Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse-His Life & Wisdom For SH Fakhri
Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse-His Life & Wisdom For SH Fakhri
Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse-His Life & Wisdom For SH Fakhri
In the name of Allah, the Most Widely and Most Deeply Merciful. May Allah send prayers,
peace, and blessings upon Our Master, our Beloved, our Intercessor Muhammad, and upon his
family, his companions, and all who follow them well until the Last Day.
His Birth and Upbringing
Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (RAmay Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with
him) was born on Thursday, Rajab 15, 1320 AH (October 1902), in Tayba, which is a small
village near Kaolack in Senegal.
He grew up in the care of his father, the great scholar and warrior al-Hajj
Abdullahi b. Muhammad b. Mademba. He recited the Quran with him until he had
memorized it fluently in the recitation of Warsh, and then went on to learn different
sacred sciences. His high aspiration and consistent, wholehearted engagement in seeking
knowledge propelled him to become deeply versed in all branches of the sacred sciences,
manifest and hidden. His father was his only teacher.
His superiority became clear while he was still young. As a youth, he gained
distinction in his knowledge of commentary on the Quran and all its related sciences, as
well as in hadith sciences, jurisprudence, the foundations of jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh),
linguistic sciences, and Sufism. He became an authority in all of these sciences, and before
he reached the age of 30 he was giving benefit to manypeople from all kinds of
countries, Arab and non-Arab, came to him to drink from his knowledge. Scholars came
before the generality of Muslims bending their knees in his presence, drinking from the
pearls of his knowledge, yearning for knowledge of the spiritual greats and of how to
discipline and purify the self. For them, he was an ocean without shore, a fountain of
sweet water that never tires, a locus of comprehension that made great ones seem small
in comparison.
His Preaching
Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) busied himself with guiding, teaching, and refining
humanity, and the village he founded, Medina Bayelocated just outside of Kaolack
became a lighthouse of knowledge and rectification.
But Shaykh Ibrahims (RA) call did not stop here; he toured Africa, the Muslim
lands, and many other countries, promoting the religion of Allah, calling to Islam with
beautiful words, and spreading his knowledge amongst the masses, debating with
scholars in order to give and receive benefit.
He visited different centers of knowledge and of Islam, including Mauritania,
Morocco, Tunisia, Al-Azhar in Egypt, the Hijaz in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, and
China, and he belonged to several global organizations dedicated to the promotion of
Islam. He was the vice president and later president of the World Muslim Congress in
Karachi, a founding member of the Muslim World League, a founding president of the
African Unions Organization of Preachers of Islam, a founding member of the Federation
of the Universities of the Islamic World in Rabat, a member of the Supreme Council for
Islamic Affairs in Cairo, a member of the Islamic Research Academy in Cairo, and a
member of the Higher Islamic Council in Algeria, as well as serving in other
organizations.
Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) wrote a report on the law in which he expounded a number
of comments. Most importantly, he noted that the law contained sections and subject
matter related to marriage, divorce, pregnancy, inheritance, and the determination of
lineage, which are issues that have been described in detail by Islamic sacred law in a
way in which no further detail could be given and that leaves no need to develop it
furthertherefore, a Muslim is not allowed in these matters to leave the four well-known
sources of Islamic sacred law: the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAWS),
scholarly consensus, and legal analogy. The article also requested the Senegalese
government to translate the law in full into Arabic so that the scholars could see it and
study it.
His Writings
Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) authored several beneficial books regarding Sufism, the
spiritual path, jurisprudence, and language, such as: The Removal of Confusion
Concerning the Flood of the Saintly Seal Ahmad Tijani (Kashif al-Ilbas), The Spirit of Good
Morals (Ruh al-Adab), The Path to Peace Regarding Keeping a Spiritual Station, Gift for
the City-Dwellers Regarding the Rites of HajjParticularly by Plane, The Stars of
Guidance Regarding Our Prophet Being the Best One to Call to Allah and Guide, The
Decisive Proof Regarding the Radio Broadcasting of the Quran Being Permissible, The
Removal of Blame From the One Who Raises His Hands and Clasps Them in Prayer in
Imitation of the Master of Beings, and The Childrens Gift Regarding the Realities of
Actions. He also wrote several anthologies of poetry, most of which are in praise of the
Prophet (SAWS).
His Passing
He passed onmay Allah have mercy on him on Rajab 15, 1395 AH (July 1975),
in London, where he had sought treatment. Senegal and Africa trembled at his death. He
was buried in the town he founded, known as Medina Baye, outside of Kaolack in
southeastern Senegal, and his solemn funeral was attended by an innumerable amount
of people.
He spent his life preaching, promoting Islam, spreading knowledge, guiding
humanity, and striving to bring victory to the causes of the Muslims, especially the issue
of Palestine, and he was a strong opponent of Israels penetration in Africa. He left behind
him a school of preaching that radiated the light of Islam in all areas of the world.
