مجلة العبر للدراسات التاريخية و الاثرية في شمال افريقيا
Volume 9, Numéro 2, Pages 49-71
2026-06-30
Representations Of The Sacred In The Collective Mentality Of The Central Maghreb (6th–9th Ah / 12th–15th Ce): A Case Study Of Hagiographic Sources
Authors : Gharzoul Afaf .
Abstract
This article examines the hagiographic, karāmāt-based discourse of Sufism and its foundation in the notion of the sacred within the medieval Western Islamic world. It argues that the sacred constituted a central mechanism of religious authority through which Sufi saints influenced collective mentalities, particularly during periods of political, economic, and social crisis. The study demonstrates that manifestations of the sacred appeared through symbolic representations, belief in baraka, and the perceived immediacy of answered supplications. However, the interaction between crisis and the sacred remained temporally and spatially limited, operating primarily within the spiritual framework of the Sufi community and the relationship between the shaykh and his disciples. The article further analyzes the mechanisms by which Sufi karāmāt discourse was consolidated, demonstrating that the sacred, in certain phases, incorporated elements of fear and violence; this raises questions related to sacred fear and sacred violence in medieval saintly discourse. Finally, it highlights how the dissemination of the sacred contributed to the emergence of socially contested practices, such as popular or heterodox Sufism, grave visitation, and their subsequent sacralization. The study concludes by emphasizing the essential role of hagiographic sources in documenting the history of mentalities in the medieval Maghreb. This research aims to highlight the role of Manāqib literature (hagiography) in documenting the social history of the Islamic Maghreb, exploring the mechanisms of employing hagiographical texts an epistemological tool to analyze societal mentalities during the period of study. The paper is structured into four primary axes: the first axis examines Manāqib literature and its role in historiographing the religious discourse of saint through their social functions. The second axis discusses "crisis" as a vital catalyst for activating the authority of the sacred. The third axis addresses the presence of the sacred in the social miracles (karāmāt) of Sufis by analyzing quantitative and statistical data extracted from primary hagiographical sources. Finally, the fourth axis analyzes "charisma of the sacred" as embodied in the figure of saint (walī). The study concludes with several key results, most notably: reaffirming the scientific importance of Manāqib books as essential primary sources for studying the history of beliefs and mentalities. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the mechanisms of consolidating Sufi hagiographical discourse were founded on a "sacred" that manifested in certain phases through themes of “fear and violence marginalized and implicit topics that are crucial for deeper understanding of the social structure of the Islamic Maghreb.
Keywords
Sacred ; Sufism ; Karāmāt ; Hagiography
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