There are many young, unemployed, poorYemenis who are anxious to improve their material circumstances.These people, though poorly educated in Islam, have a passive butdeeply imbedded religious worldview. The Islah party is attractive tothem because it offers the jobless and needy a means to enhance theirfinancial status through joining a political party who platform isbased on religious principles. Such principles, however, areanti-Sufi and go against the Islam of their parents. As a result manyyoung people who join this party reject and sometimes violentlyoppose the practices of saintly patronage and following shaykhs. Forexample, Ta'izz was one of the largest centers of Sufism in Yemensince medieval times, but now devotees in Sufi orders there arediminishing while the growing party affiliation makes this city amajor center of Islahi support.
Another reason for the attraction of Islahamongst the youth is because Islah controls the curriculum of thegovernment-run religious educational institutions and the appointmentof imams at government-run mosques. Hence, young people attendingthese schools, especially in rural areas, who would normally followthe traditions of their parents, are taught that Sufi relatedpracticed are unIslamic. As a result, many Sufis of the Shadhiliyaorder in Sanaa refuse to send their children to the Islah-run Quranschools at mosques because they do not want their children learninganti-Sufi interpretations of the holy text.
One result of Islah control of imamappointments has directly affected the muqaddam of theShadhiliya/'Alawiya order of Sanaa. Once it was discovered that theimam was the muqaddam of a Sufi order, members of Islah had himremoved and replaced with a member of their party. He was removedfrom his position as imam of the mosque of Shaykh 'Abd Allahal-Ahmar, the leading political figure in Yemen and one of the headsof the party of Islah.
An extreme result of this growth ofopposition to Sufi orders and ideas has culminated in the eradicationof saints' tombs and the banning of veneration practices there. Theshrines of al-Hashimi and al-Aydarus, two important places of saintveneration in Aden, were destroyed two years ago by the extremistIslamic sect of the Salafis. The members of the Shadhili order andnumerous locals around the al-Hashimi mosque believe that this couldonly have happened with the tacit approval of the Wahhabi branch ofthe Islah party.
However, in response to this violence, atype of Sufi opposition is forming. The destroyed tombs are beingrebuilt and a Yemeni scholar of law (faqih) from the Sufifamily of Ba-'Alawi, educated in Saudi Arabia, has returned to Adento take over the weekly Friday sermons at al-Aydarüs. At thesame time, he and other pro-Sufi politicians are reviving theveneration practices at these sites. Recently, a saints' daycelebration, not held for five years, was performed there. Themembers of the Shadhili order, along with other Adenese Sufis wespoke to, are skeptical of such renewals saying that the only truegrowth in Sufism can come from great shaykhs whom, they say, have yetto appear.
Like many Sufi orders and lovers of saintsin Yemen, the members of the Shadhiliya/'Alawiya order continue tocarry out their rituals and defend, at least among themselves, theirreligious practices and beliefs in light of Zaydi and Islahicriticism. While this paper presented only a brief survey of thesituation of Sufism in certain regions in Yemen, with specialreference to the Shadhiliya order in Sanaa, future research willexplore how these Sufis defend their beliefs and practices in lightof Zaydi and Islah opposition.
It is sufficient to say at present that theSufis of this Shadhiliya order are indicative of many Sufiorganizations in Yemen: they remain small, dispersed, looselyorganized social entities, with declining memberships. With theexception of the activities in Aden, most orders are, like the saintsthey venerate, going underground by concealing themselves frompolitical and social exposure. They wait patiently for the arrival ofGod's friends, whether from Dubai or the next world, to help fightagainst their current religious adversaries.
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