Shaykh Ibrahim was a Sufi who held fast to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of
His Prophet (SAWS), and he was one of the most important spiritual masters of the Tijani
Tariqa in Africa in the twentieth century. If people complained to him about the
transgressions of some of those who claimed to be Sufis, he would repeat the famous
words of his shaykh, Shaykh Sidi Ahmad Tijani, founder of the Tijani Tariqa: If you hear
something about me, weigh it on the scale of our sacred lawif it is an accordance with
it, then act on it, but if it goes against it, then leave it.
The life goals of Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) could perhaps all be summarized by a line
of his poetry:
I want to please the Creator by granting victory to His religion
And set an example for the next generation
In another line of poetry, he displayed his commitment to following the Prophet
(SAWS) and never deviating from his example:
When the Best of Creation walks I walk behind him
And if he stops, then I stop as well
May Allah shower his vast mercy upon Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niasse and grant
him a resting place in the widest of His gardens, with the prophets, the truthful, the
martyrs, and the righteous.
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rises to call upon Him (Quran 72:19), all praise be to Allah, who revealed the book
to His slave (Quran 18:1), and exalted be the One who took His slave on a night
journey (Quran 17:1). He (SAWS) was called a slave at all these points, and of all his
stations, he takes most pride in this slavehood of his to Allah.
This has also been a way in which Allah has protected his (SAWS) community
from misguidance. The Christians went astray and thought that Isain that Allah had
brought him so close to Himselfwas His son or His partner in divinity, but that is
misguidance. As for our generous Prophet (SAWS)despite the fact that he has a more
majestic and higher station than Isa, that he is Isas master, and that Isa receives his
spiritual sustenance from himhis community has not gone astray and taken him as a
lord, as the Christians did with their prophet. We all know that in respect to all other
slaves, he is their master; but with respect to Allah (TWT) he is a slave. Once when I was
on a plane journey, an American said to me, How are you so different from us? We are
Christians and you are Muslims, we worship Isa and you worship Muhammad, so how
are you so different from us? I said to him, This is what distinguishes us from you: we
dont worship Muhammad (SAWS); rather, our lord and Muhammads lord is one.
Muhammad is our imam in slavehood, our imam in worship, and our imam in obedience
of God, but he is also Gods slave like the rest of us. Thats why we have Islam. Our way
of life is called submission to God, not Muhammadanity like how you call your religion
Christianity, because our religion is only for Godwe and Muhammad are the same
with respect to God. Then he said to me that Americans dont have anyone to tell them
about this religion.
Indeed, our Prophet (SAWS) is a slave to Allah (TWT). He is Allahs (TWT) first
slave, the first thing to exist, and the first one to mention Allah, acknowledge His oneness,
and worship Him, before the very appearance of time and after the appearance of time.
He was worshipping Him billions of years before anything else came into existence. And
this slave is Allahs Messenger (SAWS). Allah chose and honored us by making us from
his community, and he made him our complete messenger. He is everyones messenger.
He is the prophets prophet. He is a messenger to all messengers, angels, jinn, and
humans, but we are his community. Allah gave us a special favor in that we are his
(SAWS) community.
When Allah manifested Himself in this way and the Muhammadi Reality came
out, the Muhammadi Reality manifested itself, coming out with the existence of all
beings. All beings are from his spiritual sustenance (SAWS). For this reason, some praise
him by saying that the sun, moon, planets, stars, and gardens are all from his light. All
this is no exaggerationrather, it is an undisputable truth.
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Allah (TWT) addresses him, I created you for My sake and created the creation
for your sake. He also addresses him, Were it not for you, I would not have created
anything. The meaning of were it not for you, I would not have created anything is
twofold: He created everything in existence to make life easier for Muhammad (SAWS),
and had He not created Muhammad He would indeed not have created anything. He
created nothing except Muhammad, and everything that He created afterwards is simply
a part of Muhammads (SAWS) lightas he (SAWS) said, I am from Allahs light, and
the believers are from my light.
Given this, and given that he (SAWS) was sent as a messenger to all the worlds
and a seal for the prophets, there can be no prophet after him, nor any religion after the
one he brought. This religion has abrogated all others before it, and so consequently it is
the only religion on the face of the earth today that constitutes proper worship, since all
others before it have been abrogated, and one can only worship Allah (TWT) by following
something that a messenger has brought from Him. All the other messengers have
preceded, were truthful, and fully proclaimed their messages from Allah, but their
messages ended, their sacred laws have been abrogated, and the message of Muhammad
(SAWS) remains in effect in creation until the end of time. So whoever adheres to this
religion actually has a religion, while whoever does not, has no religion at all. The Quran
confirms this in saying, And the religion in the presence of Allah is Islam (3:19) and
whoever desires other than Islam as a religion will not have it accepted (3:85).
When the time comes, well pray and then finish what we were saying.
