بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
DIAMOND SPARKLES
(Aqeeqah Series 1)
(A
collection of priceless expositions via letters)
(Letters One to Ten)
By
Shaykh Ibrahim bin Abdullah Niass
[May Allah be satisfied with him]
With commentaries by the translator
Translated by:
Sayyidah Bilqees Grillo, FCA, FCIB, MBA
Printed,
published & distributed by:
Queen of Sheba Peace Foundation
Lagos, Nigeria
ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED
No
part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without the permission of the
publisher.
First
Edition: July 2012
KHALIFATUL
AAM SHAYKH AHMAD TIJANI IBRAHIM NIASS
Chairman, Queen of Sheba Peace Foundation
Head Office: Queen of Sheba Peace Foundation
Plot 2 Engnr. O. J Sikuade Street, Marshey Hill Estate,
Ajah,
Eti-Osa LGA, Lekki, Lagos
96, Oduduwa Street, Surulere, Lagos
Bookstore: 2, Jonah Lane Off Idita Street
Lagos, Nigeria
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT
Translator’s Note
Dedication
Authorizations for the translation project
First Letter
Commentary
Second Letter
Commentary
Third Letter
Commentary
Fourth Letter
Commentary
Fifth Letter
Commentary
Sixth Letter
Commentary
Seventh Letter
Commentary
Eighth Letter
Commentary
Ninth Letter
Commentary
Tenth Letter
Commentary
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
In
the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful. All praise is due
to The Almighty Allah, The Lord of the worlds. The Most Beneficent, The Most
Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement. May the peace and Blessings of Allah
be upon the Noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Eye of Divine Mercy
of God, his Household the pure ones, his Companions the esteemed in grace, and
those who follow this guidance until the Day of Resurrection.
My
profound gratitude goes to Almighty Allah (Subhana’u wa ta’ala), for making this humble
attempt at translation of the work possible. It could not have been if not for
His Grace. In addition, I take full
responsibility for any observed shortcomings in the translated messages since
my best efforts do not necessarily represent the best.
The
aim for embarking on this translation work is to create opportunity for the
adherents of the Tariqah of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani under the tutelage of The Qutb
and Gawth, the Sahibul Faydah, Fadhilatu-Shaykh-al-lslam, Alhaj Ibrahim Niass in particular and the
entire Muslims in general, to get closer to the expositions of our great Master
and Teacher, Shaykh Ibrahim Niass, by reading through some of his many
illustrious and educative letters written to his Muqaddams and other elders in
the path. Brief commentaries were run after each letter to shed more light
based on further explanations received from the elders within the hadrah of the
Khalifatul Aam, his
Eminence Shaykh Ahmad Tijani Ibrahim Niass [radhi
Allahu an’hu].
May Allah Ta’ala
accept this work as an act of Ibadah (Amin).
My
deepest appreciation goes to my spiritual fathers and mentors, in particular Fadhilat Shaykh Ahmad Tijani Ibrahim Niass al-kaolakhy
(radhi Allahu an’hu), for his unflinching
support and encouragement at all times. I also wish to place on record my
gratitude to my beloved Shaykhs who never stopped ‘leading the way’ namely - Shaykh Muhammad Rabiu
Olorire (late), Shaykh Abdul-Salaam Akoshile, Shaykh Zubair Idris and Dr.
Murtala Busoeri. My special appreciation goes to Dr. M. Busoeri and Professor
A.0.Sanni for their contributions to the book review efforts. May Allah bless
them throughout, till the end of time.
I
will equally not fail to say a big “thanks” from the
bottom of my heart to Alhaji Muhammad Shakirudeen Grillo my dear husband, for
giving me the full moral support to push this project through, also to Shaykh
Shittu Jimoh, (Khadim and Bawaab to Shaykh Ahmad Tijani in Lagos, Nigeria) who
stood by my translation efforts day and night, explaining those passages too
advanced for my amateurish Arabic comprehension, and my brother in Allah,
Abdul-Lateef Owolabi. I employ the tongue of Shaykh Ibrahim Niass in my expression
of deep gratitude for the moral, spiritual and intellectual support they all
rendered. May Allah bless them immensely for their inestimable sacrifices.
(amin).
Finally,
my gratitude goes to my mother, the one in a million, Alhaja Nihmatallah Kasumu Gbajabiamila;
and my children: all of
them, for their fortitude, prayers and
sacrifices during the long periods I kept away from them. I put them in Allah’s
Compassionate Care and He is sufficient for them.
May
Allah (Subhana’u wa ta’ala) profit every reader who may
come across this lecture by its gleam, purify our hearts by its beautiful
admonitions and grant us all His Rahmah (Mercy), till the Day of Resurrection.
Glory
is to thy Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power, far above that which they assert.
May peace and blessings also reside upon the Messengers! And all praise belongs
to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Signed:
Hajiya Sayyidah Bilqees B. Grillo
Rajab, 1433AH [May 2012]
DEDICATION
BISMILLAHI
RAHMAN- IR- RAHEEM
This
book is dedicated to Allah Ta’ala, His Apostle Sayyidina
Muhammad, The Seal of Electsof Allah, Shaykh Ahmad Tijani of Fez and His
Sahibu-l-Faydah, Shaykh-al-Islam, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullah at-Tijani and to the
entire Muslim Ummah in aiding better comprehension of the ways of the Sufis,
the Elects of Allah.
AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE TRANSLATION AND
DISTRIBUTION PROJECT:
Praise
Is Due To Allah And He Is Sufficient. May Peace of Both Worlds Reside On
Muhammad the Chosen, And Upon His Household and Companions, The People Of
Light, The Exalted In Ranks.
I
Have Given Permission To The Esteemed Sayyidah, Full Of Barakah, A Muqadimmah,
A Gnostic In Allah, One Who Has Imbibed The Ways Of The Elects Of Allah,
Sayyidah Bilqees Bolajoko Grillo On The Publication And Distribution Of All
Lectures Authored By Shaykh Ibrahim After Translating Them To English Language
So That The Accruing Benefits Can Cut Across The Whole World Both The
Tijaniyyahs And Others (Muslims & Non-Muslims Alike). I Beseech Allah The
Exalted, The Powerful To Grant Her Benefits Until She Is Capable Of Executing
The Task. This Is What I Am Obliged To Write.
This
Idhn (Permission) Is Written By:
SHAYKH AHMAD TIJANI IBRAHIM NIASS
2nd April, 2006
FIRST LETTER
In the name OF Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most
Merciful. Praise be unto Allah the Lord of the
Worlds, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful. May the peace of Allah be
upon our Leader Muhammad according to the magnitude of his worth which is indeed
great.
This
letter is to the Beloved Brother, who is a Jurist, a Respectful Personality, a
trained person, Muhammad Mustapha Ibn Jaran Saam.
As-salaam
Alaykum, wa Rahmatullah Ta’ala Wa Barakatuhu.
Kindly
note that I got your message through the person sent and read over your letters
and was very happy about it. I commend you to Allah’s protection,
who does not allow to get lost, anything put under His Custodial Care. I hereby
admonish you with the need to concentrate the heart with Allah in all your
actions and inactions, and also be for Allah: “Whoever is for Allah, Allah will equally be for him”.
Exclude the entire creation from your interactions with the True God, and
yourself from the totality of creation in your dealings with Him. “Say Allah! Then leave them in their quest, playing” (Al-An’am 6:91).
You
know that Allah regards as engaging in sports and play the act of preoccupying
oneself with anything other–than-Allah. Also let there be
for you two guides [shaykhs]:
1. Your manifest Shaykh who takes you through the Holy Book and Sunnah of
Rasulullah, and
2. Your Hidden Shaykh,
our Shaykh Ahmad Tidjani, may Allah be pleased with him (amin), for he is with
you at all times,
Surely,
any means of approach is merely a means of approach.
What
I mean is what I have told you, therefore keep well your secrets, and bury
properly whatever Allah reveals to you by way of Divine Secrets until Allah
showcase you to the world. This is because whoever gives indication to the
world of being a Shaykh prior to getting Idhn (Divine Permission) from Allah is
wasting away his Hereafter and this world and will also be shamed among the
people of his race. However, if it is Allah who showcases you to the world none
can withhold His gift, but the love of being a public figure prior to Allah’s time of
showcasing the person will cut-off the real fame by Allah’s standard
because of what is in it of personal interests. So if Allah conceals you, then
being hidden is the best for you, and if He manifests you, then being famous
and known by the people is the best for you. Never desire anything except
whatever Allah desires. Whoever covets fame is a slave of popularity. In the
same manner, whoever loves being unknown is a slave of concealment. But whoever
does not desire anything except what Allah desires; that is the true servant of
Allah, hence a Gnostic is he who abandons his desires for Allah’s desires.
Kindly
tell Hadi that I have given him the permission to teach and release to you the
usage of the prayer formula: Sirru Ziyarah and that is
the third of the secrets granted, also in it is the special name which
represents the Station of Shaykh (radhi Allahu ta’ala anhu). In
addition, kindly convey my greetings to the Khalifah Habeebullah Shak. I am
seeking noble prayers from him.
Wa Salaam.
Written by Ibrahim ibn Alhaji Abdullahi
Tijani
Year 1348 A.H. (the Faydah was in Kaous
on a Wednesday).
COMMENTARIES ON THE FIRST LETTER
The
letter under reference was from the
author, Shaykh Ibrahim Niass [radhiallah ta’ala an’hu] to one of
his disciples who was a respectable and knowledgeable gentleman in the law of
Jurisprudence. The
first admonition to him for the benefit of all his students is the need to
concentrate our hearts in Almighty Allah. What this means is that we should
devote our thoughts, deeds, actions and time only on those things acceptable to
Allah as good and noble. We should always consider the ‘feelings’ of Allah
whatever we intend to do as well as those works we actually carry out. If we
believe that it is something Allah will love or will give us a ‘free’ mind or a
sense of peace, then we can embark on them. If it will give us a guilty
conscience or we will not like our fellow human being to meet us at the point
of execution of those actions, then we should avoid carrying it out because we
know it is not likely to carry Allah’s approval. This is how our
time and thoughts should be judiciously spent all the days of our lives. This
is the meaning of concentrating the mind on Allah.
In
this letter also, the author
advocates the need for his students to carry out true sincerity in all their
modes of worship. Sincerity is to worship Allah for no other reason except that
Allah is worthy of being worshipped and seeking
His Face is the only object of any act or deed of worship or of
association with fellow creatures. It is through true sincerity to Allah that a
servant can attain the real, pure love of Allah (Subhana’u wa Ta’ala). It is
the only way by which a servant can become a worthy Being before Allah since
Allah only takes as His Elect only those whose purpose of actions were solely
for Allah and whose worship, prayer, sacrifice, life and death are in Allah,
for Allah, by Allah and to Allah. This is the meaning of his phrase: “Whoever be for Allah, Allah will surely be for him”.
