Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi

Al-Mursi Abu'l-'Abbas (1219 in Murcia – 1287 CE) (Arabic: أبو العباس المرسي) was a saint from Al-Andalus during the Nasrid period and who later in his life moved to Alexandria in Egypt.

Al-Mursi Abul-'Abbas, as he is now commonly called, is one of the four master saints of Egypt, the other three being Ahmad al-Badawi, al-Dessouqi and al-Haggag.

Shahab was born in Murcia in al-Andalus, in 616 H (1219 CE) to a wealthy family in the trading business and was well educated in religious sciences.

In Tunisia, Shahab heard about Shaykh Abu’l-Hassan ash-Shadhili, founder of the Shadhiliyya Sufi brotherhood, and he accompanied him when the latter moved to Alexandria in Egypt.

This change of heart came as a result of Abu’l Abbas’ knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) which forced Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah to reassess the judgement of his fellow students.