biography of Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Arabi ibn Sa'ih

Sayyidina al-Shaykh al-‘Arif bi-Llah Abū-Hāmid Muhammad al-Arabī bin Muhammad al-Sā’ih al-Sharqī al-Umarī was born in the ancient city of Meknes, Morocco, in 1229 (1814), to a family who were direct descendants of Sayyidinā Umar al-Fārūq ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him.
He was a renowned nineteenth-century Moroccan scholar of Hadīth, Maliki Fiqh, Tasawwuf and Arabic poetry. His teachers included men like al-Faqih al-Muhaddith Sidi Abd-al-Qādir al-Kawhan, al-‘Allāmah Muhammad al-Hādi Bādu, Shaykh al-Sharīf Walīd al-Irāqi and other savants. He also exchanged Ijāzahs with many famous North African scholars.
Moreover, al-Wali al-Sālih, Sīdī al-Arabī bin al-Sā’ih was one of the greatest Tijāni Saints of his time. He took the Tijāni Tarīqah from accomplished spiritual masters such as Sīdī Abd-al-Wahhāb al-Ahmar and Mawlay Muhammad bin Abu’n-Nasr al-Alawi of Fez, and the Qutb Sīdī Ali al-Tamāsīni of Algeria, all of whom were venerated Muqaddams of the Muhammadan Saint Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijāni (R.A.).
Renowned as a friend of Allāh, countless seekers approached him to take the Way. Among these were men who later on became great spiritual masters themselves.
Sīdi al-Arabi also established a beautiful Tijāni Zāwiyah in Rabat that became a well-known center of Islamic knowledge and spirituality and remains so till today. It is also from these few Zāwiyahs which have preserved the traditional Moroccan Fāsi style of reciting the blessed Qasīdat al-Burdah.
His greatest service to the Tarīqah was authoring the masterpiece called Bughyat al-Mustafīd which became one of the major source-books of Tijāni Sufism. The work was a detailed commentary on the Sufi Poem called Munyat al-Murīd, written by the Mauritanian Tijāni master, Shaykh Ahmad Tijāni bin Sīdī Bāba al-Alawi al-Shinqītī.
Due to his mastery of the sciences of Sharī’ah and Haqīqah, as well as deep understanding of the Tijani Path, Sīdī al-Arabi’s works became essential reference works for later Tijānis.
Sīdī al-Arabī also mastered the works of al-Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyi’ddīn Ibn-Arabi and quotes from them extensively in his own works.
The Bughyat al-Mustafīd is a brilliant exposition of Tasawwuf and has gone through numerous prints, the best one being the 2002 edition by the Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah of Beirut. The poem Munyat al-Murīd can be read on this site: http://www.nafahat7.net/
Here are two quotes from the celebrated Bughyah. Explaining the Wirds (litanies) that disciples of the Sufi Orders recite after gaining permission from their Shaykhs, he writes:
“The reality of the Awrād is that they are contracts and commitments that Allāh has taken from His servants through the Shaykhs. Therefore, he who has honored the Shaykhs and stayed true to his contract and fulfilled his commitments will gain the goodness of both Worlds. Allāh most High says: ‘O Ye who Believe! Fulfill your contracts’ (Surat al-Maidah: 1). And He has said: ‘Among the believers are men who have been true to the contract they made with Allah’ (Surat al-Ahzab : 23). And he who makes little of the Shaykhs, and neglects the contracts and commitments (he made), then that will be the cause of his zaygh (deviation from the Straight Path) and the puncturing of his boat (i.e. his destruction). Allāh most High says: ‘It is deeply abhorrent to Allah that you should say what you do not do’ (Surat al-Saff : 3).
Explaining the Maqām (spiritual rank) of Khātam al-Wilāyah al-Muhammadiyyah (Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood), which Tijanis attribute to Shaykh Sīdi Ahmad al-Tijāni, he writes:
The meaning of his (Shaykh Sīdi Ahmad al-Tijāni) being the Khātam (Seal) of the rank of al-Wilāyah al-Muhammadiyyah (Muhammadan Sainthood) is that none will appear in that rank in the (complete) way that he appeared, therefore, he is the Seal of the complete manifestation of that rank, and not (the seal of) the rank itself.
Quite a few scholars authored separate works on Sīdi’s al-Arabi’s life and intellectual and spiritual achievements, such as the Moroccan historian Shaykh al-Faqīh Muhammad al-Hajūjī who authored al-Azhār al-Atirat al-Rawā’ih fī al-Ta’rīf bī Mawlāna al-‘Arabī bin al-Sā’ih, and the contemporary Moroccan Tijāni research scholar Dr. al-Sharīf Muhammad al-Rādi Gannoun al-Hasanī al-Idrīsī who authored al-Misk al-Fa’ih bi-Dhikr ba’d Manāqib Sīdī al-‘Arabī bin al-Sā’ih, and Shaykh al-Arabī bin Abd-Allāh al-Wazzānī. One of the foremost representatives of Sidi al-‘Arabi b. Sa’ih’s legacy in contemporary Morocco is the distinguished Professor Abdelaziz Benabdallah, who has also authored a comprehensive work concerning Ibn Sa’ih and the Bughyat al-Mustafid, which has been entitled, Le Soufisme Afro-Maghrebin aux XIXè et XXè Siècles (available online at www.abdelaziz-benabdallah.org/oeuvre_soufisme.htm). The biography of Ibn Sa’ih can also be found in Al-A’lām by al-Zarakli, Al-Ightibāt bi-Tarājim A’lām al-Rabāt by al-Bojandār, and A’lām al-Fikr al-Mu’āsir bi’l-Udwatayn by Abd-Allāh al-Jarrāri.
His trusted friend, the saintly scholar and poet, Sīdi Muhammd Balamīnu al-Rabāti wrote about him:
I traveled the lands of the East and the West (in vain)To find the likeness of the Imam al-‘Arabi bin al-Sā’ihThe Star of Guidance, the Pole of (spiritual) height, Our TeacherThe succor of every inanimate and animate object
Sīdī al-‘Arabī bin al-Sā’ih passed away in 1309 (1892) in Rabāt, where he used to live, and where his blessed Tomb and Zāwiyah remain. May Allah sanctify his Secret. Amīn.