The lesson therefore in this message is for all the trekkers or Sufi adherents
of this noble path of Tijaniyyah to be for Allah in all their endeavours. If
they must love or hate, the reason should be for the sake of Allah only. If
they must give or withhold, it must not be for any personal or selfish reasons.
It must be in order to seek Allah’s pleasure in those acts. It is
only in this way that their worship becomes free of any blemish. This is why
the Holy Book corroborates: “And they have
been commanded no more than to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion
being true in faith....” [Al-Bayyinah 98:5]
Another
lesson to learn in this
message is the need to realize that Allah does not play and also expect no true
or sincere servant to engage in any form of play. One of the indications of
play and the greatest one in the sight of Allah is to engage in anything devoid
of Allah’s
consideration. The meaning is to devote the heart or the limbs to a service
whose underlying reason has no thought about Allah. Such activity or thought is
to harbour in the mind thoughts of other-than-Allah. The moment a servant
carries out any talk, work, act, thought or deed and is for personal or selfish
reason, such a servant has engaged in play and Allah does not play.
All
His works are with specific purposes and
are all in the service of the entire creation. It is only when our work becomes
purposeful in the service of Allah that we become the people of Allah who do
not engage in play. If we go out in quest of wealth for instance, the
underlying purpose should be to employ the use of such wealth in worshipping
Allah and in seeking His pleasure and this is achieved by utilizing such wealth
to assist others for Allah’s sake or in promoting the
well-being of the entire creation and in assisting the enlistment or progress
of the religion of Islam.
In
the world however, majority of
the people are seekers after the good of this world. The author therefore
reminds his students to desist from any deep association with those people
whose purpose in life is to seek other-than-God. These are those who have been
engrossed in play, seeking or chasing after a world they cannot totally
capture, running after and keeping hopes beyond the validity of the period of
their livelihood, which in most instances are shorter than the length of their
vain hopes, and this for no particular Godly reason. No sooner had they
commenced their vain projects than you hear the news of their death, leaving
the projects uncompleted behind them. Additionally in most cases, you get to
observe that many of the near and far ones left behind by way of relatives and
friends were made unhappy or dissatisfied while the demised people were in the
world because of the utter neglect, deprivations, heartlessness and lack of
show of concern meted out to them, the needy ones, by their just dead relatives
who belonged to the class of seekers after a temporary world. When the news of
their death reaches the ears of these relatives, their comments are something
like: “good
riddance to bad rubbish!” .The author reminds us with
the statement of Allah which says: “Say Allah! Then leave them in their quest, playing” (Al-An’am 6:91).
The
author also pointed our attention
to the relationship any Shaykh has with his students. He reminds every adherent
in this noble path of Tijaniyyah that they have a real Shaykh in the person of
our Shaykh Ahmad Tijani while their manifest Shaykh is merely a means of approach
to their real Shaykh. Quoting his words, he says:”Also let there be for you two guides: Your manifest Shaykh who takes
you through the Holy Book and Sunnah of Rasulullah and also your Hidden Shaykh,
our Shaykh Ahmad Tidjani, may Allah be pleased with him (amin), for he is with
you at all times, and any means of approach is merely means of approach”. The above
needs no further analysis. Those Muqaddams or Shaykhs who have turned their
students to means of
exploitation rather than enriching their
knowledge in the practice of Islam, the sunnah of the holy prophet and in the
refined tenets of this noble path so as to thereby bring their students into
spiritual prosperity are warned in this letter to desist. Whoever is ordained
to be a Muqaddam or Shaykh for others must possess the following
characteristics which are meant to serve as tools of his mission:
Knowledge:
This is what he employs in expanding the little knowledge his students possess.
He makes it mandatory upon himself to impart on them the knowledge of the Qur’an, Hadith and
Sunnah as well as other aspects of the Shari’ah, as far as
his abilities can go. He must also possess the knowledge of Aqeeqah or the
inner knowledge which is an essential tool for knowing Allah, His attributes
and His works. As a spiritual doctor, he must also be conversant with the
various temperaments of the soul, the sicknesses it is prone to and the
preventive and curative remedies. This is because his mission as a Guide is to
assist his Mureeds to fight their base self, put it under control in order to
evolve for it a sound heart which is the state the soul must attain before
returning to its Lord at point of death. In appreciation of the great role the
Muqaddam has to play, he is reminded of the position occupied as that of an
inheritor to the prophets and as a doctor who knows how to save souls. One of
the foremost companions to the author, a knowledgeable man of Allah, Sayyid
Muhammad Hafiz al-Misri at-Tijani lent his voice to the matter under discussion
when he stated in one of his lectures:”The Prophet said: “The men of learning are heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets did not
leave behind an inheritance of Dinars or Dirhams, they left only knowledge. So
whoever acquires knowledge, he acquires an abundant share. ”There is no doubt that part of the knowledge that the
Prophets passed on as inheritance is the knowledge of ridding the soul or inner
self of the layers of darkness, purifying it from the turbidity of matter and
guiding it to the spiritual world, to the abstractness of the higher kingdom of
God. The soul will then become pure so that no matter can have an effect on it.
Rather, its purity will refine the thick-skinned ones; its flowing secret will
revive the lifeless. It is the Lord himself Who aids such a soul with His
divine light; illuminating its vision and powers so that it sees, hears,
settles, moves, knows, takes and gives under the divine guardianship of Allah
the Exalted. In this place of proximity, God chooses the soul, purifies it,
loves it and draws it ever closer to Him. And this is the station of special
love and sublime proximity!
Those who have inherited such knowledge are the doctors and
healers of souls or inner selves; God has taught them their diseases and the
remedies.
And it is one of the many graces of God to this Muhammadan community that no time is deprived of them until the hereafter. The Prophet has said, “Some of my followers will remain victorious (on the right path) until God’s order (Last Day) comes to pass”.
All of us are commanded to purify, tame, and refine
ourselves. God, the Exalted said, “By the soul, and by what shaped it in a proportionate way! He has
inspired to it (the knowledge of) its wrong and its right. Truly he succeeds
who purifies it; and he fails who corrupts it”
(Qur’an,
91: 6-10).
1. Must have self-discipline. Any Muqaddam aspiring to make a landmark in the nurturing
of other souls must possess the quality of self-discipline. He must carve out
enabling policies that guide the physical, spiritual and material and mental
well-being of all concerned and this must be followed. He must imbibe traits
and code of behaviour which he himself advocates for others. At all times he
must make the conduct of the Holy Prophet his model or pattern for emulation.
The way the prophet talked, walked, acted, behaved and dealt with various
issues of life should be his aspiration which he must try to accomplish. It is
in this way that he can adequately prepare himself for the task of training
others. He must not allow time to pass by without making judicious use of it.
This is because every breathe we take in life draws us nearer to our grave and
it is within the time allotted for each one that necessary landmarks in terms
of noble actions must be made. This is so because time once lost can never be
regained. He must not be seen engaging in any act which Allah forbids except of
course subject to allowances as ordained by the shari’ah. In the same manner, he must not engage in any act or
behaviour which he forbids his protégés. He must be an exemplary leader worthy of being emulated.
This is the only way by which he can command due respect from all and
sundry.
2. Has training capabilities. Apart from having knowledge and self-discipline, he must
be sufficiently capable of providing guidance through proper dissemination of
knowledge and be able to articulate his points in such a manner that his
students derive benefits and are increased in spiritual illumination. This is
why the requirement to seek increased knowledge is a ‘going-concern’ in
the religion of Islam. Once he realises his weak areas in terms of
knowledge-gap, he must train and re-train himself in order to be able to train
others. It is not just being a Muqaddam for nothing or a Muqaddam disseminating
ignorance or propagating misguidance and error. Any Muqadddam propagating
misguidance is doing so at his own peril. This is because sooner or later, the
souls of the righteous people of the path particularly those of the leaders and
the Holy prophet’s will
catch-up with him in reprimand.
3. Must be conversant with the ethics of the Suluk (Journeying
to Allah, the sought object by all Sufis).
The
ethics of the trek to Allah, the
vicissitudes of the trek, the haal (states) of its people - the Rijalallah, the embodying code of
conduct, expected mode of behaviour or attitudes within the Hadrah, envisaged
duties, obligations, rights and priviledges – all these
must be known to some appreciable degree by the Muqaddam. The workings of the
spiritual platform of Rasulullah, its relationships with that of Shaykh Ahmad
Tijani of Fez, Morocco as well as that of Shaykh-al-Islam, Alhaj Ibrahim Niass
must be well-known and clear in his mind. If he is an ordained Shaykh, he would
have received most of these practical trainings from his Superior when he was
himself a student or Mureed. If he has none of these qualitative backgrounds,
he can never make a good master.
If
he however lacks any or all of
these important tools but is fortunate to have ambitious students, sooner or
later, they must seek out another elder Shaykh (not of age but of divine
comprehension) within the Tijaniyyah path who will assist in “filling in the gaps” and without necessarily
fleeing from their Muqaddam as long as he does not veer off the path of true
Islamic guidance. Where this move becomes paramount, it must be done through
exercise of a high degree of decorum, respect and concealment, always remaining
with their Shaykh whom they, of their free will initially chose by themselves.
This is why Shaykh Ibrahim Niass strongly advocates in his book ‘Ruhul adab’ that
an incoming Mureed must scrutinize and be satisfied with the score-card of
anyone he wishes to take-on as his
Muqaddam in the way. “Utlub
Murrabiyyan Khaabiran Naasihan Kaamilan Irfanin Imaaman Saalihan” [Find a teacher, a well informed
person, kind, an expert, a model leader and a virtuous person].
In
the like manner, the students
are also armed with useful knowledge about the fact that their permanent Shaykh
is Shaykh Ahmad Tijani or his Khalifah Shaykh Ibrahim Niass. With this
realization, they know that their manifest Shaykhs are merely a link or ‘in-between’ that joins
them to their real Shaykh (the sirr or sirri-sirr Rasulullah).
Hence they are able to pursue a free spiritual course of life with their
manifest Shaykhs (who can be either or both their murabbih and murshid). This is a
life which will take them to the destination of their quest of wanting to know,
worship and serve God in truth.
