Aïsha Al-Manoubya (, ÿÃÂþisha al-Mannà «biyya), also known by the honorific As-Saida ('saint') or Lella ('the Lady') (1199âÂÂ1267 CE), is one of the most famous women in Tunisian history and a prominent figure in Islam. She is "one of the few [women] to have been granted the title of saint."
ÿÃÂþisha was known for her Sufism and good deeds. She was the supporter and student of Sidi Bousaid al-Baji and Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili. Her activities in higher education, advocacy, and public acts of charity were unusual for her time given her sex.
Dates given for ÿÃÂþisha's life vary slightly, but scholarly sources suggest she lived from 1199 to 1267 CE (595âÂÂ665 AH).
According to the standard hagiography, ÿÃÂþisha was born in the village of Manouba, near Tunis, and showed signs of her saintliness already in childhood, challenging social norms and effecting miraculous deeds (karamÃÂt).
In portraying ÿÃÂþisha's socially-transgressive behavior, narrations of her story tend to "alig[n] her with the á¹¢à «fë model of the 'blamable ones" (ahl al-malÃÂma), those who went about transgressing social norms on purpose" (see also: Malamatiyya).
According to a popular narrative, "after her father had slaughtered a bull at her request, she cooked it, distributed its meat to villagers, and brought it back to life in order to reveal her sainthood," an event which was then "regularly commemorated in song during rituals held at her shrines."
ÿÃÂþisha studied in Tunis with ShÃÂdhiliyya á¹¢à «fës, moving back and forth between her rural home and urban Tunis. Prominent influences were the female mystic RÃÂbiÿa al-ÿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya (/714âÂÂ185/801); Abà « l-Ḥassan al-ShÃÂdhilë (âÂÂ656/1196âÂÂ1258), who founded the ShÃÂdhilë á¹¢à «fë order; the Baghdadi ÿAbd al-QÃÂdir al-JëlÃÂnë (470âÂÂ561/1077 or 1078âÂÂ1166, of Baghdad, namesake and patron of the QÃÂdiriyya); and al-Junayd (d. 297/910), a ShÃÂfiÿë scholar associated with Baghdad but originally of Persian origin.
ÿÃÂþisha is one of the few women to have been the subject of a written saint's life (manÃÂqib) in the Islamic world of her time, and she "represents a leading figure of women's sainthood in Islam." Whereas it was customary for female saints in her region to be recluses, ÿÃÂþisha mixed with male society, including the poor, Sà «fë scholars, and even the Ḥafṣëd sultan.
She had two shrines dedicated to her, one in La Manouba (destroyed in 2012) and the other in the Gorjani district of Tunis.
In popular memory, ÿÃÂþisha represents a powerful and respected saint. One of the souks of the Medina of Tunis, "Souk Es Sida El Manoubya," was named after her.
A few kilometres from the Medina, a gourbiville takes her name. Al-Manoubya used to retire to pray in that neighbourhood.
The inhabitants of Manouba built a second mausoleum to commemorate ÿÃÂþisha under the name of "The Mausoleum of As-Saida Al-Manoubya" in her birthplace area. The Mausoleum is still famous today and valued in the field of Tunisian national heritage and history. It was vandalised and burned after the Tunisian Revolution on 16 October 2012.
Many books and studies have discussed ÿÃÂþisha's history. So, too, have cinema and Sufi songs and performances. Key scholarly studies of ÿÃÂþisha include: