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