The
author also draws the attention of the adherent
to the need to guard well the secrets of the path. If anyone has access to some
secrets unveiled to him by God concerning the way He works or does His things,
then such secrets are to be protected. On the outer dimension is the need to
also protect the secrets of our fellow Muslims or brothers in the path as may
get to our knowledge by the will of Allah. This majorly occurs through kashf (spiritual unveiling)
of the sight or of the heart or in dreams. This should be in exactly the same
manner by which we will want our own secrets to be protected if it gets into
the knowledge of others. This is why the Noble prophet admonishes: “None of you
truly believes until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself”. So do unto
others as you would want others do unto you.
It
is considered a misrepresentation of
religious comprehension in this noble Tariqah for a matured, sane, adult Muslim
brother to observe some faults in another brother and, rather than call the
brother on one-on-one basis to order, by explaining to him the folly of his
ways and then recommend to him the path to true salvation, goes ahead to
publicly disgrace the one at fault. The first step is to protect the brother’s secret on
the condition that he turns a new leaf. His moral transformation is thus worked
upon continuously until he actually becomes reformed. This is the meaning of
the Holy Prophet’s injunction: Man satara Musliman, satara-u-Lahu fi duniya wal akhirah.
[Meaning: Whoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this present life
and in the Hereafter in recompense]. This is not
to say that some circumstances may not involve taking some steps as to include
some third party fellow brothers in the reformation efforts. Should that be the
case, the motive behind such a move is made clear to the one at fault; and this
must also be done with the purest of intentions and the highest degree of
discretion. The Noble Prophet of Mercy has admonished that whenever we see any
wrong being perpetrated, we should correct it with our hand or tongue or at
least with our heart.
Apart
from this, the path of Shaykh Tijani is a path
of katmi-s-sirr
because by conferment of Spiritual Stations, he was given the Khatmi-l-Katmi. Allah made
him witness all that is humanly possible and also made him able to protect and
not announce the secrets he witnessed about the Reality of Allah and that of
Muhammad. In the same manner all his true khalifahs have imbibed this quality.
Therefore any aspiring student or Mureed must cultivate this tenet otherwise;
he will not obtain much increase; since it is through the ability to keep
divine secrets that spiritual increases are facilitated by Allah from His
Apostle. At this juncture, there is no need belabouring the compulsory duty of
protecting one’s
own secrets –
the wordings of the Noble Prophet lends credence to this fact:- “As sirru kitmaani, wamon katama hu faqad malaka nafsahu [Secret must be protected, and whoever protects it has indeed
taken control of his self”. This is why Our Shaykh
Ibrahim corroborates thus:
“Man katama
sirra-hu, faqad malaka nafsahu’
[Whoever
protects his own secrets is certainly in control of his self].
Any noble mission embarked upon with discretion and discipline always results into great successes.
The
next matter which the author vividly draws
our attention is the need to avoid the disease of show-off; for surely it is a
very contagious, wrecking disease. Once it is prevalent in anyone, it spreads
to damage other aspects of the person’s worship, personality and
character, going further to mar his actions and deeds in such a manner as to
leave him no profit either in this world or in the hereafter. The Muqaddams and
teachers in this path are especially admonished. No Shaykh should hold in his
heart any form of hidden, personal thoughts about his status or the manner in
which he is to be viewed in the eyes of his students and the people at large.
He
should not act deliberately so that the world may know him, by special display
of say, certain talents such as giving lectures, such that the lectures he
gives is not
that people may thereby reform their attitudes but rather that
people may say about him: ‘that Shaykh is
very eloquent in speech’. This is an indication of the
disease of ‘riyaa- acting in order to be seen of men’. In the same
manner, he should not practice fake ascetic in which case he hides himself by
telling or acting before his students that he does not want publicity when in
actual fact, he hopes by that particular attitude to be seen as a Godly Shaykh
before his students and the people at large. The blameworthy attitude of
showing off is one of the powerful or effective tools which Satan employs in
order to spoil the good works or efforts of the ardent Muslim.
The
only sincere Shaykh is one who
leaves all matters to Allah, he never wants anything except to satisfy Allah by
carrying out devotions and service to Him in a selfless manner. He exerts himself
to his utmost solely to earn His pleasure. This reflects on the way he
shoulders his missionary responsibilities and also in the manner by which he
trains his students or admonishes the people. He regards as a sacred trust the
obligation of training his students and the impartation of talents on others, desiring no ‘thank you’ or any form
of accolade or reward in the process. This is because he fully understands that
whatever services he renders to others is actually the one he does for the good
of his own soul because this is what is recorded to his credit and upon which
he is rewarded both here and in the next life. Hence he neither covets nor
desires any thank you from creation. What is important to him is that it should
be an acceptable ibadah before Almighty Allah his Maker. This is why Shaykh succinctly says: “Whoever covets fame is a slave of popularity. And whoever
loves being unknown is a slave of concealment. But whoever does not desire
aught save what Allah desires; - that is the true servant of Allah! Hence a
Gnostic is he who abandons his desires for Allah’s desires”. Therefore
true sincerity in worship craves from the devotee a soul whose pre-occupation
is in constant search and toil on how to earn Allah’s acceptance
and pleasure to the exclusion of all other personal or selfish considerations.
Such a soul in constant awe of Him has no thought of the embellishments of this
world. He has climbed above the disease of show-off or to be seen of men. He is
oblivious to worldly gains but fully dependent on Allah for his allotted
portion be it little or much.
What
followed is the gift of sirru ziyarah which he gave to his student as
additional tools of worship. Concerning its importance he says: “In it is the
special name which represents The Station of Shaykh (radhiallahu ta’ala anhu)”.
The
prayer is available and, in the custody of all the leaders of the path and are
generally given to Mureeds who have passed through the ‘tarbiyyah’ training as
part of their daily worship menu. The contents have both inner and outer
dimensions, meanings and specialities. The inner lights pertaining to the
prayer are imbibed through the transmission relationship which subsists between
the teacher and the disciple. Allah in addition, opens the door of inner vision
and contemplation to whomsoever He wills which facilitates a greater degree of
comprehension to whoever is so favoured. As for the outer dimensions, the payer
formula is no more than special prayers for the souls of the Holy Prophet, his
four rightly-guided caliphs, his companions, the emigrants and the helpers on
one hand and the pious leaders of the path of Tijani on the other. It is
mentioned as part of its merits, that whoever chants the prayer with full
presence of mind will earn a reward that can be compared to the reward of
someone who visits the place of the holy prophet and the pure departed souls.
The prayer in addition gave indications to the eminent status of some of the
elects of Allah as mentioned in the prayers.
With
this, the author concludes his letter with greetings.
SECOND LETTER
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most
Merciful. May the Peace and Infinite
Blessings of Allah be upon our Leader Muhammad, and also upon his household and
companions. Praise is due unto Allah who has made the following of His friends
a source of success and harmony and made the act of loving, dignifying and
following their commandments a source of profit, happy ending and safety. May
Peace of both worlds (this world and the hereafter) be on the Leader of the two
Universe (the universe of Man and that of Jinn) who says what can be termed to
mean: ”Islam
has been built upon five pillars:
v The two testimonies (that is, in the Oneness of Allah and
the Apostleship of Muhammad (peace be
upon him);
v The upholding of the five compulsory daily prayers;
v The institution of the compulsory Ramadhan fast;
v The Institution of the poor- due termed as Zakah;
v The Performance of pilgrimage to the House of Allah in
Makkah and Madinah for whoever is able to do so.
May
Allah’s
pleasure also reside on his successor on the point of absolute authority who
says:”Whenever you hear any statement credited to me, you should
weigh it with the measure of the Ordinance of Allah (Shari’ah). If it conforms to it, then take it as authentic, but if
it deviates from the Shari’ah, then reject it”.
Thereafter:
From the scribe of this letter whose name
appears at the end of this message to his entire
lovers who have been assigned to be permanent inmates to watch over and cater
for the well-being (in the affairs of) the house of our parents (among the
long-standing khadims and followers); the righteous people namely: Ahmad Karka,
Abu Bakar Bitey and his brother, Muhammad; also our beloved ones, Fajika Thiam,
Muhammad Matey, Muhammad Mujeykeen and others. I extend my greetings to every
one by his name and person, in general and specially, to those who are related
and those are not.
As
salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu.
This
greeting and message is from (the illumination of) the strengthener of the
tariqa of our Mawlana Shaykh Tidjani [That is, from Sayyidina Alliyy Cisse
under tajalli (Divine illumination) of Mawlana Shaykh Ibrahim Niass [radhiallah
ta’ala
an’hu].
We make our requests known to Allah, The Source of blessing, the Almighty; that
He should make sound our conditions or states as well as yours; the affairs of
our hereafter as well as yours; that He should provide for us as well as for
you, sweetness of the faith (which we repose in Him), as well as the
truthfulness and sincerity of our servitude to Him. He should grant us the
fortitude to uphold the rights and obligations of His Lordship as expected of
us. He should record our names and yours in the scrolls of His beloved and pure,
choicest ones. We pray He disposes of all our affairs; for He is the Disposer
of affairs of the righteous.
Having
said this: I have received from your end our beloved one, a truthful and
dependable personality, in the person of Abu Bakr Jaaj – may Allah
reward you all on our behalf with all that is good. I cannot but begin my
discourse on the need to admonish you just as I admonish myself on what Allah
admonished the generation before you with; and this is on the need to fear
Allah in the secret and in the open. By the term: ‘fear of Allah’ is meant that you follow the
commandments of Allah and eschew the forbidden acts.
Among
the strongest of the various commandments which you are expected to follow and
obey is the strict watch over the performance of the five daily obligatory
prayers in congregation and at its prescribed time lines. This is also in
conjunction with your need to watch out for the obligations of purity
associated with the water needed for ablution (and other external purifications
as of place and clothing).
It
is strange indeed to see someone claiming his leanings to Allah and association with our Shaykh and,
at the same time being neglectful of the observance of his obligatory prayers
or of the associated purification procedures and thus completes his prayers in
that manner laying claims to unnecessary excuses of his being under some
impediments. Excuses cannot occur at all times nor be pervasive over an entire
tribe; for surely we are all from Allah and to Allah is our return. Therefore
you are enjoined to turn in repentance to your Creator and ‘kill your nafs’ – the false
self leading you towards disobedience to Allah’s
commandments; that is better for you all in front of your Maker.
You
are also enjoined to recite your wasifah along with the other brothers in the
path. Whoever refuses to abide by this injunction after our letter has reached
him; we dissociate from such a person; he is no longer part of us and we are no
longer part of him. For us, none can trek our path (of Tijaniyyah) except
whoever is ready to work in the same way that we work along with our other
companions.
It
is compulsory that you all renew your acts of repentance often and at every
hour and in every station. This should also be linked with constancy of watch
over Allah in all preoccupations at
every hour and from moment to moment in accordance with the Prophet’s statements
which read thus: ”Take account of your deeds by yourselves before you are called to
account by your Lord”, and “make efforts in being truthful in all your relationship among
yourselves and your Lord in such a manner that anyone of you is not found in
any forbidden arena and is not found
absent in arena that he is enjoined to be”.