biography of Qadi Shaykh Ahmad Sukarij

By Shaykh Fakhruddin Owaisi and Zakariya Wright

Shaykh Ahmad al-Ayyashi Sukayrij (1878-1944) was born in Fes and educated in the Islamic sciences at the prestigious Qarawiyin University. He was a prolific author and a renowned scholar throughout North Africa. His expertise in Islamic law earned him appointments from the Moroccan government as supervisor of waqf (inalienable trusts) property in Fes (1914-1919), chief jurist (Qadi) of Wajda (1919-1924), Qadi of al-Jadida (1924-1929) and Qadi of Settat (1929-1944). On account of such broad scholarly expertise, the Egyptian Hadith scholar and Tijani Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Misri, in the introduction of his work on al-Hajj Umar Futi, referred to Sukayrij as “the most knowledgeable person of our time.”
He was also a consummate gnostic who had studied under some of the more illustrious scholars of the Tijaniyya in the nineteenth century, such as Ahmad Abdalawi and Abdul-Karim Bannis, the latter who authored the central work on Tijani practice, Durrat al-Taj. He was known for his sobriety in Sufi practice, and it is said that he disapproved of excessive emotional displays during dhikr. In his defense of the Tijaniyya from its detractors, he emphasized the humility and orthodoxy of its leading scholars. In the book, al-Sirat al-Mustaqim, he was famous for asserting that the spiritual positions belonging to Shaykh Ahmad Tijani and his followers were a distinction from God, but not necessarily a mark of superiority.
The personal saintliness of Shaykh Sukayrij attained wide renown. Shaykh Hassan Cisse, who recently met with his descendents in Marrakech where he received the walking stick, fez and ring of Sukayrij, relates a story of the Shaykh being questioned about his activities as a Qadi (judge). Accused of accepting the judgeships for the government stipend, Shaykh Sukayrij lifted the pillow on which he was reclining and shook it in front of the questioner. Money started to fall from the pillow onto the floor, upon which the Shaykh simply said that it was God who provided his needs, he was only working for the sake of Islam.
Among those who took the Tariqa Tijaniyya from him was Mawlay ‘Abdul Hafiz the Sultan of Morocco (1908-1912), who was exiled to France upon the French occupation of Morocco. The Sultan had previously been an enemy of the Tijaniyya, and had cooperated with the Moroccan Salafiyya movement in its polemic against the Sufi orders. After his exile, Sultan Abdul Hafiz came better acquainted with the Tariqa, and after taking the Tijani wird, became one of its chief advocates. He later wrote the book, al-Jami’a al-‘irfaniyya al-wafiya bi shurut wa jull fada’il ahl al-tariqa al-Tijaniyya (published in Tunis in 1930), relating the history of the Tijaniyya, explaining its practices and praising its distinguished scholars, especially his teacher Ahmad Sukayrij.
Shaykh Ahmad Sukayrij himself authored about 160 works on all aspects of Islamic Knowledge, among which are:
A 20,000 line, Nazm Version of al-Suyuti’s Khasa’is al-Kubra.
A 500 line, Nazm version of Qadi Iyad’s Shifa.
A commentary on the Burdah.
The renowned Kashf al-Hijab amman Talaqa ma`a al-Shaykh al-Tijani min al-Ashab (published in Fez, 1907), a giant encyclopedia of the disciples of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani.
The comprehensive book of Tijani doctrine, al-Kawkab al-Wahhaj li tawdih al-minhaj (published in Tunis, 1910), written as a commentary to Durrat al-Taj.
Shaykh Ahmad Sukayrij possessed more than 600 ijazas (diplomas) in various Islamic Sciences, which he transcribed in his seminal work, Qadam al-Rusukh fima li-Mu’allifihi min al-Shuyukh. In the same book, Sidi Sukayrij wrote: “The first one to whom I gave authorization in all these chains of transmission was the Khalifa al-Hajj Ibrahim Niyass.” He also said to him, “You are the ‘Alim (scholar) of Black Africa (al-Sudan).”
For his part, Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse addressed Shaykh Sukayrij in a letter dated 1352 (1932 C.E.), and reprinted in the Jawahir al-Rasa’il, as follows:
“Our greatest love, the esteemed shaykh, the most famous scholar, the full moon in efflorescent radiance, the proof of this [Tijani] path, and the assistance of this company, the one who has spread the knowledge of it [the Tijaniyya] by his accomplishment: the emblem of Divine gnosis, the owner of the spiritual medicine, the upright state and the eternal secret; the adept among adepts … Sidi Ahmad bin al-Hajj al-‘Ayyashi Sukayrij.”
Although Shaykh Ibrahim Niyass had numerous ijazahs in the Tijaniyya, he would always use that given to him by Shaykh Sukayrij during their meeting in Morocco in 1937 when initiating others into the tariqa. Indeed, the silsilah, or “golden chain,” passing through Sukayrij was the shortest to Shaykh Ahmad Tijani of any scholar in the twentieth century.
Before he passed away, Shaykh Sukayrij had a dream in which he was in the company of Qadi `Iyad ibn Musa. Then it so happened that he passed away while he was in Marrakech in 1944, and was indeed buried in the Mausoleum of Qadi `Iyad.
Many of the Shaykh’s Arabic works, and a more detailed biography, are available at www.cheik-skiredj.com. The above information is based on information available at this site, interviews with Shaykh Hassan Cisse and brief biographical information appearing in Abun-Nasr’s The Tijaniyya (Oxford, 1965).

Biography of Muhadith Shaykh Muhammad al Hafiz al Misri at Tijani

By Shaykh Fakhruddin Owaisi
Our master, the shaykh, the gnostic of God, the Sayyid, Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Misri al-Tijani, was one of the greatest scholars of Prophetic traditions (hadith) of Egypt in the twentieth century, as well as a renowned Friend of Allah.
Al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Hafiz bin `Abdul Latif bin Salim was born in the district of Munufiyya in Egypt in the year 1315 (c. 1897) to a family connected to the noble Ahlul Bayt (household of the Prophet). After studying the religious sciences in Cairo, Shaykh al-Hafiz traveled abroad to Syria, Tunisia, Sudan, Algeria and Morocco in the pursuit of sacred knowledge. During these blessed journeys, he gained precious diplomas (ijazahs) from some of the greatest scholars of the time from the East and the West of the Islamic world, such as Shaykh Badruddin al-Hasani of Syria, Sharif `Abdul Hayy al-Kattani and Sidi Ahmad Sukayrij of Morocco, Shaykh Alfa Hashim of Medina and Shaykh `Abdul Baqi al-Ansari of Mecca.
After his period of learning, Sayyidina Muhammad al-Hafiz totally dedicated himself to the teaching of Hadith. He taught the entire multi-volume Sahih al-Bukhari more than 40 times in Egypt, and many other books of Hadith as well. It is said that he used to know them by heart. It is narrated that when he went to Fez, Morocco, to visit the blessed tomb of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani, he was asked by the shaykhs in Fez to teach them Imam al-Nawawi’s famous “Forty Hadith” collection, which he did from memory.
He authored many great works on Hadith, Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), history and Sufism (tasawwuf), and made tahqiq (verification) of many original gems in the field of Hadith, which were part of his private library which also has one of the best collections of manuscripts in Egypt. For this he had copied and collected manuscripts from the most ancient libraries in Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Cairo, Fez, Tunis, Sudan and other centers of Islamic learning that he had visited. Shaykh Dr.`Abdul Halim Mahmud, the Rector of al-Azhar, wrote in Sidi al-Hafiz’s obituary, “the Imam al-muhaddithin (leading hadith scholar) has died.”
Shaykh al-Hafiz also took part in the Jihad against the English in Egypt in the early 1900’s, and even Imam Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, used to seek his advice. In 1951, he began editing a magazine dedicated to promulgating traditional Islam, called Tariq al-Haqq (”The Path of Truth”), which was widely read throughout Egypt. He also debated and defeated the Orientalists in Cairo during his time. His renown as a scholar even reached Western literary circles, and his important biography of al-Hajj Umar Futi Tal was translated into French by the Canadian scholar Fernand Dumond in 1983.
Exceeding all of this by way of distinction, however, was the fact Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz used to meet Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah in a state of wakefulness. This was clear indication of his high spiritual station (maqam) in sainthood (wilaya).
He was originally involved in the honorable Khalwati, Naqshbandi, and Shadhili tariqahs, then left all of them to take the Way of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani at the hand of the Mauritanian Shaykh, Sidi Ahmad al-`Alawi al-Shinqiti.
Numerous people from all walks of life took the Tijani Spiritual Path from Shaykh al-Hafiz and attained great spiritual heights. He was as famous as a Spiritual Master par excellence as he was a hadith scholar of the age, a combination extremely rare in modern times. His Tijani Zawiyah in Cairo was and remains a great center of spiritual refreshment for those who live in or visit Cairo. His books on tasawwuf and tariqa are considered gems of spiritual knowledge.
Our late teacher, Sayyid Muhammad bin `Alawi al-Maliki of Mecca, was a very keen student of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz in Hadith and tasawwuf when he was studying at the Azhar. He would fondly remember the “blessed gatherings” of Shaykh al-Hafiz, and always referring to him as “a great Wali of Allah”, and would often mention some of his miracles (karamat). In fact, the Sayyid always mentioned him in the forefront of the list of his teachers in all his ijazahs.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz was in close correspondence with most of the leading Tijani authorities of his time, including Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. Shaykh Ibrahim had the occasion to visit the zawiya of Shaykh al-Hafiz during an official state visit to Egypt in 1961. In the presence of the Tijani notables of Egypt, Shaykh Ibrahim referred to Shaykh al-Hafiz as “a man who is without doubt an inheritor (khalifa) of the Shaykh Sidi Ahmad Tijani, whose description matches that of the Shaykh as I myself know him to be.” In other words, whoever has seen the face of Shaykh al-Hafiz has seen the face of Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani; a rare compliment since the Prophet himself assured Shaykh Ahmad Tijani that whoever saw the Shaykh’s face would die in a state of good faith.
Shaykh al-Hafiz al-Tijani passed away in 1398 (1978) in Cairo. He was succeeded by his learned son Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad al-Hafiz, who authored a detailed biography of his father. Among those who were blessed to achieve spiritual education at the hands of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz was the Italian Shaykh Abd al-Samad Paolo, who has translated and commented several important Sufi works (amongst them the Kitab al-ta‘arruf of Kalabadhi and the Mahasin al-majalis of Ibn al-‘Arif) into Italian.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz was indeed a giant of the twentieth century. May Allah be pleased with him, and may we benefit from his example, steeped as he was in both the Sacred Law (Shari’a) and the Divine realities (Haqiqa), as a paradigm of true Muslim scholarship continuing into modern times