Talking to brothers and sisters is better than any litany, because a litany can be
made up, while talking to brothers and sisters cannot.
We said that the Truth (TWT) manifested Himself with all His attributes upon the
Muhammadi Realitywhich is the reality of Our Master Muhammad (SAWS)thereby
giving to it all His attributes. Truly, Allah gave what He gave to Muhammad according
to the breadth of His lordship; every attribute that Allah had, He extended it to His
beloved, Our Master Muhammad (SAWS). Then whats the difference between the two
of themwhat makes one a lord and the other a slave? The difference between them is
just two words: attribution and extension. All attributes were attributed to Allah in
preeternality, from Himself, by Himself, for HimselfHe received them from no one.
Then all of Allahs attributes were attributed to the Chosen One (SAWS), but they were
extended to him from Allah (TWT)this is what distinguishes them, making one a lord
and the other a slave. He is a slave to Allah (TWT), and this attribute is his only source of
pride. Say: if the Most Merciful had a son, then I am the first to worship (Quran 43:81).
If Allah had had a son it would have been Muhammad, but Allah had no son. Our Master
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Muhammad (SAWS) is the khalifa of Allah, and all Allahs attributes are the attributes of
Our Master Muhammad (SAWS).
Just as Allahs manifestation of Himself led to His bringing out the presence of
Our Master Muhammad (SAWS), the khalifa of Muhammad needed to appear as another
reality, so that the Muhammadi reality in turn could be fully manifest. Thus the reality of
Our Master, the Hidden Pole, the Well-Known Muhammadi Seal appeared, and it is
through him that the saints from the beginning of time until his manifestation spoke. He
is Our Master Ahmad and he is the saint of Allah (TWT), though what he had came from
the Chosen Prophet (SAWS), who gave him all his attributes, until the only difference
between them was these two words: attribution and extension. All Ahmad Tijanis
attributes were extended to him from the Chosen Prophet (SAWS); when Our Master
Muhammad (SAWS) manifested himself in the reality of our Shaykh, he extended to him
all his attributes except prophecy, just as Allah had extended to the Chosen Prophet
(SAWS) all His attributes except divinity. In this way, the Prophet (SAWS) is not a god,
and Shaykh Tijani (RA) is not a prophet, but the Chosen Prophet (SAWS) extended to
him everything except prophecy and placed it in his (RA) reality. For this reason, he is
called the Well-Known Muhammadi Seal and the Hidden Pole: his true station is hidden
from all people.
We dont say that Our Master Ahmad Tijani is only a saintrather, we say that he
is the very source of sainthood. When Allah extended to the Chosen Prophet (SAWS)
everything He had, prophecy and sainthood were combined in him; then, prophecy and
all things in existence remained in the essence of the Chosen Prophet (SAWS), while he
extended sainthood to our Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RA). It is for this reason that you will
find that everyone who drank from the ocean of the Chosen One (SAWS) came out as a
prophet except Shaykh Tijani (RA)he drank along with the prophets from the
Muhammadi realitys ocean while not becoming a prophet himself. Rather, he is a saint.
With everything that Allah (TWT) brought into existence from the hidden of His unseen,
He manifested for its sake a tongue in the material world, so that people could sense it
and the intelligent ones would understand. Think of a saltwater ocean: this is the
similitude of the Muhammadi Reality. The fish in it, though living in the saltwater ocean,
drink freshwater, for if they drank saltwater they would die. When rain falls on the ocean,
Allah (TWT) causes it to flow on the ocean floor, from where fish can drink it. Thus
everyone who drinks from ocean water drinks salt, except for the fishand this is what
our shaykh is like: everyone who drank from the Muhammadi Realitys ocean drank
prophecy, except him, for he drank only sainthood. May Allah be pleased with our
master.
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This is why he is the one who came as the very essence of sainthood, and why he
spoke words that others could not fully comprehend and people denounced him. All the
shaykhs took from him, starting with Adam until the blowing of the trumpet. What
poured forth from the essence of the Master of Existence (SAWS) is received by the
essences of the prophets. And what poured forth and appeared from the essences of the
prophets is received by my essence, from his light, and then it is dispersed to all of the
worlds These two feet of mine are on the necks of every saint of Allah, starting with
Adam until the blowing of the trumpet. I say: there is no problem with this, for what he
means by his two feet is the foot of Sharia and the foot of Haqiqa. He also said, I was
propelled out from the divine presence in one moment, such that my first became my last
and my last my first, my whole became my part and my part my whole, and I became
him and he me, on his terms, not mineat that time, had I been asked a million different
questions, I would have answered them with one answer. I became like a lamp. This is
from the speech of our shaykh.
I say: these words make me most pleased to have him as my shaykh (RA): I was
propelled out from the divine presence in one moment, such that my first became my last
and my last my first, my whole became my part and my part my whole, and I became
him and he me, on his terms, not mine. May Allah be pleased with our shaykh.
