Ahmad ibn Ataillah as-Sakandari

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ataillah as-Sakandari (c. 658-709 AH / 1260-1309 CE) was an Egyptian Maliki jurist, hadith scholar, and the third master of the Shadhili Sufi order, who became one of the most important authors in the history of Islamic spirituality. Born in Alexandria, he initially studied Maliki fiqh and hadith and was skeptical of Sufism. His encounter with Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi (the second master of the Shadhili order) transformed his outlook, and he became his devoted student.

Ibn Ataillah's most celebrated work is al-Hikam al-Ata'iyyah (The Aphorisms), a collection of spiritual maxims that distill the essence of Islamic spiritual wisdom into concise, memorable statements about the relationship between the servant and Allah, the nature of reliance (tawakkul), gratitude, patience, and sincerity. The Hikam has been the subject of dozens of commentaries and is widely memorized and studied across the Muslim world. He also authored Lata'if al-Minan (on the virtues of his Shadhili masters), al-Tanwir fi Isqat at-Tadbir (on spiritual surrender to divine will), and Miftah al-Falah (on the practice of dhikr).

Ibn Ataillah is notable as the first to commit the Shadhili spiritual teachings to writing, as neither Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhili nor Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi had authored books. He was also a participant in the famous debates with Ibn Taymiyyah over the legitimacy of Sufi practices. He died in Cairo in 709 AH (1309 CE). His Hikam remains one of the most beloved and widely studied texts in Islamic spirituality, used by scholars and laypeople of every school.