Sufism inSpain was practiced inAl-Andalus mainly in the 9th century. Although it did not reach the extent of other lands, it would strongly influenceIslam in Spain andIberian culture in general.
The first spread of Sufi spirituality can be traced back toIbn Masarra (883-931), who wrote works in the line ofMutazilism and Batimi Sufism.[1] His text are lost and what is known about them is due mainly to the work of a later disciple,Ibn al-A'rabi (1165-1240).[2]
The next decades saw a growth of Sufi movements in Al-Andalus, although they did not become organized in tariqa as in other lands, but in smaller groups centered around a master, without an initiation ritual and often without calling themselves Sufi. One of the first true schools formed was that ofIbn al-Arif (1088-1141), although it would be withAbu Madyan (116-1198), who performed a synthesis of Sufi thought of his time, including Oriental, Andalusi and Magrebi, that Sufism would truly blossom in Spain.[3]His influence was notable, having among his disciples Al-Arabi himself.
Other important Sufis of the time wereIbn Sab'in (1270), and one of his successors, the famous Andalusian poetAbu al-Hasan al-Shushtari, whose works are still in force in the Magreb.
Spanish ArabistMiguel Asín Palacios speculated that the influence of Sufi mysticism reached Christianity. As quoted byFernando Sánchez Dragó:[4]
Miguel Asín Palacios, a greatArabist, almost the father ofPan-Arabism, in the good sense of the word, talked about the journey and return of religious thought, of mystical though from Christianity to Christianity; he referred to how the masters of Sufism in Spain, after Islam passed through Egypt and other lands in northern Africa and contacted theDesert Fathers, the men from Alexandria, theCoptic Christians, received the esoteric message of Jesus, translated it to Islam, and then, from Islam, fromIbn-Masarra, fromMuignuhdin Ibn-Al-Arabi, from other great mystical thinkers of Spanish Islam, was given back to Christianity. There would not beJuan de la Cruz, there would not beTeresa de Jesús, there would not beMiguel de Molinos, there would not be theAlumbrados, theQuietistas, the Dexados, without the precedent of these "God's madmen" who had a main role for many centuries, and specifically during the centuries of thetaifa kingdoms, in that retrieval of a mysticism that came from Christianity yet was universal.