This is also why he came as seal of the saints, just as the Chosen Prophet came as
seal of the prophets; our tariqa abrogates other tariqas just as the Muhammadi Sharia
abrogated all others before it. This abrogation of other tariqas is the reality of our present
situation: you will not find any tariqa alive today except the tariqa of Our Master Ahmad
Tijani (RA), because of the guarantee from the Chosen Prophet (SAWS). As long as the
murid fulfills the conditions and etiquettes set forth by Our Master (RA), this wird alone
will quench their thirst.
The wird is: istighfar, prayer on the Prophet (SAWS), and la ilaha illa Allah. The
Sufis say, Shedding oneself of bad qualities comes before taking on good qualities, and
taking on good qualities comes before manifesting a spiritual station. This is the
structure of the wird: istighfar sheds you of all sins and filth, then you adorn yourself to
be deserving of sending prayers on the Prophet (SAWS), who is the door to the divine
presence, and after that, Allah manifests Himself to you by your saying La ilaha illa
Allah or just saying Allah. The meaning of La ilaha illa Allah is Allah.
La ilaha illa Allah is explained fully in the Quran. For the generality of people
it means nothing is rightfully worshipped except Allah, which is what all those who
worship believe, so this is the meaning of la ilaha illa Allah for them. For those who are
seeking the presence of Allah (TWT), the meaning of la ilaha illa Allah is nothing is
rightfully sought after except Allah, because Allah is the only thing they seek. For the
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ones who have arrived and found the presence of Allah, the meaning of la ilaha illa
Allah is nothing really exists except Allah, because they do not connect with the
existence of anything except Allahs (TWT) existence. Thus this phrase, in terms of its
meanings, has a shell, a core, and a core of the core: the shell is nothing is rightfully
worshipped except Allah, the core is nothing is rightfully sought after except Allah,
and the core of the core is nothing really exists except Allah, and all of this is indicated
in the Quran. Allah (TWT) says, Allahthere is no god but He (Quran 2:255), making
Himself an absent third person. In another place He says, There is no god but You
(Quran 21:87), making Himself present. In another place He says, There is no god but
I (Quran 20:14), in which the thing speaking is absent from its own existence and finds
nothing but the existence of Allah (TWT), by which it says there is no god but Ione
saying this would be deemed a disbeliever, as it would make others think that he claims
divinity for himself, but they would not have realized that he has found no existence for
himself, and the real speaker through his tongue is Allah (TWT). Just as Allah spoke to
Musa through the tongue of a tree that said, Truly I, I am Allah (Quran 28:30), He is
able to speak through the tongue of a human who says, There is no god but I. This is
the cream at the top, the result, the core. La ilaha illa Allah. The best thing I and any of
the prophets before me said is la ilaha illa Allah.
Some have said that the wird consists of cleansing oneself, adorning oneself, and
manifesting all in one sitting. This allows us to say that Shaykh Tijani took the hands of
his beloveds and brought them to the door, and all praise is due to Allah. Now well do
the wadhifa. We ask Allah on your behalf to make you all from the elite of the companions
of this shaykh, and from the beloveds of this generous Prophet (SAWS), in this world and
the next.
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All praise is due to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the most noble of
prophets, his family, all his companions, those who followed them, and those who in turn
followed and continue to follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. May Allah
be pleased with our shaykh and patron Ahmad b. Muhammad Tijani (RA), Seal of the
Muhammadi Sainthood.
As for what follows: I greet you with the greeting of Islam: peace, the mercy of
Allah (TWT), and His blessings be upon you.
We spoke a moment ago about some matters having to do with our Tijani
Muhammadi tariqa, but that was in the public mosquethe mosque is public, while this
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zawiya is our private space. Accordingly, we will comment on what we said a moment
agowhats public is for the public, and whats private is for the elite.
We thank the great scholar Sayyid Shaykh Muhammad Majjaj Muddaththir
Ibrahim Majjaj, and we thank all the Tijani brothers who have gathered here. I thank them
for this meeting that will be considered a historic meeting for our Tijani tariqa, and all
praise is due to Allah who gathered us, for neither financial gain nor family tiesrather,
He gathered us for the essence of Allah (TWT), and we have gathered to remember Allah
(TWT). The generous Prophet said, Allah has slaves who are neither prophets nor
martyrs, though the prophets and martyrs envy them because of their closeness to Allah
and their position with Him (TWT) on the Day of Resurrection. Then a desert Arab stood
up and said, Describe them to us, O Messenger of Allah. He said, They are people
who are children of other people. They gathered in the essence of Allah (TWT), not for
any family ties or financial gain, but to remember Allah (TWT), love one another in Allah,
and visit each other in His essence. They are the saints who have pulpits of light. The
prophets and martyrs envy them because of their position in Allahs (TWT) presence on
the Day of Resurrection. This gathering of oursand all praise is due to Allah
resembles such a thing. We have come together from different countries, for neither
family ties nor financial gain, but rather to remember Allah (TWT) and out of our love
for each other in Allahs (TWT) essence.
