Sheikh Aziz El Kobaiti

Sheikh Dr.

عزيز الكبيطي الإدريسي الحسني

Aziz El Kobaiti Idrissi Al-Hassani

President of the International Academic Center for Sufi and Aesthetic Studies (IACSAS)

A spiritual master and academic scholar bridging deep learning and the taste of tazkiyah, presiding over the Center and educating murids by the balance of Truth and Sacred Law.

Portrait of Sheikh Dr. Aziz El Kobaiti Idrissi Al-Hassani

Academic path

Fez · Chicago

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.

2017

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.

Research grants

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.

Fez Sufi Conference

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

  • General Secretary of the World Sufi Union, Indonesia
  • Representative for North Africa at the Caucasus Muslims Office
  • President of the International Certification Council, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • General Secretary of the World Sufi Parliament
  • Member of several international religious bodies

Lineage

In this science, knowledge is not taken from books alone. It passes through companionship, from one man to the next, back to the Messenger of God ﷺ.

  1. His father (may God have mercy on him)

    A muqaddam in the Tijani order, accompanied from a young age

  2. Sheikh Hamza al-Qadiri

    Master of the Qadiri Boudshishi order

    17 years

  3. Sheikh Ahmad Wahid Nawaz al-Dabbagh

    Master of the Muhammadi order

    2013 – 2016

  4. Permission to guide people on the Path of Gratitude — 2016

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.

The connection and the permission

We took from several masters in Morocco, in Indonesia and in Britain; through them we inherited the connection and the permission in the Muhammadi Ibrizi chain, the Qadiri chain, the Naqshbandi chain, the Darqawi chain and others. We hold more than 46 signed sanads from these masters, and most of them bore witness to our inheritance in their lifetime.

In the Sheikh's own words

signed sanads from his masters
46+
The chains
Muhammadi Ibrizi · Qadiri · Naqshbandi · Darqawi — and others
His masters
Morocco · Indonesia · Britain

The masters of cultivation

The vision of the Center is a continuation of the Prophetic Approach that has passed through stages since the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — through the masters of cultivation: Sayyiduna Ali, Sayyiduna Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Sayyiduna Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish, Sayyiduna Abu al-Hassan al-Shadhili, our Sheikh Sidi Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh, our Sheikh Sidi Ahmed ibn Idris and Sheikh Sidi Ahmed al-Dabbagh — down to the time of Sheikh Aziz El-Kobaiti Idrisi Al-Hassani, who completes the message of the Prophetic Approach with a renewing perspective.

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

30+published books

The Sheikh has authored published books across the various sciences and arts: Sufism, sīrah, shamā'il, wisdom, spiritual healing, prophetic medicine, creed and thought. Among them:

And many more works…

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.

The International Academic Center for Sufi and Aesthetic Studies

The Sheikh founded the Center in Fez, Morocco, in 2014. It brings together knowledge and learning with cultivation and guidance, under the supervision of the Sheikh as President of the Center and Sheikh of the Prophetic Approach.

Visit the Center's website