You are cautioned to refrain from indulging in all kinds of acts that are
considered as forbidden (haram). Surely haram only draws towards hellfire. You
should beware of neglectfulness too. This is because being neglectful is the
root of every act of disobedience, lusts and bad manners because The Truth who
is Glorious and Exalted says:”Whoever I reveal any of My Supreme
Names to, I make it a permanent duty on him to be of good ethical dispositions;
and whoever I expose My Perfect Essence to, I make it a permanent duty on him
to take caution lest he encounter perdition”.
Therefore
it is enjoined upon you to exhibit high ethics of the trek.
A
poet said:
Arrogant and haughty attracted one is
indeed lost
For he has failed to obey and has derailed from guidance; And he cannot make sound obedience to
Allah, as he has slipped away from
The Guidance.
He who achieves his sought object (God)
should widen his acts of gratitude to Him;
If not, the cutting-off of the soul is the end of people of destruction
Otherwise the dexterity of the soul is a path
leading towards destruction.
O
you the people of Jaameen (a location in Senegal)! It is not right for you
except that you become like the people of Kaws and the people of Tayba Jakeen
and the people of Tayba Jabiibin concerning being deeply pre-occupied in deep
devotion to Allah by rejecting every other-than-Allah. You should also emulate
them by exhorting one another to patience, to love one another, and to seek
guidance of God amongst yourselves, to exchange visits amongst yourselves, to
be generous to one another, and to sit with one another because of Allah, for
Allah and by Allah. You should all assist one another towards carrying out all
good acts of righteousness and in piety of Allah, and remember Allah much so
that you may be successful. Save your souls and those of your household from a
(particular) fire (whose fuel is made up of men and stones…..)
The
Holy Prophet said:
And
it is to say: “O family
members! Your prayers are enjoined upon you, your prayers are enjoined upon
you! o ye coming within the meaning of being our families, your fasting
obligations are prescribed to you, your fasting obligations are prescribed to
you. O ye coming within the meaning of our family-members, your purification is
enjoined upon you. O ye coming within the ambit of our family-members, your
duty of care over the needy is enjoined upon you. Or as it was
also said in the Glorious Book: “And command your people to uphold prayer, and be patient over it, we do
not ask you of any provisions. We are the One that provides for you” (Ta Ha
20:122)
You
should all know that you should be permanently engaged in rendering praise to
Allah and in being thankful since He made you to be among the foremost of the
earlier-ones of the people of this faydah. However, you should neither just sit
down idly, nor be fatigued on the trek, for surely behind you, a group of
people are coming after you have all passed on. Therefore if you sit down with
latitude and shorten the performance of your obligations to your Master, they
will overtake you in leaps and bounds; and should that happen – I seek Allah’s refuge from
that; such is the peak of a colossal loss, because attaining increases in the spiritual
steps-climbing at every twinkle of an eye is the sought object in the
Tariqah
matters. You are also enjoined to enliven your Zawiyyahs by upholding regularly
the performance of the five daily obligatory prayers and the rendition of the
wasifah service therein. In the same manner you should enliven the hours as
they passed by, with the rendition of salah {prayers of peace and salutations}
on the Apostle of Allah [peace be upon him] using the formula of salatil
faatihi lima ughliqa. Whoever does that has indeed achieved a great
success.
Written by Sayyid Aliou Cisse in the Year 1349 A.H
COMMENTARIES ON THE SECOND LETTER
The
author’s
opening tone is a direct pointer to the place of eminence that Allah has placed
those who follow His awliyahs - His elects. This cannot be strange given the
statement credited to the Holy Prophet who says: “The ulamas are the inheritors of the prophets’. What better
ulamas can there be than those who possess the true knowledge of God? Those who
pattern their life transactions after those of the prophets and Messengers by
emulating them as best as they are capable and selflessly serving humanity with
the hope of gaining the Noble Countenance of their Lord. These are the Sufis
who have taken a personal resolution to live their lives fully for God, to work
and to die for God. Hence following these exemplary people is commended by God
and He gave them assurances doubly-sure in this verse: “Nay, upon the friends of Allah there shall be no fear nor shall they
grieve”
(Yunus 10:62). This is why the author directs our minds to the fruits of
following after the Men of God in his statement thus: “Praise is due unto Allah who has made the following of His friends a
source of success and harmony and made the act of loving, dignifying and
following their commandments a source of profit and safety”, This is why
the Sufis revere and love their Muqaddams and Shaykhs; because these people
hold the place of the prophet in their hearts for it is they who further
provide the guidance which the Holy prophet provided to the people of his own
time and which he handed down to his inheritors for further benefits to the
people of any age. These Men of God are like “photocopies” of the Noble
prophet in varying intensity and degree. This is based on their degree of
emulating the ways, tenets and practices of the Noble Prophet.
Additionally,
the Imam of our Tariqah Sidi Ahmad Tijani Abul Abass [radhi Allahu an’hu] made, in
one of his many epistles, [as reported in the Risalat al-Fadl wal
Imtinan ila kaffat al-Ashab wal Ikhwan by al-Khalifa al-Akbar Sidi al-Haj Ali]
a long list of the moral code which is expected to guide the conduct of the
Mureed to his Shaykh. He said inter-alia: “And among what should be held as pure and ever best thoughts about the
Shaykh is as follows:
·
The disciple is not to have a belief that the Shaykh is an infallible
Human being nor can he ever reach the status of a Prophet but he is an heir to
the Prophet.
·
His companionship with his Shaykh must not be based on worldly matters.
·
The taking care of his highest rank, he is not to raise his voice nor
ask questions in a high voice manner, and whether he is doubtful about any matter it is more appropriate to
finally trust his Shaykh.
·
The disciple is to be wary about not to gossip with his fellow mate in
presence of the Shaykh, unless it is something of importance.
·
The disciple must not laugh in the presence of his Shaykh but rather he
is to smile for any convenient circumstance.
·
The disciple is to be pure and clean when sitting next to his Shaykh.
·
The disciple is not to cut the Shaykh’s speech short but ask questions once he
had finished talking.
·
The disciple is to sit on a position like that in the witness-prayer
and pointing out his eyes towards the Shaykh’s face.
·
The disciple is to be very careful not to have any quarrels with the
Shaykh’s friends and close companions and to care about the Shaykh’s sanctity.
·
The disciple is to take all the necessary measures in looking after and
closely watching the Shaykh’s position in his family and household.
·
The disciple and in all cases is to take care of the Shaykh’s affairs whether in his presence or in
his absence.
·
The disciple is to attain a higher rank of self respect and morality
regarding the Shaykh’s belongings, he is not to wear his robe or his shoes and
not to mount his horse nor to sit on his praying mat or drink from his own mug.
·
The disciple must bear in mind that the Shaykh is to be more confidants
than his parents and children and his wealth as well as the whole people.
·
The disciple is always to be earnest in whatever the Shaykh asks him to
do so as all his orders and recommendations are meant for the disciple’s interest.
·
The disciple is not to be despotic in terms of having only one way
thought and planning but rather carefully listening to the Shaykh’s advices and orientations.
·
The disciple is not to link himself with one determined way of
surrogate prayer or worship until he has the consent of his Shaykh as the
latter is well placed to direct and to advise the disciple on this issue.
·
The disciple should not tell his Shaykh about his own confidences as
this may unintentionally harm the Shaykh.
·
The disciple within the presence of his Shaykh is to have a strong
inspiration and a rightful behaviour and each breath of him is to be measured
bearing in mind that the Shaykh is within the Mohammedan’s presence.
What was earlier mentioned in this list is to be rightly
acknowledged and duly followed by the trustworthy disciple, unless what is
beyond his capacity, and in following such traced path of the Shaykh which is
obviously the path of the previous blessed Prophets, he is to take great care
and be a very moral abiding person.”
The
next emphasis of the author in his opening tone is to quickly remind us, while
praying on the soul of the Prophet, of the five cardinal principles on which
the religion of Islam is built upon. Without much ado, these, according to him
are as follows:
v The two testimonies (that is, in the Oneness of Allah and
the Apostleship of Muhammad (peace be upon him);
v The upholding of the five compulsory daily prayers;
v The institution of the compulsory fast in the month of
Ramadhan;
v The Institution of the poor - due termed as Zakah;
v The annual performance of pilgrimage to the House of Allah
in Makkah and Madinah in the months of Dhul Qada and Dhul Hijjah for whoever is
able to do so.
The
above requires no further elaboration. Whoever professes the Islamic faith is
enjoined to keep up these five principles and adhere to their performances as
best as he can. Most importantly, it indicates to all people the prime
importance attached to the stipulations of the Shari’ah by the
Masters of the Sufi paths in all ages and time, especially the harbinger of
this faydah Tijaniyyah, our Master Shaykh Ibrahim Niass. This means in essence
that the Tariqah Tijaniyyah in its pristine form is a banner-carrier for the
upliftment of the five pillars of Islam and its adherents are therefore the
best in terms of adoption of a solid foundation for their Islam on which is
then built the service-duties enjoined by the Tariqah. This simultaneously puts
a slap on the faces of those who call themselves adherents of the Tariqah but
trivialises the performance of any of the five key pillars especially the salah
or five obligatory prayers; they are only following their own personal desires
that has no legal basis. This is why Maolana Shaykh Ibrahim says in one of his
many poems: Nusolli sujuudan raaki-iina wa
Innana, ala dha darajna-d-Dhara la natakhallafa’ [“We always
perform the obligatory prayers, prostrating and bowing in worship for surely;
this is how we came upon The Time [at time of being born into the world]; hence
we shall never deviate (from this norm)”].
The
final mention of the author’s opening remark is in the
prime guidance criterion which was laid down by our Noble Imam, our Shaykh
Ahmad Tijani, in order to prevent unacceptable and void practices from entering
his pure path of Muhammad. He stressed this in his prayer to Shaykh Tijani as
follows: “May Allah’s pleasure also reside on his successor on the point of absolute
authority who says: ”whenever you hear
any statement being credited to me, then weigh it with the measure of the
Ordinance of Allah (Shari’ah). If it conforms to it, then take it as authentic, but if it
deviates from the Shari’ah, then reject it”. This further authenticates the
standpoint of the Leader and overall Imam of the Tariqah Tijani, in the person
of Sheriff Ahmad Tijani Al-Hassaniy at-Tijaniy on the position of eminence the
Shari’ah
of Allah holds in the practice of his own Sufi Order.