Allah (TWT) says, Close friends on that day will be enemies to each other, except
the people of taqwa (Quran 43:67). When those who were close friends in this world
come to the Day of Resurrection, they will show enmity towards one another; each of
them is an enemy to the other, and the reason for this is subtle: each of them sees that
whatever punishment and retribution they are in, the cause of it is their companion who
would accompany them in this world. As for the people of taqwa, they see themselves in
everlasting pleasure, and each of them sees that their companion and close friend in this
world was the cause of this ultimate pleasure for them. And why does a human ever
befriend another? To get some benefit from them or repel some harm. So if the matter is
reversed, and harm comes from the one from whom it was expected that benefit would
come, the friend becomes an enemy. But when the friend turns out to be a source of
benefit as hoped, the friendship remains forever, and for this reason we are told that
close friends on that day will be enemies to each other, except the people of taqwa. We
hope to be from among those brothers and sisters whose friendship abides forever,
remaining brothers and sisters in this world and in the nextthose are real brothers and
sisters. As for the one who is a brother or sister to someone they deem an enemy, that is
not a beneficial friendship. We hope to be companions, close friends, and brothers and
sisters in this world and the next.
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We thank Allah (TWT) that he made us humans, beings whom Allah favored over
the rest of His creation: We have ennobled the children of Adam, bore them across the
land and sea, given them sustenance from good, pure things, and truly favored them over
many of our creatures (Quran 17:70). Then He made us from the community of Our
Master Muhammad (SAWS): You are the best community that has been sent forth to
humankindyou enjoin the good and forbid the evil and believe in Allah (Quran
3:110). And then He ennobled us in the best way He could, by making us from the
companions of our shaykh and our means to our Lord, Our Master Ahmad b.
Muhammad Tijani. The greatest blessing with which Allah has blessed His slave is belief
in Allah, and the greatest miracle by which Allah has ennobled His slave is to make him
from the companions of Shaykh Tijani (RA) in this time, and all praise is due to Allah.
I said before that the enemies of Allahenemies of religionhave sometimes
attacked our tariqa because they hide behind a veneer of fighting for the sunna, while in
fact they demolish the sunna. They say that its an innovation, though according to the
scholars, an innovation is that which has no basis at all in the Quran or the sunna. From
the very beginning, Allah has protected our tariqa from innovation, new matters,
deviancy, and heresy, and all praise is due to Allah, for it has come to be called the tariqa
of scholars and the tariqa of jurists. The scholars in the time of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani
(RA) all showed deference to him (RA), and even Mawlay Sulayman, the reformist ruler
of Morocco at the time, entered this Tijani tariqa. Every single scholar of his time entered
the Tijani tariqa, for it is a sound tariqa unblemished by innovation and new matters, and
all praise is due to Allah. And why would this not be, when it is a tariqa about which
Allahs Messenger (SAWS) gave a guaranteeistighfar, prayer on the Prophet and la
ilaha illa Allah?
A scholar once told me to leave the Tijani tariqa, and ordered others to do so as
well. I said to him, Would a Muslim advise another Muslim to stop seeking
forgiveness? He said to me, No. I said to him, The one who had no sin at all and was
protected from sins never stopped seeking forgiveness; as for you and me, we must seek
forgiveness. Would a Muslim advise another Muslim to stop sending prayers on the
Prophet (SAWS), after Allah has said, Truly Allah and His angels send prayer on the
Prophet ? He said to me, No. I said to him, Would a Muslim advise another
Muslim to stop saying la ilaha illa Allah ? He said to me, No. I said to him, This is
the Tijani tariqa. The tariqa has two paths: loving the saints of Allah, and being in constant
remembrance of Him. We have chosen to love the saints of Allah and be constant in
remembrance of Him; as for you, if you wish, go ahead and show enmity to the saints of
Allah and leave off remembrance of Him (TWT). Allah says, I have declared war on
whomever shows enmity to a saint of Mine (hadith qudsi), and He says, We assign a
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devil as a companion to whomever turns away from remembrance of the Most Merciful
(Quran 43:36). Allah wages war on whomever shows enmity to His saints, and
whomever Allah wages war on will be destroyed without a doubt. Also, whoever turns
away from the remembrance of Allah, Shaytan is his companion. This is your tariqa:
youre the ones who show enmity to the saints and leave off remembrance of Allah. As
for us, we are constant in our remembrance of Allah, and Allah says, I am the sitting
companion of the one who remembers Me (hadith qudsi) and, Mention Me, I will
mention you (Quran 2:152). We love the saints of Allah, and Allah says in the hadith
qudsi, I have declared war on whomever shows enmity to a saint of mine. Our shaykh,
Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RA) has said, From the contents of this hadith is implied,
whoever befriends a saint of mine because he is a saint, I take him as a saint.