From the Jawahir al Ma'ani

Our beloved master Ahmed al Tijani said: Allah almighty sorrounded man when created him with weakness and incapability in movements, tranquility and in all the rest of his states for when man is seated for a long time he will tire from being seated and when he is standing he will tire from long time standing and if he was to sleep for a long time will be fed up from sleeping and if he was to stay awake will then have to sleep and if he was leaning for a long time he will be exhausted from leaning and when he eats he is burdened by being full with food and if he were to quit eating he would go hungry and so on you may compare the rest of his states to this, this is so - so that man is always in a state of need to his lord and so that he knows and confesses that the lord is powerful and is absolutely independent, this way man will not rely on anyone or anything just like one dusting off his hand and turn to his lord alone, this is the lord’s way so that man may know him and turn to him, Praise to Allah the all wise and all knowing the one whose knowledge has encircled every thing and the one whose decree and desire is above all and everything. The sheikh may Allah be pleased with him would point out to people how to know one’s lord by learning from these states that man continuously experiences hardship and comfort, happy life to trouble and unrest, fear and safety, sickness and health, the hearts changing states such as constriction to openness, determination to despair, the sheikh would recite: ((We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth)) and then the sheikh would say: If people knew better they would have appreciated that to be in hardship is better than being in comfort because it is the nature of man when in beneficence and grace to forget the lord, turn aside and withdraw but when distress and trouble hits, it forces man to turn back towards his lord seeking help and safety, when man is in need and in fear there is no room or time to be forgetful and negligent as he was when in good health and happiness - therefore People/Man in that situation is better because at that stage he/she is at the door of their lord begging his help to relief them of hardship, the sheikh would then mention Allah Almighty’s saying: ((When We show favour unto man, he withdraweth and turneth aside, but when ill toucheth him then he aboundeth in prayer)) and he would teach people Yaqeen (certainty) and show them the way to know and reach the almighty he would say: Will not Allah suffice His slave? Is not Allah the most merciful? Was he not kind to us through out our lives? So how can we doubt him? If you were to swear by the greatest most great name of Allah to not give you what has been destined for you to have he will still give it to you and if you were to ask for that which he has not destined for you to have, you shall never attain it [The pen has dried up you will face what has been written for you] (1) He would say: Allah almighty puts his servant through a poverty test then he makes it a bit easy on him with something which is not purely halal, if one is a little bit patient the almighty opens for that servant a kind of opening after which he will never again experience any poverty. Jawahiru al Ma'ani Part One Page 95/96 (1) - Rufi'at al aqlamu wa jafati al Suhufu - 'Pens have dried up and papers has been lifted' a proverb used by Arabs and used by the prophet peace and blessings upon him in many traditions - This proverb is used when the speaker wishes to inform the listener that the matter has been decreed and ordained

