At a glance
- Roles
- mystic
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
- Region
- Egypt & Nile
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
Summary
Ibrahim al-Majdhub, an Egyptian known as Abu Lahf. At the start of his spiritual attraction he lived for about twenty years in the Red Tower of the Cairo citadel 1.
The prophecy of the citadel
As the Circassian state was nearing its end, he sent a message to al-Ghuri: "Move out of the citadel and hand the keys to their owners." Al-Ghuri paid no attention to what he said and called him a madman. Shaykh Ibrahim then went down to Egypt, and the Circassian state fell about a year later. He went barefoot and bareheaded and spent most of his time in the houses of the notables. He was shown what misfortunes would befall a person in the future. He would tell that person that the misfortune would strike at a certain time, and ask for money. If the money was paid, the misfortune would be turned away; if not, it would fall just as he had said. He would sometimes stay for a month or more without sleeping, sitting and murmuring the remembrance of God until dawn, in summer and in winter alike. He died in the year 940 and was buried at the Sadd bridge on the road to old Cairo 1.
People and things also explored
Prophetic adab (proper conduct)· Akhi Baba (title of the guild shaykh and tanners' head)· The angelic and the satanic inspiration (lamma)· Asking people for help (al-masala)· The soul (nafs) and the spirit (ruh)· Tabattul (withdrawal from the world)· Intimacy with God (uns billah)· Certainty and its degrees (yaqin)
Sources
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 588
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ibrahim al-Majdhub Abu Lahaf”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ibrahim-al-majdhub-abu-lahaf/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-19.