Another one of the hidden meanings we can infer from this hadith is the secret of
attraction, benefit, and arriving at Allah (TWT) despite a great distance: accompanying a
saint of Allah (TWT) will attract and snatch you to sainthood. The friend of a friend is a
friend; if a saint is the friend of Allah (TWT) and you are their friend, then you will
become a friend and saint of Allah (TWT). Herein lies the benefit of companionship, and
for this reason it has been said, All good is in companionship and all evil is in
companionship. The benefit and harm of companionship is evident in the story of the
children of Israel. When they were wandering in the desert for forty years, Musa and
Harun should not have been wandering with them, but by their companionship of the
Jewish people who violated Allahs command, they remained in punishment with them
for forty years. While for those accursed Jewish people, when they had Musa and Harun
with them, the clouds gave them shade, Manna and Salwa descended upon them, and
rivers burst forth for them to drink, all because of their companionship of Musa and
Harun. This situation displays both the benefit and the harm of companionship. As for
us, by our companionship with the inheritors of Shaykh Tijani (RA), we are companions
of Shaykh Tijani (RA), and it was to Shaykh Tijani that Allahs Messenger said, Your
companions are my companions and your poor people are mine. We thereby have
become companions of Allahs Messenger (SAWS). And what miracle could be greater
and more immense for us in this critical time than to be from among the companions of
Allahs Messenger (SAWS)? Were it not for Shaykh Tijani (RA), we would not have this.
Allahs Messenger (SAWS) also gave Shaykh Tijani a guarantee that all his companions
would enter the Garden without reckoning or retribution, and he guaranteed sainthood
for them. Were it not for the fact that Allah had ennobled Shaykh Tijani by this station in
the presence of Allahs Messenger (SAWS), who in turn guaranteed Shaykh Tijani this
degree of grace, how could webearing witness to what is in usever have been from
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among the companions of Allahs Messenger (SAWS), and from among the saints of Allah
(TWT), without any condition or cause from our end?
As for the denouncers, I say to them that it was only when they regressed away
from Islam and grew in distance from Allah (TWT) that the thought of denouncing came
to them, denouncing the Sufis in general and specifically the Tijani tariqa. Were they to
return to Allah (TWT), they would find that this tariqa is the tariqa of Truth and the tariqa
of the Messenger (SAWS). Al-Khadir b. Mayaba once wrote a book denouncing the Tijani
tariqa and proclaimed the Tijanis heretics. A group of Qadiris at the time, who were
known for their over-zealous adherence to their path, came and showed the book to their
shaykh, telling him, A book came out denouncing the Tijanis! He said to them, In that
case, we should fear for ourselves, because the Tjianis are people of purification, people
of salah, people who frequent the mosques, people who recite Quran, people of charity,
people of hajjheretics? What about us? That shaykh is the same one who wrote:
So has a slave who sincerely says la ilaha illa Allah committed disbelief?
Who says Allah, forgive me, hoping for forgiveness for the sins his hands wrought?
If that is disbelief, o people, then hold fast to disbelief and you will praise its result!
He continued in saying to them, The Tijanis have no defectthey seek Allahs
forgiveness, make remembrance of Him, and send prayers on the Prophet (SAWS). If they
ever say they are safe from Allahs punishment and they have this and that, that comes
from their certainty in the grace of Allah (TWT), not from thinking that theyre safe from
Allahs devices as you might assume. Were they to feel completely safe from Allahs
devices, they would leave salah, fasting, and hajj, but they are the strongest of all people
in their consistency in these matters, so they are free of feeling safe from Allahs (TWT)
devices. What he said is right.
Since the beginning of the tariqa of the Shaykh, its miracles have appeared in every
land. It suffices to mention that all the scholars of his time were followers of Shaykh Tijani
(RA); foremost amongst them was Moroccos ruler Sulayman, Ali Harazim whom you
know, Ali al-Tamasini, Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafidh who spread the Tijani tariqa in our
area, Abdul-Wahhab al-Ahmar, and a number of others, all of whom were companions
of Shaykh Tijani. All the great people of knowledge in Fez joined this tariqa. The Shaykh
of Islam in Tunis, Sidi Ibrahim al-Riyahi, who wrote the Siniyya, also joined this tariqa.
And after them was the generation before us. Just remember who you know from Sudan
from the list of those who raised the banner of Islam: this mans father, Sidi Ahmadu Job,
Sidi Muhammad al-Mukhtar, and men present amongst you today, and all praise is due
to Allah. This is the best indication that the Tijani tariqa is true and right; indeed, its
enemies have had to admit that it is free of innovation, new matters, deviancy, and
heresy, and both the generality and the elite bear witness to that.
