A prominent Muqadam of the Tariqa Tijaniyya in South Africa was asked how to choose a Tariqa, and why did he chose the Tijaniyya. Here is his answer:
To choose a Tariqah to follow, you must verify the following matters at least:
1-Is that Tariqah and its rules in accordance with the Shari’ah???
You will know that by seeing if any Pious Ulama follow that Tariqah and if its followers give importance to performing the Five Prayers in Jama’ah, and women wearing Hijab.
2-If the Zikrs of that Tariqah are manageable for you?
Do not become like those people who “take a Tariqah” for “Barakah” but do not perform any of its Zikrs because “they are too much”! What’s the use then? Why fool ourselves?
3-If the Tariqah is connected to the Prophet (SAW)?
This may be through a Chain (Silsilah) of Masters, or through direct Spiritual authorization from the Prophet (SAW), as with our Shaykh Sayyidna Ahmad al-Tijani (RA). Do note also that our Shaykh al-Tijani (RA) was originally a fully authorized murshid of the Khalwati Tariqah, whose chain goes back to the Prophet (SAW) via the Suhrawardi masters. His Shaykh in this Tariqah was Sidi Mahmud al-Kurdi (RA). He was also connected to the Qadiri and Shadhili Tariqahs.
However afterwards, the blessed Prophet (SAW) appeared to him in daylight and ordered him to relinquish all previous affiliations and come under his direct Prophetic Training. He then left all other Zikrs and received the (Tijani) Wird from the blessed Rasul (SAW). Do note that renowned scholars like Imam al-Suyuti in his Ta’yid al-Haqiah al-‘Aliyyah and Imam al-Sha’rani in his Tabaqat confirm that some Saints of this Ummah had “no other Shaykh but the Prophet (SAW)”.
4-If the present Shaykh or representative of the Tariqah is a complete Arif-Bi’Llah or not?
Don’t follow a Mahjub (veiled one) or a Majzub (intoxicated one). The Mahjub doesn’t see Allah, and the Majzub doesn’t see His Creation. A blind man cannot guide another blind man. Follow a Kamil Shaykh, a complete one. One who walks on the two feets of the Shari’ah and Haqiqah. It is important that the present Shaykh of the Order is a Kamil Wali, and not just the founder of the Tariqah, who may have passed away hundreds of years ago. It is the present Shaykh that will mentor you.
5-Also check if the present Shaykh or representative of the Tariqah can make YOU into an Arif-Bi’Llah as well?
There are many Shaykhs today who are themselves Saints, but do not have the power to pass on that same sainthood to their murids.
This is because they don’t have the Batini Permission or Power from Allah to do that. Therefore, they may guide themurid to the level of Islam, then to the level of Iman, but they cannot guide him to the highest level of Ihsan (Ma’rifah), even if they wanted to.
The goal of the Sufi Tariqah is Complete Ma’rifah of our Creator Allah (SWT), not dreams, visions, miracles and predications of the future. Don’t be fooled by all of that. Follow an Arif who can make you an Arif.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niasse (RA) said:
و من لم ينل معرفة الرحمن
فقد ضاع عمره مدى الازمان
And whoever did not attain the Ma’rifah (Certain Knowledge) of Allah
Then he has wasted his lifetime forever!
Also, do NOT follow a Tariqah because:
1- The Shaykh comes from my country or my family or my race.
That’s called the ‘Yahudi attitude’. It’s the downfall of many otherwise intelligent people.
2- The Shaykh performs a lot of miracles.
So what? Magicians also do many extraordinary things. We believe in the miracles (Karamat) of the Awliya, but that is not the criteria for following anyone as a Shaykh.
3- Because somebody is forcing or pressuring me to take that Tariqah.
“There is no Forcing in Religion”, the Qur’an says. You will never benefit like that.
4- Because the Shaykh is a Descendant of the Prophet (SAW).
If a particular ‘shaykh’ is a Sayyid/Sharif (a Descendant of the Prophet (SAW), you may kiss his hands and feet, carry his shoes and love and respect him fully.
