The Hā’iyyah of the Quṭb Shaykh Sīdi al-Mukhtār al-Kuntī

by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid

Shaykh Sīdi al-Mukhtār al-Kabīr ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Kuntī, may Allah sanctify his secret, was a preeminent Muslim scholar, Sufi master, and spiritual renewer (mujaddid) of the Qādiriyya order in the Western Sudan (West Africa). He was born in the year 1729 in the town of Araouane in Erg Oralla region, north of Mabrouk, in present-day Mali.


He hailed from the prestigious Kunta tribe, a lineage of Islamic scholarship that traced its ancestry to ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ, the celebrated Umayyad commander named Amir al-Gharab (the Prince of the West). The Kunta were renowned as a clerical family (zawāyā) who had abandoned warfare for a life of religious devotion, herding, and commerce. They were closely associated with the Qādiriyya Sufi order, which they helped spread across the Sahara and Sahel. The family is sometimes referred to as the Awlād Sīdi al-Wāfī.


Shaykh Sīdi al-Mukhtār was orphaned at the age of ten when his father died, where he was raised and educated by other family members. His primary teacher was Shaykh Sīdi ʿAlī bin al-Najīb of Araouane, a leading Qādirī cleric. For a period, he also served as the caretaker of the tomb of Sīdi Aḥmad al-Bakkāʾī, a Kunta saint who had died in 1515.


By the age of 25, in 1754, Shaykh Sīdi al-Mukhtār had already been granted the title of Shaykh al-Ṭarīqa al-Qādiriyya, becoming a spiritual leader within the order. He established his zawiya (Sufi center) at al-Ḥilla in the Azawad region, northeast of Timbuktu, which became a major center of learning and spiritual instruction.


Shaykh al-Mukhtār was known for his exceptional leadership, scholarship, and spiritual charisma and miracles. He united the eastern and western branches of the Kunta, healed rifts between Tuareg and Arab warrior groups, and mediated conflicts, including a siege of Timbuktu in 1770–71. His moral authority was recognized over a vast region stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Kanem-Bornu Empire.


He trained numerous students who became influential scholars and reformers, including: [1] Shehu ʿUthmān dan Fodio (founder of the Sokoto Caliphate), whom he reportedly supported, saying: “his jihad is just”. [2] Seku Amadu (founder of the Massina Empire) and one of thirty-seven flag bearer of Shehu ʿUthmān dan Fodio. [3] Shaykh Sīdyā al-Kabīr, an influential Qādirī scholar in Mauritania.


Shaykh al-Mukhtār saw himself as one of the mujaddid (renewer) of the 13th Islamic century, claiming to have been divinely inspired by the Prophet Muhammad to "renovate" his way. He was a prolific writer, reportedly authoring around 300 treatises on various aspects of Islamic knowledge, including theology, Sufism, law, and ethics. His teachings emphasized:

[1] A return to pure Islamic practice, opposing amulets and the commercialism of some clerics.
[2] Leading by example through sincere asceticism (zuhd).
[3] The equality of all people regardless of ethnicity; he explicitly refused to acknowledge any difference between blacks and whites.

Shaykh Sīdi al-Mukhtār al-Kabīr ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Kuntī passed away in 1811 at the age of 82 and was succeeded by his son, Sīdi Muḥammad.
The Hā’iyyah of Shaykh al- Mukhtār al-Kuntī is an excellent example of classical Arabic didactic (wisdom) poetry (shiʿr al-ḥikmah or al-shiʿr al-taʿlīmī). It was cited in his famous al-Jurʻah al-ṣāfiyah wa-al-Nafḥah al-Kāfiyah (The Pure Draught and the Sufficient Breeze), an encyclopedia on the science of spiritual purification (taṣawwuf) The poem is classified as a Hā’iyyah (هائية); meaning a poem rhymed in the letter hāʾ (ه). The metre (baḥr) of the Hā’iyyah of Shaykh al- Mukhtār al-Kuntī is composed in what is called, al-basīṭ, one of the sixteen classical Arabic metres; whose pattern is:

مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ
mustafʿilun fāʿilun mustafʿilun fāʿilun
This rhythm (wazan) can clearly be seen in the in a sample line (using the first ʿarūḍ foot pattern):
مَنْ أَطَاعَ النَّفْسَ فِي شَهْوَةٍ
man aṭāʿa n-nafsa fī shahwatin
مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ
The metre is consistent throughout, though the poet makes occasional use of permissible metrical licenses (zaḥāfāt), typical in classical composition.

The rhyming scheme is that of a monorhyme (qāfiyah muwaḥḥadah); where every hemistich ends with the same rhyme sound throughout the entire poem. This monorhyme is characteristic of classical Arabic qaṣīdah form, where a single rhyme unifies the entire poem, regardless of theme or length. As for the rhyming pattern; as cited previously, the final syllable of each line follows the pattern “tihī” (or occasionally “atihī”), with the rhyme consonant being the tāʾ marbūṭah (ة / ـه) followed by a long ī.

In classical Arabic poetic tradition, poems are often named after their rhyme letter (rawī). Thus, a poem rhyming in hāʾ is called a Hā’iyyah (هائية). This naming convention is common across Arabic literature, with famous examples such as: [1] Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s al-Tā’iyyah al-Kubrā (rhymed in tāʾ); [2] Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s al-Mīmiyyah (rhymed in mīm); [3] Ibn Zaydūn’s Nūniyyah (rhymed in nūn); and [4] Abū Nuwās’s Lāmiyyah (rhymed in lām).

Thus, the Hā’iyyah of Shaykh al- Mukhtār al-Kuntī follows a consistent monorhyme ending in -tihī, where the final consonant is the hāʾ(ه) preceded by a tāʾ marbūṭah (ة) and a long vowel ī. The poetic type or genre is ascetic poetry (zuhdiyyah) combined with wisdom literature (ḥikmah) and admonition (waʿẓ).

The style of the poem belongs to the tradition of ethical and spiritual instruction, common in Abbasid and later periods, where the poet presents a series of moral maxims, contrasting righteous conduct with base behavior, often with strong Sufi or ascetic undertones.
The structure of the Hā’iyyah of Shaykh al- Mukhtār al-Kuntī follows a paratactic structure: a series of independent, aphoristic couplets (abyāt) each presenting a self-contained moral lesson. This is typical of wisdom poetry, where each verse stands as a proverb-like statement.

The key themes of the Hā’iyyah of Shaykh al- Mukhtār al-Kuntī are: [1] the struggle against the lower self (nafs); [2] the virtues of piety (taqwā), reliance upon Allah(tawakkul), [3] the immense spiritual significance of night prayer (qiyām al-layl); [4] the importance of righteous companionship; [5] spiritual chivalry (futuwwah); and [6] the Divine rewards for fearful awareness of Allah. Among the linguistic and rhetorical features of the poem is the frequent antithetical contrast between righteousness and sin, light and darkness, guidance and error.

The verses progress from: [1] warning against following the lower self (first several verses); [2] contrast with taming the self and attaining divine light; [3] general moral principles (trust in Allah, seeking righteousness, avoiding corrupt companionship); [4] the heights of spiritual attainment (night prayer, prostration, divine intimacy); [5] and a conclusion where the poet declares these spiritual states his true companions, ending with a ṣalāh (blessing) on the Prophet Muhammad.

The thirty-one verses of Hā’iyyah of Shaykh al- Mukhtār al-Kuntī is a concise summation of the Path of Sufism, for beginner, the intermediate and advanced student in this most noble of the sciences of Islam – the perfection of character and gnosis of Allah ta`ala. It is my intention, Allah willing; to compose a commentary upon this poem, highlighting its sources from the Quran, the Sunna and the consensus of the Awliyya.