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This tariqa also has immense miracles that those who would criticize it cannot
match. Regarding one of these miracles, Sidi al-Arabi b. al-Saih says, The Tijani tariqa
has a clear miracle, such that to comprehend it is a miracle, and that is that for some of
the Shaykhs companions, whoever saw them on Friday or Monday received an eternal
happiness after which they never had any unhappiness. This happened often with the
companions of the Shaykh, even with those who didnt know that about themselves. This
is the reason why the Shaykh stipulated that we gather on Friday in the late afternoon,
form a circle, and make remembrance of Allah (TWT): we look at each others faces, and
in our midst is someone who, if anyone were to see them, they would receive an eternal
happiness after which there is never any unhappiness. So the circles of the wadhifa and
the Friday haylala are the gardens of paradise mentioned in the hadith Allah has angels
travelling around to seek out the gardens of paradise, the circles of remembrance Its
a hadith, and yet the circles of dhikr were not to be found before the coming of our Shaykh
(RA)they are only to be found in the Tijani tariqa. This is a miracle of the Prophet
(SAWS), who informed us of it before it happened, and also a miracle for our Shaykh
(RA), at whose hands it appeared. Also in a hadith we find that the best day over which
the sun rises is Friday, and on that day there is an hour in which any Muslim who is
praying and calling on Allah during it is answered, as he (SAWS) said. When asked what
particular hour that was, Abdullah b. Salam said, Its the last hour before sunset on
Friday. It was said to him, How could you say that, when the hadith states that a person
will be praying at that time, and the hour you mentioned is a time when no one prays?
He said, Has Allahs Messenger (SAWS) not said, Whoever makes wudu and then sits,
waiting for prayer, is in prayer? It was said, Right. He said, There you have it. When
the last hour of Friday comes, all Tijanis who adheres to the conditions of the tariqa purify
themselves and sit in the mosque in a state of purity, waiting for prayer and making
remembrance of Allah. This is a unique miracle for the companions of the Shaykh: we
sit in the mosque for the last hour of Friday, in a state of purity, making remembrance of
Allah that whole time, and waiting for prayerwere in prayer as long as were waiting
for it. This is both a miracle of the Prophet and a miracles of the Shaykh (RA).
So congratulations to us for having this tariqa, and congratulations to you for
accepting it. This is indeed a special tariqa, for special individuals. It does not come to
someone who had no portion of it in the preeternal decree. Rather, Allah chose its people
before time as we know it, so whoever was not among them in preeternality will not be
among them at any future pointand were it not for that, every reasonable person would
accept it. Seeking forgiveness, prayer on the Prophet, and la ilaha illa Allahwhoever
denounces this and is prevented from it has simply been pushed away. All praise is due
to Allah, who gave us the success to be of this tariqa. All praise is due to Allah, who
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showered upon you the blessing of having people like this, the successors of the Shaykh,
among you, such as Ahmadu Job and others here.
I am very happy to visit Sudan and Khartoum and gather with you all in this
blessed zawiya. I praise Allah (TWT) and I thank the president of Sudan, who gave us
this opportunity. In this time, as you well know, anything that governments do not want
to happen cannot happen. So had I wanted to visit you, but had not received his
invitation, it would have put me in an awkward position. But when he sent an invitation
to me, that was permission from Allah (TWT) to visit you, and I thank the president for
this, and ask Allah to give him success. May Allah (TWT) give him success to accomplish
whatever pleases him and benefits his state, his nation, and his people. Allah is the one
who gives success, He (TWT) is the one responsible for bringing benefit to us all, and He
is the one responsible for confirming our opinion of Allah, of Allahs Messenger, and of
our patron Ahmad Tijanithe beloved of Allahs Messenger and his khalifaand for
confirming His opinion of the slaves of Allah (TWT). There are two characteristics that
no other good can match and two characteristics that no other evil can match: having a
good opinion of Allah and a good opinion of His slaves on one hand, and having a bad
opinion of Allah and a bad opinion of His slaves on the other. We all have a good opinion
of each other, and Allah (TWT) takes up what is deep down inside of us and actualizes
our opinions for us: I am according to the opinion of My slave concerning Me, so let My
slave think what he wants of Me.
As the khalifa of the Shaykh, Sayyid Shaykh Ahmadu Job, said: the chain of
authorization that gathers us through Sidi Ahmad Sukayrij is the highest chain we have.
As for us, we have almost 50 chains of authorization, but the highest of all these is: Sidi
Ahmad Sukayrij from Sidi al-Abdu Lawi from Sidi Ali al-Tamasini, and each of these
have had a great miracle said about him.
Ali al-Tamasini, in his time, was the owner of the bunch. Between his garden in
Tamasin and Fez was a 40-day journey, and once he had a vision of the servants of the
Shaykhs place in Fez wanting to eat dates. So he took a bunch of dates, threw it, and said
to it, Go to the Shaykhs house, with Allahs permission. The bunch fell and the dates
landed amongst the servants in Fez, who said, Where did this come from? The Shaykh
said, That crazy guy in Tamasin did this. Ali al-Tamasini was the one who, when he
wanted to visit the Shaykh, he went like thisand made the whole journey in one step.
