08/16/2018
COPIED
The Tariqa Tijaniyya: its Characteristics and Merits
By Imam Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse
Address at the Forum for the Followers of the
Tijaniyya, Fes, Morocco, June 28, 2007. (Part I)
Translated by Dr. Abdullahi Elokene (Nigeria) and
Zakariya Wright (America)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise is to Allah by whose Blessing and Majesty
righteous deeds are realized, the One who said: “O
believers! Fear Allah and seek the means to
Him” (5:35). He also said: “And follow the path of the
one who has turned towards Me” (31:15). And He has said: “And content yourself with those who call
on their Lord morning and evening seeking His
countenance” (18:28).
May the Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon our
master Muhammad, owner of the banner of praise
and of the praiseworthy station, who said: “The best
of worship is that which is constant even if little.” And
peace on his family and companions, the guides and
those guided. And may Allah be pleased with our Shaykh and Mawlana, Shaykh Ahmad b. Muhammad
al-Tijani al-Hassani; and may He be pleased with the
manifestations of this saintly sublimity, and with his
inheritors by whom we seek access to the Divine
Presence. Surely we have held fast with them to the
unbreakable rope of Allah.
Your Excellency, the Minister of Endowments and
Islamic Affairs; Your Excellencies, the distinguished
descendants of the Hidden Pole and Renowned
Isthmus (barzakh); Your Excellencies,
representatives (khulafa’) and teachers (muqadamin): peace be upon you and the mercy and
blessing of Allah.
First and foremost, I express my sincere appreciation
for the efforts of the Minister in putting together this
conference under the directives of His Majesty, the
Commander of the Believers, Muhammad VI, King of
Morocco. May Allah strengthen, assist him and may
Islam and the Muslims be helped through him. Surely organizing this kind of conference serves to affirm
the love in the hearts of the Tijani brothers for the
Kingdom of Morocco as it has existed for a long time
now. It was this same noble Alawi kingdom who had
a strong relationship with Shaykh Tijani and the sons
of the Tariqa Tijaniyya from the time of Sultan Mawlay Muhammad bin Abd-Allah until today. Such was
Shaykh Tijani’s relationship with Mawlay Sulayman: a
spiritual relationship established through mutual
cooperation in piety and righteousness, a
cooperation in strengthening the fundamentals of
the Islamic Religion, spreading its teachings, and raising high the word of Truth. This conference
therefore comes as a result of these singular efforts,
which has born fruit in the reign of Mawlana, Amir al-
Mu’minin, King Muhammad VI, may Allah help and
strengthen him. And the taste (of this fruit) will come
in his righteous reign if Allah wills.
We are indeed very glad to attend this brotherly
gathering which is unique in its kind. Surely in such
meetings there is abundant harvest. It has come from
the (Sufi) people that, “Whoever has realized a
(spiritual) state, it will not be lost on those in his
presence.” Among the precepts of the Tariqa Tijaniyya is gathering together: “The meeting of the
beloveds is better than recitation of the litanies
(awrad) and the remembrances (adhkar), for the
remembrances can be made up if missed, but the
meeting of beloveds cannot be made up.”
Today, delegations of loved ones from different
nations have come to this sacrosanct city, Fez,
wherein lies the tomb of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani,
caressed by Heavenly zephyrs and Divine effulgence.
As has been related in Hadith: “Indeed among the
days of your lifespan, there are certain fragrant breezes belonging to Allah: would that you be
touched by them, for if you should catch just one
scent, you will be without complaint forever.”
There is no doubt that this conference is one of these
fragrant breezes. Since its sunrise at the hand of our
master, Abu Abbas Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (may Allah
be pleased with him) up to this day of ours, the
Tariqa has never ceased illuminating for mankind the
path to Allah, and directing them to the way of guidance and righteousness, and guiding the
aspirants to the best of paths by which they obtain
the happiness of this world and the next. The Tijani
brothers and sisters are a fraternity in Allah, and they
are beloveds in Allah. It has been related from the
Shaykh (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said to him: “Tell your companions not to harm each other, for surely
this harms me.” The Most High has said: “Those who
hurt believing men and women without just cause,
bear on themselves calumny and manifest
sins” (33:58).
If you find the Tariqa Tijaniyya actualizing the
brotherhood of Islam, its success lies in rending apart
the walls of the ego-selves, penetrating into its
depths and illuminating its hidden recesses with
beneficial Divine knowledge. In a similar way, this
Tariqa has nullified the borders of nations and erased the differences between the servants of Allah.
So here we are in this conference hall meeting with
representatives from all parts of Africa: west, central, and north. And here we have Americans from all
different areas: New York, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta,
Detroit … So they (these delegations) are one
community, and what is between them is (only) love
in Allah, and they have freed themselves of
worshiping other than Allah so that by the Oneness of Allah, the veils have been lifted from them and
they have been brought to extinction (fana‘) and
substantiation (baqa‘) in Allah. They have refused to
concern themselves with anything other than Allah.