It
should be noted also that all other Sufi Orders are also those who attach great
importance to the Shari’ah and expect the leaders and
instructors of their path to be pious and possess some attributes which can be
likened to those of the Holy Prophet‘s character. In one of his
papers presented to some audience, the Sayyid Ashraf Al-Thanwi [radhi Allahu an’hu] , a
non-Tijani Sufi had this to say: On reflection it will be realized that all the external deeds are
designed for the reformation of the heart. That is the basis of success in the
hereafter while its despoiling is the cause of total destruction. This is
precisely what is known technically as tasawwuf. Its focus is tahzeebe akhlaq
or the adornment of character; its motive is the attainment of Divine pleasure;
its method is total obedience to the commands of the Shari’ah.
Tasawwuf is the soul of Islam. Its function is to purify the
heart from the lowly bestial attributes of lust, calamities of the tongue,
anger, malice, jealousy, love of the world, love of fame, niggardliness, greed,
ostentation, vanity, deception, etc. At the same time it aims at the adornment
of the heart with the lofty attributes of repentance, perseverance,
gratefulness, fear of Allah, hope, abstention, tauheed, trust, love, sincerity,
truth, contemplation, etc.
To diagnose and treat the diseases of the heart normally
requires the help of an expert teacher or Shaykh. Here are the qualities of a
proper Shaykh.
1. He possesses necessary religious knowledge.
2. His beliefs, habits, and practices are in accordance with the Shari’ah.
3. He does not harbour greed for the worldly wealth.
4. He has himself spent time learning from a proper Shaykh.
5. The scholars and good mashaikh of his time hold good opinion about him.
6. His admirers are mostly from among the people who have good understanding of religion.
7. Most of his followers follow the Shari’ah and are not the seekers after this world.
8. He sincerely tries to educate and morally train his followers. If he sees anything wrong in them, he corrects it.
9. In his company one can feel a decrease in the love of this world and an increase in the love for Allah (subhanahu wa ta ala).
10. He himself regularly performs dhikr and spiritual exercises.
2. His beliefs, habits, and practices are in accordance with the Shari’ah.
3. He does not harbour greed for the worldly wealth.
4. He has himself spent time learning from a proper Shaykh.
5. The scholars and good mashaikh of his time hold good opinion about him.
6. His admirers are mostly from among the people who have good understanding of religion.
7. Most of his followers follow the Shari’ah and are not the seekers after this world.
8. He sincerely tries to educate and morally train his followers. If he sees anything wrong in them, he corrects it.
9. In his company one can feel a decrease in the love of this world and an increase in the love for Allah (subhanahu wa ta ala).
10. He himself regularly performs dhikr and spiritual exercises.
In searching for a Shaykh, do not look for his ability to
perform karamat (miracles) or to foretell the future. A very good Shaykh may
not be able to perform any karamat. On the other hand, a person showing karamat
does not have to be a pious person --- or even a Muslim. Prominent Sufi Bayazid
Bistami says: "Do not be deceived if you see a performer of supernatural
feats flying in the air. Measure him on the standard of the Shari’ah."
When you find the right Shaykh and you are satisfied with
his ability to provide spiritual guidance, you perform baya or pledge. This is
a two-way commitment; the Shaykh pledges to guide you in light of Shari’ah and you pledge to follow him. Then the Shaykh will give
his murid (student) initial instructions. They include the following:
1. Perform repentance for all the past sins and take steps
to make amends, e.g. if any salat has been missed so far in the life, you start
making up for it.
2. If you have any unmet financial obligations toward another person make plans to discharge them.
3. Guard your eyes, ears and tongue.
4. Perform dhikr regularly.
5. Start a daily session of self-accounting before going to bed. Review all the good and bad deeds performed during the day. Repent for the bad ones and thank Allah (subhanahu wa ta ala for the good ones.
6. Perform muraqaba-maut (meditation over death) every night before going to bed. Just visualize that you have died. Reflect upon the pangs of death, the questioning in the grave, the plain of Resurrection, the Reckoning , the presence in the Court of Allah, subhanahu wa ta ala, etc. This helps bring softness to the heart and break the tendency to commit sins.
7. Develop humility. Even if you observe another individual committing the worst of vices you should not despise him/her, nor should you consider yourself nobler. It is very much possible that the perpetrator of the vice may resort to sincere repentance while the one who despised the sinner become ensnared in the traps of nafs and Shaytan. One has no certainty regarding one's end. One, therefore has no basis for regarding another with contempt.
2. If you have any unmet financial obligations toward another person make plans to discharge them.
3. Guard your eyes, ears and tongue.
4. Perform dhikr regularly.
5. Start a daily session of self-accounting before going to bed. Review all the good and bad deeds performed during the day. Repent for the bad ones and thank Allah (subhanahu wa ta ala for the good ones.
6. Perform muraqaba-maut (meditation over death) every night before going to bed. Just visualize that you have died. Reflect upon the pangs of death, the questioning in the grave, the plain of Resurrection, the Reckoning , the presence in the Court of Allah, subhanahu wa ta ala, etc. This helps bring softness to the heart and break the tendency to commit sins.
7. Develop humility. Even if you observe another individual committing the worst of vices you should not despise him/her, nor should you consider yourself nobler. It is very much possible that the perpetrator of the vice may resort to sincere repentance while the one who despised the sinner become ensnared in the traps of nafs and Shaytan. One has no certainty regarding one's end. One, therefore has no basis for regarding another with contempt.
The essential idea of tahzeebe akhlaq is to bring our
natural faculties in a state of balance. The three basic faculties are anger,
desires, and intelligence.
Anger: When in equilibrium it results in valor, forbearance, steadfastness, the ability to restrain anger, and dignity. Excess will result in rashness, boastfulness, pride, inability to restrain anger, and vanity. A deficiency will result in cowardice, disgrace and feelings of inferiority.
Desires: Equilibrium here results in chastity, generosity, haya (decency), patience and contentment. Its excess leads to greed and lust. The other extreme results in narrow-mindedness, impotence, etc.
Intelligence: Equilibrium here makes man wise, sharp-witted and one with great insights. Excess here makes one deceptive, fraudulent and an impostor. Its lack results in ignorance and stupidity with the consequence that such a person is quickly misled.
A person will be considered as having a beautiful character only when these faculties are in the state of balance and equilibrium. Internal beauty varies with people just as external beauty does. The possessor of the most beautiful seerah was Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. The beauty of our seerah is based on its closeness to his seerah. [Condensed from the writings of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi]. The above lengthy details are brought in order to avail the reader that the Sufi in any tariqah is the same. He is bound by rules and regulations evolved from the Shari’ah. The leader is also bound with duties and obligations pertaining to excellence of character, continuous strivings and alertness in his Lord.
The author thereafter went into the deliverance of his message the first of which is the need to have ‘Taqwa’ or the fear of the Lord both secretly and openly. He says further: ‘fear of Allah’ is meant that you follow the commandments of Allah and eschew the forbidden acts. His son, the third Khalifaul Aam after him in the personality of Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Ibrahim Niass [rta] expatiating further the subject-matter of Taqwa[piety] gave a most profitable analysis in his book titled Zajrul-l-Ikhwaan. In his opening paragraphs, he wrote concerning taqwa thus: “What is called piety or fear of Allah has been expounded in great details by Ulamas via different expressions and they have tendered explanations about it through various exegeses. Among the best explanations is that of our leader Seyyidina Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah ennoble his countenance who said:” Takwa to him consist of four ingredients as follows:
Al khawf minal Jaleel: the fear of the Glorious God,
Al amal bi-t-Tanzeel: that is working in accordance with what is revealed (Qur’an),
Al qana’atu bil qaleel: That is, being contented with little that one has, and finally,
Al Istihda’d li-yawmi-r-raheel: That is preparing earnestly for the day of travelling (out of this
world to the Hereafter)”.
Therefore, as man is not free of blemish, if he falls into sins or error, it is incumbent upon him to retract his steps and ask for Allah’s pardon. This should however be after he has felt a deep regret of his bad ways and make a personal resolution to desist from such heinous acts. If these are complied with, that is regarded as true repentance. Whoever repents after his wrongdoing and makes amends towards what is good, surely Allah will accept his repentance; surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse said; may Allah be pleased with him: The term “Taqwa” is divided into three parts viz:
A part understood by the generality of the entire humanity, then by a special section of the humanity known as the Elites, and finally by the very special of the special people known as the Super-Elects.
The understanding by the generality [or the Common] of what taqwa means is that of executing all that is commanded by Allah and of avoiding all that is forbidden both what is manifest and what s hidden in it.
The understanding by the special group [or the Elites] is that of avoidance of mention of anything devoid of Allah’s Remembrance and the seeking of Nearness to Him. The understanding of the special of the special group [the Super-Elects] concerning Taqwa is that of not seeing anything except Allah, the Glorious the Most High, in such a way that Taqwa becomes a screen between you and between every other-than-Him the Glorious the Most High, such that you become completely oblivious of [screened from] the existence of anything except the existence of Allah Ta’ala. The state of such a person attests thus:
So nothing remains except Allah, and nothing besides Him;
There
is nothing to be added and nothing to be separated.
This is a station which none can attain except the Elects of the Elects. They asked Ibn Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him about fear of Allah and he said that it is: “To fear Allah until that fear stands between you and your sins; a Mumin (Believer) is one who sees his sin as if he is sitting under a mountain with the sin on top and fearing its falling-down upon Him; the greatest of those who says said: “And fear Allah as best as you can”. There are plentiful gifts from Allah bestowed on those who fear Him as the Most High said: “Verily Allah is with those who fear Him and those who do good works”. And He also said: “verily the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is he that fears Allah most”. And His words also “And he who fears Allah, he will erase all his faults and make great for him his rewards”. Also in Hadith too: I know a verse in the Book of Allah the Might the Great which, should mankind hold fast unto, will be sufficient for them in all affairs: “And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out and He will provide for him from sources he expects not” (At-Talaq 65:3). Surely Allah the Glorious has mentioned what is up to about two hundred verses in His book concerning the behaviours expected from someone who have piety; and this is an indication pointing to the greatness of the matter and the elevation of its affairs; therefore The Intellect should be active and alert in exerting all its capabilities toward pious behaviour; and man should work towards getting these behaviours to the peak by exerting the best of his efforts. Among the compelling issue is the avoidance of all that is forbidden, which is associated with bodily parts (e.g. as in preventing mouth from lying, eye from observing obnoxious scenes, hand from stealing etc). Its reality is as said by our master Sheikh Al-Hajj Ibrahim Niasse: “Negation of thoughts [khatrats - affections] of other-than-Him in the mind of the thinking-person, and that is because only Allah is The Truth” Taqwa or piety is the highest goal and also the means to every other loftier goal..... [pages 12-13]
The fear of Allah is the key to Al-Jannah, and Al-Jannah has been promised
the pious. Also, piety is security from Hell Fire. “Then we will protect those who fear God” (Maryam 19:72). Piety or fear of Allah is the inducers of a
praiseworthy end “And the end is for the pious” (Al-Qasas 28:83). Piety takes one out of hardship and opens
up the provisions as reiterated earlier.. Piety is the opener of ease in all
endeavours. “And who so fears Allah, He will provide facilities
for him in his affair” (Al-talaq 65:4). Piety is the inducers of Allah’s help. “And if they persevere and fear Allah,
their (i.e. the enemies’) plots will never harm them in aught”. (Al lmran 3:130). Everything we are struggling to acquire
in this world and in the hereafter or even in the religion too is based on
piety (takwa)....”.
