History

Ahmad al-Badawi was a 13th-century Moroccan Sunni Muslim mystic who became famous as the founder of the Badawiyyah order of Sufism. Originally hailing from Fes, al-Badawi eventually settled for good in Tanta, Egypt in 1236, whence he developed a posthumous reputation as "Egypt's greatest saint." As al-Badawi is perhaps "the most popular of Muslim saints in Egypt", his tomb has remained a "major site of visitation" for Muslims in the region.

Ahmad was born in the town of Fez in the year 1200 A.D. (597 A.H.). He was the sixth child in his family; two older brothers and three (sometimes four) sisters of Ahmad are usually mentioned. He wore the red Sufi mantle in his childhood, red being the characteristic color for Ahmad's followers. When Ahmad was seven his father decided to move back to Mecca. On their way the family stopped in Egypt, where they stayed from three to five years. In Mecca Ahmad led a life of chivalry
at first; that phase of his life was characterized by courage and piety. He therefore earned the title of "al-'~aftab," i.e., the one who causes damage to the enemy. Ahmad refused to marry and rebuked his older brother Hasan (who became the head of the family after the death of their father and middle brother) for his suggestion that he should do so. Following this early phase Ahmad turned to austere living and worshipped in solitude in a cabe outside Mecca. About the year 1237, Ahmad persuaded his brother Hasan, also a Sufi, to accompany him to Iraq where two major Sufis had founded philosophical schools of mysticism and impressive organized brotherhoods.
These were Ahmad al-Rifa'Ai (d.1175 A.D.) and 'Aabdul-Qadir a1 Jeelani (d.1166). The two brothers toured Iraq. The brothers returned to southern Iraq where Hasan, the older brother, decided to return to his family in Mecca while the younger Ahmad decided to return to the
north; however, Ahmad did return to Mecca soon afterwards, in the year 1238.

He was then instructed to travel to Egypt where he arrived in the year 637 AH in the city of Tandta (Tanta). The instruction he had received was to “go to Tandta for thy will settle there and raise up men and champions.” So he went to Tanta and stayed in the home of the Shaykh Rakeen al-Tajir for twelve years. After his death, al-Badawy moved to the chambers of Ibn Shaheet where he remained for the 26 years before his death. al-Badawi used to pray in the Masjid of al-Boosa also known as Masjid al-Baheeya in the thirteenth century AH after the Shaykh Muhammad Ahmed al-Baheeya who was buried there. Al-Badawi died in Tanta in 1276, being seventy-six years old. The Ahmad Al-Badawi Mosque is the largest mosque in the northern city of Tanta, Egypt. It is a Sunni Sufi mosque and contains the tomb of Ahmad al-Badawi.

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