These are indeed true, vigorous Sufis, clothed in the
Sunnah. Their secret thoughts have been made pure and their external selves have remained steadfast on
the Book and the Sunnah. They have escaped from
the frivolities of the ego-self and become immersed in
Truth’s baptism: “the baptism of Allah – and who is
better than Allah to baptize” (2:138)?
“Sufism,” said Shaykh Tijani (may Allah be pleased
with him), “is carrying out the Divine command and
avoiding the prohibitions, externally and internally,
with regards to what pleases Him, not what pleases
you.” And this cannot be realized except through
compliance with the pure Shari’a. The people of the Tariqa are the people of remembrance (dhikr), the
people of prayer (salat), those who seek the
forgiveness of Allah throughout the night and at
both ends of the day. Incumbent upon them is
offering prayer upon the greatest means of access
(wasila), the Prophet, and obeying the command of Allah. With this they become enlightened. The Most
High has said: “It is He who prays on you, along with
the angels, in order to bring you forth from darkness
into the light.” (33:43).
Thus our Tariqa is a Muhammadan Path (Tariqa
Muhammadiyya); its companions are they who hold
firmly to the Sunnah, extinguishing themselves in
love for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace. They are wedded to the
emulation of him, in both his words and deeds, and they have molded themselves with his
characteristics ; for surely the bases of these characteristics are the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Within these two things is found the abode of the
Tariqa, and outside the Qur’an and the Sunnah there
is nothing called the Tijaniyya. Long ago, Imam
Junayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Surely
all the paths (turuq) are choked off by the creation
except those following the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah
upon him, those following his Sunnah and his
Tariqa.”
Our Mawlana Shaykh Tijani, may Allah be pleased
with him, has declared his innocence of everything at
variance with the pure Shari’a and demonstrated the
orthodoxy of his Tariqa with the statement: “If you
hear something from me, weigh it on the scale of the
Shari’a. Whatever is in conformity, take it; whatever is at variance, leave it.” So were all his actions and pure
conduct based in the Book and the Sunnah. His
disciple Sidi Muhammad bin Mishry (may Allah be
pleased with him) said:
“Despite what you have heard of the miracles of this
Shaykh of exalted rank, he was of extreme humility,
and whoever did not know him could not distinguish
him from his companions. Among his attributes was
that he was an ascetic; one longing (for Allah); one
who has obtained; one who has abandoned all injustice. He overlooked the (unclean) states of the
people but worked ardently on his own self. And he
was stern in following the Sunnah, nor would he
indulge anyone in relaxing its observance except for
those who would not obey his command. He (RA)
was always urging us to pray in rank. If we traveled, he would say, ‘Whoever does not pray with you in
rank, do not keep him as your companion.’ And he
said, ‘By guarding the straight line in prayer, Allah
will avert from you most afflictions.’”
Among the things in which he persevered was the
love for the Prophet’s household (ahl al-bayt), and
encouraging others to reverence and exalt them, for
this itself is evidence of following the Prophet (SAW)
and of enforcing the commandments of the Qur’an.
The Most High has said: “Say (O Prophet): ‘I do not ask any reward of you, except the love for the
relatives (al-qurba).’” (42:23). The Shaykh also used
to enjoin obedience to the teachers (muqadamin)
with what they required in accordance with the truth.
He said, “You must obey the teachers so long as they
command you with the known religious obligations or work to reconcile the differences between you.”
And he warned them in this against being enamored
of the worldly goods of their brethren, and to only
see such possession as the bestowal of Allah, for it is
He who gives, withholds, lowers and elevates. It was
with this righteous method that the Shaykh trained his disciples, and it is this righteous manner that has
been the inheritance of his successors (khulifa‘)
generation after generation, for they have been keen
to guard this foundation. In emphasizing the
orthodoxy of the Tariqa Tijaniyya, Shaykh Ibrahim
Niasse said:
You must hold firm to the rope of Allah,
For a method which deviates from the Qur’anic
Remembrance is a path of misery.
If you should ask, is this litany (wird) the method of
Muhammad?
I will say yes, my wird is for attaining purity.
The wird is nothing but the remembrance belonging
to Allah, and He alone,
(And) offering prayer on the chosen one, the best
without comparison.
In it there is no mention of the Shaykh or any other
My wird is the source of medicine for the servant’s
disease.
Tread lightly so as not to deny out of ignorance
For injustice and enmity are the sources of
estrangement.
The Shaykh of Islam of Tunis, Ibrahim Riyahi, made a
similar statement as the above:
As for your thoughts about the organization of the
wird;
(Linked to) the hand of Prophecy, can it be without
foundation?
What would you think of a method
Which secures for its practitioner safety from the fire
and its turmoil?
The Tariqa is not an innovation from orthodox
Sufism, which has been described in the Kashif al-
Ilbas (of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse) as follows: “(Sufism)
is the expression of a knowledge flaring forth from
the hearts of the saints until their hearts have
obtained enlightenment through acting on the Qur’an and the Sunnah. And all who act in this way,
for him will be kindled sciences, secrets and realities
impossible for tongues to describe. This is analogous
to what has been sparked in the scholars of the
Shari’a with respect to their rulings until they come to
know what they know in regards to the rulings of the Shari’a. And Sufism is surely the cream of the
servant’s work in accordance with the rulings of the
Shari’a, so long as his work is free from defect and
self-contentmen t, just as the science of meanings and explanations is the cream of the science of
grammar. So who would classify Sufism as an
independent science is correct; and who would
classify it as the source of rulings for the Shari’a is
also correct.”