Poetry of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse

I have seen with my eyes, the best of creation and that vision rid me of doubt, of malice and of all hypocrisy It publicly made the writing paper, my ink and my tongue familiar to me. It inhabited with a cure the lonliness of my heart The vision set light the fire of my passion, of my heart and of my decline. It made me spend a night of Insomnia while other members of the tribe slept. I have only imitated the chosen one(Mustapha) I have merely sung his praises; oh crowds! stop blaming me Is religion anything but faith in recitals and in the sunna of the chosen one which is my antidote? Oh men! stop this playfulness and walk in the footsteps of Muhammad or else you will distance me from yourselves If you ask me whether my wird (Tijani wird) is the chosen path of Muhammad, I will reply in the affirmative, because the ultimate goal of my wird is the purity of faith. Indeed the wird is nothing but the recital of the name of God, alone with a prayer in the name of the chosen one, the best of men It should noth include the recital of the name of a saint or of some other man. Besides, my word is a remedy for the suffering of the worshipper! My fine friend! Do not reject my word out of ignorance, out of rebelliousness, out of animosity, insolence or cruelty The shaykhs are guides who should imitate our Prophet so that others wanting to emulate him will do likewise The spirit of the Chosen one paid me a brief visit and I nearly broke into flight from affection and ardent desire; my passion for him is my calvary at night While the whole world sleeps peacefully, Ibrahim Niasse's love for Muhammad, the best of men and the fountain of splendour, is put to test It is out of jealousy and envy that people behave unjustly towards me, when in my youth I surpassed all my rivals It was in the cradle that I have a perfect success, thus all the elect of the invisible one admitted being under my law They cross the deserts of the East or West in the direction of Mecca for no other reason but to come and savour my pleasant smell Why not because my spring today is that of Muhammad and his secret flows through my body and over my face All my contemporaries have own an elevated rank, except those who deplored my path because they were slaves of passion I am not professing the truth under the influence of theopathy, or out of over weening pretension. I have offered my protection to all who crave felicity It was because of me that the tyranny which was oppressing us vanished. It was because of my divine gnosis that religion raised aloft its banner Thos who would come unto me, let them do so before the fatal expiry! Those who would not, let them flee from me in the manner of the chosen of damnation Do we want to extinguish a divine light? God will resist it whosoever be determined the enemy. It is wish the help of him who dissipated error that I shall plunge into the mire the noses of the malevolent people who accuse me of associationism I cut to the ground the edifice of lies which they had constructed whilst my own edifice remains standing owing to the secret of my model...... By my Lord, he who never tells a lie can attest that all those who wanted to cling to my cable have done so The same is true of my desert crossings which are yet unexplored by gnosis, so much so that the poles are unable to meet my mount I solemnly swear that only the happiest man likes me and only the most miserable breathing fire and fury hates me The people are certain that I am the servant of Muhammad and he who attaches himself to me will in the end join the Friend of God I am not making these pronouncements in the manner of a Saint who falling prey to ecstasy poffers phrases and I am not under the effect of any drunkenness which might have captured my reason My writings bring happiness to the human race and no one will ever be miserable who has seen me or my writing If i have spoken, it is because I was given the directive and yet I am silent on one secret which has never been confide to someone else All this privilege I owe to the love I have for the Prince of envoys (Muhammad). May God bless him and increase my degree as well I lit this love so well that I myself am perplexed by it. It is the Majesty of the Apostle of God which has thrown my mind into confusion My affection for him is flowing in hurried torrents. Glory be to the Lord who has nourished my mind on revelations Because of this secret, I am dead with desire and passion and the more I approach the Prophet, the more I love him Ah! may it please God for me to reach my beloved and for me to become his neighbour in the state of wakefulness as much as in the dream state! That is my wish How could it be otherwise because my eyes have seen Him when in the state of wakefulness in the encampment, which I will love to the end of the centuries Equally I saw his eyes the likes of which in beauty do not exist. Can anyone find Muhammad's equal? May salvation of truth rest upon him as long as he whose heart burns with affection for him says: I remember and the memory has troubled my face. Now the situation is clear. The Friend has accorded me special privileges. I am a special friend of Ta Ha He wanted to enstrust the Secret to me before my birth and I am the devoted instructor of the gnostics Although one day the poles were astonished to see me at their assembly, they ended up by obeying me and pledged me sincere friendship I saw the Messenger of God who told me that I was one of his devoted ambassadors to the human race!......... (My) Heart refuse rest, save being enamored in love and my yearning with the Apostle has enraptured my essence I kept vigil over the nights eulogizing and commemorating whose beginning and end is pure and holy As I am recording (my eulogy) in my night vigil while my neighbors were asleep, my eyes are shedding tears like falling rains I put the eulogy in proper order by commemorating his character, what can be better that celebrating the precious moon Muhammad my master is the key of all openings and he is the seal of all prophets their most superior and leader By his dignity all the apostles obtained their needs and by him the divine platform is adorned, extolled and magnified He has been a messenger of Allah ever before the advent of Adam and he will remain messenger of Allah eternally and magnificently He emerged as a unique treasure of the truth and for that he emerged as a divine distributor and the source of all things Miracle of all apostles is an extract from Muhammad’s miracles and from him emerged regulation of all affairs Muhammad is the bounties of the Lord of the throne, His mercy and grace, so let’s honor him

