Soufisme et Chérifisme. La généalogie discutée d’une famille vénérée : les chorfa Baqqālī

Abstract

The return of the chorfa, especially the Idrīsids, on the social and political scene in Morocco from the 14th century onwards, and the advantages and privileges they acquired thanks to their symbolic capital, led to a vast polemic on the authenticity of their prophetic descent, at a period that saw the emergence of many individuals and families claiming to be genealogically linked to the Prophet. This is why the Baqqālī family, of Idrīsid origin, suffered the rejection of their sharifian nasab, especially after having left the rural world for Tétouan, a city where other sharifian families had settled. The controversy grew between the intellectual elite and the people in charge of verification (ahl al-tawṯīq), and its echo touched historiography, since this sharifian family also represented Sufi sanctity, combining spiritual influence with elements of domination and social privilege.