Abu-al-Hasan Ali ben Abdallah al-Nuymari as-Shushtari (Arabic: ابو الحسن الششتري) or Al-Sustari (1212 in Exfiliana, near Guadix – 1269 in Damietta[1]) was an Andalusian-Arab Sufi Sheikh, philosopher, jurist, and poet.[2] He is best known by posterity for his poetry, which was designed to be sung in songs employing simple monorhymes to praise God with everyday musical idiom,[3] which won wide recognition beyond the hundreds of disciples in his own Shushtariyya brotherhood.[4]
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shushtarī
ابو الحسن الششتري | |
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| School | Sab'iniyya-Shushtariyya (absorbed into Shadhiliyya after his death) |
Many verses of al-Shushtari's poetry (62 short poems called "Tawshih") were identified in the classical Andalusian music that is today sung in North Africa as well as other parts of the Middle East.[citation needed] In the Mashriq (the orient), he is remembered today for his poem A little sheikh from the land of Meknes (Arabic شويخ من أرض مكناس, "Shwiyikh min ardi Meknes") a song which retains huge popularity to this day.[citation needed]