But, do NOT take Ba’yah from him until he fulfills the above-mentioned criteria. This is because being a Sayyid andSharif, does not automatically make anyone a Wali, Arif or a Murshid.
Many Sharifs are themselves in need of a Complete Shaykh to guide them!
Indeed, many of them know that, and follow a Wali-Kamil to get the Inheritance of their Grandfather (SAW) from him!
I myself saw many Sharifs following non-Sharif Shaykhs, e.g. with my own Shaykh Mawlana al-Imam Hassan Cisse (RA). I saw them kissing his hands, although he was not even an Arab. Nobody forced them to do that, but they saw their grandfather Prophet (SAW) in their Shaykh.
5- Because the Zikrs or Hadrah of that Tariqah are very melodious and exciting.
This may attract us to a Tariqah, but it is not the Criteria or the Goal. Tariqah is not taken for fun, entertainment, or passing time. It’s not a ‘spiritual escapade’ from ‘daily life’.
I have seen people joining Turuq just for ‘enjoying that Melodious Zikr’, and they never attained anything, because the Goal was not ALLAH, but pleasing their own Nafs!
6- Because the Tariqah has a glorious history and produced many great Awliya and Inspiring Personalities in the Past.
That’s all good, but don’t live in the Past please!
Ask yourself! Is this Tariqah of any benefit TODAY??? Can it guide me to ALLAH?
Many universities produced great Scholars in the past. But today those universities are producing nothing. We judge them by their activity today.
Tariqah is not joined as an “Identity Tag”.
Don’t join a Tariqah to boast: I am a Tijani, I am a Qadiri, I am a Naqhsbandi, I am a Mourid!!!
Allah knows Best!!!
This is what I was inspired for now. If you are sincere, Allah will show you the best Way to Himself. Keep on makingSalatu ala’n-Nabi (SAW) till then.
You asked me, why I took the Tariqah Tijaniyyah?
Well, it is because I applied the above-mentioned rules in my own life. From a young age, I always searched for “the best” in this Sufi Path. Not out of curiosity, but in order to emulate the best Khalifah of the Prophet (SAW) in our age. To find the closest Door to Allah and his Prophet (SAW).
My own family descends from many Ulama and Awliya, with known Shrines and Venerated Tombs. In fact, we have our own “family Tariqah,” which I moved on from, with all due respect maintained.
Furthermore.,I grew up in the illuminated city of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (18 years), so I had the blessing of mixing with many of the greatest Awliya of the Time who would come there often to visit the Holy Prophet (SAW).
I can say without exaggeration that there is hardly any Sufi Tariqah, whose Zikrs I didn’t practice, whose Gatherings I didn’t attend, and whose Shaykhs I didn’t meet.
I mixed with the Tariqah Qadiriyyah, Shadhiliyyah, Ba-Alawiyyah, Chishtiyyah, Naqhsbandiyyah, Rifa’iyyah, Khalwatiyyah, Mevlawiyyah, Suhrawardiyyah, Idrisiyyah, Sammaniyyah…etc, with their many branches.
I met their Shaykhs, sat with them as a respectful student, visited their shrines during my travels, recited their prayers, and read their books.
Indeed, people wouldn’t know what Tariqah I myself followed due to my mixing with everyone. I would be seen in all the different Zawaya!
Nevertheless, after a long (inward-based) search and close observation of the Turuq and their contemporary Shaykhs, I realized (in my personal capacity) that there was no Shaykh or Tariqah on this earth, closer and more beloved to Rasul-Allah (SAW) than Khatam al-Awliya Sidna Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (RA) and the Tariqah Tijaniyyah.
I got hold of a copy of the Jawahir al-Ma’ani (after hearing about it for years as a child in Madinah) and reading it only confirmed the above.
