Ahmad al-Qushashi

Safi al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Dajani al-Qushashi (Arabic: صفي الدين أحمد بن محمد الدَّجاني القُشاشي‎ ,1583-1661) was a prominent Sufi master (murshid) of the Shattariyya order, who was born in Medina in 991 Hijri, or 1538 CE. His family descended from Tamim al-Dari, one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1][2]

In 1602, his father took him to study from Yemeni scholars. After returning to Medina, he studied the Shattariyya order from Ahmad al-Shinnawi, who later also became his father-in-law. After Al-Shinnawi died, Al-Qushashi became his successor in teaching the Shattariyya order in Madina.[1][2]

Al-Qushashi taught the order in a more Sharia-oriented nature and rejected the wahdat al-wujud teaching. This was a change from the previously more syncretic nature of the order. Thus, the dissemination of the Shattariya order by Al-Qushashi students also brought a more orthodox Sufism as their teacher.[2][3]

Some of Al-Qushashi's well-known students from Southeast Asia including Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili (Aceh), Abd al-Muhyi of Pamijahan (West Java), Yusuf al-Makassari (South Sulawesi), and Abd al-Malik ibn Abdullah (Trengganu).[1][2]

After he died, the student who became his successor was Ibrahim al-Kurani, who maintained close relationships with the order's students from Southeast Asia.[1]