Biography of Sidi Mahrez ibn Khalaf

Abu Mahfuz Mahrez ibn Khalaf al-Tunisi was born in 951 AD/340 H in the city of Aryanah, Tunisia, to a very righteous family descended from the noble companion Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. At a young age, he learned and studied Qur'an and Hadith. Sidi Mahrez was a frequent patron of the city of Kairouan. He also travelled to Egypt to study there, one of the notable teachers he was with there was the famous Abu Bakr Al-Abhari, a Maliki scholar. At the age of 57, he went into a spiritual retreat at the town of Carthage.

When he returned to Tunisia, Sidi Mahrez studied under Imam Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, the greatest authority of the Maliki school at the time. Both men were very close companions. Sidi Mahrez requested Ibn Abi Zayd to write a book to detail the doctrine, creed and jurisprudence of the Maliki madhab, something which the latter agreed to. This book was known as the Al-Risalah al-Fiqhiyyah, which was divided into two portions; the first half on the creed and doctrine of Malikis, the second half on the jurisprudence of Malikis. When the book was completed, Sidi Mahrez had the honour of teaching it to his own students. It is also said that Sidi Mahrez worked as a Qadi (judge).

There is an interesting story about Sidi Mahrez and his prayer against an oppressive ruler. In the early 11th century AD/5th century H, the Rafidhah Shi'ites invaded Tunisia. The people of Tunisia were able to repel the invasion and kill the heretics, and Sidi Mahrez was one of these people. It was said that Sidi Mahrez was the strongest fighter, wiping out many of the Rafidhah and causing the surviving ones to run away and retreat. When the event was later told to the Zirid emir Badis ibn al-Mansur, he was very angry, as he was one of the Shi'ites. So Badis said, “The land will be, but Tunisia shall not remain.” News of the words Badis spoke reached the people of Tunisia, and they were alarmed by it, so they went up to Sidi Mahrez, and told him what had been reported to them. Sidi Mahrez was calm, and he said, “Rather, there will be land, without Badis.” A week later, Badis became ill and suffered a stroke. He eventually died from this stroke, and the Shi'ites did not attempt invasions on Tunisia for a long time.

Sidi Mahrez passed away in 1022 AD/413 H at the age of seventy-one. He was buried in his house near the gate of Bab Souika at the Medina of Tunis. Unfortunately, the innovators venerated his grave, and at some point, they made the later Sultan of Tunisia build a mosque and shrine over the grave. This mosque is still visited, but many people there do not pray there, but they visit the shrine and ask supplication from Sidi Mahrez instead of Allah.

The Ash'aris have tried to claim Sidi Mahrez, which was almost successful, as they had already claimed his teacher, Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani. But Ibn Abi Zayd held many viewpoints in his Risala which contradicted the creedal beliefs of Ash'airah, and in later years after his death he was criticized for such viewponts by scholars like Ahmad Zarruq al-Maliki al-Ash'ari. Sidi Mahrez was on the same Aqidah as his teacher, hence it can be concluded that he was on the creed of the Salaf. Allah knows best.

From the life of Sidi Mahrez, we can see that he was a pious man and a great scholar, whose actions contributed greatly to the spread of the Maliki school in the region of Ifriqiya, such as Tunisia. Indeed, some have also said that he was one of the great Awliya of Allah alongside Sultan al-Awliya Abdul Qadir al-Jilani and Shaykh al-Islam Abu Ismail al-Harawi; this is still disputed, but possible, since he was not one of the innovators. Again, Allah knows best.

May Allah have mercy on Sidi Mahrez ibn Khalaf.