Once my heart was set on the Tijaniyyah, I started searching in the Tijaniyyah itself for the complete Shaykh. After much seeking, I realized that there was no Tijani Shaykh in earth who could plunge his disciples into the Fat’h al-Akbar andMa’rifah of Allah like Sahib al-Faydah Shaykh-al-Islam Ibrahim Niasse (RA). I realized that he was the greatest miracle of Shaykhuna al-Tijani (RA) and received from him (and from the Prophet SAW) that which no other Tijani Khalifah had ever received. By now, this had become a fact of history.
I read the Diwan of Shaykh Ibrahim (which I received in the blessed Rawdah in the Prophet’s Mosque of Madinah from a Nigerian visitor!), and it only confirmed my belief in him.
Indeed he appeared as the greatest Qutb and Shaykh of Tarbiyah in this Path. I saw many of my friends taking this Tijani-Ibrahimi Path and achieving the Fat’h al-Akbar. So I looked around at who inherited the Khilafah of Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) in Tarbiyah and the Tijani Faydah. I saw no one more renowned and greater than Shaykh Imam Hassan Cisse (RA). Many of my friends (non-Sufis and Sufis) took the Tijani Path from him and completed their Tarbiyah with him and became such Arifin that al-Shaykh-al-Akbar Ibn-Arabi could learn things from them! Wallahi!
Then we were blessed that Imam Shaykh Hassan Cisse came to South Africa. I spent much time in his blessed company. Although I had been in the Suhba of many Arab and non-Arab saints, there was nothing that could compare to the Presence of the Imam al-Faydah!
There were some great spiritual experiences and there was something about his Presence that shouted aloud to me: “I am not Hassan Cisse…I am (representing) Muhammadun Rasul-Allah (SAW)”.
It was very clear to me!
Nevertheless, the nafs has its own filthy tricks, so I still did not take bay’ah, contenting myself that it is enough that I love him and recognize his Maqam!
To be frank, the idea of following a “black Shaykh” did seem a bit strange to me, and more scarily, I knew that it would “tarnish” my image! In my Asian community; Family, friends and the masses would think I have gone crazy!
You may love and respect the black Shaykh, but you can’t become his disciple (said the nafs!). It won’t work out! He pressure was too much.
Nevertheless, Allah blessed me that a young African Tijani Muqaddam of Shaykh Hassan, happened to become my roommate. I knew him as a friend long before he took ba’yah. He took ba’yah. He was a convert then, and had very little knowledge of Islam. Thereafter, he entered the Tariqah and ended up under Shaykh Hassan in Senegal.
Now he had returned and become my roommate. Living together, I could see the most amazing changes that had happened to him because of the Tijani Path. He was transformed from “an ignorant teenager” into an Arif-Bi’Llah. I had read the books of the greatest Sufi Gnostics, but the Knowledge of Allah that would flow from this young (and generally insignificant) Muqaddam of Shaykh Hassan overshadowed anything I had read before. It showed me (once again) the power of the Tijani Faydah.
Nevertheless, the nafs still kept me away from taking bay’ah with a host of excuses (a primary one being the condition that a Tijani murid may not join non-Tijani Zikrs or visit non-Tijani Saints for blessings…something scary for a seasoned traveler like me!)
In any case, one blessed Ramadan night, this brother told me:
“It is time you accept the Truth and follow it…kill the nafs…you know the Truth, so why to you still hesitate to submit…I tell you now and will never tell you again”.
By Allah, I heard Allah Himself say those words to me. My soul was filled with fear that truly, Allah would never guide me again if I refused to submit now. He had shown me enough signs. The time had come for slaughtering the sheep of thenafs and I immediately decided to the take the Tijani Bay’ah with all its conditions. It wasn’t fard to visit all Saints or join all Zikrs. But it was obligatory to arrive in the Divine Presence.
Then, for a second, the nafs told me that rather than taking the Tijani Wird from my roommate, I should rather take it the directly by the great Shaykh Hassan Cissse himself through the phone. That would be the more fashionable thing to do for a “well-known Imam” like me.