The
next matter the author stressed was the very prime importance that the
obligation of prayers carries in the scheme of the Islamic religion in his
words as follows: “Among the strongest of the various
commandments which you are expected to follow and obey is the strict watch over
the performance of the five daily obligatory prayers;
v In congregation and
v At its prescribed periods”.
The
need for congregational prayers is hereby stressed, also stressed is the need
to be watchful of the time each of the five obligatory prayer-services are
conducted as these are not just made open or unguided. It is therefore sadly
surprising for anyone who calls himself a Sufi of any Tariqah path to handle
the matter of congregational daily five prayers with levity under any form of
untenable reason or excuse. There is no other option to the upholding of salah
as a pillar of religion because it is the hallmark of the practice of the
Islamic faith, The Prophet said:”The distinction between the Muslim and
the disbeliever is the performance of the obligatory prayer”. For this
reason this Tariqah Tijaniyyah has zero tolerance for anyone who plays around
performance of salah. That is why Shaykh inferred further: “Among the strangest of phenomenon is to see someone claiming his leanings
to Allah and association with our Shaykh and, at the same time being neglectful
of the observance of his obligatory prayers or on the associated purification
procedures thus completing his prayers in that manner by laying claims to
unnecessary excuses of his being under some impediments. Excuses cannot occur
at all times nor be pervasive over an entire tribe; for surely we are all from
Allah and to Allah is our return”
Such
a person is a kafir and certainly not a true follower of Shaykh Ibrahim, the Imam
of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani.
Following
this, as can be seen from his statements as quoted above, is Shaykh Ibrahim’s reminder on
the outward aspects of the pre-conditions to a valid prayer; that is the
necessity of purification of the limbs, the place, the cloth and the use of
water regarded as free from all kinds of impurities. He says: “It is also in conjunction with your need to watch out for
the obligations of purity associated with the water needed for ablution”.
He admonished further on the necessity of every adherent to fight against the
inner self so as to conquer the egocentric and pompous nature within us. He
admonished further, in line with the Qur’anic
injunctions:
”Therefore you are enjoined to reprimand and ‘kill your nafs’ – the soul leading you towards disobedience to Allah’s commandments), that is better for you all in front of your Maker”. (Al-Baqarah 2:54)
The
next matter the author referred us to is the need to carry out the special
business of the tijaniyyah path in congregation. This is because the tijaniyyah
is really about brotherhood, affection and love and the best way of imbibing
these noble qualities is through the attendance of the daily wasifah services
conducted after salat al Maghrib. The need for congregational observance is highly
stressed as this particular litany is not expected to be performed
individually; for to do so amounts to refusal to obey constituted authorities.
This is why Shaykh warned some groups who were dissenting among themselves and
refused to go for the congregational service. As a matter of necessity, it is
impossible to do wasifah together and
not display affection towards one another after its conclusion, which is prima
facie unavoidable through the hand shaking, hugging or greetings that follows
thereafter.
The
author thereafter makes mention of the moral and spiritual obligations of every
adherent of this path as follows:
v The need for continuous repentance on all our shortcomings
known and unknown.
v The need for constant review of our actions and inactions
with a view to making necessary adjustments as may improve our situations and
integrity before our Lord. This has the tendency of reforming us to high
standards expected of us by Allah before we leave this world and prior to the
Day of Meeting with Him in the Hereafter.
v The need to uphold the principle of truthfulness in all our
dealings with God and Man.
v The need to refrain from all kinds of haram (forbidden
things) or their causes in order to guard ourselves from the hellfire.
v The need to beware of acts of neglectfulness in all our ways
of life and in all our acts of worship. This is because neglectfulness draws
towards ruin.
The
author went further to cite a Qur’anic injunction which is a
reminder to us all on the need to, not only to protect ourselves from the
punishment accruable as a result of acts of disobedience to the Will of Allah,
but also to include our family and other members of our household from falling
into errors of misguidance or disobedience. In this regard, we have to admonish
them frequently and encourage them towards acts that are noble and virtuous. If
they fall within those who believe we have a right over them, then we should
advocate the performance of prayers at their prescribed periods, observation of
regular fasting, upkeep of acts of purification, as well as the need to guard
their state of poverty from leading them into commission of unworthy acts.
This
is why this position was corroborated again with a Qur’anic verse
which enjoins us to command our family and also those of our acquaintances
falling within the meaning of being our families by extension, to perform the
obligatory regular salah as well as endure and persevere in its performance as
we are bound to come across undesirable situations of life which may threaten
the peaceful observance of our daily ritual prayers. In that instance, we
should patiently endure these tribulations and use it instead as a weapon with
which to increase in faith and dependence on God.
The
obligation of continuous rendition of Praise and gratitude to Allah over the
innumerable favours which He (Subhana’u wa ta’ala) bestowed
upon us was stressed. This is because we were all blessed with the gift of
faydah which made us become real men of Allah. We were also encouraged not to
relent on our devotional and other efforts in the propagation and upliftment of
the faydah among our fellow Muslims and brothers in the path. We should not
shorten our resolve and aptitude in carrying out all the duties expected of us
from our Master Shaykh Ibrahim Niass, the custodian of the faydah.
We,
the later generation of this Tijaniyyah path of Shaykh Ibrahim were especially given glad tidings by Shaykh
that we will work much harder and achieve success at a faster pace than the
older generations while at the same time advising the earlier-ones not to
relent.
We
were further encouraged to always strive for improvement in our devotional
worship efforts in order to increase our spiritual ranks. The need to watch out
for Allah in all our moment-to-moment activities was stressed. This is because
it is when we succeed in watching out in this way that we become fully
conscious of all our deeds and appreciate what sacrifices we need to make in
order to seek His Face.
The
author also advocated the observation of our five daily salah in our zawiyahs
as well as the performance of the evening wasifah services, as this is the only
thing that will guarantee the active, living states of our zawiyyahs and from
where we obtain regular spiritual rejuvenation. As trekkers in the path of the
Elects of God, we should not allow ourselves free time devoid of nothing. All
our spare times should be gainfully employed in silent rendition of asalah on
the prophet, and due to the immense benefit that is embedded in salatul fatihi,
this formula was advocated by the author for all his lovers and disciples. He
assured that anyone who aspires for success in any field of endeavour, be it
pertaining to this world or the next, the key or secret is to engage
plentifully in salatul fatihi. May Allah make us all fortunate towards what He
is pleased with and to cure our sick hearts by His Grace (Amin)
THIRD LETTER
In The Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most
Merciful, The Most Avenger, The Mighty,
The Compeller, The Arrogant. May peace and blessing [of both world] be upon
The Apostle, The Leader, the Servant who makes this statement: “O Fatimah the daughter of Mohammed! I cannot profit you in anything
against Allah” Thereafter, I render praise to Him as
deemed adequate. I extend my greetings of peace unto our son Ahmad Thiam and
Malik Sau and also to every person who gets to know about the greetings among
those who claim to be associated with us among those with him.
This
message is to notify all and sundry that:
The
following two categories of people are not of me, nor do they have anything to
do with the Tariqah (path of Tijaniyah):”an attracted
person (drawn by divine presence) who is not journeying on the path, and a
journeying person who has no divine attraction of any kind” -
if both remain on their conditions and remain fixed on their very walk in this
manner.
As
of me, my attitude as you all know is that whoever desires to be with me in my
spiritual state, let such a person follow my Tariqah [ Tijaniyyah - by being
initiated and continuing therein its rites] in manner of speech and good deeds
by following all the commandments of Allah and eschewing all the prohibitions
both in the manifest and in the hidden. In addition, let such a person be
yearning for and full of longing towards an arrival unto Allah’s pleasure and
that of His Apostle.
However,
whoever claims association with us but commits any offence that is at variance
with Allah’s
ordinances- Shari’ah, the pure and dignified code
of life for all - by committing the forbidden acts and by abandoning the lawful
ones, then I take Allah as witness and you all too that I Shaykh Ibrahim, fully
dissociates from such a person, O Allah I fully dissociate from what these set
of people do, running to you (for protection): “And let those
beware who desert from his (that is, the prophet’s) order, lest
afflictions (fitnah) strike them or a painful punishment” (An-Nur
24:63). “And turn to
Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers! (An-Nur
24:31).
As
to your statement that my Mureeds (protégé) are like a
container full of the secrets of the three Hadrahs – Spiritual
platforms; that is indeed an excellent remark, but in reality where is my true
Mureed among you? - He is more scarce than the “Al-Kibrit
al-Ahmar”
(i.e. the scarlet brimstone of the Red mercury) among you. If the matter is as
you allude I will soon annul the idhn (permission) resident in any Muqaddam, in
whose presence the forbidden things are perpetrated and did not rise up to stop
them as an obligatory duty upon him. However, if he becomes incapable, he
should migrate to Allah and His Apostle and to us, for I swear by Allah,
nothing stops the trek of these people so that they return to having pleasures
in the spiritual realms except their very long covenant with us and whoever is
present with us in most of the time-periods will forget the love of carnal
desires. For surely there are youths who are young that have certainly
forgotten carnal desires or lusts, so much that there exist among them one who
has forgotten his wife and does not approach her for sexual fulfillment, except
with Idhn (Divine permission) and a lot of unwillingness. This is how it is
with my protégées but
certainly not possible with adherents in other path.
Hence
there is no doubt about the necessity of returning to Allah in repentance, and
in upholding the commandment and also in avoiding the unlawful acts, in being
ascetic, pious and in seeking knowledge. Allah The Almighty says to The Leader
of the Awliyahs – the Holy Prophet (Peace be
upon him): “And
say: Lord, increase me in knowledge” (Taha 20:114) What is right
for The Mureed is that he should not stop his trek until he comes at par with
me (Shaykh –
this ensures he does not slacken his spiritual pace of coming nearer Allah, as
his Shaykh is ahead of him in most cases). But this condition becomes somewhat
complicated to me if he treks unto another Shaykh (whom he feels in his
opinion) is higher than me in status; so know ye all – may Allah
have mercy upon you, that many of those who ascribe some positions or status to
themselves actually prevents men from the way of Allah due to their lack of
being steadfast.
