Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Idrīs al-Kattānī (Arabic: محمد بن جعفر بن إدريس الكتاني), born in Fes in 1858 and died in Fes in 1927 was a Moroccanscholar and theologian from the 19th century.
Bibliography
Al-Kattānī came from a family of Islamic scholars in Fes, the Kattānīyya brotherhood, strongly marked by the religious tradition of Ibn Arabi. His father, Ja'far bin Idris, was Shaykh al-Islām and advisor to Sultan Hassan ben Mohammed (from 1873 to 1894).[1] He devoted his first works to Islamic jurisprudence and local history, writing in particular an imposing historical-biographical dictionary of local personalities, the Salwat al-anfās, which inspired many similar works elsewhere in the Maghreb.[2]
In uncertain circumstances, he left to settle in Damascus. After the First World War, he took part in the struggles against the French mandate and, while remaining faithful, took an interest in pan-Islamism and the renewal of Islam, the only means, according to him, to allow Muslims to free themselves from the Christians.[2] He contacted Emir Ahmed Sharif al-Senussi, who encouraged him to fight against the colonisers. A French report from 1923 notes: “Sheik Kattani began by recruiting members in all the major Syrian centers. Most of the 'ulama' in Syrian cities have joined the sect and have led, ipso facto, to the great Muslim religious and philanthropic societies whose influence over the masses are unquestionable.".[3] He also supported the revolts of the Sennusids against the Italian occupation of Libya.[1]
His best known book is the famous Saints from Fes (Salwa al-Anfās), or Kitāb salwat al-anfās wa-muḥadatha al-akiyas mi-man uqbira min al-ʿulamā wa al-ṣulaḥa bi-Fās, lithographedArabic edition originally 1898.[4]
He also wrote al- Azhār al-ʻāṭirat al-anfās bi-dhikr baʻḍ maḥāsin quṭb al-Maghrib wa-tāj madīnat Fās (الأزهار العاطرة الأنفاس بذكر بعض محاسن قطب المغرب وتاج مدينة فاس).[5]
Fernando Rodríguez Mediano, Santos arrebatados: Algunos ejemplos de Maydub en la Salwat al-anfäs de Muhammad al-Kattani, 1992
Bettina Dennerlein, “Asserting Authority”, in: Gudrun Krämer, Sabine Schmidtke, Speaking for Islam: religious authorities in Muslim societies, BRILL, 2006, p. 128 ff, Online Google books [1] (retrieved January 6, 2011)
Knysh, A. (1998). Julie Scott Meisami; Paul Starkey (eds.). Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature. Vol. 2. Routledge. ISBN0-415-18572-6.