Taking the Wird from an insignificant young African Muqaddam with little knowledge of Shari’ah would not look appropriate out there.
Nevertheless, I fought the nafs again, and said to myself:
“I am joining this Path in order to kill my nafs and enter into Allah’s Presence, so how can my FIRST STEP in theTariqah be based on Ego, Pride, and nafs???”
I was not stupid, and I certainly did not wish to be a hypocrite. Otherwise, I should not even join this Tijani Path or any path for that matter.
So, I went to the Muqaddam and told him that I wish to submit and take the Tijani Wird from him. He was overjoyed and reminded me of the 5 unbreakable conditions of the Tijani Tariqah, set by the Prophet (SAW) himself.
I agreed wholeheartedly, and was thereby initiated into the Path of the Seal of Muhammadan Saints (RA).
It was during the last ten nights of Ramdan, and indeed it was Laylat al-Qadr for me. I received numerous glad-tidings after that; and many difficult and back-breaking trials as well. Nevertheless, it has been a most blessed journey and continues to be.
Al-Humduli’Llah, since then, I have only experienced increase after increase after increase in the understanding of Allah and His Prophet (SAW) in all the levels of Shari’ah, Tariqah, Haqiqah and Ma’rifah. As the Arab poet said:
فكان ما كان مما لست أذكره
فظن خيراً و لا تسل من الخبر
So what happened did happened, and I cannot mention it!
So just think good and do not ask me about it
And why not, when this Tariqah and its Awrad were personally arranged by the Messenger (SAW)? As the Shaykh al-Islam of Tunisia Sidi Ibrahim al-Rayahi (RA) said:
فما ظنونك بالورد الذي نظمت
يـد الـنبوة هل يبنى بلا ساس
And what do you think/expect of this Wird….
That was arranged by hand of the Prophet (SAW) himself! Can it be without basis?!
And also why not, when Sahib al-Faydah Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niasse (RA) said:
ففاض منى سره فلا أحد
يقصدنى ما عرف الله الصمد
So His Divine Secret flowed from Me, and there is no one…
who comes to me, except that he will Know ALLAH the SAMAD!
To understand the magnanimity of this Divinely endowed function of Shaykh Ibrahim (RA), read the following statement of Sayyidina Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (RA) stated:
“There are 165,000 veils (hujub) between the individual and the Sacred Presence (Hadrat al-Quds); and 167,000 stations (maqams) between sainthood (wilayah) and gnosis (Ma’rifah)”!!!
Allahu Akbar, all of this has been made easy by Shaykh Barham (RA) and the Faydat al-Tijani. We continue to swim in the oceans of the Faydah Tijaniyyah, and wish this blessing for all those we love, although Hidayah lies in the hands of Allah.
Before the taking the Tijani Path, we were in the Journey to Allah, after taking it and going through its Tarbiyah, we are now traveling the Journey in Allah. This journey is never ending and one does not even want it to end for it is the very purpose of our existence.
As the Khalifah of the Tijani Faydah in Mauritania al-Arif-Bi’Llah, Sidi al-Shaykhan bin al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Shinqiti (RA) beautifully said:
بحر المياه كفى منه الشراب و من
بحر المعارف لا يكفي سوى الغرق
One may get sufficient drink from the Sea of Water
But from the Sea of Ma’rifah! No amount is sufficient but drowning!
Since then, I have been thrice to Makkah, thrice to Madinah, thrice to Fez and thrice to Medina-Kaolack. Something to ponder about!
Anyways, this is my story, in brief, dear brother. No one has to believe it or accept my claims and understandings in it. It’s just my personal story. Allah is a witness to it.
Yes I am a Tijani, but I love all Tariqahs, all Muslims, all Humans and all creation of God. كل له قانتون
I pray that Allah keep us steadfast on the Path of His True Servants, which is His Own Path. Amin. Bi-Jahi Zeenat il-Hadarat (SAW).
Was-Salam
Fakhruddin al-Tijani al-Ibrahimi
No comments:
Post a Comment