Whoever
portrays a leaning towards Allah and later becomes one who discourages others
from His path has clearly drawn a battle-line waging war with Allah and becomes
among the unlucky people of denial because of that reason. Hence, there is no
doubt about the necessity of you all being present with us in most of the
available time periods so that you can imbibe from us the ethics of the
journeying just as you have imbibed the realities of obtaining spiritual
attractions; and whoever does that has certainly triumphed in a great way.
There is also a dire need on your part to effect corrections of anomalies that
has occurred in the midst of the brothers in the path, through the use of the
hand, the tongue and the heart as was recommended in the Hadith of Rasulullah.
It is also incumbent for whoever wants to
derive benefit from us, to watch and memorise the instructions or pieces of
advices that come from us in poems and prose. This particular letter is of
obligatory import for every Mureed to study and memorize, and everyone who gets
in contact with it should produce a copy, keep to it and study its contents
daily. In addition you should observe the daily obligatory salah, give the
compulsory poor-rate (zakah), and fast the Ramadhan fasting, and go on
pilgrimage to the House of Allah in Makkah for whoever is able to do so. You
should also give out the voluntary alms to the poor and the needy by way of
money for seeking Allah’s Noble Face (Subhana’u Wa Ta’ala).
In
the Hadith related by Muslim from the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) it
was narrated as follows: “Purification is a branch of faith, “Al-hamdu
lillahi”
is a clause that fills up the scales, ‘Subhanallah and Al-hamdu llihah’ are two
phrases that fills up the spaces between the heavens and the earth, The prayer
[salah] is light, patience is a lamp,
Al-Qur’an
is an argument for you or against you, - every man wakes up daily to trade with
his soul, or emancipates it (from error) or sends it to its peril”. Allah
Almighty says –
and He is the Most Truthful of those who make statements: “Verily Allah
enjoins justice and the doing of good to others and the giving to the kindred,
and He forbids indecency, evil and rebellion
“(An-Nahl
16:90) Woe therefore; nay! every form of woe descends on whoever fails to meet
Allah’s
decrees and those of His Apostle with full acceptance but whoever our book
reaches, then repents and overtakes what is easy for him by way of redress, he
has the guarantee of happiness of the two homes, for Allah overlooks all past
errors, but whoever refuses to be cautioned then I take Allah as witness and
bear you all witness that I fully dissociates myself from him; and I will never
dissociate from him except until after Allah Himself and His Apostle have
dissociated from such a person.
Therefore,
it is enjoined upon you to make plentiful your recitation of salatul fathi lima ugliqa;
you are also enjoined to conceal protectively all spiritual/divine secrets both
in speech and in deeds, and leave off open talk or discussions about the
people of the Realities (i.e. the Awliyahs),
and trek the Most Straight Path. The matter of carnal desires (earlier
mentioned) is a tempter to error which is worshiped after profession of belief
(by many people). Allah Almighty says. “So whoever
disbelieves in taghut (false objects of worship, such as idols, heavenly
bodies, spirits, humans etc) and believes in Allah, such is the one who has
grasped the most trustworthy handhold that cannot tear apart. And Allah is All-
Hearing and All- Knowing” (Al-Baqarah 2:256).
Dear
Ahmad Thiam, please convey this message to every one who has a leaning to us,
and send to every elder in the path in every place a copy of it, so that he can
read the contents to those who are with him (his students) and to those beside
him (i.e. his colleague).
I hope from Allah that you will all embrace
this message with a pure heart and open ears. May Allah guide us and guide you
all too. Wa salam.
Written by Ibrahim bin Alhaji Abdullah At-Tijani in Madinah
Kaolack, may Allah protect it from every evil. Amin year 1349 A.H
COMMENTARIES ON THE THIRD LETTER (WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO
PROFESSOR SERIGNE MBAYE NIASS [RTA] THE COMMENTATOR)
1. The author sets the tone through the seven
divine names he employs. In particular the use of attributes; [al Muntaqim] [al
Jabbar], (al Mutakkabir] even when he addresses a major Muqaddam, denotes his
firmness as well as his intransigence excluding all forms of kindness. He also
addresses the young ones and simple disciples especially. He hurries to get down to the heart of the
matter by making economy of the formulae mentioned by the prophet [S.A.W].
Indeed, in place of the usual <wa salatu wa salam>, he abridges; [wa
salamani].The style denotes the ominous importance of themes so rich and varied
that he rigorously wants to attract the attention of readers. This is in addition
to the fact that the first recipients of the letters were older than the
sender. He then suggests that it is the guide who brings his disciples to order
transcending any form of consideration. That
is the meaning of the word <waladi> {my son} by which he refers to them.
This denotes a prophetic tradition from the rest. Indeed, Abbas, paternal uncle
to the Messenger of Allah when asked about his age compared to that of his
nephew [S.A.W], said: “we eloquently
do not know, he is my superior, even if I was born before him”. He further
connotes that a person charged with a Mission is not small compared to his
World.
2. Let us point out to all Muqaddams the
guidelines provided in the text on a disciple's behaviour. The author tackles
on thirteen themes that deserve their attention for imbibing, or noble virtues
lacking in some of them. So also, it questions us and inspires us with a new
sense of behaviour. In a way, after the <Jawharu
Naziym i. e a document detailing the role played by the first six disciples of
Shaykh Ibrahim during the emergence and early period of his faydah>,
it has a symbolic place near the most precious documents of the Shaykh.
Among the four themes left out, one of them
is a comprehensible hadith while the others teach us to be humble in life, to
stay away from the pleasure of the world so as not to be distracted and to
share the document with others. In any case all these teachings are explained
below:
3.
{Ithnayni laysa minni wala min at-tariqi fi shay' in} {these
two named are not mine and do not mean anything in the Tariqah}. The outset, he
cuts short the differences between someone who hopes, the disciple and the
delegate. Ref: beginning of the Epistle. Injunction is a strong effort for
deserving the rank of a disciple. This perpetual learning of precepts and code
of conduct of the loyal is consistent with the teachings of Shaykh Tidiane
according to the needs of doing the <imtithal al awamir>
{observance of the precepts] and the<ijtinab an-nawahi>
[abandonment of prohibited acts] in a manner required by Allah and not in a
manner the subject requires.
4. The author warns the Muqaddam, whose deviations are subject
to a painful punishment unless a sincere repentance. <la taj'alu duaa ar rasuli baynakum ka
du<ai ba<dikum ba<Dan qad ya<lamu Allah alladhina yatasallaluna min
kum li wadhan fal yahdhari alladhina yukhalifuna an amrihi an tusibahum
fitnatun aw yusibahum adhabun alimun>.
Resulting in English; [make not the calling of the Messenger among you as you
are calling one of another. Allah certainly knows those of you who slip away
under shelter (of some excuse without taking the permission to leave from the
Messenger (peace be upon him). And let those who oppose his command beware,
lest some afflictions [earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant] should
befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them ].
Part of the commandments are also found
in [Surah of the light, verse 63} “Wa qul lil
muminati yaghdudna
min absorihinna
wa yahfazhna furujahunna wala yubdina zinatahunna illa ma zahara minha
walyadribna bi khumurihinna ala juyubihinna wala yubdina zinatahunna illa li
bu<ulatihinna aw abaihinna aw abai bu<ulatihinna aw abaihinna aw abnai
bu<ulatihinna aw ikhwanihinna aw bani ikhwanihinna aw bani akhawatihinna aw
nisaihinna aw ma malakat aymanuhunna aw ittabi<inna ghayri uwli il irbati
min ar-rijali aw ittifli aladhina lam yazharu ala awrati an nisai wala yadribna
bi arjulihinna liyulama ma yukhfina min zinatihinna wa tubu ila Allah jamian
ayyuha al muminuna la<allakum tuflihuna” meaning in
English, [“And
tell the believing women to lower their
gaze, and protect their private parts and not to show off their adornment
except only that which is apparent and to draw their veil all over and not to
reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's
father, their sons, or the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of
their brothers, the sons of their sisters, Muslim women, slaves whom their
right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigor, or small children who
ignore all the hidden parts of women. And that they should not stamp their feet
so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And repent yourselves before
Allah, o believer, so as to be successful>. Surah of light, verse 31}.
5. Above all, the Muqaddam as well as the entire
community of the faithful is built on the determination of an admitted
disciple; < the
receptacle of the mystery of the three divine presences i.e. haqayiq thalatha>.
Here, the author encourages not only a spiritual progress, but again, prepares
his disciple as to become a guide immediately he is before another school. This
is a privilege solely of Shaykh Ibrahim.
6. The author who returns to his warnings is
without doubt in the place of the Muqaddam. He must not incline himself to
endorse the transgression and in so doing, abandon his institution and
principle amidst other breaches that may be known to him or otherwise within
his file and rank. There is the mixture of favorable sorts to the wicked
practices between boys and girls. All these breaches have far-reaching effects
hence the young Muqaddam is made sacred besides his master. In fact, the
solution is for the one being educated to rise to the challenge of the great
master, who was able to convert the sensual desires of his first disciples into super sensual
desires and love for Allah.
7. In the same way, the author retells about
repentance [at-tawbah],
which he defined as being the [imtithal]
and the[ittinab],
to be reinforced by the concepts of [zuhd]
or remoteness from evil, to <wara<u>
or demarcation vis-à-vis the wicked and of [ta<lum]
or instruction until the disciple <reaches the
level of the guide>. He will
deduce from the great master his notion of freedom during the course of his
being trained and attach himself to these lessons as a determined disciple
contrary to any form of enchainment or duress by the guide from whom he takes
instructions. Shaykh Tidiane said: <the
disciple of Tijani is free in himself>. These
recommendations are intended for the [Istiqamah]
or rectitude as result.
8. But, the purpose of the letter was to
reconcile two companions or relatives in God. <wa
aslihuu zata baynakum>[and make good whatever is between you > Quran.
<Man ra'a minkum munkaran falyughayiruhu bi yadihi fain lam tastatih, fabi
lisaanihi, wain lam tastatih, fa bi qalbihi, wa dhaaka ad’aful imaan”> meaning:
[“whoever sees a foul thing among you, than let him change it
with his hand, but if he is unable, then with his tongue and, if still unable
to do so, then he should abhor it with his heart and that is the weakest
demonstration of faith”]. Ref: Hadith of the prophet
[S.A.W]. Then, how serious is it to allow the relationship between two parents
to degenerate?.
