Maʾ al-ʿAynayn

Muḥammad al-Muṣṭafā al-Qalqamī (; c. 10 February 1830 – 1910) also known as Māʾ al-ʿAynayn was a Saharan Moorish religious and political leader who fought French and Spanish colonization in North Africa. He was the son of Mohammed Fadil Mamin (founder of the , a Qadiriyya Sufi brotherhood), and the elder brother of Shaykh Saad Bouh, a prominent marabout (religious leader) in Mauritania.

Early life and rise Muhammad al-Mustafa al-Qalqami was born in on 10 February 1830 in the Hawdh region, the twelfth of 48 brothers. His father Muhammad Fadil wuld Mamin was the founder of the Fadiliyya order, and a member of a clan known as the Ahl Taleb al-Mukhtar or Ahl Jih al-Mukhtar. His mother was Manna bint Maʾlum of the Ijayba clan His nickname Māʾ al-ʿAynayn means "water of two eyes"

He studied under his father who taught him in the exoteric and esoteric. He was singled out among his brothers to study in Fes. He left his father at the age of 16 to travel and study under a number of scholars. In 1858, he left to perform the Hajj. On his way to Mecca, he went to Morocco to Essaouira, Marrakesh and Meknes. In Marrakesh, he met the heir to the sultanate, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman, and in Meknes, he met the sultan Abd al-Rahman where he informed him of the affairs in Mauritania and received gifts from Abd al-Rahman. He spent three weeks in Mecca. His meeting with Abd al-Rahman began close links with Morocco onwards and he would regularly visit Marrakesh and Fes from 1873 onwards.

After returning from his pilgrimage, Ma al-'Aynayn briefly stayed at Tindouf. During the journey through the Sahara, he spent time among multiple scholars and was hosted by several Saharan tribes like the Tajakant, al-Arusiyin, Reguibat and Ait Oussa. He returned to his homeland in 1861, where by then he had acquired a reputation for mastery of the esoteric and exoteric religious sciences. Upon his return, his father gave him a turban and the title of Shaykh. From 1871 to 1872, he established Dār al-Ḥamrāʾ which was a zawiya that served as his first headquarters.

In 1879, Sultan Moulay Hassan I initiated a strategic effort to consolidate Moroccan authority over the Sahara by issuing a dahir (royal decree) appointing the influential scholar as his representative. The decree granted the Sheikh jurisdiction over a vast territory stretching from the Souss to the Saguia el Hamra and Tarfaya. This move was designed to counter the influence of regional commercial rivals and European colonial interests.

Initially, Ma al-'Aynayn relied on his religious prestige rather than his official title to gain influence among the independent Saharan tribes. A major turning point occurred in 1888, following the Sheikh’s visit to the Sultan in Marrakech. Having secured significant military supplies and modern weaponry from the Makhzen, Ma al-'Aynayn began to openly assert his administrative and military authority. The newspaper called the qaid and spiritual leader’s patriotism and religious devotion into question, describing him as an unscrupulous mendicant and arms smuggler, even peddling rumors that his followers were Shia.

On Ma’ al-‘Aynayn es-Saada published:

One of these was Mubṣir al-mutashawwif ʻalá Muntakhab al-Taṣawwuf.

Family Ma al-'Aynayn extended his influence through marriages. According to al-Mukhtar al-Susi, he had a total of 116 marriages. al-Susi notes that he would constantly marry and divorce women as the Saharans did not disapprove of this practice. French explorer confirmed this observation noting that he only limited them to four wives at any point. These include:

Aḥmad al-Hība

Muḥammad al-Aghẓaf Muḥammad Taqī Allāh (also known as Ibn al-Samīn) Muḥammad al-Imām al-Ṭālib Akhyār His descendants have become so numerous that they have become a small prestigious tribe referred to as "Ahl Shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn". The Spanish authorities counted 363 members in 1974 and they are spread throughout Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara.

Legacy

A few years after Ma al-'Aynayn's death, his son El-Hiba, known as The Blue Sultan, continued the war against the French, but was ultimately defeated.

Ma al-'Aynayn enjoyed tremendous prestige and his name is invoked by both the Morocco and the Polisario Front. For Moroccans, he embodied the idea of unity of Morocco and the Sahara. Many descendants of Ma al-'Aynayn hold high-profile offices in Morocco as well as in the Polisario Front and in Mauritania.

Ma al-'Aynayn, is buried in Tiznit, Morocco where his tomb became a pilgrimage site.

In Literature The novel Désert weaves a story of a young Tuareg boy caught up in Ma-al;'Aynayn's 1910 expedition with a second story of a Tuareg woman's struggles in the modern (1980s) world.