Shaykh Tijani said to him, If you want to visit me again, take provision of food and
water, and journey with other people like normal until you come to me; if not, then dont
come to me. Until that point, he would fold up the whole journey in one step. This was
Ali al-Tamasini, and he is the one who looked after the dependents of Shaykh Tijani after
the Shaykhs death. You know that after the Shaykh passed on, the Turks waged war on
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Shaykh Tijanis dependents and killed the Shaykhs son Muhammad al-Kabir. Ali alTamasini came to Algeria and entered the court of the governor, who said to him, What
do you want? He said, The dependents of Shaykh Tijani are in prisonI order you to
set them free immediately. He said, Youre telling me to set them free immediately?
Yes, Ali al-Tamasini replied. The governor said, Throw him into the prison. So they
took Ali al-Tamasini, put him in prison, and locked him in, only to return to the governor
and find Ali al-Tamasini sitting with him. The governor said to them, Did I not order
you to put this man in prison? They said, We put him in the prison, then returned and
found him with you. He said, Take him to the prison and lock him in. So they took
him to the prison and locked him in, only to return to the governor and find Ali alTamasini sitting with him. The governor stood up himself, dragged Ali al-Tamasini to
the prison, locked him in, and fortified the locks, only to return and find Ali al-Tamasini
sitting in his office. He said, What do you want? Ali al-Tamasini said to him, I told
you: set the dependents of Shaykh Tijani free immediately. The governor said, Set them
free, and they did so. That was Ali al-Tamasini.
As for al-Abdu Lawi, he fell so ill one day that it was feared he would die. When
the morning came, they gathered around him to pay him a visit and he said to them,
Yesterday an angel came to me in the night and I said to him, Who are you? He said to
me, I am the angel of death. I said to him, Did you come to visit me or take me away?
He said, No, I came to visit you, and you wont die until you have lived the number of
beads on this string of prayer beads. He said, Look under the pillow, do you see
anything? So they searched under the pillow and found the beads, and upon counting
them found them to be 105 beads. Al-Abdu Lawi lived to be 105.
And this last one, Sukayrij, he used to work in the storehouse, while Shaykh Tjiani
had told him not to. When he assumed judicial responsibilities, the Shaykhs companions
told him not to do so, saying to him, The Shaykh forbade serving the people of the
storehouse, like you, and youre doing this just out of love for this earthly life. So he
picked up a pillow that he was resting on. He picked it up like this, and gold coins
scattered around until they filled the whole house. He said, By Allah, had we wanted
this earthly life, it would be with us like this. That was Sukayrij.
This is our tariqa. We do not make claims, nor do we take pride in miracles. Rather,
we busy ourselves with worship, the sincerity of slavehood, and upholding the rights of
lordship, but all these miracles show how Allah has ennobled this chain of authorization
that the khalifa Sayyid Shaykh Ahmadu Job (RA) mentioned. And we have seen a lot,
yes, a lot. All who enter this tariqa have seen in themselves something indicating that the
Tijani tariqa is the greatest of all tariqas. The Shaykh said, My companions have two
kindnesses: a special one for them and one mixed with divine will. My Lord is kind to
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whomever He wills (Quran 12:100)that is the general kindness. The special kindness
is unique to the companions of the Shaykh, and all of us witness in our states and unique
characteristics this unique kindness for the companions of the Shaykh. All of us see this
in ourselves, such that Sidi al-Arabi said, When a woman is pregnant with a companion
of the Shaykh, if she is intelligent, she will know that this one inside of her is from the
companions of Shaykh Tijani (RA). Then he recited: But the light of Allah is mighty, not
seen except by success from Allah, the Eternally Sufficient.
So hold fast to this tariqa, and congratulations to you all for it. The Shaykh says,
Sudan means all of Africait is the mine of sainthood of the Tijani tariqa, and all praise
is due to Allah for that. Ali al-Sufi gave me this glad tiding; he said that he heard it from
Sidi al-Husayn al-Ifrini, who is al-Sufyanis shaykh. When we were with him in Morocco,
he said, Sidi al-Husayn al-Ifrini was righthe said, Sudan is the mine of the sainthood
of Shaykh Tijani (RA), and all praise is due to Allah. This is a glad tiding for us and for
you.
Peace, Allahs mercy, and His blessings be upon you all.
For all of you who want to renew the tariqa, I renew it for you by the permission
of Shaykh Tijani (RA), with idhn, talqin, and taqdim. All of you are renewed in what you
currently have from the tariqa of the Shaykh (RA), on behalf of Shaykh Tijani (RA).
I hope from Allah (TWT) that he benefits us all with this tariqa and allows others
to benefit from us.
Peace, Allahs mercy, and His blessings be upon you all. We bear witness that you
have seen us, as we have seen you.