Tariqa Ahmadiyya Muhammadiyya Ibrahimiyya Tijaniyya

Tariqa Ahmadiyya Muhammadiyya Ibrahimiyya Hanifiyya Tijaniyya He also said (Shaykh Ahmad Tijani)
"We have a degree in the sight of Allah, which reaches such a height in the presence of Allah, that I am forbidden to divulge its definition to you. If I were to express it, the masters of truth and gnostic wisdom would be unanimous in declaring me guilty of unbelief (kufr), to say nothing of other people. It is not the degree that I have mentioned to you. No indeed, it is beyond that!"

He also said(may Allah be pleased with him), when speaking to his companions: "You should know that Allah's bountiful grace has no limit, and that bountiful grace is in the hand of Allah, who gives it to whom He will. Let me also tell you that my station in the presence of Allah in the Hereafter will not be attained by any of the saints, and not one of them will come close to it, whether his importance be great or small. Of all the saints, from the time of the Companions until the blowing of the trumpet there is not one who will attain to our station, and not one of them will come close to it. I did not tell you that until I heard it for certain from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).

As for the relationship of the degrees of the people of this Spiritual Path with the degree of the people of the other Spiritual Paths, it is like that, to the point where it reaches a limit that I am forbidden to mention and divulge." He also said (may Allah be pleased with him): If the greatest Qutbs came to know what Allah has prepared for the people of this Spiritual path, they would weep and they would cry: 'Our Lord! You have given us nothing!' " "If this is the case of the Qutbs in relation to them, what do you think of those below them, including the champions of truth, the gnostic sages, and the saints? If this is the condition of those just mentioned, what do you think of the people of their Spiritual Paths, who have not attained to their degree?" He referred to what we have mentioned in his saying: "We have a degree in the sight of Allah....," to the point where he said "The peculiarity of that degree is this: If someone is not on his guard against changing the heart of our companions, with no respect for our companions, Allah will banish him from his nearness, and He will deprive him of what He has bestowed upon him." He also referred to it in his saying(May Allah be pleased with him) :

" Not one of the men of distinction will have all of his companions enter the Garden without reckoning and without chastisement, whatever sins and acts of disobedience they may have committed, not one of them except me alone." Beyond that, it is not permissible to mention what he told me about them, and which the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) guaranteed. It will not be seen and known except in the Hereafter........ As for why this Spiritual Path of ours is called "Muhammadiyya" despite the fact that all the Spiritual Paths of Allah's people are alike in that respect, there are many reasons for it : 1.All the bountiful favors bestowed upon all the saints flow from one source, that being his (the Prophet Muhammad's) essential nature (Allah bless him and give him peace), just as all the bountiful favors bestowed upon all the Prophets flow from only one source, that being his essential nature.

Our Spiritual Path is called "Muhammadiyya" because of this complete connection. Our Shaykh said: "The bountiful favors that flow from the essential nature of the Chieftan of Existence, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), are received by the essential nature of the Prophets (peace be upon them) and everything that flows and emanates from the essential natures of the Prophets is received by my essential nature, from which it is distributed to all creatures, from the origin of the world until the blowing of the Trumpet. Once you have understood this, the reason for calling it "Muhammadiyya" will not be concealed from you. 2.(Because of his position of Khatm Awliya) Our Shaykh receives his peculiar support from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and not one of the Prophets is aware of the bounty that is peculiar to him, because he has received a special temperament (mashrab) from him (Allah bless him and give him peace). 3. It is his (the Prophet Muhammad's) Spiritual Path for a special reason, because he (Allah bless him and give him peace) stated that explicitly to our Shaykh(may Allah be well pleased with him), dispelling all doubts by telling him: "Your fuqara are my fuqara, and your disciples are my disciples," and by telling him: "Whenever you authorize someone (the wird), and he gives it to others, it is as if they have received directly from you, by word of mouth, and I am a guarantor for them."...... The Prophet also said to one the Shaykhs companions (Sayid Muhammad Ghali who is buried right across from Umm Mumineen Khadija in Mecca) : "You are the son of the beloved friend, and you have entered the Spiritual Path of the greatest deputy (khalifa) and the most renowned inheritor, the most virtuous Tijani!" This is sufficient good news for the people of his Spiritual Path, for it is more important that this world and all of its goods, and than the Garden of Paradise, its palaces and the rest of its delights, and there is no goal beyond it beyond it except beholding the countenance of our Noble Master. 4. The fact that its people have a special characteristic by which they are distinguished from others, and by which they make it known that he (the Prophet) is their guarantor and in charge of their affairs. Imprinted between the eyes of each of them is the stamp: "The Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (an Nabiyyu Muhammadun Rasulu'llah)". Imprinted over his heart, close to his back is : "Muhammad, the son of Abdullah (Muhammad ibnu Abdullah) On his head there is a crown of light, bearing the inscription: "The Tijani Spiritual Path, the origin of which is the Muhammadan Reality (at Tariqatu Tijaniyya manshu u ha'l Haqiqatu'l Muhammadiyya)" This is how they will be distinguished on the Day of Reckoning

