Ian Dallas was born in Scotland in 1930 of a
Highland family. He was a descendant of the literary critic and writer
E. S. Dallas. He travelled extensively to Greece, France and Italy.[3] In 1963 he acted in
Federico Fellini's film 8½ as "Il partner della telepata".[4]
Conversion
As-Sufi
converted to Islam in 1967 in
Fes, Morocco as Abdalqadir, witnessed by Abdalkarim Daudi, the Imam Khatib of the Qarawiyyin Mosque, and Alal al-Fasi. He then joined the Darqawi order as a student of
Muhammad ibn al-Habib.[5] He travelled to Morocco and Algeria with his
Shaykh and was further instructed in Sufism by
Sidi Hamud ibn al-Bashir of Blida and Sidi Fudul al-Huwari as-Sufi of Fes.[3]
Teaching
Abdalqadir as-Sufi advocated adherence to the
Maliki school of Islamic law, which he considered the original legal school of Islam, the tradition of the people of
Medina[6] as recorded by
Malik ibn Anas, since he considered this the primal formulation of Islamic society and a necessity for the re-establishment of Islam in the current age.[7]
Abdalqadir was responsible for the establishment of the Ihsan Mosque in
Norwich,
Norfolk, England,[8] and the Jumu'a Mosque of
Cape Town.[9]
Abdalqadir as-Sufi taught that
suicide terrorism is forbidden under
Islamic law, that its psychological pattern stems from
nihilism,[10] and that it "draws attention away from the fact that capitalism has failed." He stated that Britain was on "the edge of terminal decline" and that only
Britain's Muslim population could "revitalise this ancient realm".[11] He wrote extensively on the importance of monarchy and personal rule.[12] He regarded the face veil (or
niqab) of
Muslim women as un-Islamic,[13] describing it as an "evil
Hinduisation of women".[14]
In 2006, he issued a
fatwa, following a visit and speech given by
PopeBenedict XVI in Germany. In his Fatwa Concerning the Deliberations of Pope Benedict XVI in Germany, he stated that "in my opinion, Pope Benedict XVI is guilty of
insulting the Messenger of Allah".[15] He was an early mentor of American Sufi scholar,
Hamza Yusuf.[16]
Murabitun World Movement
In February 2014 he distanced himself from the
dinar and
dirham movement, saying, "So, I now dis-associate myself from all activity involving the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham".[17] The other major condition of a correct
Zakat, he argued, is the existence of personal rule, or Amirate, since Zakat is, by Qur'anic injunction, accepted rulings and established practice, taken by the leader, not given as a voluntary
sadaqa.[18]
Death
As-Sufi died on 1 August 2021 in
Cape Town, South Africa at the age of 91.[19][20]
Authorship
The author of more than 20 books and several essays and articles,[21] As-Sufi's books include:
Kufr – An Islamic Critique, (Diwan Press, 1982, ASIN: B0007C6U32)
Root Islamic Education,[23] written on the school of the people of Madinah under the leadership of Imam Malik (Madinah Press, June 1993,
ISBN978-1-874216-05-6)
The Sign of the Sword, an examination on the judgements on jihād in the light of classical works of fiqh, particularly al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyyah of
Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi, relating it to the contemporary situation and the global dominance of world banking and usury finance. (Diwan Press, 1984,
ISBN978-1-871207-26-2)
The Return of the Khalifate, a historical work on the
Ottomans, their demise and its causes and an exposition of a route to the recovery of the khalifate (Madinah Press, 1996,
ISBN978-1-874216-21-6)
The Technique of the Coup de Banque[24] on the modern age since its inception in the French Revolution. (Kutubia Mayurqa, 2000,
ISBN84-930515-6-X)
Letter to an Arab Muslim (Editorial Kutubia Mayorqa, 2001,
ISBN84-930515-9-4)
Sultaniyya[25] is a modern statement on leadership in Islam. Abdalqadir surveys Islam under the chapter headings Deen, Dawla (polity), Waqf, Trade, the Sultan – personal rule – and Tasawwuf. (Madinah Press, Cape Town, 2002, OCLC: 50875888)
Commentary on Surat al-Waqi’a (Madinah Press, 2004,
ISBN0-620-31921-6)
The Seals of Wisdom[28] by Muhyiddin ibn al-Arabi translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, Cape Town 2005,
ISBN978-0-9651209-3-7)
Sufis and Sufism: A Defence[29] by 'Abdu'l-Hayy al-'Amrawi and Abdu'l-Karim Murad translated by Aisha Bewley (Madinah Press, Cape Town 2004,
ISBN0-620-31920-8)
A Madinan View: on the Sunnah, courtesy, wisdom, battles and history by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani translated by Abdassamad Clarke (Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd, London 1999,
ISBN1-897940-84-X)
^This rebuttal by two prominent ulema of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes was written in response to the slander against Sayyid Muhammad 'Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki in a book called Kitab al-Hiwar,
References
The Collected Works by Ian Dallas, Budgate Press, 2005,
ISBN0-620-34379-6