9.
The disciple
in quest of profit is bound to memorize the recommendations of the Shaykh which
is found either in his poems, in his prose works, and particularly in this
document. That is the reason why he concludes with the recommendation of the
five daily prayers and by the speech of the prophet reported by Muslim.
10. As the prophet (SAW)
said: “Religion is the best Advice”. Permit me to advise you O brother on the path of Islam to
change our behaviour and our mentality regarding our fellow brothers in Islam.
Let us unite as one and stop differentiating ourselves and let no sentiments
come in between us. The most important thing in Islam is our five pillars of
Islam regardless of other voluntary endeavours.
The
fact of being a sunni as different from being a sufi does not
change our belief in Allah. Sufism stands for excellence and anyone practicing
it must show excellent conduct and devote himself to Allah. He is the one who
practice both compulsory and voluntary prayers to seek Allah’s blessings.
For example the Christians though with different branches such as Catholic,
Anglican, and Baptists etc still refer to themselves as Christians and do not
compromise one another. We should stop looking at one another with indifference
as a divided community; rather we should strive in co-operating together as one
because the Qur’an tells us that “all believers are brothers”.
Muslims
far and wide should therefore devise means of extending Islam to those without
reach by employing peaceful means and this will assist us in our quest for
unity.
In
any case, if they (others) decide to call themselves Salaful Salih let us call
ourselves too with the acronym: Salafil Khalis [that is, the group whose devotions to Allah are sincere
in all ramifications, worshipping Him without a thought for a gain or reward
but solely to seek His Face and Pleasure].
Criticism should not come between any of these factions. Let us leave every
other thing to Allah, He is the Only Judge. The Qur’an
coroborates: “And drive not away those who call upon their Lord in the
mornings and evenings seeking his countenance. Thou art not at all accountable
for them nor are they at all accountable for thee, that thou shouldst drive
them away and be of the unjust”. An’am 6:52.
The
Sufis are those who strive to their utmost in attaining closeness to Allah. In
return they achieve the object of their desire. “And as for those who strive in Our Path – We will surely guide them in our ways. And verily Allah is
with those who do good” Ankabut 29: 69
Historically,
the Sufis are widely known to be pioneers of
The
Struggle for the spread of Islam all over the world; right from the time
of the companions of the prophet. This is because they help the believers to
admire Allah the more. The only difference is that the word ‘Sufi’ was not
coined for them and it was much later that those set of ardent devotees were
addressed as Sufis. For instance, Usman Dan Fodio was the jihadist of Sufism in
Nigeria. The Sufis are those who are deep in Allah’s worship and
imbibe the qualities, characters, way of life and the praiseworthy dispositions
of the past Prophets, Messengers and the Awliyahs of Allah.
Corroborating this stand-point, below is reproduced some paragraphs of a paper presented by Shaikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani :
President - As-Sunna Foundation of America on the topic “Tassawuf”:
“If people will look back deeply into history they will find that after the brave work of the Sahaba, (the Companions of the Prophet(s)), Islam spread East and West and to the Far East through the dawa' and irshad of the scholars and followers of Tasawwuf (Sufism), who followed the True Way of the Caliphs of the Prophet (s)--radi-Allahu 'anhum. They were the scholars of true Sufism, which upholds the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah and has never deviated from them.
Islamic zuhd (asceticism) flourished in the first Hijri century and developed into schools that had their foundation and basis of their teachings in the Sunnah and Shari'ah, propagated by zahid scholars who came to be known as the Sufis. Among them were the first four Imams, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, as well as al-Imam Abi 'Abdallah Muhammad AL-BUKHARI, Abul Husain MUSLIM bin al-Hajjaj, Abu 'Isa TIRMIDHI. Others were Hasan al-Basri, al-Junaid, Imam Awzai' And later these included at-Tabarani, Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti, ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Jardani, ibn Qayyim al-Jawzi, Imam Muhyiddin bin Sharaf bin Mari bin Hassan bin Husain bin Hazam bin NAWAWI, Imam Abu Hamid GHAZALI, Sayyid Ahmad al-Farouqi Sirhindi, to name a few. The Muslim world has come to know Islam through the efforts of these zahid scholars who were known as Sufis because of their loyalty, sincerity and purity of heart.
We are not hiding the fact that at that time, some enemies of Islam came to take an extreme approach, using the name of Sufism, and pretending to be Sufis while spreading strange ideas in order to demolish the true Sufi teachings and poison Muslim ideas about Tasawwuf which the majority of Muslims were following. True Tasawwuf is based on zuhd and Ihsan (purity of the heart). The great Imams of the Muslim world, whose guidance was followed in all Muslim countries, were known to have Sufi masters. Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, (whose teacher was Ja'far as-Sadiq) Imam Shafi' (who followed Shayban ar-Rai') and Imam ibn Hanbal (whose teacher was Bishr al-Hafi) all embraced Tasawwuf.
All courts and universities of Muslim countries teach from the schools of these four Imams up to today. For example, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Djibouti, and some other countries follow the Shafi'i madhhab. Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, Libya and Somalia follow the Maliki school. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and some other countries follow the Hanbali school. Turkey, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, and some of the Russian republics follow the Hanafi school. The Far Eastern Muslim countries follow the Shafi'i school. Most courts of Muslim countries depend for their fatwas on these four schools and all these four schools accepted Tasawwuf.
Imam Malik in his famous saying said, "man tasawaffa wa lam yatafaqaha faqad tazandaqa, wa man tafaqaha wa lam yatasawaf faqad tafasaq, wa man tasawaffa wa tafaqaha faqad tahaqaq."
which means: " Whoever studied Tasawwuf without Fiqh is a heretic, and whoever studied Fiqh without Tasawwuf is corrupted, and whoever studied Tasawwuf and Fiqh will find the Truth and Reality of Islam."
Hadith
of Imam Ahmad in his “Musnad” is an hadith
which reads: “Al-fi<kum
gharib”
“Are
there any strangers among you?” is one pointing clearly to the
existence of the Sufi way of life right from the time of the Prophet’s ministry. At
that gathering the prophet invited his closest aides among the section of
believers who were his companions to chant ‘Lah ilaha illa
Allah’
behind closed doors for a complete hour.
Also, on the authority of Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah honour his face)
who asked the prophet (may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) saying:
“Indicate to me
(guide me) the closest road to Allah,
and the easiest for His slaves and the most meritorious (the best) in His view
the Most Exalted; And he replied may Allah’s peace and blessings abide with Him; “O Ali, engage yourself constantly in the remembrance of
Allah, The Most Exalted in a state of
seclusion”. Then Ali said: This is how great the
favour of Dhikhr is [remembrance of Allah] and hence all the people became
engaged in the remembrance of Allah.
Commentaries
by the Late Professor
Shaykh AHMED TIDIANE SERIGNE MBAYE NIASS [may
Allah be satisfied with him and grant Divine Help to his progeny at home and
abroad, amin] and assisted
by this author.
THE FOURTH LETTER
In the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most
Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the
Worlds. The Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful, King of the Day of
Judgement. Having said this:
A
greeting of peace that is complete and general from the writer of this message,
a servant that is independent in his Master and Creator of all that is unlike
Him, Ibrahim bin Abdullah At-Tijani, to my loved one who is the Mureed of my father,
a dependable personality, Al-Hassan Jaayan. It is rational to let you know that
I am advising you because of Allah and by Allah, and that you should realize
that you and others whomsoever they may be are servants of Allah and Mureed
(students) to Shaykh Tijani. Allah, The Exalted has decreed in His prior
judgement to let-flow this Faydah (Divine flood of gnosis) in
the Tariqah of the Tijani on the very hand of its harbinger (i.e. Shaykh
Ibrahim Niass, may Allah be satisfied with him) and He is the owner of the
Faydah who spreads it to wherever he wills with the divine measurement of The
Mighty, The Compelling God. This very Faydah will spread to all nooks and
corners by Allah’s protection and strength; none
can withhold nor obstruct it, neither can anything constraints it. There is no
doubt that it will gain strength on the land wherever the adherents of the
Tijani path may be.
Allah
has afflicted some Shaykhs and Muqaddams with hatching plots and making false
claims and deceits - all with a mission to extinguish the light of Allah, but
Allah refuses, except that His light is perfected.
You
are my loved one since I emerged (as Gawth), and it is for this reason that I
am writing to you, and I am warning you most sincerely, from being among those
desiring to extinguish the light of Allah, and this is based on my kindness to you, not as one
agitating for the manifestation of the Faydah, because, as far as the Faydah is
concerned, it will manifest itself and spread by Allah’s protection
and power, and whoever desires to curtail or hide it, (such a move) will only
fuel its spread (and by that action increases it).
In
the same manner, whoever desires to disperse the people away from it and from
its caretaker (owner) it is that very person that people will run away from,
not from the Faydah. And if you look keenly and critically you will see the
truth of all that I have said. What is incumbent on you is that, if you are
able to be on the trek (or pilgrimage as a Sufi), till you become among those
whom the Author of Al-Munilal - referred to as: “A group among
his companions till end of that phrase”; then go on
working, but if not, be contented on your situation and do nothing, but you
should know that nothing can occur or happen in Allah’s kingdom
except what He wills, and whoever desires a thing which Allah does not want, he
will just fall into Allah’s disfavour. Therefore, know
that I am admonishing you and admonishing myself to fear Allah in the secret
and the open and to keep good relations with the people of Allah by loving
them, by sitting in their company and having good companionship with them
perchance you may obtain from them Divine Breathe. In addition, do not lay
claim to stations that are not rightfully yours for your benefit or for other
persons. Allah says: “And do not
pursue that of which you have no knowledge”. (Al-Israil
17:36) Whoever seeks the glory of the two homes, this world and the hereafter;
- all the glories are Allah’s altogether. The indication of
Allah’s
love is known through the love of His Awliyahs (– the Elects of
Allah). This is because they are the Gnostics (those who know about Allah).
This
your neighbour Alhaji Muhammad Zaynab is an Aarif (Gnostic) of Allah Ta’ala, I, do not
know of an Aarif of his kind in status apart from him, so be with him for Allah
and by Allah and in Allah so as to benefit from him and your own students in
return can benefit from you. Be assured that nothing can harm you, neither in
this world nor in the hereafter. However if you do not do so, nothing can harm
Allah, and you will soon know in this world and the next that I love you not
for any reason; for today I do not love anything except for Allah, and Allah is
the Guardian over what you say.
May
Allah’s
peace encompass you all, and especially the name sake of my father Alhaji, and
his brother.
Written by Ibrahim bin Alhaji Abdullah Al-Tijani in the
year 1349 A.H at Kous.