Tariqa al Ahmadiyya al Muhammadiya al Ibrahimmiya al Hanifiyya at Tijaniyya

From the Rimah of Shaykh Umar Futi

Why this Spiritual Path of ours is called: al Tariqa al Ahmadiyya al Muhammadiya al Ibrahimiya al Hanifiya at Tijaniya

Succes is achieved with the help of Allah, for He is the Guide by His grace to the straight path! You should know that the full name of this Spiritual Path of ours comprises several (adjectival) names, arranged in this order al Ahmadiyya-al Muhammadiyya-al Ibrahimiyya- al Hanifiyya- at Tijaniyya. I If you wish, you may call it: al Tariqa al Ahmadiyya (the Ahmadi Spiritual Path) or: at Tariqa al Muhammadiyya (the Muhammadan Spiritual Path) or: at Tariqa al Ibrahimiyya al Hanifiyya (the Ibrahimi-Hanifi Spiritual Path) or: at Tariqa at Tijaniyya (the Tijani Spiritual Path)

Suppose you raise the question: "Why have you given it several names, while other Spiritual Paths have benn give a single name?" My answer will be: "It has been given many names because it is endowed with excellent merits and special qualities, with which others are not endowed, and the multipicity of names is indicative of the superiority of the object named.

As we are told in the as Siraj al Munir: 'It-meaning the Sura of Sincere Devotion (al Ihklas) has many names and the multiplicity of names is indicative of the honor of the object named..." According to Ibn Abi Jamra, in Bahjat an Nufus: "The probable reason why it-- meaning the Opening Sura of the Book (Fatiha al Kitab)- has been called by namy names, is the fact that it is endowed with excellent merits and special qualities, with which others are not endowed and the multiplitiy of names is indicative of the superiority of the object named, either absolutely or generically. That is why the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was called by five names.

According to one of the religous scholars: "The total number of his names is approximately one hundred, whereas the other Prophets (blessings and pleace be upon them) have only one name each. That is because he (Allah bless him and give him peace) is the Holder of the Furled Standard and the Praiseworthy Station (Sahib al Liwa al Ma qud wa l Maqam al Mahmud). The mulitiplicity of names is due to the magnitude of his worth. The same applies to the multiplicity of Allah's Names, for there is nothing Like Him, so nothing resembles His Names, because of their multiplicity and their magnitude..." In the case of our Spiritual Path, once you have understood the reason why its full name comprises several (adjectival) names, arranged in a particular sequence, you must realize that the significance of its being "Ahmadi" is still unclear to you. We must therefore describe and explain the Ahmadi reality (al Haqiqa al Ahmadiyya), to make it clear to you as quickly as possible. Every intelligent observer views its being called "Ahmadi" from a paricular standpoint, so let us quote what our Shaykh Tijani (may Allah be well pleased with him) had to say on the subject, in his commentary on the Invocation of Blessing (as Salat al Ghaibiyya): "

As for the Ahmadi Reality (al Haqiqa al Ahmadiyya), it is the subject previously discussed in connection with the statement 'Every giver of praise in the universe has praised Allah, but no one in the universe has praised Allah to the same extent as the Prophet has praised Him', Furthermore, the Ahmadi Reality is one of Allah's mysteries, so no one has discovered what it contains in the form of intuitions, knowledge, secrets, bountiful favors, manifestations, exalted spritual states and pure virtues, and no one has had any experience of it, not even any of the other Messengers and Prophets. Its station is peculiar to him alone (the Prophet Muhammad) who is also called Ahmad (Allah bless him and give him peace)

"As for all the attainments of the Prophets and the Envoys, all of the angels and those drawn near, all of the Qutbs and the Siddiqeen, and all of the saints and the gnostic sages, whatever they have achieved, as a whole and in detail, it has come from the gracious bounty of the Muhammadan Reality (Haqiqa al Muhammadiyya). As for the Ahmad Reality (Haqiqa al Ahmadiyya) no one has obtained anything from it, for it is peculiar to him alone, because of the perfection of its glory and the extreme degree of its sublimity."

