Aḥmad al-Badawī, Sidi

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Aḥmad al-Badawī, Sidi (c.1199/1200–1276 (AH 596–675)). Sūfī adept, immensely revered in Egypt. Boisterous in youth, he underwent some kind of inner conversion in c.627 and withdrew from human contact, including marriage, to seek God alone. He made pilgrimage to the tombs of many of the great Sūfīs, e.g. al-Jīli and al-Ḥallāj. Settling finally at Tanditā in Egypt, he developed even more ascetic ways. After his death, ʿAbd al-ʿĀl became his khalīfa, and organized his followers under strict rule.