SANŪSIYYAH. – The most recent of the great *fariqah* or Muslim mystical confraternities; of all of them it is the least mystical in the strictest sense of the word, and the most influential in political affairs, to the extent that, as of now (1951), its leader has become king of the new independent State of Libya. It was founded by Sidi Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Sanūsī, born in 1787 near Mustaghanem (Algeria), in 1837 in Mecca.
By 1840 the *fariqah* had already established itself in Egypt, and when, shortly thereafter, many Libyan tribes adhered to its preaching, al-Sanūsī found himself at the head of a strong political-religious movement with a military character. When he died in 1859 in Jaghbūb, he was succeeded by his eldest son Muhammad al-Mahdī, who extended the influence of the confraternity as far as Lake Chad and Darfur. For this reason and for other strategic considerations, al-Mahdī moved his capital ever further south, first to Kufra (1893) and then to al-Jawf (1899). At his death (1902), the confraternity, aided by the favorable position of its main centers along the caravan routes, possessed an enviable military and political position, which attracted the attention of the French, who occupied the *zāwiyah* of 'Ayn Galāka. Aḥmad al-Sharīf, successor to al-Mahdī, retook it in 1911 with the help of the Turks. The Italian occupation (1912) struck a heavy blow to the Sanūsiyyah, which, however, recovered strongly during the First World War, when the *Sanūsīs* sided with the Turks. The definitive defeat of the Sanūsiyyah could only be achieved in 1931 with the Graziani expedition. The Italians destroyed the various *zāwiyahs*, preserving only that of Jaghbūb. During the Second World War the *Sanūsīs* sided instead with the English, obtaining promises of independence. These promises were fulfilled when, on 24 December 1951, the Libyan Kingdom was proclaimed under the sceptre of the Emir Muhammad Idrīs al-Sanūsī, who had been in exile in Egypt since 1923 after the first Italian repressions, and is now the head of the Sanūsiyyah confraternity. Not all Libyans agree with this domination of the Sanūsiyyah over all of Libya.
The doctrines of the Sanūsiyyah, contained in the works of its founder, consist mainly of the following points:
a) only the *ijmāʿ* of the first generation of Muslims has normative value;
b) *ijtihād*, or the jurist’s effort to derive norms directly from the Qur’ān and the canonical traditions, is not closed with the 11th century, but remains permissible;
c) depreciation of rational analogy (*qiyās*) in law;
d) mystical union with God is a rare prerogative of a few great souls. The common mortal must rather strive along the path of imitation of Muḥammad and a spiritual union with him;
e) abolition of external means of mystical excitation, such as chanting, dancing, etc., which are used in other confraternities, instead emphasizing meditation;
f) legal rigorism similar to that of the Wahhābīs (q.v.), with prohibition of the use of tobacco.
The Sanūsiyyah confraternity played a major role in raising the standard of living of the rough Bedouin tribes that adhered to it, and in a relative purification of the Islam of those regions, which had become rather corrupt. The confraternity always maintained an attitude of active militancy in the diffusion and defense of Islam, which earned it much sympathy in the Muslim world.