Once you have come to know the meaning of the Ahmadi Reality (al Haqiqa al Ahmadiyya) and the understanding of it has been grasped by your mind, you should know that our Spiritual Path is called "Ahmadi" for several reasons: 1. it is called "Ahmadi" because of its having originated from the Chieftan of Existance and the Sign of Witnessing, whom Allah has named Ahmad in His Book: Jesus said: "Iam also bringing good tidings of a Messenger who will come after me, whose name will be Ahmad." (61:6) -so the adjective "Ahmadi" has been applied to that which emanates from him 2. It is called "Ahmadi" because of its stemming from the gracious favor bestowed by our patron Allah's Messenger upon Ahmad ibn Muhammad at Tijani. 3. it is called "Ahmadi" in order to draw attention to the fact that he (May Allah be pleased with him) is the first of the saints and their supporter, even though his physical existance came later, for he already existed in reality.

As previously mentioned, (Ibn Arabi al Hatimi) said (May Allah be pleased with him): "the meaning of the Prophet's saying: I was a Prophet while Adam was between the water and the clay --is 'I was a Prophet in actual fact, aware of my Prophethood, while Adam was between the water and the clay." He then went on to say "None of the other Prophets was a Prophet, nor aware of his Prophethood, except when he was sent (on his mission) after his coming into existence with his material body and his complete fulfillment of the preconditions of Prophethood." Then he added: " the Seal of the Saints (Khatim al Awliya) was likewise actually a saint, aware of his sainthood, while was between the water and the clay, and none of the other saints was a saint in actual fact, nor aware of his sainthood, except after his acquisition of the Divine characteristics that are stipulated in the definition of sainthood..." Once this has been thoroughly understood, you will not be mystified by the previously mentioned statement: "Every giver of praise in the universe has praised Allah, but no one in the universe has praised Allah to the same extent as the Prophet has praised Him."

Once you have grasped this, you should know that the Seal of the Saints has surpassed ever other giver of praise in the giving of praise to Allah, for none of the saints has prasied Allah to the same extent as the Seal of the Saints has praised Him, because he is the heir who inherits from the source, and who recognizes the degrees. Ibn Arabi al Hatimi said: "The Seal of the Saints is the inheriting saint, who receives from the source, who recognizes the degrees and ascertains the entitlement of their holders, in order to give each creditor his rightful due, for that is one of the virtues of the Chieftan of the Envoys, the Captain of the Community..." My master said about the elite, just as ash Sha'rani said in Durar al Ghawwas "This comminty has two comprehensive Seals, and every degree and station has an inheritor... Every saint there has ever been, or will ever be, can only receive from these two Seals, one of whom is the Seal of the sainthood of th elite, while the other is the one by whom the common sainthood is sealed, for there will be no saint after him until the advent of the Final Hour..."

It is obvious, plain and clear, from the speech of these two masters, that the Seal of the Saints has surpassed every giver of praise in the giving of praise to Allah, for none of the saints has praised Allah to the same extent as the Seal of the Saints has praised Him. The one from whom something is received takes precedence ahead of the recipient, since it can never be correct to rand the provider of support behind the recipient of support.

That is why his Spiritual Path became the Spiritual Path of love and thankfulness, as previously explained in the Seventeenth Section of this blessed book, because of its having originated from the bountiful sphere, from which Allah removed the beneficence of anyone other that his ancester (The Prophet) who said to him (Shaykh Tijani) " No creature among the Shaykhs of the Spiritual Paths has any benefit to bestow upon you, for I am your intermediary and your supporter in actual fact. You must therefore abandon whatever you have received from the all the Spiritual Paths. " He also told him: "You must adhere to this Spiritual Path without secluded retreat or isolation from the people, so that you may reach your station which you have been promised. You will thus proceed without constraint and restriction, and without a great deal of strenuous exertion. You must also abandon all the saints, for Allah has mustered the people of the Spiritual Path by sheer grace, generosity, and munificence, and their Noble Lord does not put their business without constraint and restriction, and without a great deal of strenous exertion. They were appealing by giving praise for the tremendous favor that Allah had specially conferred upon them, and by giving thanks for the superabundance that He had generally bestowed upon them." Because of what has been mentioned, it came to be called the Ahmadi Spiritual path (tariqa al Ahmadiyya)

4. It is called "Ahmadi" because the spiritual station of its master, in relation to the spiritual stations of all the saints, is like the spiritual station of Ahmad in relation to the spiritual stations of all the Prophets, because the Shaykh said (may Allah be pleased with him): " I am the Chieftain of the Saints, just as Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was the Chieftain of the Prophets". He also said (may Allah be pleased with him): " A saint neither drinks nor quenches his thirst (spiritual gnosis), except from our ocean, from the origin of the universe until the blowing of the trumpet" He also said (may Allah be pleased with him), while pointing with his two fingers, the index finger and the middle finger. "His spirit (Allah bless him and give him peace) and my spirit are like this: His spirit (Allah bless him and give him peace) supports the Messengers and the Prophets(peace be upon them), and my spirit supports the Qutbs, the gnostic sages and the saints, from sempiternity to eterntiy (beginning to ending) everlasting. He also said (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) had informed him that his spiritual station was higher than all the spiritual stations.(except prophethood and the companions) He also said (may Allah be pleased with him): "The relationship of the Qutbs with me is like the relationship of the common folk with the Qutbs"