The Tariqa is built on sincerity in the truthful attention
to Allah, by expelling anything else in one’s dealing
with the Truth. This is not possible for him who
secretly delights in his ego-self, plunging it into lusts
and wicked desires. The Sufis are the true servants,
they are the ascetics in every age. It has been related from Hassan al-Basri: “I saw a Sufi circumambulatin g the Ka’aba, and I gave him something; but he said, ‘I
have naught with me but four coins, but whatever
Allah has placed with me is sufficient.” This is simply
pointing to the fact that the generation succeeding
the companions of the Prophet was one of Sufi
ascetics, for they were scholars in the sciences of the diseases and intrigues of the ego-self. Hassan al-Basri
reports Sufyan al-Thawri as saying, “Had it not been
for Abu Hisham al-Sufi, I would not have become
aware of the subtle hypocrisies of the ego’s
subjectivity (riya‘).”
The shaykhs, as has been related from Shaykh Tijani,
may Allah be pleased with him, are the ropes that
Allah has extended to the creation, whoever holds
fast to them will be saved. Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse,
may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Know that the
purpose of the shaykhs is that they are links to the Prophet (SAW), who is the greatest means of access
to Allah. Sidi Abdullah bin al-Hajj al-Alawi, may Allah
be pleased with him, once said to me, ‘What is desired
of the Tijani litanies is to smell the fragrance of the
Muhammadan Reality (Haqiqa Muhammadiyya), upon
it blessings and peace.’”
It is worth mentioning that the people of the Tariqa,
they, men and women, are the ones remembering
Allah often. They sit for the remembrance in every
place and in all states. Remembrance (dhikr) is the
sacred means of emulating the Messenger of Allah
(SAW): “Surely in the Messenger of Allah there is for you a beautiful example, for those who hope for
Allah and the Last Day, and who remember Allah
often” (33:21). The people of the Tariqa are the living
example of this: they come together from diverse
ethnicities, gathering for the love of Allah and His
Messenger, extinguishing themselves in the pursuit and victory of the truth, with asceticism and humility
in the emulation of the greatest means of access,
Mawlana Shaykh Tijani, may Allah be pleased with
him. Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse wrote in the Risalat al-
Tawba: “Despite being absorbed and extinguished in
Allah, the people of Tariqa have not abandoned the affairs of the creation nor their role as vicegerents on
the earth. Rather they compete in every sphere of life
and they are found in diverse professions and
specialties, desiring to obtain what is lawful and to
expose themselves to the zephyrs of the Lord,
exalted is He. May Allah bless them, shield them from the schemes of their enemies and protect them with
what He has protected His Wise Remembrance, and
such is not difficult for Allah.” So these are the
scholars and the shaykhs and the leaders of people;
and they are also business men, executives,
engineers, doctors, journalists and professors …
If it is understood that the purpose of the Tijani
litanies is to smell the fragrance of the Haqiqa
Muhammadiyya, such a fragrance leads one to act
according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, both of
which provide the capacity for security and the
foundation of faith. The Prophet has said: “I am leaving with you two things, to which if you hold fast,
you will never be misguided: the Book of Allah and
my Sunnah.” On this foundation this Tariqa has
spread to all horizons, for it is a Tariqa of truth, and
the truth prevails and is not prevailed upon. Shaykh
Tijani, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “This seal (taaba’) of ours will gain ascendancy over every
other type of (Sufi) mark (taaba’), and none will gain
ascendancy over us.” This Tariqa thus has the
capacity to spread without limit, since it is grounded
in magnanimity and tolerance, nor is it contrary to the
flawless natural disposition (al-fitra al-salim).
Shaykh Tijani was praised by many of the exalted
scholars of his time. Among them by way of example
was Sidi Hamdun bin al-Hajj, whose son wrote in his
book, al-Ashraf, that his father had praised the
Shaykh in both knowledge of the Islamic sciences
and Divine gnosis. Shaykh Hamdun, who was of the consummate scholars, praised the Shaykh in one of
his poems as follows:
I commend you to the resplendent, light-giving
moon,
Abu al-Abbas, I mean Ahmad at-Tijani.
The sun of sovereignty and the axis of the circle of
guidance,
The moon of felicity and star of spiritual excellence.
Sea of generosity, our elucidator of heavenly
wisdom,
Like rare gems in a necklace or crown (tījān).
The best of imams who has risen in ascension,
In righteousness without lethargy.
In addition, numerous scholars apprenticed
themselves to him, but mentioning them here all
would take us too long. Needless to say, each is like
the full moon. In every corner they are the leaders of
men, in every time and place. Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse
indicated this in one of his poems:
To him belong companions like moons,
Possessors of illumination and secrets.
Of investiture and of gnosis, And each one a spring among springs.
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